Pokemon: The Omega League

Flint - Outside Hawthorn's Lab

Flint gave a small wave back to the group, "So, I take it you're all waiting for your turn with the professor as well?" he said with a smile and a nod, though it faded when he saw the messy girl slumped and clearly trying to ignore everyone else. It seemed like she might be in pain? Maybe he'd keep an eye on her just in case, but for now probably best to leave her be he thought.

Prof. Hawthorn smiled, chuckling a little bit as the new trainers got situated with their new Pokemon. He walked up to each one, handing them one of the red rectangular machines, as well as a set of five Poke Balls.

"These are Rotom Pokedexes," he told them. "They're basically electronic databases that scan and record data about Pokemon you encounter. Each one contains a Pokemon called Rotom within them, allowing them to sync up with both other Rotom Dexes, as well as any phones or information communication devices you already happen to own, like Pokegears, Pokenavs, Xtranceivers, things like that," he explained.

As he handed each one a Pokedex, the cheeky grin of Rotom appeared on the devices' screens for a moment, then they floated out of the trainers' hands and scanned their new partners. One after another, they chirped and began to read out information on their Pokemon, followed by showing information on the Pokemon's moves and general capabilities.

Jacques' Pokedex was first:

Blaze's whirred to life next:

This was followed by Nicklas' Pokedex:

Finally, Joachim's Pokedex spoke up:

Finally, the Rotom Dexes went quiet and flew back into their trainers' hands. Prof. Hawthorn's smile widened.

"I hope you enjoy your new Pokemon partners. They'll be fine partners for you, I guarantee it. From here, the region's open to you. I recommend heading north towards Betata City, the first gym is located in that town. There are plenty of Pokemon to find and catch on Route 1, which lies between here and Betata. Good luck on your Pokemon journeys!" he exclaimed, waving. Lucario smiled and waved as well.

Edited by AllHailThrall on Dec 6th 2022 at 5:02:30 AM

Jacques, Prof. Hawthorn's Lab.

The small aquatic mouse seemed to find the mix-up somewhat amusing while it lasted before losing interest, bouncing on their tail and watching the other Pokemon while Jacques glanced over at Nick.

"It...would seem so, yes. A good first impression for everyone involved!" Jacques nodded in agreement. scarf slightly misaligned to show a thankful smile that things had gone alright so far. "I guess having a Pokemon chosen for us instead of choosing ourselves does have it's advantages."

Still, Blaze's comment did cause the youth to tilt his head in thought while the Azurill looked up at him, confused.

"A name, huh? Well, let's see...Blue's too obvious." And the fact he got a disappointed 'Ri' in response made him made him nod. "Aquamarine's nice, but...not really a name...Aqua...Aquel...Aquelapin?"

The last one left the Pokemon tilting it's head in confusion, but gave a happy nod at the mention of Aqua. Those would certainly work as both of them gave a smile, only to both get startled as the Rotom Pokedex floated back down to his hands.

The fact it was powered by a Pokemon and was probably more Pokemon than machine left him a little shake. Especially since how outdated it made the Pokegear he had in comparison.

"T-Technology's...definitely changed a lot, hasn't it..." He thought aloud, taking a few moments to realize it was probably time to get going. "A-Ah, um, merci, uh, thank you, Professor!"

The young man gave a polite bow and turned to leave, only to notice Aquelapin refused to move.

"O-Oh, okay, okay..." Jacques wasn't entirely sure what the aquatic mouse had in mind but knelt to try and pick her up, only for her to spring up off his arms and land on top of his head, trying to keep balance for a few moments before giving a triumphant 'Azu!' and looking very proud of herself.

"Yep, guess that's why we're all here. People are entering in groups, at least, so it shouldn't take too long."

Kara took a water bottle from her large backpack and took a healthy sip from it, before she did what she considered to be two very important things: introduce herself... and ask questions.

"Ah, before I forget! Name's Kara. Kara Niles." the redhead stated with a grin. "Say, what do you all hope to get? You got a favorite type, or a Pokemon you'd like to see? You think they'll let us choose? What do you plan to do afterward?"

Clearly, someone was quite excited not only to begin her journey... but also to learn about what others planned to do as well.

Nick the photographer - A newly named Rockruff out - Aleph Town, going outside the professor's laboratory.

"Oh, so we kind of get two Pokemon, then," Nick thought aloud as he got the special pokedex, then kind of frowned when he heard it speak about his starter. "Aww, it's not going to be as friendly? I hope it's not as bad as that sounds," he said, pocketing the five pokeballs, then turning to the other three new trainers.

