[IC] Pokemon - Willow League

[Draexzhan]

Herschel and Oak didn't get to chat much before they were interrupted by a number of the new trainers.

"My, you have quite the impatient bunch on your hands, Dr. Herschel." Oak said with a laugh. "Don't mind me. I'll be around for the next few days. We're likely to bump into each other again. You take care." He smiled and waved, then turned to Treize. "You have fun on your adventure with your new friends." Folding his hands behind his back, he walked down the harbor, and vanished behind a building.

Herschel turned to the group, laughing nervously. "Eh... Well. I guess we''ll get going then?" He turned around slowly, muttering to himself, and lead the group up a hill. They passed many fancy buildings lined with white corinthian columns. "Er, um... Many of these buildings have, uh, historical significance. While many of them are probably refurbished, a few of them date back over a thousand years..." A flock of pidove scattered from the remains of a sandwich as they passed by. They arrived at a rather large plaza with a marble fountain in the middle. A figure of an Alomomola and four luvdisc spewed water from the middle of the fountain. "This... uh... is a good area to gather supplies before you are... before you leave." He gestured nervously towards the shops around the plaza, and continued walking up the street until they reached a featureless brick building. "This is the uh... Willow's Lab. He should be ready to meet you all... I think..." He opened a windowless door and ushered everyone in.

Bookshelves everywhere. Books scattered on desks, and a couple of men in labcoats rushing back and forth between them. At the far end of the room stood a man in a green sweater vest with long, golden hair.
"Ah! You've arrived!" The man said, clasping his hands together with a big grin. "Hello to you all! I welcome you to the world of Pokemon! My name is Andrew Willow, but you can call me the Pokemon Professor! I'm so glad you've come for this grand event. This... shall be history in the making. You all arrived a bit early, I need to get the pokemon ready for you all! I'll be right back! He briskly walked toward a door to the left, thanking Herschel along the way. The double hinged door flopped back and forth as it shut behind him.

[Crimson Flame]

Andre chuckled as the girl tried to act cool. He still caught the stutter when she said her name. Still, it was nice when then person actually flirts back. "Of course you are ma cherie! You have such a unique sense of style. It is so nice to see people take risks with fashion." He responded cooly, keeping a confident smirk on his face. "That will not be a problem, ma petit fleur. I have plenty more to offer besides nice words." He heard the scientist called them to go. "Oh, it seems we are finally going." He gave Abigail another kiss on the cheek. "Tres heureux Abigail! I am certain we will be speaking again soon." He finished with a wink, as he went off to follow the scientist.

As they went towards their destination, the other man gave the group a tour. They passed many fancy and old looking buildings that the guide seemed interested in, but didn't hold Andre's attention for long. He covered his mouth with his hand to hold back a yawn when Herschel talked about them. He had seen prettier architecture back in Kalos. This was nothing. They then arrived at a rather large plaza with a marble fountain in the middle. A figure of an Alomomola and four Luvdisc spewed water from the middle of the fountain. The Scientist explained this was a good place to get supplies, as he gestured nervously towards the shops around the plaza. Andre however, was more interested in looking at the fountain. He thought it was a romantic place for a date. That fountain must look wonderful at night! He thought. They continued walking up the street until they reached a featureless brick building. After explaining where they were, their guide opened a windowless door and allowed everyone in.

When they entered the building, they were surrounded by bookshelves everywhere. A few books scattered on desks, and a couple of men in labcoats rushing back and forth to get something done. They were greeted by a man who was most likely this Professor Willow person they were there to meet. He crossed his arms, while he listened to the man give a speech that Andre found rather boring. From the way he spoke, Andre could tell the Professor wrote that speech a long time ago, and memorized it. He could have at least tried harder to write something more original. Andre himself had to try very hard to not yawn in the professor's presence, and risk offending him. The star got excited though when the professor mentioned taking off to fetch the Pokemon that they would be starting their journeys with. A smile appeared on Andre's face. He was looking forward to receiving an adorable Fairy type to be his friend. One that he could groom, dress up in cute outfits, and look good alongside him in movies.

[13sparx13]

Treize mentally criticised Willow's speech, having nothing better to do. "Welcome to the world of pokémon!" That was redundant, he thought. The world they lived in had pokémon everywhere, one of the kingdoms, along with plants and- More rarely, pokémon being almost the same on a fundamental level- animals. Still, he could say what he wanted. However, when the Professor mentioned that he was going to get their new pokémon partners, Treize withdrew from his half-attentive state and suddenly was aware of his surroundings again. People were talking now, like people tended to do when left alone, and since he came back into reality, he noticed that he had to use the restroom. That was something of an advantage and disadvantage of zoning out like that. It was like blinking or breathing: You could ignore it, even forget that it was something that happened, until you thought about it. He checked his watch, and waited.

He noticed for the first time, some of the other trainers to be, not having a chance earlier due to being with Oak. One of the most notable of the aforementioned people being an almost recognizable pink clad boy who was punctuating his speech with short phrases of French and spending a considerable time near those of the opposite gender. He was sure he knew who the boy was, but after a considerable amount of wracking he couldn't link a name him. Another person that was just as noticeable was a girl bouncing, quite literally- with excitement. Her purple hair was threatening to choke her soon, never in the same place. But when he looked harder, not paying attention to what was obvious, but to the quieter, more relaxed people, he did find a few. One, a male close to his twenties, had a book in his hand, and a general aura of calm around him, extending to where the complete opposite started, around people like the girl, to be exact. Leaning against the wall, he continued looking. It wasn't like there was anything better to do until Willow came back.

[Rune_Alchemist]

Petit fleur? She honestly, really had no idea what Andre was saying, at least when he spoke French. He was probably from Kalos then since that seemed to be what he was used to speaking. She would have told him that he was pretty much speaking nonsense to her, if he hadn't run off before she could get another word in. Not to mention she was slightly paralyzed from being kissed again, and her cheeks were even redder the second time. She couldn't help but frown a little, somewhat troubled. She wasn't used to being flirted too most just either ignored her or went along with her shenanigans but didn't return the favor. Her frown eventually turned into a determined smile. She would not be out flirted by him! She wouldn't!

There was a tap at her shoulder, interrupting her train of thought.

"You're standing there like an idiot. Not that that would be hard for you. Everyone else is already leaving." Kayden said with a small smirk. Abigail turned and watched as the group of people were being led away from the docks by the Scientist.

"GAH! Kayden, why didn't you tell me sooner!" She said before running off towards the group, completely putting the incident with Andre out of her mind for now. Kayden simply followed after at a light jog.

