Private/Closed Rocket, sans Rainbow

[Rex]

"Let's see, if I was a giant palm tree, where would I be?"

Since losing Iolana in the chaos that was the Team Rocket attack, Ryan had reconsidered the whole traveling the region alone thing. An ambush by someone looking to steal his Pokemon was one of the things the Trainer didn't exactly feel like he could take on his own, at least, not with just Dodger. Especially if said Rocket trainers all had Pokemon as strong as the ones that had been on display. The only trainer he'd had any sort of conversation with since he had gotten here was the girl from Alola, however, so he was on the look out for her, to make a case that they should consider sticking together for mutual protection.

"Ah, there it is!" He exclaimed to Dodger, who was still in the middle of ignoring his trainer. Oh well, at least the Pokemon was there for his trainer to voice his thoughts to. Some trainers weren't so lucky. "We'd better hurry, before they run off again."

The Pokemon fell into step a little behind Ryan as he walked. Iolana had wandered towards the market stalls that lined the roads. The whole thing reminded him somewhat of Join Avenue back home. The particular stall Iolana's Exeggutor was standing at seemed to be selling various rocks - evolutionary stones and the like - all out of his price range unfortunately. The two of them had attracted a small crowd by the look of things. Ryan mused that the two Trainers currently talking to Iolana were probably the reason she hadn't been able to move on.

"Uh oh, have I been replaced already?" Ryan joked as he approached the group, "Seems you're pretty popular."

At this time, Dodger finally stepped back in front of his trainer, still a little on edge and unsure of the new faces. Neither of the trainers currently mobbing Iolana seemed all that worrying. An older looking man with a camera, likely the photographer from earlier, and a younger girl in glasses. The girl had her own Pokemon out, he didn't recognize the species but it had some superficial similarities to Tirtouga. There was also a boy currently browsing the stall the group was standing at, also younger looking, with a Pokemon of his own. This one he recognized as Murkrow, a somewhat rarer Pokemon in Unova.

"Hey listen, I was thinking," he went on, "After what happened earlier, it might be safer to travel in groups. Dodger's the only Pokemon I brought here with me, and I don't want anything to happen to him. I'm sure you feel the same way about Kea and Draceana. We both intend to hit up the same cities anyway, so what do you think, want to stick together?"

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Before the person with the camera even got to reply, a younger girl who had the air of a brand new trainer and was followed by a blue turtle-like Pokémon appeared to pop out of no where and be really impressed with her companions - particularly with Kea, who regarded the new arrival with a look of curious amusement - not even her usual ice-fae gaze she often reserved for new people. It probably crossed the Ninetales' mind that after what just happened, toning down the ominous might be prudent.

"Don't ask me, ask her! Thank you, though -" the Alolan girl began to say, when suddenly, Ryan and Dodger popped up again too, making a quip about being replaced. She was certainly glad to see they were fine - but why was everyone and their Rockruff popping up and talking to her at the same time all of a sudden? For a second, she rather wished that she had numerous heads like her Exeggutor, if only to be able to simultaneously respond to everyone simultaneously. That said, that would probably be confusing for all involved even if Exeggutor biology DID work quite like that, which she wasn't entirely sure it was. Exeggcute was a coordinated colony of six more-or-less individual organisms, but did any of that particular individualism carry over into the evolution? A topic for another time. There were people to deal with now - and Ryan and Dodger, at least, were proposing sticking together - a very sensible proposal, with the current conditions being what they were.

"Oh hey! Glad you two made it through whatever that was unscathed." she smiled at the Unovan trainer and his Dewott. "And to be fair, it's mostly Dracaena here being the main attraction, I'm just kinda there. I'm guessing Exeggutors aren't exactly all that common even in other regions. Anyway, sounds like a great idea honestly - if this region's prone to daylight Pokémon robbery, I'm all for safety in numbers."

 

[Keleri]

Jamie cut through the crowd, slowly zigzagging between the rows of stalls toward the landmark of the mysterious palm tree. As she got closer, it became obvious it was some sort of very tall pokemon-- the tree had actually been ambling along before stopping, and its crown swung around as it investigated its surroundings. She instantly felt foolish that she'd suggested a moving target as a meeting spot to Oliver, but consoled herself that it at least didn't seem to be moving very fast.

Happily, Oliver was already standing nearby as she made it to the base of the tree, and she called his name and waved as she walked up. Several other people looked at her too, including a girl with a Squirtle and a guy with Dewott, one of the starters from Unova.

"Oh wow, this is a popular spot, huh?" Jamie said brightly. "I'm Jamie from Cerulean, are you all about to go out journeying too?"

There was another trainer there who was standing with the palm tree pokemon as well as a cool-looking shiny or color variant Ninetales she'd never seen before. Jamie got out her pokedex and pointed it with interest at the palm tree, goggling at the result.

