{S} Let's begin.

[Nimbostratus]

"Alright, here we are," said a very tired-sounding pilot. He hated flying to Decona. Such a small, backwater region... and the tiny airport on Pumice Rock made for quite a rough landing, too, even for a small 'puddlejumper' plane like this one... in fact most larger planes couldn't land here at all. Ugh.

But his passenger, of course, did not care; the labcoat-clad woman was too busy taking in her new surroundings. An untamed volcanic island! And without even a trace of prior settlement. People had only been living here for the last few years. But in the absence of humans, there must have been Pokemon - perhaps even rare and ancient ones!

"Hey!" yelled the pilot. "You gonna get out or not?"

"Oh. Yes." The professor nodded curtly. "Thank you for the flight." And with that, she stepped out on the tarmac. She could see the lab from here - it certainly wasn't far away. Perhaps a bit of a rough and rocky walk, but that was nothing she hadn't done before.

Upon reaching the lab, she found the front door open, but there were many "RESTRICTED AREA" signs beyond; only the lobby was open to visitors, it seemed.

No matter. She was here for a Pokemon. Though not an aspiring trainer, she'd still need a team to defend her in the field.

"Hello?" She peered at the receptionist and approached the desk. "I can get a Pokemon here, yes?"

[ZOM]

The receptionist glanced up at Jolene with bored, unimpressed eyes; she had a magazine open on her desk displaying all the latest fashion trends, worn by Pokemorph models of all sizes, and it was clear she was far more interested in the pictures than in the professor. She was a Pokemorph herself, evidenced by her prominent underbite and the sharp lower canines which poked out from behind her lip. Her hair was vibrant pink with black tips, and wavy enough to temporarily hide that two floppy, furry ears of the same coloration rested against either cheek, twitching a little as she glanced Jolene up and down once.

Her eyebrow raised slowly over the course of the evaluation, perhaps at the sight of the lab coat Jolene wore, but at last she sighed and scratched at her frilly blue collar (seemingly attached to her neck) before pressing a button to the right of her computer. "Get in here and get this lady a Pokemon, will ya?" She released the button, looked up at Jolene, and gestured towards the waiting area in the center of the lobby. "You can take a seat, someone'll be right out to help ya." Her job done, she returned her attention to the magazine, picking it up and loudly flipping the page as if to dismiss the professor.

Ten minutes or so went by with no one new appearing to assist Jolene. All there was to break up the monotonous quiet of the waiting room were the sounds of the receptionist popping her gum and flipping magazine pages. She didn't so much as glance over at the older woman, although she occasionally flicked her gaze towards a door across the room. Then, finally, that same door swung open and a spindly man in a lab coat bustled out, his face red and his breathing erratic.

"Sorry! Sorry for the wait!" He skidded to a stop on the white tile floor and smiled sheepishly at Jolene. He cradled five red-and-white Pokeballs in his arms and fidgeted uncomfortably as though he wished to be rid of them. "Had to gather up some specimens we no longer had a use for. Nice coat!" The man nodded in approval at Jolene's lab coat, so similar to his own, although his was rather askew. The receptionist was rolling her eyes behind his back.

With no hands free, he jerk his head upwards to gesture that Jolene should approach. "Come, come, you've got some fine choices here! Let's see... A Yanma, a Stunfisk, a... Swirlix, Dedenne, and Trubbish! They'll all do nicely, but you can only pick one! So go right ahead, take your pick, I'll be... right back, I'll be quick this time, I promise! Just have to retrieve a few things for you!" He scuttled over to the reception desk and released his armful of Pokeballs, much to the receptionist's disdain; she scrambled to catch the orbs as they attempted to roll away. With that, he fled the room in a hurry, and the Snubbull morph huffed out a sigh and leered at his retreating form. With the Pokeballs safely arranged atop the desk, she turned her scowl at Jolene.

"Pick one already."

