Thom Raiwhat?
"Yes, Mum, I am perfectly certain that I want to do this," Emiliana snapped to her mother, flicking a strand of long red hair out of her face as she adjusted her black beret, dark blue eyes gleaming with a mixture of irritation and bottled-up excitement. "We've talked about this a million times, and I've already said that I want this."
"All right, sweetie," replied Emiliana's long-suffering mother, moving forward to peck her daughter on the cheek. "If this really is what you want, then I'm not going to stop you leaving. But you can come home at any time. I'll always be here for you, and your father will be too."
"What, you mean when he isn't off being a big man in the city?" retorted Emiliana, hoisting a large black backpack onto her shoulders as she moved towards the door. "Bye, Mum. I'll see you soon."
"Bye, Emiliana," called her mother in return. "Be careful out there! I love you!"
"Yeah, love you too, Mum," came the muffled reply as Emiliana strode out of the door, moving purposefully along the road towards the research centre on the hill. Ahead of her, she could see a girl wearing a Santa hat rush out of a door, seemingly without regard for life or limb. Emiliana rolled her eyes.
That's right... Rin got her license, too... Shaking her head, Emiliana continued to move towards the research centre at her own pace. There was no way she was going to make a fool of herself just to get to the research centre before a hyperactive kid in a Santa hat, and she didn't really know what Pokemon she wanted to choose herself yet.
Anyway here's Blackwall
Steven Gott grinned as he turn off the road marked "Dogwood & Olive Research Center". It had taken him about a week to get there, but train and walking had worked out, and he was here. He idly pulled up the digital camera that hung around his neck and snapped a couple of pictures of the trees with it, nodding to himself.
"Well of course it looks familiar, they want Pokemon to be comfortable too....."
Reminded of why he was here, he turned and started down the road, heading to the lab. He thought ahead to his upcoming journey, knowing that raising Pokemon as a Trainer would be different from working on his family farm. The experience would do him good, his parents had told him, encouraging his decision. He still didn't think it had been an entirely good idea, but he didn't have any worries. Life would happen, and it would still be fun. He reviewed his plans concocted on his journey here, where he would go after this. He already knew which starter he was going to pick, having helped to breed it, but he knew that he might be late, and not be in in time for innumerable reasons. Still, another one would work just as well. Best not to make too many plans, after all.
He suddenly became aware of a girl about his age running down the road from the opposite direction he had come from. She was obviously quite excited about getting to her destination, the lab most likely. Perhaps she was also getting her Pokemon today. He grinned, and adjusted his Stetson, before waving to the girl, wondering if she could see him yet, or was even paying attention enough to notice.
Sanity not included
Near the lab, just behind and to the left was a small, pulsating black orb. Said orb wasn't a perfect sphere, more of an oval, and rested on the fingertips of a young man with black hair and green eyes. The pulsating stopped abruptly, revealing the oval to be, in fact, a hat. A trilby with a red pinstripe pattern. This would only be visible for a moment, as the hat was suddenly soaring up into the sky in part of a meticulously planned dance routine.
It's a whole new world we live in
It's a whole new way to see
It's a whole new place, with a brand new attitude
But you've still gotta catch 'em all
And be the best that you can be!
As the routine ended, he held out his hand, and his hat fell directly onto it. Holding the brim with his thumb and forefinger, he, with a sudden blur of motion, spun it exactly three times and placed it on his head.
He walked to the front of the building, preparing to see the other who gained their poke-licenses.
He didn't know which pokemon he wanted... but he hoped he had better taste in pokemon than in women.
sigh... of all the people to develop a crush on...
"Hi, Rin." he said, tipping his hat to her as he saw her approaching.
It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve.
