Jason had intended to slip away from the rest of the group before the picture, not being real big on photos even when he was growing up, but he was harangued into anyways as he picked up his Ralts before they got separated. He did his part for the picture, even if it was unwilling, and then he stepped away from the rest of the group before accepting the Rotom-phone. Huh...military grade tech for a group of aspiring champions and coordinators and whatever else we all decide to chase...seems like overkill, but I won't argue. While the professor kept talking, the Hoenn native kneeled down in front of the Ralts. "Alright, little buddy, let's give you a name..." The Pokemon looked at him and tilted his head.

"Ralts?" Jason tapped his chin in thought, then, after a couple moments of consideration, nods to himself.

"How's Slayer sound? It isn't crazy cool or anything, but I think it'll fit." The blue-headed Ralts seemed to think for a moment before it spoke its name cheerfully.

"Ra Ralts!" The aspiring champion grinned and rubbed Slayer's head.

"Slayer it is then." The sound of a bag flying towards him had Jason instinctively reach up to catch it, opening it to find ten pokeballs. "Nice, means I can save my money a bit longer." Storing the balls, he recalls Slayer and, after watching everyone else mill about for a moment, decides to head out and explore just a bit more of the city, specifically the parks he noted had a decent amount of wild Pokemon running around. He pauses just long enough to wave at a couple of the others he'd been talking to earlier before heading out of the lab and for a nearby park with intent to start building a team. Could ask around, see if anyone's seen any rarer Pokemon running around during certain times of the day... The thought also briefly passes his mind to transfer some of his contacts from his personal phone to the new one he'd gotten so that he wasn't checking two phones, so with a sigh, he stops in the lobby to do exactly that, beginning the process of copying the important contacts over to the new device.

The process takes about twenty minutes to complete and a text to his family and friends to let them know he had a new number, before he set out for the nearest of the parks that he could think of, humming to himself. "You know, I wonder if there's any of the Pokemon from other regions that have been introduced...would be kinda cool to see a Squirtle or a Totodile..."

As Amelia stood by her for the picture, the psychic tried to muster up her own smile for the picture proper. At the same time, it seemed that she wasn't the only one curious about how many rare-color-variant Pokemon were here for the trainers to start with. It was peculiar at best, perhaps, for such an uncommon sight. Seemed that someone named 'Ruey' had bred them, though, based on what the adults talked about? She was curious to talk to that person at some point, as with that amount of labor just to produce these results....it spoke volumes to hard work at the very least, if nothing else. Or maybe those 'eccentricities' the Professor spoke of were more than she was thiking. Hmm. Either way it piquied her curiosity somewhat.

*click*

Once the picture was done, however, they got their-...Rotom Phone? Interesting. A rather new sort of device, yes? It came with a Pokedex app installed to boot. And as Kapoc explained the task before them, Clarissa sought to listen earnestly to his words. Financial compensation for new evolutions and discoveries. Ever-updating records as they all input data into a seemingly shared source. State of the art technology. Mention of another group of new trainers who had taken their turn the prior day. Directing questions about the League to the Champion and Director. Giving them some Pokeballs to start. Good, it was all good to know and get going with before they set out.

Even so, the psychic would try to scan the other Pokemon present to further test it after scanning Sir Lopsalot. Just to get an idea about things, get some practice in, and all of that as it were.

However-

As the professor walked back to his lab, he placed a hand on Clarissa's shoulder and leaned in to whisper, "Oh, and Clarissa, be careful about showing off. I really shouldn't be the one to tell you why."

Clarissa froze up in a heartbeat. She hadn't been trying to show off, just help and-...and....but she....ahem. Yes, she needed to be careful. She knew that. It was, well, it was good advice. Yes. He'd...he'd told her that before as well during their first talk together. It was just that she'd been-...and everyone else had-...yes. Yes she'd be more careful. She had to be. Luckily, thhough, it so far seemed that no one else had noticed what she'd done with the empty doughnut box or had at least paid it any visible mind. That...that was good.

...Breathe. Just breathe slowly, in the nose and out of the mouth. Good. Even her Buneary, however, would try to rub the back of her head a little to try to assist to boot. Get the nerves down. Yes. She'd slipped for a second there, hadn't she?

Looking back to Amelia, Clarissa would give the smaller girl a nod before speaking.

"A-ah, would you like to travel together, perhaps? Maybe see if we could find another who wishes to travel as well?"

The last the nerves were leaving her system as she began to speak, much to her personal but hidden chagrin, but she wanted to see if Amelia wanted to travel together. The girl seemed to be a good person, and if they could find another person perhaps it'd be safer to travel in a trio at the very least. Plus she seemed to have a ghost-type with her, and that acted as a sort of balance for Sir Lopsalot's typing as far as she was aware. So they'd have some initial coverage to help each other too! Hopefully.

Once she would get an answer out of Amelia, hopefully without spooking the poor girl, the psychic would go to those other peers of theirs still left in the building to try to find another person amenable enough to them both to travel with if the girl said yes to traveling with her. Or, well, at least go about asking those who seemed to not be busy with something at the very least for the moment being or hadn't run out of the building in a hurry. It would be a simple search and asking of others on Clarissa's part, but she'd try to be polite enough of course, and not totally an OOC way to word things to try to get a group ready and going out into the open world.

Whether Amelia wanted to travel with her or not, or anyone else did in the end, the psychic would take a moment to approach the Director and Champion for a moment with a question of her own. Because while her family had only been around the city for a year, she'd gotten a bit of a gut feeling about something. While the city was new enough to not have any 'old places' she could see, there indeed was still an area of it she initially wanted to check out, if possible, to see if Pokemon resided there. And now with a Pokedex and Pokeballs of her own in hand, she had the chance to check it out.

"Pardon me, but I want to ask, ah, if you know anything of the city sewers and if or what Pokemon might reside there potentially? I thought I'd hear rumor of something down there after my family moved here to Evig, but I wish to draw on your expertise on the matter if you know anything about these matters."

