new town . . . new beginnings

[Avykea]

Cobalt took a deep breath of the New Bark Town air, his lips parted slightly to let the clean breeze through. It tasted like home, and for a moment, the sixteen year old - someone who was far too old to depend on his mom and dad - felt the slight twinge of homesickness. He tried brushing it off by briskly walking toward his destination: Professor Elm's lab. He had docked in Olivine City a few weeks ago and had the luck to find someone heading the same way with a Pidgeot who knew Fly. Cobalt enjoyed breezing along the routes of Johto as well as seeing other trainers struggling with Pokemon below. When he arrived at the small town, he was pleased to note how well-rested he was, as opposed to those trainers who had walked all the way to New Bark.

Now, as he pushed his way into Professor Elm's lab, he couldn't help but notice the lack of tables. In fact, the only table that Cobalt could see from the opening was messy and piled with papers and research reports. Cobalt's eyes narrowed marginally; how did the Professor run his lab in this state? However, they soon caught a glimpse of Pokeballs on a machine with a revolving claw. Each one, he assumed, was a starter Pokemon, and the sixteen year old immediately started running through the possiblities. He lost himself in the list of starters, silently pacing across the lab's tiled floor.

[Kitaro]

Excuse me, may I help you?

Elm's voice echoed through the rather empty lab, hopefully drawing the attention of the teen back from whatever he had his mind on. He had just come in the door behind the boy, actually, having been upstairs with his family for lunch. He could have sworn he'd told his assistant, who was nowhere to be found, to lock the door, but, apparently he hadn't. His assistant was the reliable one; He'd do whatever the professor told him to. It was a matter of the professor remembering to tell him to do such things. Or maybe he'd forgotten to leave the key?

Ah well, right now it didn't matter. Just a quick glance at the pokeballs set up in a circle reassured him they hadn't been taken, and it was the pokemon that matter most. Most were in the basement, only accessible through an always-locked door or by bringing them up from the storage down there through the machine the pokeballs were on now, but that set off an alarm unless a proper code was put in.

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[Avykea]

Cobalt had not been so deep in thought that he had missed the Professor's question. He turned slightly, facing Professor Elm, who looked understandably bewildered. After all, from the lack of a lab coat and the time of day, Cobalt could come to the conclusion that the professor had been enjoying lunch or time with his family. The sixteen year old tried to look suitably apologetic, but he ended up merely grimacing.

Well, hopefully Professor Elm would disregard the fact that Cobalt a) broke into the lab accidentally ( the door was open! ) and b) looked extremely guilty at being caught, even though no Pokemon had been taken.

"Yes, hi, I'm Cobalt Zelkova, from Kanto," he said in response to the professor's question. At sixteen, he was nearly an adult himself, and therefore had no problem crossing over towards the professor and extending his hand. "I'm here to start another journey in Johto, and I'd like to start over with a brand new starter." Although Cobalt was sincere in his request, his voice came out in a monotone and sounded bored, almost detached. "I was told that this was where most people get their starters?"

[Kitaro]

He noticed the boy's look, the way he seemed rather guilty, almost. But he thought little of it. There was plenty of things to feel guilty for in this world; For all he knew, it could be something entirely different than the fact he was in a position where he could have been contemplating stealing a pokemon. He decided it was better to not make the assumption that that was what Cobalt was feeling guilty for and simply took his hand with a smile and shook it.

Of course. In that case, come this way. We've got a rather large variety of starters, from various regions. Any ideas on which you'd like?

He walked past Cobalt, back to the table , where he managed to clear off a small list, laminated and taped to the table. Of course, this result in a variety of other objects being piled ever higher on top of each other with such precision that they appeared about to fall over, but didn't quite take it that far.

If not, there's the list of what we've got there for you to look at.

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[Avykea]

Cobalt allowed himself to be led by the professor to the cluttered table. The blue-haired teen watched as Elm cleared off a small section, underneath which he saw a neatly laminated list, a collage of pictures of the starters that the lab offered. He noted the familiar flame-tail of the Charmander and briefly wondered how his Charizard was doing back at home before skimming his light blue eyes down the page.

Any ideas on which you'd like?

Now that was the question, wasn't it? Cobalt was suddenly ten years old again, ready to recieve his first Pokemon, but this time, six years later, Cobalt finally felt the weight of his decision on his shoulders. He blamed it on his maturity level.

"Well," he started, leaning over to inspect the list more carefully. His hand rested on the edge of the table, the pillar that held his weight. "I'd really like to start off with a Johto starter, since I'll be traveling in Johto after all." Cobalt paused, looking uncertain. He hated asking advice from anyone. The teen was too arrogant to accept any decision but his own. This had manifested itself early in Cobalt's life, stemming from the time when Cobalt had thrown an eager, rebellious hand at Charmander's Pokeball.

"Do you... have any suggestions?" Cobalt continued reluctantly, his eyes drifting intentionally away from the professor. At least it was a valid accompanying response to the question. A glance away from the professor could signal that Cobalt was critically thinking about his choice, not that Cobalt hated asking for help in any way, shape, or form.

[Kitaro]

The professor busied himself in finding the three Johto starters at the mention of wanting one of them, spinning the machine around until he found them; A female cyndaquil, a male chikorita, and two totodiles, one of each gender, were all that remained up here, at least. He wasn't particularly keen on checking the storage downstairs, though he wouldn't refuse to either. He realized at this point he really needed to get that catalog on his computer running so he wouldn't have to go down into the dim, dank and rather unpleasant basement. Either that, or he needed to get more light fixtures down there.

