Pokemon!

[Aubs]

*Pallet Town, the town of new beginnings. In this small, western Kanto town, many young trainers are given the chance to begin their very own trek through the world of Pokémon! Here, trainers are introduced to their very own starter Pokémon while also having to say their farewells to their friends and loved ones. Many children have come and gone from Pallet and went on to live up to their dreams, while others have had the misfortune of staying behind and wondering “What if?”.. Among those kids sits Fern, a spunky teenage girl whose biggest dream is to compete alongside the greatest trainers of the world in the Indigo Plateau Championships.*

“Ninetails, FIREBLAST!” A petite girl shouted with aggression at the top of her lungs as her long, dusty hair rustled ever so softly through the breeze of the warm, summer’s afternoon. Her large, doe-like eyes glared quite the stern expression over to her opponent and as they did, her fox companion barked and stood up in a regal manner. Its nine separate tails wagged rather majestically as the beautiful fox opened its mouth slowly and spat out a huge burst of fire, knocking its foe unconscious.
“And after a tough bout, the winner is… FERN!”
“YAY! That’s the way to do it Ninetails!” The girl cheered, jumping up and down with enthusiasm. She marveled at her team of Pokémon, (Ninetails, Jynx, Blastoise, Jolteon, Kangaskhan, and Dragonite) as they help up their championship trophy. The crowd roared with zeal. Each and every face in the stands shouted out, “FERN! FERN! FERN!!” causing Fern to blush out of bashfulness.

*Her dream had finally come true. Fern had won the Indigo Plateau!*

“FERN!”
“FERN!!”
“FERRRNN!!”

*Or so she thought. . .*

“Fern! It’s time to get up for school!” A loud voice announced while accompanying whacks on the door proceeded, knocking Fern out of her sleep. “FERN! IT’S TIME FOR SCHOOL!”

Fern tried to ignore the calls, rolling over on her right side and covering her face with her pillow. “Maybe if I pretend to be sleep, she’ll just walk away or something. .” The young girl let out in a grumble, closing her eyes shut. ‘This is an everyday thing.’ She thought. However, if this had been an everyday thing wouldn’t she have remembered the next part?

“YOUNG LADY, IT IS TIME FOR SCHOOL!” The feminine voice roared in fury.

Fern kept her eyes closed tight and her blanket clutched in her hands even tighter. She knew this was going to be a battle, not even the strongest Pokémon would be able to win at.
“I SAID IT’S TIME FOR SCHOOL!” The woman screamed, grabbing onto the blanket and giving it a yank. Luckily, Fern’s grasp had allowed it not to move as much.
“I don’t want to go!” The girl retorted back, keeping her covers over her head.
“I DON’T CARE, YOU’RE GOING!”
“Mommmmmm..”
“I SAID YOU’RE GOING AND THAT’S FINAL!” Her mom yelled back one last time before leaving the room. Not even one second after leaving though, she opened the door back up. This time more calmer, she spoke. “Now get up and get ready. You’re going to be late.”

Tossing and turning one last time, Fern finally got out of bed. Groaning as loudly as she could, she walked over to her window and peered outside. She had to admit, it was quite lovely today. A perfect day to go training. Too bad Fern had other obligations.

[Aubs]

Deciding that she needed to get ready for the day, so her mother wouldn’t burst into the room like a fire breathing dragon, Fern shuffled over slowly to her closet to find something to wear.

-Click for Bedroom Photo-

Hmm, She thought to herself, tossing out outfits left and right. “It’s not like I have much of a choice really, but I guess you can never go wrong with. . . this. .” She pulled out a sky-blue, sleeveless tee and red pleated mini-skirt. The classics were always in style. She took off her nightie and dressed into her clothes for the day. After that, she moved over to her vanity to brush her sandy brown hair and put on her accessories; two dark blue wristbands and a white bucket hat. She didn’t bother to even look in the mirror to review her look. She knew the way she looked: “The exact same as every other day.” Grabbing her yellow messenger bag, she left her bedroom and proceeded into the hallway but stopped mid-step before getting to her stairs when she had overheard her mother talking to someone over the phone.

