Beginner

[Alice Hope]

Pleased with the progress they had made, and wishing to escape the harsh midday sun, Alice elected to return inside with Claire and Laura and grab some lunch for she and her Pokemon after the tiring training that she had put them through. Of course, for how well they looked and ate, it had been well worth it.

Not long after finishing their drinks and returning outdoors, Laura had pointed out that the time to disembark was approaching. Alice made sure that they all had their things before parting ways with Claire and leaving towards the lab with Laura.

It was a tall, modern looking compound atop a hill, one with a grand tropical garden and greenhouse branching off from one of the sides. Alice rang the doorbell, speaking into the mic when it was triggered. "Afternoon! My name is Alice Hope. I was hoping I could meet Professor Ivy or one of her aides today since I'm a new trainer. I don't need a Pokemon. I already have two."

[MegaAbsol]

(Nishyyy~~ Now that I finally made a training post and waited forever for you to log in the CB and see it and you don't o3o Nya, derp. Go have a look?)

"O-Of course." Someone replied on the other end, hesitantly, earning curious glances from Laura. Soon enough, the thick wooden door swung open, revealing a man standing in the doorway, evidently the source of the voice. Looking about as old as Alice, and a good head taller, with dark wavy hair, he gave Alice a shy, if somewhat alarmed look. "I-I'm sorry, Professor Ivy is not in." The fact that he wore a labcoat revealed that he was an aide, but by the looks of it, he seemed to be a new one, still unused to the job. An intern, finding his feet.

[Alice Hope]

((It's a Tuesday. I was out, mobile, all day and unable to do your post. I saw it was there, it had to wait until I got home. I would've told you in the CB but I couldn't see you logged on whenever I checked and you weren't on Skype. Just doing a basic post on here is hard enough mobile, and I paste it in from another app to ensure I don't lose it.))

"Oh." That was a real pain. Alice should have tried to find a way to contact ahead of time, they could've been at Golden Island by now! "Do you know when she'll be back? I had some things I wanted to ask, including about maybe trying to get my own pokedex if there were any left to be given out..." The rookie explained. She wasn't a particularly nervous individual, but the aide's shyness seemed awkward and contagious.

[MegaAbsol]

(Ooh, sounds rough o3o Derp, my bad.)

"PokeDex? Yes, we have a few to give out. I'll just need to register you..." Once the topic switched to official matters, the aide lost some of his debilitating bashfulness. He moved out of the way to allow the two girls in; Laura paused to scan the horizon and note the location of her two pokemon. It was a fine, sunny day out, and the two young water types were splashing in the shallow beach. The aide had picked up a clipboard, and wielded a pen, ready with a form. "As for when she'll come back, it's quite questionable. She likes doing fieldwork, and is frequently delayed in such," He provided helpfully.

[Alice Hope]

Alice nodded, noticing Laura's concern before they entered, "Hey, if you want, just stay playing with your Pokemon. Just as long as we don't lose each other." She added, stepping over the threshold, "Ah, that makes sense. It's my bad for not calling ahead, too." The trainer paused thoughtfully, "She wouldn't happen to be on Golden Island, would she? Just because we're heading that way after this."

[MegaAbsol]

Laura hesitated, before nodding, and quickly exiting the building. What was the harm? She was just gonna be a namecall away. The aide had moved across the lab, which was large and empty at this time. "Golden Island? Oh, no. Professor's still on this island," he smiled, "In fact, the next ferry there will take a while. She's still on this island, called out on some emergency. If you'd like to wait..." He gestured towards a room, evidently some sort of lounge. Small scufflings at the back of some bookcases attracted the male's attention. "Erm, just a moment please. Newly-hatched pokemon are quite a problem..." Muttering the last part, he hurried to the site of the sound, keeping the clipboard with the form on a table as he passed by. Perhaps Alice had better fill it.

[Alice Hope]

Alice followed the aide away, nodding along. "Sure, waiting's fine." She said, nodding after the scientist who left to handle the Pokemon. She felt curiosity and excitement bubbling in her stomach. What kind of Pokemon had recently hatched? She turned her attention to the form, beginning to fill it in. The only problems were that she had no number or address to speak of, although she could at least fill in her PC account address since she had sorted that before leaving the ferry for storage purposes in the future. "I couldn't fill everything in, since I don't have a number or home address, but I hope that's okay anyway...?"

