11.22.15 -- We are approaching the holiday season very rapidly. I understand that things get busy around this time of year, just try and make sure that you don't forget about us! And, because winter is coming, things in Rakuen are about to change! Our winter event will be starting on December first so keep your eyes peeled for it and be sure to participate. You won't want to miss out. Enjoy the last little bits of your fall!
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He held the trainer licence up to the light. “Luce Dublin” it read. “Pokemon trainer”. It was a terrible picture of him, but it was official. With this, he could leave through that front door now and he’d be officially the pokemon trainer Luce Dublin.
Not that he was much of a trainer, what without having a single pokemon. But that would soon be remedied. The assistant at the desk had told him to wait in the lobby while they got stuff ready. Waiting on the current group, apparently. So Luce had taken up a chair, surveyed the little piece of plastic, and waited for the next step in what could unironically be called the first day of his new life.
He glanced at the magazines laid out on the table, covered in happy looking pokemon. He felt like he was in a doctor’s office. The room smelt like a cheap sent in one of those diffusers you plug into a wall. And there it was, jammed into the same wall his chair was set against. Was it vanilla? He looked closer. “Crisp Waters”, the plastic case was labeled and trademarked. Does water even have a smell?
He almost didn’t hear his name, and took a generous couple of moments to react to it.
“Yes?” He said quickly, jumping to him feet. The assistant had returned. The group before him, three trainers all much younger than the eighteen-year-old, made loud chatter as they exited the pokemon lab. Even if they had made him wait, Luce was glad the lab workers hadn’t made him chose his pokemon with that group.
The Professor fixed his glasses as he pulled the pin on the fire extinguisher and put out a small blaze in the trash can. One of the children's pokemon had got a bit excited, hopefully it didn't burn down the kids house when he got it home. The Professor extinguished the flames and set the extinguisher down. "Yes yes, very exciting. Let's set things on fire." Due to his monotone voice it has difficult to tell if he was upset or not. The man turned to face the door, apparently he had one more trainer to pair up today. The professor took a seat at a table as three pokeballs ascended out of openings in the middle of it. "Come, sit. Big moment, very exciting stuff." He mused, picking up each ball in turn and inspecting it closely. "We have for you today." He paused peering at the last ball. "Oh yes of course. Right. As I was saying, We have for you today three pokemon."
The Professor gestured to the first one. "A Spheal, male I believe." He gestured then to the second pokeball. "Mankey. Also a Male." The man leaned back and switched the hands with which he gestured as he drew attention to the third ball. "This one is female I believe, A Cacnea." The Professor folded his hands on the table and waited. "Would you like to meet them or have you made up your mind?"
The lab room had its own smell. Smokey foam? He doubted that was would be popular scent, but nowadays people seemed to like the weirdest stuff. Woman’s fashion, for instance, was a prime offender.
The man within the odd smelling room was wearing a lab coat. That, and the pokeballs that came up onto the table before him made it very likely this was the professor.
Everything about this felt very surreal, like he was in a kind of alternate universe. He’d get this over with quickly.
Thankfully, the professor seemed to have the same mindset. The first pokemon was introduced quickly, with only its species and gender given. Spheal, male, he said. An ice water type, weak to four types and resistant to only two. It was blobular and therefore slow. Walrein wouldn’t be much better, outside of the water. Yet for some reason the little blob was popular on those “cute pokemon” shows they aired in waiting rooms and was given to characters to pinpoint them as cute and innocent, and show the author was above using eevee. Next, Mankey, male. It’s a fighting type known as the pig monkey pokemon. This was all one needed to know to avoid the thing. Lastly, a cacnea, female. The grass type with spiky arms evolves into a dark grass type with even more child-unsafe thorns. Luce had always found cacturne to look like one of those smooth futuristic robots gone terribly wrong.
All these pokemon were terrible. What a random assortment. Did the lab just buy overstock pokemon or something, whatever was left over? Luce wasn’t exactly sure what he was expecting, maybe something strong, or at least something with utility. The spheal would eventually be able to carry him with surf, but water types were one of the easiest to get. In a more tropical region like this especially.
