to dare. [s]

[Deleted]

She had truly wanted to take a boat. She had never been to sea. Then again, she had never been many places. She'd never flown in an airplane and touched the clouds before either, but after speaking in depth with a maid, she had learned that flying was much less rough than the sea sickness that seemed to follow most first-time sailors. Clementine probably could have afforded a cruise ship to bring her to Decona had she wished it, but she knew nothing of booking something along those lines, or if cruises were even offered to the region. She also knew a plane would get her there much more quickly than a ship, and that was what broke the offer.

The feeble girl felt as though she were bursting at the seams with excitement, a feeling she had only felt once before in her childhood, the first time a trainer had brought a Pokemon to visit her in her home. Thinking back to that time now, so many years ago, pride welled up in her eyes in the form of tears. She had done it- she had done more than survived, and she was prepared to thrive. She wanted nothing more than a Pokemon of her own, a lifelong companion to accompany her wherever she may go. A creature that would not only keep her safe, but would be by her side throughout every struggle she knew she would face in this new world. Hell, had she stayed in Hoenn it would have been a new world, for she had only rarely traveled about in Lilycove, and never before outside of it until now. When she thought of the possibilities, fear almost smothered excitement. She barely knew how to interact in the real world. She had read in many books that people were either nice or they were mean, and then there was the even worse third option, which belonged to complete and utter liars.

When the plane met land, however, the fear was snuffed out as easily as a match by a thumb. Clem barely felt her feet touch earth as she weaved amongst the crowd. The sun warm on her face meant nothing as she left the airport. The smells and sights and sound were meaningless. She sped by a Lucario Pokemorph without even giving it a second glance she was so intent on reaching the lab.

Clementine only paused at the front doors to collect herself. She pulled down her thick sweatshirt and chewed on one lip before finally shouldering her way through. She approached the front desk and stood silently, staring at her feet. She simply did not know what to say, how to word it, what to ask! A small sigh escaped her lips and she rocked back and forth on her heels patiently.

[ZOM]

Minutes tick-tocked by with incredible slowness as the receptionist remained focused on her computer screen. She was hard at work apparently, her fingers flying across the keyboard and clicking furiously at the mouse, her eyebrows furrowed. What was she doing that was so important? A report, maybe? Scheduling for the whole lab? A paper for class?

... No, if Clementine were to peer over the desk at the monitor, she would see that the receptionist was playing a video game. It looked quite fast-paced and explosive, and it would take minimal knowledge of the game to see that she was doing well and getting plenty of kills on the enemy team. Of course, Clementine was not looking, and the receptionist gave no indicator that she was playing a game until at last her character met an untimely demise. She groaned and kicked back from the desk, letting her chair spin a little as she ruffled her hair in frustration; she tugged the pink-and-black strands with claw-tipped fingers, and she gnawed at her lower lip with sharp teeth.

Then, at last, she glanced up and saw the fragile creature waiting so patiently in front of her. Her sculpted pink eyebrows shot up in surprise, and her floppy pink ears perked. "Hey, you okay, kid? Need somethin'?" The receptionist fiddled with the blue frilly collar which encircled her neck, tugging at it gently in such a way that showed it was attached to her skin, not to her neat white blouse. Truth be told, this gal was making the receptionist a little nervous with the way she was just standing there, not saying anything. Hopefully she wasn't packing anything beneath that sweatshirt. She didn't want to have to use the panic button underneath her desk.

[Deleted]

When spoken to, Clementine finally raised her head to stare at the woman behind the desk. She hesitated only briefly to stare for a moment. She had read about the Decona region- the wonderful medical treatment grown superficial, the "Pokemorphs" that seemed to dominate the population. She hadn't seen many Pokemon in real life, mostly just the ones the trainers brought to play with her, and even then it was a cycle of the same urban creatures.

Clementine had grown closer to those kind organisms than she had any human. They had shown compassion for her the moment they had laid eyes on her. There was no pity, and no disgust, only the obvious want to comfort and coddle the tiny girl. She felt something twist in the pit of her stomach- could she...?

Maybe it would help her. After all, she had read that the experiment had helped many people. Clem was healthier now than she had ever been, but multiple doctors had warned her that if she ventured into the real world, she could lapse back into her ill ways. Clementine had never felt stronger, though. With this new found strength, there was new found courage. She inhaled slowly before responding to the strange looking woman.

"I-I need a Pokemon."

Her voice was very soft, and she knew most people didn't take kindly to that. She had had a nanny who had constantly fussed at her to 'speak up'. So she did, after clearing her throat. She raised her voice, but was so nervous the words seemed to squeak out- louder, but probably even more annoying than before.

"I read that I could get a Pokemon here?"

[ZOM]

The receptionist's wary look became one of scrutiny as Clementine spoke up; pink eyebrows furrowed and the woman straightened up in her desk chair, her ears flattening against her head when the girl raised her voice. What was with this girl? She was like a Whismur, alternatingly meek and shrill. Still, it wasn't her place to decide who was or wasn't deserving of a Pokemon. Maybe the kid was some type of super-genius or something, the shy but brilliant type. Whatever.