“I don’t get her. She never listens at all and I’m really getting tired of it! It’s like every time I try to say something to her-”

Fern didn’t even bother to listen to the rest, she stomped down the stairs and slammed the front door on her way out of her house. With a smile on her face, Fern laughed at what she had just done. She never fully understood what was with all the hostility toward her mother, but the two just were at it day in and out. It wasn’t as if things were magically going to change overnight or anything. Maybe things would be better if they saw eye to eye? Like things were when Fern’s father had been around. She just remembered things being so perfect back then. He would have let me leave home to explore the world! Dad knew just how important that was to me. . .Mom just has to ruin everything.
It hadn’t taken Fern that long to get to school. In fact, she’d lived probably less than five minutes away. She’d walked in and done the exact same thing she’d done every- single- day. Sit at her desk and wilt. Sulking was definitely her thing. Outside, during break, she sat alone on a bench observing all the other kids. They all seemed to be discussing the same things; Pokémon, wanting to own Pokémon, wanting to leave Pallet Town, or even worse than those. . . Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak.

“I heard Ash is in Sinnoh now.”
“Yeah, he’s having his go at the Sinnoh League, I wish that was me!”
“I know, me too!”

“Gary is going to become a researcher now, like Professor Oak!”
“Huh?”
“It sounds so weird, doesn’t it. . . But I guess it’s something passed down from his family.”

Fern sighed loudly, causing two boys to turn over toward her.
Snickering, the boys commented. “I think she’s just jealous that she couldn’t go with Ash or Gary!”
“I feel bad for her. . . oh wait. . . No I don’t!”
“Hahahahahaha!”
“ahahahahaha!”

“Wow, the two of you are sooo funny!” Fern shouted back, standing up angrily. “You two are just mad that I’m going to become the greatest female trainer EVER! That, and the fact that I could kick both your butts without a Pokémon makes the both of your guys’ blood boil too, huh?” Before letting the boys retort, Fern walked away. She didn’t have the patience to even be bothered with people who were going to knock her down. To her, everyone was out against her and the only way she was going to get them to understand her is if she were going to make it to the Indigo Plateau and win. ‘I have to do this! Prove everyone that I have what it takes! Prove to my mom, everyone in Pallet Town, just anyone who doubts that a girl can come from a small little town and-’ She hadn’t even finished that thought when she’d accidentally knocked into someone and fell down. “I’m. . . I’m sorry.” She glanced over and saw that it’d been someone she despised. While she hadn’t wanted to apologize, she knew she had been in the wrong during that situation and it was her fault. She stood up and offered her hand to help the girl up. “Anslee. . . Here, let me help you up.”

[Eva]

"Un. Necessary." Anslee replied. She adjusted her glasses and stood up, albeit with some difficulty. She picked her books up and tried to ignore Fern, although that was difficult. Her glasses slid down her nose, annoying her a great deal.
"What are you doing here? Don't you have SCHOOL? Honestly, someone like you should work harder to be smarter. Hah, that rhymed!" Anslee let out a snorty laugh and pushed her glasses up her nose.
"I heard Thaddeus Yaw was coming to town today. And I don't have to be in a classroom, like YOU!" Anslee let out another chortle. She tucked her books under her arm and glared at Fern.
"Why are you still here? Do you want something from me? I'll give you some money if you carry my books for me!" she said snidely, holding her books out. There were quite a few, and they all looked heavy; how such a small girl could tote them was a mystery.

[Aubs]

Fern furrowed her brow and glared back at Anslee as the girl spoke. God, she’s so annoying.. She thought, ignoring almost word from word. She’s definitely just rude to me for the sake of being rude, but I’m sure there has a to be a way to one-up her. Anslee gets her feathers ruffled over the smallest things. Now what can I say back to her that would make her mad? She tried to think quick on her feet, but couldn’t think of anything so she decided to let the wit come to her naturally. Folding her arms across her chest, Fern spoke back to Anslee.

