Fandom Pokémon Redwood (Reboot)

[Vorpal Chandelier]

• Story Information
• Custom Lore
• Letter From Prof. Redwood
• Character submission

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  Basic Information and Character Concepts
  
  The primary story in pokémon Redwood is woven with the expectation all of the games set before us: You are a new pokémon trainer setting out with your very first pokémon to either aid in pokémon research or become pokémon league champion. Despite this, your story is your own, and you can play just about any role, including someone who chooses not to have pokémon or pokémon themselves! Nothing is preventing you from having an entirely different story taking place in this RP along side the one I intend to write here.
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  For new trainers: You are a brand new trainer. You may be given pokémon purchased by your parents, or a set of balls expected to catch your own starter, or you may have been one of the trainers who received an invitation to learn to become a pokémon trainer from Redwood Breeding Center and Labs. Either way you must attend a seminar at the nearest approved center to obtain your license. If you graduate the course provided, you will be awarded petty cash as well as a starting pokémon of your choice from a set of pokémon provided by the facility. Whatever your character's backstory, you must be at least 13 years old, and to follow the story provided by the GM either currently living or arriving in the starting town of Hueville, which is where the seminar in this story will take place. If choosing the "Redwood Path", there will be periodic posts from the GM of NPC accounts that may be relevant, so if posting before the seminar's post, your first posts might begin just before you receive the welcome letter, and could end at you entering the Academy to attend orientation although the choice is yours. This is by no means a restriction, so feel free to post as much backstory as you like leading up to the event, or come up an alternative that works for you.
  
  You are not limited to being a teenager, but should have a reason for not becoming a trainer earlier in life since most, if not all children would have been invited to attend the seminar around age 13. This game's setting is more mature than Pokémon's typical settings, and may sometimes get dark or more adult themed, but content should still remain appropriate for a teen audience and not be too graphic or explicit in details, although implications of horrible things are fine.
  
  If not following "the redwood path" you can start your journey pretty much however you like, just keep in mind that important figures such as gym leaders and pokémon officials are typically going to be controlled by me and require an interaction, and that new trainers not attending a seminar to obtain their license may have to find an alternative (such as applying online) to avoid skirting the law. You... wouldn't do that would you? The freedom is yours to do as you like!
  
  For older/established trainers: As with everything else the sky is the limit here. As an adult or established trainer you'll be able to meaningfully interact with the story provided or make your own story just as any other character would, the only real restriction is where it might conflict with lore or established story plans. Feel free to run your concept by me if you have a concern, you can be anything from your average Joe trainer doing his own thing, another trainer's relative, a detective, and so forth. You could even be a gym leader or pokémon scientist! Just be sure that if your character seems like they could be important in some way, or that they could alter the story (like if you were a gym leader) that you run your concept by me so I can account for it in the setting and story.
  
  For Pokémon: The easiest way to adopt a pokémon role is to claim one of your trainer's pokémon as a secondary character, or another player's pokémon as your character, but those aren't your only options. You can play a wild pokémon living in one of the areas mapped out in Orbos, or a pokémon from a pokémon settlement like in a mystery dungeon games. You can even play a pokémon who was once human, such as a kadabra who was once a human with psychic potential. Whatever you choose I only ask that you run your concept by me so that I can integrate your idea into the lore somehow. For instance, the kadabra in the example can't talk, even though he might know English and is a psychic type, but that doesn't mean he can't find other ways to communicate or fit your concept, furthermore I don't have any pokémon settlements planned myself, so I would need to account for where it could be and other considerations.
  
  
  
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  RP Setting Lore
  
  In the interest of smooth role playing I'd like to define some things in the setting of the RP that may help with some inconsistencies or mysteries in the pokémon game, and how it relates to behaviors one might have that one can't take in an actual pokémon video game. If there's anything you think of that you would like addressed that I didn't cover, feel free to bring it to my attention and I'll update this section as needed.​
  Pokémon Laws and Policies:
  Humans cannot fight in pokémon battles.
  Pokémon cannot be used to attack or assault humans, doing so could land you in court and possibly prison if not done in self defense (exceptions granted to law enforcement or military for obvious reasons, these are professionals trained to use pokémon against criminals and threats to the country)
  HMs (outside of battle) and using pokémon for transportation or work require a permit, which are obtained at police departments through proper paperwork, testing, and a $500 fee (as well as the appropriate number of badges in the case of HMs). Riding pokémon on land in general is not considered dangerous enough to require a badge, but using them for labor generally is because they would typically use their moves outside of battle to do so.
  Exceptions to this rule are as follows: The moves Flash, Teleport and Dig are (for some reason) not considered dangerous and do not require a permit as long as they are used to take you through a dangerous place inhabited by pokémon (such as a cave), or in the case of teleport to the most recently visited pokémon healer. Chansey's healing/feeding moves are also an exception to this rule, which extends to laws regarding pokémon being used as food sources (so long as you don't sell the food stuffs to others).
  It is illegal to hunt pokémon for food or sport. This policy extends to their eggs as well, as pokémon eggs (when not being processed by authorized personnel) are treated as pokémon. When surviving in the wild such as camping, or long travel it is recommended to bring food or forage for berries. Food industry workers, grocers, and ranchers all require permits in order to process pokémon into food stuffs. Hunting normal animals is legal with the proper documentation.
  Pokémon battles must be agreed upon by all parties involved in order to be legal. losing parties are required to pay $50 to winning parties. If any party has less than $50, this must be made clear before the battle begins so that all parties are aware payment will not be given, or will be given in an amount of less than $50 if that party loses. Battles that arrange other forms of payment or lack of payment whatsoever from the losing party may be considered legal so long as all parties involved in the battle agree, but should any battle take place where form of payment could not be agreed upon by all parties, no payment will be given to any party. Any trainer has the right to dispute the validity of any battle through proper court processing (such as someone forced to defend themselves from someone trying to force a battle on them to extort them for something when they do not have prize money).
  No trainer can carry more than 6 pokémon with them at any time.
  Pokémon must stay inside their pokéballs upon request when deemed necessary (such as by rules of a personal residence, code or law in certain neighborhoods/cities, or a business' policy). trainers with pokémon outside their ball must show proof of ownership when asked, and will always be given a verbal warning when caught "breaking" this law, as policies differ from place to place.
  It is illegal to attempt to capture pokémon owned by another trainer, and illegal to capture pokémon in sanctuaries or privately owned land without written consent or an official permit by the owner and/or officials in charge of said property/sanctuary.
  Law enforcement or emergency response personnel may deputize trainers at their discretion should the personnel deem a situation necessary. This action defers responsibility from the participating trainer, to the official who made the call, and covers any actions the trainer may take until the corresponding situation has come to a close, or the official revokes this privilege. If this should happen, it should be reiterated that it is the official, not the trainer who is responsible for filing the proper paperwork and appearing in court to address the use of otherwise unlawful actions and methods during the situation. Trainers always have a right to refuse being deputized as well as refusing to act or participate if this should occur.
  Sometimes poke`balls are found with older pokémon storage software loaded. It is considered illegal to use such pokéballs until their software has been updated, as otherwise they can be used to capture pokémon that belong to other trainers, or illegally carry more than six pokémon among your team. Poke`ball software updates are available to be done for free at any poke`mart, pokémon center, or lab. They can also be done automatically, and without assistance by placing the pokéball into Pokémon Storage compatible PCs that are connected to an internet source.
  Although many trainers of the pokémon world are still considered children, in many ways they are also considered adults. Most of the time trainers are still not considered adults by law, but they will still be treated like adults and given adult consequences to their actions. therefore a 14 year old pokémon trainer won't be allowed into a local strip club or bar, or be able to purchase a property on their own, but as responsible trainers with their own income there are systems in place that allow you to take on adult responsibilities. most of the time if these are signed up for they are done so when applying for your trainer card, and you essentially become emancipated and an adult when it comes to finances and things. trainers who go through this process for "early adulthood responsibility" typically have a mark on their trainer card indicating such.
  
  Pokémon Technology:
  When a pokémon trainer is issued a trainer card, they are issued a trainer identification number as well. This number allows the trainer to be identified and properly file official paperwork, as well as interact with pokémon capture and storage technology. When a poke`ball is purchased, the merchant registers the poke`ball with the customer's trainer ID (provided by the trainer). When a pokéball successfully captures a pokémon, it automatically stores the pokémon's information within the poke`ball and storage system, and assigns the trainer's Trainer ID to the pokémon. Modern poke`balls can automatically communicate trainer ID, trainer inventory, and trainer storage information upon use. This also allows pokéballs to release a pokémon and self destruct when a trainer attempts to capture another trainer's pokémon, or teleport into the PC's storage facility when a trainer has 6 pokémon in his possession. A trainer with a compatible pokégear can even set their poke`ball to open a menu upon the capture of a new pokémon, and choose another pokémon to send to the PC instead, allowing the freshly captured pokémon to enter their party.
  
  Pokéballs can also be altered by the pokéball owner's pokégear, or a PC storage system in the following ways: If a poke`ball is empty, a new trainer ID can be assigned to the pokéball so that the pokéball can be given away as a gift. If the poke`ball is not empty, trainers can digitally sign a document stating that they are gifting or trading their poke`mon. In this situation, the trainer must enter the receiving or trading trainer's trainer ID, confirm the ID, confirm the choice to gift or trade the pokémon, then wait until the receiving trainer is contacted via official notification on their trainer profile page on either their pokégear or PC system. If receiving a trade or gift an alert will automatically pop up on your poke`gear or PC system upon logging in (or immediately with a notification in the case of a pokégear, which is typically actively logged in to the owner's trainer profile) which will display a confirmation request for the trade or gift. This request will also require entry and confirmation of original trainer, or OT's Trainer ID, and final confirmation of acceptance. When a trade or gift is completed, the OT's Trainer ID will still be replaced with the new trainer's Trainer ID, and the OT's ID will be displayed in the OT entry of the pokémon's statistics page. The OT's ID will no longer correspond with the pokéball's capture or transfer technology, but will be stored for record keeping purposes within all other systems.
  
  Pokégears can also be used to give your pokémon a nickname, but an official name rater must be used in order to change this nickname in the pokémon systems later on. This is intended to prevent trainers from accidentally confusing their pokémon by continuously changing their nickname, but name rater's seldom enforce limited changes to the name. It is however enforced that names cannot be changed on traded pokémon, as this will almost certainly confuse them.
  
  Pokémon capture and transfer technology is a safely guarded secret known only to professionals in the industry who are sworn to secrecy by various governments in the pokémon world to keep technology from becoming a tool to make crime easier (such as with Team Snagem's snag machine).
  
  Money in the pokémon world is primarily credit these days, at least in orbos, and is typically kept track of via pokégear technology. Cash is still widly used and accepted as well, but the pokégear has the ability to keep track of and transfer funds automatically when participating in pokemon battles. In order to deposit cash into your account, you simply need use the PC system's ATM function, or visit a pokémart employee.
  
  Pokémon Culture (for characters who are pokémon): Although pokémon make different sounds and "speak" differently, they somehow share a common language and have the ability to understand each other. Most wild pokémon behave exactly as animals would, and are no more intelligent than an animal might be, and convey their thoughts and emotions simply with "broken speech" or actions, like a caveman in an old movie might. More intellectual poke`mon (including those who's entries say they are essentially "people smart"), trained pokémon, and other exceptions to the rule typically understand human speech, regardless of the language. Pokémon also don't generally use names, but have the ability to somehow (possibly through context clues or other methods) identify each other as separate individuals despite all typically going by their species name. This choice of lore is in reference to games like mystery dungeon, where you can choose to nickname yourself and your partner, but other characters are usually just "Gengar" or "Keckleon", as well as a reference to the fact that in core games most NPCs don't bother nicknaming their pokémon either. Those who do choose a name typically do so because of cultural differences (such as a domesticated pokémon) or as a means to stand out in the crowd or feel special. Using this information as a base line, you are free to mold your pokémon's culture and personality to suit your needs.
  
  
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  Dear Candidate,
  
  
  Welcome to the world of Pokémon! My name is Professor Finbar Redwood, and if you're receiving this letter it means you have been selected to attend Redwood's Pokémon Trainer instruction course. Along with this letter of congratulation, you should have received a Trainer Card Application, as well as a legal waiver for your parents to sign. Remember, as big of a part of our world as pokémon may be, they're still powerful magical creatures and you and your parents must agree to the risks associated with pokémon rearing. More details will follow in class orientation, so good luck and have a wonderful day!
  
  

  Reach for the stars,
  Professor Finbar Redwood
  
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  This section will be used to suggest a format for character submissions. Suggested format is the following:
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  Character Name:
  Character Age:
  Character Sex:
  About: (use this section to describe your character and brief backstory should you wish to avoid placing backstory in your first post)
  Attributes: Strength, Reflex, Fortitude, Intelligence, Wits, & social. assign the following numbers to your attributes based on your character's strengths and weaknesses: 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 0.
  