She'd even try to go ask the same of Professor Kapoc once she finished with the Champion and Director, as well as to quietly thank him for his reminder, even if just breifly and quickly so she could finish her information gathering and leave him to his work proper. From here, if Amelia or anyone else had by this point in time agreed to group with her Clarissa would check with them about heading to her desired location. Surely it wasn't the more, er, 'desireable' of places to go...but she wanted to follow that gut instinct of hers and check them out all the same. See if any peculiar Pokemon could be found there or the like in particular primarily, etc.

Though if anyone she was trying to group with, or managed to do so, didn't want to come with to the sewers of all places....well Clarissa would say she was amenable to meeting back up after she investigated there at least. Preferrably once she'd gotten a shower at home too. Then they could head elsewhere together, perhaps, afterwards! It would be, well, better than traveling alone at least. All alone...

Headed To:

@Remram@Joshua Tamashii@Shazamrock@Zapdos@Sanguine Rose@Lunarlord34@Crimson Flame ((I think I got everyone not busy IC pinged? I think.))

---

For the photo Nils found himself towards the middle of the group with the taller girls, seeing as besides the much younger youth he was the shortest of the boys, a fact he was just realizing. His pokemon stood at his side only slightly in front of him, unshy and more curious about the camera than anything else. Though he still thought it was a bit of a pity that Faye herself wasn't going to be part of the overall group photo, Nils smiled brightly for it nonetheless. They all broke apart as soon as the photo was taken, and before Nils could go inquire as to how it had turned out he found a shiny new phone presented to him by Professor Kapoc.

It was official now. Nils listened to Kapoc's explanation even while he fiddled with the phone, doing as instructed and scanning his partner (which was apparently a mudbray, and ate dirt, which explained the earlier... eating of dirt) while also installing a couple of other useful apps. Just as Kapoc said the phone's connection was flawless, and Nils' now also featured a compass and map app, among a few others.

Out of curiosity he also swept the rotom-phone's sensor towards the large dragon of the professor's, blinking in surprise at the entry that popped up on the screen. He also turned it towards Jason's pokemon (the only one he actually knew to be rare given the older boy had said so outloud). And, yup, according to the reference image on the pokedex app it was supposed to be green, not blue. Interesting! Nils would have to keep an eye out for differences like that. It would probably be beneficial for the professor to know if there were more unusual colored pokemon in Evig than normal lately, as well as just generally being something neat to watch out for. With the final gift of pokeballs they were dismissed.

And then, the first of the group to go out into the world and start their journey off for real was decided - Evelyn, the blonde model with the cool exterior but cute inner personality. At least that's how Nils figured it was for her based on how excited she'd been to get her partner. He noted her departure even if it was hard to hear the words she said, and he raised his hand to wave before she turned to go. She was not the only one to get a head start, as Jason left soon after. Others were were making their plans and grouping together.

Before too many people decided to leave, Nils went to reach out to the lilac haired girl (Clarissa, he was pretty sure he'd heard her say earlier). He had something he wanted to ask her, but for the moment she moved off to canvass for traveling partners and ask the director and company for something it seemed. No problem, Nils would just wait a moment. And while he did, he could chat with the smallest of this batch of Kapoc's assistants, since she was nearby.

He didn't touch Amelia so as not to startle her, but he did lean down slightly before he spoke, his ponytail slipping from his shoulder. "Are you feeling less nervous now?" He asked. With how much people watching he'd done just that morning of his fellow newbies, he couldn't help but have noticed the one among them that had seemed so uneasy. And that she had loosened up around the buneary, and especially so her own phantump. Nils went on, his voice as light and friendly as usual. "Just happened to notice you brightened up once you met your partner."

Nils looked at the oddly colored phantump, and so did Nils' own partner from around his legs. Ghost and dark-types usually got a bad reputation, but Nils himself had never cared about that. Amelia didn't seem like she minded her partner's type either. "It seems like a good one," he said. After a moment he added as an afterthought, "Oh, I'm Nils by the way."

If Amelia was receptive to it, they could talk a little. When Clarissa made her way back over, Nils straightened back up to intercept her. She might have been intending to ask Nils about traveling together like she had been asking others, although before she had a chance to say anything, Nils spoke up first.

"Hey hey," he said, introducing himself once more and extending a hand towards her if she was inclined for a shake. Unlike Steph, his was only an offer, and a soft one at that. "I wanted to talk to you a moment."

It could have been about anything. Maybe even about the strange psychic phenomena that had taken place just outside of the group's awareness. But, though Nils had thought he might have seen something weird, it was quickly overshadowed by the excitement of everything else going on around them. There was no way to have connected it to Clarissa anyway. And so instead he said:

"You came here with your pokemon already. Oh, and you, too, David-" Nils looked over at the enthusiastic older boy, beckoning him over with a nod of his head. He hadn't missed the fact that David hadn't claimed a pokeball. To the both of them who had that in common (and one other surprising thing that others were unaware of), Nils said, "I'm curious how long you've been with your partner pokemon. And... I was wondering if you more experienced trainers were interested in a little competition? I want to see how strong this guy is."

He patted the mudbray on the head. Mudbray seemed perfectly fine with this plan, digging one of his hooves into the ground and snorting happily. Both pokemon and trainer glanced at Sir Lopsalot as well to judge the bunneary's reaction.

"Doesn't have to be in the lab, we can find a good place out in the city," he followed up with. Although if he ended up traveling around Grand Glory with David (and Faye) anyway, a battle with him could be at any time. "Ah, but no worries if you don't want to."

Because apparently there was a place that Clarissa already wanted to investigate, which was... a sewer. Huh.