Well, you've got chikorita, the grass type. You'll have a bit of difficulty with the gyms, but it's got some good defensive stats. There's totodile, the water type. They're pretty rowdy for the most part, like to cause a bit of trouble, but they mean well. And then, of course, the fire type, cyndaquil. There's been many trainers who have swept through the gyms in this region with a cyndaquil as their starter. But, really, in the end it's whatever feels right, I find, that draws a trainer and their pokemon together. I can let them all out, if you like? You can see them, see which one you'll like best?

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[Avykea]

Cobalt pondered this as he gazed down at the laminated paper taped onto the table. Chikorita... Totodile... Cyndaquil. He couldn't deny it, he did feel somewhat inclined to Fire types - after all, his Charizard had been a good companion and never failed to show up for training - but Cobalt felt that taking all Fire starters would not be beneficial in the long run. What if he returned to Kanto and mixed his team from Johto with the many Pokemon he'd captured in Kanto? How would Charizard feel--? Cobalt stopped abruptly. Since when did he expect Charizard to feel anything but loyalty? The teen gave a slight shake of his head; Pokemon were companions, but their emotions were not the same as that of a human's... right?

His long fingers tapped the table, taking him out of his confusion. Cobalt began thinking about the possibilities. Totodile, he supposed, would be a good addition to a team with its Attack stats. But then again, he reasoned, Chikorita would eventually evolve into Meganium, a virtual Grass tank; its type would also help his team in type-coverage, something important when considering the Elite Four. The blue-haired teen bit the inside of his lower lip, unable to make the choice.

Oh the relief when Professor Elm supplied an alternative to a stone-cold selection!

"Yes, that would be great," he said quietly, glancing up at Professor Elm. It would give him a chance to see which starter would be unafraid to take the challenge that came with traveling with Cobalt and strong enough to withstand it.

[Kitaro]

The professor let out all four pokemon simultaneously, a treat for them seeing as he often didn't have the time to let them out as he should. It wasn't his fault; He was just very busy. He definitely needed more assistance, but that was beyond help right now.

There we are. I'll leave you to it; When you decide, just let me know.

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--- Muse death is a terrible thing :/ ---

[Avykea]

In a bright flash of light that momentarily blinded him, the four starter Pokemon immediately appeared on the tiled floor. Cobalt's pale blue eyes scrutinized each one. The Cyndaquil looked a little bit on the small side - probably female. The Chikorita Cobalt immediately discarded. He would never be a Grass Pokemon trainer; he thought they were too cutsey and had too many weaknesses to outweigh their strengths.

That merely left the two Totodiles.

One of them - the male, judging by its size - sat there, merely staring up at Cobalt in a curious way. It did not make a move to approach him, and Cobalt was interested. This could be his next Pokemon; this could be his next companion. And truth be told, Cobalt probably would have chosen the male Totodile.

Unfortunately, the other Totodile had immediately launched herself at Cobalt, tackling him from where she could - his leg. Her powerful hind claws grappled at his shoe, and Cobalt winced as he heard the sturdy leather rip and tear. "Hey, get off," he muttered, shaking his leg a little in an effort to dislodge the wriggling Pokemon.

[Kitaro]

Elm had gone over to sit down and work at his computer while he waited for Cobalt to decide. However, it wasn't long before he he heard the teen muttering and glanced over. At the sight of the female totodile griping to his leg, Elm couldn't help but chuckle.

She seems to have taken a liking to you. Perhaps you should take her.

He replied with a small, knowing smile. Of course, that didn't mean he had any idea what Cobalt would do, but he had a feeling the teen wouldn't have much of a choice in the end.

[Avykea]

Cobalt looked up exasperatedly at the professor's words, still shaking his leg in an effort to remove the Totodile from her comfortable perch on his shoe. It seemed that this was not his decision to make. Reluctantly, begrudgingly, Cobalt nodded. The Totodile, sensing her master's acceptance, jumped gleefully in the air.

This was a completely innocent act - or rather, it should have been. Totodile's strong hind legs propelled itself farther than she had expected, her claws digging painfully into Cobalt's boot, and the small Pokemon slammed into Cobalt's jaw. The teen had been caught off-guard, and so, the result of surprise and force knocked him off balance, sending him sprawling onto the tiled floor of the lab.

"What the--!?" Many expletives came to mind, but Cobalt restrained himself as he rubbed his bruised jaw. Totodile, it seemed, had knocked herself out - for a while anyway - and he was already regretting his decision. But it wasn't as if he could release her ( at least, in front of the professor ). Clambering slowly to his feet, Cobalt picked up the empty Pokeball that had held Totodile and returned her to her Pokeball, before she had another chance to ruin something of his.

"Thanks Professor," Cobalt said, rather sarcastically.

[Kitaro]

He simply turned back to his computer, pleased smile on his face, content to let the pokemon amuse themselves for a short while. Easily hearing the sarcasm, but choosing to ignore it, he glaned over his shoulder.

Anytime, dear boy. Anytime.

As far as he saw, if that was the boy's reaction, he needed the intervention the totodile would surely give. Though, he had to admit, he did feel a little bad; The female totodile was terribly behaved, even for a totodile.

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