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  These numbers may be used to decide the outcome of disagreements or random events to keep things from becoming biased or unfair. 0 is equivalent to average and 4 is considered impressive. for example, a scientist with a college degree might have int 4 where as a bodybuilder might have str 4.
  
  You may choose to replace your higher numbers with any lower number but you may not replace your lower numbers with any higher number without permission. An example that may be permitted if ran by me is increasing a small number by very little if one or two of your stats are decreased to below 0. ​
  Other Relevant information:
  
  Please keep all Character sheet posts within the same post through either separation lines or Tabs, feel free to format your character's sheet differently so long as you still provide necessary information.
  

 

[Vorpal Chandelier]

GM Characters/NPCs

Professor Finbar Redwood


Professor Redwood is one of the pokémon scientists regarded highly in the Hueville area. He originally was a competitive fighter and battler until his son was born. The strain of trying to balance his career and family proved too much and he was given and ultimatum: enroll to become a scientist so that he can be around his son, or lose his family. Ultimately he chose his family but after realizing he could still pursue his passions while doing his duties he became so caught up in his new work that his wife still divorced him, taking his son and moving to Bubbleview and taking a job at Hex Labs. Redwood's practices are constantly under scrutiny as breeding for competition is a controversial issue in Orbos, and although he is a former champion, he maintains that he's never used his breeding techniques to give others an unfair advantage. Text color =darkgoldenrod. Code: B8860B

Tobias Redwood aka Tobias Hawthorne


Tobi is a gifted young lad who knows much about pokémon thanks to both of his parents being pokémon scientists, and his father being a retired competitive battler and breeder. After Professor Redwood moved to Hueville to open his laboratory, in an attempt to save their marriage, he unfortunately grew apart from his family, causing Tobias to both resent him and long for his affection and approval at the same time. Tobias never really felt great about his step father either, all he knows is he wants to be the best trainer he can be, which for him means breaking all of his father's battle records. Tobias begins his journey at Redwood Breeding Center and Labs, and serves as a potential rival for other trainers starting there. Text color = goldenrod. Code: DAA520

Elmer Jefferson


Elmer is a new trainer starting in Hueville. He's been a big fan of the Pokémon League all his life. His favorite types are fire, and his favorite pokémon is charmander. Elmer is friends with Tiffany and Avery. Text color = forestgreen. Code: 228B22

Tiffany Wilson


Tiffany always had trouble getting along with the other girls growing up, mostly because there were only around five girls her age in Hueville and they spent their time trying to be more like Emily. Because of this she ended up being the butt of many "jokes" the girls liked to play on 'the dorks'. It wasn't all bad though, hanging out with younger kids and boys give her much more of a personality than the 2D photocopies surrounding Ms. Popular, which she usually describes as 'quirky'. Tiffany is friends with Avery, Chad, and Moonlight and is proud to have no goals what so ever. Text color = darkcyan. Code: 008B8B

Chad Levine


Chad's father was a deep sea fisherman who got lost at sea when he was just a baby. He hopes some day that if he becomes strong enough, he can somehow find a way to discover what became of him. Chad's hobbies are sports and fishing, even though his dad's old rod isn't very reliable. Chad is friends with Avery and Tiffany. Text color = seagreen. Code: 2E8B57

Emily Albright


Emily Albright is one of the most talented, smart, and attractive girls in school, and she knows it. Emily has always been just about the most popular girl among her peers in Hueville, unfortunately breathing life into the stereotype of the bitchy queen bee tween. She excels at just about everything she tries, and when she doesn't, she cheats. Now she finally has a liscencing official in her home town and she intends to conquer the world of pokémon by storm. Although she can be pretty scary to most females with less confidence, she is considered to be one of Moonlight's friends, although Emily treats her more like a servant, and mainly only hangs out with the other "popular girls". Emily is not however friends with the 'new girl': Yvonne, who she secretly considers prettier than herself, and is threatened by (partly because she's an older girl). Text color = darkorchid. Code: 9932CC

Billie "Spike" Russel


Growing up in Tarton BIllie didn't have many friends, but the ones she did have were pretty okay. Billie's father is in prison for a violent crime against Billie's late step father, for reasons she refuses to discuss, and because of the drama surrounding her household, her mother refused to take her to the police station to file for a trainer liscence when she was ten years old. Because of this, Billie was forced to take a late start to becoming a trainer, and finally got the opportunity when she heard a rumor that there was a new professor in Hueville who was able to sign people up. Because it wasn't with the police, and because the town was nearby, Billie was finally able to convince her mother to take her, and now she never has to go back. Text color=#767682.

Aengus McGregor


Aengus has always had a lot of opinions, partly because his parents were quite active in the "fair treatment of pokémon" community. Strangely though, Aengus always felt himself pulled in the other direction. He has a stack of magazine subscriptions for various clubs and things that his parents hoped to get him interested in, sure, but he'd always found a way to follow the competitive world of pokémon training and breeding as well. He loves rumors, gossip, tabloid magazines, anything that has anything to say about underground societies or cloak and dagger criminal organizations were a bonus. Some might even call him gullible. I guess you could say he has a lot of curiosity, which is probably why his parents were concerned. Because of his... broad interests, his parents delayed his 'special day' for a few years, leaving Aengus with no option to experience the world of pokémon himself, he continued diving deeper and deeper into his hobbies. Text color=#00ae46

Doug Spearman


Poor choices at a young age: There's always at least one guy in a handful that can be described that way for one reason or another and Doug is one of them. When he was ten he was given his trainer's license and a gift pokémon by his uncle, who had adopted him when his parents were killed by a rogue pokémon. Unfortunately for Doug his uncle always expected something in return, so he took to the streets of Sewaddle with his friends, mugging trainers, robbing gas stations, whatever it took to make uncle Corey happy. Unfortunatly for Doug a life of crime as a low level trainer doesn't pay off well for the one doing the legwork, especially when you don't have that much experience. Doug was arrested by the local police and placed in a juvinile facility. His uncle, instead of doing what he could to help out, told Doug he had to take the fall, and he'd come out tougher for it. Needless to say he spent the next few years in jail and a few years after with a suspended pokémon license, too angry at his uncle to go home once released. It wasn't until he was seventeen that he heard the rumors of a new professor testing new trainers and trainers who had their licenses revoked that he became aware that you could earn your liscence back. Doug's to do list includes earning all of Orbos' badges, stomping the elite four into dust, and taking revenge on his uncle. He's not really intending to break any laws this time around on his journey, but he's not exactly a goodie two shoes neither. Doug has a tatoo of a gyaridos and dragonair entwining his left arm in a battle to the death, a hyper beam from each beast meeting in a ferocious tug of war for victory on his shoulder. Text color=tomato. Code: FF6347

Chesmond White


Chesmond is one of the few new trainers in Hueville that isn't a little older than normal. He's been ten for about three months now, and he's super excited to get his first pokémon! Don't let the stubble fool you, he's really ten, honest. Text color=olivedrab. Code: 688E23

Axel Callahan


Axel is a gym leader for the Pokémon League who lives in the city of Tarton. His gym is located in the down town area and is attached to an automotive repair shop that he owns and runs himself. Axel's badge is considered one of the toughest to receive early on, and not just because of his skill as a trainer. Rumors surrounding Axel include refusing trainer battles from trainers he feels are unworthy, a tendency toward aggression and violence, and involvement in local criminal activity. Although these rumors persist, and are a clear violation of Pokémon League rules, as well as the law, he seems to be well respected by the other members of the Pokémon League, and remains in good standing with them. Text color=Navy. Code: 000080

Luther Shadow


Luther is a trainer who's intentions and actions during his journey are shrouded in mystery. Although his badges are evidence that he's battled many of the gyms, and is considered a powerful trainer, he goes out of his way to avoid being noticed, even using his psychic powers to alter the memories of people who encounter him when he feels that he needs to. Even his sister doesn't know what pokémon he has, or what he had gotten up to when traveling. What she does know is that when he was a small boy, her parents kicked him out as soon as his powers manifested, and now that she has powers of her own, Luther encourages her not to fear those that fear her, and to be the best self she can be, no matter what others think. Most people who do remember Luther recall him as cold and eerie, to the point where most feel unnaturally afraid of him. Text color=darkviolet. Code: 9400D3

 

[FlumpPod]

Name: Yvonne Montenét
Age: 15
Gender: Female
About: Yvonne has missed the ceremony to begin her pokémon journey for the last several years due to being constantly on the move as her father's work has had him move to almost every region in the past few years and she has just never been in the right place at the right time, missing her homeland's ceremony in Kalos by less than a week last year! But this time she is ready and raring to go with all her paperwork turned in on time.

Her parents agreed that she was ready since she'd been keeping up with her tutoring and tearing up her sparring partners in the boxing ring, so they felt she was probably safe to explore this region even if they had to move again and leave her here.

Moving around so often made it hard to make friends, and with the amount of time she spent being tutored or training for the ring made it even harder, but people, particularly boys, seemed to like her if she hadn't just gotten through knocking them to the floor. On the flipside with all her training and studying she has gotten pretty smart and strong for all that she lacks social awareness. She is hoping to be able to make some lasting friends once she can get her pokémon and stay in the same region for more than a few months on her journey.
Text color=#f37934

Attributes:
Strength:3
Reflex:2
Fortitude:1
Intelligence:4
Wits:1
Social:0

 

[Amiulord]

Trainer Name: Moonlight Shadow

Trainer Age:13

Trainer Sex: Female

About: She is a shy girl like to keep to herself, hates confrontation, She has short platinum blonde hair, red eyes, has a scar on the right side of her face that she doesn't know how she got it and her parents never told her. She had a pet woobat for a little while her parents thought that it was just a flying type as a small child. He was her "Woobie" and she wuved him vewy much. Eventually, her parents somehow found out it was a psychic type and thought "oh no, it has been leeching off our souls since it got here!" and her dad killed it. She ran away and when the police finally found her she told them what happened and she was hysterical so, her parents got arrested and she was turned over to her brother Luther, who had previously been kicked out for being psychic. He went through the court system to gain full custody and moved in with her. Once her brother moved in she started learning the same things every other kid her age was being taught and she even went to the pokémon school where she made her two friends Tiffany and Emily. She loves them both, and even looks up to Emily, even though they don't really get along with each other.

Attributes:
Strength:1
Reflex:4
Fortitude:2
Intelligence:3
Wits:2
Social: -1

Text color=red. Code: FF0000

 

[BestrJestr]

Text Color: #6A5ACD

Trainer Name: Avery Munn

Trainer Age: 14

Trainer Sex: Male

About: Events in their early lives coerced Avery’s parents into giving up on their dreams of being trainers themselves. As such they groomed him from a young age to live out their dreams, resulting in an encyclopedic knowledge of Pokémon related things. Often mistaken for laziness, or that one time as marijuana abuse, his aloof and chill attitude is partially brought about by a lack of motivation. Avery has no interest in taking on the gyms or the league, but has begrudgingly accepted this as his path out of love and respect for his parents. His interest in travelling and the chance to do so with his friends are the only things keeping him from giving up. He is friends with Elmer, Tiffany, and Chad.

Attributes: Strength 1, Reflex 0, Fortitude 2, Intelligence 3, Wits 4, Social 1.

Special: Has a lovely singing voice and is proficient in playing the harmonica. Also owns a Harmonica.

 

[Amiulord]

I wake up with the aroma of bacon and clanking in the kitchen. I sit up and stretch before I begin getting out of bed. As I walk down the hallway to the kitchen to investigate, the tail from my abra-styled "costume" pajamas collects dust from the floor. I peek into the kitchen, seeing my brother Luther, wearing moms pink frilly apron that says "kiss the cook". He was flipping eggs as I walk over and poke his back. He turns and looks at me when he does I kiss his cheek and laugh.

"Stop horsing around and get dressed, did you forget what today is?"

"Of course not!"

I run back upstairs, getting dressed, grabbing my Dark blue bag and coming downstairs in 3 minutes flat. My brother was putting food on the plate. I sit down looking at the food. There were two eggs lined up like eyes and the bacon like a smiley face I smile and started eating. My sat across from me and began eating as well.

"So, are you excited about getting your first pokémon?"

"Well, it will be my second, but yes."

He nods at what I said and we finished eating. I stood up gathering up our dirty dishes taking them to the sink to wash them up. Luther helps me with the dishes talking a little bit.

"I'll be right back"

I run outside to my tree sitting down by the small little grave I made my Woobie. I pet it gently and fix the flowers in the pot on his grave.