“Those books don’t look too heavy,” She acknowledged, eyeing them. “If anything, I’m sure you could keep carrying them yourself. You’ve been doing fine without needing anyone to carry them for you up until now.” Fern unfolded her arms and hooked the right one against her hip in a sassy way. She then proceeded to circle Anslee as she continued to speak. “What’s wrong Ans, those large bifocals of yours finally starting to weigh you down? I was thinking that eventually they'd have to be heavy to wear against your face all the time.” She smirked deviously, awaiting a reply. How she enjoyed the arguments they had had. They were entertainment at its finest.

[Eva]

"I was trying to be generous. Goodness knows, you could use any money you could get." Anslee said. She adjusted her books and looked up at Fern, sneering once more. "Your clothes are just...really not nice. Maybe if you had more money, you could get something less...horrible." she explained. Anslee cocked her head and smirked, revealing her braces-lined teeth. She had fun with these little verbal spars. "Well, are you going to do it or not? I don't want to stand around here all day." she snapped.

[Aubs]

Fern laughed. “You’re really funny Anslee. I hope you know that.” She turned around and was about to begin walking off when she began to feel bad. Fern was the type of girl who helped everyone despite what she thought of them. She just couldn’t leave Anslee standing there.
Ugh, this better give me all kinds of good karma.. I'm going to be so mad at myself later for doing this. Fern thought, sighing to herself. She about-faced and moved back toward Anslee’s direction. This was going to be hard for her to do, but she had to swallow her pride to stick to her ethics. “Here, give me your books. I’ll carry them for you.” Fern grabbed ahold of the books. They really were heavier than she assumed they had been. She could feel all the weight dragging her down, almost causing her to trip and fall on the ground. Luckily, she’d kept her footing very small and precise. She definitely couldn’t afford to fall and embarrass herself in front of her enemy.

As the two girls silently walked down the sidewalk, Fern thought a little about a comment Anslee had made earlier. Thaddeus Yew was in town? Why hadn’t she known that? “Hey, Anslee, you said Thaddeus Yew was in town a while back, didn’t you? Do you know what for exactly?”

Thaddeus Yew had been one of the nation’s top Pokémon Researchers. Almost every trainer around knew about his journeys, but Fern had known him a little more than most young trainers. He’d been a great friend of her dad’s and served as almost a kind of grandfatherly type of figure to her. She loved it when he came into town to visit. She needed to talk to him desperately. Part of her thought that he would have been able to finally convince her mother that traveling through Kanto to make it to the Indigo Plateau was her destiny. He was someone who actually got her and that was something not many people did.
I have to find him!

[Eva]

Anslee tipped her head back so that her glasses slid back up the bridge of her nose. "Well, he's probably talking to Ms. Treeflower." she said. "I hear she's like, his next 'student' or whatever. He's probably not going to be here for much longer." Anslee sighed and adjusted her books again. "If only I could meet him. But it's so rude just to march up to someone and demand their attention." she said, sighing. Then, as they often did, an idea popped into Anslee's head. "You know Professor Yew. I know Ms. Treeflower. Maybe I could get us into Ms. Treeflower's house with some kind of...pretense? And then you could act all surprised to see the Professor! It's PER-FECT. I am a genius. I am a genius, Fern, a genius and you should admire me." Anslee bragged.

[Aubs]

Fern had to admit, Anslee’s idea was pretty well thought out. For once, she actually had wanted to praise her enemy. “Oh you’re definitely a genius,” she commented sarcastically as the two girls walked along the sidewalk in the courtyard. “But no, I think the plan could work so I’m up for it! I really have to talk to Professor Yew. He’s my ticket out of this boring town!”
Finally in front of Ms. Appletree’s house, Fern looked over to Anslee. “Don’t punk out now,” she commented, now glaring. “Go, you said you were the one who was going to knock on the door, didn't you!” Anslee's eyes met with her's. Before the girl could even get a word out, Fern shoved her forward causing her books to hit the ground. "Go knock on the door!"

