"Hm..." Dawkin said in response to Joshua's evaluation of Amelia. He wasn't sure that he saw what Joshua meant, but believed him to some degree. "Well, whatever holds her back, I think she can get through it." Perhaps that would only serve to embarrass her more, but it felt like the right thing to say. Joshua then asked to see Dawkin's own Pokemon. Seeing no reason as not to, Dawkin's released them. Atlas, Wooper, Pichu, and Tyrunt all came out.

"Aron?" Atlas looked around the restaurant, his little blue eyes lighting up upon realizing he was surrounded by food, both metal and other tasty treats.

"Don't you eat anything without asking, I'll get you something good later. This is Atlas, my starter Pokemon. He can be a bit ravenous but I can trust him when it counts." Atlas looked a bit put out, as he had been eyeing the table leg, but he seemed content to relax for now. Luckily a snack could be found at your local dump most of the time with little effort, readily providing bribes for him.

"Wooper!" Wooper seems pleased with the situation no matter it was and, after a pondering glance at Dawkin, simply wiggled back and forth slowly while looking at Joshua, as it seemed to know it was being presented. That or Joshua just happened to be in front of it.

"I caught Wooper running away from Team Amethyst, honestly I might not have caught him normally but I was looking for firepower in a pinch. Caught him just by throwing a Pokeball so I guess he wanted to come with me. Seems to have taken a liking to me, even if he isn't the brightest." Dawkin said with a shrug, even though he was rather pleased that Wooper had taken a shine to him. Certainly catching a Pokemon with just one throw was an achievement he didn't mind having around.

"Piiichu." Pichu seemed dazzled by the fact they were in a town with a lot of shiny lights and Dawkin remembered Pichu had probably never seen anything like it before. However his gaze quickly alight on Amelia and her swarm of ghost pokemon and he scampered up the table lag and went "Chu?" questioningly at them seemingly curious at their very existence.

"Pichu I caught, uh..." Dawkin stuttered for a second as he made up another reason for catching, "Because I heard they were hard to find and it gave me another element. Nearly got my head taken off by a Sawsbuck for my trouble. This little guy sure knew how to give me a run for my money." Dawkin said recalling that rather desperate run for his life.

"Tyyrunt." Upon seeing no Pokemon to fight, Tyrunt ran up to Dawkin and immediatly nuzzled his leg, then nibbled on his pants a little bit.

"H-hey." Dawkin said in surprise and pushed the little dinosaur away with one hand, scratching around his craggy head. "I think I need a teething rod and some sort of tough back stratcher for this one." Dawkin said disapprovingly, examining the bite marks in his pants as Tyrunt leaned into Dawkin's hand. "Anyway I caught him on the way over here. Amelia and I ran into some confusion with a truck transporting fossil Pokemon and I just kinda ended up with him."

"That's the lineup so far. I'm planning on getting a Cacturne here as well as training some more. After that..." Well Dawkin had considered getting a Ponyta but Amelia had made a fuss about it earlier and he didn't want to bring it up again. "Who knows?" Dawkin finished his thought, his arms in a sort of, 'ta-da' position towards his Pokemon.

---

Joshua kept silent as Dawkin voiced his confidence that Amelia could get over whatever obstacle might hold her back. Short of a blessing from Arceus or Xerneas, he wasn't sure that would ever happen. Keeping such throughts to himself though, he evaluated the pokemon Dawkin had caught, thinking about what he knew of each of them.

"Well, your starter is definitely a powerful one. In it's current form, it's physical defense and it's physical attack are about equal and it's best attributes. And in terms of typings, you only need to look out for Fighting, Ground, and Water Type moves. Thanks to this guys Steel typing, you'll never have to worry about poison." He said before looking at Dawkin. "In terms of evolutions though, you got a long road until this little guy evolves. That being said, he does have a third form and Aagron is a fearsome beast. That main things that are it's downfall are it's slow speed and it's weaknesses, since it's Special Defense is... well, rather bad and even with it's physical defenses, Fighting Types will hurt a lot."

He then turned his attention to Wooper.
"As for this guy, his only weakness is Grass, so most match-ups you'll be fine, though some pokemon can learn Grass-Type moves without being Grass-Types. This little fella does evolve but there are stronger pokemon out there. That being said, this guy will definitely serve you well down the road so long as you use him smartly. He won't learn a lot of offensive moves on his own so you should keep an eye out for TMs that you can use on him. It can learn a high number of offensive moves of various types with those things.."

Looking at Pichu, he smiled.
"Hard to find is a rather loose thing to catch pokemon off of. What's rare in one region might be fairly common in another. Anyway, this is a Baby pokemon, so if you're hoping it'll be powerful, you got another thing coming. If you want to evolve it, you need to become very close to the little guy. Then you need a Thunder Stone the evolve it to it's finally form. Overall, an average pokemon, but since it's only weak to Ground-Types, not a bad one to have for a while at least."