"Hey, Woobie I am going to get my training license today... I'm going to get me a baby pokémon and name it after you. And I promise I will protect my baby with all my heart. I will make you proud and ill bring your brother or sister by before I go on my journey."

I felt a pat on my head looking up I see my brother, He smiles down at me.

"just don't try to get into the house because after I drop you off I have to go on a long trip myself. You ready to be a grown-up?"

I smiled standing up and hugging him around his waist

"I will make you proud Luther"

"You already do moonball"

He hugs me back and he goes and locks up. We doubled checked to make sure I had everything to survive on my own at least until I win some prize money. He takes my hand and we walk to professor Redwoods lab for the oratiention. When we get closer I hold my brothers hand a little tighter when I see a lot of kids with there parents. I look upset cuz mine are crazy and in jail and will never see me like I would like them to. We stop and he kneels down and turns me to face him.

"Mother and father love you very much... no matter what you think. They might be a little... different but they don't know any better. We can't blame ourselves for things outside of our control. Don't wish they could understand, show them how they should see the world by being the best you that you can be. The way you always do. You're going to be great Moonball, I promise."

I smile and tear up a little and hug him tight

"I love you big brother your always there for me. good luck with your trip ill miss you"

Luther patted my head and hugged me back tightly.

"Let's not make this a sad experience. We'll see each other plenty. I'll call you when I'm not busy. Don't call unless there's a real emergency, but message me through the pokegear's texting or emailing functions any time."

I nod and let go of him and stood up straight he stood up and pat my head and waved as I walked off. I smiled and waved back. I watched him till I couldn't see him anymore, the crowd of people getting thicker around me. I sigh and turned around and walked up to the doors Finding somewhere to stand in the auditorium, fiddling with the bracelet that I gave my Woobie. it had his name spelled with beads. I'm giving myself a pep talk in my head hoping ill be less nervous.

 

[FlumpPod]

Yvonne wakes up early as always, shutting her alarm off before it begins. She changes out of her sleepwear into her yellow jogging outfit. She pauses at a mirror to tie her exceedingly fluffy hair back out of her face.

"Eat your heart out, Mega Ampharos."

She stepped into the hall and called out: "C'mon, King, time for joggies!"

An old Pyroar struts out of Yvonne's parent's room and makes a show of stretching and yawning before the girl ruffles his mane and blows a raspberry on top of his head, as per their morning ritual. The pair left after waving to the girl's mother as she groggily made coffee in the predawn twilight.

They take a long route today, leaving the apartments in the southeast corner of Hueville going all the way up to the cul-de-sac by the daycare before turning around and heading around the back of the school to the west side neighborhood. The sun was rising by the time the joggers had made it to their second turn-around point. Some of the residents were stirring at this time, and Yvonne spotted Emily looking out her window so she decided to wave. Emily just closed her curtains.

"Her bedhead wasn't that bad, right, King?"

"Prooow," he huffed out.

"Alright, we'll take the last bit a little slower, and then we'll see what mom cooked, ok?"

"Hroow!" A bit of fire puffed out as he was reminded of the best part of the day.

They went at a more lax pace for the last leg, she enjoying the sun rising behind Mt. Raindance, he thinking about the delicious meal awaiting him. When they returned breakfast wasn't quite ready, but both adults were awake and functioning. King returned to his master's side as said master put down the newspaper he had been reading.

"Thatta boy, King, always keeping her safe. You're back early, too excited to wait?"

"Yeah, we didn't stop to admire the sunrise at the pond today. I can't wait to get started, even though I'm a little scared to go."

"You could always take King with you, you'd have nothing to fear with him by your side."

"For the last time, King is way too high level for a novice trainer like me. Besides, he belongs next to you, it's where he's been since before you even met mom, he only goes jogging with me to protect his little sister~!" Yvonne scritched his chin and cheeks as she poked fun at her dad's pokémon.

Thwump. Thwump. Thwump. King's tail betrays his irritation even as the rest of him is stock-still.

"Oh, stop picking on him, poor thing, here's your breakfast." Mom set a plate mounded with meats and sweets in front of King who happily dug in. "The potatoes are going to take a bit to heat up so you have time to freshen up, dear."

"Ooh, potatoes! Are you making--"

"Breakfast scramble, now go, they'll be taking pictures for the trainer IDs and no child of mine will be a sweaty mess for any picture."

"Yuss! You're the best!"

Yvonne backed out of the kitchen giving a fist pump and quickly showered to rejoin her parents for breakfast.

⌛
"You're sure you don't want to take any of our pokémon, sweetie?"

"I'm still sure, daddy. I'd need half a dozen badges before any of your pokémon would listen to me."

"Stop pestering her, she's going to do it the right way. No help from us geezers."

"You guys aren't even old yet, much less geezers. And I'll be fine, I'm 15. Most of the regions start their new trainers at 10 or 11, and if you think I can't handle myself as well as a normal 10 year old then I'm gonna have to take you into the ring! P-pow! Crack! Ding ding ding!" Yvonne mimed a quick match with her spoon still in hand.

"Not old? You're so sweet, but no shadow-boxing at the table, dear. Your father and I know you can take care of yourself, but we're your parents, it's our job to worry about you."

"Yeah, yeah, no need to get so mushy. Were your parents this protective too?"

They both thought for a moment before laughing. "I always thought they were being overbearing, but now I understand. I guess you had to leave home someday, and I just wasn't ready to face it. We know you're going to do great."

"Of course! I've got your backing so I know I can't do anything less."

"Ha ha, so I heard you have a choice from nearly all the starters from other regions, which one were you thinking about picking?"

"Ooh, that's right! Professor Redwood was able to get a huge variety. Chespin could be a good match if you're unsure, and they're so cute!"

"I think a Litten is more her style."

"Oh, you and your cats. What about a Mudkip?"

"Well, actually..."

⌛
After her third plate she was officially cut off and the rest of the meal was packed up for her to take on the road after she got her pokémon. And with that settled it was time for her to head to the lab.

She saw familiar faces among the crowd of young people all vying for the privilege of becoming a trainer as they filed into the auditorium.

Maybe I should sit near someone who I want to travel with...

 

[Vorpal Chandelier]

Tobias
​

Tobias woke up in an unfamiliar place. It wasn’t often that he visited his real father, but when he did he usually opted to sleep in the daycare with Murphy rather than the messy so-called apartment space the professor was supposed to be using as a home. Not only was a cleaner, but it had better company.

He stood up and brushed the arcanine fur from his jacket, smelled his pits to make sure he didn’t offend too much, and checked his bag to make sure that Poltergeist hadn’t taken any of his belongings this time. Everything seemed to check out.

“Professor?” Tobi waded through the pillows and cushions to the doorway before noticing something strange; a series of eggs sitting on cushions, each on their own pedestal.

“Weird, that’s not usually how he does that… what is he doing?” Tobi muttered. “You got any clue, Murphy?” The legendary pokémon let out a loud bark in response and wagged its tail.

“Never mind… good boy.” Tobi tossed him the last rare-candy he had on his person. He liked to eat them, even though they really only did something for pokémon, but he didn’t want to have any advantages his father didn’t at his age. If he was going to use a candy he’d find it on the ground like any self-respecting trainer. Rage candy bars on the other hand…
Tobias took one out of his bag and unwrapped it for consumption, then walked down the hall as he chewed. He did a double take as a passed an open door to the auditorium, now filled to the brim with young would-be trainers and their parents.

His heart skipped a beat, as if overtaken by stage fright when he himself was easily out of focus from the mob, who preferred to stare at the empty stage in anticipation.

“No way I’m going in there… Paul can I take the test out here…?” He asked a nearby scientist. Paul laughed in response.

“Redwood’s going to test you? Why kid? He knows you know everything on the sheet. You’ve been studying this stuff your whole life haven’t you?”

Tobias was mad, but not because Paul was wrong. He was angry because he didn’t want special treatment. Looks like that idea was going out the window.

“Paul… The professor didn’t like… rig it so I’d get an IV bred pokémon or stash some great balls somewhere for me did he…?” He asked.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. In fact there’s this whole rumor going around that all the pokémon might be special like that, if you know what I mean.”

Tobi hung his head in disappointment, and felt a hand land softly but firmly on his shoulder. It was Brenda, one of Redwood’s aides.

“No Tobi you don’t have to worry about any of that. He expects you to test just the same as everyone else, and he worked very hard to make sure none of the pokémon used to breed the eggs had a history of competitive breeding.” She comforted him.

“Eggs? You mean the ones in the daycare room? What are they for anyway? And what about the starters?” Tobias was pretty confused by her comment, what do those eggs have to do with anything?

“Oops…” Brenda muttered. “Sorry, I thought the professor told you about them since he let you sleep in there. Never mind, I guess it’s supposed to be a surprise, so I guess don’t worry about it. But his starter choices, every single one of them, were shipped as a favor from other labs around the world, so you really have nothing to worry about there either. All Official Pokémon League Approved alright?” She gave him a smile and no further explanation.

“Alright…” he said nervously, looking out toward the crowd again.

“How about I get you a copy of the test to do here in the hallway? Paul and I can vouch that you didn’t cheat if we watch you.” She suggested.

Tobias nodded and she walked away to fetch the paperwork.

Elmer
​

A slow and deliberate Sluuuuprprprprprp, barely drowned out by "The Joker" by The Steve Miller Band were quickly interrupted this morning as Elmer panicked. “Just a miiiiinuuute I’m getting dressed!” He called.

Mom and dad never bug me before 2:00, what the hell? He thought to himself as he managed to choke out the excuse between coughs, popping his mom’s gloom on the bulb so he’d release a burst of stench to cover his trail.

“Elmer unlock this door!” His dad shouted. Wait, what was he doing home?

Elmer quickly unlocked and opened the door, but only after stowing his ‘pokéflute’ behind his bottom dresser drawer, and stuffing his little baggy of fun in his pocket.

“Darn it dad, you scared Bumbly and now I have to change all over again… what’s up…?” Elmer asked, trying not to let slip the fact that his heart was beating out of his chest.

“Damn it Elmer I thought you said you’d be up by nine today so we could head down to the lab together before I had to be in to work. Just… hurry and change please.” As he walked away Elmer couldn’t bring himself to feel all that bad. It wasn’t his fault his dad chose to work so hard.

Elmer picked out a few new clothes, patted Bumbly on the head, and with a quick “Sorry dude.” He headed to the shower, being sure to transfer his ‘goods’ to his fanny pack.

As he finally got down stairs he barely got a word in to ask what was for breakfast when his dad told him to get in the car.

“Where are we going again?” Elmer asked. His dad only sighed.

“Very funny Elmer. You get your license today. You know, pokémon? You do still want one don’t you?” Elmer’s face quickly grew a large goofy grin and he nodded quickly and repeatedly in delight. “You bet, Dad, sorry I totally spaced! Hell yes I’m going to get a charmander!”

His father shook his head and smiled a little himself. "You shouldn’t get your hopes up, Son, it could just be rumors. You might just end up with something local. You know we don’t really have those rare ‘starter’ types here in Orbos. You might have to make due with something else. Besides, just about every kid in the county is going to be there. I’m sure you can find a charmander eventually just… set your expectations a little lower eh son?”

Elmer new his father meant well but he was a total buzzkill. Elmer would get a charmander today, he just knew it. As his father pulled up to the laboratory he saw a number of familiar faces, and rushed out of the car to greet them.

“I’ll bring your bag by later son, have a good time at orientation!” His father’s words were drowned out by the crowd of excited youngsters ready to make their mark on Orbos.

Tiffany
​

Tiffany woke up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Morning already… She thought to herself. She turned to look at the clock, just about having a heart attack when she saw that the time read eight O’clock. “FUGGWIDGETS!” she exclaimed as she attempted to jump out of bed, falling to the floor as she struggled to get her tangled blankets off of her.

“MOOOM I’M LATE!” she shouted as she pulled herself up from the ground and out of her comfort prison.

“Honey you’re not late, now calm down and get ready. I was just about to wake you in a half hour or so anyway.” Her mom replied from another room.

“Mom, I told you that all the kids at school said that people were coming from other towns to get their license today too! If I’m not early enough I’m late, and if I’m late it means I don’t get to pick a pokémon!”

Truth be told she wasn’t as concerned about getting a starter as she was getting the starting money to buy pokéballs. Her family was kind of ‘low income’ so it was important to her to get as many freebies early on as she could so she didn’t fall behind.

“Honey, if you miss out on getting a starter we’ll just go get you one. I’m sure there’s plenty of perfectly good pokémon in the grass around here… I probably won’t take that many pokéballs, and you’ll be making more money before you know it.” Her mom replied.

She wouldn’t understand. She never understood anything Tiffany tried to tell her. Just like how her ‘little friends’ weren’t ‘just joking’ when they were ‘playing together’. Oh well, mom already did the paperwork for her, so Tiffany decided to just skip breakfast and run.

