when dreams become R E A L I T Y

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then put headphones on your heart

and turn the volume up, yeah ;;[/left][/size][/color][/font]

You probably wouldn't notice the quiet little figure leaning against the railing unless you tripped over her. With black hair draped over her face and crystalic blue eyes locked intently on the screen of a laptop computer, Renee wasn't much standing out from the motley crew and occasional passenger who wandered aimlessly around the lengthy expanse of the ship. No, she had found herself a nice, quiet, secluded little nook in which to enjoy an MMORPG involving the mindless slaughter of oncoming zombies.

You would think that most young teens, when faced with a situation like this, would make no effort to hide their excitement - racing all over the place, babbling on and on and on about what adventures lie in their near future to anyone and everyone they came into contact with. But not Ren. She had the decency to keep such feelings to herself, thank you very much. As a matter of fact, she needed these kinds of brain-numbing video games to keep her mind off of what events are in store for her; she was subtly certain that if she didn't keep herself occupied, she may very well explode from the anticipation.

For today was no ordinary day in the life of Renee Lucille Davison. Today was the day she would receive her very own Pokemon and set out on her quest for coordinator excellence. Today marked the dawn of her brand new life. And she most definitely did not want to blow up and ruin it all with a trip to the hospital where doctors made a fevered attempt to patch her back together.

Still, she decided with a sigh, maybe it wouldn't hurt to wonder for just a bit about her oncoming trip to the Onyx Harbour lab. She would need to make a very tough decision on who would accompany her as her partner. It would not make a very good first impression if she stood before the professor without the slightest idea of what Pokemon to choose. She never did well under pressure and may very well make a choice she would regret. Glancing back down to the computer screen, she noticed her character - a tall, strong, beautiful woman who had everything she wished she had - had been mauled by the undead and now lay in a heap of limbs and semi-censored blood. An angry note had popped up on her screen, undoubtedly one of her teammates demanding why she suddenly abandoned them and left her poor hero to die. She smirked slightly, exing out of the game. They would have to wait.

Now she pulled up a search engine and tapped in the words 'onyx harbour lab'. A couple links popped up, and out of habit she instantly clicked on the first one. This brought up a website explaining how aspiring coordinators arrived here and received a Pokemon and starter pack before heading on their way to fame and glory. Ren scrolled down, skipping through all the fluff text and photos, until she came across something that sparked her interest. It was a list of what species the lab had available to give away. Her eyes sparkled with wonder as she studied each one intently. Piplup: Small. Blue. Apparently a water-type. Bulbasaur: Green. Dinosaur-like. A large bulb on its back.

Now, there was no doubt in her mind that any one of these Pokemon wouldn't make a great starter, but there weren't any that spiked her interest just yet. Determined, she continued down the list. And then suddenly, it was there. A tiny yellow mouse-like creature with pink pouches on its cheeks. 'Pichu,' the caption read, 'electric-type. Releases jolts of electricity to attack its foes. Uses its Static ability to paralyze foes on contact and natural cuteness in moves like Charm and Sweet Kiss.'

"Wow." she couldn't help but exclaim as she absently traced over the little sprite with the mouse pointer. Not only was it an electric-type, which she had a big soft spot for, but it used its adorableness against its enemies! Genius! Of course, there had been others to catch her attention. There was one she noticed, a green gecko called Treecko, whom she had heard her father talking about long ago. An egg had been found at the day care center where he worked at. He'd said they were a good, solid Pokemon, faster than a speeding arrow and with health-sapping moves to whittle down it's opponents while keeping itself strong. And Chimchar, a fiery little monkey who looked insanely cute and would apparently evolve into Infernape, an ape with martial arts skills that sounded epically powerful. The mere thought of being accompanied by any one of these Pokemon made her shiver in delight.