[Aubs]

Anslee slowly inched closer and closer to the door, causing Fern to assume she didn’t want to go through with her own plan. Fern sighed. ‘So much for peer pressure..’ She thought to herself, shrugging her shoulders and stepping forward ahead of the shorter girl. “I don’t see what was so hard about just knocking on the door, Ans. It’s not like I told you do something illegal or something. I thought you were more brave than that!” The brisk wind blew Fern’s dusty brown hair past her face, to which she brushed it away gently with her fingers. “Here, I’ll do it inst-”

“It was very nice meeting you, young man..” A very husky voice spoke, as the door to Ms. Appletree’s house cracked open and out walked a guy no older than the two girls. Fern had never seen him before. He had a look of mystery written all across him. He certainly couldn’t have been from Pallet Town. At least from her mind he couldn’t have.

Who is that guy? Fern thought to herself. He walked past her, only giving the slightest amount of eye contact from his stunning blue eyes. Even though she’d only saw a few seconds of him, it left Fern wanting to know more. Who was this guy and why had he been at Ms. Appletree’s house? Wait, why was she there anyway? It was then that she realized why she and Anslee had gone to Appletree’s house in the first place. Standing outside the front door on the porch had been Professor Thaddeus Yew.

“Professor Yew! I’ve missed you so much!” Fern called out the minute she started to sprint for the door. She embraced him in one of the hugest hugs her small frame could. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in town?”
Laughing heartedly, Professor Yew crushed Fern in an bear hug. “I didn’t tell anyone.” He announced with his usual smile.
“He’s right,” Ms. Appletree co-signed, walking out of her house to accompany the others already outside. “I asked him the exact same thing! He apparently thought that he was going to be able to surprise us or something, haha!”

[GnomesAteMyCake]

"See, Ghastly, mama says that if we make daisy-chains, they'll keep the monsters away! If you always wear a daisy-chain, you can come out at night like all the other Ghastly's," Cass said earnestly to her Pokemon as she gathered the small white flowers. Sat beneath a tree on the side of the main road that cut through Pallet Town, pretty much egnored by everyone, Cass continued to talk to her best friend, despite the fact that he was in his Pokeball.

Humming to herself, she began to pin-prick the stems of the flowers, opening the holes slightly so she could insert the stem of another Daisy, and so on until she had a chain. She and Ghastly had been working on their little project for a while; to be like other Ghastly's, her Pokemon had to come out a night, something he'd been dead set against his whole life due to his fear of the dark.

Looking up from her work, Cass watched as two girls from her school walked down the road. One of them was carrying books and they were both talking loudly. Cass stopped talking to Ghastly for a moment; she was well aware of what the kids at school thought, and she wasn't in the mood to defend herself today. After the girls were a little further ahead, they turned to go into a nearby house, she returned to talking to her Pokemon, regardless on whether he was listening inside his Pokeball or not.

"So anyway, mama said this'll work for sure, but just in case, I'll bless it with holy water or something to give it extra monster-zapping powers..."

[Aubs]

Fern, Anslee, Professor Yew, and Ms. Appletree all went inside of Appletree’s house for tea a few minutes after talking together outside. As they all sat around the table in Appletree’s kitchen, Fern had been the first to speak. “Professor Yew,” she silently peeped looking over at the jolly man, who had been sipping on his chamomile tea and eating most of the chocolate chip cookies Appletree had provided them with. “I actually had a few things I wanted to ask you. You know how I’ve always wanted to be like you and travel around the world and then like become the very first female Pokémon Master and everything?! Well, I was kind of thinking that now was the time for me. I really wish I could have gone when Ash and Gary did but I know I wasn’t ready then.” She let the room go silent for a few seconds. “I’m ready now. I know for sure that I can do this. I can become a Pokémon Master!”

