A Man's Gotta Do

[adumbratus]

All Tarovir had wanted was a walk, to maybe go look at the coastline, get a sandwich, and go back home. Apparently Jangu had other ideas. She had gone outside with him, yes, but instead of turning, to go to the coastline, she had just kept going straight, leaving Taro turn jog after her a bit. "Jangu!" He hissed, trying to wrangle the giant cat, only for her to slip away again. "What are you doing?"

"We're going this way!" Was the chirpy reply, the feline far too happy in Taro's eyes. "I think you need to get out more!"

"We're already out." Taro complained.

"No, like on an adventure!!!" Tarovir sighed, and tried to keep from rolling his eyes. "C'mon, Taro! It'll be fun! I promise!"

"What will be fun?" Taro tried to ask, all of a sudden feeling very uncomfortable with this entire thing.

"Wellll, you said you wanted to protect yourself better, and you're always cooped up in the house, and I think you should meet people, and make a friend!" Jangu yelped, running in a little circle around Taro's legs before continuing in her path. "So, the best way to do that is-"

"No." Taro stopped, and went to turn around to go home.

"Tarooooo noooooo," Jangu whined, getting in front of him.

"It's for kids," Taro grouched, waving his arm at the stupid building. He didn't need some glorified sticker book to make himself feel validated.

"Oh, Taro, please?" Jangu asked, trying to give her best adorable look. "For me?"


Soon enough, Taro was heading into the Pine Laboratory, looking around a bit. It was a nice enough place, he guessed, airy and open. It looked a lot better than it had when it had just started going up, that was for sure. He mostly just stood there as he looked around, taking everything in, while Janguru scampered about, seeming intent on investigating every couch and bookshelf and poster. "Jan, don't make a mess."

"I won't!!" She chirped back, seeming distracted by a soft rug and flopping on it. Taro just made a face at her, going over to sit on the nearby couch... and sticking his feet on top of her. "Heyyyyy that's not niceeeee!" Jangu wriggled, but didn't really try to get away. She picked her head up after a bit though, shaking herself out (and Taro's dumb feet off) and getting to her paws. "Get up, someone's coming! And try to smile, please!!"

[Birdybot]

Bleep bleep! Professor Pine's watch merrily alerted him to someone's presence in the lab. The sudden sound startled him from the relaxed state he'd been in reading a recently published paper. The Noctowl-dæmon reading over his shoulder cooed softly. He smiled, glad to have an excuse to take a break from the reading. It was interesting stuff, but reading for long periods of time could lull him into a doze. Telepa, the dæmon, rearranged the paper after he dumped it on the table any old how to go hurrying off, flying back to him before their bond could be strained. "You really ought to take more care in keeping things organised," she scolded him.

"I know it's important, but frankly I don't care. You'll clear it up for me, anyway," he replied, picking his way down the corridor.

"You can't always rely on me!"

"Why, because one day you won't be there for me? Come on, that's not possible. If you refused, I wouldn't care less. It looks messy to you, but I know where everything is," most of the time. He knew where everything was except the one thing he needed. Unless, of course, things had been neatly organised by Telepa while he went about some other activity.

He hadn't been expecting anyone, which was pretty standard. Some trainers called in advance, most didn't bother. It was a trainer, he assumed, since that was the most common visitor. Anyone coming on other business tended to give him notice to make sure he was free. The guy sitting in the reception area didn't have the look of a new adventurer, though. He didn't look prepared for heading out. There wasn't that look of excitement after a long time preparing, or a carefully packed bag of supplies. No matter. Everyone reacted differently to going travelling. He couldn't know this guy's circumstances.

Professor Pine gave the young man a warm, welcoming smile. Telepa regarded him and his dæmon thoughtfully, opinions on the two unclear as usual. "Welcome to Pine Laboratories! I'm Professor Pine, and my dæmon here is Telepa. I trust you're here for a starter Pokémon? Here," he sifted through a few magazines on a table before locating a laminated sheet with fifteen pictures and names of Pokémon on it. This he handed to Tarovir. "That's all the Pokémon we have for sure. You can ask to see up to three of those. In addition, you can also ask to see up to three Pokémon that aren't on the list. I'm afraid I can't stock all Pokémon out there, so just name three different Pokémon types and I'll get you one Pokémon of each type." That was six Pokémon at most that Taro could ask to see. Six was quite enough to have running around this room. "If you don't get along well with any of them, you can ask for more from the list. It's important to make sure your personality works well with your starter before you pick them. So, any thoughts?" he asked, looking between man and dæmon. One of them would answer, and he couldn't wait to see what they were interested in choosing.