Finally, he turned to Tyrunt and gave a slight 'hm' before speaking.
"Now, this one, will be one of your more powerful pokemon. It's a Dragon Type but it's also a Rock Type. Unlike your Aron, whose Steel Typing helps it resist more types, Dragon does not. You need to watch out for Fighting, Steel, Ice, Ground, Dragon, and Fairy Type moves, most of which are favored by more experienced trainers. That being said, it's a physically offensive powerhouse and not one that should be underestimated."

His evaluation of each individual done, Joshua leaned back in his seat as their drinks arrived. He took a sip of his water, thinking.
"You're team is more well rounded then most at your level. You got a variety of types and several difference match-ups that are to your advantage or disadvantage. Long term, some of your pokemon are more useful, but if you can utilize them properly, you'll be able to use all of them throughout your journey."

Dawkin made sure to pay carefully attention to Joshua, following words just as he followed his gaze. Interesting. As Dawkin expected he hadn't outright called any of them out as useless, the closest one to being so was Pichu. Dawkin took some pride in Joshua's compliment and he looked over his team again. He wasn't sure that he would keep all of them, though he felt a certain amount of obligation to. Dawkin returned his Pokemon to their Pokeballs, they were all a bit colorful and that made them a bit hard to handle all at once. "Thank you very much for your insights, I'll be sure to keep them in mind." A question popped into his head along the lines of discussing teams. "Joshua, have you beaten any gyms in this region?"

---

"Challenged any of the gyms here? Nope, not a single one." Joshua said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a box, which he set on the table and turned to face Dawkin. He then opened it up and pulled the lid straight up, causing four slim selves to appear. All four of these shelves were eight gym badges from the Johto, Hoenn, Unova, and Kalos regions. "I'm kind bored of doing gym battles. The last ones, which is the top shelf here, the Kalos badges, where just too easy that I was rather... disappointed. So, I figure it might be the same here and thus have no interest. If I'm going to battle, I need to have a reason to do so. To protect someone, help someone, or stop people like that woman back there. I'm not going to have my pokemon get injured over shiny trinkets anymore. I think I've proven my salt.

What about you two? Have you challenged any gyms?"

"I went to challenge one but the leader was too strong for me. We didn't battle but they were quick to point out it was a Major Gym and what I saw while I was in line told me that it would be a fruitless endeavor." Amelia said.

"Ah, the princess finally speaks up again." Joshua said with a laugh, once again causing Amelia's cheeks to turn red.

That... Was a lot of badges. Dawkin could understand why Joshua said he was tired of doing them. From what he understood most people were content having badges of the major gyms from even one region. Joshua's did bring up the faint question of whether or not challenging gyms was even necessary. Of course you didn't need too but... It was the thing to do for any aspiring Pokemon trainer. Something to think about later. Dawkin regained control of his gawking face and sat back in his chair, listening to Amelia. He wondered what leader she had challenged. "Ah, I haven't challenged any yet. The leader of this town's gym tried to get me to battle her... But I don't think I'm ready yet, so I turned her down."

Albeit with some difficulty given how insistent she was. "I don't really want to challenge any gyms until I have six Pokemon and have trained with them all. I know there are minor gyms and that some gym leaders will adjust the Pokemon they use based on their opponent, but I don't want anyone taking it easy on me." Amelia had surprised him once again with the information that she had stepped into a Major Gym with the intent of challenging it. It was a bit foolish of course, but undeniably brave. He had really undersold her huh? "I think it was pretty brave of you to even look at a Major Gym. Even if you didn't get to fight, I think just seeing it could be a valuable source of information." Dawkin said thoughtfully. He might want to visit a few gyms even if he didn't have the intent to challenge them, just to get a sense of what it was like. Not this one though, he didn't want to have to turn her down again, and he was positive if he showed up should expect him to battle her.

---

"I didn't know it was a major gym. I didn't know how the gyms system worked so they had to explain it to me." Amelia said, her face growing a bit red as she was embarrassed by her mistake.

Joshua didn't reply to this right away as their waiter returned with their drinks and asked what they would be having for their entrees. Joshua ordered himself a burger while Amelia went with a fish and chips deal. After Dawkin had ordered his food, both turned their attention back to him.
"Waiting until you have six pokemon seems like a solid idea. But sometimes, the more you delay, the more hesitant you'll be to attempt what you originally set out to do." Joshua advised. "Your current team aint bad. I'm sure if you ask around you'll find information on the various minor gyms around the regions and find one that suits your team and that you have decent odds against. Oitherwise, I would stick to your plan for the time being.

Now, if I recall, you two are heading into the desert tomorrow, are you not?"

Amelia nodded while sipping her tea and, after getting Dawkin's likely confirmation since he planned on catching a Cacnea, Joshua would proceed.
"I'm not letting you two go into that alone. Deserts are extremely dangerous places, both because of their harsh environments and the pokemon that have adapted to living in them. It seems calm now but you never know when a sandstorm might occur and you could get easily lost out there and if you do, the worse can happen. And Arceus help you if happen upon a Trapinch you aren't able to handle. So, whether you like it or not, I'm coming along, if only to make sure you both make it back safely." He said.