"You're an Exeggutor!?" Jamie said aloud, tipping her head back and holding her hat on with one hand.

Everyone smiled, and Jamie assumed she was the butt of a joke, but-- surely no one else had seen an incredible Exeggutor like this before! The pokedex text indicated it was a forme native to Alola, which had to be one of those obscure regions with cool endemic pokemon, or Jamie would have already studied it for some class or another. Maybe it was in one of the senior-level courses.

Jamie eavesdropped on the conversation as she read her 'dex and jumped in as soon as she heard "traveling together" mentioned. "Say! If you're all going the same way-- I asked Oliver here if he wanted to travel together for safety, do you all want to as well? I suppose we're all heading for Pewter?"

 

[Dark Soul]

The Trainer of the enormous palm PokeMon was the subject of a lot of attention all of a sudden; A young girl skipped by gleefully asking if she could pet the PokeMon, eyes positively radiant at the sight of such a tall creature. Oliver turned his attention to the other PokeMon at the green-robed Trainer's side, a large and pristinely white PokeMon with an elegant snout and a plethora of tails. There was something ethereal about it, and a Oliver thought it'd make an amazing feature for the day. Kanto was treating him well already.

Right as he thought to ask the Trainer for her permission, a familiar voice came from near him. Jamie walked up, equally in awe at the size of this absolute unit of a plant PokeMon as everyone else seemed to be. "Long time no see, Jamie." He smiled and winked. She greeted them and introduced herself, before pointing a PokeDex at the PokeMon grabbing everyone's attention. She yelped in surprise at its name, confusing Oliver before he realized from context clues that the typical Exeggutor didn't look like this one. He glanced over her shoulder at the screen displaying information. Apparently this particular kind came from Alola- A place Oliver had heard of. He made a mental note to investigate it as a potential destination after his Kanto and Sinnoh journeys.

Another man had walked up in the meantime, with another unknown PokeMon in tow- Arceus, he was bad at identifying species- and a markedly scarred face, eyepatch and all. Oliver thought it best not to stare, but thought about the fact that the man looked younger than him- perhaps an older teenager?

Jamie jumped in on a conversation the Exeggutor's Trainer and the other man were having about taking to the Routes together for safety reasons. "Yeah, Pewter's my next stop. The stretch to Mt Moon might be safer walked in a group, if we're paired off already might as well band together, right?"

 

[Psycho Monkey]

The Trainer gave her permission but made a point to tell Ruby it was actually the Pokémon’s consent she needed. Ruby stared at the shimmering white fox who returned her gaze with contemplative azure eyes. Hesitating for only a moment, the young teen reached her hand out and gently rubbed the tuft on the Pokémon’s head. It was so soft! And quite cool to the touch too. She then moved her hand down to the fox’s chin to give her affectionate scritches.

“Uh oh, have I been replaced already?” inquired a coy masculine voice. Ruby turned her head to see a blonde-haired boy approaching them, or rather the Trainer she was with. An acquaintance of hers perhaps? The first thing Ruby noticed about the boy was his traveling companion, a blue otter-like Pokémon with two shells on its legs. Leo seemed to take an interest in the new Pokémon but kept his distance as the Pokémon appeared to be on guard. The second thing that caught her eye was his apparent lack of one unless the black eyepatch was just an accessory for show.

Thankfully, Ruby didn’t have the chance to stare as another person approached. This one was a boisterous woman who seemed to be familiar with a photographer who had been taking pictures of the large palm tree which was apparently an Alolan Exeggutor. It occurred to Ruby then that she still didn’t know the species of Pokémon she had been petting. She let out an embarrassed chuckle as she reached around behind her to the side pocket of her backpack to get out her Pokédex. Pointing it at the majestic creature before her, it identified her as ‘Ninetales The Fox Pokémon: Alolan Form’. That settled it, the older Trainer must have traveled here from Alola.

Before she knew it, the two pairs of Trainers were talking about joining together to travel in a larger group through Viridian Forest to Pewter City. They brought up good points about safety in numbers with Team Rocket roaming about. Ruby wasn’t sure if she was included in that invite or not but getting the chance to travel with, and possibly learn from, a group of more experienced looking Trainers was too good an opportunity to pass up. Besides, it was always fun to make new friends!

“I hope I’m not intruding, but is it alright if I travel with you all too? I only just started my journey a few days ago with my partner Leo,” she said placing her hand on the Squirtle’s head, “so I’m not that strong of a Trainer yet but I promise I won’t slow you down. Oh, I’m Ruby by the way!” she introduced with a smile.

 

[Tailon]

Just give up it's Not Safe go home you were never going to anyway The Forest.

Dean started, realizing suddenly that he was surrounded by a small group of people and Pokemon, discussing the day's events and travel. Mention of the forest had drawn his attention, it was his Place, where the constant buzz went quiet, irrationally, of course, there was as much if not more danger there than anywhere.