[adumbratus]

Tarovir stood as the professor came in, taking the laminated paper and starting to look over it. "Hello!" The luxray said, wriggling a bit excitedly. "I'm Janguru and this is Tarovir, and he is here to become a trainer, and start his grand adventure!!!" She was quite obviously excited enough for the both of them. Taro just casually reached over with the laminated paper, and whapped the daemon lightly on the head. "Oww Tarooo!!"

"Could I see the poochyena and the spearrow?" The man finally asked, voice warm and calm against the tangible excitement of his daemon's tones.

"Oh, and!" Jangu did physically hop a bit, looking up at the professor. "Can we see a different water type? Oh, and a ghost type!!!!"

Taro just sighed and rubbed at his face a bit, offering a wordless apology to the professor he was so sorry forgive his daemon. Janguru wasn't going to let up, though!!! She could understand, really, why Tarovir had asked for the ones he had- Mightyena was a really powerful pokemon, strong and scary enough to keep most things away- certainly enough to keep his horrid family away! And Fearrow was a force to be reckoned with as well, tough and useful for quick escapes.  But.... Jangu couldn't help thinking that maybe that wasn't what Tarovir needed. He was certainly safe enough, here, and maybe he needed happiness more than protection. He loved the water- both of them did- and maybe a cute water type would cheer him up!  A ghost type would be invaluable as well, smart and capable.... and maybe remind him of the good family he had.

[Birdybot]

Professor Pine smiled to see how excited Janguru was. Tarovir looked less pleased to be starting his adventure. Clearly this had been the dæmon's idea, which in the Professor's experience meant that going on a journey was best for the young man, but he was reluctant to take those steps himself. A person's dæmon knew what was best for them even if they didn't want to admit it. He couldn't wait to hear how Tarovir grew and learned about himself on this journey. It was a good thing he was listening to Janguru in this. The two had each requested two Pokémon, which he knew just where to find. The starters were out playing in a field made specially for them. There was a little room off to one side, too, in case they wanted to go inside. "I'll just go fetch them, then. Be right back."

They didn't have many ghosts, that type being less common, but they had plenty of water types. Professor Pine would find it hard to choose one for new trainers, and would take ages to pick, so always just selected a Pokéball at random when a specific type was requested. He took a card out his pocket, touched it to a panel on a locked door of the room he, Tarovir and Janguru were in, and rushed through it. Within, he opened a filing cabinet full of Pokéballs. Telepa had carefully organised the one containing Spearows, Poochyenas and other starters from the list, so these he picked with ease. The other drawers were marked by type. The Ghost type one only had two Pokéballs inside. Pine closed his eyes and picked one, then dug his hand into the Water type drawer and chose one of the few Pokéballs at random. Then he went out into the field, called the Spearow and Poochyena, and returned them to their Pokéballs.

Upon reentering the reception area, Professor Pine took out the first two Pokéballs and released them. A Spearow and Poochyena emerged as requested. Poochyena barked and wagged his tail slowly, then ran up to Tarovir to sniff him curiously. He wagged his tail with more confidence then, gently headbutting Taro's leg in greeting. "Hi! I'm Poochyena. You smell nice," he said happily, leaving Jangu to translate.

Spearow was more reserved. She fluttered close to the human and dæmon, perching on a table. She cocked her head to one side as a beady eye regarded them warily. She was more careful, more stubborn and sharper than Poochyena.

Pine had released the Water and Ghost types from their Pokéballs by then. A Krabby clicked her pincers for no good reason, just seeming to like the sound. She scuttled to Taro but made no move to introduce herself. She carried on clicking, making a beat to which she moved from side-to-side. Happy-go-lucky, she gave her own version of a warm smile to Taro and Jangu as she danced in her awkward way.

The Ghost type was a Duskull. The single glowing red orb behind his two otherwise empty eye sockets gleamed brightly at the excitement of being presented to a trainer. He floated close, but not too close, heading for Jangu rather than Taro. The dæmon would understand his speech, humans wouldn't unless he'd spent a long time around Pokémon. "This shadow is most pleased to see he might be leaving. What sort of adventures would this shadow have were he to be chosen?" It was unclear why he was speaking in the third person, nor why he referred to himself as a 'shadow' rather than just 'Duskull'.