Dawkin acknowledged Amelia's response but didn't bother changing his compliment. Joshua, as per the usual, explained both the pros and cons and waiting for a full team. Dawkin nodded silently in affirmation at Joshua's question, after all, there were few places to catch a cactus pokemon but in the desert. Joshua's next statement however, left a bit of a bad taste in his mouth. Certainly it was all right for a veteran trainer to help when the situation involved another veteran trainer but.. To have him follow them around in case they ran into trouble? It didn't feel right.

Dawkin mulled it over, the indecision on his face likely quite evident. "I appreciate your concern, but I must protest against being babied. You said yourself, my current team isn't bad and I'm carrying several emergency items, repels among them. If a sandstorm were to come out of nowhere, I'm sure I could put together a quick shelter between Atlas and Whooper and wait it out." Dawkin wouldn't live or die by his argument, but he felt that if he didn't at the very least put up a token resistance he'd have a hard time justifying it to himself. At the end of the day having a veteran trainer around was helpful, but it just wasn't his style.

---

@Pirouette (Do continue the battle any way you can, when you can. In the meantime, Claire’s going to be at two places at once while we’re unsure of your status. Any levels, Pokémon or items she gets after your battle won’t suddenly appear to help her in the battle, heh.)

@Rune_Alchemist

After the battle, we assume for now, Claire went and got her Pokémon healed. Then, she had to consider what to do…



… and one way or another she ended up heading towards the ancient woods, according to what has been discussed. As such, she headed towards where Stillwood Village ended, but Stillwood Forest continued…



Claire walks into the thick forest, every step of the way the air becoming thicker with spores. If she was even the slightest allergic, she’d be finding that out now. There were old ruins in the way, old rocks placed in arcs and revealing the sites of old buildings, but aside from that there were big, beautiful flowers spread across the forest floor. Hopefully Claire would realize to scan them before she did anything stupid, and hopefully Ralia would warn ahead of time that these were flowers with emotions lying in wait, otherwise.





Other than that, there were larger green Pokémon with bouquets in their hands walking around like they owned the place, glancing occasionally towards Claire, or blue Pokémon drifting in the air hitting into tree after tree, as well as Brelooms that were either practicing or just hanging about. These were all the evolved versions of the Pokémon usually seen in Stillwood Village, and they saw no reason to hide here.









… These Jumpluffs had gotten themselves stuck in the trees, though.





… As Claire could probably tell, these creatures were a bit too powerful for her to take on in her current state. Fortunately for her, they weren’t immediately hostile to humans, though the amount of times variations of the words “poison” and “toxic” were mentioned in the entries of those four Pokémon should give an indication of that staying in the area too long might not be overall healthy for just about anyone. There were reasons why Claire couldn’t see any other humans in here.

Regardless, there might be rare Pokémon hiding out in here, or perhaps she’s more interested in what she could find in the end of here? Regardless, she had some options. All with the assumption she'd be being careful with the local grass-type wildlife, of course.



Connected areas:
Stillwood Village. Behind you.

@PlatinumSkink

---

Her battle with Erika over, Claire proceeded to walk around Stillwood, taking in the sights a bit like the typical tourist. Taking a few pictures with the pokedex, letting her pokemon have a bit of fun. Ralia taking a marker to a important looking statue in the name of 'art improvement' and otherwise not being up to the most respectable of past times. After sometime, she found her way to what looked to be a forest. Old and gloomy looking.

Well, maybe she should find the gym, and she was interested in that coliseum...Safe option, or totally reckless option?

...ehh, what could she say, she was a creature of habit! Bad habits. All of them.

Walking into the forest, Claire coughed a bit, sneezing a few times as the thick spores assaulted her nose. Rubbing her nose slightly, she continued on. The forest was absolutely amazing! Grass types as far as the eye could see - or not see. They were pretty well hidden, weren't they? The ruins were absolutely beautiful! Haha, she almost wanted to take a stop and smell the flowers, but Ralia made sure to warn her that they were vileplume before she actually ended up with a bad case of paralysis.

"Rrrral~" Ralia gave a happy little cry as she waded through the thick grass, off the beaten path slightly.

"Heh, don't get too carried away girl." Claire chuckled at her partners eagerness. A certain...tingle was etched in the air with this ancient forest. Claire glanced towards the thick foliage of the treetops. Kinda spooky, honestly. It just made her more curious. "Lets look around a bit, yea? Tell me if ya see anything."

"Rrrral!~" Saluting, Ralia, ran ahead slightly further, Claire trailing along behind her.

---

Actions taken: Search the ruins for anything interesting.

