Fresh Start

Riley knew that she was beginning later in life than most. She had a sick mother, who she was trying hard to help her other brothers look after back in their home city. However, her mother's begging and pleading finally convinced the young lady to finally begin her path as a Pokemon Trainer - a rough start on her ultimate goal in the future. Though the dark, curly haired person wanted to keep her options open, she knew that she would use this pathway as a means for travel, so that she could get to know the world around her better, before aspiring for a more permanent career.

She knew that Pokemon were close to her, however. A small Poochyena followed after her, as the girl walked through the woods, to the outskirts of her town. Off in it's own little section, not particularly placed in any city as it was situated just outside of Spiderweb City, the quaint, old-fashioned Pokemon Lab lay. Hidden by thick oak trees, with large and impressive canopies, and ever expanding branches snaked their way, overshadowing the ground below.

Riley kicked her black streaked, stylized sneakers against the bottom wooden step to the front door. She walked up the stairs, and turned around to face the black and grey pup. "Listen, thank you for following me here." She spoke softly to the little wolfish pup. She stared at the young pup's bright, red eyes, and noted the comically cute overbite. "Tell them I said thank you. I'll visit you guys as well." She vowed, before standing straight up and turning back to the door.

She placed a nimble hand quietly upon the handle, before turning the knob and pulling the door open. Silently, Riley slipped into the room, shutting the door softly behind herself. A quiet fear slipped inside of her chest, and seized her airways. Meekly, she walked into the room and looked around, spotting employees scattered about, busily hurrying away at their tasks. "Hello?" She spoke up, listening to the words escape her plump, delicate lips with a quiver. "I...I'm here...for a...a Pokemon?" She asked, as if she were asking herself, as well.

Was she truly prepared for the journey ahead?

A slow smile swept across the older man's gentle lips, when he heard the rustling of the front door as it opened. Up until then, he was busy working away at various, tedious tasks aimed at keeping his mind and body focused. Currently sitting at a desk, with several vials of different chemical liquids, he was busy measuring, and reading over documented research, trying to uncover more of the mystery.

But the creaking of another door pulled his mind off of his current task. Placing the tube down upon the flattened edge - so that it would sit upright - he would push himself away from his desk, and stand up. He used one of his thick, muscled forearm to effortlessly shove the rolling desk chair back up, underneath the desk. Swiftly, he would walk down the walkway, headed in the direction of the strange new presence.

Victoria was currently out back, tending to the new Rapidash that had arrived at his facility earlier that morning. No doubt the hot-headed, almost stubborn blonde would be constantly working to tend to their every little concerns, trying to pamper them on the first days at their lab. She was always such an overly zealous, helpful sort. Ashley was probably busy, reorganizing the books and researching different illnesses of various Pokemon, and helpful remedies. She was always overly cautious like that. And honestly, no one ever truly knew what Kinsley was ever up to.

However, he had a more important mission ahead. A young girl, probably somewhere in her teens, maybe her older teens, walked through the door. Wild curly hair framed her face in the cutest manner, as the almond painted beauty slipped in through the door. She was going to be stunning as an adult in later years, he was sure. Though she was thin, and he wondered if she had an eating disorder or a secretive negative view of herself. Of course, Professor Brambles was always looking for the problems in the world, so he just shoved the notion away as easily.

She's a guest, probably in her genetics. He thought. As she approached her, the professor would stop just in front of her. "Welcome, young lady! This is my Pokemon Lab, and I am Professor Brambles. You're here for your very first Pokemon?" He asked. He would raise a single hand up, and hold it out in extension of himself, ready to shake her hand. He had three wonderful choices for her, if that was her goal here.

After their handshake, should she grab his hand, he would turn away from her and walk back towards his desk. "Why do you want to become a Pokemon Trainer?" However, he would turn to the impossibly large, wooden mahogany wooden desk that sat adjacent to his work desk. Beautifully carved out of gorgeous, dark wood, it held three small stands, round with a soft, cushioned inset, and a glass dome that wrapped over the top. Inside each of the small, comfortable dome sets sat a small, red and white Pokeball.

