Pokémon Gray [roleplay thread]

In all her honesty, the lab didn't count as being part of Plumeria. Out towards the outskirts, it dangles loosely at the border, wrecked like a flightless Pidgey. The slow, merciless winter did the lab little good, chilling it towards a frozen field rather than the pitiless spring.

Although the gates were never open to visitors so freely, the flaps were as still as a statue, welcoming the visitors in with open arms. She wasn't sure why she was chosen to be part of the journeying group, especially with her roots staying firm. Yet, it took only one map - one empty promise - to leave the place that blew its wintry breath in mockery. The crimson burn of the sun depleted as the clouds grasped to shroud the light.

Taking a small step in, it only confirmed her suspicions.

Littered everywhere, an ill gale had struck, scattering the pages of knowledge in sporadic locations. A puzzlement of a cavern it was, shelves sagging down, looming over her, and an enigma to locate the proper positions of each. Staring blankly at the ground, void of emotions, Elle held onto the small thought of whether to help organize it. Yet... she was running late as is.

Following the trail of broken and crumpled sheets, it took little to find Professor Pine, the woman who had little rest and was an actual undead.

Pulling her hat down, clutching the delicate visor with a fragile, pale hand, she shadowed her eyes, crusting over a bleak darkness. Everything around her seemed to have fallen cold and dead as she became unaware of her surroundings. Muttering something under her breath, she ignored the other people inside the lab.

"Sorry for the intrusion..." her whispy voice spoke, an ominous tone within it. Her voice was filled with caution and distrust, keeping distance from her peers.

The voices echoing the walls sounded familiar, but what did the pallor girl know? She avoided interaction from other people like the plague.

Noctis, standing firm and giving a blow of confidence beside his trainer, contrasted Elle far too much. His boastful air mixed with her unease, and though little could be done about it, his mouth was shaping into a low growl that let even the stars above hear his call.

Robin slowly got to her feet unsure of herself. The thought of going back to the house nauseated her, but this boy spoke of leaving. Was he going to the Professor's lab? Oh! Was today the day that they were heading out? Robin vaguely remember asking her stepfather to go as well. But she'd been denied as quickly as lightning lit up the sky. It's not like he'd told the Professor, right? She had enough clothes packed anyway. 'Wait, why did I pack?' Perhaps she subconsciously knew, but whatever the cause, she was packed, and that was enough for her.

The dark haired girl didn't say a word as she made her way to and into lab, her hands finding their way into the coat pockets. Despite the warmth she felt from the sun, the coat was a comfort and she didn't feel like taking it off.

The boy arrived as others arrived, slipping into the cluttered lab. He cursed as he hit his head on a box, protruding from one of many shelves, filled with Arceus-knows-what. He rubbed his head with dissatisfaction.

Simon was a little shit, as many in the orphanage knew, but the boy couldn't help but enjoy the energetic company of his fellow orphan. When he entered, he smiled at the other boy, offering a wave but not straying from the door. It was claustrophobic in there. Too many loose pieces, it felt like the lab would collapse on itself. Where he would normally lean, the boy stood, afraid to set off a chain of dominoes in the form of a dozen wobbly shelves.

All he really wanted was a smoke. He wasn't a smoker; he'd actually only smoked once. There was just always an urge to come back to it. He didn't even like it the first time, about a year ago, but there was always a pull towards it. Whenever he grew anxious, his mind told him he wanted to smoke.

Shortly after Walt, a slender brunette ambled through the doorway and began cooking crystal meth with him, hands tucked loosely into her pockets. Her shorts were fashioned out of denim, frayed intentionally at the bottoms. She wore a black-and-white cap on her head and a simple, dark grey tee. One could easily miss the little brown Cubone shadowing her footsteps, trying its very best to stay out of everyone's attention.

Gwen's eyes widened as she gazed around the laboratory, lips parting the slightest degree in awe. The orphan had never seen so many strange gadgets in one place. I wonder what they all do? Oh, and look at all the Pokeballs!

Stacked in a shelf a little ways away were all sorts of Pokeballs, neatly lined up in little holders. There were standard ones, Quick Balls, Great Balls, Dusk Balls.. There was even a few Ultra Balls. Imagine all the Pokemon I could catch with those.. Pokemon League, here I come, she thought, fantasies of her future running rampant through her mind.

Upon noticing everyone who was already present, Satyrus squeaked and grasped Gwendolyn's ankle in fear. The girl snapped out of her thoughts and frowned. She bent over to pry the Pokemon off of her, lifting him up into her arms. "Oh, come on. You're never going to battle if you keep up this act."