Once the photosession was done, Amelia let out a small sigh as she relaxed a bit as the Professor went around, handing them all a Rotom Phone and explaining it's uses along with their task to go out and register various pokemon around the region. She nodded to show she understood while putting the given items away. Phantump floated around, looking at everything going on, wondering if it would be able to find any victims. It did not but soon turned back to Amelia as more people approached her.

"A-ah, would you like to travel together, perhaps? Maybe see if we could find another who wishes to travel as well?"

Amelia turned towards Clarissa, surprised by the question and it showed. She figured no one would want to travel with her, seeing as she was so small and possibly the youngest one there. She didn't know the age of the boy with the Chespin after all but he was taller than her, so he was possibly older. Regardless, she would remain silent for a few seconds due to her surprise before eventually giving a reply.
"A-a-are you sure? I'm not very strong and I might not be able to keep up. I need to take things slow. I would like to but... I don't want to get in your way." She said, looking down at the ground while fiddling with the hem of her hoodie.

Clarissa then moved on to talk to others, while Amelia slowly gathered herself again. It was then that one of the tallest members of the group approached her. He kneeled down to her height before talking to her, checking to see how she was doing and commenting on Phantump. He kept things short and too the point but not in a way that was rude. He also carried a calm air around him, something Amelia picked up on and which helped her relax as well.

"Are you feeling less nervous now?" He asked. With how much people watching he'd done just that morning of his fellow newbies, he couldn't help but have noticed the one among them that had seemed so uneasy. And that she had loosened up around the buneary, and especially so her own phantump. Nils went on, his voice as light and friendly as usual. "Just happened to notice you brightened up once you met your partner."

Nils looked at the oddly colored phantump, and so did Nils' own partner from around his legs. Ghost and dark-types usually got a bad reputation, but Nils himself had never cared about that. Amelia didn't seem like she minded her partner's type either. "It seems like a good one," he said. After a moment he added as an afterthought, "Oh, I'm Nils by the way."

"Mhm. I'm happy to have him. Phantump is my favorite, especially the shiny form." She said, a small smile on her face. Phantump heard this and let out a proud cry, puffing out his chest as he did so. Amelia then looked at Nils' partner. "Yours seems good. They look very calm. I hope the two of you get along and have a good time together."

It was around this time that Clarissa came back, announcing that she wanted to go to the... sewers? Amelia wasn't sure how she felt about that but she wasn't sure it Clarissa would want to put up with traveling with her as it was. She also glanced over at Nils who was asking to battle Clarissa. Would they battle and if so, would they mind if she watched?

"C'mon, wait up!" Archie yelled at the Chespin as he kept chasing after the Pokémon. Chespin kept crying in nervousness and fear, its paws covering its tearful eyes while running. It's a miracle it never hit any trees or tripped over rocks at this point.

That's when a girl named Regan called out to him with her Tyrunt (Woah that's a cool shiny!) calling out to get Chespin's attention too. It seemed to work as Chespin stopped in place, its body still shivering in fright.

"Chill out... Okay, I gotta chill out..." He did as Regan instructed him, holding out his hands as he approached the Spiky Nut Pokémon slowly. "Easy now. I'm not gonna hurt you, buddy. I want to be friends with ya..." He calmly said. Chespin was still shivering in fear but at least he wasn't moving away. However, a ray of sun shone through some clouds and reflected off Tyrunt's fangs. With a yelp, Chespin scampered away in fear again. "Oh not again!" Seeing no other choice, Archie had to run after Chespin again.

Chespin kept crying as Archie kept calling out to it, telling it to calm down. That's when both of them bumped hard against something big that they landed on their bum on the grass. A massive three-headed dragon Pokémon loomed over them, casting a shadow over the two. Archie stared in fear at the Dragon-type while Chespin was full-on weeping as the Hydreigon stared at them with such fearsome eyes.

When Hydreigon lunged at the two, Archie's instincts kicked in and he too lunged at Chespin to protect it. He assumed the worst, but the Brutal Pokémon used its two heads to pick Archie off his shirt collar and Chespin off its scruff. Both of them looked like a pair of puppies getting air jail time as Hydreigon carried them over back to the group.

"Hehehehe... T-Thanks..." Archie sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of her neck, thankful and still nervous that the huge Pokémon was good. Chespin stopped crying at least but it was now looking at Archie in a different light. It could feel he was also just as terrified of the Hydreigon yet in the brink of danger, Archie didn't hesitate to jump over and protect it. For the first time in the young Chespin's life, it felt a sense of gratitude and warmth.

Archie then perked up when Adriane called everyone for a group photo. He was about to run towards Chespin but he approached him calmly instead. "Don't worry, Chespin. You're safe here." He warmly smiled and patted Chespin's head. Chespin had tears forming at the corner of its eyes due to the overwhelming joy it was feeling. When tbe photo was taken, it will show Chespin crying tears of joy while Archie was smiling widely beside him holding a peace sign.

After that, they were given gheir own Pokédexes while the professor explained its features and purposes. "Woah, so cool!" Archie excitedly hopped in place as he used it to scan Chespin, saving its data. "Spiky Nut Pokemon... Chespin, you're so cool! Everyone's Pokémon is cool! Even Hydei... Hydurei... Hydreigon!" He said as he scanned the Brutal Pokémon too.

Archie also marvelled at the Pokéballs and Chespin curiously looked at them too as he listened to the professor. "I didn't realize there were so many of us. I wonder where they are now. I bet they met lots of cool Pokémon already. Well, not as cool as Chespin though!" Archie giggled and Chespin shyly smiled and called out to him.

As the professor dismissed them, it seemed that it was the start of their journey together with their Pokémon. Archie turned to Chespin. "We're gonna have so much fun together, meet lots of awesome new people and Pokémon. It probably won't be all sunshine and rainbows but I promise I'll always do my best to protect you just how a hero should! Waddya say? Up for an adventure... Bravos the Brave Chespin?" Archie held his palm out to Chespin, looking at the Pokémon with sincerity and excitement in his eyes. Chespin could see it too and after a couple of moments, nodded eagerly and gave a high five.