Emerald eyes brightened up when the Professor addressed the teen. She returned his welcoming call with a thick and heart warming smile that stretched across her entire face. A rather impressive Professor approached her, raising from his desk moments ago as she opened the door to announce herself.

The smile intensified as she considered the speed at which the Professor had approached and addressed her. Certainly, receiving a starter Pokemon wouldn't be much of an issue - and in only a few short minutes, she would would easily and readily be on her merry little Pokemon journey way. "You're here for your very first Pokemon?"

The question had the mental wires in the young girl's head firing off. In the back of her mind, she could see herself with her eventual Mightyena or Charizard, challenging the Elite Four and eventually winning the Pokemon battle. She would run over to her very large canine Pokemon, and wrap her long, slender almond arms around it's grey and black furry hide. She would even laugh a little, as the thick tufts of fur tickled her arms when it rubbed up against her. "Yes, sir, Professor Brambles." She greeted and confirmed his assumption.

But his second question caught her off guard for a brief second. It caused her to think silently, trying to pull out the 'right' answer from thin air. She was not aware of a test question before receiving her starter, and had assumed it was as simple as popping in and popping right back out of the Professor's Lab, no questions really asked. And she knew that it wasn't a tough question, but still....

"I really want to become the best dark Pokemon trainer out there. I want to explore the whole world and learn everything I can about Pokemon on my journey as a Pokemon trainer." She finally responded. Honesty - not always her strongest suit with strangers. It was much more comforting for her to bullsh* a response out of thin air so that it wasn't too personal to inform the listener. But that wasn't exactly a hard truth to admit to, either... "What starters do ya'll use here?"

The Professor smiled politely, listening to the teenage girl's explanation and ultimate goals in life. The older gentleman reached a solitary hand up, placing it on the back of his head and lightly scratching at it for a brief second. His soft blue eyes turned back to her, pausing just in front of the table, as he mentally tried to envision the path that the young girl might take with any of his starters.

After a momentary pause, he pulled his hand away from his head, and rested it upon the first container, tapping a button on the middle of the spherical device. The smooth glass slid back, rounding in between the two thin pieces of metal that comprised the bottom portion, and disappeared. There, in the center, upon a small plush pillow, sat the small round ball. In it's center was a small, white button, placed directly between the red top and white bottom of the ball. The Professor picked it up, and turned around to the girl.

"The first Pokemon is a pretty hardy fellow. He's a rough and tumble boy." He said, before pressing on the center button. A light illuminated from inside of the ball, as the lips of the spherical device separated. The bottom portion flopped out, and a burst of light shot from the device, releasing a quadrupedal, rocky grey rhinoceros. A Rock and Ground type Pokemon, characterized by it's thick, almost impenetrable plates that protect the Pokemon from harm. "This little fellow is a Rhyhorn." The little guy narrowed his eyes down upon the trainer and snorted, stomping it's right front foot on the old wood flooring of the Lab. "Rhyyy~" It cried out, warning her.

The Professor would immediately turn to the next container holding a Pokeball, and press the button in the center. Picking up the Pokeball, he would immediately press the center of the circular ball, releasing the next Pokemon from it's habitation. Out from the shot of light, a small greyish-brown feathered bird, who shot straight up into the air. "This one's a little more bold than most of our other ones..." Professor Brambles warned, with a little laugh. The bird, as if on cue, flew over to the teen and would try to land right on her shoulder. If successful, she would shake herself for a second, before scooting up against the young trainer's neck, pressing herself there. The little bird stared at the girl's ear for a second, before would switftly attempt to stick the black tip of her orange beak just inside of the girl's ear. Loudly, the bird would squawk out "Starlyy!~" Before dashing off, up back into the air.

