"Hey! This is Yugo..."

[A.J.]

"...Sorry I can't answer the phone right now, but please leave a message after the tone and I'll be sure to call you right back."

Yugo snapped his phone shut, ending the recording for his message machine on his cellphone. His parents bought him it to 'soften the blow' of the family moving.

What an absolutely perfect gift too, Yugo thought sarcastically, With all the people I know here from just moving. However, the teenage boy couldn't deny that it was pretty awesome. His parents paid for the plan for him and it came with a lot of different features too. He just hoped he would get some use out of it. Yugo looked at the oval shaped, chestnut brown phone and fiddled with it in his fingers for a bit. I should keep on going, he reminded himself in his head. He was almost at the pokemon lab anyways.

Yugo pushed off from the wall he was leaning against, and found his balance back on his feet. He slipped the phone into his pocket and continued walking. Soon enough he saw the double doors to the pokemon laboratory. He slowed down his pace as he drew nearer to the building, until he almost stopped in front of the entrance. But with one big exhale of air, he opened the right door and took a few steps inside, looking around in awe immediately at the decorative portraits around the building. He tried to spot somebody working who could help him.

[Ayra Calaenlen]

You know it is common curtesy to knock before entry... this isn't exactly a public building, it's still a research center, a telepathic voice rang out though the room, though there seemed to be no one in the visible area, which caused it to appear to be quite a mysterious occurance indeed.

A tall, rather young looking woman appeared out of an opening between the bookcases that seperated the lab into two different rooms. Apparently she had been working in the back and had heard the voice. "It's alright Kiana, I don't think it's exactly mandatory for one to knock," the woman smiled good naturedly at Yugo, pushing her black hair back behind her ears. It was in a long ponytail today, held back out of her eyes by a silver clip.

"Hello there," here voice was light and joyous, yet filled with politeness. Really though, the only thing that even hinted that she was the professor here was the white lab coat that hung off her shoulders. She wore a pale green t-shirt underneath it and a pair of blue jeans with a ripped left knee, hardly something that would be considered anything else but highly casual.

I suppose, but you could have been busy m'lady... the telepathic voice commented again, and a Froslass slowly materialized out of thin air. Apparently she had been the owner of te voice and had been acting as a sort of invisible watcher of the lab.

"Oh, don't worry about it Kiana," the woman smiled slightly at the Pokemon and then turned her bright, icy blue gaze back to Yugo. "My name's Morwen, or, Professor Aspen I suppose as you may have been told but I'm not one exactly for formalities. How can I help you?" She seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, even though she seemed to be trying hard to hide that fact.

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[A.J.]

Yugo's eyes had widened and his body froze up, stiff as a board. The telepathic voice had startled him quite a bit, and then seeing the pokemon appear out of nowhere didn't help. His heart skipped a beat and he almost didn't noticed the lady in the lab coat who had approached him. He always hated scary things, like ghosts. A moment or two after the professor spoke, he finally exhaled a gasp that he had taken in when he first heard the voice. He then started to make an effort to breath normally, and laughed a bit to himself out of confusion and embarrassment. He managed to take his eyes off the ghostly pokemon and put most of his focus back on Morwen.

He took in another deep breath. "Hi," He almost breathed, still looking a bit startled. "You- I-..." he started to begin, but as he spoke he seemed to forget why he had came in the first place. He was still a little dazed from the shocking voice. He snapped his mouth shut, before he said anything stupid. He took another awkward moment to regroup his thoughts. "I'm Yugo Usique." He managed to get out. As he was about to continue, his eyes got drawn back to the Froslass. "What is that?" He blurted out unexpectedly, still not getting over what just happened.

He was beginning to think if this was a stupid idea. He had no clue what being a trainer would be like, and he knew absolutely nothing on how to raise a pokemon. He hardly knew anything about pokemon in the first place. All eh really knew is that there were different kinds of pokemon and they all had their own special and unique abilities. He knew a couple names of them, only the ones that his friends had... which weren't much. Back in his home town, he maybe had one or two friends who had pokemon. One was this poison-fanatic, who loved that certain type. Another just had a machop who lived at his house, who helped his mom with cleaning and other house work. He felt rather naive about the whole thing, but at this point, he knew there was no turning back now.

[Ayra Calaenlen]

Hmph, I would think it would be a bit more polite to ask /who/ I am, not /what/ I am... the Froslass folded her arms across her body, which stretched from the back of her jaw rather than her torso like most arms did. Not only that but they seemed rather flimsy, almost like paper really. The ice crystals that adorned her head made it so she was identifiable as an ice type, that fact and her white body that was. Then, seeing she was hovering and quite able to appear out of thin air that more likely than not meant she was part ghost as well.

"Hmm?" the woman, who was apparently Professor Aspen, glanced at Kiana and smiled slightly. "Well, her name's Kiana, as to what species she is, she's a Froslass, a special evolved form of the Snorunt. You see, if a Dawn Stone is used on a female Snorunt they evolve into this species, which I find a bit more attractive than the normal evolved form of Snorunt, Glalie."