The Pokemon protested being held with a few half-hearted struggles, but quickly decided that it was useless, and let its arms go limp. Gwen stopped close to where Professor Pine was scrambling around. She raised an eyebrow at the sight so many documents piled up in one area.

"How do you even manage all that?" Gwen inquired, genuinely curious. I always thought it'd be fun to be a professor, but that's a lot of work. Yeesh.

Simon leaned farther back. "Got here a little before you did. I'd heard the Professor wanted to give me one last farewell kiss."

Pine practically jumped at that, pulling her hands to her chest and muffling a squeak. She ignored the boy and turned around to shuffle some papers. "Haha, is that so...?" she muttered under her breath, looking even more fretful now. Simon didn't take any notice, his eyes closed again. "I do hope they don't take off too soon... I mean, if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't be very eager to leave..." She went quiet for once as she brought the mug back to her lips. There were rarely moments where you could say Professor Pine looked reflective, or at ease, or ever at peace, but hunched over her desk like that, sorting through binders... well, it was like a glimpse into the scientist behind the crazy Skitty lady everyone saw.

That's when Walt spoke out.

She spun around on her heel, blinking and swaying like a Spinda. "W-Walter? Oh, so you came... your mother said you would, right..." She put a hand to her head and let out another breathy laugh. "Okay, so let's not climb on the shelves, please... Very dangerous..."

As if on cue, the rest of them started to flood in. That creepy pale girl, who Professor Pine greeted with a nervous giggle, Brennan, who Simon waved back to, Robin and Gwen. Was that all of them, then? Pine rarely looked comfortable around other people, but now she looked cornered, her eyes flitting back and forth from child to child. "Oh, me?" she repeated faintly, giving a little nod towards Gwen. "Um... well, lots of patience... lots of coffee too... ehehe... heh.... hum." Simon raised an eyebrow as Pine turned around, kneeling to root through the mini-fridge. She pulled out the nearest beer and started chugging.

"Isn't it a little too early to be drinking, Professor?"

Pine pulled away, sighing. "You'll understand when you're older, Simon..." She staggered to her feet and distractedly thrust the half-empty can into Brennan's hands. "Right... so I called you in here for a reason." She smiled as she fidgeted with her fingers, looking over each and every one of them. "Um, so I know this must be a hard situation... Kinda being... forced out... and everything..." The Professor gave an awkward cough and shuffled backwards, almost like she was trying to escape. "But, well, a Pokémon Professor's job is usually to help new trainers on their journey... and you're all a little too old now, and I don't know what you're all gonna do after this, b-but, well... I thought I'd help..."

She made a hesitant gesture toward the mountain of things piled on the nearby table, as if to say "tada!" Simon let his chair fall back onto all four legs again.

"And um... thanks to the cut in government funds towards research facilities like mine... aha... I couldn't really afford to get you all much... but I thought if you all stuck together, instead of just splitting up, it'd still be... sorta useful... the road's pretty dangerous lately, with all those terrorists and all, y'know..." She padded over to pick up a red device near the corner. It looked positively ancient, clunky, hardly big enough to fit in your pocket, with dents and chips in the paint all over. The Professor shuffled over to Marie, hesitantly handing it out. "This was one of Professor Oak's prototypes for the first Pokédex... it's, um, a little worse for wear, and I found it in the garbage, and a little outdated, and some of the features are a little buggy, and..." She faked another cough, very unconvincingly. "Well, I updated it with all of Ceron's Pokémon, so it should still be okay... I heard you wanted to become a professor, like me!" She smiled sheepishly. "And, well, it's a valuable tool for fieldwork and research... And you can put in new entries with your observations, if you want... and..."

Professor Pine shuffled off again, tugging at the collar of her lab coat. "I have things for the rest of you too, if you'd just stick around a little... but, um, I should ask... do any of you plan to challenge the League?"

Simon leaned his head back to stare up at the tiled ceiling. The League, huh? Sounded tough, slumming it out in the wild and in the streets, living from meal to meal and town to town... trying to challenge the best trainers Ceron had to offer was hard enough, but at the same time you just had to make sure you stayed alive. Who could say how many kids got their journeys cut short? That was all hard work, and Simon had never worked a hard day in his life.

The Professor picked her mug back up with her sleeves and brought it close to her mouth, blowing away at the steam. "Um... 'the League is a noble path for those who wish t...'" She looked away again, towards a pamphlet printed with the Pokémon League symbol. "'Test their strength...' um... well... agh... you could become very rich and famous..."

