Decisions, Decisions

[kitsunaii]

Standing before the doors of the lab, a red-haired girl contemplated what she was about to do. Would she get a Pokémon that she liked? Would it like her back? What species would it be? Would the journey be difficult? It was hard to tell what would happen, and she felt uneasy, nervous, and insecure about her decision now. She had never really looked into anything beyond where to go to get her first Pokémon; not what kinds they had, not how the process worked, not anything. She assumed that she could go in and just sort of ask them for a Pokémon, but how would they know which one to give her?

"Well, I'll never find out standing here, now will I?" she asked herself as she gained a small burst of confidence. Before she could change her mind, she strode forward and pulled open one of the doors, revealing a clean, white laboratory setting with many blinking lights. A loud chime sounded, echoing off into the countless hallways, startling Cheryl. She almost backed out and left again, but she was already inside and it was too late to chicken out now, especially after all of the begging and whining it took to get here. She sucked in a deep breath and walked forward a few steps when a large screen caught her attention. On it was a display of all of the different Pokémon the laboratory had to offer, along with a few notes that she didn't bother to read. She was mesmerized by the tiny images of the Pokémon.

I wonder which one would be the best for me..? Maybe that green lizard, or the blue creature.. She continued to stare at the listing, wondering what some of them were called and what types they were. For someone who really wanted to be a trainer, she had done shockingly little research into Pokémon, and barely knew what types existed, let alone what types each one was. She knew what only a few on the list were called; that squat blue-green one was Bulbasaur, this orange chicken creature was Torchic, that one in the corner with the fluff was.. Mary? Masheep? Something like that.

"What's this one..?" She absently touched the screen where the Pokémon she was wondering about was, and shockingly, an information screen popped up. Apparently, it was a touch-screen computer. "Oshawott.. Oh, that one's a Water-type. Weird," she read from the screen. "And this one's a Ghost and Poison-type. Gastly? Is that how you say it? Gass-tuh-lee.. Gast-lee.."

[Doomulus]

New trainers. Always with the new trainers. He really didn't have any problem with them, they were just everywhere. Beech always takes care of the trainers, where'd she wander off to? Musta crashed again or somethin'. Swear, she's gonna overwork herself.. The senior professor trotted out of his office, rubbing the back of his neck. "Tarnation," Buckeye muttered, likely being the only human being in the region using tarnation as a valid curse, "Hope it ain't another group this time."

Place looked real clean again. Didn't mean he was complaining - he appreciated it, himself. Though it always seemed a bit too clean for his tastes, bit obsessive, bit sterile. In his younger day, he might have had liked this look more - something new, something fresh. Hard to tell why he stopped enjoying this level of cleanliness. His hard-bottomed loafers clacked somewhat loudly with every step, and the trainer-to-be could likely hear them getting gradually louder as he approached.

"Y'know, back in my day, people used to ask before they could go pokin' around with the fancy-lookin' big screens." Buckeye leaned against the doorway leading into the room. "Then again, back in my day, we didn't have any of these fancy lookin' big screens." He brushed off his right sleeve and stood up, appraising her with his eyes. "Must be in quite a rush to grab your first, seein' as we just got our latest shipment of starters just today."

"Ah, must've forgotten my manners, ma'am. Welcome to Namino Laboratories, finest in the region. My name is Travis Buckeye," he said as he flashed his ID card, "and I'll be helpin' ya with gettin' a start on your Trainer career."

[kitsunaii]

At the sound of the footsteps, Cheryl touched off to the side of the information she'd been viewing, about the little ice cream cone-looking Pokémon, to make it disappear so that the screen appeared as it had when she walked in. She had left no prints on the screen; it was likely coated with a substance to prevent that from happening, and possibly to repel dirt, as one never knew what sort of things people wandering in might have on their hands that they would get on the screen by touching it. Apparently, she had taken just a tad too long acting like she hadn't touched it, since the man that walked in immediately commented on it.

"Well, isn't it meant to be touched? How else am I supposed to know which Pokémon I'm gonna want?" She gave him a stern, annoyed look, wondering what he was even doing here. He looked more like he belonged on a ranch with Miltank and Ponyta than in a stark white scientific laboratory such as this. It wasn't until he showed her his ID badge that she believed he belonged here at all and wasn't just a person that had wandered in off of the streets.