Suddenly, a loud horn pounded into her eardrums. Startled out of her thought bubble, she looked up to see the ship approaching land! Unable to contain her excitement, she shut her laptop and slipped it back into her bag, springing to her feet before hurrying to the bow where the passengers would depart.

~~~

It wasn't a very long trip from the ship to the lab. And in such a small, quaint little town, she probably could've asked anyone where the lab was and get an immediate answer. In only a matter of minutes, Renee found herself standing at the front of the building. She paused before the door, taking in her surroundings.

The Onyx Harbour lab was pretty good sized, standing out from the rows of houses that lined the streets. An enormous door towered over her - almost intimidating to the tiny little teen - and seemed to almost challenge her to open it. It was definitely no contest; Ren had been waiting too long for this very moment. Practically all her life, in fact. There was no way some big door was going to unnerve her and make her change her mind about becoming a coordinator. She was ready. This was her day. Gathering her nerves, she rapped on the door with a fist, smoothing out her blouse with her free hand.

;; let the rhythem throb in time
with the pumping of your blood

ooc: ._. I made that way longer than I had to. Sorry if it frazzles your brain. xDD;;

[POKÉMON & NPCS]

AIDE KAI RICHARDS

Kai was very excited. He always was, but it was so close to close up the lab and get going. Only ten more minutes before the Professor closed the boat off to everyone and headed off to Emerald Island. If they were late, the coordinators would have to receive their starter from Lucy. She had lots of time to get to know the new coordinators, and Kai wanted to be able to help one last person before leaving. It was almost a little pitiful, the way he paced around in the lobby room, glancing up at the clock quite often. The man pointedly ignored his Golduck, who was sitting on one of the seats, watching him with bored eyes. When there was a knock at the door, he practically jumped out of his shoes to race over and swing the door open.

"Why hello there!" he said, a smile taking up most of his face. He took up most of the doorway, and the girl in front of him was dwarfed by his large body. "I suppose you're one of the new coordinators," he added with a chuckle, "Come on in." He then stepped back, giving the girl room to come inside.

The little lobby wasn't much, but the man stood tall, very proud of the lab. He had been one of Professor Redwood's aides for a while, and being only one out of two, he was also proud to be one as well. Now inside the lobby, with one foot, he gently nudged his Golduck, who had dozed off. The Pokemon jolted awake, and when he caught eye of the girl, he stood up and started over for the cupboard, where the starter packs were--almost as if he knew that Kai would ask him for one.

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[xxfidget]

then put headphones on your heart

and turn the volume up, yeah ;;[/left][/size][/color][/font]

Renee bit back a squeal of delight as the door creaked open. A large, bulky man grinned down at her, welcoming her in. She had to crank her neck back to look up at his face, and immediately felt puny. Once again, she remembered her extreme hatred for being so small. However, Ren instantly realized this wasn't the professor himself - this guy looked nothing like the one in the picture on the website - but rather one of the aides. It really made no difference to her; she came here for a Pokemon partner, not to meet the esteemed Professor Redwood, and this man seemed nice enough. Friendliness radiated from him in waves, and she couldn't help but flash a smile in his presence. "Yes, I am. Thanks!" she said politely, stepping into the lab.

The first thing Ren noticed about the room was a large blue duck-like creature who was napping on the floor in a position that looked entirely uncomfortable. The man gave it a gentle tap with a boot and the Pokemon woke with a start, leaping to its webbed feet before scrambling off. Must be embarrassed, she concluded, getting caught napping on the job. She took a few curious glances around the room; it was pretty good in size, compared to what some of the other buildings on the island looked like, though nowhere near as big as she’d pictured. Of course, size had nothing to do with anything, really - if it got the job done right, then it was perfectly fine. She faced the aide, smiling brightly. "My name’s Renee, by the way, Renee Davison," she informed him. If one day she were to be famous, he could pride himself in the fact he was the one to have given her her starter. "I haven't given much thought about what kind of Pokemon I would like..." That was a lie. In fact, it had been all she'd been able to think about for 9 years of her life, not to mention her little research on the boat. "But there are a few species I'd like to meet, if that's okay. Their names are Treecko, Pichu, and Chimchar...?" she concluded, a hopeful light in her eyes.