Still, maybe he could help these folks through the forest, and then they could help him through...the rest.

Turning around so suddenly, he probably seemed a bit robotic, before he blurted out, "Did you say you were going through the forest!?" The boy realized instantly that he was being Weird, and deflated a bit as he continued to speak, "...that is I overheard, and, you know, I grew up here, I know the forest pretty well but I've never gotten to travel further..."

Dean's explanation petered out as he looked around at the other Trainers, but Don, somehow the more socially competent of the two, hopped down to the ground, then toward the two unusual Pokemon, greeting them with some chattering and his best approximation of a bow.

 

[Keleri]

Jamie giggled as the Murkrow bowed politely toward the Alolan trainer's pokemon-- that was quite a bit different than the bin chickens who fought over garbage and food wrap back in Cerulean. She smiled at its trainer, a shy-looking kid in the usual journey outfit. If he knew the way through Viridian Forest that could be a huge help-- it was easy to get turned around or to step off the path and get very lost.

"That would be great!--" Jamie broke off, realizing she was speaking for the whole group and probably treading on some toes. "What do you think, Oliver? Ruby?" Jamie turned toward the exeggutor's trainer and the guy with the Dewott. "I didn't catch your names? Does that sound like a good idea?"

 

[Rex]

Well then. Apparently the entire group had been waiting for one among them to suggest grouping together. Iolana had agreed to travel with him, but she was quickly followed by a girl who'd appeared shortly after him - introduced herself as Jamie and her friend as Oliver - volunteered that her boy-girl group travel with his. Ryan recognized her as the trainer who'd cut and run during the whole brazen Poke-theft scene. The photographer continued where the girl left off, he was probably Oliver, then. They both seemed a older than him and Iolana, but not terribly so.

Next, the girl who'd been petting Kea asked if she could travel along with them as well. She introduced herself as Ruby, and he caught her eyes focus momentarily on his eyepatch as she looked at him. Oliver's had done the same, come to think of it. The trainer pulled his hat down over that side of his face again. This girl looked to be about the age he'd been when he had his accident. Finally, the boy with the Murkrow, who'd been browsing the stand whipped around and, well. He deflated fairly quickly, but what he did say implied he would also like to travel with them. Ah, the social awkwardness of youth. By his estimate, the kid was the youngest of the group.

Beside him, Dodger crossed his arms and relaxed a tad, scanning the various Pokemon the two now found themselves amongst. Ryan was unsure if the Pokemon had determined that none of these Trainers meant them any harm, or if his ego had just decided that they wouldn't be much of a threat if they did. In the meantime the eldest woman, Jamie, who had apparently elected herself leader of the gathering in the short time there had even been a gathering, finally thought to ask him and Iolana what they thought of all this. And their names, she'd decided she'd be traveling with them and she didn't even know their names.

Ryan sighed, was this normally how things worked when trainers went adventuring? He hadn't really done the whole party thing when he went through Unova. Team Plasma might have been a menace, but they generally knew better than to go after official Trainers in broad daylight - no, Plasma usually went after children. Even then, the usual Plasma operative wasn't really a massive threat, so against the idea of owning and training Pokemon as they were what they had was usually locally sourced and not that much tougher than a wild encounter.

"I'm Ryan, and this is Dodger," the trained introduced, pointing to himself and his Pokemon in turn. "I've got nothing against the idea if Iolana doesn't."

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Looks like Safety In Numbers was definitely going to be Safety in Numbers - a young woman with bright pink hair appeared from absolutely no where and introduced herself as "Jamie from Cerulean" soon after before pausing to gawk at Dracaena - this region, Guardians almighty - and it seemed that most people in the small group that appeared to form around Dracaena expressed interest in the idea of traveling together - and introductions were flying everywhere. Even the boy with the Murkrow that she noticed before seemed to express interest in the notion in a somewhat awkward way, indicating his familiarity with the forest that they would apparently have to cross to reach the next Gym city. His Murkrow's introduction couldn't help but amuse her - Kea turned her head briefly to nod at the bird in greeting before resuming the "You may pet me, human" stance that she seems to have taken since the girl started scritching her. Sometimes, that Ninetales can be such a Meowth it's absolutely staggering. Dracaena did her usual tail-head-bob of a greeting and emitted a faint rumble as her other heads surveyed the group from above.

Counting her, there were six trainers here - and that was quite a number, as far as safety in numbers went - a group this large would probably deter isolated attackers. That said - large groups tended to get pulled in numerous different directions by their different members (not ideal for actually exploring - but with only Kea and Dracaena on her, it's not like she could Traverse The Deeper Paths yet anyway) and if they WERE attacked and push came to shove - would they be able to work together efficiently or would they just get in each other's way? One of them - the girl called Ruby - at the very least, was a completely new trainer, just a few days on the road. The boy with the Murkrow appeared, at least, to be very inexperienced - and she had no idea about either the Photographer (whose name was Oliver, apparently) or Jamie.