The two eventually caught up with the group, and Abigail had forced her way to the front while dragging Kayden along with her. Kayden wasn't particularly interested in the tour, he was here for one purpose and one purpose only, to obtain a Pokemon. Abigail however, seemed to 'Ooo' And 'Ahh' at everything like a kid in a candy store. She also seemed to have to touch everything at least once. When she got to the Fountain, she loudly complained about not having brought a camera with her. Kayden simply walked along with the crowd, not listening to the tour or paying attention to it, he didn't mention she could probably buy one in one of the shops around here. No need to further excite her.

When he did start paying attention again, they had arrived in the lab and after a short speech by Willow, Kayden was getting a bit impatient. The professor shouldn't be so careless and absentminded. He should have already had the pokemon prepared to be given away. He thought as he found himself a rather comfortable seat and waited as patiently as he could. Abigail however couldn't seem to sit still and was pacing back and forth with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"I can't wait until I get my hands on a cute wittle pokemon!" She said to no one in particular as she practically jumped with excitement, her long hair almost getting tangled together in the process. "Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease have a phantump!" As she finished that sentence, she turned to Kayden, almost jumping on him in the process. She managed to contain herself though, since he would probably get angry with her. "What pokemon do you want?" She asked her brother. Truthfully, she'd be fine with any pokemon, even if she was partial to ghost or ice types.

"I'd prefer a psychic pokemon. Haven't we talked about this, for the fiftieth time this week?" He asked.

"No, only forty nine. I counted" She grinned. Kayden gave her a blank stare and went back to his book while she leaped backwards and continued to bounce about and look about the lab.

[Amaya Tamashii]

Karito...Where did you go? Why did you leave without even a goodbye or anything. Did you leave because I was holding you back? Brother...please be here...

Being part of a pair is something not everyone gets to be part of. To have a bond, deeper then the very blood running through her veins suddenly vanish in thin air within a blink of an eye. To have one's world suddenly taken away without a sign or reason. To have one's other half suddenly be non-existent, like a false reality being shattered and the one once living in it thrown into a reality that wasn't the one they knew. This was what happened to one lonely snow angel.

Amaya Yashia was her name. She wasn't the type to really do much on her own without someone telling her what to do. This 'willow league' was something she was very nervous and scared of. She didn't know anyone, the one person she depended on wasn't there to reassure her that this was going to be awesome. No, she was here on a lonely dream to find that one person again.

Amaya opened her pastel baby blue eyes, returning back to this reality. She looked towards the little window in her cabin seeing the gorgeous bright blue sea and a shoreline that was getting closer and closer. She let out a gentle sigh while looking down at her hands, seeing a picture held between her two hands. She let out another sigh while placing the picture inside the light blue messenger blue strapped diagnolly across her left shoulder to her right hip.

She looked towards her cabin door, hearing the others moving to the main deck,excited about this new league. She gently stood up and also headed out to the main deck. She moved against a wall, letting the others move ahead of her, trying hard not to get swept away by the wave of eager trainers, collectors, and more that wanted first dibs on God knows what.

Once the wave died down she followed pulling up the rear, moving over those who fell victim to the stampede. Poor unfortunate souls huh? Amaya followed the crowd silently, mostly staying near the outside and towards the back, there was no need for her to push and shove to get the best view right?

She watched the nervous looking tour guide welcome them before she followed along with group. She adjusted her big light blue bow holding up her long flowing snow whit hair that was currently in a ponytail reaching to the back of her knees.

She observed the buildings in awe, loving the architecture of her surroundings as she also made mental notes of key points of interest, like where the shops were so when they were to get started on the journey, she wouldn't get lost, hopefully.

She stopped in a lab with the others to finally see the man that started this league. The one known as professor Willow. Well, the Pokemon Professor is more what he wants to be known. He seemed whether careful and excited. She just hoped that the Pokemon she was to receive would be an ice type..that was her secret want out of all this cause she comes from a frozen region of sinnoh, an ice type would be comforting and reminds her of her home she left behind to be here.

[Joshua Tamashii]

When the group finally got moving, Joshua followed them silently, his hands in his pockets. He didn't really pay attention to Scientist as he gave them something that could loosely be called a tour. The buildings in this region were very different from the ones on the Johto region and caught his interest more then anything. He passively registered the locations of the shops, as he would likely end up visiting them to grab pokeballs, potions, maybe some repels and antidotes. He had a decent amount of cash from his last journey on him, so he could splurge a bit here.

When they finally arrived at the Professors laboratory he was somewhat unsurprised. Professor Elm was just as messy as this guy was, though probably more organized. At least when new trainers arrived he had Cyndaqui, Totodile, and Chikorita waiting for the trainer. This guy didn't have any of the pokemon ready. Still it gave him time to consider which pokemon he wanted, and therefore choose if said pokemon was there.

He had to assume each of the pokemon was capable of evolving twice, like the starters from every region. If that was the case his prefered choices where Froakie, Seedot, Larvitar, and Deino. Seedot was out of the question as a starter. It's only offensive move for a while would be bide, and that was not a very reliable move. If Seedot fainted early the move wouldn't do anything. Deino would be nice but if he came across those new Fairy-types, the little fella was pretty screwed as he was a Dark/Dragon type pokemon. Larivitar was a good choice but he preferred to get one later rather then sooner. That left Froakie, who was the most appealing one to him out of those four anyway.

Nodding to himself, Joshua looked around and examined the group, trying to spot potential allies and rivals. There was a guy who spelled out Fairy-type user and dressed in the oddest sense of fashion he ever saw... yeah not hanging out with him. There was the guy who had arrived with Professor Oak... Serious looking, probably not that social. A lot like Joshua himself then. A girl and guy duo, the girl seemingly having too much energy for her own good while the guy didn't have enough. There was a girl who had joined them just before they left. She resembled something of an angel, but Joshua didn't think much of it. There were so many others there, the more he looked, the harder it was to keep track of them all. So he just skipped the studying and waited patiently with his eyes closed.

---

Amelia watched the group as it slowly but surely grew, the trainers practically mobbing the poor scientist. She felt sorry for him but she didn't move forward to try and help him, since she herself was too scared to approach the group. When they finally began moving away she followed them at a distance and tried to keep an eye on them. Tried being the key word since she was easily distracted by their new and, in her opinion, beautiful surroundings. She had never seen anything like the buildings here and already loved them. Her sense of wonder increased further when she saw the fountain. That distracted her so much she almost lost sight of the group as they entered a building that didn't fit in with the rest.