[adumbratus]

Janguru just seemed delighted at the entire gathering. She went over to snuffle at the poochyena, just as he sniffed at Taro, the daemon deeming the little thing more than acceptable, flashing a grin at Taro and happily translating before moving on. She looked at the Spearrow, tilting her head to one side and then the other, finally asking a question. "What are you thinking?" Jangu then noticed the krabby, scampering to dance with her a little, getting lost in the dance and the clicky beat- Nearly bumping into the duskull. "Oh! Sorry." She twisted her head at the question, and the weird mannerism. "Oh, I don't know! If I can, I want to explore all of Enera. He'll probably go for the Championship, too."

Taro took his own time looking over the pokemon choices. He looked down at the little poochyena as it bumped him, grinning as he reached down to pick the thing up. "And what do you think you're doing, huh?" He asked, giving the thing a very serious and very intense glare before setting it back down, and ruffling his fur. The spearrow he glanced at, but otherwise gave little mind. It just seemed content to sit there and... glare at them, or whatever. He did actually smile at the krabby, and her contented dancing, drawing a happy chirp from Jangu. Taro caught sight of the duskull, frowning a bit as he looked at it. Duskull were.... not so good omens. They thrived on the crying of children, and would often steal away the spirits of misbehavers.... He was pulled from his thoughts, though, by the little poochyena pup.

He turned back to the creature, kneeling on the floor to love on him a bit more. "What? Am I not paying enough attention to you? Is that it?"

[Birdybot]

"Many things. I was wondering what sort of people you are, how you treat Pokémon, how you'll cope with a tough journey," Spearow replied, stretching her wings. Her kind were known for being extremely hardy. She could cope with a lot on an adventure, but could Taro and Jangu? She knew she could be brave and calm in a scary situation. A trainer should be like that too. Of course, it was perfectly acceptable to afraid. Sometimes it was stupid not to be scared. It was more how a person coped with that fear. Taro and Jangu looked like happy people, and might be able to make light of such a situation. Or they might not. It was hard to say.

Krabby was pleased to have a dancing buddy for a moment. She stopped clicking once Jangu turned her attention to Duskull, curious about the Ghost type. He seemed pleased by the answer. "Exploring is most fun. A ghost could content himself to learn the way the land lies. A shadow can find hidden places, many hidden places. The Championship will certainly make any Pokémon as strong as they can be," he remarked. He wasn't such a competitive person, so the exploring sounded like a lot of fun to him.

Everything sounded like a lot of fun to Poochyena. He licked Taro's face when picked up, and sniffed Jangu right back. She smelled nice too. He wagged his tail when Taro knelt down next to him. "Nonono, you're fine, you are very nice," he giggled. He looked around at the other Pokémon. Duskull was weird. Spearow looked way too serious, but Krabby looked like she was fun. "Krabby come from beaches, don't they? I like beaches. I like to chase the waves," he wasn't the brightest, far from it, but he was a sweet little guy.

"Yes, the beach. Beneath the waves, the currents are strong, but above it can be much worse when a storm brews. The currents are nice, anyway. Always good for a fast ride wherever," she replied. It was hard to see any expression on her, what with most of her being covered by a hard exoskeleton that didn't leave room for movement except at the joints.

[adumbratus]

Jangu seemed just delighted at all the chatter and excitement from everyone. "Oh, you'd be treated well!" She replied to the little spearow. "I know he likes to think he's scary, but he's really a big sweetheart!" She didn't comment on how well Taro could cope; that she didn't know. She'd like to think he could cope as much as she could, after all, they had made it this far! But there were still nights he woke from nightmares, and days he refused to go outside, so.... She really couldn't say, one way or the other. She offered a smile at the Spearow, though.

"Exploring is fun!" Jangu chirped back, looking curiously at the ghost type. "But you shouldn't 'content' yourself to anything! There's no sense in being just content, when you could be happy! Or delighted!" Besides that, Taro seemed unhappy around him, which really wasn't what Janguru had intended at all! That was sad- but how he felt was how he felt, and he probably wouldn't warm up to the Duskull at all. But Jangu was positive the pokémon would find a trainer soon!

Jangu glanced back at Taro- he was still petting the poochyena, seeming focused on what the pup was saying. When he mentioned chasing after the waves, she couldn't help a laugh. Taro seemed to huff a little- the laugh was directed at him, and while yes he had done a thing like that once or twice as a child, he wasn't five anymore! "I like beaches too," He said simply. "They're bright and sunny, and it's always fun to swim in the ocean."