All the more reason to stick together.

She shot a look to her two Pokémon, and they returned the look. There was not much need for words - both Kea and Dracaena appeared to be at ease with this group of people, and Kea seemed to have taken somewhat of a shining for Ruby (she would, she's an absolute sucker for scritches and she would probably put a Hex on me if I said it to her face. In public, anyway). Ah, what the hell. It would be an experience, at least.

"Fine with me." Iolana nodded with a grin, then made the rainbow gesture again "I'm Iolana, by the way. Nice to meet you all."

 

[Psycho Monkey]

“Did you say you were going through the forest!?” blurted a boy standing by the next stall over. He seemed to get really quiet however once everyone was looking at him as he nervously told them that he knew the way through Viridian Forest. The Murkrow formerly perched on his shoulder seemed much more comfortable with the crowd as it jumped down and cordially introduced itself to the group.

On the human side of things, Jamie eagerly welcomed the boy into the group but made sure to ask for everyone else’s consent too. The Trainer with the Otter Pokémon, introduced as Ryan and Dodger respectively, were reserved but had no objections in the matter either. The girl, whose Pokémon Ruby had been petting all this time, gave her name as Iolana while performing a strange hand gesture in greeting to the group.

“Thank you for offering! Of course you can join us!” Ruby cheered exuberantly both at the new addition to the group as well as the fact that she had been included in the group as well. “I don’t know if anyone else here would know how to navigate Viridian Forest, but I know I’d get hopelessly lost without a guide.” she confessed sheepishly hoping to ease his anxiety.

“By the way, Iolana, what does this mean?” she queried trying her best to imitate the gesture although it looked more like a curved line as opposed to the near perfect arc the older Trainer had made.

Meanwhile, Leo slowly approached Dodger in greeting now that the other Water-type had relaxed his guard.

 

[Dark Soul]

Oliver couldn't help but smile as he regarded the little gathering that had formed around the walking tree. Most everyone here looked younger than him- apart from Jamie, who looked near enough his age. She, Iolana, and the man called Ryan looked quite experienced, but Dean and Ruby looked like they were just embarking on their first adventure. It was a good thing they didn't have to undertake the journey alone with the threat of Team Rocket lurking. The though of being left alone in a vast forest, with your friends stolen from you, gave Oliver shivers.

"Thing is, though, if we leave now, we won't get very far before night falls." Oliver mused out loud. "Would it be an idea to meet up again tomorrow morning, near the forest? Just so we can all be at our best, y'know." In truth, Oliver was asking mostly for his own sake. The day's events had left him not entirely enthused to undertake a new adventure so quickly. A good night's sleep in a proper bed would probably calm his nerves, though.

 

[Keleri]

Jamie's stomach fluttered a bit as she imagined getting caught out in a wild area after dark with strong wild Pokemon nearby, but she mentally walked herself back from the edge-- Viridian was well-patrolled by Rangers and beginner trainers made the trip through safely all the time.

"That sounds like a good idea," Jamie replied. "Let's get fed and watered, and a good sleep for an early start tomorrow. How do you guys feel about 6 AM?" she asked brightly.

 

[Tailon]

The girl with the pink hair quickly came to dominate the conversation, or at least it seemed that way to the poor boy who could rarely string two words together. Still, as each of the older trainers agreed to his plan, he felt a bit more confident, and Don returned to his shoulder with a flutter.

Dean observed each trainer carefully as they spoke, his predisposition for pre-planning had always led his eye to details, like the muscle tone of the Alolan trainer Iolana and the lack of it on her Exeggutor, which told him that while she was far more experienced than himself, her Pokemon was not. The eyepatch on the older Unovan boy, Ryan, and the Dewott always at his right hand side, told a darker story. Dean told himself this eye for detail was the talent that could take him to the League. Of course, he neglected to mention to himself that it had never seen battle.

After some more conversation, the bubbly pink girl, Jamie, posited that they meet at 6 AM.
A bit type "A" of her, but as the only local, Dean spoke up, "Uhm, not to shoot ya down, but I think one of us has to stay a bit later than that," tilting his head to indicate Ruby and her fresh, new, Starter Program Squirtle.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

"Oh, that? That is part of how we greet each other where I come from." Iolana smiled at Ruby's question "The hand gesture's supposed to evoke a rainbow. It's how we say hello - and how we say goodbye. Very versatile, really. I may be quite a ways away from home - but old habits, you know."

Oliver brought up a valid point - under the present conditions, it would be preferable to travel during daylight hours. She was less impressed with Jamie's idea of a schedule - but fortunately for everyone's sanity, the boy with the Murkrow (whose name she still did not quite pick up) pointed out why that would not have been feasible.