“Wonderful, dear!” Ms. Appletree spoke, sitting down in her chair across from Anslee.
“That’s excellent, Fern!” Professor Yew responded, his mouth full of cookies. “I’ve been waiting for the day when you finally knew you were ready to show the world with what you’re made of!” He flashed the largest smile Fern had ever seen in her life. “I’ve always had the thought that you would want to journey the world outside of Pallet Town. You were always a spirited little girl, your dad would be so proud of you right now.” The Professor sipped some of his tea. “I assume your mother is finally content with your decision now?”
Fern frowned. “That’s kind of the other reason why I’m here. I need someone to convince her that I can do this.”
“I see. Well maybe her problem is that she just doesn’t want you to go alone? I see you have a friend here,” He looked at Anslee. “Would you be up to traveling alongside Fern, miss?”

Please say no, please say no! SAY NO! Fern thought, thinking to herself as she shifted her eyes over to Anslee.

[Eva]

"Well DUH." Anslee answered, shaking her pigtailed-head. Of course, she despised the 'alongside Fern' part, but the 'traveling', well, that simply was something she could not pass up. Even if it meant going with boring old Fern, she HAD to do it. Besides, it would put Fern in her debt! "Fern and I would make a GREAT team." Anslee added, nodding. Ms. Appletree smiled. "It's so nice to see young girls getting along. Back when I was younger, there weren't very many female trainers. Not many good ones, at least." she said, sipping her tea. "It's too bad you decided to become a Professor, dearest Apple. You would have been terrific." Professor Yew said. Ms. Appletree shook her head. "No, training requires a certain personality. One that I lack, and that these two girls certainly have." She got up and walked over to a drawer, from which she pulled two packs. "I've been expecting this- as has Professor Yew." she said. Appletree gave the girls their packs and turned to the Professor. "Well, Thaddeus, tell them what's in their packs." she said.

[Aubs]

While she wanted to frown upon hearing Anslee gush with excitement, probably forced excitement more than likely, Fern was too happy to be let down at such a high moment in her life. She was finally going to be able to travel out in the world. Who cared if it was with her worst enemy? If anything, she’d just toss Anslee into the mouth of the first Kangaskhan they came across. It’d be easy, with Anslee being so tiny and frail like a rag doll and all. Stopping herself from going off trail by thinking about the girl being swallowed whole, Fern giggled and turned her attention back to Professor Yew, who had been standing up at this point.

She looked down at the yellow pack Appletree had handed to her. Then opening it, she gasped loudly.

“Yes, it’s exactly everything you two are going to need during the journey! A Pokédex, Pokégear, and watch-“
“It also has four basic Poké Balls that’ll help you two out when you’re caught in the moment of wanting to catch your Pokémon. Speaking of which, you two don’t even have your first Pokémon yet! We must get you to Professor Oak’s laboratory, I’m sure he’ll have one for the both of you!”
“I’ll go phone him now. Be right back,” Professor Yew announced leaving the room.

Fern jumped up with joy, while Anslee hadn’t.
“Uhmm, excuse me! I already have a Pokémon, actually! Her name is Beautiful Gorgeous Amazing Candy Princess Sunflower Glitter Topaz Spectacular Sunshine and she’s the most awesomest Smoochum that’s ever lived!” Anslee piped in, asserting herself for the first time since she’d been in the room. Her personality was surely coming out now. “I’ve had her since I was twelve.”

“Which was one whole year ago,” Fern added nonchalantly.

“That’s not the point! My sister, who is a famous gym leader by the way, gave it to me!”
“Good for you, dear.” Ms. Appletree responded, attempting to take back the focus. “I can’t wait to see the beautiful Smoochum, they’re one of the cutest little things. Make sure you bring her by before you leave!” she smiled. “Now what about you, Fern?”