She approached the building slowly and reached out to open the door and go inside when she remembered what was inside. Her nerves got the better of her and she back away slowly, now too scared to enter. She managed to stop herself from running away from the building and take a few deep breathes t calm herself and think. The group inside would leave eventually, so if she waited she might be able to enter after they all left. Seeing this has her best course of action she found a nearby bench and pulled out her sketchpad and a pencil. She looked around at her surroundings and upon finding something of interest, began working. Hopefully the group would leave the labs sooner rather then later.

[Chezka]

The scientist called Herschel appeared to be overwhelmed by everyone crowding around him, but at least he finally decided to get going. He nervously led the group through elegant-looking buildings, ones she had definitely read about before. She grinned to herself as she passed by a gated building lined with intricate interweaving vines. High enough that it overlooked the ocean, it was said that glimpses of the mythical Kyogre could be seen from the top floor during particularly strong storms. Cecily stopped in her tracks to admire the building for what seemed like a second, but it seemed she took longer because the group was already disappearing in the horizon. After snapping a quick picture with her Xtransceiver, she tried to run after the group, but there was an incline that slowed her down tremendously. It didn't help that the trampling from earlier made her feet ache.

Before long, Cecily had only that loud girl's voice to guide her to their destination. She followed the trails of "oohs" and “ahhs" as she walked past more buildings and shops, and found them only after they paused to look at a grandiose fountain. Her cheeks were already starting to redden, but she refused to take a break. It was a relatively short walk from the docks; it wouldn't do if she were this tired already. Repositioning the suddenly heavy satchel that hung from her shoulder, she inhaled deeply, as if storing more oxygen now would prevent her from becoming winded later, and ran to catch the tail end of the group.

It wasn't long before they arrived at a plain brick building that was bland in comparison to what they'd seen. There, they were greeted by the jovial and slightly theatrical Professor Willow, whose promise of Pokémon made her grin with uncontrollable excitement. Already a list of possible available Pokemon crossed her mind. Cecily took the chance to rest while the professor left momentarily. She plopped down next to a boy, the one who almost gave her a heart attack a while back when he wordlessly appeared behind her, and fanned her flushed cheeks with her hands. Even after minimal physical exertion, it took a moment to regulate her heart rate.

Cecily nodded and smiled at the boy affably, staying quiet so as to not disturb his reading. She subtly craned her neck to read the title of his book—it looked quite interesting—and made a mental note to drop by the bookstore later. As she looked around and waited for her breathing to return to normal, Cecily belatedly realized it was also a good chance to properly look at everyone else with her. She'd been curious for a while, but all the moving about made it hard to focus. First off, the group had grown without her realizing. There was now a girl with long white hair and a raven-haired guy who seemed to be examining the group like she was. Then there were those she recognized from the dock. She wondered why she hadn't notice tall, blonde, and pink before. His fashion sense was amazing, although it needed more flowers and—holy crap. Cecily's eyes widened when she realized who the boy was. As a Kalos native, she ought to have recognized him right away. While she spent most of her time reading, every time she did watch TV, there was always news about the Kalosian movie star. Her older sister was a really big fan as well, and she definitely had to get his autograph for her later.

[Bigg Slamm]

Apparently the old Professor wasn't who Shoto thought it was. Retracting his hand he lifted it to the back of his head scratching it with an embarrassed expression on his face. "Eh... Well. I guess we''ll get going then?" Said the scientist Hershel turning and signaling for the group to follow him. They began walking up a hill and along the way Hershel would stop to point out this building and that one. Shoto was glad they were taking some time getting to the Professor's Lab. He was actually quite nervous and was hoping he was doing his best to cover it up. He laughed at all the oohing and aahing some of the girls were making. He remembered his first vacation ever when he was six and his folks decided to go to Unova. He did the same thing when they walked downtown Castelia City. The towering skyscrapers amazed the young Shoto. He appreciated the workmanship more than anything, but nothing like gasping at every single thing around the corner. Thinking of Castelia at that moment actually made him crave a Castelia Cone. The deliciously sweet ice cream was his favorite snack in the whole world. It was then they made it to the fountain square that made him take mental note to see if any of the shops carried the treat and to of course pick up supplies.

As they left they approaching a rather dull building to be among the rest of the architecture. The scientist Hershel spoke again and mentioned the building was actually Professor Willow's lab. Shoto began to become nervous again as they walked through the doors. It all went away though as they passed the book shelves and scientists scurrying about doing what they do best. Then they finally met the Pokemon Professor himself, Andrew Willow. A quick flash of red came across Shotos face as he realized his mistake again. "How could have I mistook him for that old man before?" He questioned himself. Then the man went on iterating a speech welcoming them to "The world of Pokemon." Shoto couldn't help but chuckle at it. It reminded him of something he once heard in a video game. Afterwards, Willow excused himself to prepare the pokemon they were going to chose from. It brought Shoto back to the reality of what was really happening. He was about to go on an adventure, make new friends, and see wonderful new things. He then thought of the possibilities of his very first pokemon. Was there going to be any of his favorite poison types? He doubted there would be any of the ancient pokemon, but a young aspiring trainer can wish right?

[Draexzhan]

Willow clamped his hands together with a big smile as he looked at the collection of poke balls in front of him. Yes... He had gotten enough pokemon for this event. Enough for everyone who had just arrived, as well as some extras in the event of a few stragglers showing up. Picking up a large tote bag, he swept all the poke balls into the bag, and abruptly turned when he heard the door flop open again.
But the door hadn't budged an inch.
Willow chucked to himself. "I know you're there, friend."
Out from behind some equipment hopped a Chatot. "Friend." The pokemon said in a voice identical to Willow's.
Willow sighed. This Chatot was a pokemon who had been by Willow's side for many years. Whenever she got excited by something, she would mimic nearly everything she heard - Flawlessly, at that.
"You're excited too, Chatot... Today marks the beginning of tomorrow. I do ask that you stay back here though, so as to not confuse the new trainers."
"New trainers." She chirped in reply.
Holding the bag in one hand, Willow pushed the door open with the other, and brought the bag over to a large empty table at the back of the room. He then pulled each pokeball out, one by one, arranging them neatly on the table. As he arranged them, he spoke in a gentle, but loud voice. "Young trainers. Your adventure starts today. Please line up in a single file line to get your pokemon. There's plenty for everyone to have one. I don't want to see any pushing or shoving."