"Ches!" Bravos the Brave Chespin said in happiness.

They were then approached by a girl named Audrey and her Zorua, asking if theh should team up together. "Gasp! You do?! Yeah sure, we're totally stoked to join ya! I'm Archie and this is Bravos by the way!" Archie happily said and gestured at Bravos who's hiding behind him while hugging him.

Upon receiving her rotom phone, Steph took a moment to give the strange little device a puzzled look over. What was this gimmicky looking contraption? Oh? It was making noises? A picture of Dusk popped up on the screen as Steph seemed startled by the device for a moment, before realising as the Professor explained just what it was for. It was one of those uh 'Pokedexs' or whatever, but crossed with a phone? Steph hadn't owned a phone before so wasn't exactly sure how best to use it, but she had heard of some of what a phone could do from one of her older cousins who got one so she supposed it was useful?

Would never replace just talking to someone in her eyes, but it would help if you couldn't just....see them I guess.

Just as she finished pocketing the little device and got Dusk to hop up on her shoulder though, she approached by one of the girls she had greeted earlier. Clarissa wasn't it? She knew just how to greet her this time.

"Hy Clahzza whahts up?" Stroking Dusk's...chin? Steph would listen as the girl first of all was asking her to travel with her, before adding on she wanted to see the sewers. Steph took a moment to mull that offer over as she looked around. She already had half an idea on who she wanted to travel with, but didn't see that person immediately so turned her attention back to the newly dubbed 'Clazza'.


"Mybee, sao lawng as youre haydin south Oy dawnt say the hahm roigh' naow eh? Wouldnt moind chaeckin eow' the sewahs at some point buh' Oy gawt somethin Oy wahnna gao chaeck eow' fuhst. uh...taext ya luytah? Aw somethin. Oy dunnao much abeow' thiies do-heeckay." Shaking the once more pulled out Rotom Phone before once again pocketing it, she let Clarissa continue on her way before first things first, she made her way to the Professor once more. No doubt her walking up to him caused a shiver to go down his spine.


"Hya Dawc, thaht Hydreigons yours ye?" She had heard the champion, or was it the director? Eh, she heard someone mention it was his. So with a glittering look, she would ask the next question.


"WheahcahnOygeh'one?HydreigonsahhsupahcoolloikemaowstdruygawntypesrayllyandOyveoolwhysrayllywahntedone!Saocahnyahtaellmewheahyahgawtone?Playse?" Yes, her voice really was coming out at rapper speed without a single stutter, such was the obvious excitement about the girl. She was uh, certainly energetic and enthusiastic about this whole business at any rate.

Regan Calhoun

@Sanguine Rose

Well, that had almost worked. The grass-type ended up getting spooked by Kaebe. She watched them run off again, only to get caught by a much larger pokemon with three heads. Well, that was that, then, wasn’t it? Her Tyrunt was gazing up at the larger dragon pokemon with a bit of admiration when Regan pat his head, “looks pretty cool, huh? You wanna be big and cool like that, too?”

”Runt!” Kaebe hopped at her side a couple of times and then waggled his body excitedly.

“Haha, yeah, someday. We’ll get you there.” The fledgling trainer offered a grin as she led him to get into the photo for Faye. In the back of her mind, she was wondering if the dinosaur even evolved. If it was an impulse of his, it was probably a thing he could do, right? Maybe. She thought for a moment of a few of the times she’d wanted to do something but definitely couldn’t.

Heey, it was the phone they said she’d be receiving! The Association had been kind enough to facilitate her communication needs until now, but she supposed they still would be, in a way. It looked a little like a pokemon, weird. She went through and scanned the pokemon around, starting with the cute little puppo lizard at her feet. A few interesting ones, including a Zoroa. She tried not to feel bad for the person who got a Mudbray. Hopefully, they were excited about it, at least. That Eevee was pretty cute! Her dinosaur was impossible to be disappointed about, he looked cool and seemed really strong. And he had such a cute personality, too, even though he looks so tough!

Ah, the photograph. Regan approached the photographer girl, smiling as her dinosaur plodded along beside her, “hey! You're gonna have to print those photos later, huh? Oh-” she dug out the phone she’d just been given, looking at it thoughtfully, “Professor Cedrick said we already all have each other’s numbers. If you can get it to your phone, you can just send it, right?”

And, hey, who wants to go check out the city alone, right? “Would you want to check out the city together? I’m not from around here at all, and I’d really rather go with someone.” A cute girl was never a bad traveling companion, right? That girl with the Joltik left already, but she seemed like she might be kinda, how to say this politely, ah... high class.

Her Tyrunt came forward slowly, sniffing at the Eevee curiously. Being a well-fed boy with met needs (one would assume, from a breeder), he had a very sociable, friendly personality, quite unlike the stereotypes.

Valerian had been so thrown by being given a bug, he didn’t even notice that she was shiny. His favorite color no less. Pink! The universe planned this just to mess with him, but fine. If he was going to have a Bug for a partner, he was going to make the most of it. That started with giving her a suitable name.

Valerian narrowed his eyes at the pink Cutiefly sitting on his shoulder. He had gone through several different names. “Peony?” No. Too on the nose. Sounded like something you’d name a teacup poodle “Seraphina?” Dramatic enough, yes, but it didn’t feel right. “Lilibelle?” …He was embarrassed just thinking it.

He scanned the Pokedex he had been given. Her original color was a lovely golden color. Perfectly suited for the name Aurelia. But that didn’t fit. Then an idea hit him. “Henceforth, from this moment on you shall be known as Aurelia Rose. It’s noble, high class, and still suits your color scheme.”

She fluttered her wings in approval, then nuzzled the prince’s neck. Valerian sighed.