Li'l Punk
Katrina paused just as Harissa Town came in sight. The walk—of a decent length, but when you're going to become a Trainer you have to be ready to walk—from her home in Nutmeg City had made her look somewhat disgruntled. On a normal day, Katrina couldn't care less what she looked like, but today was far from a normal day. Today was the official beginning of her career as a Pokemon Trainer. And it was important for one to look their best on one of the most important days of their life. Katrina smoothed down her plain green shirt and dusted off her jeans. She reached up, tightened the ponytail holding her rather unruly dark brown hair in place, and settled her plain gray baseball cap a little more firmly on her head. She adjusted the strap of her white messenger bag slightly, then continued walking into town.
It had taken her a little while to decide between a bag and a backpack; Katrina knew many Trainers used backpacks and wanted to follow their example, but she was very attached to her messenger bag; it had been a birthday present from her dad a few years ago, and had seen a fair bit of use. And besides, it meant all her supplies was directly at hand—her right hand, to be exact.
Immediately spotting the research center immediately, Katrina spun on her heel and walked towards it. Several other people were headed in the same direction, presumably other new Trainers getting their license and first Pokemon. The thought made her smile. She knew precisely what Pokemon she wanted, and hoped only that none of the others chose it before she got there. The possibility made her quicken her step.
Victory! Honor! Destiny! Mutton!
A somewhat lanky, black-haired, dark-eyed, tan-skinned teenager, dressed in a dark blue shirt and pants, as well as a light green jacket, baseball cap and tennis shoes, stood in front of a sign that read "Harissa Town".
He stared at his map of Spicelia and nodded. This was indeed the place where he was supposed to get his pokedex, and his starter pokemon. He had been informed he would have to get them along with every other kid who was starting on his or her journey. Apparently this is an even bigger deal here than it was in Unova. He would have preferred to have received them in private, especially since he was here in official business from Professor Juniper (Sr.) But, if there was no other choice, so be it.
He walked into town, looking for the Pokemon Lab. It didn't take him long to spot it- as well as the half dozen or so kids who were also going there, presumably for the same ceremony. And boy didn't they all look excited! He sighed, and told himself: this won't take long, soon I'll be in the wilderness by myself, collecting pokemon.
He sighed again, and headed for the group, trying to attract as little attention as possible.
edited 13th Aug '11 7:35:59 PM by Sijo
Thom Raiwhat?
Those already at the door would soon find themselves joined by Emiliana, although "joined" would probably not be the most accurate term; the girl barely spared a glance for the other aspiring Trainers, instead striding straight up to the door, ready to walk through. Quite obviously, she was not planning to make small talk with the other Trainers who would be beginning their journeys today.
They weren't important. The important thing was that she was finally getting out of this town. She'd be able to travel on her own, free from the burden of having to put up with other, immature people around her all the time... It would be pure bliss.
As for being a Trainer, Emiliana was confident that she would soon surpass the others. Knowing the people she'd grown up with, it was highly unlikely that they would provide any match for her, although naturally it would not do to be caught off-guard. Either way, she was going to excel as a Trainer, she was sure of it; a little bit of hard work and intelligent battling, and she'd become the next Champion of Spicelia.
Then she'd never have to put up with these idiots again.
Anyway here's Blackwall
Sanity not included
"Hello, Emiliana" he gave a small bow. "Nice to see you've finally deemed the mortals worthy of your attention," he chuckled.
It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve.
Thom Raiwhat?
Emiliana pivoted to stare down whoever had been so presumptuous as to speak to her so rudely.
"And what, exactly, do you mean by that?" she asked. "I'm here to get my first Pokemon, as I presume the rest of you are. This has nothing to do with anyone else at all."
Anyway here's Blackwall
Sanity not included
"Bad joke... Excruciatingly bad, in retrospect... I apologize," he ducked his head. He was serious when he'd said that it was a joke... but still, even he had to admit she wasn't exactly a "people-person".
It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve.
Johnny reached the entrance, but there was some girl -a rather pretty one, admittedly- arguing with some guy in the way.