Luce furrowed his brow. He wanted to just take one and be done with it, but whatever he chose he’d be stuck with. There was no clear answer to this problem.
Though, he could always box it after catching something else.
What he needed was more information. Luce took the first pokeball, opened it, and returned the ball to the table. He repeated this with the other two. First impressions would make the decision.
The professor sat back as the trainer appraised the pokemon held within the balls. The Spheal was first. It came from it's pokeball wide eyed and excited. Clapping its small fins against its body it shared it's sense of excitement at being let out and into the world was apparent. It rolled off the table and onto the floor, unphased by the drop thanks to its rounded body and plush fur. It looked up wide eyed at the trainer like a puppy who was ready to go on an adventure, but as soon as it saw him reach for the pokeball it rolled under the table with surprising speed. The pokemon didn't want to go back into the ball. The Professor took its ball and held it under the table, returning the pokemon without even looking. Placing the pokeball back on the table he refolded his arms. "He is disturbingly hard to catch once he gets rolling." The man said, nodding to the other pokeballs. The Spheal would be here if the trainer wanted it.
From the next ball came the Mankey, it instantly jumped straight up and clung to a pipe. Hanging from the ceiling and looking down at the people and the tables. The Professor didn't bother to look at it, he seemed more interested in adjusting his sleeves which left the monkey pokemon more or less alone with Luce. It deftly dropped from the pipe onto the table and took a few steps towards him, reaching out it pointed just below his chin, waiting for the trainer to look down at his hand before bringing his finger up and bopping Luce on the nose. The Mankey jumped backwards and cackled with it's equivalent of laughter. "He once filled my pockets with butter." The professor mused, clearly reflecting upon the past events with a mild bit of annoyance as he returned the pokemon to its ball.
The third ball released the Cacnea. It stepped out of the red light and stared at the trainer through its sunken eyes. The pokemon folded its arms and continued to stare. The Professor reached under the table and took out a spray bottle and spritzed the pokemon a few times, upon feeling water on its skin the Cacnea perked up right away and smiled the best smile a Cacnea could. It waddled towards the trainer and greeted him, extending a prickly appendage. The professor returned it to the ball shortly after. "She gets moody when she's dry." He explained, leaning back in his chair and waiting for the trainer to either choose or decide to interact more closely with one of the pokemon.
The spheal didn’t like its pokeball. This was a pain enough as a little ball, but once it evolved Luce wasn’t going to wait for the walrein to waddle along with him. Next.
The moment the mankey bumped his nose, startling Luce enough to make him jump, the pokemon earned itself a big red “X”. Next.
That left the cacnea. Compared to the other two, the need for water was a minor flaw. It was a good thing he had decided to scout things out, as previous to meeting them, Luce was edging away from the cacnea.
The decision was made. After the professor returned the grass-type’s pokeball to the table, Luce picked it back up. “I’ll take this one.” He said plainly.
He looked down into the pokeball. A distorted reflection of himself stared back. The pokeball felt a little different in his hand, knowing it was now his. Luce didn’t know what he had wanted, a mareep or other electric type perhaps. Again, this whole situation was feeling surreal; he certainly hadn’t considered his first pokemon would be a cactus.
It's a bit odd for a cactus pokemon. This Cacnea hates being dry. It enjoys humidity, rain, morning mists and soaking in baths. The pokemon expects to be spoiled and treated like a prizefighter but it is also very realistic. It realizes that nothing in life is free so it strives to earn its keep. It works hard, trains hard and battles hard but expects to be rewarded justly for its effort. The pokemon views all other pokemon as rivals at first but will grow more welcoming towards them with time, especially if it is put in a leadership or mentoring position. This pokemon won't be satisfied until it has attained victory, and it hopes it's trainer will share its passion and its success. If it feels no progress is being made, or that it is being held back by a weaker link it will quickly grow frustrated with others who it perceives as the cause of its misfortune. It will also become a bit prickly and standoffish if it feels neglected, especially if it isn't being properly hydrated.