Fern sighed aloud and folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t have one. And I’m sure wishing for one and pretending you have one doesn’t count, right?”
Anslee busted out in a slight giggle.
“I’ve always wanted one, but my mom would never let me have one! I’m definitely ready for one now though! I already have which one I want picked out too! I’m so excited!” Fern combed through her sandy brown hair with her fingertips. This is the single best moment of my entire life! I don’t even care if Anslee has to tag along at this point because this is so worth it! I’m going to take this world by storm!

“Good news! Old Oakie is actually free at this very moment, so let us all get our things and head on our way! Oh and Fern, I talked to your mother a little. We’re going to have a discussion when I drop you off at home after the trip to Oak’s lab. How’s that sound?”
“Not so fun, actually..” Fern admitted.
“Cheer up, you won’t have to worry about that until much later! For now, let’s get to the lab!”

*Piling into Ms. Appletree's van, the four of them made their way down the road to Professor Oak's lab. Little did they know though, there was far more in store than just going to pick a Pokémon. Yes, even bigger issues than Fern's new journey were about to arise.*

[Duvet de Mot]

Rustling filled the air along the path as Everett waded through the tall, knee-high grass, a young, female Nidoran by his side, hopping to and from among the weeds. Not too far in the distance, the red rooftops of the homely village of Pallet Town glinted in the sun, growing and rising up from the earth as the trainer and his companion continued along the trail. Flying in from the end of the road, a cool wind broke across the still air of the path, carrying upon it the smells and sounds of a carefree town by the sea. Everett inhaled deep, a warm smiling spreading across his face. The Indigo Plateau and the Elite Four provided him with everything he could ever need except for this: the open road and the possibility of the unknown.

"I'm glad that I encountered you on my way to Pallet Town, I've never had the chance to have a Nidoran traveling alongside me. I mean, I've had many companions during my time as a trainer, but I haven't been successful in completing my Pokedex." Everett glanced down to the small Pokemon as she hopped about the grass, attempting to ignore him while he had his eyes on her and mocking him the moment he had his eyes trained elsewhere, hopping onto her hind legs with her mouth flapping in meaningless syllables.

"You don't have to mock me, you know..." Everett protested, as the Nidoran began rolling her eyes and continued her parody of his behavior, "Nido, Nido, Nido..."

Everett sighed, his hand strangling the air as he became overtly frustrated, "Look! I'm sorry that Sammy nearly swallowed you! He just hasn't gotten the hang of using Lick yet! Okay?"

Once more from somewhere nearby, Everett could hear another chorus of, "Ni! Nido, Nidoran, Nido, Nido, Nido!"

"You know, I understand that you may not like me-," Everett began, but was cut off by Alaya's perturbed tapping against his leg.

"Nido-ran! Nido..." Glaring up at him with a mixed expression, Alaya tapped her paw against his ankle lightly before turning her head and nodding toward the town.

Sighing, Everett conceded to his companions suggestion and turned his head back to the path, surprised to see himself standing amongst the simple buildings of Pallet Town.

Well, now... That's convenient.

"Well... Thanks. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that it would be too good for you to be wandering around with me as I go into the store. I'll be sure to buy you a nice treat or two for later, though. How's a grapefruit sound?" Alaya nodded her head in mixed agreement, prompting Everett to reach into his pack, pull out a black and yellow Ultraball and aim it at the female Nidoran, a red beam of light emanating from it and engulfing Alaya, drawing her inside of it.

Everett never enjoyed recalling any of his Pokemon, but found that it was always necessary at the end of the day, especially when it came to walking about towns and cities. Setting off through the streets of the quiet town, Everett scanned the yellow, cookie cutter buildings for a shop, preferably one owned by a family instead of a company. Although he had gained fame and fortune, Everett made an effort to keep his origins alive and well, supporting and endorsing any small business he encountered along the way, not to mention that small businesses often sold homemade goods which Everett could never resist.