Available Pokemon

Pichu
Nidoran
Cleffa
Igglybuff
Oddish
Poliwag
Abra
Bellsprout
Magnemite
Gastly
Happiny
Horsea
Elekid
Magby
Porygon
Dratini
Togepi
Azurill
Swinub
Larvitar
Lotad
Seedot
Ralts
Slakoth
Whismur
Aron
Budew
Trapinch
Duskull
Spheal
Bagon
Beldum
Starly
Shinx
Gible
Lillipup
Tynpole
Venipede
Solosis
Gothita
Vanillish
Tynamo
Litwick
Axew
Deino
Fletchling
Honedge
Goomy

[Crimson Flame]

The Professor returned soon after he left, with a bag in tow. He pulled out several Pokeballs from the bag one by one, and arranged them neatly on an empty table. It looked like there was enough for everyone present and then some. He told everyone to line up to collect their Pokeballs.

Andre looked to the left, then to the right. Since no one else was doing it, Andre took this opportunity to step up to the table first. "Well if no one minds, I will make my selection now." He put the pink sunglasses he was wearing on top of his head in order to get a better look inside of the balls. There were so many cute Pokemon to choose from, he didn't know where to begin. Thankfully for everyone else, he didn't take very long making his choice. He spotted the perfect Pokemon right away. "I will take this one, sil vous plaît." Andre said as he took the ball off the table, and released the Pokemon inside.

In a flash of light, a small, pink creature, that was vaguely shaped like a star, emerged from the ball. It had brown ears, small black eyes, two red oval marks on it's cheeks, a hair like curl on it's forehead, and a small curly tail in the back. When it materialized into the room, the small Pokemon tilted it's head a little. "Cleffa?" The Pokemon asked in a confused tone. This was her first time being out of the ball. She had no idea who this stranger in front of her was.

Andre's eyes lit up happily when he saw the adorable Pokemon in front of him. He had seen pictures of Cleffas on TV, but he never had seen one in person. It was much cuter up close. "Oh, J'adore!" He exclaimed rather loudly as he grabbed his new Pokemon friend, and gave her a big hug. "This is even better than I thought it would be! I knew I made the right choice! C'est fantastique! You even match my outfit!"

The Fairy type Pokemon wasn't enjoying being squeezed nearly to death. "Cleffa, Cleffa!" She exclaimed in a strained voice as she wiggled her tiny arms wildly. Struggling to get free from the boy's grip, and gasping for air.

Once Andre realized his new Pokemon was in pain, he let her go. "Oh... pardonne moi." He gently put her down, as the Cleffa caught her breath. "You are one of the cutest things I have ever seen! I cannot wait to have you by my side in a film when I return to Unova. You are going to be a star! Just like me!"

[13sparx13]

Treize looked over the pokéballs, examining the resting creatures, each of the multicoloured spheres vying for his attention. One, though, stood out. A particular creature stood out to him. A starly that was rocking its ball back and forth. He reached out, sliding the ball into his hand. He spun the ball in the air above his hand, completing several rotations in the second or two before it returned to his hand, the button reverse his palm. He released the starly, extending his arm for it to land on. Looking into its eyes, he knew they shared a bond instantly. "Casey," he said. "Casey Kacem. Do you like it?" The starly, or- as it was now- Casey, gave a motion along the lines of a nod. "Shoulder," he said motioning with his free arm. She hopped where directed, rubbing her head on his. Stroking her wing, Treize walked back over to the wall.

[Rune_Alchemist]

Right after some guy she didn't know picked out Starly, Abigail had immediately stepped forward towards the poke balls lined up, not caring if she had just broken in line at all. What only seemed like seconds to most, Abigail had ran up to the pokemon she wanted. "I'll take this little cutie~" She said with a smile as she picked up a pokeball. She had a bit of a dilemma since they didn't have a Phantump or a Snorunt, or any other pokemon of those type she favored, but thankfully she was able to decide relatively quickly.

She walked away from the other poke balls to give others room to choose theirs. With a little flourish of her hand, she tossed the pokeball. In a flash of red light, a Pokemon was released from the small sphere. The Honedge, was not her first choice of pokemon, in fact, she had never considered using one before. Now that she had her hands on one though, she couldn't be more excited. She gave out a squeal of excitement as she jumped a few feet into the air.

"Awww, aren't you just the cutest little sword! I'll name you....Fi!" The Honedge though, seemed somewhat confused. This was the first time being out of its pokeball, and the first time ever interacting much with a human. It was a bit stunned and couldn't make up its mind on what it should do. This human seemed somewhat energetic to put mildly. That, and it seemed to be completely friendly towards it. Not that that was a bad thing, it was just unexpected. "I'm Abigail, and I am going to be your trainer! You're the luckiest little pokemon ever!" She giggled as she grabbed the sword pokemon by the handle.

"Why you ask? Because I, Abigail Linwood," She stood and struck a dramatic pose with the sword pokemon still in her hand, pointing it towards the ceiling. "Am going to be the champion of the Willow League!" She exclaimed rather loudly while a huge grin and a laugh almost as loud as an Explouds uproar. Abigail's enthusiasm seemed to be a bit infectious, as the Honedge let out a cry of its own, before Abigail released its handle and letting the pokemon return to floating a few inches off the ground. "I think you and I are going to get along great!" She giggled as she gave the Honedge a pat on its hilt.

---

Kayden, However, was not so quick to pick his pokemon. Deciding was a bit difficult for him. Ralts and Beldum happened to be two of his favorites, even if he wasn't that fond of Ralts' second typing. He walked up to the pokeballs, not really sure of which one he should pick.

Walking off to a less, noisy corner he released the pokemon in the pokeball. In a flash of light, A small Beldum appeared before him. The small pokemon seemed to let out a yawn. Maybe it had been sleeping. In any case, he knelt down next to the pokemon, and gave it a small pat on its head without saying anything. The Beldum seemed happy enough, and nuzzled kayden's hand with its head. "You need a name." He commented as the Beldum gave him a somewhat quizzical look. "Cobalt?"

The Beldum seemed happy enough with the name, and Kayden left it at that, going back to the chair he had previously occupied and re-opened his book. Cobalt, being slightly curious as to what he was reading, perched himself next to Kaydens shoulder.

[Jester Acharis]

The scientist guy hadn't yet answered (and quite possibly, not even noticed his presence or question from all the ruckus around them), when a yet another soul joined their not-so-merry group of trainer wannabes. Sigur didn't really pay much attention to him or his arrival before the guy addressed him, all smiles and patience, and told him they should just take it easy since they just got here. He snorted, turning around to face the newcomer with a cock of his head.

"S'cuse me, but it's you who just got here," he corrected, half annoyed and wanting to get back at the guy, half just talking shit because he was bored. And, hey, the guy was too laid back for his liking. Might as well try and see if he could get the dude riled up or taking part in a battle of wits. At least he'd have something to do while waiting, then. "The bunch of us who actually were here on time have been waiting for a good ten minutes or more for this guy to get his ass in gear."