He sat up, eyes wide open now. His grin flickered. "Is that right?"

"Oh, yes, very... I wish I could have that kind of salary... but w-well, I mean..."

More children began to file in, each getting a curious glance from Walt in turn. He felt as if he should recognize them all, but he didn't; not really. Most of them were probably orphans. He had heard the place was closing down, but it didn't look really good the one time he had walked by it, so maybe that was for the best. His attention at that point was diverted by the professor, who mentioned the danger of climbing the shelves. "I needed to see where you all were. It worked." He didn't need to be up that high though, so he put his hands on the shelving unit and pushed off, letting himself fall to the ground below before hitting it standing up and doing a bit of a roll upon reaching, popping back up with a calm look.

There was a lot of talk at that point about things that he wasn't really in the loop of, and he let his mind wander at that point. What Pokemon should he catch once he was in the wild? Maybe a Grass one to compliment Wooper, or perhaps a Psychic type. They were pretty powerful, after all. His mind wandered back to reality around the time talk of the Pokemon League came about. Now that was interesting. They were the best, after all. Anyone who reached the League had to be. Plus, you needed eight gym badges, and he enjoyed collecting a lot. He wanted to do that.

"I do." He had interrupted the professor, but it seemed like she may have been rambling, and someone may have had to interrupt anyway. He had never been challenged in his life. There weren't any battles to be had, nor someone at school who really challenged him intellectually, so here was the perfect opportunity awaiting him. This would be fun.

Robin slowly raised her hand at the eccentric Professor's question. She honestly didn't know what to do, but training to where she could challenge the league seemed like a worth while quest. The more the thought about it the more excited for the trip she got. Robin reached for her Mareep Rowan's Pokeball, thinking; 'How about that, Rowan? We can do on an adventure!' Some place other than this town would be great.Shifting her feet, Robin glanced around to the other kids. It seemed like most knew each other, well, they lived together. So it's most likely that they did.

As soon as Brennan was given the can, he placed it gingerly on a shelf behind him. She wasn't going to notice, and he was not going to awkwardly hold it. The Chimecho resting on his shoulder was rather  fond of it, however, at the tink it made when it was set down, and the Pokemon studied it closely, daring not to reach out stubs to touch it. Meanwhile, Brennan listened intently, smiling at the old machine the professor passed as a Pokedex. The government really did hate this town.

Honestly, challenging the league was the least of her worries. Perhaps you become Champion - big deal? The Champion scarcely does much, and more importantly, it's simply a title. It isn't something that will help her accomplish her goals or her ideals. Narrowing her eyes, Elle could easily conclude that the other soon-to-be official trainers already were familiar with each other, for the most part. Biting the bottom portion of her lips, taking care not to draw blood by accident, the youngest person there simply spoke out, not necessarily caring if it was not her place to speak, "Is there any task where it would be more... influential to the world?" Being wary of her word choice in case she may insult the others, Elle didn't have anything else in mind but to make a bigger impact. That's simply it.

Pine looked around, nodding as the other students added their voices. "That's good to hear, good... I m-mean, none of you have to challenge the League, but it's normal for children your age to go and start their own journeys..." She turned back to the table, shuffling more through the mountains of junk when Elle spoke. The Professor turned back around in surprise, blinking her eyes and fixing her glasses. "In... fluential?" she repeated.

Simon snorted. What was that supposed to mean? Was she "too cool" to try and become Champion? Always so solemn and stoic, so aloof and dark all the time. No wonder she didn't have any friends. A shame she had to be that way, too. She was pretty cute.

"Well..." Professor Pine put a hand to her chin. "I wouldn't say that the Champion isn't influential... Ceron isn't very well known like, um, Kanto or Unova, but our Champion is widely recognized to be one of the best trainers in the world. Whoever beats him would be an instant celebrity, I think. And I hear the government gives out special jobs for the Champion, if he, or um, she wants it... Really, you could do anything you wanted if you had that kind of fame and power... I remember when I was a teenager, we had a champion called Akio, and, well, um, he was really..."

The Professor was blushing. She coughed and turned around to root through the pile again. "Anyways, that's no easy task... there's thousands of people out there all trying to become the best, and the job isn't for everyone, so I could see why it wouldn't interest you... um... I suppose if you want to help others, you could become a Ranger... they're sorta like independent policemen, I guess, along with being rescue workers and environmental activists..." Pine scratched her head, dragging out what looked like a busted and clunky wristwatch. "The Ranger Union's always looking for new hands... you could also become a researcher like me, or, well, anything really..."