[MegaAbsol]

"Would you like to invite your friend in?" The aide offered, reappearing, cradling two baby pokemon who were....well, pretty much hanging onto him. A Chinchou had made his head its domain, settling in a nest of messy hair, while the man carefully held onto a Snorunt in his arms. Tilting his head to get the Chinchou's antennae out of his eyes, he cast a glance at the form and nodded. "No number? Do you not have a PokeGear?" He questioned, putting the Snorunt down on the table, while the Chinchou cheerfully hopped off.

[Alice Hope]

"Oh, sure..." Alice was happy to invite Laura in, although she wasn't sure she would be heard from the doorway down on the beach. Smiljng nervously, Alice shook her head, "No, I'm sorry, I don't. I thought I would just use Polemon Cwntre machines if I needed to." She explained, eyes downcast to admire the beautiful babies on the table.

[MegaAbsol]

Laura was, though, thankfully within audible range, and she came running up, a little sandy, and a little wet, but very happy. And she was brimming full of news. "Alice, Alice! Look what Shellder found!" The sphere cradled in her arms was unmistakably a Pokemon Egg. It was ovular, smooth, and primarily grey, and somewhat warm to the touch. The aide walked over.

"Is that a Pokemon Egg? Where did you find it? I hope you didn't take it from its nest." He shook his head, but Laura was quick to deny it. "No! I would never! It would make the parents sad. It was just on the beach. I figured someone dropped it or something, since it doesn't seem to be a Water type egg." He nodded; she made sense. Even as they stared at the egg, it moved slightly.

"Oh, dear. It seems close to hatching too. Look, I know it's a lot to ask, but could you-" He was cut off by a terrified squeal. Chinchou had grabbed the quivering Snorunt by its antennae, and was dangling the terrified Ice-type off the table's edge. "What the- put, him, down!" The man rushed over yet again to disentangle the two. Chinchou hesitated for a moment before obeying, promptly dropping the poor Snorunt to the floor. Well, he was told to drop him. "...As, as you can see, it's simply not safe to keep an Egg here," The Snorunt got to its feet and ran off, dropping little scales and flakes of ice, and after a moment, Chinchou gave chase, looking rather repentant. The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair, such a long-suffering sigh, "It's not that they intend to create such a ruckus or be rough, but their children, after all. Can't be relied. So, um, if you could..." He hedged anxiously, "Er, take...it with you?" He finally got it out.

(Introducing, le egg! PokeGear in next update! o3o)

[Alice Hope]

((Eyy! Le egg! <3))

Alice was surprised at the sight of the egg, but as curious about it as she was everything else in this world. She ran her hands gently over the warm, smooth surface, 'ooh'ing at it and gasping with delight when it moved. "Oh my gosh, you're right!" She said delightedly. The young trainer waited for the aide to spit out his request, glad when he finally did and it was as she had hoped, "Well, Laura did find it, but even if she doesn't want to I'd love to take it! Do you have an incubator we could borrow to put it in?" Her eyes wandered to the playful babies again. She really wanted to give them a cuddle, but with Chinchou especially, it could be quite dangerous.

[MegaAbsol]

"Incubator? Yes." The aide looked confused and disoriented as he quit carefully watching the hyperactive Chinchou and turned to Alice. With a last cursory glance at the Water?Electric type, he scurried off to the back of the lab. "So...what do you think it is?" Laura breathed, holding her face close to the egg. Snorunt had quit running, and plopped down, breathing tiny gusts of cold air at the Water type, who seemed to be patting the conical baby pokemon. However, the troublemaker's attention was quickly diverted to the unfortunate duo present. It quickly hopped over with slightly wet, squishy sounds, and a huge grin. Splish, splish, quish went the young pokemon, stopping at Alice's feet, offering up what could be described as a fin. Did it want to shake hands?

[Alice Hope]

Alice hummed thoughtfully at Laura's question, resting her arms onto the desk so that she, too, could lean forward. "Mmm, I dunno... A Pidove or Poochyena? Some kind of steel type Pokemon? Maybe a Miccino or something..." She listed off her suggestions as more and more Pokemon came to mind, trying to match the colour of the egg with the skins and furs of various species. It was weird to think that even the electronic Magnemite could hatch from an egg like that, or a dog or ghostie. In her world, canines could not hatch from an egg. "Are you going to keep the egg, or...?" She trailed off, hoping not, until the Chinchou caught her attention and distracted her. It was awfully cute, and she held up a hand, but did not lower it to shake one of the antennae. It could be electrifying after all. "I'd love to... But only if you won't shock me..."