Just then, right as Sigur finished talking and pointed a thumb at the man in question, when the guy suddenly got to doing his job and leading the assorted bunch up a hill. A bit taken aback, Sigur blinked after the man once, gaze slowly turning to look at the thumb he'd used to point. Wow. He had some freak powers in there.

Shrugging, he walked off to follow suit after the others, not sure if the guy he'd talked to earlier had answered or even heard him.

---

Some minutes later, everyone was crammed inside a dusty ol' Pokémon lab, waiting around while the professor fetched their starters or what have you. Sigur had his hands in his pockets and was sifting his weight from leg to leg every now and again, impatient and bored. He didn't particularly look forward to the adventure, but he did want to get out of the lab. It was suffocating, just like the ship had been.

And then the guy returned, with a huge variety of Pokémon in tow. Sigur raised a brow in surprise. Wow, now that was certainly now what he'd expected. That was kinda impressive, actually.

The first one to pick out their critter for the go was the pink, foreign homo. He grabbed, out of all the things possible, a freaking Cleffa and then proceeded to almost squish to death. Yeah. Great. This sure was a promising bunch of trainers alright. The guy exclaimed something about being a star, and Sigur couldn't help but let out a dry laugh at that.

The next traineer chose a Starly - because hey, who wouldn't want to carry around a small bird to shit all over your clothes all the time? And the one after that went with a Honedge, giving Sigur reason to steer clear out of her way. The sword was freaky, and Sigur couldn't get why the girl was so happy to own a cursed piece of metal. Eh. Women. Next someone chose a Beldum, and unlike the others before him, didn't get all hyped over it or launch into a giggly-rant. Well, at least someone was sensible.

Sigur looked around, realizing he was next in line. Eh, fine then, might as well. He took a lazy step closer, scratching the back of his head and grumbling to himself.

"Guess it's my turn then," he mumbled as he reached to grab the first ball he saw. He didn't particularly care what he got - wasn't like he was going to be friends with the thing anyway.

"Taking this," he stated simply a he swept the random ball from the table, tossing it in the air once as he walked away from the line and the other trainers. He turned the pokeball around in his hands once he was far enough, and then tossed it carelessly in the air.

In a flash of light, the ball opened and a small creature took form on the ground in front of him. Sigur leaned forward, just a tad curious despite himself.

And in a second, in front of him stood a...

"..."

"Iggly!" The Pokémon exclaimed happily, nuzzling against her trainer's leg. Sigur merely stood and stared, his expression indescribable, before he spun around in a flash and shouted.

"Yo, hey, prof! Is... is switching Pokémon possible?" As he spoke, he shook his leg to try and make the Igglypufff let go. "By. Any... chance?"

[Joshua Tamashii]

When the Professor finally came back out with a bunch of pokeballs, Joshua had to admit he was surprised. He had expected alot of choices but not this many. Still he couldn't help but smile slightly as he got in line with the others and waited for his turn. He watched as the odd one chose a Cleffa as his starter, which didn't really surprise Joshua and then proceeded to almost smuggle it to death. Sighing to himself as he shook his head, Joshua turned his attention to the next trainer, which happened to be the guy with Professor Oak. He chose Starly. Joshua figured that was a good choice. The Normal/Flying type pokemon native to each region tended to to very well in his opinion and were good for beginning trainers. He remembered alot of newbies having either Hoothoot or Pidgey back when he started his journey years ago. Following Oaks assistant was the energetic girl who chose a Honedge. Other then it being a Steel/Ghost type he didn't know much about it since he had spent most of his time studying Kalos' Fairy-types when he had finally gotten to studying that region. Her companion the Steel/Psychic Beldum, which he knew would grow to be a powerful opponent later on in the journey. Finally the trainer in front of him went and chose an Igglybuff... and seemed to regret it instantly, asking to switch for another pokemon. Joshua couldn't help but shake his head again as he stepped forward to select his first partner for this journey.
"I would say it's too late for you mate." He said as he examined the pokeballs" You took this process very lightly I assume and now you're regretting it. My advice would be to man up and live with the consequences... Huh, no Froakie. Oh well, I'll choose you then."

Joshua picked up the pokeball with the Pokemon he wanted inside and, with a casual toss, released said Pokemon, which was a Larvitar. The small green pokemon looked around silently before turning to Joshua and giving him a rather intense stare.
"Hey now, glaring at me won't do ya any good." Joshua said, reaching into his bag and pulling something out before kneeling down to his Pokemon's level and holding out the item: an Oran Berry he had taken from one of the ship many meals then took great care of to preserve for this moment" Tell ya what, stop glaring and you can have this. Sound like a deal?"

The Larvitar stared at him silently before walking forward to take the berry and eat it
"Larvitar!" it said happily once it was done with it's snack

"Seems you liked it. Tell you what, you can keep your name. I like it the way it is." Joshua said while patting his new partner on the head

[Chezka]

Professor Willow came back quicker than she thought he would, with a bag filled with really varied Pokémon to boot. He gestured to the pokeballs he had arranged neatly on the table and one by one, the soon-to-be trainers had lined up to grab their very first Pokémon. Slow to react, Cecily had been pushed near the end of the line. She peered curiously at each trainer as they chose their Pokémon, her eyes alight with unadulterated joy as she shared in their excitement. The first that had gone was Mr. Movie Star, and he was quick with his decision. A Cleffa. Cecily smiled, thinking they seemed to suit each other well just as Andre (the Andre Bellamy—she still couldn't wait to tell her sister all about it) happily exclaimed how the two of them matched.

A Starly was picked next, and it seemed to form an instant bond with its trainer. She wondered idly whether she'd be able to form a connection with her own Pokémon just as fast. The loud girl—she really ought to find out her name, referring to her as the ‘loud girl’ seemed sort of rude—had ran up to the table so vigorously, Cecily found herself feeling jealous. She wondered if she could share some of her vigor with her since there seemed to be enough for at least three people. In any case, Abigail Linwood (as she theatrically cried out just moments ago) had chosen a Honedge. Cecily remembered reading about it. The Sword Pokémon. It was said they were born when a spirit inhabits a sword, and that they would drain a person's energy should they ever dare to grab its hilt. But that probably was just a myth, because Abigail had clearly grabbed onto its hilt and she still had energy to spare.