She held the device out to Brennan. "This is a Pokénav. It's got a map, a working phone, and um... a way to keep track of health, and all that stuff..." Pine turned back to the table, bundling more things up in her arms and turning to each of the children in turn.

"I wasn't really sure what to get you, but I hear you're very, um... smart," she said to Walter, holding out a book. "This is from my own collection... It's a sort of general textbook on Pokémon behavior." It was plain and white, with its title written out in a black no-nonsense text. Behavioral Patterns of Pokémon, from Kanto to Kalos. "And I also have, um, this..." She held out what looked like an action figure of a bearded man in a drab gray tailcoat. A plastic ring attached to a chord protruded from his back. When the Professor pulled it, the toy spoke in a deep, somber voice.

"In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs man’s torments."

"It says, um... various things... not just from the same person, either... I, uh, hope you enjoy it..."

The Professor tottered over to Gwen next, with a backpack held in front of her. "This is just some basic traveling supplies... I, uh, know you guys don't really have much, so I thought it'd be helpful... there's some potions inside, and a couple Pokéballs, and a map if the Pokénav starts bugging out again... plus some cans of Pokémon food, a little umbrella, and a blanket... um, if you guys ever get hungry, the Pokémon food's edible for humans. Life can be pretty expensive for travelers..."

She put it in Gwen's arms. "See? It's pretty light, too, so you shouldn't have any trouble carrying it... but, um, you guys could take turns hoisting it around, if you need... and, uh, there's an instant tent attached too..." Pine pointed to the tiny bag strapped to the top. "There's no real set-up, you just gotta take it out and it springs up instantly... but, um, it's kinda tiny, so only around two people can really fit in there at a time, unless you squeeze in really tight... so unless you don't really have a choice, I'd just try finding lodgings at any local PokéCenters and stuff..."

"That won't be a problem, Professor," Simon said with a wink towards the girls. "I don't mind sharing."

Pine let out a nervous giggle and walked to Robin next. She held out a light green device with two rods and a large screen. "This is just a dowsing machine... It helps you find hidden items and stuff... you'd be surprised at the kinds of stuff people leave on the ground, you know... mostly money... you'll probably be strapped for cash and stuff..."

"I'm afraid I have to ask you for a bit of a favor," she said when she turned to Elle, holding out a blank parcel. It was small enough to fit in one hand and wrapped up in a plain brown paper. "Um... I'd normally just send this by post, but it's very important that it's delivered in person... uh, if you guys ever stop by the Aconites, I need you to take this to their Research Facility. If they ask you who it's from, just say it's important to the Project..." Pine coughed into her hand. "Um... please don't open it... or lose it... please? Pretty please? It's very, very important..."

She straightened up and handed out another object too. A flute, with a Pokéball design. "This is a Pokéflute. Um, it was designed as a sort of whistle to wake up sleeping Pokémon, but it also sounds really pretty if you learn how to play it... I don't know if it'd interest you, but I thought it'd be useful..."

When Pine got a satisfying enough answer, she turned to Simon, the last one. "Um, so I heard you didn't have your own Pokémon yet..." The Professor turned a Pokéball over in her hands and gave it a weak toss. Simon snatched it lazily out of the air and gave it a thorough look. "A colleague sent this one to me... um, he said it was special for some reason, but I ran a few tests, and it's completely normal... no absurdities or abnormal qualities... so it should be like any other Pokémon you'd find."

Simon grinned and tossed the ball up in the air, to a flash of blinding light. When it faded, there was a chubby Pikachu lying on its stomach, facedown on the tiled floor. He got to his feet and gave his Pokémon a tiny nudge with its shoe. Sparks crackled around its cheeks, but it didn't move or open its eyes.

He scratched his head. "Is it dead?"

She gave a light laugh and put a hand on the back of her head. "No, no... it might just be tired... um, there's some claims that Pokémon can grow fatigued if you leave them in their balls too long... they need exercise and fresh air and whatnot..." Pine turned away, fidgeting with her fingers. "And it, um, shocked me when I was doing my last test, so I haven't taken it out in awhile... it might also just be a bit lazy... it was raised in a lab, and he looks a little overfed... Pokémon born in captivity without enough exercise can get that way..."

"Uh-huh..." He knelt down and held out a hand. "Hey, little guy."