He wandered from street to street, each looking similar to the last: small and yellow with a red roof and a simple, white fence around the outside. He continued on, row after row, all the way through the town; however, as Everett turned a corner, faced with another row of simple, quaint buildings which appeared to be the same as the last street, he was faced with one sizable difference: not but twenty feet away from him, Professor Thaddeus Yew was preparing to enter into a house with a young woman.

Everett didn't wait for more than a moment before striding up behind the old man in his usual fashion, "And how are we today, Professor?"

Turning on heel and craning his head up to get a good look at the familiar voice, Yew's eyes grew wide with surprise, but soon gave way to a warm smile and an outstretched hand, just as he began to chuckle loudly.

"My word, Everett, you never do cease to amaze me! What brings you down this way?" Yew shook Everett's hand heartily as his broad smile continued beaming radiantly at the young man.

Everett smirked, taking the professor's hand and returning the gesture with equal fervor, "I could ask you the same thing, Professor! For my part, I'm just wandering as always. Thought I'd visit my Aunt Beverly, actually."

Strange though this chance meeting was, Everett and Yew both relished in the fortune which had brought them both here, now; however, Yew knew more of how fortunate it truly was than Everett, though that seemed as though it could wait for just a moment in any case. Releasing Everett's hand from his powerful grip, Yew outstretched his hand behind him as he turned, indicating the woman that Everett had seen a moment before, but almost completely forgotten.

"Here: I would like to introduce you to someone. This is Mrs. Appletree, a close friend of mine." Yew placed his hand on Everett's back ushering down the path along with him as they approached the house. "Ms. Appletree, this is Everett Samiel, third member of the Elite Four."

Appletree's eyes widened as she took Everett's hand, shaking it excitedly, as she spoke out in her dark contralto "Of course, of course! It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Samiel!"

Grinning slyly at this warm reception, Everett returned the hearty handshake and returned with a quick retort, "Oh no, ma'am, it's Everrett, and the pleasure is all mine." His eyes met with her's for a moment as he gave her a knowing glance, prompting an immediate and favorable response from the woman as she practically shoved him through the open door.

"Won't you come in and join us? We were just about to have tea bef-"

"No, no. I'm afraid he won't be able to, though I would greatly enjoy it," Thaddeus interjected as Everett found himself in the cross-hairs.

"Sir?" He'd never known Yew to behave this way except for on rare occasions when time ran out and business matters were abundant, which for the laid back researcher were few and far between.

"Professor Oak asked me to contact you not but a few hours ago about a rather urgent matter, but since you're already here, it seems to me that would be a waste of time. He has something he needs for you to take care of and I hope you can see it fit to help." Although Yew had retained the jolly quality to his voice, Everett could detect a stern urgency among his words.

"Of course, Professor. I'll head that way, now." Everett smiled, turning towards Ms. Appletree, "Thank you for your hospitality, ma'am, but I've got to be off," before turning around and beginning to walk out the front door, Ms. Appletree and Professor Yew following him onto the porch.

Moving around the door, Everett saw two young girls to his left, peering at him as he walked. He almost faltered as he saw one of them looking at him, the one with the bucket hat... She looked familiar. And though she had caught his eye for a moment, Everett continued his stride as he walked to Professor Oak's lab.

As far as labs went, it was in a prime location for mainland evolutionary research and Cinnabar Island could be easily accessed, not to mention the fact that the hometown charm here could serve as a wonderful relaxation tool for any researcher nowadays. It was strange, though... Professor Yew being in town, Oak needing to speak to him... And that girl in the bucket hat! She had looked familiar, but he could not quite place her, unless...

Wait... Could that have been Aunt Bev's daughter? That girl looked enough like her...

Those questions would have to wait until he met with his aunt later, Everett decided as he approached Oak's lab. He noticed how different it appeared from the other buildings in the small town. Three stories tall, (no doubt four stories if you included the basement) with white washed siding and a brown, slate roof.