[MegaAbsol]

Chinchou seemed offended that Alice presumed he'd shock her; children, right? Laura rolled her eyes, still smiling at the small Water type. In any case, Chinchou was extending a fin, not the bulbous antennae, to shake, which should have been perfectly safe to shake. The aide staggered in, balancing an incubator, and a device on top of the cylindrical holder. "There we go." Setting the things down, he turned to Chinchou, just going to reprimand him for practically traumatizing Snorunt when, with a squeal of...alarm? Joy? Mischief? The fishie launched itself off the floor, and with a plosh, landed on and clung to Alice's leg. Well.

[Alice Hope]

Alice went red, laughing nervously and awkwardly at the looks she received in response. "I'm sorry. Chinchou is one of my favourite Pokemon, actually, but I've just never seen an electric type in person before. I guess I'm just a big wuss!" That in mind, it was astonishing that the pair of them were so ready to just march off to save the world or whatever Golden Island had in store for them. She looked up as the aide came in, laughing a bit again. "We could've helped you if you'd asked!"

Her attention was stolen again when Chinchou squealed, and Alice suddenly felt the Pokemon attached to her spotty black leggings. "Oh- Oh, Chinchou. Hello!" Alice shifted slightly. The Pokemon had seemed so bothered before, so this time the girl lifted one leg, leaning her bum on the desk for balance, and began to give the Pokemon's round blue body a pet and a tickle. "Did you want to come up and see?"

[MegaAbsol]

This was just too much for Laura; she burst into peals of uncontrolled laughter, to the point where tears began pouring from her eyes. She doubled over, clutching her stomach, gasping for breath. No chance of her speaking out about what was amusing her so much. The aide smiled wryly at her and shook his head at Alice. "Oh, not at all. I couldn't have someone help me with my job, after all." He awkwardly tried to not stare at Alice's leg whilst glare at Chinchou. "Er, em, let me..."

So muttering, he inched closer unsurely, the Chinchou loving the undivided attention, rumbling slightly while his bulbs sparked. If Alice expected a shock, she was disappointed; Chinchou seemed to be electric-resistant everywhere besides his antennae. If clinging wasn't enough, it began playfully nibbling on her hand, before grinning up at her; it was finger-lickin' good! (;3 No? Okay~) "Come on, now, Chinchou. You're bothering her. And it'll only be a little more time before Professor returns..." The aide's cajoling failed, with the part Electric type paying more attention to the Snorunt cowering by his leg. The man sighed, "Do, um, you want him off? Wait, what am I saying? Of course you want him off," He muttered the last part, reaching out to grab the squishy dual type.

(I'm having so much fun with these characters xD)

[Alice Hope]

Alice giggled as the Chinchou nibbled at her fingers, flinching a bit, but noticing that it wasn't exactly painful. The assistant's actions amused her, but she waved him away with sympathy. "You really don't need to freak about it. I really don't mind him being there now I know he's not gonna attack me or anything." She explained. Besides, didn't people of this world seem to survive a jolt or two? Given that she wasn't wearing an insulin pump or anything like that, maybe she could cool a little. "Besides, it's nice to make new friends you can hang onto. Right, Chinchou?" Jokingly she swung her hand a bit, as if to swing the little baby who had been munching lightly on the fingertips.

[MegaAbsol]

"Hehe," Laura's laughter had subsided, and the female beat the aide to the Chinchou-grabbing, trying to pry the water type off, if only to hug it. But the baby pokemon was discovered to have the strength of a limpet - it just wouldn't let go! Clinging on for dear life, one might imagine, the dual type protested loudly and incessantly; even though Laura was pulling persistently enough to move Alice's leg along with the clingy pokemon. If the mischievous pokemon were to suddenly let go- oh! There it is!

Laura fell backwards with a soft whump, holding the Chinchou aloft like a prize, while it was the pokemon's turn to laugh - its soft laughter sounded like tinkling bells. The aide grinned, clearly pleased at having the little leech off, and petting the squishy blue one, ushered it off to the other end of the lab. "Ahem. Now then, as regards your PokeGear..." He extended a shiny orange one to Alice.