Name: ? Species: Yanma Gender: ? Ability: Speed Boost or Compoundeyes Level: 5 Friendship: 5 Moveset: Tackle, Foresight Nature: ? Met: Lab @ lvl 5	Name: ? Species: Stunfisk Gender: ? Ability: Static or Limber Level: 5 Friendship: 5 Moveset: Flail, Tackle, Water Gun, Mud-Slap, Mud Sport, Bide Nature: ? Met: Lab @ lvl 5	Name: ? Species: Swirlix Gender: ? Ability: Sweet Veil Level: 5 Friendship: 5 Moveset: Sweet Scent, Tackle, Fairy Wind Nature: ? Met: Lab @ lvl 5	Name: ? Species: Dedenne Gender: ? Ability: Cheek Pouch or Pickup Level: 5 Friendship: 5 Moveset: Tackle, Tail Whip Nature: ? Met: Lab @ lvl 5	Name: ? Species: Trubbish Gender: ? Ability: Stench or Sticky Hold Level: 5 Friendship: 5 Moveset: Pound, Poison Gas, Recycle Nature: ? Met: Lab @ lvl 5

[Nimbostratus]

Jolene rolled her eyes at the lazy receptionist. How did such a rude teenage girl get a job at a place like this!? But then she saw it; the receptionist looked up from her magazine and revealed her strange features. The woman's eyes briefly boggled.

"So... it's true."

She was talking to herself, mostly. She'd read up on Decona before she came here; the articles made mention of 'Pokemorphs', apparently humans hybridized with Pokemon DNA... but at the time she'd dismissed that as a mere rumor. Now the ugly truth was staring her in the face. She took a seat and pondered, doing her best to ignore the vexatious gum-popping girl.

Professor Willow. That name had stuck in her head. He was supposedly the one who'd discovered this whole Pokemorph thing... she wondered if she would meet him.

"Sorry for the wait!" said a man, five Pokeballs cradled in his arms. The woman stood back up and gave him a nod. "It's alright. Are you Professor Willow?" But unfortunately he left without giving an answer, simply leaving the Pokemon for her to choose.

"Hm..." She sighed and carefully considered her options. None of them truly appealed to her. But, if these were her only choices ... "Alright then. I'll take the Dedenne."

[ZOM]

The Snubbull girl nodded, glancing over the Pokeballs before plucking one from the batch; each orb appealed to be labeled with a sticker announcing the contents. "Dedenne," she repeated, handing the capsule over to Jolene and popping her gum at the older woman. "And for the record, lady, that ain't Professor Willow. Not even close." She snorted and shook her head as if that should have been obvious. As if a spazzy small fry like him could be the Professor Willow!

Aforementioned spazzy small fry reappeared then, carrying a small bag in one hand and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry! Sorry! Forgot the complementary items. You get these to go with your new Pokemon!" He scurried up to Jolene and offered out the bag, sighing with relief and then giggling nervously. "Let's see now, that is... some Pokeballs, some Potions, a case for any Technical Machines you may acquire (since you wouldn't want those to get broken), and... ah! Of course, most importantly, a Pokedex! I recommend you play around with that. It's a fantastic well of information on the Pokemon you'll see around the region! Really, really great stuff. Very handy. Tremendously."

He paused in his babbling to scoop up the remaining four Pokeballs from the reception desk, then turned back to Jolene, apparently deciding he wasn't in quite enough of a rush to flee the scene again without warning. "Now, do you have any questions, miss? Any at all!"

[img]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/702.png[/img]
[b]Species:[/b] Dedenne
[b]Gender:[/b] ?
[b]Ability:[/b] Cheek Pouch or Pickup
[b]Level:[/b] 5
[b]Friendship:[/b] 5
[b]Moveset:[/b] Tackle, Tail Whip
[b]Nature:[/b] ?
[b]Met:[/b] Lab @ lvl 5

[img]http://www.serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/pokeball.png[/img] Pokeball x 5
[img]http://www.serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/potion.png[/img] Potion x 2
[img]http://www.serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/tmcase.png[/img] TM Case
[img]http://www.serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/famechecker.png[/img] Pokedex

[Nimbostratus]

Jo glared and practically snarled at the younger woman. What a bitch - and that was not a word she used lightly. Would she be greeting every new arrival? Jolene certainly hoped not - this first impression was not a good one.

