READY GO! pret partez

[otte]

Fresh off the boat, Liz drained the rest of her bottle of water and looked around at the little port town before her. Compared to the vast, towering buildings of Goldenrod, the buildings looked like little pastel-coloured models. The air felt so much crisper and clearer, strangely so - Liz realised then how used to the smoggy city air she'd become when this little village's air seemed to taste so bizarrely clear.

"Man, boring much?" she said to herself, tossing the empty bottle into the bin and hoisting her bags over her shoulder. Boring as it was, this was apparently the home of the famed professor of the region, and where she would get her first official, totally-yours-not-dad's pokemon. She grinned a little at the prospect and began at a quick pace to the lab, a definite spring in her toes despite her heavy bags and instrument.

Feeling invulnerable, invincible and ready to wrestle the world to the floor for the hell of it, the seventeen year old threw open the door to the labratory, not sure what the hell she was going with this whole pokemon-training thing but totally fired up about it anyway. She wandered in, taking a few minutes to absorb her neat surrondings, and was about to call out when she noticed the sketches on the walls. They looked very sharp and well-done, mostly well-observed and detailed sketches of various pokemon. She drifted over to them, and examined them carefully. There were a few pokemon drawn there she didn't recognise, probably ones native to Lanorae. She wondered if any of these would be the one she would start with, and quickly became absorbed in her thoughts.

[Miss Brightside]

Jim had been having a slow day. No, that was an understatement; Jim had been having an extremely slow day to the point that each second passing was a celebration in itself. Not this this was necessarily a bad thing, but it did leave the aide with a endless sensation of boredom. There had hardly been any trainers coming to get Pokémon that day, the Pokémon the lab cared for had been quiet and calm... And not a one of the eggs had hatched! Sure, with this rare free time, Jim could conduct some experiments with the advanced technology Professor Aspen owned, or perhaps he could get some paperwork done, but none of that really motivated the lethargic man. Instead, he sat at his desk with his feet propped up and a newspaper in his hands, waiting until he could go home.

It was his Slowking that noticed Liz's entrance rather than the aide - After all, it was rumored that Jim's Pokémon was even smarter than the aide himself. Looking towards the lobby, the Pokémon listened intently before he turned to his trainer and began to nudge him for attention. "Slooow. Slow."

"Now now, smartypants, no need for insults," Jim joked, not looking up from his paper. "I just like to take my time with the paper, is all. Did you hear about that forest fire over in Hoenn? It's a tragedy, I'll tell ya. I mean, all those Pokemon, in danger! Someone oughtta do something..."

Frustrated, the Slowking tried again to get Jim's attention. "Slowww." He pushed him a bit more vigorously, only to get an annoyed glare from the aide.

"I know, I know. It's not you, so why should you care? Honestly. Your lack of empathy amazes me." Sighing, Jim shook his head and resumed reading the paper. "From the sounds of it, they've got a squad of Walrein and Sealo on the way to calm things down... Kind of like that whole 'Squirtle Squad' business in Kanto, but, you know, not..."

"SLOWKING!" Finally aggravated, the pink Pokémon gave Jim a good shove, nearly knocking him out of his chair. Throwing down his paper, the aide glared at his Slowking once more.

"Whaddya want? You want me to do something? Don't tell me you want me to clean, since that's not happening, bud! You can just forget it!" the aide snapped, but he simmered down slightly as the Slowking pointed into the main lobby. Blinking, realization struck Jim and he stated simply, "Oh. Someone must be at the door. Gotcha." He nodded to his Pokémon - which was the most of a "thank you" or a "sorry" the Slowking could expect - and the two walked into the main lobby. Upon seeing that Liz let herself in, Jim smiled slightly in amusement and walked up behind the absorbed seventeen year old. "I see you're finding Iglora quite interesting," he said calmly, attracting the teen's attention. "It can only be found in Lanorae, you know. Along with Firecub-" he pointed to a sketch of a lion cub with a tail of flames, "and Seaward." Jim nodded to another sketch, which depicted a small sea serpent. "You're here for a Pokemon, I can assume? I'd usually find this out at the door, seeing as people usually knock, but..." Jim shrugged, sending Liz a playful smile. "The name's James Friestien, but you can call me Jim. Not Jimmy, though. I'm one of Professor Aspen's aides. And this is my Slowking, Sir Bartholomew. He prefers it if you call him 'Your Majesty' or 'My liege,' but I just call him Bart." The smile grew in humor. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

[otte]

“Gack!”