[Alice Hope]

Alice's eyes were wide like plates, the young woman bemused to experience and witness the madness that was unraveling around her. It certainly felt like a cartoon to her now! "Aww, the Chinchou's laughter is really cute, too..." She waved after it when its carer was switched, this time surprised over something new. This Pokegear shone under the lights, its shell a sleek, burnt orange. "A Pokegear? But aren't these expensive?"

[MegaAbsol]

The aide hesitated. "Well, if you buy it, yes. But these are provided free of cost to trainers by official professors." He set it down on the table and rummaged in his pockets. "I'll register you...and, young lady-?" He turned to Laura, but was cut off, "I already have one, thanks." Correctly guessing his question, she nodded to him with a smile, patting her bag. "Wonderful." Checking his watch, the aide quietly muttered something about tardiness before looking back up. "Professor Ivy should be back about-"

The door swung open.

[Alice Hope]

"Oh... That's pretty cool." Alice acknowledged with a relieved smile. That was one aspect her world had never covered for her, the characters she followed normally receiving their side devices in some side way, or already having one. When the registration was completed, Alice wore her Pokegear around her neck with pride, the colour complimenting her purple tank and the black and white leggings well enough. When the door swung open, Alice's heart filled with hope, but also dread. After all this, she felt ready to accept her gifts and the silly experience and move on without going into the deeper issues going on...

[MegaAbsol]

(Argh, having to retype this)

From the open door, in walked an attractive lady in a labcoat, striding quickly and purposefully. Her dark plum hair was unrestrained, and flew in wavy freedom, shining with the sleekness of silk. Behind large framed glasses were sharp brown eyes, and they currently rested on Alice. "Hello. How can I help you?~" Despite her initial intimidating appearance, she politely greeted Alice with a smile. "Professor, this is," He checked the form, "Alice. She wanted to talk to you." Ivy nodded at her assistant and turned to the two girls. "Um, hi. I'm Laura..." The red-haired girl trailed off uncertainly. Ivy's smile grew, "Don't be shy now. Come, let's sit." She gestured towards a room.

[Alice Hope]

Professor Ivy was instantly recognisable, with her voluptuous figure and dark purple hair, clothes smart-casual and perfect for summer beneath the lab coat. She felt shy, too, heart beating hard in her chest. "Thank you, Professor." Alice made sure to say, going to the room indicated for them. She sat, waiting for Ivy, before beginning a little awkwardly.

"Well, first, I'm a new trainer. And I know they're quite wxclusive, but I was hoping for a pokedex. I don't need a starting Pokemon as I've cauggt two already - a pink Shellos and Pineco - but the pokedex wiuld really help me." Alice babbled timidly. Now she was here, she felt like a lunatic.

[MegaAbsol]

"A Dex? Of course. You didn't already receive one?" Ivy seemed a little surprised; the Professor who'd have given Alice the pokeballs to catch her pokemon should have provided her with a Dex. Or perhaps she bought her own. Perfectly acceptable. "Right then. I believe you received a Gear?" Ivy nodded, moving about the lab. She exited the room, to shortly return with a matching burnished auburn Dex. "Here you go. I'll take the data from the Gear form." With Ivy, her three assistants moved into the lab too.

(Have you seen the anime? The three assistants look funny :3 And yesh, she had only three. I added the guy.)

[Alice Hope]

((Lol, it's k. And ofc I've seen the anime! Orange Archipelago is anime only arc. xP))

"Ah, no, we were waiting for you to get back..." Alice replied hesitantly, confirming afterwards that she did indeed recieve a Pokegear, which now hung around her neck. When she recieved her Pokedex, Alice was ecstatic, opening the object up, beginning to fiddle with the settings, such as the screen colour, Dexter's voice, and the activation of her fingerprint, voice and retinal scan. She was eager, too, to follow Ivy to the next room, wondering if she could gather data from the Chinchou and Snorunt before they left. "Professor Ivy, there was... Another thing..." She added timidly, "I was wondering-- it doesn't really relate to your research, but, how much you know about other worlds? You know, like how the Unown, Deoxys and Palkia are linked to other dimensions? And a lot of other legendary Pokemon?" She wondered if she had been spat out from a gold and purple ring.

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