The Pikachu only looked up at him through half-lidded eyes, not moving.

"Um... I think that's all I have left to give you..." She smiled at them all. "Do you have any questions? Are you all ready to go?"

Brown eyes widened as the green device was handed to her. One for her? Robin's stepfather must not have told the professor about him not agreeing for her to go. So the Professor must have assumed that she was... After being told what it did, a thoughtful frown crossed her face as she examined the object. It would be very helpful, Robin knew that well. Is she only to use it in a pinch, or should she hold it out all the time? Whatever the case, Robin highly doubted even a dowsing machine could find anything in this mess. "T-thank you..." She whispered, slinging her plain red backpack off her shoulders to find a place to store her gift among her other possessions.

As soon as Brennan received the item, he became lost in it, oblivious to what the chatty professor was explaining. He turned it on, a dancing Torchic on its screen, shaking a tailfeather enthusiastically to the bold print, Loading...
When it did load, Brennan found it made up for the clunky old Pokedex, a modern navigation of icons appearing on the screen. He inconspicuously slipped it into his jacket pocket, and looked back up to the professor as she was finishing her speech.
"I'm ready." he said first, and rather curtly, not having listened to the last few minutes of the speech. It didn't matter to him, most of it was probably unnecessary chatter.

A slight smile crossed Walt's face when the professor handed him the book and the figurine, letting them rest in his hands. It was a bit amusing in a way when she had called him smart in that flustered way of hers. He heard that a lot: at school, at home, he was known as the smart one. He wondered if that made him a character. Occasional TV watching had shown him that it was rather commonplace for a show to boil down their characters into an essence, into one dominant trait. For a few months he got that impression when people spoke to him like that: that he was 'the smart one', just a secondary character on television that some writer decided putting in more characteristics wasn't worth the effort. But it was great being intelligent, right? He was loathe to live his life in ignorant squalor; ignorance was not bliss. The book was nice though. It could come in handy, after all.

The tone and words the action figure said upon his cord being pulled was rather melancholy and nihilistic, but it was a lot different than what he had heard from his teachers and his parents, so at the very least it was a nice change of pace. He wondered who actually spoke those words, and if that was the view he had towards life. "Thank you, professor." He gave her a thankful smile as he moved over towards the center table and set the two items down, shrugging his backpack from his shoulders and setting that down as well. With that, he was able to unzip it and place the figure and book gently inside, the figurine laying comfortably atop everything else inside. "I'm ready too," he agreed with a nod, slinging his backpack onto his shoulders once more.

Giving a slight nod to the professor, Elle didn't relay the words and allowed for her to absorb what she had said. Of course, someone had to make some offhanded response to what the young girl said. Staring at Simon, her eyes became void of anything, and she refrained from wanting to glare. While hearing the professor's rambling, Elle had a clear reason why she didn't want to be Champion besides the bigger impact part: they're celebrities and often have people following them everywhere. It is not something she would enjoy at all, since peace and quiet was the best environment for her.

Putting her hand to her cheek, tilting her head slightly, the dark-haired runaway had thought about it for a few moments. Ranger? Seems interesting... and more helpful than a Champion, if anything. Her always crestfallen voice came up, "Please, may I ask where the Union is?" Taking the parcel into her hands, gently holding the plain paper, before reassuring, "It is not something I would plan to do - opening what is not mine to see."

Taking the instrument, she examined it briefly before placing it in her bag with the parcel. Grabbing her Pokeball, she quickly put her Houndour back inside without another word.

OOC; you have no idea how long this took me to type with a bad hand ;-;

'I'd like to be a Professor someday,' Marie gave the older woman an uneasy look as she waved around. 'But not /exactly/ like you...' The girl let out a soft grin as she took the Pokedex into her hands. She dusted it off with her sleeve, a look of pure excitement growing on her face as she twisted it over, turning it on. It was old, yeah, and a bit scratch and buggy - but Professor Oak himself had made it! Aside from her pokemon, she thought it one of the greatest gifts she'd ever received! "Thank you, Professor!" The brunette exclaimed with a slight bow.

She stuffed the small machine back into her pocket. Her only wary look was when she saw the backpack, with the small tent. It wouldn't have been so bad, if Simon's little comment hadn't thrown off her imagination. "G-Great..." Yay... Oh, well. Something that would take getting used too, she supposed. A rough start would make the adventure even more worth wild, right? Marie straightened herself out, glancing down at her Oddish again and smiling. "Ready!"