She grabbed an armful of clothes and an extra pair of shoes and dropped them on her bed. She took one of her shirt and ran to the bathroom, getting it wet and using it to scrub her face, then her armpits in that order, then ran back into her room to change and shove the gathered clothing, minus her ‘bath cloth’ into the bag. She hadn’t even zipped it fully before she was running out the door, fully dressed, and yelling a half-assed goodbye back to her mother, who stood disappointed in the doorway.

“I could drive you, you know!” her mother shouted after her.

“There’s no time!” Tiffany replied oxymoronically as she sprinted from her house to the laboratory. All told it took several minutes, but she still arrived well before the program was to start. Unfortunately she had not beaten the crowd. She saw her friend Avery sleeping near the gate, and thought to wake him, then decided against it. “He’ll be fine. He always does fine…” she justified to herself, truthfully more worried that her ‘shower’ wasn’t the best choice than she probably should have been. Luckily she was able to make it inside without too much of a fuss. She had trouble seeing a good place to sit before she ended up spotting Moonlight, her only girl friend.

“MOONLIGHT!” she shouted excitedly before running over to her to smash her against the wall in a charging hug.

“I’m so glad I saw you! Do I smell ok?”

Chad
​

As Chad’s alarm went off he almost rocketed out of bed in a panic before remembering his plans for the day. Normally Chad made a point of waking up early and getting some cardio in before making his mother and himself a nice healthy breakfast, but today he’d settled on sleeping in and letting his mom pick up the slack on the grub. He had packed everything he needed by 6:00pm last night and had gone to bed early, setting his alarm a little late intentionally so he could be sure he was fully rested for his upcoming journey.

He turned off his alarm, hopped quietly into the shower, and got dressed, double and triple checking to make sure he had everything he needed before folding up his dad’s old fishing rod and heading down stairs quietly. To his surprise, even though he’d hoped for it, his mom was up and had breakfast ready for him.

“Mornin’ sweetie.” She greeted with a yawn. To most she just looked tired, but Chad knew she was really just depressed. She hadn’t been taking care of herself properly since Chad’s father had… vanished… and he even felt a little guilty for leaving her.

He knew though that if he didn’t she’d just blame herself and feel even worse, so he just had to go and hope for the best.

“Morning mom. Are you sure you’re gonna be ok if I go? I can always wait a couple of years… I’m in no rush.”

His mom shook her head in response. “No, Sweetie, I’m alright I promise.” She sat down across the small table from him and reached out for his hand, which he gave her.

“You know what you’re going to pick? Jen said the professor is supposed to have all those rare starters people are always talking about.”

Chad thought for a moment as he chewed on a rubbery sausage patty, which was honestly a bit overcooked.

“Donno. Hopefully I’ll go last so I won’t have to choose.” He smiled a little as he joked.

“You still thinking about a water type? You know your dad’s kingler always loved you.” He could tell she was trying to stifle her… emotions. It’s not that she wasn’t good at it, hell, she had years of practice. It was more that he also had years of practice picking up on it himself.

“Yeah… I… donno. I’m bringing dad’s old fishing rod so I’ll probably pick something else. Water’s weak to grass and electric right? So I’ll probably choose something that’s good against that stuff to compliment my catch.”

His mom smiled. “Well it’s an important choice, but most of all it’s your choice. You don’t have to buy in to those ‘balanced team’ rules the competitive battlers are always talking about you know. In fact, many of the gyms in other countries have teams made all up of one type…. Just promise you’ll pick something you know you’ll love ok sweetie?”

Chad shook his head and chuckled a little. “Mom I’m going to love whatever I get. We’re going to be family you know.”

He could tell his statement made things worlds better for his mom just then. Maybe he reminded her of him in a good way this time or something.

He finished eating, gave his mother a hug and a kiss, grabbed his collapsed rod and walked out the door, turning back momentarily only because he heard his mother shouting after him.

“Be careful Baby, and remember, you don’t have to be friends with everyone! Don’t tell people you have a rod until after you know they like you anyway!”

Chad laughed at his mother again and simply waved in reply, picking up the pace so he could arrive as early as possible.

Chad balked for a moment as he saw his friend Avery sleeping at the gate to Redwood Breeding Center and Labs, not too far from a patch of tall grass, and decided to kick his foot in order to rouse him.

“Hey Slaking, you’re going to miss orientation. You comin’ or what?” He joked.

Emily
​

Emily shut her blinds in a fit of frustration. Of course she’s already taking on the day. She thought. How dare she have such confidence. She’s new! New kids are always scared and unsure… it’s not fair.

She had already chosen her outfit for the day, and was feeling pretty fantastic about her choice, as well as her choice in traveling attire, but now she wasn’t as confident. Being older, she knew the new girl was going to score well on the exam, and she already felt outclassed in the looks department, so she was really hoping to at least come off looking like the most strong and confident girl there. Now she wasn’t so sure.

Oh well, guess I’ll just have to compensate. She quickly stowed her athletic shoes in her bag and picked out a pair of heels. A pain in the ass to walk in, but they added an extra height that commanded a certain level of… awe, plus they made her butt look great.

She double and triple checked her makeup once again to make sure nothing was runny or smudged and she grabbed her things, walking down the hall and into the kitchen, where her dad was making breakfast.

“Mornin’, Princess!” He cheered at her.

“Gross dad.” She said in reference to the greasy meal he was making, opting for an energy bar from the cupboard instead.

On second thought, let’s just take the whole box. She thought to herself, dumping them into her bag before turning back to her father.

“Dad did you get me those cute pokéballs I asked for?” She walked up to him, smiling.

“Sure did sweetie, just remember to tell the professor that I’m giving you money and balls myself, so all he needs to give you is the essentials alright? Also be sure to ask him what those pokégear run for these days so I can pay him back.”

“Yes, Daddy.” Emily answered back smiling, and taking her gifts, perfectly hiding her intention to do no such thing. After all, the more you have the better prepared you are.

Just then the sound of a vehicle’s horn honked through the air.

“That’s my ride, Daddy, love you, I’ll call you tonight before I go to bed!” She cheered as she headed for the door.

“You better, don’t make me come looking for you.” Her dad replied, only half joking.

As she crossed the threshold of her home into the walkway she switched from an excited jog to a cool, smooth, long stridden walk, her ‘popular girl’ friends crowded in the car.

“You excited Emmy?” Natasha; one of the girls asked.

“Sure, isn’t everyone? Of course I did think about going out and catching my own pokémon, but I heard the professor might have a snivy and I just can’t avoid the chance to pick one of those up. They’re so fetch.”

She was using the term ironically, as fetch wasn’t exactly cool these days, but her companions wouldn’t have been able to pick up on that if she could pay them to. Truthfully, Emily felt they were just a bunch of empty shells looking to fill themselves with the aura of those who commanded respect. Girls like Emily, and the new girl. Honestly if the town wasn’t so small she probably wouldn’t even remember their names.

“Where’s the weird girl?” Emily asked after doing a quick headcount.

“You mean Tiffany?” one of the other girls asked.

“Ugh, no, as if I’d expect her to be here. No, the cute one with the puppy dog eyes.”

“Oooh you mean that weird girl. We’re not picking her up. Uh-I mean, unless we should-I mean you think we should. Should we?”

She wondered if her ‘friends’’ parents ever got as irritated as she did about their inability to think for themselves. Although in all honesty they were probably a bit different at home than they were around her.

“No it’s fine, there’s not really room anyway. It’s a fucking clown car in here.” She could see her Tilly’s mother giving her a look through the rear-view mirror, but evidently she wasn’t looking to embarrass her daughter on their big day as she said nothing.

Oops. She thought to herself a little smugly. She knew it was shitty but there weren’t a lot of ways to occupy your mind in a town like this. She was so glad to be getting out of here.

As the car pulled up to the lab there still weren’t a ton of people gathered yet, as they had come a few hours early. This wasn’t going to be a problem, she’d just find a good seat with her ‘friends’ and listen to them yammer on about something. If they were lucky some interesting out-of-town-er would sit near them and she’d be able to get an interesting story out of them, or maybe flirt a little if they were cute.

Emily quietly and coolly led her friends through the doors of the lab and to the best seats she could find.

I’m so ready. She thought to herself smirking.

 

[Amiulord]

I scream as my attacker smashes me against the wall with boy-like strength, luckily it’s only Tiffany.

“You scared me!” I say disapprovingly.

“Sorry Moonlight, but I shouted your name! You should have heard me coming. Smell? Am I good?” Tiffany responded. I shove her back irritated.

“Yeah you’re fine.” I say.

“Awww you didn’t even sniff me…”

Tiffany says. “I’m not gonna sniff you, that’s weird.” I say back.

“I mean, we’re close, but not that close.”

Tiffany frowns a little as I say that.

“Alright, fine. Let’s go find a seat!” She suggested.

I follow Tiffany as she picks out a spot to sit. Luckily her friend Chad was already sitting. I see Emily on the way there, but decide not to try and sit with her. Her friends are mean to people, and sometimes I worry they’ll pick on me too. I wave at her though and I can tell she notices. She didn’t wave back, but that’s probably because I was with Tiffany. She doesn’t like her.

“Hi.” Chat greeted us.

“Hey.” Says, Tiffany.

I wave at him, excited, but not much to say. Chad and Tiffany usually talk about sports, and that’s not my thing. I decide to just sit quietly and look around. Eventually, I see Avery sitting with Emily, but he eventually makes his way over here.

 

[BestrJestr]

Avery's eyes slowly opened as he felt something nudge his foot.

“Hey Slaking, you’re going to miss orientation. You comin’ or what?” joked a familiar sounding vaguely humanoid blur.

More sound began to flood into his brain, processing slowly, as he couldn't quite make out what was being said.

"Wha...orientation?" he mumbled confusedly, "orientation for wha-"

He cut himself off as things began to click. He shot up to his feet and rubbed his eyes, taking in his surroundings briefly, before his body began to sway and he held out his arm towards the former blur to brace himself. This former blur was Chad, who held him up while he recovered from his head rush. Chad was one of Avery's best friends, and a fellow would-be trainer. As Avery regained his stability, he stopped to get a better grasp on his current whereabouts. He realized the source of the unintelligible noise, which was the large crowd gathered in front of Redwood's Lab. He chuckled to himself as he turned his attention back to his friend.

"Yeah, I'll be in in a second" Avery said, "Go on without me I'll catch up"

Chad nodded to him and weaved his way through the crowd to get to the entrance. Avery stretched, and yawned as he recalled the reason he was here in the first place. Not for the trainer orientation, he remembered that immediately, but why he was sleeping outside of Redwood's lab. He knew he wouldn't get up early enough to make it to orientation if he didn't plan ahead, so he got up around 6:00 AM and shambled to Redwood's lab to take a nap, that way the crowd would wake him when it arrived just before orientation. Evidently even the roaring didn't suffice, as it took Chad to finally awaken him, not that he was surprised. He waited a few minutes to finish waking up, and then he too waded through the crowd to make his way inside. He entered the building and made his way to where the orientation was taking place. When he entered the room he was met with a sea of people amidst organized rows of metal folding chairs, and he looked about them for anyone he recognized. He spotted a few people he'd seen around town, but none of his friends yet, though he also saw Emily. He decided to sit down next to her to chat for a bit while he finished scanning for his friends. He weaved his way through the hoard and came to the closest available seat to her, which was on the other side of one of her flunkies. He kept searching the room for his friends, but leaned back in his chair toward her.

"Hello Emily" he said simply.

Eliciting nothing but a look from her he continued further,

"Have you seen Elmer yet today?" he asked casually.

"No, should I have?" she replied with a tone, "Was he following me again?"

Her girl squad laughed at this, a bit too much, and Avery held back a disappointed sigh as he furthered the conversation.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him yet today so I thought I'd ask you," he replied casually, as an idea popped into his head, "Although now that I think about it, I think I saw him talking to the new girl earlier, so maybe I'll go ask her"

That was a lie, but he had noticed over time that Emily would shoot dirty looks at the new girl, Yvonne, when no one was looking, and had figured she felt threatened by her. So he thought a jab was in order given her constant, unprovoked hostility. He kept his head facing forward, maintaining a straight face, but glancing in her direction to see her reaction.

"Whatever" she scoffed in an irritated, and quite bitchy tone.

Pleased with that reaction, and having nothing more to discuss with her highness, he stood up and gave a neutral "goodbye ladies", as he walked towards his friend, whom he had spotted prior to the lie. As he approached the group, consisting of Chad, Tiffany, and Moonlight, Tiffany was the first to react to his arrival.

"Oh there you are sleepy head" she jested, "I thought you were gonna start growing moss on you"

"Nah, I don't think I'd make a very good grass type," he replied with a smirk, "I think that's more of an Elmer thing"

"Right" she said, chuckling at his joke.