Jangu turned to regard the krabby, and.... she wasn't quite sure what to make of the other. Unlike earlier, it was really hard to pull a tone from either her voice or her gestures. So it was really hard to tell whether she was being kind, or condescending.... or anything! And besides.... she had had bad incidences with crabs in the past. Her tail throbbed at the very thought!

She huffed, returning to Taro's side- for all her musings and opinions, it really was Tarovir's turn, even if she worried he'd make a stupid decision. He seemed to sense her thoughts, turning and giving her a slight glare (which she very graciously ignored), scooping the poochyena up again. "What about you, huh? Would you like to come with us?" Janguru grinned, pleased he had agreed with her (even though that was really the best decision), turning to look up at the professor. "What all do we need to fill out? I don't want Grumpypants to change his mind about being a trainer!"

[Birdybot]

Spearow chirruped softly. No doubt she would be treated well. The way Taro was treating the Poochyena showed to her he was kind. He was getting along rather well with that puppy. She wouldn't hold it against him should he choose him over her. Duskull was harder to read. He wasn't sure why Taro wasn't pleased to see him. A lot of people had something against Ghost types, the prejudice wasn't nice sometimes. Other times, he didn't care. Most ghosts loved the fact that people were afraid of them. Krabby was pleased Taro liked beached, but could predict he'd pick Poochyena. They seemed a better match than any of the other Pokémon here, after all.

To no one's surprise but Poochyena's, that was just was Taro did. The puppy's eyes went wide. "Ohmygoshohmygoshreally? I would love to go with you, that is my absolute favourite idea!" he was bouncing around excitedly, unable to keep still. Telepa translated for Professor Pine, and he laughed at how happy the Pokémon was. It was so good to see a perfect team made.

In a flash of red the other three Pokémon were returned to their Pokéballs. Pine put them in his pocket for now, and gestured pointedly at a computer screen. On the desk beside the keyboard was a form asking for basic information such as name, birthplace, date of birth, dæmon form that sort of thing, with a space to sign at the bottom. A webcam sat atop the computer. "I just need you to fill out this form here, and I'll take a photo of you for your trainer's license. It'll only take me a moment to print out the license, and then you'll be registered as an official trainer! Oh, and here, you'll be wanting these," he said, handing over Poochyena's Pokéball and a cheap drawstring bag filled with items a trainer would find useful.

Tarovir received his starter and starter pack!


Name: Choice
Species: Poochyena
Gender: Choice
Level: 5
Ability: Run Away OR Quick Feet- Description.
Attacks: Tackle, Howl, Egg move of choice
Personality: Choice

[img]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/261.png[/img]
[b]Name:[/b] [i]Choice[/i]
[b]Species:[/b] Poochyena
[b]Gender:[/b] [i]Choice[/i]
[b]Level:[/b] 5
[b]Ability:[/b] Run Away OR Quick Feet- [i]Description.[/i]
[b]Attacks:[/b] Tackle, Howl, Egg move of choice
[b]Personality:[/b] [i]Choice[/i]


Pokéball x 10


Potion x 6


Antidote x 4


Burn Heal x 4


Ice Heal x 4


Awakening x 4


Paralyze Heal x 4

[img]http://serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/pokeball.png[/img]
[b]Pokéball[/b] [i]x 10[/i]

[img]http://serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/potion.png[/img]
[b]Potion[/b] [i]x 6[/i]

[img]http://serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/antidote.png[/img]
[b]Antidote[/b] [i]x 4[/i]

[img]http://serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/burnheal.png[/img]
[b]Burn Heal[/b] [i]x 4[/i]

[img]http://serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/iceheal.png[/img]
[b]Ice Heal[/b] [i]x 4[/i]

[img]http://serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/awakening.png[/img]
[b]Awakening[/b] [i]x 4[/i]

[img]http://serebii.net/itemdex/sprites/parlyzheal.png[/img]
[b]Paralyze Heal[/b] [i]x 4[/i]

[adumbratus]

Tarovir couldn't help but grin at the delighted barking of the little puppy. He quickly got through the paperwork, while Jangu bounced around with the little puff. Tarovir handed the forms back, managing to stay still long enough for the trainer ID picture. He investigated the items inside the little drawstring bag, a bit surprised when the Professor came back so quickly with the ID card. He offered thanks, and as he turned and headed out with Jangu and the poochyena hopping at his side.... it seemed like Tarovir had a better outlook on his excursion, and maybe life in general.