"Come on, we don't want to hold the professor up when there's still others waiting," Nick suggested to them in a friendly tone, motioning his arm, then heading back outside with the Rockruff following after him, its tail still wagging. "Say, anyone wanna travel together?" he asked as he headed outside...

Nick kept the pokedex out as he walked, checking the info on his Pokemon. "So, you're a boy, huh? Rock type, keen eye, that sounds neat... Guess I should name you," he was saying, then stopped and crouched down to look at the Rockruff again. "How about... Torsten?" Nick suggested.

The newly dubbed Torsten let out a happy bark, and hopped up and down in a little circle.

"Good, and just Torry if Torsten is difficult for anyone," Nick continued, and looked at more of the information on the pokedex. His eyebrows went up as he read part of it. "Huh? You have different evolutions?! Three of them, wow!" he exclaimed in excitement. "Man, kind of makes me want to have three of you and get them all... Apparently they're based on the time of day you evolve? Kind of like Espeon and Umbreon, then."

Whether Torry really understood much of what Nick was saying wasn't clear, as the Rockruff had decided to stare upward at a small bird Pokemon passing overhead, totally distracted.

Edited by FirockFinion on Dec 7th 2022 at 1:08:16 AM

Blaze: Hawthorn's Laboratory > Outside

"I get a little computer too? Oh this is awesome...!" Blaze marvelled at the Pokedex, shaking it about briefly before she paused to listen to its explanation on her Pokemon. Her expression brightened significantly, and she hugged the Vulpix tightly again, before giggling and lifting it up to sit on her head.

"You're gonna grow more tails, little guy? You're gonna be so fluffy...! C'mon, let's go back outside...! The others need to get theirs!" she whooped, all but dashing out of the laboratory and nearly crashing into the door. As she opened it, she remembered to look back and wave at the Professor, giving him a cheery smile as the Vulpix yipped at him from atop her head.

"Thank youuu~"

With that, she left the building and ran back outside to meet the others, lifting Willow off of her head and holding him high with visible pride and joy on her face.

"GUYSLOOKLOOKLOOKIGOTACUTEONE!!"

Joachim (Aleph Town)

After thanking the professor for both his new companion and for his Pokedex, Joachim exited the laboratory with his new Snorunt in tow, with the little creature hopping after him and acting like it was the one really in charge. Once outside, Joachim looked around at the other Trainers, then down at his companion.

"Mmm...what to call you...what do you think of Gliss?" He asked, and the Snorunt looked up at him before hopping in place, signifying that it was good with that name. With that matter settled, Joachim now looked like he was wondering what to do next. "The professor mentioned going to Betata City, past Route 1...but do I go by myself, or...?"

He could then be seen looking at the other Trainers who just received their partners, and looked like he was debating asking one of them if they'd be okay with him tagging along.

The four trainers exited the lab, their Pokemon partners in tow, and the crowd of people outside got slightly more restless.

"All right, all right, keep calm, people!" the aide with the clipboard exclaimed, writing things down and looking between the gathered group. "We'll be letting in a few more trainers to receive their partners now. You four, you come in next," she said, gesturing to Adrian, Klarysa, Rab, and Kara. "Thank you for being patient. Everyone else, your turn will come momentarily..."

Edited by AllHailThrall on Dec 8th 2022 at 7:33:37 AM

Rab-Outside the lab

Suddenly, he felt very nervous, and a brief impulse to simply run away darted through his body. He even gave a sudden turn, but his stiffness provided a welcome distraction. Where does he get the money for research? But his questions and lingering nervousness were pushed down as the other Trainers stepped up next to him. No way to run now. He leaned on his stick, relaxing as his weight shifted from the bad leg. Now his journey into the world of Pokemon would begin. More out of habit than anything else, Rab started humming an old nonsense tune.

Edited by Booky on Dec 8th 2022 at 4:31:22 AM

Klarysa: Aleph Town

After what felt, to her, like hours of blocking out everything in her vicinity, at last she heard the one thing she'd been waiting to hear. Klarysa still wasn't feeling great, but she also no longer felt like her head was being peeled apart from the inside, so, improvement.

She briefly pauses to check the Pokemon of the people who've already got one. Know your enemy as you know yourself. Snorunt, Azurill, Vulpix, Rockruff... Arceus, that one girl was being loud again. Why couldn't she just pipe it down for one damn second? Making no effort to look more presentable for the Professor, Klarysa hauls herself up and slouches her way through the doors to the lab.

Edited by DubhKafkaesque on Dec 8th 2022 at 1:18:57 PM

Jacques, Aleph Town.