He turned to the youngest of them, Moonlight, and smiled at her.

"Hey Moonlight, you excited?" he asked her.

"YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!" the shy girl shouted, her excitement clearly outweighing her reserved temperament.

"You know, Fennekin becomes a Psychic type when it evolves" he offered, knowing her inclination towards Psychic types, "just so you know"

"Oh...really?" she asked, thinking about this new bit of info.

"Eh, fire starters are pretty well liked" Tiffany interjected, "I think i'm going to go with something a little underdog-ish, what do you think I should pick Avery?"

"Bulbasaur." Avery replied in less than a second, "Everyone always neglects Bulbasaur and I think that's rude"

"Bulbasaur is pretty cute..." she replied unenthusiastically, "Idonno maybe..."

"I might want a bird Pokémon too" Moonlight said, re-entering the conversation, "wait, are there any bird starters?"

"Well, there's Torchic and Rowlett," Avery began, stroking his chin, "Torchic goes Fire/Fighting, and Rowlett Grass/Ghost" He paused as he delved into the Pokédex that his parents drilled into his brain, "I guess Piplup counts too, gets to be Water/Steel"

"Ooh a ghost Pokémon," Moonlight replied, "I heard about those, I think my brother might have one. I know he told me a story about following a light in the woods when mom and dad kicked him out."

Avery's head snapped toward her and his eyebrow shot up inquisitively, but his face otherwise remained unchanged.

"It wasn't a Litwick was it?" he asked, a less relaxed tone in his voice, "Those are dangerous, don't follow those under any circumstances"

"I donno," she replied, "but my brother's fine so i'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"Ah," Avery half sighed, "well, they're a bigger threat than their cute looks would imply"

"Do they steal your soul or something?" Tiffany asked, wiggling her fingers and speaking in a mock spooky accent.

Avery glanced at Moonlight to see if she was looking at him, which she was intently, and resigned to being straightforward, as he couldn't shoot a nod over her head.

"Yes. Yes they do. They use their candlelight." Avery said bluntly.

"Wait, they really do steal souls?" Tiffany replied, a bit shocked, "I didn't know Pokémon could be dangerous..."

"Well, he's alive and healthy and he adopted me" Moonlight stated, "so if that's what it was they can't be that scary"

"Oh yeah, Pokémon are very dangerous beings," Avery began, "that's why there are so many rules and regulations regarding them, and why gangs like Team Rocket always try and hoard them"

"I thought they just used them to make money" Tiffany replied, "you know, catch a few Clefairy and sell them to some old ladies...mug folks..that sort of thing."

Avery glanced and Tiffany and Moonlight to see if they looked worried or panicked, afraid he may have inadvertently deterred them from training. But Tiffany looked fine, Moonlight looked skeptical, and Chad seemed to be focused on other things on his mind. So he decided he was clear to continue.

"Nah. Pokémon are a powerful force of nature, that's why it's important to be" Avery began, cutting himself off with a rogue yawn, "responsible trainers"

"That means you too you know" Chad quipped with a smirk.

"Look, Imma be honest with y'all," Avery began, "my Pokémon probably aren't gonna get to be a high enough level to learn anything but Growl, but nonetheless I will be taking a very serious, if not a bit relaxed, approach to my training. It's literally what my entire life has been leading up to"

Avery mumbled that last part.

"Well if it makes you feel any better i think all the starters actually come with attacking moves..." Chad replied awkwardly, most likely unsure if his joke had landed.

"Oh, not mine" Avery said, shooting Chad a grin to alleviate his worry, "I guarantee you I'm gonna choose a Pokémon, and when I open the ball it's gonna be a Magikarp"

"I don't think the professor would do that, isn't he only giving us starters like most labs?" Tiffany asked, not getting the joke, to which Chad laughed.

"Did you know Magikarp was so underestimated that it took years for scientists to find out it could even learn bounce?" Chad asked afterhe had stifled his laughter.

"Then I'll go down in history as the first person to teach his Magikarp Rest" Avery joked.

"Where's Elmer, he'd love this conversation." Chad chuckled.

"Good thinking, I'd kill for a Magikarp with Smokescreen" Avery said, barely able to contain his laughter.

"You know Avery if you're that set on a magikarp I did bring my dad's old rod with me." Chad offered quietly, "just keep it quiet, i don't want people trying to use me for it...or steal it i guess..."

"Hey, if anyone tries to grab your Old Rod, just yell stranger danger, and sprint towards the nearest officer, alright buddy?" Avery quipped, patting Chad on the back.

Tiffany erupted into laughter at Avery's innuendo, as did Chad, albeit less enthusiastically, and Moonlight just looked confused.

"I'm woke to this guys, don't you worry" Avery laughed, no longer able to hold it in.

After the laughter died down Avery continued small talk with his friends, keeping an eye out for Elmer.

 

[FlumpPod]

I don't see anyone I've met--Oh, there's Elmer, and there he goes. He was in a hurry. I guess there's no point to staying out here.

Yvonne headed into the auditorium and looked for any familiar faces with an open seat nearby. She saw Elmer again as he was making his way to where Emily was sitting with the posse of girls she usually had surrounding her. No seats there. She kept looking as she moved further inside.

The biggest group of empty seats were near a bulky older boy in a dark tank top with an impressive tattoo of a gyarados and a dragonair clashing hyper beams. The boy looked like he'd be as likely to punch you as he would to say "hello." Maybe, but I'll keep looking.

Another open seat next to another guy in a tank top, who looks to be in good shape. He had a pretty smug expression on his face, he must think he's hot stuff. Pass. Are tank tops the fashion around here or something? She felt at her own sleeveless top as she debated changing her planned attire.

The next seat she saw was next to a girl with an impressive Afro and dark skin, one of the few darker people in the room here. She's dressed sensibly with a dark red tee and a tan jacket. She looks promising, I should take that seat. Yvonne started towards her when another girl plopped into the seat and the two started chatting happily. Oh well, I guess she already had a friend here.

She saw a seat between a boy who looked way more excited than anyone else here and a girl who looked annoyed. Neither were talking to the people around them so she thought she had a good chance at making friends with one or the other. He was on the way so Yvonne decided to say something to the guy with the tattoo as she passed him.

"Your tattoo is magnifique, monsieur!" She blew a kiss to the air, playing into a Kalosian stereotype. He looked at her and laughed.

"Thanks, you're not so plain yourself," he smiled at her and she continued to her destination giving him a small wave. He doesn't seem bad, we'll bump him to primary back-up or maybe get him to come with us if one of these other two agree.

She got to the seat before anyone else, even with her diversion and addressed them both.

"Hi, is anyone sitting here, yet?"

"Nope," the girl responds flatly.

The boy stared at Yvonne for a moment before he answered. "Uh, no. Go ahead." His face was a little flushed. He must be warm in that long-sleeve button-up with all the people in here.

"Awesome I'll take this seat then. I'm Yvonne, nice to meet you!" She smiled at them both as she sat between them. The girl looked away and didn't say anything.

"Ah, I'm Aengus McGregor!" He holds his hand out for a hand shake which Yvonne accepts.

"Oh, Yvonne Montenét. McGregor? Is your family originally from the Galar region?" The girl gives a quick glance at Yvonne at that.

"Oh, for sure-well, dad's side at least. You from out of town too, or you a Hueville resident?"

"Cool! Galar is a really interesting place, I'd love to see it again. And my family actually just moved to Hueville a few days ago, we're originally from Kalos but dad moves around a lot for work so we've been to almost every region at some point or another; did you know Alola doesn't have gyms or HMs?" Now the other girl and Aengus spoke at the same time.

"Woah, really? That's cool. Do they just not do battles as a sport over there or something?"

"Is it true that Ratatta over there are dark types?"

"They do battle, but they use a different system than badges to track a trainer's progress, I'm not sure how it works to be honest." Yvonne turned to answer the girl's question, "and yeah, the ratatta are dark types over there! They look so cool with their black fur! Maybe you could trade for one up in Seawaddle; it's one of the closest big cities to Alola so maybe a returning tourist caught an extra."

"Hmmm... Maybe. Are they as common there as they are elsewhere, or are they sort of rare there?"

"I think they were common, but I wasn't doing much battling overe there," Yvonne offered a shrug in apology for the uncertain answer.

"Do they do curses like vulpix's line?" the girl pressed for more.

"I don't think they can do curses, they have some great dark moves like sucker punch though."

"What starters are you guys thinking of by the way?" Aengus chimed in.

"It's gotta be a fennekin for me, home region pride and they're just so cute and cuddly~!"

"I haven't heard of that one..." Aengus looked surprised.

"It's not surprising that you haven't; they are rare even in Kalos. But they are adorable little yellow foxes with biiiiig fluffy ears and they use fire moves," Yvonne couldn't keep the smile from her face when talking about the starter she wanted.

"I know fire types are kind of sparse but isn't going for the fire starter a little cliché?" the other girl looked and sounded unimpressed with Yvonne's choice. Aengus spoke up before Yvonne could defend her fuzzy choice.

"Well, I mean, there're reasons. One, like you said, they're usually not super populated in the wild compared to other types. Two, they're super cool and awesome. Three, it's not like it matters what type you choose since Orbos's gyms and Elite Four aren't "typed." So, I mean, it's not like it matters if it's "cliché" or whatever."

"Besides, wouldn't picking water or grass be just as cliché? I want a fennekin because they are cute. Besides, if we're going to be out in the wilderness a bunch being able to make a campfire easily sounds great to me. _{And they turn into fluffy wizards.}" Yvonne added the last bit under her breath.

"Well, alright you two, jeez. Guess I'm mistaken," she holds her hands up in surrender. "Not sure what I want, nothing really speaks to me from the starters I'm aware of. Totodile looks pretty deadly though, not that Orbos is short on water types."

"First instinct is charmander or cyndaquil since they're super rad, but I'm not really sure what I'll settle on either to be honest. Maybe a grass type that learns powder moves to help me catch more pokémon, which is probably more important than what starter to choose." Aengus had clearly thought about the long term.

"Not trying to attack you or anything, but there are only the 3 typical starter types," Yvonne spoke to the other girl before looking over to Aengus. "Good point about making captures easier, you'll save money on pokéballs and grow your team quicker." She gave him a thumbs up.

"Yeah, maybe. Good idea, detective." He is more flushed than before. It's not that warm in here, is it? Yvonne turns back to the other girl.

"Elementary my dear...?" She motioned for the other girl to finish the sentence.

"I meant him 'cuz of the hat... Billie though, but my friends call me Spike." Oops, noir detective, not classic.

"Billie, or are we close enough that I can call you Spike?" Yvonne leaned over and brushed the other girl's shoulder with her own for extra emphasis on the pun. "Totodile is a good choice, and if that's your style you may want to take a look at turtwig too, they are pretty solid. Or mudkip, ha ha, mega marshtomp is a sight to see."

"Spike is fine assuming you don't want to be mortal foes," she smirked at Yvonne.

"Tempting, but I'll go with Spike," Yvonne smiled back as she quickly cut in.

"You mean solid like "good options as well for similar reasons" or solid like "built tanky"?"

"Both, plenty of starters have good bulk, the best arguably being piplup, but totodile, mudkip and turtwig give good offensive options too, on top of looking cool."

"Kind of feel like I'd feel safer with a crocodile than a turtle or a...newt? Plus hands down they're cooler. Think that's going to be my go-to if there's plenty," she looked to be firmly decided.

"I'm still undecided. I'm not sure how there could be plenty with as many people that showed up..." Aengus glanced around the room before continuing. "Also, I heard a rumor that Redwood's a total cheat, do you think that's true?"

"Didn't he need to get certified to be able to license new trainers, why would he risk that? I heard he had to go through a lot of trouble to get pokémon sent in from the professors in other regions too, I doubt they'd be willing to help if he wasn't on the up-and-up, right?"

"Yeah, those are good points, but the thing is it's not actually illegal at all to breed for IVs, hidden abilities or egg moves, and that's what they say he did. How else could he get such a wide variety? He bred them himself from his own private international competitive stock. If you read his bio on on the International Pokémon Superstar Cup website it says he has one of just about every pokémon from regions around the world. He collected them specifically so he could breed in any combination of moves and abilities possible into his pokémon. So they say," he looked a little nervous as he talked about the subject. Spike gave him a look usually reserved for the tin-foil hat wearers claiming pokémon were alien invaders.

"Riiiight, and there's a red gyarados living in my swimming pool. I'm sure he got them by pulling favors like everyone else."

"Well, maybe, but according to the magazines he doesn't really have any friends in the scientific community, so would he be able to pull that many favors, really?"