Then suddenly, an awful thought popped into her mind. It sat atop her brain like a ton of bricks, digging into her graymatter like some kind of evil parasite. What if they didn't have any kind she liked? Or worse - no Pokemon at all?! Keep it together, Renny, she warned herself, clenching down on her tongue with her teeth as if to punish herself for thinking such morbid thoughts. This place is a laboratory - they're bound to have at least one! That's their job. Besides, she wasn't that picky; she'd be satisfied with pretty much anything they stuck to her.

;; let the rhythem throb in time
with the pumping of your blood

[POKÉMON & NPCS]

Kai smiled gently, letting the girl, who had now been identified as Renee, into the room. The girl had looked around the room for quite a while, staring absentmindedly at the pictures on the walls and even Kai himself. When she told him she hadn't given much thought to choosing the Starter, however, Kai knew she was being untruthful. She looked as if she had spent quite a long time pondering over this exact thing.

"Pichu, Chimchar, and Treeko, my dear? Wonderful idea! I'll be back in a second with them."

Kai hurried towards the Pokemon storage room, sure that Golduck would be getting the Starter Pack and the girl would have enough sense to sit down. As he arrived at his destination, his eyes instinctively started skimming through the labels in search of the right ball, but then he suddenly remembered their new storage system. It was genius, for sure, but it did take off a lot of fun on the job. The machine had all the Pokeball's [and the Pokemon inside of it] information, as well as where it was at, and it made the aid's jobs much easier.

He searched quietly for half a minute, and then received all his information.

Treeko. A9.
Pichu. C7.
Chimchar. B2.

With a flash, he had gathered all the Pokeballs and was now striding out the door then walking down the hallway, yawning. Chimchar, Pichu, and Treeko. Well now, he couldn't see much in common with that ... why would she pick them? For a second he thought maybe she wanted fast-moving Pokemon, but then brushed the entire subject from his mind as he realized that it wasn't his business. She could pick any Pokemon she wanted.

He traipsed into the room, his face clad with a bright smile, and then released the Pokemon from their Pokeballs. First came out Chimchar [this one was quite fiery-tempered], a Treeko [lazy], and the Pichu, who seemed to like dancing around.

"There we go, young lady! Here we have Chimchar, Treeko, and Pichu. All perfectly good Starter Pokemon for a new coordinator such as youself!" Kai said brightly.

[xxfidget]

then put headphones on your heart

and turn the volume up, yeah ;;[/left][/size][/color][/font]

Ren nodded automatically as the man announced he'd return with her choices, then scanned the room for somewhere to sit. She remembered the aqua colored Pokemon - Golduck, was it? - had been napping in a chair when she arrived, and approached the seat, glancing around before plopping herself into it. And then she waited. And waited and waited and waited. She waited for so long she decided to stick earphones in her head and turn on her iPod. After what seemed like an eternity to an eager, anxious fourteen-year-old (but was in truth probably only a minute or two), she heard the powerful stride of the aide echoing down the hall and she quickly pulled out the speakers, excitement bubbling from somewhere deep inside her. She was finally going to meet her potential starter Pokemon! This was already the best day of her life, and who knew what was in store for tomorrow?

The man arrived in the room with his usual grin on his face, but this time clutching three Pokeballs. Renee watched, utterly mesmerized, as he poked the button in the middle of each sphere and a splash of vivid red light filled the room. In their places, right before her very eyes, materialized the three Pokemon she had asked for. She leapt from her seat in a matter that was entirely girly, she wasn't even going to deny that fact, and practically floated over to the three creatures, falling to her knees to say hello.

