Side by Side

[Sam]

It was a sunny day, but, somehow, Cryse Town managed to piss off even the sun. Rose absolutely hated it there, but her 'granny', as she liked to be called, just loved Cryse Cove and its town. Then again, as granny said, Rose hated almost everything except for the old women. Rose, of course, did not hate everything, but it seemd that she rather well did. She didn't hate herself, she didn't hate granny, she didn't hate Destiny, her old friend, and she absolutely didn't hate Brendan, her new friend.

They had met up on the road to Cryse Town and had decided to go on their journey together. Hey, why not? They were friends now. Rose had never had a human friend and granny had told her that she needed one. Her motherly figure had left just minutes before. It had been a teary farewell as Rose said goodbye to not only the only place she could call home, but the only person that had ever been truly close. She had returned to Fitzgem City and Rose had promised that she would go there first, but she had insisted that she followed Brendan, as he was the one that suggested West Wind City as their first destination. So Rose promised to return and she had left.

Now they were standing in front of the doors of Cryse Cove's laboratory. Rose turned to Brendan. "Well, we're finally going on an adventure. I wonder what Pokemon we can choose from, you know? Well, let's give it our all." She raised her hand to knock, then froze. "Hey, let's knock together. I don't want to start your journey for you, you know."

[Wolfe]

Brendan stifled a laugh, then grinned. He looked at Rose with humorous eyes, as if all the world were a joke that only he could appreciate. It was a cloudy, somewhat moody. A perfect day to start a journey, Brendan thought sarcastically. It was nice to be free again, with someone else. Brendan kicked a pebble away and watched it skit across the dirt, leaving a cloud of dust. There was a rustle in the tall grass on beyond the fence. He took a sip from a water bottle he had bought from one of the stores.

Here, in the humid air of Cryse Town, Brendan could finally get a new start. One that he wouldn't feel bad about. One that would last. He looked at the door. It was navy blue, with a trident that served as both a knocker and a decoration. Above them, a few Wingulls squawked loudly, heading toward the harbor in the distance where it seemed like a million boats were docked. He turned his head sideways to look at Rose. He cleared his throat, which had become as dry as sawdust. "Well, let's get started then, if you insist." He hit the door with his fist twice, and the sound echoed into the distance. He was excited. A new adventure was about to unfold.

[White Dragon]

A girl was sitting idly on her chair, lounging there, just barely awake. When there was two big booms on the front door, she screamed and fell to the ground. What? Was it time to get up? Already? Stupid trainers, cutting right in the middle of her afternoon nap. She was up in an instant, stretching out and yawning. Irritably, she walked to the door with long, stomping strides. Whoever these new trainers were, she was going to kill them. She always did that with anyone that dared disturb her slumbers. Some people didn't understand, since she was only thirteen, but they didn't understand that she didn't sleep at night. Instead, she partied until the sun came up, like all her friends. She didn't like traveling, as it used too much energy, and she didn't really like Pokemon, as they had to much energy when she didn't.

She reached for the door handle, eyes squinting in the light, but couldn't find it. She growled and fumbled around a bit more until her hand curled around it. She opened the wooden door with effort, then hid in the shadows, not ready to face the light. "All right, come inside, before there's too much light." After they had came in, she slammed the door behind them then turned to look at the newcomers. And she froze. They were both older than her. Most trainers were about ten or eleven and she had an easy time looking superior. But these were older. She was suddenly very nervous as she led them into another room.

Inside was a machine and a computer. She rushed over to the computer, avoiding eye contact, and typed some stuff in. She turned back to them, yawned again, then tried to hide it, embarrassed that they should find her in such a state. "Ok, yeah, welcome to the lab. I'll be, like, uh, helping you today. So, yeah, uh, what type do you, like want?"

[Sam]

Rose was staring at the younger girl as they walked inside. She already looked like a rude person, someone you really don't want to talk to. She glanced at Brendan, strange feelings coursing through her. Well, at least someone was helping them. Granny once told her a story that included her being rejected from a lab because no one was there. She followed the girl into the room. It gave her a very mysterious feeling, like something big was about to happen. Well, duh, they were about to get their first Pokemon! Suddenly, she was really excited. At first, she couldn't pinpoint this strange emotion. She had never felt it before. Then she knew what it was and decided that it was a good feeling. When the assistant asked the question, she immediatly answered, "Dark."

[Wolfe]

As Brendan made his way through the darkened lab, he smiled and chuckled at the thought of the scream that he had evoked from within the building. Apparently he was quite heavy-handed. He shrugged to himself, walking slowly after the girl. She was supposedly "helping" them. Well, whatever. At least she didn't look like she would go feral on them and rip their guts out. He noticed a subtle glance from Rose. He squinted with his eyes, not used to the darkness. There were a few potted plants in the corner, and a desk stood in the center of it, filled with papers of all sort.

He followed the girl into room, somehow managing to stub his toe on the partially opened door. He cursed, barely audible. As the girl booted up the computer, thoughts coursed through his head.

Even as the lab assistant spoke, he seemed unable to comprehend what she was saying. Brendan only caught a few of the words, something like "Type....like....want." It made little sense to his confused mind. Then, when Rose spoke, he breathed out. Dark- a good choice, mysterious and powerful." He thought for a second, then almost blurted out his answer. Then he considered for a moment, and spoke. "Electric, please."

[White Dragon]

The girl nodded, still not making eye contact, then typed in Dark on the computer. Her hands were moving fast and nervously under the staring eyes of the teenagers. She pressed enter and four Pokeballs appeared. She sent out the first.