"If that is your choice, I won't argue with it. I've cautioned you and given you the option but as a trainer, you have to make your own decisions and others need to respect it. Unless you one of the many Teams running around in the world. Those people deserve no respect." Joshua said before turning to Amelia. "You, however, I'm more hesitant to allow out in the desert alone. You need a guide or someone to take you along and make sure you're okay, especially with your health. And I know you have no tolerance to heat, since you love spending all your time outside during the night, when it's coolest."

"I'll ask the gym leader or some group in town to take me to the temple. I can't lean on you anymore then I have, so I want to see if someone else can help me." The young girl replied calmly.

Joshua nodded.
"If neither of them do, call me. I'm the one responsible for you being out here and I do not want to deliver bad news to your parents." He said.

Dawkin felt relived that Joshua accepted his stance readily enough. However, it was a bit of a sour note to hear that Amelia wasn't able to go solo so readily. "Amelia, before I went with you simply because I felt a sense of obligation but uh. If we're both planning on heading into the dessert anyway, well if you can't find anyone I could go with you." Dawkin said, with a little bit less eloquent speech then he usually favored. "That is if Joshua finds me a suitable substitute." He added on hurriedly, not wanting the veteran trainer to think Dawkin was usurping him in any way.

Dawkin wouldn't mind traveling with Amelia, now that he knew more about her he somewhat admired her, it was so unfortunate she wasn't more physically healthy. Perhaps the price to pay for her other talents. Regardless, Dawkin felt it would be a shame if she couldn't do what she wanted just because her body was a little on the weak side. Besides, they were both going into the dessert and as they'd seen on the plains earlier, having a friend could be nice. "What's this about a temple though? Is there some ruined temple in the desert you plan to go treasure hunting in?" He'd talked with some miners about the Pokemon in the area and the local routes but hadn't heard, or thought to ask, about any sort of temple.

---

@Rune_Alchemist

Seeking through the ruins while hopefully avoiding the more poisonous residents of this forest, Claire could confirm the ruins were exactly what they appeared to be. Ruins. Meaning, they were extremely old rocks that once upon a time constructed buildings that living things lived inside. That said, there wasn’t much else around here. Claire might get the feeling she’s far from the first traveller to seek these through and pick them bare of items. So unless she’s interested in some mushrooms growing out between some of the rocks around here, there’s not much. That said, maybe she is interested in mushrooms?



So, Claire was looking around and not finding much in the ways of items, seeking past another arc of rock… when suddenly she came up to something large and green resting in the corner of a former room. A quadruped with a large flower around its neck, there was a soothing smell that emanated from it. If Claire felt even the slightest tired from having been up and moving and searching, that immediately went away as the fragrance refreshed her. Most certainly a pause from all the other thick spores of the Pokémon around here. The creature’s eyes were closed, but it wasn’t necessarily sleeping.





… There was another, smaller version of the same creature standing beside it.

‘Chiko?’ asked a tiny little green Pokémon on four legs, standing wide awake beside the larger Pokémon and staring up at Claire curiously.





Okay. So, what will Claire do?



Connected areas:
Stillwood Village. Nearby.

---

The air was cool and brisk against Skylar's face as Xatu carried the two through the jet-stream of air. Their destination, Pureplain City, was just barely in view, though the two were approaching it rather quickly, to the onlooker. Skylar's hand was placed on his sunglasses, keeping the pair from flying off his face and towards the ground below. They were his only pair, and he couldn't afford to lose them! It was a good amount of money that he didn't have to replace them!

"Xatu." The psychic bird chirped in monotonous excitement. They were close, he could see it with his mighty bird eyes.

"We're almost there? Well, bring us down then, buddy!" Skylar held on to his feathered friend as the two started to fly down towards the world once more, flying straight towards the street in front of the lab, and the wind resistance was enough to cause Skylar to shake with fear. They were just moving at such an incredible speed going down that it gave the kid anxiety. Of course, the excitement of a new adventure was also causing the kid to shake. Either way, he had a grin from ear to ear as the duo landed on the ground.

"Ahhh, I never get tired of the feel of wind on my face!" Skylar fist pumped as he swung his backpack around to his front, digging inside it to find his cane. When you're legally blind, carrying one around is a necessity, even if you have someone like Xatu watching out for you. "This is Pureplain City's Pokemon Laboratory, eh? Seems like a giant grey wall."

Xatu simply grabbed Skylar's head with his wing and spun him around to the other wall.

"... oh." Skylar looked up at his buddy before laughing. "20/320 strikes again! Thanks Xatu!"

"Tu," the bird pokemon called as it gave a reassuring nod. It then turned to face the lab with Skylar, who was still excited about it. With a breath of hesitation, he stepped forward, tapping the area in front of him with his cane until he arrived at the door. He knocked twice on the front door before he stood there, eagerly bouncing up and down. He looked at Xatu again. "Whaddya think Xatu? Think my first Pokemon will be cool? Dad said it was a surprise. Do you have any ideas?"

"Xatu."