Oh right. The thing that these 'Rockets' so rudely interrupted was supposed to be a presentation of the region's Starter Pokémon and their new trainers. Didn't occur to her that Ruby was one of those new trainers - as she said she started her journey several days before - but it somewhat amused her that someone else in this newly-formed group needed to point this out.

"And here I was worrying we might miss out on the main event because of those Pokémon-thieving party-wreckers." the girl grinned "Guess we have a reason to stick around for the presentation after all. Honestly, suits me fine. There's still quite a bit to see here and I didn't come all this way just to rush off into the woods. The Big Bad Lycanroc can wait a few hours until I'm good and ready."

"... And either way, any time before 6 AM is no time for reasonable human beings to wake up." she quietly added, rapidly turning her eyes to Kea and gently scritching the Ninetales behind one of her ears to prevent herself from side-eyeing the slightly over-excited pink-haired trainer. But then, maybe she wasn't so much over-excited as just anxious not to be there anymore. Or really, just anxious. Wouldn't be surprising, all things considered.

 

[Psycho Monkey]

Iolana explained to Ruby how the gesture is meant to resemble a rainbow and is how the people of Alola greet one another. By her own admission, it was one of those ingrained habits that people do without even realizing it. As the saying sort of goes, “You can take the girl out of Alola but you can’t take the Alola out of the girl.” It sounded to Ruby that Alola was a very friendly place.

Oliver pointed out that it was too late to go anywhere now as it would be dark before the six of them got to the forest and suggested they meet up tomorrow morning to head out. Jamie capitalized on the idea by enthusiastically suggesting they meet up at the outrageously early hour of 6am. Ruby’s eyes grew out the thought of getting up that early. There was just no way she’d be able to get out of bed in time to leave with everyone. She couldn’t count how many times her mom had to wake her up so she wouldn’t be late for school.

“Uhm, not to shoot ya down, but I think one of us has to stay a bit later than that.” the boy with the Murkrow noted casting Ruby a knowing glance. She stared back at him quizzically for a second before realizing what he meant.

“Oh right! The Presentation of the Starters!” she remembered. “Leo and I are supposed to be a part of that.” With the uproar caused by Team Rocket this morning that had completely slipped her mind. Ruby would have thought that Prof. Oak or Blue would have tried getting in touch with her about the rescheduling but they probably had more pressing matters to deal with. At the very least Iolana seemed content with the idea as it gave her more time to enjoy the festival, something Ruby was also keen on doing.

“Thanks for the reminder… umm, sorry, I don’t believe I caught your name.” she asked the boy awkwardly.

 

[Tailon]

Stupid, stupid! You didn't introduce yourself!

The boy flinched awkwardly at the realization, then stammered out, "O-oh, I'm Dean, Dean Hale," he replied, looking mortified. Don patted his boy on the head from his perch on the trainer's shoulder.

 

[Keleri]

It seemed like everyone balked as soon as Jamie suggested getting up at 6 AM, so she shoved her entire body up into her ballcap and waddled away like Zelda the Shellder With Shoes On, or thought about it, at any rate. As they kept talking it looked like if they were going to journey together they'd all have to wait for the girl with the Squirtle, anyway-- it was actually one of the official Professor-given starters and had a place in the ceremony that Team Rocket had disrupted.

They'd have to wait until the Presentation completed tomorrow to get going. That gave Jamie... mixed feelings. It would be good to leave town now. Now. Right now. But then again, with the town on high alert, wasn't Viridian City perhaps the safest place to be? But that's just what they wanted you to think, and what if Team Rocket struck again--

Jamie took a deep, calming breath while the other trainers discussed their next move. However it went, it looked like they'd have to meet after the postponed Presentation of the Starters.

Jamie asked the trainers she was just meeting to swap contact info and then waved goodbye, promising to meet after the next morning's presentation, and told herself that she was going to enjoy the rest of the festival, dammit.

All the same, her heart wasn't quite in it, and after a couple of puzzled chirps from Feeb as she stood staring blankly at a stall full of knicknacks from a safe distance so as not to be destroyed by dopily-staring statues of Snubbull, she realized she'd be better off having a rest.

Jamie headed back into town to the Viridian City pokemon center, which at this time of year was bustling with young beginner trainers but also more than a few career trainers like rangers, breeders, and traders. She hesitated as the concierge asked her what type of room she wanted, mind rapidly weighing the possibilities, and finally went with the common, noisy dorm. She'd have warning if anything happened, then. And she could blame not sleeping on trainers coming and going, not... anything else.

She must have been more tired than she thought, because after a dinner in the cafeteria, getting Feeb and Si fed and watered and exercised in the yard with a couple of tame battles, she curled up in her sleeping bag with her hand in Feeb's fur, and went out like a light.

x.x.x.x.x

Jamie woke up at 5 AM anyway, however the other kids felt about it. The dorm was filled with the loud silence of people sleeping, and the cafeteria was nearly empty even after she'd showered and washed her hair (last one for a while if they were heading into the Forest), just a couple of rangers eating breakfast and reading things on their pokedexes.