It was small, walking on its hind legs. It was black with what seemed like an even darker scarf of fur going around its neck. It's eyelids, feet, and puff of hair on its head were all blood-red. The Zorua stared up at Rose with big, bulging eyes. She pressed her belly against the floor and whimpered with fear. The poor thing was very scared of unknown company and was slightly worried that she wouldn't be picked. She didn't get her hopes up, no one wanted a shy thing like her.

The second one was bigger than Zorua and definitely a lot uglier. It's small, pink head poked out through a huge tangle of brown and cream colored feathers. Around its body was a cracked shell and a heart right in the center. The Vullaby spread its wings and cawed at Rose. He threw out his chest, though it didn't look impressive at all, and cawed deeply again. He stepped back a bit, unbalanced by his heavy shell and toppled backwards. He jumped right up again, highly embarrassed.

The final one was right in the center based on height. She sat down very lightly, tilting her black and red face at Rose. She looked just like a black dog except there seemed to be armor on her head, chains on her feet, and a red underbelly. Houndour, curious, sniffed Rose's feet. She suddenly leaped up and growled. Was this human safe, or was she dangerous. Well, nothing was going to get in her way!

The girl nodded. "So, you can choose from one of these, or mystery, even I don't know what it is. I'll show it to you after you pick. Um, I guess I'll like, move on to the Asian..."

This time when she turned around, she typed in Electric. Suddenly remembering the final dark Pokeball, she snatched it out of the way as four more replaced them. Picking up the first, she released the Pokemon inside.

The first didn't look like anything at all when it first came out. It looked like a tiny...something. It was floating a few inches off the ground, staring up with big eyes. After a couple seconds, the Tynamo yelped with joy and zoomed around the room, knocking over furniture and sending papers flying to the ground. He came to a stop in front of Brendan's face, breathing hard for such a little creature, his eyes stretched wide with excitement. He zoomed around and squealed some more before coming to a stop on the ground, exhausted.

The second one actually looked like something when it came out. It was a cute little mouse, but a thousand times larger. It was yellow with a lightning tail. The Pikachu was sleeping peacefully on the ground. When it realized that it was out, it opened its eyes. When he saw three people and an overexcited Tynamo, he squeaked and jumped up, terrified for a second. Then he regained his senses. He jumped onto Brendan and climbed to his shoulder. He stuck his cute little face right in front of Brendan's observing him. Then he smiled, and jumped down, sitting calmly in front of him, casting reproachful glances at Tynamo.

The last one was like Tynamo. It didn't look like anything at first and it hovered above the ground. Then one could see the metal body, the screw on its head, and blue and red on the magnets stuck to its sides. The Magnemite just stared at Brendan with its one eye, showing absolutely no emotion. It wanted to be picked, but it sure wasn't making a good impression.

The girl squirmed uncomfortably were she stood. "So, uh, like, yeah. Just choose one, I'll show you the fourth afterwards."

[Sam]

Rose looked over the three. Well, surely not Vullaby. The thing was disgusting and way too arrogant. The Houndour seemed good, but maybe not. Zorua, perfect! It reminded her of Destiny, even though it wasn't shiny. She picked up the little Pokemon and looked it in the eye. She could imagine the day she met Destiny, looking into those same, frightened eyes. She wanted the same Pokemon by her side, but she knew she had to move on. Destiny was gone, but that didn't mean she couldn't get a new Destiny.

She turned to the girl. "I want this one." She turned back, smiling warmly. "I'll named her Fate."

[Wolfe]

Brendan stared blankly at the three Pokemon. None of them were too bad of a choice. But he wanted one that would stick by his side until the end, a partner that could share in his greatest triumphs, his deepest sorrows. Magnemite seemed a little...devoid of emotion. He silently ruled it out. He looked at the other two, Pikachu and Tynamo. And in an instant he knew. Seeing the tiny eel-fish swimming around crazily, he knew that they would be friends. Like Brendan, it had quite a bit of energy. He cupped it in his hands, and looked at it. He coughed, then turned to the lab assistant. "I'll take this one." He looked back down at the Tynamo. "I'll name him....Fang."

[White Dragon]

"Yeah, so, um...what..." She suddenly remembered and fetched two bags, one black, and one yellow. She gave the black one to the girl and the yellow one to the boy. She returned the remaining Pokemon to their Pokeballs. "So, you'll want to know what the last one was...right." She grabbed at the electric type and sent out a Shinx, wide eyed and angry. He bounced in front of Brendan and yelped defiantly, angry for being rejected. He disappeared in a flash. She sent out the dark type. It was a Larvitar, prowling the ground. He suddenly stood up, aware of the presence of humans, then sat back down again, disappointed. She already had a Pokemon...

Gritting her teeth, the girl sent back the Pokemon and returned all six Pokeballs to the machine, then handed the two trainers the ones belonging to their Pokemon. "Ok, yeah, so, get going on your adventure." She led them back through the front door and quickly closed it behind them, breathing hard. Finally, they were gone. Well, that didn't go too bad. At least she could go back to sleep now.

Congratulations! You have each received...

X5 Potion (Fully restores Pokemon health and eliminates status problems)
X5 Pokeballs (Captures Pokemon)
X1 Town Map
X1 Pokedex

(Rose)
Zorua (Fate)
Female

Scratch | Leer | Empty Slot | Empty Slot

(Brendan)
Tynamo (Fang)
Male

Tackle | Thunder Wave | Spark | Charge Beam