The orange hair girl who had been talking to Jason earlier introduced herself. Called herself, Steph. He couldn’t quite place her accent. She asked if he was doing the League Battles, or Contests. “Well, I adore the theatricality of contests. But I am also here to show the strength of Fairy types. So both. Valerian politely shook her hand, but she had a much firmer grip than he was expecting.

One of the girls asked for a photo of the entire team. The young prince was never one to pass up a photo op, and he and Aurelia Rose gladly posed for it. Well, Valerian posed. Aurelia Rose still casually perched on his shoulder. He made a point to be front and center.

Once everything was settled, Valerian was left to his own devices. He needed to get out of this lab. Too much chaos gathered in one place.

With Aurelia Rose still on his shoulder, he made his way toward the park. “We’re going to the gardens,” he told her, like she had any say in the matter. “You can flutter. I’ll recalibrate my expectations for the entire journey. It’ll be productive.”

She buzzed softly, clearly thrilled.

“No, we are not investigating every flower we pass.”

She darted toward a dandelion anyway. Not even a nice one. One of those ragged ones that looked like it had been stepped on twice.

“You’re pink, you sparkle, and I assume you have standards.” He muttered as he followed her. “Act like it.”

The purple haired photographer watched at one by one people started to get into position, and then one of the two youngest among the group took off into the forest after his pokemon. Well...she could wait. But she didn't have to wait long. A Hydreigon walked out carrying the boy. She quickly focused her camera and managed to get the shot of the dragon type placing the boy and his Chespin down. Today was quite eventful indeed! She'd always been interested to see a Hydreigon up close, and she'd heard how powerful Kapoc's was. So to see it - to capture it it in...action?...was really a treat.

The fact others seemed like they were actually up for the group photograph was a treat as well. Editing wouldn't be able to happen until she made her way back to King's Cross, but surely no one would mind. That was a problem she'd deal with at a later date. Picture now, touch up later. Adrianne being on board helped drag Kapoc - someone she wasn't entirely certain would willingly join the photo op on his own - into it too. While she was prepared to instruct them how to pose, pretty much everyone struck up some form of pose. That was perfect! It certainly captured the group's energy and personality better than her setting them up in professional stances.

"Are you going to be able to get in the photo too?"

Faye had just raised the camera but not fully started working it when she heard the question. She lowered it and laughed softly. "Oh, uh - no. Not this time. But don't worry about it. I'll be posting selfies to my socials as I go so if people want to see me, you can find me on pretty much any social." With that, she quickly got her camera in focus and took the picture of the group.

"Give me a call when the photo's ready, alright? I'm Evelyn, by the way."

"Sure thing." Faye offered the other girl a smile. She looks like the type to want the touched up version. Should I mention -

Well it was too late to finish that thought. Kapoc moved on with what he planned to participate in today. The photographer lowered her camera to let it rest in what will quickly become it's standard resting spot on her hip and focused on the adult talking.

She accepted phone when it was given to her. Her brows rose high - and how could they not?! - when he explained how high tech they were. She signed on to do just these kinds of things, but knowing how good the phone's signal was made her reconsider using her personal one to post everything. She'd just have to ship hers back home. That would be better than just lugging it with her until she got to King's Cross. The fact it had everyone's numbers in it already was a plus. Not that she wasn't looking forward to at least sightseeing for now, but she'd definitely appreciate the means of getting in touch with others to distribute the photo she just took and checking in on progress - or sharing progress in the case of any major developments she found that wasn't specifically related to finding pokemon.

Then was catching the pouch of pokeballs. She hadn't doubted they'd get a few to start, but this felt like more than just five...Which she confirmed when she opened and gave it a quick count. Not shabby starting with 10. It certainly helped get them all off to a good start.

Oh! Start! It looked like some were already on their way out and - well Nils was distracting David and the girl that had arrived with her own pokmeon - others were distracted pairing off already. Well...she supposed...

Faye was distracted in her own thoughts and hadn't noticed she'd been approached by anyone. Sage shifted, leaning against her leg, before yipping for her attention. "Hmm?" She blinked and looked up from the items in her hands (which she truthfully wasn't actually looking at.)

"Oh! Yeah, I can totally do that! I don't have my laptop but I do have a cable!" She hastily turned the Rotom phone over to double check if the cable she had for her personal phone would fit this one too. And luck had it - they were a match! She crouched down and shrugged her pack off her back and started digging through it. A few cans of food and camping gear unpacked then repacked later, and she had the cable in hand and was carefully hooking the camera to her new phone/pokedex.

While she focused on getting the right picture uploaded to the phone, Sage sniffed at the bipedal dinosaur. While the canine pokemon may have been a bit more cautious - after all the Tyrunt was bigger and definitely tougher than him - at first, he quickly warmed up to the friendly pokemon. He yipped and yapped, looking to start up a conversation with the dinosaur about how excited he was to have a trainer and get to go explore the region - and gauging what the dinosaur thought of the situation. (But the author didn't feel like writing all that out so there it is.)

At mention of travelling together, Faye looked up at the other girl. "oh? Where are you from? I'm from Evig, but it's not like I've really gone sightseeing or traveled the country much, ya know? I would love to travel with others. I think all trainers offer from travelling with other trainers. I offered to David and Nils already, so maybe we'll have additional company too. Or maybe it'll stick to just us for a bit. I don't know. There were a few monuments in Grand Glory I wanted to check out, and there's the Park near the new trainer school, and Grand Glory's port...Lots of stuff to see and do here before setting out. I've got a rough idea of places I want to hit."

She looked down and finished getting the photograph uploaded in a group chat of all the trainers in the current group. Then hit send. Everyone's phone would hopefully ding not too long after that with a group text that included the group photograph.

Once she slung her pack back on, she stood and tucked the cable into a cargo pocket on her pants. Much easier to retrieve it from there than her backpack. "Come on! The first thing we should do is go check if the boys are going to battle or if they're ready to set out too."