She took her time, enjoying the hot food and wifi, and killed time until she could pack up her stuff and head out to the festival grounds again for Starter Presentation II: Electric Boogaloo.

 

[Tailon]

8 AM.

The boy, Dean, snapped from sleep near instantly into waking, as he did on most mornings. Don had awoken two hours before with the sun, and spent the time in the backyard with his parents, a tremendous Togekiss and Honchkrow, owned by his Trainer's father and mother, respectively. Perhaps he had goodbyes to say as well. Still, come 8 AM, the bird sat on his perch across from his trainer's head, where he could be found every morning, prodding and cawing Dean through his morning routine.

Dean's morning routine was down to a perfected science despite his young age, and in 20 minutes he was finishing a larger than usual breakfast, simultaneously fighting and powered by nerves. His mother had already said her goodbyes, having business with the League that morning, so his father was the one seeing him off.

As breakfast was finished, they stood, and Dean's father stepped forward, laying his hands on Dean's shoulders dadfully. He gave one of his patented dad pride smiles as he spoke, looking Dean dead in the eyes and asking, “Ready? This is your last chance to choose against.”

Even now, after everything, Dean hesitated. He looked down, almost ashamed for stopping to think at the eleventh hour, but then he spoke, “No... I gotta do this. I committed to traveling with people. I gotta do it for me and for them...” the boy met his father's eyes then, slightly watery with tears of dad pride. The boy grinned back as well, his own eyes betraying the combination of joy, fear, and pride he felt.

9 AM.

Dean arrived at the fairgrounds ready to face the day, which was rare, for him. He wore a fresh set of traveling clothes, black scout jacket, zip off hiking pants, boots just barely old enough to be broken in, looking for all the world like a baby hiking gear head. Don fluttered around him, moving variously between his shoulders and head and keeping a heavy watch. This was largely unnecessary, the police were out in force, bolstered by Blue's personal Alakazam, as well as a Tauros that looked older than some of the officers, standing taller than most of them at the withers, but it kept Dean at ease. Still, spirits seemed largely high, though maybe dampened by the events of the previous day.

In the fullness of time, the announcer made his way to the stage, once again introducing the guests of honor with flourish. This time, when Blue took the stage he looked focused and confident, and his Arcanine followed behind him, imposing with its vast mane. The Pokemon Professor again made his way onstage, retrieving the microphone from the announcer, and began to speak.

“Good morning, everyone. Despite the fright of yesterday, we've once again gathered here in Viridian City to celebrate and honor the young generation, taking to their first journey of bonding and growing stronger with Pokémon,” he paused as the crowd applauded, as he had nearly every year since he became the officially designated Pokémon Professor of the region, “Now, as usual I had prepared a long, and meandering speech, however, I fear that we've kept these youngsters waiting long enough, so I'll only say this: If what happened here yesterday is to be believed, Team Rocket, or perhaps someone taking on the name, have returned. And I know that this is frightful, and perhaps that's what they intend, but I ask you to remember this. Team Rocket rose twice before, and both times, they fell. They fell because people stood up to do the right thing, because it was the right thing to do, thank you,” Professor Oak finished his speech to... polite applause, handing the mic back to the announcer, who began announcing the three trainers.

A boy with a Bulbasaur stepped through the curtains to much grander reception than the speech, followed shortly by a girl with a Charmander. Finally the announcer called out, “And finally, carrying the Tinyturtle Water type, Squirtle, Ruby Pratt!”

 

[Psycho Monkey]

The following morning after parting ways with the other Trainers, Ruby groggily opened her eyes. She was so nervous and excited about today that sleeping had been difficult. Ruby yawned, put on her glasses, and looked at the clock hanging on the wall of the Pokémon Center room she was staying in. 8:24am. At first she thought nothing of it but when the realization set in her tired brain, her eyes shot awake with panic. The Presentation of the Starters was slated to begin at 9am! She had just over half an hour to get ready for it! Ruby quickly threw off her pajamas, got dressed in her travelling clothes, took one last look around the room to make sure nothing was forgotten, and booked it out of the Pokémon Center completely forgetting about breakfast.

Lucky for her, she bumped into Prof. Oak almost right away who was on his way to pick up her and the other two Starter recipients to bring them to the festival. She fidgeted awkwardly behind the stage curtain completely entranced by the smells of freshly cooked food at nearby stalls.

At 9:00 sharp Prof. Oak and Blue stepped on stage to begin the ceremony. The Professor promised to keep his speech short simply talking about young Trainers going out on their own for the first time to bond and get stronger with their Pokémon. At the mention of Team Rocket, however, Ruby felt a cold shiver run down her spine tensing all of her muscles. He then eased the tension by reminding everyone, Ruby included, that Team Rocket has been defeated and disbanded twice already in the past and reassured that it will happen again. With all that said, the mike was handed back to the MC who called each of the new Trainers out by name.