Again, he sighed, then he moved to one side and quietly waited for a chance to go inside.
edited 14th Aug '11 5:55:42 AM by Sijo
Rin gave a friendly wave to Steven as she rushed passed, and almost collapsed to her knees when she reached the door of the lab.
"Alright, new record! Hah, hah..." She took a moment to catch her breath, before noticing that she wasn't the first there. "Aw, nuts, I wanted to be first... Um, hey Dom! And..."
Upon noticing the girl Dom was with, she suddenly launched a bone-crushing hug in her direction.
"Heeey Emi-emi-emi~! How's Harissa's little princess?"
Thom Raiwhat?
"Hmph. Well, I suppose I can accept your apology-" began Emiliana, only to have the breath crushed out of her by an overenthusiastic young Trainer.
"He-Hey! Let me go!" she demanded, shoving Rin away with an indignant scowl. "And what did you just call me? Because I'm reasonably certain that whatever that haphazard cluster of syllables you blurted out then happened to be, I don't ever want to hear it again."
Anyway here's Blackwall
Emi's shove knocked Rin onto her butt, but the overly-eager girl merely laughed it off. "Ahah, you're so silly, Emi! But that's why I loves ya, eheh."
She quickly got to her feet and dusted off the back of her shorts. "So, any idea which Pokémon you guys're gonna choose? Oh, oh, I know exactly what one I want! It's the coolest thing ever!"
“Good morning!”
The genuine mirth in the sunny little desk girl’s smile and disposition made Marcel want to pull his hat over his unwashed face that much harder than he already was. It felt way too early for sunlight beaming in his face from any source.
“Morning.” he mumbled through the cap, the sound closer to “mrrrnun” than any kind of real word. He lifted it off his face for coherence’s sake to ask, “What happened to the power and water in my room?”
That her smile never wavered as she answered mildly unnerved the boy. “Checkout’s at 10, hun. And modern conveniences our rooms check out on time rather our guests do or not~!”
“Lady,” he slurred, barely holding in a yawn, “I’ve got somewhere I need to be at….” he stopped, his eyes shot open, and in that one sobering moment all the drowsiness in him seemed to evaporate.
“Ten. Ten o’clock. Ten in the morning?”
“It‘s not ten at night, sir. Please leave your key and -”
The key was on the counter top and the boy out the door yelling “Thanks!” over his shoulder before she could even finish her sentence. 10 O’Clock. Of course. But he wasn’t about to let a week of sweat, tears, and overly friendly hotel clerks end in nothing.
As Marcel dashed down the pavement towards the lab, he pulled his rucksack off his back to rummage through a side pocket, just narrowly dodging some poor guy on a bicycle. He winced a bit when he heard him hit a brick wall face first. With the water bottle he fished out from his bag, he set about doing his morning routine mid sprint as best he could, sending one or two more pedestrians to their fates as he dived into his bag on the way: A bit of water for his hair here, a splash on his face there….
By the time he’d put his hand on the mini-tube of toothpaste in his umpteenth side pocket, he was there, just a few dozen feet from the entrance. No one outside. “Merde…” he mumbled, dashing through the entrance, water bottle and toothpaste cradled in one hand.
edited 14th Aug '11 10:26:54 AM by Hashil
WHAT HAS SCIENCE WROUGHT
Edgar and Hector, his grandfather, finally rode up to the city. They "rode" because Rapidash were in ready supply in Sarsparilla Town, and they were quite used to the comings and goings of the Hughes family. The old man in a stetson like that of his grandson threw his hat up as his shiny Rapidash whinnied as it stopped next to the lab.
"Woooah, Sapphire! Whoah!"
The rather large young man just pulled lightly on the reigns of his ride, allowing it to trot to a stop.
"We could have taken the ferry, you know."
"Oh, where's the fun in that! These old girls hardly get any good runs between shoots anyway."
...and that's terrible.
Li'l Punk
Katrina watched the others from the side, her hat brim pulled down in front of her face. The interactions of the Harissans made her feel a bit awkward, but of course they knew each other and would talk to each other. Though it didn't seem like they all necessarily liked each other.