Thank you m'lady... Kiana said smoothly, her arms still crossed before her. She turned her back on Yugo, looking rather offended that the question had been 'what is that'. Apparently she got offended rather easily, especially when she was called a 'that'.

Professor Aspen sighed slightly. "Don't worry, she'll come around eventually, you just got off on the wrong foot with her," she smiled good naturedly again at the teenager. "So, how exactly may I be of service? Other than explaining the species Kiana is and how she evolves from a Snorunt?"

"Rio ri!" a small, blue, dog-like Pokemon suddenly scampered into the room and jumped lightly onto Kiana's head, where it sat inbetween the ice crystals that adorned it. The Froslass seemed to immediately calm down as the Riolu appeared, and really actually seemed to smile, her amber eyes moving to look up at the smaller Pokemon.

Professor Aspen smiled slightly at the two of them. "Or it's little Ria to the rescue," she laughed slightly, crossing her own arms though in a rather relaxed fashion rather than the annoyed, irritated pose Kiana had taken up.

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[A.J.]

Feeling a bit sheepish, Yugo looked down at his shoes, finding a sudden interest on how his shoelaces were tied. He bit his lip. He didn't mean to offend the Froslass. He never knew pokemon could be so sophisticated, and very... almost human-like. It was a weird quality that he couldn't get his mind wrapped around. But, the little dog-like pokemon sure looked cheerful and spunky, quite different from the ghostly pokemon's personality. The Riolu put a smile on Yugo's face, it was really cute and funny. That would be a cool pokemon partner to have...

Yugo tensed his face and blinked. He was letting his mind wander rather than getting down to business. "I'm really sorry," Yugo apologized, bowing his head slightly, "I came here because, well, I heard this is where beginning trainers get there pokemon?" His voice trailed up at the end, showing that he was uncertain about the statement he just made, waiting for conformation. He knew he had a choice of different pokemon, but for some reason, he didn't put in the time to research what pokemon were available.

He tried to stand up a bit more than usual, noticing that he kind of had a teenage boy slouch to his posture. He guessed it was from the nerves. From all the vocal classes he had taken, he knew proper singing posture, and thats how he usually tried to stand, but it had been a really hard habit to create. It was a good thing to practice. It made you look more confident around others and it's good for your spine and joints. It also made you look a bit taller, something that Yugo didn't really need, already being a bit over six feet.

[Ayra Calaenlen]

Professor Aspen gave him a gentle smile. "Yes, this is where new trainers recieve their first partners, at least, it's one of the labs. There are others, though they are all organizations and generally require complete loyalty in return," she glanced over at Kiana. "Kiana, if you please can you release the Pokemon we have available?"

As you wish m'lady... the Froslass bobbed her head, which was her version of a nod for fear that she would unseat the Riolu that the perched on her head, and then turned towards a shelf. Seven Pokeballs slowly hovered off of it and opened, revealing the Pokemon they contained in bright flashes of red light.

The first Pokemon resembled a lizard that stood on its hind legs. It had a pale, cream-colored belly and bright emerald green eyes shone eagerly from its slightly dragon-like head. It waved happily with one of its small claws, flicking its long tail that was tipped with a burning flame. A Charmander.

The second Pokemon resembled a rather large, pale blue turtle that stood on its hind legs as well. Its belly was a beige color and it had a light brown shell protecting its back. A pale blue tail curled out from beneath its shell, which it wagged happily. A Squirtle.

The third Pokemon looked like a bluish-green dinousaur with darker spots. It had large, angular red eyes and small, triangular ears. The most interesting thing about it was the fact it had a large, green flower bulb growing from its back. A Bulbasaur.

The fourth Pokemon was a brown and beige bird that had feathers sprouting from above its eyes that looked a bit like brown eyebrows. It fluttered its wings and flared its tail feathers, pecking at the tiled floor with its orange beak. A Pidgey.

The fifth Pokemon looked like a type of large feline, a lion cub to be exact. Its fur was a pale orange with yellow streaks and paws. Its emerald eyes ere bright and full of curiousity and its thick tail was tipped with a burning flame. The Lanorae starter, Firecub.

The sixth Pokemon looked like an eel or a sea serpent. It supported its upper body with two large flippers and it had a yellowish underbelly. The semi-translucent flukes that adorned its tail were a pale turqoise and its head was crowned by white, ear-like frills. Its pale blue eyes were pupiless and seemed to glow slightly. The Lanorae starter, Seaward.

The seventh and final Pokemon too stood on its hind legs, which were rather long and muscular looking. Its front claws, on the other hand, were rather short but sharp looking. It was a tan mostly in color, but had deep green markings and bright read eyes. Two horns seemed to be jutting from the back of its skull. The Lanorae starter, Iglora.