Then it was that quiet book boy, who took a little longer to select his. Unlike Abigail (he seemed like the antithesis of her, honestly), he didn't make a scene, going instead to a corner to get familiar with his Beldum. Then he went back to his book, which must be really really interesting if he couldn't wait to go back to reading it even after getting his own Pokémon. Anyway, hands down her favorite part had been Mr. Grumpyface randomly choosing his. His expression was the best, especially when he was being all nonchalant just seconds before. His Igglybuff was adorable, and by the look of it, completely not what he expected. She definitely wanted to see how the dynamic between them would develop.

Cecily's turn came after the raven-haired guy who had gotten a Larvitar. Slowly and thoroughly, she inspected the remaining pokeballs. The Happiny was the first to catch her eye. She'd grown up around Chanseys and Blisseys, so she knew just how to take care of them. But then she saw the Togepi, and it instantly reminded her of her favorite fairy tale. It was about the curious girl who followed a Bunnelby down a hole and into a world with talking Pokémon. Later on, she'd come across a Togepi that had sat on the wall and talked about the most nonsensical things. When it fell, no one could put it back together again, not the Ponyta, the Rapidash, or even the mythical Keldeo.

Cecily grinned to herself and quickly reached for the Togepi's pokeball, then quickly stepped out of the others' way. Once she found a space for herself, she pressed on the trigger button on the pokeball and released her new partner. Cecily was practically oozing with giddiness as the Togepi appeared before her, as amazing as she thought it would be. "Hi there," she greeted it, bending down to extend a hand to it. "My name's Cecily."

The Togepi looked up at her, as if assessing the girl smiling like an idiot, then shook its head. It responded with the cutest "priii" she'd ever heard before slapping her hand and turning away with a huff and a scowl.

[Crimson Flame]

"Hm, I suppose I should give you a name." Andre said to his new Cleffa. He paused for a second to think of a suitable nickname. "How about... Jolie? it means pretty in my language, which is exactly what you are! How does that sound?"

The Fairy type Pokémon didn't have any problems with that, and simply nodded. "Celffa."

"It is settled then." Andre reached into his pink bag, pulled out a large red bow, and stuck on the back of Jolie the Cleffa's head. "Tres Bien!" He took the pink fairy into his arms, and gently stroked her head to observe the others. The first trainer to choose a Pokémon after him chose a Starly. Andre couldn't help but think this guy didn't have very good taste. It's not that Starly's were ugly, they were just so... common, and boring. When there are so many different Pokémon to choose from, one would think you would take this opportunity to choose something unique. He figured that was just the kind of Pokemon he liked. The star didn't think too much of it, and moved on to the next person. The next person was Abigail, who had chosen a Honedge. A Pokémon that was familiar to the Kalos native. He had been loaned a Honedge to use for a movie role once, he was playing the villain in that particular film. That thing was rather uncooperative. It wouldn't listen to any direction, and it was a nightmare to work with, but it actually made the movie better with a little improvisation on Andre's part.

After Abigail, her companion had chosen a Beldum. After acknowledging his new Pokémon's existence, he went right back to reading his book. Who does that? the star thought. This is your first Pokémon, surely that would be more interesting than some book?! After him was a grumpy looking boy. Even though Andre couldn't care less for his choice of clothes, or the messy way he kept his hair, he did have a lovely pair of earrings on. That meant he must have some taste. He had just took a random Pokémon off the table, and gotten an adorable Igglybuff. Andre would have been happy with that choice, but this guy didn't agree, and he asked if he could change his Pokémon. Andre didn't understand what the problem was. Igglybuffs were adorable, why wouldn't you be happy to receive one? If you wanted something else, maybe you should have looked at what you were taking?

A dark haired boy who had chosen a Larvitar came after him, and told the previous boy off. Andre couldn't help but giggle at the sight. Still carrying Jolie in his arms, who was smiling and waving to all the people and Pokémon in the room, he approached the two boys. "You know, I have to agree with him. Besides, I see nothing wrong with the Pokémon you chose. There was a saying I heard somewhere, I believe it was... real men wear pink? Although, if that is the case, I must be the realest man here, yes? Ohhohohoho!" He laughed, then focused his attention on the one with the Igglybuff. "By the way, I love those earrings you have. I have a pair just like them back home. Are those real diamonds? Mine are! But the rest of your... ensemble...? "He sneered as he looked him up and down. "It does not match. I suggest a makeover of both appearance and attitude, mon ami. I would be more than happy to give you one later, hm?” He then finished by giving the boy a kiss on the cheek. He knew full well a guy like him wouldn't react well to that at all, but messing with those types of people was fun! He never got why boys always got so worked up whenever another boy shows them a little affection. Must be a cultural thing.

Next, he went over to a blue haired young woman in a floral dress who had chosen a Togepi. Unlike the other guy, she had chosen hers willingly. At last, someone with taste. He also could recognize another Kalos naitive when he saw one, which would actually explain a lot. "Oh, pardonne moi, mademoiselle. You are from Kalos, yes? I can tell from the way you dress. You have good taste. My name is Andre Bellamy. But, I am sure you knew that already."

[Bigg Slamm]

Well it seemed to Shoto that everyone else had chosen their pokemon and it was his turn. He was fine being last it gave him time to delegate which pokemon he wanted. Some more obvious choices over the others, but it ultimately came down between two; the Nidoran and the Venipede. Shoto knew the Nidoran was a male by the coloration it was his favorite shade of Purple. So he knew that it would be a fierce competitor one day. However, Venipede seemed the better choice to him. The Bug second typing gave a stategic advantages to one of it more powerful weaknesses. Slowly stepping forward Shoto grabbed the ball containing the Venipede and weighed it in his hands as if to weigh the significance of his choices. He rarely did so preferring whatever higher power of chance and fate to decide for him. He stepped back from the table and dropped the ball to the floor with the usual flash of red the pokemon materialized before him crying its name, "Venipede." Shoto sat lowering himself to the floor on his knees. "Hello little one! It's nice to meet you. My name is Shoto, I'm your new trainer." He said excitedly yet calmly enough not to spook the young pokemon. "I suppose I should name you now? Let us see...how about Crawler?" Shoto asked with his hand outstretched palm down towards the Centipede Pokemon. It cautiously sniffed the air around Shoto's hand with its feelers then closed the gap nuzzling its head into his palm, "Pede." "Great. Welcome aboard." Said with a smile that turned to giggles as the bug pokemon crawled up his arm and proceeded to do laps around his waist before finally settling atop Shoto's head.