“And finally, carrying the Tiny Turtle Water type, Squirtle, Ruby Pratt!” he summoned enthusiastically after the other two were called. Ruby marched up on stage proudly with Leo by her side only losing some of her mojo when she realized just how many people had gathered for the presentation and the festival. It was one thing wading through the crowd at street level where you know there are a lot of people compared to actually standing above them all on stage where you can see just how many there were. But if there was anything that stood out of the crowd above all others, it would have to be the 30ft tall palm tree known as Dracaena. Ruby politely waved at the audience at large giving extra attention to the direction Iolana had to be.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Plans were made, the small gathering was dispersed, and the rest of her evening was free. Despite the somewhat dampened spirits, the festival went on – and though increased security and people being generally on edge made it less likely for her to find someone to battle with – she figured she’d still make the most of what the festival had to offer.

She wasn’t much for knick-knacks and merchandise, and breeders and trader showcases weren’t quite her cup of tea – but a cup of tea certainly sounded like a good idea, and there certainly were vendors around peddling interesting-looking foods that she hasn’t quite encountered back home – so that was her first order of business. There were some hits and some misses there – but more of the former than the latter. She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the cubical Watmel, though - These things looked like they escaped directly from what was one of the twins’ favorite video games when they were nine – and the look on Kea’s face when she saw them was such a perfect look of abject disgust, she had half a mind to photograph it and become a viral sensation.

Not like she’d manage to catch Kea with that face before the Ninetales realized there was a camera and proceeded to morph into full-on Fabulous Mode, anyway.

Of course, before she even got a chance to try, she realized that Dracaena was wandering off again – and with a “maybe next time” and an apologetic nod, she proceeded to follow the Coconut Pokémon and whatever caught her attention, the Ninetales in tow. Apparently, what caught the Exeggutor’s eyes was some sort of a “giant produce” contest – not a local tradition, but one apparently imported from Unova (wasn’t that where Ryan was from?), where hobbyist gardeners and their Pokémon companions put their prized berries and vegetables on display. She had to admit - some of them looked almost as large as the berries they had back home, though she couldn’t help but wonder if they were selected for size rather than essence. Some of the contestants also sold some berries that weren’t quite contest tier, and even though she was still reasonably packed up for a few days on the road in terms of travel supplies – on a hunch, she picked up a small box of miscellaneous berries heralded as granting resistances to certain elemental types. Some of these were fairly rare even back home (unless you lived on Poni Island, and virtually nobody lived on Poni Island) and while Iolana did wonder about their potency, she figured that some of these could be of use – particularly Yache and Babiri berries. She offered one of the former - a teal-blue with a strange texture to its rind – to Dracaena, and the Grass/Dragon type certainly seemed delighted... too delighted, perhaps – as soon enough her crown of leaves was sprouting new fronds, with what certainly appeared to be similar berries developing at their tips – and they already seemed to be growing larger than the berry that started it all. Iolana, somewhat self-consciously, was rather glad that they have put some distance between them and the gardener. Harvest was one hell of an ability – but it also meant that if Dracaena was willing to share, she’d have another source of supplies.

She put the rest of the berries away, though. Thank the Guardians for Item Balls.

There were some other things of note in this festival too. There was a troupe of musicians that combined traditional Kantonian instruments and some electronic ones to create a synthesis of old and new - and dancing Pokémon that accompanied them. A strange, purple-skinned humanoid Pokémon with a mane of long blond hair that appeared to be wearing a luxurious red velvet dress seemed to operate a fortune-teller’s booth, manipulating a ball of ice as though it were a crystal ball while an elegant-looking elderly woman with a blue headscarf and large round glasses – presumably its trainer - interpreted the creature’s visions to her clients. There were a few artists – some working in traditional methods and others using more modern ones – and even a woodcarver that she could not resist but purchase a small carving of the three local starter Pokémon using their attacks from. It was probably the most expensive purchase she made that day, but the craftsmanship was worth it. Somehow, it felt like an appropriate memento.

But it was certainly getting late – and if she had to wake up at a “reasonable” time the next morning, this would have probably been a good time to call it a day. Tomorrow the presentation of the starters would happen – and then she’d be off into a forest with a whole flock of trainers she barely knew and who barely knew each other... as a safety measure. What could possibly go wrong?

Iolana Kalili bade the festival farewell and tracked down the ubiquitous red roof denoting the local Pokémon Center. She may have been thousands of miles away from home – but some things were universal.

