Maxwell

A Pure White Beginning [Pokémon]

Sure. If the old protagonist's name was Red, Oak's grandson should be Blue. I haven't thought much about what he'd be doing, so go wild.

A Pure White Beginning [Pokémon]

"Heh, well, who doesn't?" Jack replied, getting back up and shuffling along with the movement of the line. The door shut a second time, leaving Jack only a few feet away, sure to be let in with the next group. "Be nice, hmm? I'll keep that in mind." He didn't feel terribly convinced niceness had many combat applications, but then again, you wouldn't want your pokémon to turn out aggressive and unruly. Jack traded a glare with another boy's spearow. "I guess you need to teach pokémon to be well behaved, too, and not just to fight," he said, half to himself, as he nodded sagely.

And then the doors opened again, cutting off the conversation as professor Oak motioned for the next group to enter the lab. "Go on," he said, stifling a yawn, "we've got a lot of trainers to get to." Jack and the others filed in past the professor and entered the building, and Oak let the door fall shut.

The lab was set up in the same fashion as always, with three piles of pokéballs out on a table in the middle of the room, and a stack of pokédexes next to a large computer. Jack had seen the place on TV plenty of times; professor Oak's show had been on for years before the success of Red, and the last year's events had made the old man more famous than ever. Oak himself looked like he had been up since the crack of dawn, and given the commotion outside, he probably had.

"Well," the professor said, clearing his throat, "as you probably know, I'm professor Samuel Oak. I used to make longer introductions, but you've seen what it looks like outside." Walking over toward the table covered in pokéballs, he tapped his finger on a sign spelling out the pokémon's names. "I'm glad to see many of already have your own pokémon - we only have so many to give out, after all. If any of you don't already have one, take one of these. Otherwise, please help yourselves to a pokédex and fill out your trainer registration for the Indigo League." He yawned again, then forced a smile. "If you have any questions, I'll gladly answer them, though your pokédex knows almost as much as I do. It's quite the invention, if I do say so myself."

The way to his future thus cleared, Jack pounced on the table and snatched a ball up from the bulbasaur pile. "I've thought long and hard," he said with a flourish, letting the pokéball roll from his outstretched fingers, over his shoulders and out onto his other arm, "and though none of these are really my style..." with a twist of his elbow, he tossed the ball into the air, "I'll proudly face the fact..." he caught the pokéball in mid-air and, letting it shrink, held between his middle and index fingers in a victory sign, "that I'm a complete and utter novice, with bulbasaur!" With a grin, he reached back for a throw.

"Ahem, please take a pokédex and fill in your registration," Oak interjected, holding down the pokéball's button with a finger, "There are still many trainers waiting their turn."

"Ah hah hah, right," Jack replied sheepishly, dropping his arm. "Sure, sorry, no problem." He scratched his neck with an awkward grin, turned around stiffly on one heel, and shuffled over to the other table.

"When you're done, you can take the back door out through the paddock."

A Pure White Beginning [Pokémon]

Things are finally calming down for me, so I'll see about getting a post up today.

Edit: Well, that didn't happen. Tomorrow though, I promise.

Edit 2: Things keep getting in the way, but I'm writing the post right now.

Edit 3: Oh, and while I still remember; you don't have to follow the games too strictly when it comes to move sets, either, as long as it makes a modicum of sense. A Charizard could learn Fly, for instance. As for HM moves, their overworld applications just aren't going to count - if you have a pokémon large enough, you can ride it, whether it's flying, swimming or landbound. Battles in special terrain also go by series logic - a goldeen is useless on land, and if you toss an Onix into the ocean, it'll sink and probably drown.

Edit 4: Finally done. Anyone who feels like it is welcome take us out of the lab and onto the road to adventure.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

That's really only a semantic difference, so sure.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

I'm gonna leave this game, just to be safe. I'm getting swamped with work. If you keep my character sheet around, though, I might be able to join in a month or two (no time at all in PbP terms :P) when things clear up.

A Pure White Beginning [Pokémon]

Nah, you go ahead. I have to read two books and finish two essays by Tuesday morning.

A Pure White Beginning [Pokémon]

Anyone else wanna get in an opening post, for characterization or what not, or should I just go ahead and move things along?

A Pure White Beginning [Pokémon]

At the very least, moves from types that don't exist (metal, dark, fairy) are out.

A Pure White Beginning [Pokémon]

It was a lovely April morning, sunlight sparkling in the dew, flocks of pidgey singing in the trees, and not a cloud in the sky. Outside of the famous Professor Oak's laboratory in Pallet Town, a long line of eager children snaked its ways across the grounds. From the main entrance, the path into town was thick with kids chatting, making friends and discussing strategies. Farther back in the line, a few were praying there would still be some pokémon left by the time they made it to the doors, and here and there a few young trainers were even fighting for their place in line. Small clutches of latecomers - those who had brought their own pokémon - had given up on queuing in general, and gathered along the fences to wait out the rush in relative comfort. Some were even getting a head start on their journeys by battling each other. Then, at long last, the doors opened and professor Oak appeared in the doorway. As he cleared his throat, the crowd suddenly went silent.

"Five at a time, please," he called out, as he let in the first group of young trainers. Looking over their heads as they passed, Oak shook his head in disbelief at the crowd before he closed the door again. The trainers closest to the door could hear him mutter something about kids today as he dodged back in, leaving the crowd to resume their chatter.

"Man, I can't wait to get in there," said a spiky-haired youth, a flash of fire in his eyes as he stared at the entrance. Jack had snagged himself a good place in line, close enough to be let in with the third or fourth group, and he thanked his lucky star for that. It seemed like everyone around him already had pokémon on their own - he almost lost his place in line jumping around to pet them - but there was no way of knowing how long Oak's supplies would last. Plus, he didn't want to spend the rest of the day waiting. As a matter of fact, he didn't really want to spend another moment waiting. Desperate for a distraction, he stooped down to pet one of the closest trainers' pokémon for the umpteenth time, and tried to start up a conversation.

"Ahh, you're so lucky to have your own pokémon," he sighed, "how did you figure out how to train it? Got any tips?"

A Pure White Beginning [Pokémon]

I am writing the first IC post as we speak, in case anyone is worried. You are still welcome to establish more relationships if you want to, though. Heck, you can do it after the game begins if you like, as long as you don't contradict anything important.

EDIT: Anyone can respond to my character, ignore him, or advance the story at your leisure. You should also always feel free to write retroactively if you wish, so you don't end up forced to stand around doing nothing while the game moves on.

Oh, and just in case - I've seen a lot of Advanced games peter out and die because everyone is sitting around waiting for inspiration to strike, so they can write a massive, amazing post. It's better you post whatever you've got, and keep the game going.