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Excitement had gradually changed into nervous energy the closer Cal got to receiving his first Pokemon. His father had come with him, reasoning that any independent journey should come
after Cal had a Pokemon of his own, not before. His mother had wanted to come as well, but one of them had to stay and tend to the garden. Even with the presence of his father, Cal was starting to get nervous. There were so many different kinds of Pokemon, each one with different habits, different needs. Was he really mature enough to take care of them? What if he messed up? What if he
embarrassed himself in front of
THE Professor Oak!? Fortunately, Cal's father was used to calming him down, having been doing so for years now. So his father made sure they arrived in Pallet Town early, and spent the morning with Cal, taking a look at the plant life growing around the town while enjoying sandwiches they had packed. Mundane as it were, it was a familiar routine that helped ground Cal enough that by the time he arrived at the lab, (alone, his father was very insistent he ought to do this himself) his nervousness had reverted back to excitement.. Mostly, at least.
Similar to Amy, Cal was let down by Professor Oak's absence. He had really wanted to meet the Professor and pick his brain, but Professor Ivy was just as much a professor as Oak was! She was just less familiar than the older Professor, who's radio show Cal had tuned into countless times. Cal squeaks out a timid hello at a very low volume, nearly inaudible under the background noise of assistances scrambling and machines running.
"Uh, I'm Cal. N-Nice to meet everybody." As they move through the Lab, Cal hurriedly tries to etch each assistant's name into his mind, as there were few things more emotionally devastating to him than a minor social mistake, such as forgetting someone's name.
Once they came to a stop in the larger room, Cal's nerves seemed to return full force, as all his prior concerns came right back into his head. But regardless, he shakily steps up to take one of the TOF kits. Taking the time to set down his backpack, open it up, and reorganize it to fit the new belongings. He was pretty particular with how his pack was organized, so by the time he was done, the first starter had already been chosen. Cal was relieved all of the Pokemon seemed beginner friendly. He'd have no idea, for instance, how to tell if a Grimer was healthy or sick. Once Amy chose her first Pokemon and stepped back, Cal stepped forward.
Every Pokemon present seemed so exciting! It was hard to choose! Each one was fascinating, but Cal knew the moment he saw them which he'd want.
"..Yeah. I'll go with Bulbasaur." Cal says firmly. Similar to Charmander, it was easy to find any signs of poor health. From Professor Oak's radio show Cal had heard that so long as you monitored the bulb, you'd have a decent idea of Bulbasaur's health. Which eased the number one concern Cal had, which was the fear that he'd fail to care for his Pokemon well enough. Less logically, Cal also simply liked Bulbasaur.
Cal takes ahold of the Pokeball, and steps back into the line, listening intently as the ceremony continued. But the whole way through, the Pokeball felt extremely present in his mind. He just couldn't wait to meet his new friend! So once it concluded, Cal went to speak. Hesitating slightly- which lead to Amy speaking up first. And she asked some really important questions that had slipped Cal's mind, so he was glad she spoke first.
After she finished speaking, Cal chimes in.
"Um, those are really good questions, so I'd like to know all of that too. But I was also wondering.. Would it be alright to send out our Pokemon inside the lab? I'd really like to meet mine."
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