Now with introductions made Shoto stood back to analyze the others' choices. The first boy, who seemed to be obsessed with the color pink, chose a Cleffa. "Big surprise." Shoto said sarcastically in his mind. In truth though it was a good choice although he did have a slight advantage over fairy types. Next came the boy who was with the man Shoto thought was Willow. That memory flashed his face red for a moment. The boy had chose a Starly. Good choice. Shoto would have to watch out for that one. Flying and bug types don't mix to well. Next came the girl with the loveliest shade of purple hair Shoto had ever seen. She chose the Honedge and by the following showmanship it was a fitting one. A daring pokemon for a daring girl. Following her was the book boy. He seemed to share some of the girls features. Shoto could see how they might be related. He had chose a Beldum. Shoto's first thought was, "Steel types must run in the family." Shoto couldn't help but laugh out loud at the guy who randomly chose an Igglybuff. Just as quickly did he pick it up did he want to return it, but it was to late for him as the little pink ball of fluff seemed already pretty attached to him. Next was a boy clad in all black. He had chose Larvitar which at first shunned him, but was quickly persuaded with a berry. "Smart guy." Shoto thought. Prior to Shoto choosing his pokemon was the fair skinned pale eyed girl. The something about her made Shoto want to give her a bowl of his award winning noodle soup. Her Togepi seemed to shun her too. Poor girl.

[Soulserenity20]