"Whaaa? No way! My own Xatu? Why do I need another Xatu when I have you watching over me?!"

---

^{Pureplain City || Kalmia’s Lab || Morning}
“Morning, Professor Kalmia!” Eryn’s smile couldn’t grow brighter as she stepped into the lab, her eyes bright as they flicked around the room, eagerly taking in the workspace of a true Pokemon expert before they came to rest on Kalmia herself. Peppy and eccentric, the professor’s soaked hair only seemed to add to her approachability, and Eryn instantly pinned her as someone she could trust.

Movement from a doorway to Eryn’s right drew her eyes, and she glanced over to see a Slowpoke walking carefully—or just normally, really—towards the professor. A scuffle from above alerted her just in time to spot a Poliwag dropping down from a server box, running over and nudging her leg with a happy exclamation.

“Oh, hey there!” Dropping to a crouch, Eryn beamed at the Poliwag, holding a hand out to the Pokemon. At home, the only Pokemon she regularly interacted was the family Zigzagoon, Goonie, who’d gotten his name when “Zigzagoon” was shortened to “Goon.” Though it was sad leaving him behind, he had always been more attached to Harper, and taking along the pampered, excitable ball of fur and home that he was just didn’t feel right when becoming a Pokemon trainer meant starting on a new journey. However, despite not being brought along, Goonie remained with Eryn in her interactions with Pokemon: sniffing her hand was something he’d done religiously, as if he could relive her day through smell. Realizing that the same concept probably didn’t apply to the Poliwag, Eryn laughed a little before petting the Poliwag gently, wondering if it liked being pet.

“Does it have a name?” The Poliwag seemed used to meeting strangers, which made sense considering that it lived with a Pokemon professor. After another moment of petting and marvelling over the first of many Pokemon meetings she’d likely be having, Eryn gave the Pokemon a gentle pat and stood. “Nice meeting you, Poli. You’re absolutely adorable, if I do say so myself.”

Rejoining Kalmia, Eryn received her Pokedex and subsequent lecture detailing all its functions and uses. “No questions,” she said, turning the device over in her hands and admiring its shiny finish. Her attention snapped back up when Kalmia moved towards a nearby PC, retrieving a Pokeball and plopping it into Eryn’s hands unceremoniously. In her other hand, her new Pokedex lit up, flashing the image of an orange Pokemon.

“Arceus, a Charmander?” Eryn’s voice rose in pitch as she spoke, her eyes darting up to the professor’s for confirmation. A grin lit her face, wiping away what previous wonder and surprise might have been visible earlier. “I’m—Arceus—wow. Can I—can I let him out in here?”

After glancing at the professor for real confirmation this time, Eryn pressed the button on the Pokeball, watching in amazement as a beam of red light shot out and hit the ground, a Charmander materializing at her feet. The Pokemon glanced around before looking up and meeting her eyes, his tail flicking as he registered her.

“Dei,” Eryn said with a grin. “I’m going to call you Dei.”

“Char.” The Charmander grinned, his pointy teeth glinting under the lights as he flicked his tail again, the flame at its end glowing warmly.

Her wonder kept her quiet for another few seconds, but once that was past, Eryn was full of questions. What should she feed her Pokemon to guarantee that he had all the nutrients he needed to grow? How would she know when he was ready for his first battle? Was there an “aha” moment she should wait for, or would she just instinctively know? These questions—and more—were fueled more by excitement than anything, and once they were all answered, Eryn was rearing to get on her way.

“Route 1 and 2 are the closest routes, right? Do you have any recommendations for either?” Eryn asked. Having read up on the two prior, Eryn knew the gist of the picture: Route 1 was a better bet than 2, but 2 was the way to go if she wanted to see more kinds of Pokemon. “Could I, say, head along Route 1 a bit to train, then double back to head to Route 2?” It was an ambitious move, and she knew it, but living with a bit of reckless gusto was the only way that made sense. How else was she to improve but constantly push her boundaries? If anything, reining herself in was the real challenge, but she figured that a task for another day.

“What do you say, Dei? You up for a challenge?” Eryn asked, glancing at the Charmander despite knowing full well what his answer would be. The fire in his eyes matched her own, and she knew that she’d found a kindred spirit in her starting Pokemon.

"Char." A glint of his teeth and a flick of his tail answered her, and she grinned.

---

@PlatinumSkink

@PlatinumSkink

---

Moving through the ruins, Claire kept her hands to herself, electing not to test her luck for once as she moved through the forest. Getting injured here would be on the 'welp, I'm dead' scale of thing. Which y'know, would be bad for the long term goal of getting to the league. Still, it wasn't like she was the first to be here obviously. There wasn't much else to do, aside from admire the ancient stonework. There wasn't many items or mysteries to be had, save for some mushrooms.

"Hum," Claire knelt, picking them from the ground as Ralia poked them curiously. "Shrooms, eh?" Maybe she could sell 'em for some money? Didn't she read an article about people that collected them or something? Well, either way she had them now.