The intrepid photographer headed over to the small group forming where Nils had joined David, the smallest trainer with a hood pulled up, and the psychic that she'd barely registered throwing some rubbish away without lifting a finger. "Hey! So, we were going to head out. David, Nils, did you guys want to tag along with me and...-" she quickly checked her phone when she realized she hadn't caught the other girl's name before looking back up at the group - "Regan? Or were you going to set out with these two? Or with each other...? There's this cool fountain in the center of Grand Glory that I've been dying to get a picture of. So -" She looked at Regan. "That's our first stop, if you don't mind. But we'll head elsewhere where we can see if we can add to our team pretty shortly after that."

And everyone got a ding from the Rotom Phone of the group photo taken by Faye.

Anyway.

.

@Lunarlord34

Well, Kapoc was supposed to leave, but he was stopped by the red head who asked him a question and...

What on God's green Earth was this girl saying?

He was just trying to get back to his office, but instead he was being verbally and mentally assaulted by this thing. Was his head beginning to hurt? The professor placed his fingers on a vein to check if he was having a stroke before he looked at Adriane right over Steph's shoulder, the champ held her own laughter back at his bewilderment. Did she seriously...?

However, that was the less pressing issue. The more that Steph spoke, the more he could feel his braincells commit suicide. "Yes, yes, it's mine! Ye God's girl, personal space!" The professor stepped back to get some reprieve from the being known as Stephanie as if any bit of distance protected him from her distinct way of speaking.

"I am not telling you where it is and that is for more your sake and believe me, even if I told you, it would do you no good." He sighed and scratched the back of his neck, his lab jacket's sleeve slid back just enough to reveal scars. They looked very old and very large as if his arms had repeat deep gashes dug into his arm. Strangely enough, they followed a circular pattern as if something clamped down on his arm and it clamped down hard. "Seriously, don't get a Pokemon just because it's 'cool.' It's irresponsible."

.

@Crusader Lord

Because Kapoc was still there, he was still around when Clarissa asked about the sewers. "I mean, it's mainly a breeding ground for Grimer, Trubbish, and Rattata though those Grimer and Rattata are of the Alolan variant. We brought the Grimer from Alola, but the Rattata are more of an invasive species though they seem to prefer to remain in the sewers until night."

Adrianne chimed in. "Oh, I did hear something in passing. Apparently, someone can hear something crying. Beyond that, there must be some other things that have made its home down there that we aren't aware of either."

"I'm more curious if any of the original fauna still remain or were completely displaced by the city's construction." The director mused.

.

@Joshua Tamashii@CitrusArms@Sanguine Rose@Shazamrock@Zapdos

The three adults' attention were turned to Nils challenging David.

"Do not battle in my lab! If you're gonna battle, then do it anywhere else!" A shadow loomed over him as his Hydreigon hover behind him with a gaze that would make even the bravest of trainer's blood run cold.

Director Beck, however, stepped between the professor and his upstart aides. "Ah, yeah please don't battle in here. Actually, I am really sorry to cut this short, but we have a meeting."

"My money is on the- Wait, what?" Adriane turned to Director Beck with a pleading expression. Is there no way I can get out of it?" A hand was placed on the shoulder, and she was dragged off by the director.

"Not at all! Now come on! We've got a budget meeting to attend to!"

"Noooooooooooooooo!" And then her protests were instantly cut off by the automatic glass door. The silence was then broken by the loud slurp of Kapoc drinking from his mug.

"I do not envy her. Well, anyway, you guys can seriously all leave now. Chop, chop, get to it. Seize the day and whatever. Oh, and Clarissa, remember what I said. Bye." And Kapoc went back to his lab. When they walked through the lab to get back to the lobby, they would see the professor sitting by a computer typing away with a new coffee mug that said, 'Unless you're dying, leave me alone.' Needless to say, if they were to bother him then there was a Hydreigon that would have been happy to escort any annoying stragglers.

---

Well, off to the beginning of their journey.

Whoever decided to leave the lab were once again greeted by the bustling streets of Grand Glory and would walk through the sidewalks trickling with a never-ending flow of people going about their business. Buildings were being constructed among already towering skyscrapers, which meant construction was everywhere. Roads were either closed or congested wile parts of sidewalks had scaffolding to protect people from any potential objects falling from above. Electronic street signs showed advertisements for products, some for things as mundane as Pokeballs and some more glamorous with models that most likely came from her hometown of Evertide. Unless they came from a small town or some backwater ditch, then this place made them look tiny and limp by comparison. In other words, a typical city.

Besides the human residents of the city, there were wild Pokemon as well! Well, at least the ones that could immediately be seen. Everywhere Evelyn went he would see little birds looking about, sitting on street lampposts and electrical cables that were strewn above.

In this case, it seemed like there were two types of Flying-Types that were in competition to get the most food.

Pokedex Entry #016- Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. They are docile Pokémon that avoid fighting, kicking up sand in an enemy’s face or using Whirlwind to avoid battles. They have sharp senses of direction, capable of finding their nest or destination from very large distances. They inhabit tall grass where they search and prey on small bugs.

Pokedex Entry #519-Pidove, the Tiny Pidgeon Pokemon. Where people go, these Pokémon follow. If you're scattering food for them, be careful— several hundred of them can gather at once. It's forgetful and not very bright, but many Trainers love it anyway for its friendliness and sincerity.

Besides the birds, there were also some felines just lazing about that took advantage of the food offerings that humans gave them and otherwise would just be looting.

Pokédex Entry #052 – Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon. During the night Meowth are known to sneak around stealthily in search of prey and shiny objects which it adores with a passion. During the day, Meowth is known to laze around all day. In the dark, its eyes glow.

Then there were scurrying rat Pokemon that seemed to be the prey of the Meowth when they felt like hunting.