"Well then, I guess you're going to help me choose. I.. honestly, I don't know much about Pokémon, my parents wouldn't let me come out here to get one for so long and I just had other things to do so I could forget about it until they let me. I kind of like this little green one with the big tail," she indicated Larvitar with her finger, "but I also kind of like.. Treecko, I think it's called. And I don't know what the types are really for, I'm just picking by appearances I guess."

If this man was a professor, he should be able to help, she hoped, and her pleading gaze was bright and as innocent as she could manage under the circumstances. She really could not figure out which one to pick at all; Pokémon were serious business! What if she chose one that didn't like her, or what if she didn't like it? She couldn't know until she got it and took it out on her journey.

[Doomulus]

Buckeye returned a plain, clearly not amused stare back at the girl, apparently having been looked at that way before. Nothing of frustration or impatience - he just looked at her as though she was a child (and she sorta was, to be fair.) "I ain't sayin it ain't meant to be touched." The old man rubbed his chin. "All I'm sayin' you're a curious type." Then again, he supposes the youth of this generation has got to be curious if it wants to get anywhere.

The youth of this generation also had a more asinine tendency - judging Pokemon based on their appearances. This one he was a bit less patient towards, and who could blame him? Working in the frontier often left you with whatever hand you were dealt when it came to Pokemon, and he had aimed to make the best of them regardless of what they were. It was a bit jarring to see someone act this way. Well, then again, things were different back then. People have a lot more options than they used to, for better or for worse.

"It ain't worth much just to appraise 'em based on how they look, ma'am. Sometimes you need to take a closer look before makin' a decision as rash as the one you're makin'." Attempting to make good on his claim, the professor approached the screen she was poking through and pressed a few buttons off to the side. As he did, the screen 'complied' and slid off to the side, revealing a perfectly rectangular indentation in the wall where it used to be. The indent itself revealed what appeared to be some sort of vending machine-like interface, stocked with Poke Balls that were just poised to pop out with a satisfying noise.

Having followed the screen, Buckeye pressed a few more buttons on the interface. Out popped two of the balls from the indentation's rounder indentations, sending out their contents just as though they had been thrown into battle by a Trainer. The professor did like that about the facility - it was always interesting to see something as snazzy as that. A way for trainers to see possible picks, as well as an impromptu defense system in case of trouble.

The Larvitar opened its eyes slowly, and first fixed its gaze upon the newcomer. Slowly it strutted, like it owned the place, and stood before Cheryl. Its stare was confronting, defensive, and hostile all wrapped into one. It was silent, and would likely remain silent unless she went out of her way to provoke it. The other Pokemon, a Treecko, uttered its cry as it was released, looking around curiously. Seemed like it was its first time out of the Ball and into the laboratory. Lost in the new environment, it started to leap about the room to explore. Hopefully it doesn't do that in any other new environment it encounters.

"Plucky little Larvitar ain't been picked up by anybody for its behavior. Treecko there, well, we don't know too much 'bout him, I'm afraid. But you take a look at 'em and let me know if you got yourself any ideas."

[kitsunaii]

Seeing the Pokémon out and about wasn't making choosing one any easier. She stared at the Larvitar first. It looked like it was judging her, like it was looking into her mind and appraising what it saw there. She couldn't tell if he was judging her well or poorly, but she could tell that he wasn't amused and probably thought highly of himself. The Treecko looked like a curious sort, but it didn't look like it cared one way or the other about anything she did.

Hm.. If she chose the one running around on its own, would it wander off on its own while they were traveling too, or would it stay with her and be loyal? She decided then that she probably didn't want it, even though curiosity was usually a fairly good trait to have. Her eyes moved back to the still-stationary Larvitar, judging it right back; it would probably either judge her constantly, maybe deciding not to listen, but it didn't look hostile, like it might attack her at random, either. It also looked very tough, like it could take quite a few hits, and hey, it looked cooler in general too. That won it a few points.

"Yeah, I'll take this one." she said, indicating the stony little dinosaur by pointing with her thumb. "He looks a lot tougher and hardier, and he probably won't get distracted as easily." Now that she'd given her choice, she sounded fairly confident in her choice, as though it was exactly what she had wanted the whole time.

Cheryl felt like she was forgetting something, and she suddenly remembered that she had to tell the person at the lab if she wanted a Contest Pass. "Hey, Mister.. Professor Buckeye? I'm gonna need a Contest Pass, too. And a Breeding Pass, if that's alright too." She smiled uneasily, still unsure of how well everything was going to play out. She figured it would be good to get all of the available passes and licenses while she was here in case she needed one later and had to walk all the way back here.