Leaving the lab with a small smile on his face and Aqua managing to stay balanced on his head, the young newbie trained stepped to the side and gave a polite wave to those heading in to receive their Pokemon and a friendly one to those still waiting as he finally left the lab.

"And done! That went...better than expected, I'll admit."

Even with Blaze still going at a loud enough volume that both made Jacques and Aquelapin wince a little, the comments made by both Nick and Joachim made the youth speaking up.

"If we're all heading in the same direction, it only makes sense to travel together until we go our separate ways, no...? What's the saying...safe in numbers, or something like that?"

Aleph Town-Adrian

After exchanging small pleasantries, Adrian had been absorbed in watching videos on his phone when he heard his name called.

“‘Ello ‘ello, hola! Ciao, and bonjou-“ -click-

“Ah, yes! I’ll be right there!”

After fumbling to stow his phone into the furthest depths of his pocket, Adrian nearly trips on his way to and at the doors to the lab.

Nick the photographer - Torry the Rockruff out - Aleph Town, outside the professor's laboratory.

Nick looked over at the ever excitable Blaze with a little grin on his face. "Yeah, Vulpix are pretty cute, aren't they?" he commented, though he wasn't sure if she would actually hear him, or respond.

Then Nick heard Jack's comment, and Nick nodded in agreement. "Safety in numbers, yeah!" he agreed, making an enthusiastic pose.

Torry hadn't been paying attention, but let out a happy bark once he heard his trainer yell. Then the Rockruff looked around, wondering what the sudden excitement was about.

"So should we wait up for even more trainers? Wait, what's a good number of people to travel with for a Pokemon journey?" Nick said, more thinking out loud than really addressing anyone, and he put a hand to his chin. "I suppose, too many people and we might scare off all the wild Pokemon. Plus if a rare Pokemon were to appear, there could be an argument over who gets to try to catch it..." After trailing off while still trying to think it over, Nick then glanced down at Torry. "What do you think?"

Torry tilted his head and looked up at Nick, then let out a confused whine.

Seeing the latest batch of people happily carrying out their starters, Kara couldn't help feel a bit pumped. The excitement of the one with the Vulpix was particularly infectious. Of course, she did not have much time to mull on all that, given that she was now one of the people getting summoned into the lab itself.

"Right, coming!"

And thus the redhead ventured forth into the lab with long, confident steps; somewhat confident, but nonetheless still hoping, that whatever she ended up getting would be something cool.

The aide led Rab, Klarysa, Adrian and Kara into Prof. Hawthorn's laboratory room. Once they had entered, Prof. Hawthorn smiled and bowed. Lucario stood beside him, smiling and nodding.

After introductions were made, Lucario's eyes glowed and it started reading the gathered trainers' auras. Upon looking at Klarysa's aura, Lucario's eyes narrowed and it let out a low growl.

"Lucario, what's the matter?" Prof. Hawthorn asked. Lucario barked and glared at Klarysa, gesturing towards her. "Go ahead and pick out their starters, please. I'll take care of this." He stepped forward, shaking each trainer's hand. "Please forgive my Lucario, Klarysa. He's very sensitive to certain auras." Lucario stepped forward and handed each trainer a Poke Ball, hesitating slightly before handing Klarysa hers.

As the new trainers discussed what to do, a Sizzlipede scurried up towards the new trainers, chirping in curiosity at their new starters. A couple of puffs of white smoke emenated from the pores on its back.

"Pele, get back here!" a voice shouted from far away, and the teenager who had exited the lab before now ran up towards the gathered group. "C'mon, leave those poor people alone..." he said, a slight hint of an accent in his voice. He sighed, picking up the Sizzlipede, apparently named Pele, putting it on his shoulder.

"Sorry about that... I really need to get her under control, huh? Anyway. My name's Nakoa. I just got my starter too. As you can plainly see..." he introduced.

Robert-Inside the Laboratory

Robert felt his eyebrows shoot up as the little Pokemon growled at Surly Girl. What's going on there? I wonder if her mood will affect her starter? And I hope she doesn't mistreat it. However, his thoughts were pushed aside when the Pokeball dropped into his palm. It was very smooth and slightly warm, with nearly unnoticeable ridges for a better grip. Idly, he wondered who manufactured them. Maybe I should be a Pokemon Historian? With an uncertain glance at the other Trainers, he gently tossed the ball toward the ground.