Liz jumped at the sudden voice, apparently having completely forgot where she was and why she was there. She wheeled around to face the older guy, and relaxed upon seeing him – a chilled-looking guy with a Slowking. She could roll with that.

Iglora, Firecub and Seaward, huh? Sounded interesting – not sure if they were the type of thing she could keep to long-term, but might be interesting to test them out. They didn’t have the same magic to them as a good electric-type, but she could be a bit of a sucker for the classics – there was something satisfying in getting a regional starter from the lab and heading off to adventure.

“Yo, Jim,” she said and raised her hand in greeting, grinning at him. She looked at the Slowking and dipped down in as sweeping, theatrical bow, and added in mock awe, “My liege. It’s an honour."

"I'm Lisa Rhodes."

She stood up straight and glanced back at the sketches again, putting both her hands behind her head.

"Liz is cool with me. And don't sweat it, I wasn't waiting long," she added.

“Yanno, I didn’t think out too well what I was gonna say when I got here,” she said nonchalantly. Jim could be forgiven for thinking she was on something – she hadn’t slept much the journey over here and looked somewhat spacey and strung out. She smiled absently and looked thoughtfully at Bart, as if he could give the answers.

She scratched her neck.

“I’ll probably take one of the starters. But think I could have a real look at them first though? Don’t wanna end up with a ‘mon I don’t get on with. I’m sure you get this kinda thing all the time,” she said, with a slight grin, running a hand through her blonde spikes.

“I’m after one that’s kinda laid-back yanno, won’t get scared by loud noises, I've got music blasting a lot. And can go with the flow. Know what I mean, man?”

[Miss Brightside]

Jim slightly quirked a brow at Liz's behavior, but thought nothing of it. Everyone's different. He had seen too many trainers to count pass in and out of the laboratory with Pokemon or whatnot, and felt that he, in essence, "had seen everything." He stood before her, relaxed with his hands in his jean pockets. The aide never was one for the dress code; he only complied by way of his lab coat.

“My liege. It’s an honour."

As Liz bowed, Sir Bartholomew scowled at Liz's mockery. However, Jim laughed. "You're all right, kid."

“Yanno, I didn’t think out too well what I was gonna say when I got here. I’ll probably take one of the starters. But think I could have a real look at them first though? Don’t wanna end up with a ‘mon I don’t get on with. I’m sure you get this kinda thing all the time.”

Jim smiled once more, nodding. "That's quite alright. And sure, I'll let you chill with the starters for a little bit, to make sure it's a 'mon you can get on with." He chuckled after using Liz's phrase. "Actually, not many trainers ask to see the Pokemon before they choose one. They're all in a big hurry to get going and usually just choose and go. Too focused on the destination, you know?"

“I’m after one that’s kinda laid-back yanno, won’t get scared by loud noises, I've got music blasting a lot. And can go with the flow. Know what I mean, man?”

Jim once again bobbed his head in understanding. "I'm sure we'll find a partner that's perfect for you. Follow me." With that, the aide was leading Liz down the hall and into a larger room, filled with machinery and the likes. There's other stuff in a laboratory, I'm sure, but I'm far too sick and dizzy to think about it. In the center, there was a table with seven Pokéballs in a neat little row. Jim picked up the first three and tossed them out silently, allowing the three starters to emerge in red light. As the Pokéballs flew back to Jim and he stuffed them into his pockets for safekeeping, Liz was able to take in the prospective partners.

Iglora blinked at Liz, yawned, then laid down where it stood, curling up as if for a nap. Seaward slid its way over to Liz and looked up at her with curious eyes, though it seemed scared to get any closer. Firecub seemed not to notice Liz or the other Pokemon and was rather absorbed in trying to pounce on Bart's tail; the latter was not amused by such tomfoolery. After the Slowking got quite agitated, Iglora got up, stretched, and gently pulled the Firecub away from Bart by distracting it with its own tail. The two made a game of it, Iglora growing more lively as it got more involved.