"These are the ones we currently have available," said Professor Aspen, gesturing to each and saying their name in turn. "They are all very loyal to their trainer, it really just depends upon what interests you. If you have any questions don't keep them hidden, speak up and I will do my best to answer." She smiled cheerfully.

"Riolu rio!" the Riolu waved happily at the row of Pokemon, getting seven waves in return though the Seaward and Bulbasaur ended up falling over because they couldn't quite balance themselves with a leg, or flipper in the Seaward's case, in the air. The Firecub seemed to have expert balance, which was to be expected seeing it did grow up to be a hunter.

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[A.J.]

Yugo smiled with his jaw slightly dropped. "Wow..." He whispered under his breath as each pokemon was revealed. His eyes shined with unexpected excitement, like a little boy on Christmas morning opening his presents. He could choose one of these adorable pokemon to be his first partner. His shoulders sank down a bit from there previous tense position. An almost whispered chuckle escaped from his opened mouth when he saw the two pokemon loose their balance and fall while attempting to wave at the Riolu. The Bulbasaur in particular caught his attention.

That was a pokemon he was familiar with. His friend had one for a while, Yugo never got see the small plant pokemon much. It was the friend who seemed to obsess over the poison type. Yugo guessed the Bulbasaur must be somehow poison as well, or else his friend would not have one. He found an interest to the dinosaur pokemon, it looked dependable, cute, and like a potentially great partner. A name sprung to mind as well. Asaka.

Asaka was a character in a musical play he had worked on before. It took place on an island, where the poor peasants worshiped the four gods. Asaka was one of the gods, she was "Mother of the Earth". And that's exactly whats he was, a mother. She took care of all the people on the island and made sure to provide them with food and shelter each day. Yugo's starting pokemon would be rather mothering to the rest of his team as his adventure went on. So in his mind, this would be the perfect choice.

"They all look wonderful," Yugo said turning his head slightly towards the professor, "But, I particularly am fond with the Bulbasaur. If it's alright with you, and the pokemon them self too of course, I would like to have them for my first partner." Yugo got some nerves in his stomach, but they were different then usual nerves. Not like the ones you get right before you go on stage, but rather a mixture of mostly excitement and joy. Maybe this whole pokemon adventure thing wasn't such a bad idea after all. Maybe it could work out.

[Ayra Calaenlen]

Professor Aspen smiled slightly. "Well, it's about time someone found that one of the other regions' starters fit them the best, it seems like most go for the Lanorae Pokemon." She turned back to her Froslass as she gently took the Pokeball of the Bulbasaur out of the air. "Could you please get one of the survival packs Kiana?" she asked, returning the grass and poison type Pokemon to its Pokeball.

Of course, as you wish m'lady... Kiana nodded and turned towards the opening in the bookcases that lead to the back room. Ria was still perched upon her head and closed her eyes happily, apparently feeling quite safe on the Froslass' head. A deep red backpack floated out and paused in front of Morwen, who took it out of the air.

The professor smiled and slipped the Bulbasaur's Pokeball into the pack before holding it wout for Yugo to take. "Here you are, your Bulbasaur and the survival kit that I give away to all new trainers. It should get you at least to Purity Valley, and you can restock there if you need to." She smiled again.


Name: -Your Choice-
Gender: -Your Choice
Level: 5
Attacks: Tackle, Growl
Personality: -Your Choice-
Experience Points: 0
Hold Item: None

Empty Pokeball x5
Potion x6
Antidote x4
Paralyze Heal x4
Lanorae Region Map
Lanorae PokeDex
1000£

"I wish you good luck on your journey, and I hope to see you make an appearence in the Lanorae League Championship," Professor Aspen closed her eyes happily.

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[A.J.]

He accepted the pokeball containing his first ever pokemon and all the items that would assist him on his journey. He held the pokeball in his hand and put the rest of the items in his backpack. He swung the bag down one arm as the other arm pulled out of the strap. He held the bag with his hand holding his pokeball, and placed each of the medicinal items in the large, main part of his bag along with the map and pokedex. The empty pokeballs were quickly tossed in the front pouch of his bag. He slipped the pack back on and looked up at the professor.

"Thanks a lot," He said reviving his excited smile that he had when the pokemon appeared, "I really appreciate all this. I'll be sure to take care of your bulbasaur-" He paused for a split second. Well, it was actually his now, but did the professor personally have a relationship with he plant pokemon at all? He didn't really know what to think, but he decided not to dwell to long on it. "Umm..." he continued, "So, I guess I'll see you sometime later, if for fate just so happens to decide for us to meet again."

Yugo bit his lip. What an awkward line to go out on. It was probably one of the cheesiest things he'd ever said, and that's saying something. He turned around and began to walk out the twin doors. As he opened the doors and walked outside, he turned his head around slightly and called one last goodbye. His new adventure has just begun. And this time, he was ready.