"That's Starly, a Flying type Pokemon." Professor Brambles chimed in, as he quickly turned to the last Pokeball left. Ugh, such a special little Pokemon, hiding inside of it's captive little home. Opening the compartment to the Pokeball, and pressing the button in it's center, he would release the little purple rat pokemon. The tiny little guy squeaked out a pathetic plea - "Raaaattaataaa~" - before zipping around the room, and darting underneath the bottom of an office desk. Timidly, he poked his head out, the whiskers at the ends of his face quivering fearfully as his eyes darted cautiously around the toom. "Rattata is our last boy. He's pretty shy, but he's a very gentle soul...." Professor Brambles explained, giving the little guy a soft look.

Poor little guy... He thought, before turning around and shuffling through some of his notes in the center of the desk. "Which one would you like as your Starter?" He asked, and used his hands for emphasis, gesturing for the lass to go familiarize herself with any of the three Pokemon there.

---

YOUR STARTER CHOICES ARE......


Rhyhorn hardy Male


Starly bold Female


Rattata gentle Male

The professor welcomed her in, leading her to his collection of Pokeballs. As he carried on with his introductions, she started to wonder what kind of starter she would end up with. The starters in the Kanto region were all well known: Charmander, the cute and adorable bipedal orange lizard, with a fire on the end of it's tail; Bulbasaur, the half plant half animal, green dinosaur grass type Pokemon with a large flowering bulb on it's back; and Squirtle, the cute blue bipedal turtle Pokemon with a fluffy, curled tail.

However, he didn't seem to mention any particular starters that he, himself, used. She wondered silently if there was a standard that they followed, as her feet carried her farther into the laboratory. She walked up the incline that led to the center of the room, and turned to her side to stare at the lovely, wooden mahogany table with three spherical devices, all which held a Pokeball.

Professor Brambles released a stubborn rhinoceros, who seemed ready to tackle her down. Immediately, she recognized it as the rock and ground type Pokemon known as Rhyhorn. It wasn't a bad choice, but this little guy definitely didn't want to go with her, from Riley's perspective. Then again, maybe he just didn't trust strange beings that often? "Rhyhorn. They have poor vision..." She commented underneath her breath.

Then, out flew a cute little grey and black bird Pokemon called Starly. The little guy flew over, and landed right on her shoulder! She was almost dead set on making this her starter Pokemon, before it turned and squawked in her ear! She immediately reached out to grab it with her hand, but the little guy flew up into the air, dodging her! What a little mouth on that guy! "Starly, these Pokemon are quite vocal..." She shook her head, muttering under her breath. Nope, not this guy.

The last choice to come out of it's ball was a little purple mouse called Rattata. The poor dear touched her heart, and she bent down to look underneath the desk, where the little guy had disappeared for a moment, before straightening herself back up. "I'll take Rhyhorn." She finally stated, making her choice. It wasn't who she was going to choose until after she met the other two.

The Professor calls all of the Pokemon back into their Pokeballs. He carefully places the two Pokemon, Starly and Rattata, back into the spherical containers that once harbored them. With a click of the central button on the containers, he closed the transparent glass domes over them. Then, he turned around to the young lady, one last Pokeball in hand. "This is your new starter Pokemon."

He reached out to her, holding out the pokeball for her to take. He would wait, and after handing her the Pokeball, Brambles would turn back around. Swiftly, he would step around the desk, to the other side of it, and pull open two drawers, pulling out her supplies. He pulled out a small, red device that opened from the side, much like a super miniature laptop. Along with that, he pulled out five red and white Pokeballs and one small spray bottle, full of a powerful liquid known to help heal Pokemon. "Here are your supplies." He informed her. "Five Pokeballs, one Potion, and a Pokedex. The Pokedex contains most of the commonly known facts about every Pokemon known to man, and useful tips for Trainers." He infoermed Riley.

---

YOU'VE RECEIVED!

POKEDEX
POKEBALL _x 5
POTION _x 1

POKEMON: Rhyhorn
TYPE: Ground/Rock
LEVEL: 5
ABILITY: Lightning Rod
-----_{Description: Electric-type moves will do no damage.}
NATURE: Hardy
GENDER: MALE
STATS 0% SPD 0 ATT 0 DEF 0 SPA 0 SPD
HP: 20
MOVESET: Horn Attack, Tail Whip, Fury Attack