But mercifully, some intelligent life reappeared - the other scientist showed himself again, his arms once again full of items. He offered them to Jolene and she nodded her thanks. "A Pokedex? I already have one... oh! This one is different..." She studied the machine for a moment. There were blank entries for 717 Pokemon, along with one that was filled in: that of the Dedenne she'd chosen.

Seven hundred. Were there really that many Pokemon? She'd had no idea.

"Questions? Oh, umm..." she shrugged. "Nothing comes to mind... oh! Actually... can I meet Professor Willow?" She gave her best disarming smile.

[ZOM]

Both the scientist and the receptionist froze with twin expressions of surprise. After a moment's pause, the receptionist began to guffaw, shaking her head. The scientist giggled uncomfortably. "Oh, ah, well, you see, I believe the Professor is currently hard at work in a restricted area of the lab... Even I don't have clearance to go down there, you see, and... I mean, do you have an appointment? Perhaps he would see you if you had an appointment?" He turned to the receptionist with a frown. "Helen, is it even possible to make appointments with him?"

"Not that I know of," Helen said with a chortle. "The guy only shows his face when he has to. I doubt he takes appointments unless he made 'em himself. Lady, you catch his attention by doin' something worth his notice and maybe he'll see you. Maybe. Hasn't happened yet with anyone from out-of-region."

The scientist shifted the Pokeballs in his arms and smiled in apology at Jolene. "But... ah, miss, why would you like to meet him? You seem like the type to appreciate science," He gestured with a flick of his finger to indicate her lab coat, "so perhaps I could offer some answers to any questions you might have? Or get your name so that I could pass it to one of the higher-ups?"

[Nimbostratus]

"No, no, I don't have an appointment... sorry. I knew he'd probably be busy, but I still thought it was worth a try..." She chuckled to herself, then listened curiously to the pair's bickering. Apparently this Dr. Willow was very elusive indeed, and she'd have to accomplish something quite outstanding to warrant his notice.

Hmm. Then that's my goal, she thought to herself.

"Yes, I appreciate science, of course. And I heard about the Professor's 'Pokemorph' discovery - though I didn't think it was true at first. So yes, I'd very much like to meet him and learn how he accomplished such a thing! If you happen to see him, please do drop my name - Jolene Suthers. I teach at Olivine University." She wondered if the man had heard of her. She had written a few published works - nothing truly famous or outstanding, though, so she wouldn't be surprised or offended, either way.

[ZOM]

"Yes, well, you aren't alone in that! The Pokemorph injection is truly incredible, isn't it? I can't blame you for your interest!" The scientist nodded in eager agreement, beaming. "I'll remember that, then! Jolene Suthers. Got it! I promise I've got it! You come back whenever you'd like, Professor; there's plenty around here to do! Take me, for instance. I help on the fossil revitalization project, so if you ever find any fossils, do bring them back so that we could take a look at them!"

"Or," Helen chimed in, "you could make yourself useful and do some of those jobs we got posted." She gestured to a screen across the lobby. "Maybe if you do 'em right, you'll get Willow's attention. Maybe." She laughed a little, and it was clear how likely she thought that was from the look of her mean sneer. This "professor" was probably never gonna be even a blip on Willow's radar. In Jolene's defense, of course, almost no one was worth the professor's time. He was just a very busy, elite sort of guy.

The scientist seemed delighted by her suggestion, however. "Yes, yes, or that! Or that! I'm sure he'd be intrigued and might even call for you if you make enough contributions to the lab! We could always use plenty of help with our projects, so it would be greatly appreciated!"

[Nimbostratus]

Fossils! That single word made the woman's eyes light up. Every region seemed to have its own unique fossils - except for her own native Johto. How sad. She wondered what sort of prehistoric Pokemon might have lived in this region...

...but, before she could get too lost in thought, Helen piped up again... Ugh...

She did have a point, though. In a developing region like this one, there was always plenty of work to be done... and plenty of trainers eager to do it.

"Alright, I'll come back later to have a look at the job board..." she smiled at the man. "but I'll be off for now; take care, you two." And she departed from the lab without even waiting for a goodbye. Just outside, the beauty of Pumice Rock beckoned to her.

No wonder they had built the Lab here - with the seclusion and the volcano, this was the perfect place for science... and the perfect place to begin her journey. She could hardly wait.

_[done]