[Doomulus]

"Oh, you ain't got the slightest idea how long he's been waiting for that, ma'am." Buckeye smiled. It was nice to see anything like him, so neglected, finally be accepted by that one person who's got a ton of other, supposedly better looking options. The Larvitar seemed to agree, in his own subtle way - crossing his tiny little dinosaur arms in triumph. The Treecko didn't really notice her selection, and probably wouldn't have the slightest problem; he still needs time to drink in his surroundings.

"I ain't so sure about the passes part, though. I ain't got a problem with it myself - we've got tons of undone passes just sittin' around. We could process yer registration fer just one pass and it'd apply to all three of 'em. Don't quite know 'bout my colleagues though, they tend to be leanin' more towards procedure and protocol an' all that." He stroked his well-groomed mustache pensively. "Well, I'll tell you what." Touching a couple of small buttons on the screen lead to a satisfying 'pop!' noise as a drawer rolled out from the wall. Reaching into the storage drawer, the professor pulled out three plastic cards from within.

He stepped over to the girl and her newly-picked partner. Holding out all three of the cards in one hand, he revealed them to her like a poker hand. (You know, the one with three cards.) "I'll let you pick two of 'em. Might be able to convince my colleague to get you a third, but I'm afraid I just can't quite attend to that right at the moment. I'll contact you - and don't worry how I will right now. You'll like it."

[kitsunaii]

As luck would have it, the professor in charge of the more technical things came in just as Cheryl was reaching for one of the blank passes Professor Buckeye had removed from the drawer and was holding out to her. She came in in an unusual manner; on the back of a Feraligatr walking on all fours, claws clicking on the tiles as he went. She sat atop its scaly back like it was a Rapidash and both trainer and Pokémon looked perfectly comfortable. Rubbing her eyes and yawning, she finally realized she was in the lobby and quickly leapt down from the back of her Feraligatr, landing with her own clacking sounds.

"Travis! You know you're not supposed to give those out blank, you're supposed to use the machine! How do you know someone won't take one and stamp it with whatever information they like and they aren't even a registered trainer?!" It sounded to Cheryl like Travis had probably been scolded for this before.

"Uh.. hi?" she said sheepishly, stepping back from the Professor offering the cards and acting as though she had no intention of taking one, even though only moments before her arm had been extended in front of her to take one. "I'm Cheryl, I chose this Larvitar for my starter..."

"Cheryl. Hello, and welcome. I am Professor Beech, and I see you've met my colleague." The female Professor was suddenly all business; well, except when she strode over to Buckeye and snatched away the cards. She replaced one of them into the drawer, then suddenly realized how disorganized the drawer had become during her nap. "Feraligatr!" With the call and a snap of her fingers, the massive Pokémon was standing on two legs and awaiting orders. "Find this girl - Cheryl - find her a starter pack. Any one will do." With a dip of his head, he turned and went back through the swinging door the unusual pair had entered through while Beech shuffled around in the drawer for a few moments more.

Apparently satisfied with her organization, she turned back to Cheryl and clasped her hands together. "Now, you wanted passes? Which passes did you want?" Her smile was sincere and very pleasant.

"Um.. Breeding and Contest, please.." Cheryl did not know what to make of this lady, so she decided to opt for silence. She assumed the good Professor knew what she was doing, though she hadn't had a problem with Professor Buckeye. It was almost as if these two split the jobs in the building, and Buckeye was not the one that handled passes. She was correct in thinking this, but she wasn't about to ask, as nosy as she could be.

"Certainly. Couldn't decide? Or do you want to be able to breed for whatever purposes you choose?" Beech smiled as she tried to make small talk, but even Cheryl could tell she wasn't really comfortable with it. The Professor reached back into the drawer and easily produced two cards, each just a bit larger than a credit card. One was colored light pink with a blue edge and the other was colored in five colors in a ray pattern from the center.

"Well, I've just started my journey - obviously - and I'm just not sure what I'm doing yet, so I thought I'd get whatever stuff I might need here so I won't have to come back later if I need it." As she spoke, Beech moved to a large machine with a flat piece and a lever. One card, then the other was placed beneath the flat piece and, after she changed some of the settings on the tiny screen and keyboard attached to the machine, she pulled the lever and crushed the information into the plastic.