When the most cheerful one asked what starter they all wanted, she didn't intend to answer. But after a few moments of internal debate, she said softly, "I'd like to get Charmander."
After all, Katrina reminded herself sternly, she was there to make friends.
Victory! Honor! Destiny! Mutton!
-*What's all that racket? Are those girls still arguing?* Johnny, who was standing a few feet away from the entrance, wondered, as he came out of his daydreaming about researching pokemon. He saw it was some cowboys riding on ponytas. He noticed that several other kids had by now arrived too.
-*How noisy people around these parts are* he silently complained. *When is the ceremony starting anyway?*
edited 14th Aug '11 3:28:50 PM by Sijo
Steven watched as the various other young people converged on the research lab, some passing him in their rush. He wondered why they were, after all, it wasn't like they could possibly miss out. He ambled up to the door, joining the growing crowd. He tipped his hat to the group in general, greeting them.
"Hello everyone. I trust everyone is all here for the same reason? Starter Pokemon day, and all that. I'm taking the Treecko by the way. "
He wondered if he was perhaps a bit too brusque in that declaration. But it *was* true, and he would work out a solution if a problem presented itself, so wasn't that bad....at least he thought that.
Caterina nervously walked into Harissa Town. She had heard that there was a Pokemon Research Center here, and she always wanted to be a Pokemon Trainer (Your dad was a Trainer, and that didn't help him when...), and Research Centers always have Pokemon to (His Pokemon didn't help him...) spare, its not like they would mind it if one went missing... (Nor did yours, you will always be worthless) (SHUT UP.) She saw a group of kids going towards a large building. That's probably the Research Center. They're probably getting their first Pokemon. I could sneak in with them...
edited 14th Aug '11 3:44:11 PM by deathpigeon
Thom Raiwhat?
"Well, I've looked into the matter and decided that Squirtle would make an excellent starter," Emiliana replied loftily. "Because of its shell, it has naturally superior defence, and by the time it evolves into a Blastoise, its water cannons will be powerful enough to defeat my opponents even without having to rely on those defences. Of course, all starter Pokemon are deliberately similar in terms of strength, but I feel that some have more potential than others, and I have made my decision accordingly." She smirked. "Not that I expect any of you to have understood that, of course."
Anyway here's Blackwall
Rin rushed over to Katrina and instantly wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "Oh wow, a Charmander? I was thinking about going with that one, but when I thought about it there's only one Pokémon that's perfect for me to start with!"
She quickly rummaged around in her pockets before pulling out a crumpled magazine clipping of a certain Pokémon. It looked like a squat little blue lizard with a large green bulb rooted firmly to it's back. Eagerly, she waved the clipping right in front of Katrina's face.
"Buuulbasaur~! It's so cool, and so awesome and strong and... Didya know that the former Spicelia League Champion started with one?" She clinged tight to Katrina as she bounced on the spot giddily. "I'm going to follow in her footsteps and become the new champion! Just imagine it, Pokémon Champion Rin! I'm gonna be the very best, like no-one ever was!"
"So, um, yeah. I'm Rin." she said after calming down a bit. "Who're you? Don't think I've seen you around town before."
Cat decides not to join the group as most have entered already (You're late, as always) so she goes around the building attempting to find a back way into the center.
Johnny waited until everyone had entered the building to go in himself, just in case.
He noticed one girl that didn't go in, which struck him as odd, but he wasn't going to wait anymore, so he finally went inside.
The lab wasn't much different from Professor Juniper's. He stood at the end of the group of kids, who kept yammering about which pokemon they would choose.
Growing impatient, he finally decided to speak and said, "So when does the ceremony begin? Anybody know?"
edited 14th Aug '11 4:09:21 PM by Sijo
Li'l Punk
Katrina winced a little when Rin ran over, but gave her a tentative smile anyway. She was still considering politely what starter she wanted, but evidently Rin intended to tell her whether she asked or no. Blinking and drawing back as the picture of the Pokemon was pushed into her face. Katrina had seen that Pokemon before; it was from Kanto, same as Charmander!