There was a brief flash, and indeed the oddest Pokemon Rab had ever seen popped into view. At first, he wondered if it was unkempt and needed a haircut since the whole thing seemed to be a tangle of vines. Then it moved, and two large eyes blinked up at him. With an almost inaudible grunt of effort, he knelt before it, holding out his hand as you might for a dog. Is this the right thing to do?

The little spheroid bounced to its feet and carefully walked toward him. A few long vines snaked out and gently grasped his hand. They were cool, but not unpleasant. On an impulse, he stood back up, and the little Pokemon was pulled up for a moment as well. It let out a surprised squeak and then began patting his arm with squeaks of evident delight. "You're sure something, little critter. I think I'll call you...Bubo?" Where did I get that name? The Pokemon waved another tentacle at him in agreement but didn't stop patting his arm.

Edited by Booky on Dec 16th 2022 at 3:48:07 AM

Klarysa: Professor Hawthorn's Laboratory

Hawthorn's Lucario isn't the only one immediately suspicious of Klarysa. As the ragged mess of a wannabe Trainer slinks her way inside, one of the aides manning the Professor's machines finds his eyes drawn to her. The unkempt hair, the grimace, the gait... the evil Team logo. He starts at the last one, staring at the Team Skull sticker plastered at unmissable size on Klarysa's backpack. He's not going crazy, right? Surely someone else noticed that?

Once the mess with Lucario is sorted out, Simon Heller seizes his opportunity. He clears his throat loudly. "Professor. I think your Lucario has the right idea. Are we sure offering a Pokemon to someone sporting the logo of a known dangerous organisation is wise?"

Klarysa pauses with her finger hovering over the button of her first ever Pokeball to give the aide a dirty look. "Fuck you too, asshole."

Simon glowers back. "See? A perfectly reasonable observation, and that's how she reacts! We have a moral obligation to ensure people like this aren't offered the chance to acquire Pokemon, Professor! What if she abuses the Pokemon? What if she uses it to abuse humans?"

Klarysa's eye twitches dangerously. She's a threat to other humans, alright, and this twerp is several seconds away from getting a demonstration. The Pokeball in her hand hangs by her side, forgotten in the heat of the moment.

Joachim (Aleph Town)

Relieved that he wasn't the only one thinking that a group might be best for traveling, he nodded and spoke up to Jacques. "I'd like that, yes, thank you."

With the introduction of Nakoa and their Pokemon, the youth looked up at him and offered a friendly wave, eyeing their Pokemon with a curious gaze.

Jacques, Aleph Town.

Well, that settled it then. Aquelapin didn't seem bothered by the suggestion as both she and her trainer nodded in agreement.

"Very well! Erm...I mean, alright, then three of us at least." Jack started before Nick's comment gave him a slight pause for thought.

"That...might explain why we, er, I didn't have a problem getting here from Dalette City...but it was a pretty big group in comparison. I guess if we all went together, it would make catching Pokemon a lot more...competitive. Or tricky. Either way, I guess it would be up to the others if they want to travel together, oui? A périple, er, journey wouldn't be much fun if they were dragged along with us...or got left behind."

Speaking of a journey and how he'd gotten to Aleph Town, the young teen quickly went through several options on the Rotom-Dex, opening and closing menus of information he wasn't looking for...before finding a roundabout way to bring up a map for the region when looking for habitats. It wasn't a perfect solution as it didn't say what was where, but it would suffice!

"Ah, très bien, I-I mean, very good...well, if we're here..." He started, pointing out what he assumed was Aleph Town on the Pokedex screen. "Then we just need to...well, go north." Jacques commented, pointing out the route between them and Betata City.

Edited by TheRealWren on Dec 15th 2022 at 4:40:14 AM

Nick the photographer - Torry the Rockruff out - Aleph Town, outside the professor's laboratory.

"So you want to wait out here until they're all done?" Nick asked Jack in response, before glancing upward for a moment, wondering what time it was. "Hope they don't take too long," he thought out loud.

Meanwhile, Torry looked at the Sizzlipede with curiosity in return. The Rockruff sniffed the air a couple times, then let out a happy bark and spun in a circle. Once facing Pele again, Torry lowered his head a bit while moving his front paws forward, his tail wagging enthusiastically.

Nick's attention was caught by the bark, and he noticed the return of one of the trainers from the previous group. "Back already?" Nick said in a mildly joking tone, walking forward and holding up his camera. "You wanted that photo, right?" he added, then took off his backpack to look through again for a connector cable.

Aeryn ran over to the crowd near the lab, being worn out from having run all the way to the lab. "I... finally... made it..." As they managed to catch their breath, they saw some other Trainers already with their Pokemon, while others were talking about their plans once they got their starter. Seeing all of this made them excited, so they decided to start introducing themselves to people, albeit in a rather... enthusiastic manner.