The first one, she noticed, was the Chimchar, clad in red-orangey fur as she had seen in pictures. Immediately, the little primate's rear erupted into a flame tail. It was quite the cutie, and she knew that it possessed much power as well. "Chimchaaaar!" the fire-type cried out, punching the air several times before leaping into an uppercut, obviously a bit hot-headed and seemed ready to fight at any command. A giggle escaped her lips as she watched it flex it's muscles for her; it seemed quite eager to learn the art of battling. She would probably have minimal trouble if she chose this to be her partner - better safe than sorry, after all, and with Chimchar, she would not be sorry.

The next out of it's ball was a gecko Pokemon covered in sleek, green scales and bright red ones on it's underbelly. The Treeko's tail, she knew, was thick like a club and could be used as a weapon if needed. Upon being released, this creature scanned the room without much interest. When it spotted her, it yawned deeply, stretching it's arms back before sitting cross-legged on the floor like she was, eying her with mixed emotions. Her eyes widened with curiosity, trying to fathom what could be going on in the Pokemon's mind. It was smart, anyone could tell, and likely realized she was a coordinator-to-be and it was one of her choices. Perhaps it was weighing the pros and cons of being picked? Would it enjoy traveling with her, or be a bit difficult and disobey when she asked it to battle? Yes, Treecko may prove to be a challenge, but wasn't that half the fun of training Pokemon?

And finally, appearing when the crimson light faded, was Pichu. It was covered from head to toe in bright yellow fur, with black tipping it's ears and tail. The darker color also formed a kind of collar around it's neck, completing the electric-type look. It wasn't out of it's ball for more than a couple seconds before it gave an energetic little squeal of "Pii!" and began hopping around in a little circle, flailing it's tiny paws in a kind of dance. An enormous grin stretched from ear to ear on Ren's face; this was the kind of Pokemon that made everyone want to say 'awwwww!' However, Renee knew that she would need to be careful with this one. Pichu evolved on a high friendship, and if she did anything to make it sad, it may never change into a big, strong Pikachu.

And now, having met her options, the teen stood, grimacing with concentration. This just left the one question: which Pokemon should she choose? Don't worry, Ren, she comforted herself, this is only the biggest, most important decision of your life. No big deal. The thought didn't help much. She looked up at Kai, smiling to hide how much confusion she was in right now. "I like them all, I really do," she admitted, running a hand through her raven hair, "but I think I'm going to have to go with the Pichu." There, she said it. Instantly she felt like someone lifted an anvil off her mind, and she uttered a tiny sigh of relief. It was true, she was absolutely smitten with the mouse, not to mention all electric types, and she couldn't wait to get to know it better.

;; let the rhythm throb in time
with the pumping of your blood

[POKÉMON & NPCS]

AIDE KAI RICHARDS

Kai watched the scene unfold once the Pokemon were released from their Pokeballs. There was the hot-headed Chimchar--fitting its type--the calm Treeko--pensive?--and the Pichu. The Pichu didn't need any explanation, it just was. As soon as Kai saw it, he absolutely knew the girl was going to choose it. After all, why would a girl want a Pokemon like an Infernape or a Sceptile when they could have something adorably fluffy like a Raichu. He let out a small sigh and exchanged a knowing glance with his Golduck, who had returned with the bag. They both felt the same way, really. He half wished the girl had chosen something like an Aaron or a Nidoran. But girls would be girls and Kai would be Kai. He quickly pulled a smile back on his face when answering the girl.

"Then the Pichu it is!" Kai said, before returning the other two Pokemon back into their Pokeballs. He always felt bad for the Pokemon who weren't chosen, and later he'd try extra hard to get just them a coordinator, but until then, they were stuck in the lab. He tossed the empty Pokeball--the one that held the Pichu--to the girl, hoping she'd catch it. Girls also tended to have horrible hand-eye coordination, didn't they?

The Golduck also took this opportunity to walk over and hand the bag over to the girl, then settled back down into a chair. He noticed the girl had stolen his chair from before. How ungrateful.

"That's just a starter pack," Kai said, "It holds items you'll need to start your journey. I advise you to come back in about five minutes for Professor Redwood. He's not leaving until then."


you're ready to head off to onyx island !

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