Pokédex Entry #019 – Rattata, the Mouse Pokémon. This Pokémon is common but hazardous. Its sharp incisors can easily cut right through hard wood. Its incisors grow continuously throughout its life. If its incisors get too long, this Pokémon becomes unable to eat, and it starves to death.

---

@Crimson Flame@Zarkun@Xaltwind

For those who were going to a park, after a leisurely walk or maybe a bus ride because public transportation was a thing, they would arrive. It would be more accurate to say they arrived at the park. While there were tiny parks in other areas of the city, when people talked about parks when visiting the city there was only one that mattered. Once they walked past fences made of pale bricks of stone and wrought iron, she was greeted by an expanse of nature curated by people.

---

@baraquiel@Gremlin

Ding ding ding! Random event created by the GM at the request of Baraquiel!

As Archie the aspiring young hero and Audrey the aspiring rock star got back on the streets, the two of them heard the shrill sound of an elderly woman screaming, "Help! Help! That man stole my purse!" Neither of them would need to look very hard to see an old woman dressed very much like a wealthy socialite screaming until she was red in the face.



In fact, they did not have to look very hard for the thief as they could see someone sprinting off down the sidewalk full speed as people in their confusion or trying to not get shoved or collide with the thief gave way to them. However, both Archie and Audrey were still reasonably close enough that if they rushed after the man then they could at least stop him in his tracks as long as they were smart.

---

---

The walk to the park had been... Interesting... A lot of people, a lot of adverisement, a lot of pokemon. For the most part, Evelyn didn't pay much attention to most of it, though she did make a point to to at least scan the various creatures whenever she saw them - and they didn't immediately zoom off into hiding or somewhere out of range of the Rotom Dex/Phone. The blonde girl lingered a bit when it came to the entry for the Pidgeys, thinking that catching one of those might be a good first step. After all, the dex-app even said it was a good choice for a beginner. But... Fighting in the middle of a crowded street wasn't exactly the best of ideas, so she'd have to wait.

Reaching the park proper though, Evelyn let out a small 'wow' when she looked around the place. It was so... Lovely. A complete and utter detachment from the crowded, towering metropolitan feel of the bustling city just mere feet away. instead it had a nice, though obviously man-made, outdoors-y feel to it. There were other trainers, perhaps ones just as green as herself, off in distance, battling one another. There were people just strolling back, some having picnics, some resting on benches, and some just feeding the local wildlife... Something that made the blonde frown. One shouldn't carelessly feed pokemon human foods or treats... It wasn't good for their health.

Oh well, she could chide and rant and scream at the thoughtless masses later, for now... Where was that pi--

"-Gee....?"

Evelyn's eyebrows rose, her eyes widened, her mouth formed into a very distinct 'o'-shape.

There, by some bushes, a bit further into the park, a strange creature emerged. Popping up and out of the tall grass, like a pop-up-pirate, a brown, fuzzy... Rabbit-mouse-sphere-thing with brown fur appeared. Evelyn was... Mesmerized... Her eyes sparkled and she could barely see or register anything else. What... What was this adorable fluff-muffin!? Coming to her senses, she quickly fumbled around in her pockets and retrieved the Rotom Phone.

... Which, now of all times, decided to let out an electronic 'ding!' and the notification of: You've got mail!

"Not. Now."

Swipe to ignore.

Aiming the scanner-ma-doo-bop, she managed to catch the strange, brown, ring-pattern-tail pokemon before it ducked back down into the grass. It was... A Sentret.

"... Sentret, huh? mm, yes. I've decided. That fleecey furball's gonna be my first."

Phrasing aside, Evelyn clenched her fist and was filled with determination. A goal had been set, and now it was time to act upon it! Seize the day and ... Teach a man to fish, or something. Anyway. Reaching for her belt, she nabbed Joltik's pokemon, perofrmed a stylish spinning pirouette in place, and lobbed her partner's pokeball up into the air!

... Except she then decided to lean forward a bit and cross her legs after the toss, posing for... Nobody in particular... With the subsequent effect of her own thrown pokeball coming back down, bonking her on the head and releasing Joltik onto her back, who, in turn, panicked when he realized he was about to fall face-first into the ground and latched onto Evelyn. This decision, of course, caused the girl who wasn't prepared for the addition of extra weight, nor standing in a way that would allow her to support such sudden additional weight, promptly fell forward. Flat on her face. Very undignified.

"Glmfhpt...!"

Joltik, having successfully avoided falling onto the ground, chittered in relief as he sat snuggly on his trainer's back, looking around at all the marvelous new sights his tiny eyes had never seen before. The vast, open skies. The large, towering trees. The swaying, fragrant grass. The pleasatnly trickling water of the pond. The many other unfamiliar pokemon. The--

"Jmmltiph... Ghe offgh!"

Speaking face-.first down into the dirt, Joltik only now realized he was actually sitting on top of his trainer and let out a panicked noise, before unlatching from Evelyn's back and jumping down onto the grass next to his collapsed human. Rising from her fall, Evelyn gave the little bug a ... Complicated... Look. The little creature in turn, merely turned its head sideways, then scuttled up next to the girl and nuzzled her leg affectionately. Evelyn let out sigh and brushed herself off.

"... Geez... Nobody better have seen that." She pouted sourly. "Anyway, Joltik. Listen up!" She commanded, and the little electro-bug snapped to attention, looking up at her with great expectations in his multiple eyes! Or, he was just having a Pavlovian response to hearing his name. "We're gonna catch, a sentret! One of those things." She dramatically pointed towards the bushes she'd looked at before, where another one of the furry brown fuzzballs just popped up. Joltik tilted its head as it looked at the strange pokemon, then looked back at Evelyn.