"Now, there's just the matter of your portrait!" It seemed that Professor Beech had listened to exactly none of Cheryl's words, the new trainer realized dejectedly. She found herself being pushed towards an open chair in front of a plain white thing that looked like it was made of the same material as window shades, and then she was jostled into the chair.

"There! Now, smile nice!" Beech imitated a big smile, then clacked back behind a strange, old fashioned-looking camera, where she quickly took the photo with the push of a button. Apparently, the camera was wirelessly connected to the card-press machine, because when she went over to it to finish the cards, she had only to push another few buttons to transfer the new photo. The result of Cheryl's photo was a little awkward, but it did look like her and it would certainly suffice.

The poor girl received her passes; the colorful one had her photo on it, and the pink one did not, but they both stated her name and a series of eight numbers in a similar fashion to a credit card. What the passes were for was emblazoned on the back of each of them; the colored one was her Contest Pass, and the pink one was her Breeding Pass. Pocketing them, she looked back to Professor Beech, who looked like she was ready to go back to sleep.

"Er.. my pack? And my Pokémon?" Cheryl did not look amused.

"Oh! Well, hold on, I'll just.." Beech clacked to the main touch screen and set it to move so she could retrieve the two empty Poké Balls, then moved to find the Treecko. Once it was in its ball, she turned to the patiently-waiting Larvitar and put it back into its ball too, then went back out of the room carrying both of them.

Cheryl stared after her, somewhat stunned, before realizing that she'd probably gone after her overgrown lizard. With a sigh, she sat back down in the chair in front of the license camera to wait.

[Doomulus]

Buckeye, having received the brunt of Beech's scolding once before, found nothing new with what she was going on about now. At this point he found it sort of entertaining - there was always something 'wrong' with the protocol he was doing. In fact, he'd occasionally mess around a bit with the order of things for a couple of reasons: to ensure she was doing her job and to see her pointing fingers. Of course, that's another story entirely. "Y'know, miss, you might have a bit of an easier job if you weren't fussin' over stuff like this all the time. 'Course I knew I had to get her picture an' all that, the choice I was offerin' her was just symbolic. She's startin' out, after all. Rites of passages an' all that."

Watching Beech fumble about, confusing the poor newly-initiated trainer made Buckeye question exactly why she opted for doing this process on top of all the research that she already does. It seemed to him as though her purpose in life was to eschew absolutely any atmosphere of respite. Sleep, work, eat, it was all he ever saw. And he never had any business poking around her room - which is odd, considering he sees her sleep a mite too often. As she left with Cheryl's new Pokemon, Buckeye suppressed a chuckle.

"You'll have to excuse her, ma'am. For all of her skill, time put into research, and her knack for organization, she hasn't quite come to the realization that time organization is important too. She never gets too much sleep, y'know. Don't worry, I'll make sure everythin's ready for you." Flashing a smile, something that appeared so uncharacteristic on such an intense-looking old man like him, he walked towards the hallway Beech left to. "Beech, y'forgot to hand over the Larvitar. An' you could've returned that Treecko right back into that there machine, that's what I made it for," he'd start to talk into the hallway as he started after her. He was sure she'd be able to hear him. Right?

[kitsunaii]

What Buckeye found was nothing new to him; Beech was lying in the hallway, curled up where the floor met the wall. Her Feraligatr had come back with the starter pack, found her swaying on her feet, and had gently placed her on the floor and curled himself around her protectively. The forgotten bag lay next to the large blue 'gator, while the two Poké Balls had fallen where the Professor had likely been standing when her Feraligatr found her. She looked peaceful and serene even though she was lying on the floor of a hallway.

Feraligatr looked up as Buckeye approached and carefully navigated his tail to pick up the bag he had dropped, offering it to the man. This happened often enough that even her Pokémon knew that she wouldn't want a job left unfinished in her 'absence'.

Poor Cheryl had no idea what was happening and stared at the swinging door expectantly, occasionally looking at her cards as though they might change somehow if she flipped them over enough times.

[Doomulus]

Buckeye smiled appreciatively at the basking (if one can bask in a fluorescent light) Feraligatr, cautioning him with a simple gesture towards Beech's room. "Thank ya. Just fer the sake of keepin' things safe, could ya move her over t'her room? Just one look into this room'd make someone make all the wrong assumptions 'bout her. An' maybe you can convince her to have some time sleepin' by choice at some point?" Giving the professor's assistant another smile, he took the bag and the balls lying on the floor.