Continuing through the ruins, she was just about ready to turn back and head deeper into the forest when she nearly ran into a green pokemon. Stumbling backwards a bit, the redhead looked up at the creature. A large flower around its neck, and a pleasant, soothing smell greeted her nose and any tiredness she had was washed away instantly, the thick spores in the area seeming to have left completely. It seemed to be sleeping?

Quickly checking her pokedex, Ralia curiously looked over at the larger pokemong and began quietly approaching it. Leaving her Ralts to do as she wished for now she focused on the smaller Chikorita next to it.

"Oh my gosh you're adorable." Claire knelt on the ground, giving the grass-type a wide grin. Well, this was good! She could use a sixth pokemon, and a grass type to boot. "Hey there little guy," Claire held out a hand, a mushroom in it. "Want a mushroom?" Meanwhile, Ralia had teleported herself up to the Meganiums back.

---

Today was finally the day! Finally she was going to start on her journey, make a new friend, and she wasn't nervous at all!

She laughed lightly as she twirled her hair around her left index finger. Yeah, not nervous at all. Sure she'd lived here for, like, ever but that didn't mean this wasn't weird in the slightest. Mhmm. Maybe she should've just stayed home? But the Professor had been so kind in offering her a Pokedex and starter.... For the second time. She's managed to talk herself out of it the first time, but...

She'd been walking over to the lab before she stayed second guessing herself.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod...." she murmured before sprinting the rest of the way and practically colliding with the door to the lab and falling onto her butt forcefully.

@Rune_Alchemist

Chikorita looked up curiously at Claire as she offered the mushroom. The Leaf Pokémon inspected the mushroom briefly before taking a tiny nibble out of it. Then she looked up at Claire again, before spitting out the little bit of mushroom back onto Claire’s hand.

‘Chiko!’ Chikorita announced with a wide smile before turning and running in a circle somewhat back. Meanwhile, Ralia teleported up onto Meganium’s back… and felt a mild shudder from the creature beneath her, but otherwise no movement. Seemed like standing on the back of this green beast was safe yet.

Chikorita ran about a bit, throwing happy glances at Claire every once in a while, until-

‘Chi~!’ Chikorita spun her leaf and three Razor Leaves launched, aimed so that they barely missed Claire by her right leg, left arm and to the right of her head. Chikorita giggled a bit, facing Claire. A twig right behind her head may have been cut in two.

‘Chikorita!’ the supposedly docile Pokémon announced, looking happily and expectantly at Claire. If Claire didn’t get it, maybe Ralia did. Chikorita wanted to play~ Play with razor-sharp leaves, that is~

Ralia’s emotion-sensor detected a hint of amusement from straight below.

…

Yeahnothisthingain’tsleeping.

What would Claire and Ralia do now?

__________________________

@Dusksong

'She’s Poli. She’s the Pokémon of one of the other trainer’s I’ve sent out,' Kalmia said, coming over to pick up Poli after enough cuddling. 'I figure they’d be bored waiting inside the PC for too long, so I let them out with me. The same with any Pokémon you store in the PC!' Kalmia said with a smile before putting Poli back on top of the server. Then was the introduction to the Pokédex and all of that, Kalmia simply smiling when Dei came out and was named by the excited Eryn. Then the question of the routes.

'I’m not going to recommend either. Route 2 isn’t THAT hard, but it’s very easy to get lost in Wet Caverns if you’re not used to it. Route 1 is more straight-forward, and has a nice Minor-League Gym waiting in Highhill Town. It’s really up to you, you’re probably going to venture through most routes-' and that’s where Kalmia suddenly quieted as there was a knock on the door. Kalmia’s eyes lit up, looking over to the door behind Eryn.

'Oh! That might be one of the other new trainers!' Kalmia said, excitedly bouncing over towards the door, intending on opening it… when suddenly a heavy impact like someone was trying to break the door down resounded through it. Kalmia stopped, hesitating, her excited expression waning just slightly in confusion and unsurety, staring at the door with a couple second thoughts. Eventually she carefully brought her hands forward to push the door forward…

@Gardevoiran@Old Amsterdam

Skylar was patiently waiting for the door to open, when suddenly this girl appeared sprinting past him and colliding with the door and falling onto the ground without him being able to see what was actually happening, though Xatu definitely saw. They’re free to have their own short interaction if they so please, but a couple seconds later the door opened. First slightly carefully to just allow the one inside to peek out to assess the situation, then it swung confidently open, a woman standing just inside.

Kalmia was a decently tall woman, wearing glasses and had blonde hair tied into a ponytail, and wore casual blue clothes under a white professor-like lab-coat. Her hair was completely soaked and she had a towel around her neck for some reason. She was smiling widely, happy to see them.