"Even if he can't, wouldn't the "community" just give him the pokémon to make sure he doesn't cheat?" The three were all quiet for a moment as they considered the possibilities.

"Maybe he only got one of each of the starters and we have to compete for them," Yvonne tried to revive the conversation.

"Oh, man, that's a cool idea... but what pokémon would we use to compete?"

"Maybe he's got some "dummy" pokémon like in the battle tree or whatever they call it over in Hoenn. Or maybe it isn't a battle at all."

"What else would it be?"

"Dunno, I wouldn't hold my breath that there is a competition, it's probably first-come, first-served, "here's a pidgey, have a nice day" if you're not one of the first like, what, twelve?"

"21 to 30 depending on what they are calling starters, and he's a professor so maybe it'd be trivia?"

"Oh, man, I hope so. But wouldn't that be "unfair"? Might make more sense as a random drawing. Can a professor favor the smart or studied over the, uh... otherwise?"

"Why not? It's not illegal, I'm sure."

"Wouldn't the ones who know more about pokémon be better suited to taking care of pokémon?"

"I guess that's true. They do say Redwood's really big on pokémon being properly treated...Maybe he'll bend the unwritten rule to make sure nobody's giving their chimchar a swirly?"

"Wait, how can he be a competitive breeder and advocate for fair and humane treatment of pokémon? Isn't that an oxymoron, or whatever you call 'em?"

"It does seem like a paradox, but aside from forcing them to breed how you want, couldn't you treat them just fine otherwise? Kind of like a good parent making their kid do an unpleasant chore, or am I way off base there?"

"Well, the reason it's frowned upon is that it takes many attempts to breed a "perfect" pokémon, so in some cases you have hundreds of baby pokémon or pokémon eggs that go un-cared-for or released irresponsibly into the wild all so that the breeder can have an edge in battle. Then, in order to properly take advantage of the IV trait, they have to train their EVs, which can be done in many ways; but the most popular method, due to speed, is to go out and fight one type of pokémon until your pokémon has maxed out that specific value. The argument is that it's cruel to run around bullying wild pokémon like that, partly because you'd be sitting in the same area knocking out dozens upon dozens of pokémon unless you have the right gear. Then, theoretically, the pokémon become afraid of your presence and move into areas they don't belong, messing with that ecosystem. There's oodles of articles about it."

"That's still a bunch of paranoid balogna. Couldn't the breeders just get a permit to sell the eggs and pokémon to slaughterhouses and restaurants? Then how's it different from a ranch or something? Plus, I've heard of special workout routines you can have your pokémon do that don't require you go out and battle wild pokémon at all," Spike waved her hand dismissively as if it was just that easy a problem to deal with.

"Well, yeah, but I was saying that that was the most popular method, so a lot of international cup competitors opt to do that instead because it doesn't take as long."

"That's still like comparing serial killing to manslaughter I think, but whatever."

"Hmm, I can't think of an area where something like that has happened. Maybe people are blowing it out of proportion? The people training EVs aren't sticking around the same area for weeks at a time, are they? If not it is unlikely to force wild pokémon to move away, and if so then the pokémon are obviously sticking around the area."

"Well, I guess, maybe. But they are professionals in the business, and our top pokémon scientists, so maybe we just aren't paying enough attention..." Aengus looked a little deflated with both of them disagreeing.

"Just sayin', sounds like a bunch of hokey."

"Either way, that isn't going to affect our starters today. It's not like Professor Redwood went out and trained all the starters he's handing out." She knew that wasn't the issue but hoped that this was going to avoid the imminent explosion.

"Well... I mean-"

"GOD! Shut up already, we get it, you're paranoid. Can we talk about something else?"

"I love your dress, the sleeves look super comfy," Yvonne was only too happy to change the subject since it seemed like neither of the two were going to see things from the other side. Aengus frowned as they moved on.

"Thanks, most people I know either can't appreciate it or dress this way themselves. They're pretty cool. Cotton I think. A lot of the time I go with a mesh of one kind or another but I figured that'd snag too much and went for a basic look. Probably going to skip makeup most days on the trail."

"Yeah, not looking forward to trying to maintain my hair out there, I know Orbos likes to rain a lot. And you, Aengus, the hat matching your pants is a bold choice, but you are making it work with the green stripe," she didn't want to leave him too upset with the conversation shift, and she would be lying if she said it didn't work.

"I am? Wait, I thought clothes were supposed to match." He turned red again at his limited knowledge of fashion showed. The girls were happy to share what they knew until Redwood took the stage.

 

[Vorpal Chandelier]

​

As Elmer made his way through the crowd and into the building he stopped briefly to look around. He saw his friends sitting a little ways a way, and considered going over there, but then he saw the person he was actually looking for: Emily.

He moved through the crowd and walked up to the seats they were using. There wasn’t really a free seat he could sit in, as she was surrounded by her girls, but he was used to this being the case. “Hey girls,” he said much less smoothly than he himself thought, as he sat on the floor near Emily’s feet. “You excited for the pokémon thing?”

Emily would have shaken her head, but then shew would have to admit that she was seeing what was happening. One of the other girls began to talk, but Emily cut her off.

“Hi El-“ “Elmer what are you doing?” She said, almost more disappointed in him as a person than irritated.

“Oh, you know Em, just hangin’ out. What about you?” He smiled up at her, incorrect in his assurance that he was coming off as funny and cool rather than weird.

“Elmer you’re not seriously going to sit on the floor… I’m sure it’s gross down there.” Even as she said it she realized there were several little yellow puffballs creeping around the room. They weren’t concentrated or anything, but she could tell there were a lot just by the sheer presence in the space they were inhabiting. Like seeing a few ants on a picnic table.

“What, you didn’t hear? Chairs are for squares Hot Stuff.” The girls giggled, which Elmer clearly mistook as a positive.

“Elmer, there’s bugs on the floor, get up.” Emily reached down and started pulling on his collar, trying to pry him from the floor so she could convince him to leave. She wasn't as much worried about his posture or hygiene, it was more that he was sitting near her and any association made between the two of them could effect the impression she left on others here.

“No thanks, now I have to stay. Who’s going to protect you from the fiendish creatures if I abandon you? Face it, I’m your white knight.”

The giggle turned into an eruption of laughter from one of the other girls. Emily simply shook her head in defeat.

That doesn’t mean what you think it does moron… She thought to herself. Luckily for her, the lights began to dim, and music began to play from the stage.

​

 

[Vorpal Chandelier]

​

The crowd of eager applicants murmured in anticipation as they awaited the start of the orientation. Music began to play as the chatter started to die down, introducing that the orientation was about to begin. A rather plump man in his late twenties, or perhaps early thirties, walked onto the platform and approached a microphone stand. His brown hair, parted center, bounced briefly as he removed his glasses and cleaned them, clarifying the audience’s appearance. He reached his hand into the pocket of his long white lab coat and adjusted his tie, clearing his throat and raising his hand to indicate to the crowd that he wished to speak. His signal seemed to have gotten across clearly as the crowd died down to whispers, and then silence.

“Welcome to the world of pokémon!” The man exclaimed excitedly as the music changed to a more upbeat style. The crowd roared in response until he indicated once again that it is his turn to speak.

“I can see in all of your faces that you’re excited to begin your pokémon journey, and trust me, I’m excited to be the one who gets to unite those of you who pass with your first partner, and help you take your first steps on a journey of wonder and friendship. However, let us not forget that pokémon can have great power, and therefore are a great responsibility, and that you must learn a lot about the pokémon world in order to earn your trainer card.

First, let’s begin with general pokémon law. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, but look around you. That’s right, there are plenty of hopefuls well above the age of ten who are returning to the seminar because they have had their trainer’s license revoked or, for some of them, have not met the requirements to become a pokémon trainer.

Of course, in pointing that out I mean no offense. We all learn at different speeds and we all have our own weaknesses and strengths, much like pokémon themselves. You may be wonderful at teaching your pokémon to behave, but you may forget some basic laws regarding various details from forgetting not to use your raichu to weaken wild pokémon in the safari zones of Kanto to surfing your lapras without a permit at Harrison beach.

So, let’s get started with a basic lecture on pokémon general law. This will cover the basics on what you can and cannot legally do regarding pokémon. Most, if not all of you should be familiar with our first rule regarding battles. Just like anywhere else in the world, assaulting or attacking anyone can be a serious crime. Your opponent must agree to a pokémon battle in order for you to legally have a match. During these battles, you would think it would go without saying that you may not physically participate in the match yourself by attempting to fight the trainer or his or her pokémon. You’d be surprised how many overzealous black belts have had their trainer’s license revoked for doing just that.

In addition, it is considered “assault with a deadly weapon” in all cases to attack a human with your pokémon. Let’s face it, we don’t have the same defenses they do and even a low level rattata could kill someone if the attack was severe enough.

Now of course there are justified exceptions in defense or in the case of law enforcement, so let’s not get too crazy with all of this. In fact, let’s move on to transportation and Hidden Machine law. Riding a pokémon, weather just by sitting on your mudsdale’s back or using the before mentioned lapras to cross water, requires a permit that you must legally obtain showing that you’re responsible enough to ride them without endangering yourself or others. Any transportation requiring a Hidden Machine, or “HM” simply requires the appropriate gym badge and a 500 dollar permit application fee to show that you can control your pokémon well enough to be safe. On the other hand riding a pokémon over land is slightly less difficult. You simply need to pay the permit fee and ride your desired pokémon through an obstacle course and you’re home free! For any of you interested in these permits you can apply and test for them at the local police station of any major city.

Now for some other rules. We all know killing pokémon is just as illegal as killing a person due to the fact that they in many cases are considered more sentient than a simple animal. A pidgey or spearow for instance can process thoughts and emotions much more complex than a normal bird. In addition, alakazam, a psychic pokémon, is as smart as a super computer and can understand the human language perfectly. There have even been cases of human beings becoming pokémon themselves under rare circumstances. Nobody knows truly what forces are behind such phenomena, but we know it’s a part of the natural way of our pokémon world.

It is because of this, that food supply companies and rancher require special permits and visits from the FDA to ensure that their products are fit to eat. Now, I know what many of you are thinking. ‘Professor Redwood, isn’t that information we should be learning in pursuit of a desire to work in the food industry and not something we need to worry about as new trainers?’ and you would make a good point.

However, it is important to know that if you are out exploring or travelling with your pokémon, this means you may not hunt for food. It is illegal to hunt pokémon and since normal animals are either too rare to depend on, or easily mistaken for certain types of pokémon, that means you may only forage for plant life or rely on food purchased from towns.

Of course as I stated there are exceptions. Many types of pokémon have the ability to provide food through certain pokémon moves, and these of course are something you may take full advantage of. You still of course, would require FDA approval and the necessary licenses or permits to sell food your pokémon produces, so if you have a desire to work in the moomoo milk industry for example, you’ll want to make your way to the appropriate facilities after obtaining your trainer license.

Last, we all know that pokémon trainer’s main source of income being on the road is winning money from pokémon battles. Upon obtaining your trainer’s license you will each be given 1000 dollars to fund the beginning of your adventure. For some of you this money may have been provided by your parents, but for others of you your application will decide how much the Academy will allowed to pay you to bring you to this amount.

This being said, the winner of a pokémon battle is entitled to 50 dollars from the loser as prize money. If the losing party has no money or if they do not have enough money, they will pay what they have left to the winner. Remember, pokémon centers are free people, and your pokémon gain experience battling wild pokémon as well as from rare candy if you can obtain them, so don`t worry too much about losing money. In addition to this, as stated prior, it is your choice to participate. So be a good sport and show your respect to a trainer who can out battle you by following this rule. Of course if the winner would like they can always decline the prize money if they don’t need it or if they know it’ll put the loser into financial trouble.

Now, for a lecture on how things work. All of you should be familiar with the concept of a pokéball, and some of you may even be familiar with transportation technology and PC software to manage pokémon. Some of you may even have wondered how these things work. Unlike with transportation of certain items, the pokémon are not in fact broken up and 3D printed on the return side. In fact various types of “teleportation” and “inter-dimensional” technology are involved in Transference systems and pokéballs themselves. You may, as a pokémon trainer, only have a maximum of six pokémon with you at all times. When you purchase or receive pokéballs, they are programmed to your trainer ID and instantly pair with your PC system so that they can be automatically transferred to a care facility. Before you leave today, those of you who receive your trainer ID will make a free account on “Bill’s PC systems” using your trainer ID number to ensure this process will work for you. If you ever find an empty pokéball of any type, remember to take it in to a pokémon center or pokémart as soon as possible to sync it with your trainer account. Otherwise any pokémon you capture in that ball will belong to the trainer ID associated with the pokéball. Un-associated pokéballs will automatically fail to capture a pokémon, and as you may or may not know, when a pokéball fails to capture a pokémon it breaks beyond repair.