The beginning of a new life as a landlubber

Just arriving into the town of Aleph Town is a male teenager dressed in denim carrying a backpack with a fishing rod poking out of it and a tackle box. He was only 16, but with his appearance, he could easily pass as a grown adult. Lance had the look of nervousness but excitement over his attempt to start a new life. Not just for himself, but also on land. He had spent most of his life out on sea working with his father as a fisherman. But as time went along, he yearned for something more. Something more adventurous. And as such, Lance thought this would be the perfect opportunity for him. He had docked here quite a bit ago, dropped off by his father. He walked quite a bit to get to the town. But he liked it already. Sure, to someone who's used to land, it might not have been much of a big deal. But to Lance, it was the start of something new.

Eventually Lance would make his way into the lab where he sees the other trainers already gathered around. He puts down his tackle box and raises his arms. "Ahh! Landlubbers! Today, I'm now one of you! This will be so much fun," he says quite excitedly. People here may not understand his enthusiasm, but when you been around nothing but water for so long, it would make sense.

Aleph Town-Hawthorn’s Lab-Adrian Thorne

Adrian nods his head politely as he recovers his Pokémon from the professor.

“Thank you for this opportunity.”

His eye twitches slightly at the incoming noises in the background, but decides to ignore it for the time being, instead finding a small open area in the lab to kneel down, place the Pokéball on the ground, and take out his notepad and pen.

“Now…let’s see what kind of Pokémon you are.”

After pressing the button to release the ‘mon and shielding his eyes from the flash.

“Shii?”

The newly released small, blue feline tilts their head as the redhead kneeling before them.

“Ooooooh, a Shinx! Well, aren’t you a cute one.” Adrian speaks to it softly as to not scare it, “Good to meet you little one, looks like I’m your new partner from now on…”

Adrian nods happily before clicking his pen and taking notes, “Let’s see…the lack of dark fur on the hind legs…so you’re a female, hm?” He mutters, reaching out to try scratch under the Shinx’s chin.

She seems to quite like the newfound affection.

“Mrrrrrrrrp~”

“You know, my Uncle has a Luxray himself, but he’s a lot bigger than you are, you look a little below aver-gh!”

Adrian’s interrupted by the Shinx quickly snapping one of his fingers into her mouth. This gets a chuckle out of the boy.

“Hehehe, affectionate aren’t you?” He pushes the softly munching catmon’s lip up with his free thumb, “Ah…you still have baby teeth, too!”

“Mrrrrerrrer.”

Adrian laughs, frees his hand, takes a few more quick notes, pets a little more, then carefully scoops the Shinx up.

“I think I’ll name you…Luna! You like that name?” Adrian receives a nom on his ear in response. “Hehe~. I’ll take that as a yes.”

Sorry for the delay, finals prep was kicking my butt, but all done now!

Flint - outside lab

"Flint Kajiya" the older hetrochromatic teen introduced himself to Kara with a nod "I hadn't put much thought into what pokemon I wanted... But something I can go swimming with could be fun, maybe a buizel?"

Then more trainers appeared, both from the lab and newly arriving. Flint didn't quite feel he fit in with the discussion about travelling in a group since he was still waiting his turn, and for all he knew they had come as a group to begin with. So for now he waved to the other newcomers, the somewhat odd emphasis on 'landlubbers' caused him to blink, but he had seen fishermen back on Etta Island before, even if they didn't spend as much time on the open seas as this fellow seemed to be used to. Or maybe he was just talking about getting his first pokemon too.

"Hello, yes, it seems like a lot of people are getting a fresh start on life today"

Kara spent several seconds just... oblivious of her surroundings, staring at the Pokeball in her hand, at her reflection on it, slowly spinning it in her hand, moving it a bit to see how the light hit it at different angles. After a while, it finally hit her.

She had a Pokemon now. She was a trainer.

"Alright! Let's gooooooo! Now, show yourself, new friend!"

The girl tossed the ball a bit too excitedly, and out came... a big round thing, with comparatively small flippers and a pair of even smaller ears.

"Spheal!"

"...this is amazing! I love it! Here, let me pick you u-urgh!"

The very first thing Kara learned about her new Pokemon was that it was not only fairly big... it was also just as heavy. She tried once more and it just... rolled away a tad, only to loop back around and roll up to her once again.

"Ah... you're a tricky one, aren't you? It's alright, I'll find a way to pick you up one of these days."