'Skylar! Alice! You came at the same time? Nice! … But do be more careful what you might run into when out adventuring, Alice, there’s cliffs and such,' Kalmia warned with a happy little smile. 'Come in! Oh, and meet Eryn! She’s as new as you, and she just got her new Pokémon!' Kalmia took a step inside, waving for them to come to. 'Come in!'

The rectangular room immediately inside the door had bookshelves placed in a circle around an area in the middle, not properly taking advantage of the space in the corners. The shelves contained varying books and papers of research, as well as the occasional Pokéballs. In the back and right, a large amount of what appeared to be computer servers filled about 40% of the available space, and they were coupled to Kalmia’s laptop which stood on a desk to the left of it. Other than the laptop, there was also a large amount of papers and binders on it, making it impossible to place anything else on there.

To the right of the table was a healing station from a Pokémon Center, with places to place six Pokéballs, along with a large cylinder thing with a glass middle and a hatch that one likely were to place something moderately large within. There was nothing that said what it actually was. While it was tight in here, it was still decently maneuverable and Kalmia knew where everything she wanted was.

There was a door to the right leading to the offshoot house on the side of the lab, and from it was a pink Pokémon waddling forward at an extremely slow pace. Still. It had only gotten a couple of steps further from when Eryn came in.



In addition, on top of the servers was another Pokémon, a round tadpole-looking blue one with white stomach with swirly pattern on it.



Kalmia was walking in backwards, currently keeping an eye out to check if Skylar was able to come in successfully, and assuming he was _{given he has a whole world to travel after this} she turned around and walked with satisfaction over to the computer desk. There, she had a couple of items that she picked up, before turning around to the young ones, whatever they were doing.

'Alright. So here are the things that I wanted to distribute among you. The Pokédex, which I received from Professor Oak that I now present to you for the purpose of indexing the region of Isson. Here you go,' Kalmia said, offering Skylar and Alice one dex each.





'Oak customized yours when he heard you were blind, it can read the menu’s out loud and be commanded by voice if you wish! Here’s a manual in braille, just in case you need it!' Kalmia said to Skylar, and he was given a little book for how to handle the equipment while blind, if he needed it.

'So, you’re not the first batch of trainers I let through, but you’re all still connected, you can call them if you wish, too. Perhaps get some tips or so? Teh-heh. In any case. Since the others had a head-start, I figure I’ll get you going as quickly as possible. Now for your Pokémon,' Kalmia said, before turning and walking over to her computer and pressing a couple of buttons. Two Pokéballs were downloaded. She placed them on the table, and turned to the two.

'Alright. These two Pokéballs contain your Pokémon. The left is for Skylar, the right is for Alice. Go ahead. Let them out and say hi~'

So she did, letting them get their Pokémon.

So, with the assumption that he’d eventually go forth, Skylar found that the ball opened with a flash and a being materialized before him.



For Alice the ball waiting for her on the table, and with the assumption that she went and opened it, a flash of light came as the creature materialized in the air in front of her.



Now Kalmia let them take a moment. Maybe say hi to each other. Ask questions. Things like that.

---

^{Pureplain City || Kalmia’s Lab || Morning}
The knock presented a mystery, but a welcome one, since it was soon revealed that behind the door lay two other new trainers. The boy struck an interesting image, with the sunglasses, cane, and a Xatu beside him. The girl, on the other hand, seemed to be slightly disheveled, hinting that she was the source of the loud sound from slightly earlier. Off the top of her head, Eryn had the most questions about the Xatu, but she figured she'd save those for later.

When Professor Kalmia introduced Eryn, she flashed her brightest grin. “Hey! I got here just a bit earlier, so now you get to meet Dei, my Charmander!”

Flicking his tail, Dei sniffed.

“And, apparently he’s not a talker. Go figure.” The look Eryn shot Dei, though, betrayed her amusement; the sight of Dei putting on airs already was simply adorable. Besides, a proud Pokemon was much easier to deal with than a shy or nervous one, in her opinion, and getting annoyed at someone would be near impossible at the moment anyway, since she was still riding the high of officially starting her trainership.

The next few minutes went as it did for Eryn earlier, and she waited patiently as the professor finished her explanations. First the Pokemon—the Slowpoke still carrying on in its way—then the Pokedex, and finally the Pokeballs. When the trainers called out their Pokemon, Eryn watched with interest, the Pokedex in her hands pulling up their entries when they appeared.

“Dei, wanna say hi?” she asked, laughing when he looked away pointedly. “Well, I’m going to even if you aren’t.” After giving the trainers a moment to get acquainted with their Pokemon, she approached, bending down to wave at the new Pokemon. “Hey there! Nice to meet you two. Sorry about Dei. He’s probably just stingy about out-typed.” She straightened up. “Well, I’m not going to say your Pokemon are cooler than mine, but they’re cool. Except for your Xatu—he's definitely cooler.”