Speaking of catching pokémon, we all know that wild pokémon are almost always free to capture. However there are some rules on when you cannot capture a pokémon. It is illegal to attempt to capture a pokémon owned by another trainer. Most modern pokéballs automatically break as they are programmed to read the trainer id of the pokémon inside when a capture is attempted. However, older pokéball models do not have this programming, and Snag Machines such as those used by criminal organization Team Snagem can remove this programming from any type of pokéball, including masterballs.

If you ever run into a situation where your pokémon has been captured, be sure to find the nearest police officer and report the situation in detail immediately. Other situations that would prevent you from capturing pokémon typically involve pokémon reserves, pokémon zoos, or private property. Please respect these laws and practices as your license can be revoked otherwise.

If I’m not mistaken, that covers all information required in orientation!”

The professor raised his hands excitedly as the crowd cheered again, but he indicated shortly after that he once again needed to speak.

“That being said, a written exam will follow this test and those of you that pass will be given your own pokémon and necessary gear! This gear will be explained to you on a one on one basis so that you can grasp the purpose of it as individuals. In addition, as an added incentive to do your very best I’ve been approved to initiate the top scoring testers myself, as well as allow them to participate in their very first pokémon battle on this very stage! Good luck future trainers!”

The crowd roared a final time as the professor waved and danced his way off the stage, somehow blinking yellow flashes in various places as he did (not unlike a Christmas tree). His assistants moving from their assigned standing positions into the storage area, bringing out one desk for each person seated in the audience, and arranging the seating area appropriately for the test.

The test lasted a grueling forty minutes of time. Time that every participant spent in suspense as they nervously filled out the answers to their questions, hoping that they would be one of the lucky attendees chosen not only to pass and receive their trainer cards, but for the honor of getting top scores on the test to further their reputation.

Tobias, who had done his test ahead of time, asked Brenda to hand his test in for him. She nodded, took his test, and joined the audience, smiling as she passed the observers.

After the forty minutes passed, Professor Redwood himself came out himself to collect the tests, personally thanking each and every attendee as he did so, and raising an eyebrow at Brenda as he collected his son’s.

As the audience waited in anticipation for the professor to reach the stage and examine the tests, they noticed tiny yellow hairballs hopping and crawling around on the floor and some of the desks, and noticed that there were some on the professor as well. In fact, the ones around the auditorium seemed to be coming from the professor somehow.

“Well, I’ve looked all of these over and most of you did very well. There are a few of you that will indeed will not be able to receive your license today, and I’m sorry to say so, but you will be given the opportunity to try again.” At that he handed the stack of paper back to his staff so that they could pass back the tests, except a few that he kept himself.

“The following testers may step onto the stage as I call your names, as you will be given your license and pokémon by me personally. These are being read in no particular order, although all of them scored 100% on the test, and found the trick question I threw in for extra credit! They are: Moonlight Shadow, Billie Russel, Tobias Red-er, Hawthorn, Yvonne Montenét, Elmer Jefferson, Aengus McGregor, Emily Albright, Avery Munn, Tiffany Wilson, Doug Spearman, and Chad Levine. If I didn't call your name, good luck to you. You may choose to leave once you're finished getting settled with my aides, or stay and watch the upcoming battle. For you lucky few, come on up!”

Once the several trainers selected came to the stage, Redwood waved Brenda over to join them, and instructed another aide to assist everyone else into designated areas of the lab to receive their first pokémon. He then ushered his assistant and the new trainers off-stage and into the curtained area.

“Hello and welcome, uh, children. Give me one moment to talk to my aide here and we’ll get going. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.”

With that Redwood walked off stage, discussing with Brenda to find out why Tobi’s test was handed in by her, and learning about his anxiety, and more importantly, the fact that his son didn’t cheat.

 

[FlumpPod]

"Nice job, everyone~! We're already giving it 110% and we haven't even gotten our pokémon." Yvonne looked over the other 10 young adults. "Monsieur tattoo, I'm happy to see you've passed, and even more so that you excelled on the test, très bon," she gave a polite clap to the older boy before turning her attention to others. "Emily, Aengus, I'd expect no less from either of you. And Spike! I didn't expect you to be a bookworm like us, way to go!" She'd pointed at the first two while getting in position to gently nudge Billie with her elbow at the end.

 

[BestrJestr]

"Thanks new kid," Avery responded calmly, "Yvonne right?"

Without waiting for an answer, since he had put name to face when the tests were called out, he pivoted so his side was facing her, and swept his hands over his friends.

"I'm Avery, and these are my friends, Chad, Tiffany, Moonlight," he turned to where Elmer was standing with Emily and pointed at him, "and Elmer"

Hefinished his sentence, and then pointed at Emily.

"And that's Emily" he continued in a new sentence, "I don't think I've ever met the rest of you, but it's nice to"

Avery stood with one hand in his jacket pocket and the other outstretched towards Yvonne for a handshake. His face was calm, despite the exciting circumstances, but still friendly.

 

[Amiulord]

When my name gets called I'm surprised. I get up and follow Tiffany up to the stage messing with my fingers.

I got 100 percent. I'm so happy I need to tell Luther when I can

I stood there with my friends smiling at the thought of me getting perfect and smiled at Emily when I saw her come up to. I wave at her a little bit so she can see that I am acknowledging her.

"I'm Avery, and these are my friends, Chad, Tiffany, Moonlight," Avery said and turned to where Elmer was standing with Emily and pointed at him, "and Elmer"
He finished his sentence and then pointed at Emily after a very small pause.

"And that's Emily" he continued in a new sentence, "I don't think I've ever met the rest of you, but it's nice to"

Avery said I am his friend?... He thinks I'm his friend? When did that happen? I don't really talk to him very much. Cool I have a new friend

I stood there awkwardly looking at the new kids. Some of them were so tall and cool looking and one kid has tats.

Well, he's hot. I thought to myself Wait? Wha? No no no I can't think that! I'm only 13 I'm a baby! and if my brother reads my mind ill never hear the end of it!

My mind was distracted by a combination of pubescent fantasies involving the many cute boys in my presence, a disappointment toward my inner thoughts, and the still remaining excitement of getting a new pokemon. I cover my face and slink to the back of the crowd thinking.

Why?!?!?!?!?

 

[Vorpal Chandelier]

Doug laughed. He couldn’t tell if he was being flirted with or if this was just a Kalos thing. Well, they were the region of romance. He took a quick glance at the others before responding. “You keep talking so nice to me chair-E, and I might just have to kiss you. Gotta confess though, I don’t really understand all that mon bon bon furfrou stuff.” He smirked confidently.

Aengus somehow managed to choke on his own saliva at this, turning beet red, while Billie couldn’t seem to care less about his comment. Emily however, looked like she had been physically struck, and became angry, which she wore right on her face.

“I guess we’re all a bunch of smarties.” Elmer said smiling. “Looks and brains, quite a package you are eh Emily?” he flirted, as if he was required to after Doug's comment.

“Shut up ‘floor boy’.” She muttered. She decided to focus her attention elsewhere, first on Moonlight, who had been waiving. She gave a nod to her to let her know it had been seen, then she moved her glance over to Tiffany, at whom she glared.

Tiffany looked away and began whistling suspiciously, pretending not to notice. I wonder what crawled up her butt. I didn’t even do anything yet. She thought.

Chad was still pretty distracted for the most part, but saluted the new girl when Avery introduced him.

“It’s a shame none of the other girls made it through, I guess I’ll just have to make due with some of you. Now way I’m traveling with a bunch of morons that’s for sure.” Emily said in an attempt to move the focus onto herself casually.

At that Redwood came back with his assistant. “Well alright kids, shall we?” He gestured for them to follow him through the lab, which he did. Tobi lagged somewhat behind, and noticed the shy girl that the boy had called Moonlight was also trying to lag behind. She seemed almost as embarrassed as the kid with the fedora. Maybe she didn’t like crowds either.

As he continued his tour of the lab Redwood pointed out many features of it, and explained his thoughts behind the extra credit question. The questions on the test itself were pretty basic, and most weren’t really even hard, but he wanted to encourage outside of the box thinking so he designed a multiple choice question where no answer was correct. Leaving it blank would get the question right just as much as writing your own answer would, but he figured most trainers would pick one of the four answers, hoping they were correct.

Eventually Redwood circled back and returned to the hall just outside of the room Tobias had been sleeping in, his galvantula walking across the ceiling overhead. “Alright class, this is where the fun begins. Everyone knows that you’re being given a pick from myself, which implies first choice from every starter, but what you don’t know is that I’ve arranged for you to have another choice. There are two rooms here, and you er… several trainers will be given the choice between a starter pokémon…” he gestured toward the room to the student’s left, his right. “…or an egg.” He gestured to the room directly opposite the other.

“Should you choose the egg, you will have to rely on other methods of obtaining your first pokémon, or wait until they hatch, but you also have the reward of experiencing what it’s like to rear a pokémon from birth. I would, and always have in fact, argue that the bond of pseudo parenthood between you and your pokémon is much stronger than the taming of a once wild beast. Now, some of you might be thinking ‘what’s the difference Professor? Aren’t the starters effectively babies too? With practically no experience?’ Well not exactly. For one thing eggs hatch at level one, not five, so even the starting pokémon have had some training and battle experience. Second, some of these pokémon have been sitting around in a lab for a while. Now I’m sure whether or not they’re really babies isn’t that much of a concern of yours,” he chuckled “but in taking on the extra experience of raising an egg you do put yourself in an awkward position when it comes to going out on your adventure. Some of you may need to borrow a pokémon to catch one, or wait until it hatches to go into any battles. Some of you may bend the rules a little bit and enter a battle without any pokémon at all, as it’s not all that hard to catch a low level pokémon with just a throw or two of the ball, and that is the complication with that choice. The other relevant factor: The eggs are not from starters. None of them are. I bred a wide range of pokémon under supervision from my colleagues to ensure them I was not breeding in IVs, natures, or egg moves intentionally. Most, if not all of the parents used for the breeding process had any of the moves they could pass down to their egg erased, and were used of completely average stock. So, you could get just about anything, I even have some fossil pokémon eggs if you’d believe it.”

Doug’s eyes widened at the opportunity, many of the other kids present gasped and became visibly excited. Even Billie’s mouth fell open in awe of the new option.

“So, those of you who still want a starting pokémon, make a neat line in front of this door please. Those who want an egg? The egg door.” Redwood smiled as he placed his hands in his pockets, delighted at the reception of his surprise.

"Oh my god we can get to have an egg!? I get to have a baby pokémon!" Moonlight exclaimed, dashing over to the wall respresenting the 'egg door', a huge excited grin on her face.

Tiffany laughed, following her, where as Emily and Elmer moved toward the wall with the starters, Tiffany receiving another sharp glance from Emily in doing so. Shortly after, Tiffany and Moonlight were joined by Doug. As others moved to their respective doors, Tobias, Chad, Billie, and Aengus stood undecided.

Tobi then moved to the egg door, and Billie moved to the door with the starters, Chad, Aengus still deliberating on their decision.

 

[FlumpPod]

Yvonne returned the smirk in kind as she made sure Aengus was ok. She tried to get all the names Avery had listed connected to their owners in her head, feeling a little bad since these were the locals and she had seen them around town the past few days.

After Redwood had explained their choices here and most of the others had made their choices Yvonne turned to Spike.

"Well, I'm still making the cliché choice here," she turned to the group already in line for eggs and spoke up, "If anyone wants help catching a pokémon I'm willing to lend a hand."

With that she walked over to the line for a starter.

 

[BestrJestr]

As Avery entered the room in which the group had been in, he noticed everyone dividing into two seperate lines on either side of the room, leaving Chad and one of the visiting trainers to be in the middle, currently in thought. Perplexed, Avery sidled up to Chad and leaned over to him.

"Yo man, what's up?" Avery asked softly, but not in a whisper.

"We can choose a starter or an egg" Chad replied, "It's wierd, pick a line basically, i'm still thinking"

"Did you sneak off?" the new guy asked, "Did you find anything interesting?"

"I got distracted, did you notice all the Joltik everywhere?" Avery replied, "Also I'm gonna go with a starter, so if you want an egg we can have your back, though a starter would be a guarantee to compliment a water type"

"i'm not worried about a compliment, but i guess so" Chad said, sinking once more into thought.

"I know right? what do you think is up with that?" The visiting would-be trainer asked, seeking to further the Joltik discussion.

"Maybe this place runs on Joltik power?" Avery suggested.

"Oh maybe, that would be cool" the boy replied.

"No, that's not it," said another boy he didn't recognize, but had a kick ass vest. "They're the result of an experiment and the population just got out of control. They stay at the lab because of all the equipment."

"So, they're all technically wild?" Avery asked, his interest sufficiently piqued.