"Nice place..." Everett spoke to himself in a near reverent tone, interrupted by the humming growl of an engine behind him. Turning around, he saw a large white van rolling up down the street, Thaddeus Yew and Ms. Appletree in the front seats. Stopping just in front of the lab's entrance, the van's doors opened, Yew and Apple tree climbing out, while the two young girls he'd seen earlier clambered out in excitement.

Now, what?

[Aubs]

As the car pulled up into the long drive and everyone in the car piled out one by one, Fern felt herself getting more nervous by the second. Well, nervous hadn’t been the correct word. If anything, she found her frail body getting quite jittery. Oh Crabby, this is really happening to me right now! She thought, following Appletree and Yew inside of the building, with Anslee trailing behind at her left side. I’m going to make the most out of this opportunity and I’m gonna totally do my best not to- she stopped as she tripped walking up the stairs. Hearing Anslee begin chuckling, Fern blushed. Well I guess there’s not too much embarrassing I can have now!

“Watch where you're going.. You’re such a loser,” Anslee continued to laugh, while she caught up to Fern.

Frowning, Fern grimaced more than ever. “Says the girl who hasn’t grown an inch since kindergarten?” She turned around and continued forward. “I’m just really nervous and things happen like this when you’re nervous, okay?”

“Well maybe for you, but just know now that I would like it if you didn’t embarrass yourself in front of Professor Oak. Because then he’s bound to be embarrassed for me to by association to you.” Anslee lifted her glassed up against her face, giving a smug smile in return.
“You don’t have to worry about associating me with you, we’re not friends remember? If anything, he’ll wonder why I’m hanging out with someone as lame as an Unknown than you are.” The two girls glared at each other before starting another argument with each other. Little had they known, as they continued to bicker with each other that they’d walked into the main room in Professor Oak’s lab and said man had happened to be standing right before them. They hadn’t even noticed the new addition, a new girl standing next to them in the room.* In fact, they continued to argue so much they weren’t even sure what they were doing in the first place.

“Oh YEAH?! Well at least I don’t wear glasses that-”

“Girls, girls, girls! Calm down!” Ms. Appletree butted in, asserting herself more than the two had thought of her prior to then. “Be more respectful in Professor Oak’s lab, you two!”
Fern stopped talking to Anslee and turned toward Professor Oak. She marveled at how fantastic his lab was and how majestic he was as he smiled at everyone.

“Hello, how are you girls doing today? I hear you three are all here to get your very first Pokémon? What an exciting day it is, yes?! Why, I remember when I got-”
Wait, three? Fern thought, trailing off in her mind as Professor Oak told a story about him receiving his very first Pokémon. She glanced over at the other girl who stood next to Professor Yew. Poking Anslee in the side, Fern made sure she pointed out the new girl. “Hey,” she whispered. “You see that new girl over there?”

“Yes,” Anslee replied, obviously annoyed. “That’s Cassidy,”
“Wait, how do you know her name?!”
“Because she introduced herself to us about ten minutes ago, Fern.”
“Wait, what?” Fern asked with a confused expression. “That’s impossible, we were arguing ten minutes ago..weren’t we?”
“Fern, you may be a scatterbrain and lack any social skill there is to notice when someone is introducing themselves to you, but why must I behave the same way?” Anslee rolled her eyes. “Now, if you don’t excuse me,” She turned away from Fern. “Excuse me, Professor Oak, Cassidy and I already have Pokémon. In fact,” She took a pokeball out of her pocket. “Everyone say hi to my Beautiful Gorgeous!” As the light of her ball released her Pokémon, out pranced an adorable Smoochum overdramatically. Fern, quite jealous, smiled anyway out of sheer intrigue of the Pokémon. It’d been one of her favorites actually. It might've taken all the courage she had to be happy for her enemy, but she was good at doing it. Heck, it'd worked with her mom for all these years!