---

@Rune_Alchemist @Old Amsterdam

---

Skylar looked toward the sudden appearance of Alice and flinched, stepping back one step and holding his cane up in defense. When he heard the voice of Alice freaking out about this excursion, he sighed in relief. "Oh thank Ho-oh, you're here for Kalmia too I'm guessing." The kid offered his hand towards the voice in an attempt to help the girl up, and hopefully she would take the offer before Professor Kalmia let the two trainers in. Xatu, on the other hand, was cackling softly under his breath. Hah, she fell down.

When Kalmia showed up, Skylar smiled at her and spoke with quite a happy tone. "Hello, professor! It's so great to finally meet you in person!" The kid was practically bouncing with excitement, and he happily entered the lab with Xatu following behind him in tow. Xatu was less excited, but he was visibly happy for his pal. He was even happier when the moment came for him to receive the Pokedex.

Looking at the incredibly blurry silver device was great, and it got even better when Skylar brought it up to about three inches away from his face, where he could see the actual details of the device (though they were still\ decently blurry) and all of it's luster and greatness. Then he got the manual for it in braille and that was just icing on the cake for him. Professor Oak was really just a good guy, huh. Professor Kalmia was just as great too, if not a little better because she was here right now. Skylar tucked the journal in his bag before preparing for the moment of truth.

'Alright. These two Pokéballs contain your Pokémon. The left is for Skylar, the right is for Alice. Go ahead. Let them out and say hi~'

THIS WAS HIS MO-MENT~

Skylar stepped forward, carefully using his cane to poke around the lab floor to make sure he was walking in the right direction before he saw the little red ball just barely on the table in front of him. Without any hesitation, he grabbed the ball in his free hand and let out his first Pokemon. Both him and Xatu intently watched as Skylar's first Pokemon popped out and looked at him.

Within about two seconds of looking at him, the bird Pokemon flew right up to Skylar's head and immediately plopped itself down, ruffling up Skylar's hair and planting itself there.

"Wingull?"

"Oh Ho-oh... oh my... it's a Wingull?! Heck yeah!" Skylar fist pumped in the air before bringing his hand to the top of Wingull's little round birdy body, scratching it's back gently before looking back towards Kalmia. "Thank you so much, Professor!"

Xatu nodded in approval before he gave an assuring "Xa."

"I think I'll call you... hm..." Skylar raised the Pokedex in his hand before putting one side of his cane on his belt loop, allowing it to stay there for the moment as he gave his new friend a nickname. Let's see... what would be a good nickname for this Wingull.

Skylar calmly typed in what he thought was a good nickname before speaking it out loud. "Seabreeze, with Sea for short. How's that for a name, bud?"

"Gull!" Seems like he approves of the name.


Skylar looked at his companions before Eryn spoke up and introduced herself and her Charmander. When she brought up how her Charmander was out-typed and understandably frustrated at that, Skylar chuckled. "Me too, bud." Then she went on to toot Dei's horn about him being super cool (which he kind of was, but Seabreeze was nothing to scoff at) but she also tooted Xatu's horn, which caused the large bird to take on a proud pose with his face reddening with pride. "Heh, yeah, he's pretty great. While he might be my dad's Pokemon, he helps me see what I can't see. Speaking of that..." Skylar looked to Xatu and made a rectangle with his fingers. Within an instant, Xatu's eyes flashed white and a mental image of Skylar and Seabreeze was put in the trainer's head.

That was a moment that would last a lifetime.

Skylar smiled from ear-to-ear again as he saw it in his mind. "E-everytime you do the image thing I get a warm fuzzy feeling. Thank you, Xatu."

The larger bird simply nodded as Seabreeze looked at him and gave a birdy smile. Surprisingly, despite Skylar and Seabreeze just meeting, the two seemed to already have a good connection with each other. Maybe it was because Skylar had an affinity for birds, or maybe it was just luck. Either way, Seabreeze patted the side of Skylar's head with his wing before finding a more comfortable position on Skylar's head and staying there.

"Is it comfortable up there, Sea?" Skylar asked, his eyes barely poking over his sunglasses as he posed the question.

"Wingull!"

@PlatinumSkink

---

"Oi, hey you," Claire smirked as the mushroom was spat back into her hand. "I worked especially hard for those!" An obviously playful lie as the small pokemon started turning around and running in a circle. Well, it seemed happy so that was good. Claire cast a glance over to Ralia, but she seemed fine. The Meganium didn't seem too upset with their presence.

"Rral! Ralll!~!" Ralia began waving her arms a bit, pointing quickly over to the Chikorita. Huh? What was - a sharp leaf grazed right by her head. She was fairly certain she had just gotten a small impromptu haircut. Well fine! If this Chikorita wanted to roughhouse, she could roughhouse with the best of 'em!

"Alright ya little ankle biter." Claire grinned confidently. "Ya wanna roughhouse, well I can roughhouse with ya!" Chasing after the Chikorita, Claire made a diving tackle for the pokemon.

Ralia giggled from atop her seat, patting the Meganium on the back. Hmm, she wondered if she could get higher though...?