Lumen had been thinking about this day almost constantly in the weeks leading up to it. She was nervous, she was excited, she was scared, she was hopeful. She had almost decided to give up on the adventure all together when her mother started tearing up as she packed her final belongings, but her father had convinced her that a few tears meant nothing more than to display the love her mother had for her and how much she wanted to see her go far in life. Lumen's father had always been very supportive of whatever she had chosen to do in life, whereas her mother had always taken the stand of "My baby belongs here with me, where I know she's safe." And yet some how, here she was in Vermillion, looking up at a great vessel from the port. She took a deep breath and stepped up onto the loading ramp, presenting her pass and waving a fond farewell to her beloved charizard who would not be accompanying her this time.

~~~

Lumen kept to herself for most the trip, writing in her journal about her thoughts about the new land she sailed towards. When the notification of their arrival sounded, a pit of anxiety formed in Lumen's gut; it had been a long time since she had gone anywhere without her pokemon team, this would be an interesting experience, but a good one she hoped.

As the passengers made their way off the great vessel the black haired girl took note of potential fellow trainers, enjoying the variety she observed. The way some of them dressed made her giggle quietly, the diversity of the regions of the world showed in the behaviors and styles of those around her. The Willow League must be something special to have drawn in such a wide variety of people from all corners of the globe. As they made their way down the ramp, Lumen distanced herself from the group a bit. She didn't want any attention placed on her at this point in time, but rather wished to observe, there would be many impressive pokemon to be seen in this land, she could feel it. When they were met by a rather interesting scientist, she wondered if he was going to be okay. He seemed quite upset at the situation and his cheeks were turning all kinds of pink from being flustered. It was understandable, a group of diverse, young, wild trainers like this couldn't have been easy to face. But he handled it the best he could and led the group through the city into a wonderfully cramped pokemon labs with books of all kinds lining timeless shelves.

It was there that they met the Pokemon Professor Willow. He was handsome, to say the least, with a charming personality and blonde locks that seemed to flawlessly accent his personality and each movement he made. The group was presented with a pile of pokeballs, each containing their soon-to-be partners. After hearing what kinds of pokemon were in the white and red capsules, Lumen knew immediately which one she would choose. When it came to be her turn, the slender girl walked up to the table and selected a shining pokeball with a precious eevee in it.

"Yes, this must be some kind of fate, we couldn't be a more perfect pair little eevee." Upon release, she laid her eyes on a beautiful female eevee, with shining brown eyes and a well groomed coat. It's size was average, its build was slender but muscular, and its appendages were perfectly proportionate. She was impressed at the quality of pokemon the professor had provided, quite impressed indeed. "We're going to be goo friends little one. Now, what would you like to be called?" The eevee leaped up into her arms and let out a charming little squeal. "Oh? Is that so? You'd like to be called Serenity? Well, I think that's a lovely name." She chuckled at the bonding experienced and lovingly stroked the tuft of chest fur on her new friend.

[marcopolonian]

As they followed a socially-inept scientist up a hill to meet a businessman impersonating a professor, the crowd hadn't even noticed Mariana Silva Camilo Coelho. Somehow, in this crowd of dull plebeians, no one had noticed the girl in her jewel-adorned, stupidly-expensive outfit.

Well, it was designed not to attract attention. And she was almost the shortest person there, and as such was purposely hanging a bit behind to avoid suffocating.

And as she realized, she actually was drawing a couple stares. Then again, by "no one", she of course meant "no one important".

Well, "relatively important".

OK, that's enough correcting myself for now, Mariana thought. She set her mind to the reason she came here, or rather (as she chided herself for correcting herself yet again), the reason she gave her parents to come here.

Supposedly, she, like this herd of commoners, had come to go on a Pokemon journey. First, they (untrained children, weary from travel) would be given a starter Pokemon. They would venture out into an unfamiliar wilderness far from home, train these Pokemon to capture wild Pokemon (and then train those Pokemon to capture other Pokemon, and so on. So Pokemon training is basically investment). Eventually they'd take part in a tournament to determine positions this "Professor Willow" was too cheap to find hired professionals for, as well as the champion. Then (she guessed) they'd do what they could've also done in, say, Kalos or Kanto, and take on the people they'd just lost to, and ultimately fail to beat the Pokemon League Champion.

The more Mariana thought about it, the more it seemed like volunteer work (setting up the Pokemon League, gaining nothing substantial/at all).

It puzzled her, why the opening of a new League was so entertaining a prospect to so many (her parents included), but the fact was that a new league in Saro would draw many people towards the region whether she understood why or not. And in fact, this was the actual reason she had come.

The Coelho family business, the Unicim Conglomerate, had already been eyeing the region with envy for a while, as rumors of legendary Pokemon had already made it a somewhat-popular tourist spot. But the D.E.P.T.H. corporation, owned by the Willow family, already had dominance over the island (understandable, as it was where their headquarters were), and undermining their control would cost more than it was worth.

But in a shortsighted attempt to draw more buyers onto the island and into D.E.P.T.H.'s grasp, Andrew Willow chose to have an entire new Pokemon League built in the Saro region. At first glance, it would seem like a good plan, but now Unicim was in prime position to strike.

Perhaps once this was over, D.E.P.T.H. would be so weakened that Unicim could simply acquire them in a friendly takeover. Mariana giggled at the thought, before forcing herself to return to her usual, false neutral-smile.

In the end, all she really came to Saro for was to set the foundation for such an event. Sabotaging D.E.P.T.H. operations would be simple, given the location of their headquarters, and her own, innate charisma.

Her only worry was that some other corporations might have had the exact same idea. Indeed, an international, free and all-expenses-paid trip to where your headquarters are is just a neon sign saying "Hit me, corporate spies!", in Mariana's opinion (herself being a perfect example).

These corporate spies could be anyone. It could be the Andre Bellamy impersonator. The person of unspecified gender. Professor Oak's lackey. Maybe even the tiny, pre-teen girl!

Mariana chuckled again at her own joke. No, no, no. Of everyone here, she's by far the least likely to be associated with any company, she guessed.

This girl was the only person shorter than Mariana in this crowd. Well, per se. The girl wasn't so much "in this crowd" as she was "following this crowd", and at an even greater distance than Mariana was. So Mariana couldn't help but wonder what reason she had to do so. Even if like me she doesn't want to suffocate, there's no reason to follow that far behind.

Eventually the crowd arrived at Willow's supposed Lab. The dullest, least aesthetic building in sight is Willow's lab? Color me surprised, Mariana scoffed. There was a windowless door leading into the building, matching the dull and uncreative tone the rest of the building conveyed. Reluctantly she entered behind the rest of the crowd, dreading being around so many.

And there he was, the soon-to-be bringer of his own family business's demise. He... seemed quite kind, and impeccably-dressed, actually. Come to think of it, from the point of view of anyone else in this building, an internationally-available, all-expenses-paid trip here was incredibly, absurdly generous of him. He seemed to almost emit an aura that shouted, "Welcome!"

Disliking him for the heinous crime of being a competitor, Mariana nevertheless respected the man's dedication to faking amicability, a dedication she shared.

It was difficult, even for her, to hate him in his presence, even when he used the same, tired speech every professor uses, told the crowd "I welcome you to the world of Pokemon" as if they were all newborns, and then made them wait even longer for their starter Pokemon, needing to go into another room to get them. Soon he wheeled them out and asked everyone to get into a single-file line.

When it was Mariana's turn, she did a quick glance over the selection. There were significantly less Pokeballs than there had been when Willow brought them out, as she was near the end of the line and most of the crowd had already picked.

Among the remaining Pokemon, though, there was one that it shocked her to see. In her limited knowledge of Pokemon, even she knew that Dratini was quite rare and would eventually become very powerful, so she was surprised that no one had taken the dragon-to-be yet. So she grabbed the Pokeball and walked away quickly to a corner of the room. She then peered into the Pokeball. Inside was a sleeping dragon.

It seemed the popular thing to do after picking a Pokemon was sending the new Pokemon out and nicknaming it. The room was stuffed already, though; her chosen Pokemon was the largest of the bunch, and she was wary of indirectly causing property damage. So, she resigned herself to waiting until she was outside to send the Dratini out. Despite herself, she actually felt disappointed.

She now needed to pick a nickname. What would be a suitable name for a Dratini? This Pokemon was to be her main protector on this perilous journey. Her first and best Pokemon, a pirate's first mate, the king's best and most trusted of knights.

"Lancelot," she said to the closed ball. "His name will be Lancelot." Inside the ball, Lancelot... well, seemed to react. It was hard to tell.

She took a moment to contemplate this new addition to her life. A couple moments, actually.

A few seconds later, when her cheek muscles begin to ache did she realize she was just standing there, grinning like an idiot. Worse, grinning like one of them. In clear sight of them! Oh God! She hurriedly wiped all emotion off of her face and reset it back to the default state of "diplomatic, false half-smile". At the same time, she made sure to reinforce in her own mind how she disliked everything having to do with these peasants. She wasn't one of them. She wasn't one of them!

In a few moments her mind reached status quo again. Relieved, Mariana cleared any leftover scraps of emotion from her thought process, focusing on her next task. Quietly clearing her throat, she placed Lancelot's Pokeball into her pocket, made herself presentable, smiling a half-smile and subtly keeping her head tilted back, and walked to Professor Willow.

Offering a handshake, in as amiable and pleasant a voice as she could muster, she exclaimed, "Bom dia, Professor Willow. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

[Rune_Alchemist]

Kayden was reading quietly as Cobalt floated a few inches above his shoulder. The little beldum cast glances at Kayden every once in a while, the poor thing didn't seem to know what to do. It saw how all the other pokemon were being treated by their trainers and it had to wonder if there was something his trainer didn't like about him. Did he want a different pokemon? Did his trainer think he was weak? All of these questions went through the Beldums head. Kayden didn't think he was weak at all, in truth. In fact, Beldum was one of his favorite pokemon, but affection was not something he was good at doing.

Kayden cast a glance at the Beldum, and frowned. What should he do? Should he play with it? Maybe it was hungry and it would like a poke puff or something. Kayden was, for a rare time, at a loss. He had never desired a pokemon before. He'd rather study them or read about them. The book he was reading right now was about various different pokemon biology. He was a scholar, or scientist. Not a battler. He gave a heavy sigh and closed the book. He gave Cobalt a pat on the head as he stood. The Beldum seemed a bit surprised at the gesture first but then let out a cry of pleasure, before seeming to shyly try to hide the fact that it did so. Kayden simply chuckled.

"You know what little guy? I don't know the first thing about raising pokemon. Never tried it before, never wanted to." He said with a small smile. "So why don't we try to learn together, eh little guy?" He said, grinning at the beldum and giving the pokemon a rare change of his facial expression. Cobalt was obviously happy at this statement "Beldum!" it simply said, before floating up to Kayden's face and giving his cheek a nuzzle with its head. Kayden smiled at the pokemons energy, despite trying to maintain his neutral expression. "Lets go see what pokemon some of the other people got, yeah?" He wasn't one to normally start up a conversation, but he might as well see what everyone else was up to. Maybe he could learn how to be a better trainer if he watched the others.

---

Meanwhile Abigial was busy showering Fi with affection, or rather, she tried to. Apparently the pokemon did fancy being crushed against her chest in a hug of death. Fi managed to get itself out of her arms with a rather displeased look at her. Abigail couldn't take the hint though, and proceeded to literally drag Fi by her handle and show her to the various other trainers. After wondering around for a bit, she eventually spotted Andre in the crowd with some other girl with a Togepi. Deciding that talking with someone she at least new a little would be a nice change of pace, she hurried over.

"Andre!" She shouted while running over to the boy. "Hehe, you chose Cleffa right?" she asked as she finally caught up to him, somewhat rudely interrupting any conversation they would be having. "This little cutie is Fi." She said proudly as she pointed to the Honedge, who was giving Abigail an evil eye after being dragged all over the lab. While the steel-ghost type pokemon had nothing against Abigail, but she should calm down a bit and act a little more polite and lady like.