"You read right, kid. Hang on a sec." She reached across the desk to press down a button next to her computer, and spoke into the speaker. "Hey, we got another newbie here. Get the Pokemon ready and bring 'em, will ya? Chop chop." That done, she leaned back and turned her gaze towards the computer monitor, clicking around a little. She said nothing for a full minute, and seemed almost to be ignoring Clementine.

Then, she spoke up again. "Okay, here we go. The Pokemon we got on hand right now are... hey, not bad. Yamask, Nidoran, Trubbish, Electrike, and Kecleon. Have one picked out before the intern gets here so you don't have to hang around here too long, yeah?"

Name: ? Species: Yamask Gender: ? Ability: Mummy Level: 5 Friendship: 5 Moveset: Astonish, Protect, Disable Nature: ? Met: Lab @ lvl 5	Name: ? Species: Nidoran F Gender: Female Ability: Poison Point or Rivalry Level: 5 Friendship: 5 Moveset: Growl, Scratch 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	Name: ? Species: Electrike Gender: ? Ability: Static or Lightningrod Level: 5 Friendship: 5 Moveset: Tackle, Thunder Wave Nature: ? Met: Lab @ lvl 5	Name: ? Species: Kecleon Gender: ? Ability: Color Change Level: 5 Friendship: 5 Moveset: Tail Whip, Astonish, Lick, Scratch, Bind Nature: ? Met: Lab @ lvl 5

[Deleted]

Clementine stared intently at the woman as she moved forward to address her. She nodded every couple of syllables as the Pokemorph spoke, chewing on one thin lip carefully. She found herself in awe of the receptionist's presence. She couldn't stop thinking selfishly, about an injection for herself that could re-vamp her body completely. That's what she needed. She still wasn't even sure if she could survive this journey.

Clementine had lived more than long enough to have no fear of death. When she was younger, the thought of no longer existing frightened her. As she grew older, she realized she had little to lose. Death slept with her at night and kept one cold hand on her when she lived her day to day life. It slumbered in her lungs and stomach when she fell ill. She did not care if she lived to see the end of the journey. Perhaps that thought would change over time, but for now she simply wanted to go, and risk it all.

After several moments of thought, reality drained back to her in the form on the receptionist's voice. Her options were given, and she stared blankly as they were read back to her. It didn't take long, her powerful mind working in overdrive to single out the best option. Kecleon would have been a good choice, its strange ability to morph types would have been very useful. Unfortunately, she wasn't very attracted to the idea of the Kecleon, and instead gravitated towards the Electrike.

"Ah, the Electrike would be perfect."

[ZOM]

"Suit yourself," the receptionist said, just as a door across the lobby opened and a man in a lab coat emerged, smiling nervously. He scurried towards Clementine with five Pokeballs and a small bag cradled in his arms, and though his shuffling steps threatened to trip him as his loafers got caught against the edges of tiles, he managed to make it all the way to the reception desk without dropping a single capsule.

"Hello! Hello, sorry it took so long, I had to find--" He was cut off by the receptionist, who rolled her eyes and spoke in a barking tone. "Take a chill pill, spazz. She wants the Electrike; just give it to her and let her get outta here."

Flinching away from the receptionist's harsh tone, the man juggled the Pokeballs around in his arms and then grinned triumphantly as he managed to arrange them so that the ball labeled "Electrike" was atop the pile. "Go ahead, grab that, and... this too! The bag, it has a few items for you to use! The Pokedex in particular is going to be invaluable for you as a trainer. Just, um, take everything with a grain of salt? It's not always very accurate, you see, and--"

"You did your job, man, get outta here!" The receptionist had no patience for the intern, that much was clear. "If she's got questions, I've got answers. Not you. You got work to do."

[img]http://www.pokemonelite2000.com/sprites/bw/309.png[/img]
[b]Species:[/b] Electrike
[b]Gender:[/b] ?
[b]Ability:[/b] Static or Lightningrod
[b]Level:[/b] 5
[b]Friendship:[/b] 5
[b]Moveset:[/b] Tackle, Thunder Wave
[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

[Deleted]

The man who emerged from the back of the lab made Clem nervous. She didn't like how spastic he seemed. The gentle girl couldn't help but worry that the man might actually fall over his own feet. At one point she felt her arms jerk of their own accord as if she was going to dive forward and help him make his way to her, but self-consciousness stopped her from making any further moves. She forced a smile as he spoke, and it was plucked from her lips when the receptionist cut the man off harshly. She listened, nodding again, and the smile returned quickly when the man finally managed to position the ball containing her Electrike in his arms.

She grabbed it quickly and cradled it in one hand, beaming with pride and joy. She bowed quickly, "Thank you both so much. You don't know how much this means to me, I've really dreamed of this for so long." She seemed to wiggle in her spot when she regained her composure, shaking her head at the receptionist, "I don't have any questions. I think I've read everything I need to about how to get started, and I really want to learn on my own."

She didn't want guidance, or a map. She wanted the oppurtunity to get lost, to fail, to stumble. She had never done anything wrong in her entire life. She had never had the chance. Now, as she gave one more shaky little bow, she turned on her heel and literally ran for the door. She shoved through with one shoulder, still holding the Pokeball in two tiny hands, and was gone.

ooc;  board's done, if that's okay~