[color=ffe150][b][u]Toshi[/u][/b][/color]

While he hated being the kind of loser asshole who broods in a corner, he had to admit that it had its moments, and he could at least pretend he wasn't actually brooding pretty damn convincingly, by his estimation.

It was a relief, then, when Prof. Camphor finally arrived and announced that it was time for him to finally, [i]finally[/i], become a pokémon trainer. Right. Deep breath. Not too deep though, don't wanna be conspicuous about it. He bit into what remained of his second lollipop and discarded the stick before following Prof. Camphor down the hall, then down another. They passed by a number of labs, the purpose of which Toshi couldn't immediately discern, before coming to a stop on an observation deck overlooking a place Prof. Camphor introduced as 'Habitat A'.

They took an elevator down while Prof. Camphor explained that he would be catching his starter here, along with everyone else who didn't already bring one. When they reached ground level of the habitat, a bridge extended to the island and they walked past some monitoring equipment before Prof. Camphor handed out pokéballs to all the new trainers.

This was it. The pokéball was light, but heavier than he expected it to be.

Toshi didn't waste any time. He gave Prof. Camphor a silent nod he wasn't even sure she cared to notice before jogging out over the bridge and onto the island, pokéball in hand.

So, he was excited. He couldn't deny that. Stressed too, in the way one might get when reaching a conspicuous save point in a video game. Eustress, they call it, he thinks? He didn't even notice when he had stopped smiling. There were infinite ways he could screw up and prove his parents right, but none of them mattered because, frankly, his parents didn't matter. Not right now. What mattered was that his first pokémon, whoever it was, was out there, waiting for him.

He didn't actually know what pokémon Prof. Camphor prepared for him. He gave her a short wish list of potential candidates that he could think of the time because he wasn't sure what she'd have on offer, and she never said anything about which she chose for him. Still, with how short and specific his list was, he didn't think he'd have trouble recognizing his starter when he saw it.

The sandy artificial beach had no immediately visible pokémon, and no particularly suspicious rocks for pokémon to hide under either, so he kept moving inland. None of the pokémon on the list he gave to Camphor were aquatic.

The island's forest seemed small from the observation deck, but it was still large enough that you could easily lose sight of anything but the trees around you. He didn't bother with the island's small lake or river, though he might have to check the craggy area later. He'd start by combing the forest though, because most of the pokémon on his list probably preferred forests or plains.

He eventually came to a small forest clearing, though calling it a clearing might have been generous. It was mostly just an area with a single particularly large tree shading its surroundings, probably making it difficult for trees to grow in the surrounding area. His eyes wandered over the canopy above, wondering if his starter was up there, maybe even watching him, when he heard a short cry that sounded vaguely like a vuvuzela attacking the corrugated hose of a vacuum cleaner.

He followed the noise downward to see a curious bug pokémon peeking out from a burrow at the base of the large tree.

Ah, it was Nincada. Truthfully, the little guy had been at the top of his list. After all, why ask for one team member when you can ask for two? Its evolutions both fit what he was looking for to a 'T', and he was confident he could become a trainer to look out for if he could make good use of their talents. That just left the issue of actually doing so.

He approached Nincada's burrow calmly, face still neutral. The little insect backed away into its burrow as he drew near, but didn't completely vanish into the shadows below. As Toshi reached the burrow's entrance, he kneeled down, hunched over, and offered the little insect his hand. He didn't expect them to take it, but it helped giving pokémon the option to inspect him on their own terms. [color=ffe150]"Hey there. I'm Toshi. It's short for Toshinori."[/color]

The little insect crept a bit closer, the feelers on its face tickling Toshi's offered hand.

He continued, and before he even realized it, he was pouring his heart out. [color=ffe150]"I want to become a pokémon trainer. I want to go on a journey across Eidda, and I want to aim for the very top; to become the absolute best when it comes to pokémon battles. I also want the pokémon by my side to be happy. I want them to have choices I didn't when I was younger. I want them to be just as committed to reaching the top and becoming the greatest as I am. So, tell me, Nincada, what do [i]you[/i] want?"[/color]

Nincada looked up from his hand to meet his eyes with his own large peepers. Nincada slowly emerged from its burrow, and Toshi withdrew his hand to make room for it to exit. Once outside, Nincada continued staring at Toshi as it lifted its foreclaw and gently set it on Toshi's knee. Toshi wasn't sure how to interpret this, but it was promising, so he gave Nincada a warm and genuine smile. Nincada took that as permission to invade Toshi's personal space and quickly skittered up Toshi's lap, around his midsection, onto and up his back, then began inspecting the strange sun-colored filaments atop his head.

Toshi shuttered at the unexpected crawling all over him before shaking the feeling off and noticing that Nincada was now playing with his hair. Oh, that was pretty cu- wait, is the little guy chewing on his hair? He grimaced as he set down the pokéball and gently reached up to lift Nincada off his head, who had graciously decided his hair wasn't very appetizing and spit it out. He moved Nincada to his front, letting him stand on his thighs, foreclaws against his chest, using one arm to make sure he'd be able to catch the little bug if he lost his balance. Nincada's whiskers tickled his face and he laughed as he retrieved the pokéball with his other hand.

[color=ffe150]"Would you like to join me, Nincada?"[/color]

He looked at Toshi's face, then the offered pokéball and back before making a small noise and giving a single nod, which was about as much confirmation as Toshi thought he'd be able to get. Toshi smiled, reached around the little bug's midsection to give him a hug, then pulled back and pressed the pokéball to Nincada's head.

In a blur of light, Nincada dematerialized, and the pokéball's button began flashing red as the ball shook ever so slightly in his hand. After a few shakes, the ball made a quiet noise before going still.

He had done it.

He was now a pokémon trainer. A wide grin split his face as he stared at the pokéball containing his new friend. He had to take a moment to calm himself so nobody would think he was high or crazed. He then stood up, dusted off his jeans, fixed his hair, and put on the smile of a man that was ludicrously cool. The smile of a man with a Ninjask and a Shedinja in the making. Ah hell, why hide it? He sent Nincada out, who shared one look with Toshi standing at full height before climbing up his legs and latching its foreclaws over his shoulders like a backpack, peeking over them and around him in curiosity. It didn't send Toshi's skin crawling anymore now that he knew what to expect, and overall it felt like he was giving one of his younger siblings a piggy-back ride. Adorable.

He swaggered out from the forest the way he came, giving Camphor and the others a relaxed smile. As he reached the group, he turned to show off his first pokémon, who chittered quietly at the sight of new people.

[color=ffe150]"I've caught my starter."[/color] He said, as he began idly spinning Nincada's pokéball on one finger, an act that immediately drew Nincada's stare in rapt fascination. It also gave him an excuse to keep his eyes averted while he said something embarrassing that nonetheless needed to be said. [color=ffe150]"Thank you, Professor Camphor. It means a lot to me, that you gave me a chance like this."[/color]

He raised his eyes to meet hers even as the pokéball continued spinning atop his finger. Camphor seemed like a serious person. She'd probably appreciate practical assurances more than emotional catharsis. [color=ffe150]"I'll just have to make sure I'm more than worth the investment, yeah?"[/color] He bounced the pokéball up, then caught it, holding it close and giving the professor a wink.