Buckeye, balls and bag in tow, rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, ma'am. Is that all you'll be needin'?" Handing over the ball containing the Larvitar as well as her starter kit carefully, the professor returned the ball containing the Treecko to the slot in the machine it had popped off on. Twisting it in place, he flicked a single switch at the side of the indentation in the wall. The screen itself had started to roll back in place of the wall indent.

[kitsunaii]

Poor confused Cheryl wasn't entirely convinced that yet another Professor astride a large Pokémon wouldn't come bursting through the door to stop Buckeye from giving her the pack, but luckily that didn't happen. She hesitantly took the bag from the Professor, clutching it tightly so that nobody could take it from her, and quickly putting it on her back. Once she had that, she took the offered Poké Ball and placed it gently in one of the strap pockets, zipping it securely. This was her new partner, for traveling and for battling and maybe contests later on. She would have to take good care of her little Larvitar.

Once her bag and Pokémon were secure, she pocketed her licenses, noting that she should probably put them in a safer place than there later. "Alright, I've got all of that.. Is there anything else?" It would be just her luck to leave too quickly and miss some crucial information or warnings.

[Doomulus]

The old professor pondered for a moment. "Well, ma'am, you've probably been told all about this by your parents, but it ain't so easy, pokin' through places like these. Even on the way to other cities and towns, dangers can present themselves to ya. You'll be on yer own, save for your Pokemon, and they might end up bein' the only things you got. Lots of people will tell ya though, these Pokemon are plenty enough to keep ya safe. What I'm tryin' ta say is that if you don't keep 'em safe, there might not be anyone t'help pull you out of the grave situations." He knew all about the dangers of this region - and recently, his fears have only escalated given all the recent reports he'd been given.

The sternness of his face soon faded. "..But, 'sides from that, I doubt you'll be needin' anything else. Good luck out there, Cheryl." He offered the girl a curt nod, and waited near the screen to see her off and out of the building.

You received a Pokémon!
[img]http://veekun.com/dex/media/pokemon/main-sprites/black-white/246.png[/img]
(Nickname?) [IMG]http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r514/Ravenclaw1306/Poke%20Balls/PokeBall.png[/IMG]
Species: Larvitar
Gender: Male
Level: 5
Happiness: 40/100
Type: [img]http://s1169.photobucket.com/albums/r514/Ravenclaw1306/Type%20Icons/Rock.png[/img] [img]http://s1169.photobucket.com/albums/r514/Ravenclaw1306/Type%20Icons/Ground.png[/img]
Egg Group(s): Monster
Nature: Serious
HP: 10/10

Guts
Bite | Leer | Sandstorm | Curse

You also received the following items:

[center][b]Inventory:[/b][/center]

[ul]
[i]Money:[/i] [ul]
$2000
[/ul]
[i]Items:[/i] [ul]

[/ul]
[i]Medicine:[/i][ul]
Potion x2
[/ul]
[i]Pokéballs:[/i][ul]
Pokéball x6
[/ul]
[i]TMs and HMs:[/i][ul]
TM73 - Thunder Wave
[/ul]
[i]Berries:[/i][ul]
1x Aspear Berry
1x Pecha Berry
2x Cheri Berries
1x Leppa Berry
1x Rawst Berry
[/ul]
[i]Key Items:[/i][ul]
Pokedex
Pokésource
[/ul]
[/ul]

[kitsunaii]

Finally smiling again, Cheryl happily clutched at the straps of her new backpack with both hands, eager to go on her way. "Thank you so much, Professor. I'll be sure to come back and visit if I'm ever in the area again. This little Larvitar and I will go far, I can tell!" She looked excited again, a brand-new trainer ready for an adventure with Pokémon. It would probably be a long journey before she was ready to come all the way back here, but it would be absolutely worth it, she knew. And when she came back, maybe she'd have a partially-filled Pokédex. Though she knew little about Pokémon, she had learned a bit about the Pokédex and how it worked, automatically registering the information of seen and captured Pokémon. She assumed it would sync with any other devices she had, which she was eager to test with her phone when she got a chance later, but for now she needed to begin her journey.

"Goodbye, and thank you!" As she spoke, she moved back through the glass doors of the laboratory and began to make her way towards the city's split, where Routes 1 and 2 began. Though she didn't know which Route she would take yet, it was a good idea to get moving in that direction right away.