"Yeah, except that one." Vest Boy pointed to the shiny on redwood's head. "That's the professor's. But we aren't allowed to catch Pokémon or battle in the lab there's an area outside the front of the lab he doesn't mind we root around in but anything from the inside of the lab all the way through the daycare area is off limits. Delicate equipment and roaming Pokémon that 'help with stuff around here' and all. Don't worry though, there's Joltik outside too"

"What kind of experiment?" Non-Vest Boy asked.

"A-hem" Professor Redwood interjected.

Avery looked over at the professor, and gave him a friendly wave.

"Not to be rude or anything but there's other trainers in the auditorium who will be waiting for you to choose your Pokémon so the battle can begin." he said with a smile.

"Wow... you know a lot about Redwood... I live here and I don't know a thing." Moonlight said to Vest Boy.

"He's my dad" Vest Boy replied.

Everyone else stopped and looked at Vest Boy with their mouths agape. Avery gave a simple "Ok", and moved to line up on the starter side, half listening to the sudden outburst of responses.

Tiffany asked why he called Redwood professor instead of dad, and why he was called Hawthorne, to which the goth chick replied by telling her to shut up and mind her business, Avery frowned at this. Moonlight chimed in by telling Vest Boy that she always called her parents by their names, and he smiled at Tiffany, probably to show he wasn't offended, to which she blushed, Avery maintained his frown at this, though anyone with an eagle eye trained on him noticed the frown increase ever so slightly. Emily smiled at the goth girl and gave a simple "nice" at seeing Tiffany shrink back at her words. This caused Avery to release a lengthy, yet hushed sigh of disappointment. Redwood simply laughed at the current fiasco and leaned against the wall, waiting for the ruckus to die down. Avery adopted this approach, closing his eyes and pulling out his grandfather's Harmonica, softly playing an old blues tune he taught him.

 

[Vorpal Chandelier]

“So kind of you.” Emily scoffed, rolling her eyes in frustration at how pleasant the orange haired girl seemed to be. What a suck up. Guess we can’t all make friends the old fashioned way. She thought nastily.

“Really? You would help us get a pokémon?” Moonlight was taken back a little. She was used to girls around their age being less than helpful. Even Tiffany, as nice as she was didn’t typically go out of her way to help others if it seemed like it would blow back on her.

“Well, in that case I suppose I’ll get an egg. Would be interesting to see if the rumors are true.” Aengus said, smiling at Yvonne. “Thanks pal.” He added, nodding at Yvonne.

Hmm… well, I do have a pretty sure way of getting a pokémon without getting hurt. And it would be interesting if a non-native or rare pokémon were to hatch… Chad thought, shrugging and joining the giddy nerd as he fell in line behind the others.

Redwood continued waiting patiently, shaking his head and smiling as they commented, and spoke back and forth before finally it became quiet again. The children had made their choices, and now it was time to move things along. He smiled and gestured to both rooms.

“Alright then boys and girls, for those of you who chose starters, go ahead and enter, please don’t touch the pokémon yet as I’ve yet to determine what order you’ll choose them in. If you happen to decide among yourselves before I get back that’s fine, should make things easier, there are pictures posted above each ball to show you what each pokémon looks like, as well as a caption underneath the picture expressing the type and classification of each pokémon. For those of you who chose eggs, I’ll be keeping you company for the next bit. When we’re done there I’ll have you wait in the hall while I work with the others. Sound good?”

With that he walked into the egg room, leading the others. The massive dog-like pokémon was still in the room, fast asleep until he smelled his owner enter. He perked up and began to wag his tail, barking mightily, scaring some of the kids in doing so. There were several pedestals around the room, upwards of twenty eggs or more, lined up against the left and back wall of the room. The floor was littered with pillows, possibly for the pokémon’s comfort, but also likely in case of an egg falling.

“Alright, you’ve all been waiting an awful long time for a pokémon haven’t you? In that case we’ll do oldest to youngest. Ages?” Collecting the numbers from the trainers he found out that Doug was the oldest at seventeen, then Aengus who was nearly fifteen, then Tiffany, Chad, Tobias, and finally Moonlight, most separated by a matter of weeks or months, and Moonlight only just having turned 13 last week.

Doug thought for a moment, looking over each egg and at the fire pokémon who had, at this point, made his way over to rub his head on Redwood, receiving the attention he was seeking in doing so.

“Are any of these one of those?” He asked.

“Uhhh, maybe but I didn’t use mine. Remember, I can’t tell you what’s in the eggs. I'm not even sure myself which twenty eggs made it of the some odd hundred we bred from several dozens of pokémon used in the process.” Redwood responded.

Aengus perked up a little at the mention.

“If there is a growlithe egg though it wouldn’t be from Murphy here, he’s got too many perfect IVs. Five if I’m not mistaken. Couldn’t risk the inheritance being passed on to starting young trainers like yourself. Would piss off the other scientists and whatnot.” He mentioned.

Aengus wasn’t convinced, he had definitely heard Redwood was sort of shady, and his own son got into the ‘special circle’ of trainers. Clearly the whole thing was rigged. He couldn’t wait to see what kind of pokémon hatched from his egg choice.

“No way to tell these apart at all?” Doug asked.

“Nope, all pokémon eggs look identical. Even a scientist can’t tell you what’s in the egg without hatching it first. I mean, technically there might be some equipment that can look inside the egg somehow but I’ve never heard of it. We typically just have to keep track of which pokémon was having their ‘special time’ together and mark the eggs to keep track of them. Obviously we didn’t do that here.”


Doug deliberated for just a moment longer before selecting the third egg in the line. Backing up to re-join the other trainers as he did.

The dog pokémon had worked his way from redwood over to Aengus at this point, who was petting him, but now that it was his choice he walked forward to look at each of the twenty or so eggs in detail before making his choice.

Murphy then moved over to Tiffany, who had Moonlight hiding behind her. “Well you’re just a big lover boy aren’t you!” She said to the fire type, patting his head. “He’s pretty fluffy Moonlight you should pet him. Plus he’s warm and soft.”

“MMmm.” Moonlight responded, refusing. Looking cautiously at the pokémon, being more nervous now that a big one was up close.

“Aww, there really is no difference…” Aengus said, disappointed. He selected the very last egg in the row and moved back to join the others.

Tobi called Murphy over to him, and the pokémon did as it was told, Tobi sitting on the cushions with him as Tiffany walked over and took egg number one. “Your turn chad.” She said smiling and petting her egg. “These are heavier than they look by the way, be careful not to drop them.” She warned.

Chad walked over and shrugged, taking egg number two, leaving the first three slots completely blank.

“You can go before me if you want.” Tobi said to moonlight. “The eggs are random anyway.” He was scratching Murphy’s belly.

Moonlight eyed the dog, he was a little closer to the eggs than she was comfortable with, but with the boy scratching his tummy like that he was probably distracted enough. Plus he wasn’t right next to them.

“Are you sure? I thought we have to go in order.” Moonlight asked Tobi. Tobi nodded in response.

“That was more so you didn’t argue over who went first, I thought it would be fair to do it by age. If Tobi wants to pick last go ahead.” Redwood confirmed. Moonlight walked over and took the third egg from last, two away from Aengus’ choice. She carefully picked the egg up and moved back toward the others. It was heavy, and a little warm to the touch. She could even sort of feel the pokémon inside pulsing. Not physically though, this was something else. She smiled and hugged her egg as she reached the other kids.

Tobi stood and selected the closest egg to where he had been seated, then instructed Murphy to lay back down. He made a barking motion excitedly but only a small hiss came out. Sort of a ‘silent bark’. As he continued to wag his tail. “Good boy.” He said.

“Alright, that concludes your choice. Follow me back into the hall and you can wait while I help the others with their choices. After that we’ll go get your gear and set you ups, get your licenses printed and decide which of them get to participate in their first battle."

As the group walked back into the hall, the young trainers instinctively leaned back against the wall again as if they were in line again, a few of them, including Moonlight, sitting down with their eggs.

Redwood then moved into the other room, where the trainers had been patiently waiting. All in all it didn’t take long to begin with.

“Alright, oldest to youngest.” He said, looking at the group. As they gave their ages, the order was revealed to be Yvonne, Billie, then Avery, Emily, and finally Elmer.

“Go right ahead young lady.” Redwood encouraged.

 

[FlumpPod]

"Of course, trainers should help each other if they can," Yvonne said as she nodded to Moonlight and Aengus.

The professor had them enter the room with the starters and Yvonne's eyes locked onto the ball beneath the fennekin picture. They waited for a while until Professor Redwood returned and asked their ages to determine the starting order, which gave Yvonne first choice.

"Go right ahead young lady."

"Alright! I choose fennekin!" she strode to the ball and picked it up in both hands before walking back to the group and waiting for the others to make their choices, beaming at the thought of the pokémon this ball contained.

 

[Vorpal Chandelier]

“Good choice.” Redwood Nodded.

For the most part things went pretty quietly. Billie walked up and chose totodile as she had pondered, Avery forfeited his turn to ensure everyone got what they wanted in case of conflicting desires, as he was rather flexible himself, so after Emily took snivy and elmer took charmander, Avery finally took cyndiquil.

“Wow Emily, I didn’t figure you someone who’d go for a snake pokémon.” Elmer said, smiling.

“Suppose that shows what you know about me doesn’t it?” She said, looking over her ball. She wondered if she lagged behind the other if she could get away with taking a second ball, and registering it at a pokémart later, but thought against it due to the number of people. Besides, she thought. I wouldn’t want people to think I can’t do things myself.

The professor led the children back out of the room, and into the hallway once more.

“Alright kids,” He began. “Now if you’ll follow me we’ll print your cards and get you what you need.”

He led the kids down the hall eventually coming to another room where a few of his aides were preparing things. Each trainer received a pokégear, printed their trainer card, and received one thousand dollars’ worth of credit to fund their journeys. In addition, he gave each trainer who began with an egg a single pokéball to store them in once they hatched.

“Now, I know technically that ball could be used to catch a pokémon now, but I’d recommend against that until you’ve purchased more. After all, if your egg hatches before you get to a pokémart, your pokémon can be caught by someone else.”

The professor proceeded to register each ball, empty or not, to their respective trainer ID’s.

"There we go. I don’t think I’m forgetting much. Any questions?" He asked.

“I heard some trainers receive a pokédex when they start out. Will we be getting one?” Aengus asked.

“Well,” Redwood responded “That was mostly in requesting assistance gathering data on pokémon. I don’t really have a need for that type of assistance and therefor don’t intend on handing any out. Best you could manage would be to purchase one from a department store or find a professor who is looking for some help. Nearest bet would be Cityville’s department store probably, though I’m not sure what they cost.”

Aengus looked disappointed. “Ah, alright then.”

“Anyone else?” The professor offered.

 

[FlumpPod]

"Who wants to exchange pokégear numbers?" Yvonne held the display for her own pokégear.

 

[Amiulord]

"Oh, that reminds me. I need to put in Luther's number and tell him what I got." I mumble my self.

I sit down on the floor with my egg putting it on my lap to keep it safe and pulled out my pokégear and started putting the number in then I text my brother.

"My Pokemon is an egg!!! I'm so excited I don't even know what it is, but I'm so happy I got another baby. I wish you were here to see it but I know you had to go. Love ya bro."

I look up at Yvonne realize that I sounded rude and never answered her. I know she wasn't talking to me but still.

"Sorry... Uh yes, I would like your number, Yvonne."

 

[BestrJestr]

"Oh," Avery said, seemingly breaking out of some thought, "Yeah we can swap numbers"

Avery then walked over to her, and while waiting for Moonlight and Yvonne to finish swapping, turned to Redwood.

"Hey Prof," Avery began, "If we want our Pokémon to have nicknames do we register them, or is that something we just handle on our own?"

"Oh yes, good question" Redwood replied, walking over to the registry machine as he talked, "So, you actually register them yourselves once caught, you'll have the option to do that via a message on your Pokégear that shows up once the catch is confirmed. You can either enter something or dismiss the message, if dismissed only a licensed Name Rater can log in and alter the nickname. If you'd like I can log in so you guys can issue your nicknames"

"Yeah that'd be cool," Avery said, prompting Redwood to log on as he continued, "Imma call him Dennis"

"Why Dennis?" Chad asked, giving Avery a look of intrigue, or perhaps just confusion.

Avery shrugged as he handed the ball containing his Cyndaquil to Redwood. He saw Tiffany inhale to say something, but after a few seconds of thinking she just smiled and said "Nevermind"

"Why are any of us named anything?" Avery replied, glancing over at Elmer to see if his words were Super Effective against him due to his "Status Effect".

Elmer was too focused on Emily to notice anything though, and Avery turned back to Yvonne, ready to swap numbers.