~*~

Iolana slept surprisingly well that night, all things considered. Her body seemed to decide to wake her up at seven in the a.m., but considering the Presentation of the Starters was scheduled to 9 AM, this worked out pretty well for her – she had the time to wake up properly, do her morning workout routine (a series of stretches and Z-move stances flowing into each other in a complicated dance) then grab a shower and proper breakfast at the Pokémon Center’s diner wing. If this Pokémon Center’s coffee was indicative of the quality of Pokémon Center coffee in the rest of this region, she could get used to this place.

She already let Kea out when she went down to the diner wing – and with yesterday’s events in mind, Dracaena joined her the moment they stepped out of the Center. The morning sun seemed to perk the Exeggutor up almost immediately – and Iolana couldn’t help but notice there were still a few Yache berries hanging from her branches, so to speak – and the sun seemed to do them good as well. On occasion, the Exeggutor reached for one of the fruits with one of her heads’ bizarre prehensile and branched tongues, picked it off its frond (which rapidly withered away afterwards) and happily consumed it. Every once in a while, a new frond began emerging, slowly developing into another fruit. The girl shrugged – she wasn’t sure how long were these going to keep, but if Dracaena had to go into a Harvest loop on a berry, at least it was one that was beneficial for her.

She found her way through the crowd to find a good position from which to watch the main stage. There were quite a few people – and she couldn’t help but halfway ponder if Dracaena could use her telepathy to share some of her tree’s eye view of the stage if it came to that. Eventually, though, she managed to find a reasonably good vantage point – And right on time, as the clock ticked nine and the ceremony began. Blue certainly looked more alert (and this time, actually had one of his Pokémon at the ready). Professor Oak made a brief speech and clearly attempted to be inspiring – to a questionable degree of success. And then, following the local MC’s introductions for them and their Pokémon – one by one, the new trainers and their Starter Pokémon finally took the stage. Ruby, the one who was about to be one of her traveling companions soon, was the last to take the stage – and she couldn’t help but notice the slight change in body language the moment the size of the crowd appeared to sink in. Dracaena slightly nodded her heads in the girl’s direction in response to her wave – but she wasn’t sure how noticeable it was from a distance. It occurred to her that she wasn’t entirely certain where the others were – but something told her that if they didn’t all somehow gravitate to Dracaena again, she’d probably find them at the entrance to Route 2.

For now, however, she continued watching and idly scritching Kea – who lightly headbutted her hand until she started doing just that. Just because it was an important event, it doesn’t mean the Ninetales was willing to be denied her pets, after all.

 

[Dark Soul]

Oliver was always early to rise - if not one for "early to bed", or indeed healthy, wealthy or wise. It'd all started in Slateport, where as a teen he'd rush to the beach at the crack of dawn, fast as his flip-flops could take him, surfboard under one arm and Koda (still a Zigzagoon at that time, and far less lazy) in close pursuit. Nothing could top the view of waves glistening in orange light, or the scent of the spray as he paddled flat on his board. Zigzagoons were known to love water, and Koda was no exception; after a while, the two of them could stay standing on the board together no matter how killer the surf.

He absentmindedly petted the Linoone curled up on the bench next to him, his other hand wrapped around a cool iced tea with a straw and a dainty parasol. He'd resolved to enjoy himself to the fullest, yesterday's antics be damned- not that it hadn't left him shaken, but he wasn't about to let a bad first impression spoil the whole region for him. Still, he was glad he'd found a number of buddies to hit the road with. He'd have hesitated to walk it if he hadn't. And they all seemed like a good bunch- The three older Trainers who were undoubtedly far better at battling than he was, and the two kids who'd benefit even more than him from the experience.

Oliver'd heard there was some presentation of new Trainers happening soon, but he felt uneasy going back to that particular square so soon. They'd reached an informal agreement to meet up near Route 02, or on the way there- it'd be best to wait there 'til the others came along. He looked at Koda. "I won't bother asking if you want to walk with me." The Linoone responded by flopping over onto its back and sighing melodramatically. Oliver scritched the favoured spot on his belly.

~~~

He'd taken Holly out, instead, and the Riolu seemed appreciative of it in her own way- she kept close to Oliver and placed herself strategically between him and anyone she didn't like the look of. He supposed her aura-reading sensibilities could come in handy if they came across more Team Rocket, but it was best just to hope they wouldn't. Stopping by the PokeMon Center earlier, he'd thought about ringing up his friends and having them transfer over some of his PokeMon they were taking care of- but it'd defeat the point of his trip; he hadn't come to battle, except with Holly, who still needed raising. He'd leave the rest of his small family of captures in the good hands of his pals unless he had a real reason not to.

Near the entrace to Route 02, he took a seat on a fallen log and readied his camera for action. There wasn't much to see yet- a scrap between a Spearow and a Pidgey was the extent of it, but he was sure Viridian Forest would be teeming with life. Photos of Bug-types weren't the best selling shots by themselves, but they'd feature in the full chronicle of his journey when that reached its end. He almost didn't dare to think that far ahead; he rarely did. A Slateport Surfer went where the wind and the tide took them.