Indeed, seconds later her guess was confirmed, in a very... Excited way. Katrina listened patiently, looking somewhat awkward, standing rigidly with her hat brim over her face as Rin tightened her grip and jumped. So, this girl wanted to be Champion too? Well, nothing surprising about that, many people wanted to do the same.
"My name's Katrina Brown, a pleasure to meet you Rin," she said, pulling away slightly and nodding to her. "I live in Nutmeg City, a short way down the road."
Victory! Honor! Destiny! Mutton!
(Sign-up thread)
(Discussion thread)
The sun rose slowly over the Spicelia region, lazily illuminating the residences of Harissa Town as the town lazily woke up to another beautiful Spring morning. It seemed like just any other normal, typical day, but to some it was going to be the most important day of their life, for today was the day that a group of children would finally get their Pokémon licenses.
Soon, the kids would head eagerly up the path to the Dogwood & Olive Pokémon Research Center, sitted atop a small hill to the west of town. Even though it was so early, the center was already a hive of activity as the researchers prepared for the big event. Sitting atop a large table in the middle of the main lobby were fifteen red and white orbs, around the size of baseballs. Inside each one of these was a Pokémon just waiting to be chosen by one of the new trainers, Pokémon gathered from many sources, ranging from locally run Pokémon farms to other research centers, some as far away as Kanto and Johto.
"Oh, oh, I hope we have enough!" A frizzy-haired young woman fretted as she fiddled around with her glasses. "I mean, what if sixteen kids show up!? Then what'll we do!?" She anxiously paced around the table, adjusting her labcoat to try and make herself look more presentable. Unfortunately, she had already done this so much that it was already so wrinkled and crumpled to make this an impossibility, and so she eventually just left it somewhat hanging lopsidedly off her left shoulder.
"Then we'll just pull something out of the lab, Olive," came a gruff voice from the corner of the room. A tall, stick-thin man with short, neat black hair, and a neatly trimmed pencil moustache, and wearing a neat, perfectly ironed labcoat sat on a chair, absentmindedly reading the morning paper whilst not showing a single iota of the worry his colleague was. "Weve been doing this for five years, and we've never had any problems so far, have we?"
"But, but, but what if that was because the problems were all waiting for the perfect time to strike!?" Olive continued her pacing, occasionally stopping to wipe some imagined dust off the Pokéballs. "I don't see how you can be so calm in a crisis like this, Dogwood!"
Crisis? What crisis? Dogwood sighed, and merely went back to his paper. Today was going to be a looong day. It always was. He could never think of any days when he was busier than...
"The day I get my Pokémon license! Finally, it's arrived!"
Rin yelled in joy as she slammed her alarm clock, putting the incessent droning to rest and replacing it with a voice that could wake a Snorlax. "YesyesyesyesYES!" She quickly slipped out of her pajamas and into her favourite outfit. "Ah... Hat, hat, hat... What hat to wear..."
She rummaged around in her wardrobe for a suitable hat. She knew that she had to have an awesome hat. All of the best Pokémon trainers had one, after all, and she wanted to follow suit.
"Ahah! Here we go!" It was a little dusty, but it would do. It perfectly summed up her personality, as the perfect hat should do. With great enthusiasm, she pulled the out of season Santa hat over her messy hair. "Let's do this!"
With this, she ran down the stairs, greeting her parents as she gulped down her breakfast with gusto. After bidding them farewell and being wished good luck, she pulled on the backpack they'd help her pack last night and ran out the house, not really caring to look anywhere other than her destination, the research center on the hill.
Oh boy oh boy I'm gonna be the first there and get the coolest Pokémon oh yeah yeah!
edited 13th Aug '11 3:29:39 PM by Moerin