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[h3][b][u][color=f7941d]~Avery Grant~[/color][/u][/b][/h3]

Avery had to admit, he was surprised. This Peggy Atkinson had a nice handshake. Her hands were rather soft. That was normal, right? Girls had soft hands. He was...well, pretty sure. Not just girls, though! Guys could have soft hands too. He felt like he would probably fall somewhere in between. Maybe...60-40?

Then all of a sudden, the girl practically jumped from his touch. 

Almost as if…

Was she a telepath? Could she hear his hand thoughts and was so revolted that she pulled away in disgust. She was handphobic, then. Oh dear. And he had forced her into a terrible handshake. But maybe that was for the best! He could help his new friend overcome her fear and live a fuller, more exciting life. One where she didn’t have to flee from the literal grasps of others.

But an all too-familiar voice brought Avery back to reality. His grin went right into a full on toothy-smile. It was an Elm alright, although not the one the girl was looking for. Avery spun around, just now noticing another lad hovering just a bit away. More friends then, he thought, before ending up facing his little buddy. He invited them in, and Avery happily took the invitation, following just behind Peggy. When Alfy told the small group to take a seat and wait, Avery smiled, nodded, and moved to take a seat, ruffling his friend’s hair as he did so.

He probably wouldn’t mind. Maybe.

He chose a seat next to the mousy little lady.

Just as he was sitting down, he heard a cry come from the door. He looked over just in time to see a guy about his age herding in a small kid. 

So there WAS a lost child!

Wait.

No.

The look on the little guy’s face hinted at someone a few years older than Avery would have guessed. At LEAST in the double digits. Or maybe not. What’d Avery know. Brain and he would have a good laugh at that. Or they would have.

But no.

[color=662d91]"Yes, I take it you are not, professor Elm. So, if I may ask where is the good professor? I would like to obtain my pokemon and be on my way, if possible."[/color]

Hey. Calm down. Elm’s a busy guy. He’s gotta do...well, Elm things. If he doesn’t, who will? Alfy? Maybe one day, but right now, Alfy just helps with Elm things. It’s up to Elm to actually finish Elm things. If anyone can unlock the world’s great mysteries, it’s Elm. Even if he doesn’t know absolutely everything yet. Still, Avery recalled how many times he had seen the Professor simply throw himself into his work. If he was late, there was a reason. A GOOD reason.


Whatever might have been the basic beginnings of anger was completely gone in Avery. Already back in a good mood, he scanned the room, looking at his fellow newbies.

…

They were young. Probably. He wouldn’t put any of them higher than seventeen. MAAAYBEEE eighteen, but that’d be pushing it. It got Avery fired up. To start their journeys so young...They must be BURNING with PASSION! These people, the ones in this very room, they were going to go far. Way far. Like…Kanto, far. Or farther. Avery knew there were places farther than Kanto, but he couldn’t begin to name them. He’d barely left New Bark Town, honestly. But these folks probably had. They’d have to. As far as he could tell, none of them were from New Bark. And he would know. 

He started to ask everyone, but didn’t. Why rush everything? There’d be time enough to hear everyone out on the road, right? Besides, they had to all be pretty excited. The one sitting by her lonesome definitely had to be. Avery must have mistaken her self-inflicted isolation as overeagerness, chomping at the bits to get her Pokemon.

He grinned some more. He liked it. 

That was PASSION! 

This was [b]HAPPENING![/b] 

This was [u][b]REAL![/b][/u]

It hit Avery then and there, sitting in Elm’s lab, what he was fixing to do. To leave everything and everyone he knew, to travel into the unknown, to boldly go where many men had gone before. For the briefest of moments, Avery Garfield Grant felt what could only be described as the beginning seeds of doubt.

Then he laughed. 

His warm laughter flooded the room.

And gone was his doubt.

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