"It's going to be our first battle, our first catch, and your first new friend for life! Are you ready, boy?" Her voice was filled with a renewd energy and vigor, having reminded herself of the task at hand. Joltik made some noise in response, bounced forward, infront of Evelyn, and did a little spin before facing towards their new target. Of course, the chic girl made sure to look around so there were no humans or other pokemons who could accidentlaly get caught in a crossifre and end being collaterally inconvenienced by a sudden battle. And when it was confirmed that no such thing were going to be an issue...

"Alright, Joltik! Go!"

And so begins Evelyn's attempt at catching a Wild Sentret.

The stroll from the League Headquarters to the park was full of sights and sounds that Jason had been too focused on getting to the League HQ to notice or pay attention to and as he walked, he let Slayer out of his ball, talking to the Ralts as he walked. The flying types and other city-going Pokemon definitely caught his attention and he made sure to read their entries within the Pokedex app. Pidgey is a pretty solid starting Flying type, let's me start addressing my type coverages...though Rattata and Meowth are both good all-rounders being Normal-Types... Even as he appreciated the cityscape around him, he was planning how to grow his team so he could start exploring more of the region and not have to worry about any one of his partners getting excessively injured or tired. When he reached the park, Jason paused inside the gate with Slayer, who was excited to see such a natural space while all the aspiring champion could do was let loose a low whistle.

"Well damn...you'd think this was a natural occurring area with the odd man-made additions if it wasn't so meticulously maintained..." He set off to the right of the gate, reading the entries on both Ducklett and Sentret and tapping his chin Ducklett didn't really appeal, even with the Water-Typing, something about that 'no thoughts' look in its eyes unsettled him. "Come on Slayer, let's see if we can find a Pidgey to be our new partner, and ask around about any rumors floating around about any Pokemon that aren't normally seen." The pair set off diligently, paying attention to their surroundings and after thirty minutes of trying, managing to spot a Pidgey in a tree that seemed oblivious to them.

"Alright buddy, this is it. Hit that Pidgey with a Disarming Voice and then use Double Team to avoid the counter attack." (This is a quick capture attempt, battle plan is rinse and repeat here.) After either a successful or failed catch attempt, Jason would begin asking about rumors of unusual sightings or sounds or even unusual Pokemon.

@Remram

Valerian had to admit, the park was lovely. Wide open space. Trimmed hedges. Flowerbeds arranged with care, and aesthetic sense. A lake that glistened beneath the morning sun. It wasn’t exactly the royal gardens back home, but it would do.

Aurelia Rose fluttered just ahead of him. She was delighted to be somewhere with flowers.

Then, Valerian saw them. A small flock of Ducklett floating on the surface of the water. The prince narrowed his eyes. They just stared. With blank expressions as if they didn’t have a single thought in their heads.

Aurelia chirped curiously.

“No, we are not catching one. They look like bath toys that gave up on life.” Responded matter of factly. He turned away only to see a group of Sentret. These were quite weird as the Ducklett. One could even say they were cute in a way. The problem was, Sentret were too… common for his tastes.

Aurelia Rose buzzed again, drifting just slightly in the Sentret’s direction. Valerian immediately raised a hand to halt her. “No, we are not going to introduce ourselves. One of us has to maintain some standards.” He kept walking. If he was going to find a companion for Aurelia Rose, it had to be something worthy of a prince!

[Find Pokémon]

@Sanguine Rose@Shazamrock@CitrusArms

After taking the picture - fun, of course - it was time for part of why they were here. Of course, that's not how David interpreted it.

Oh cool, free stuff! These people are nice.

That was what went through his mind as he got the Pokedex and Pokeballs. Truthfully, he was too distracted by a certain text message to pay very close attention. Hee hee, Nils has rabbit ears. Something about getting paid to catch Pokemon? Okay, he could do that. Beyond that, something else had appeared: a challenge.

"You came here with your pokemon already. Oh, and you, too, David-" Nils looked over at the enthusiastic older boy, beckoning him over with a nod of his head. He hadn't missed the fact that David hadn't claimed a pokeball. To the both of them who had that in common (and one other surprising thing that others were unaware of), Nils said, "I'm curious how long you've been with your partner pokemon. And... I was wondering if you more experienced trainers were interested in a little competition? I want to see how strong this guy is."

Yes, this was way more interesting than a phone. David grinned, intending to accept the challenge. But then, Faye spoke up.

"Hey! So, we were going to head out. David, Nils, did you guys want to tag along with me and...-" she quickly checked her phone when she realized she hadn't caught the other girl's name before looking back up at the group - "Regan? Or were you going to set out with these two? Or with each other...? There's this cool fountain in the center of Grand Glory that I've been dying to get a picture of. So -" She looked at Regan. "That's our first stop, if you don't mind. But we'll head elsewhere where we can see if we can add to our team pretty shortly after that."

Aaaaand he forgot all about the Pokemon fight.

“That sounds cool! We can do tourist stuff, yeah. Come on, Nils!” David gave the long-haired man a friendly slap on the back, as if he had already agreed to it. Either way, the psychic trainer cared more about experiencing the new parts of the world than taking pictures of them, but the latter was cool too. And even he could tell Faye was really passionate about this. Her interest interested him; people who were excited by their interests were usually interesting to be around.

When the new group of four left, the Kanto native took the time to thank everyone in the lab - from the typical workers all the way up to the head honchos there - in his own way, of course.

“Good bye, everyone! Thanks for everything!” he yelled as they exited the building.

On the walk to the fountain, wherever it was (he would trust Faye on this), David would look around the city. His eyes darted in random directions, until eventually they settled on a random Pidgey perched on a lamp post.

“Dibs,” the muscular man said to Regan (who probably hadn't even seen it), and he threw a Pokeball at the creature. The bird didn't realize that the sphere was heading its way until it was too late, so it was unable to avoid the object. And after a few shakes, the Pokemon was officially caught.

After this, David smiled and floated the Pokeball back into his hand with his powers.

“Got it!” He excitedly declared, then remembered “I'm David, by the way. Who are you?”