This world is inhabited by creatures that we call pokemon. People and pokemon live together by supporting each other, but now the scourge threatens the safety of the entire region. Kohaku has become a dangerous place, where children stay at home and only brave souls go adventuring.
Welcome to KOHAKU. Come for the nightmares. Stay for the tea and crumpets.
The season is SUMMER. It is easy for survivors to forage for food from the land, as there are entire abandoned farms ready for harvest. On the downside, you can smell the corpses.
swarms
GRAND OPENING !
Welcome to KOHAKU REGION's grand opening! If you're interested in joining, come check out our grand opening giveaway!
It rained a little while ago, and Colton frowned, squeezing the water out of his hair one strand at a time before cupping the hat back on his head and continuing up the winding, spiral path. They told him to go to some lab before he showed up ('easy to spot, impossible to miss!'). They'd been about to say something more, but he headed off immediately, and missed the rest.
...Whatever, probably wasn't anything important, anyways. The main point was that he'd made it to this lab, the lights blinking in the distance, and that was what was important. Briefly, Colton considered the fact that there might be identification required, if he was to get anything from this man that gave out starters, but he'd neglected to bring anything. Passports, IDs, probably burning in what was left of Bacchus. So whoever this guy was was going to have to just deal. And with that thought in mind, Colton lifted his fist to the door, gave it a few loud knocks, found the doorknob turned, and headed in without a second thought. Looked around, then cupped both hands around his mouth.
"Anybody hereeee?" Colton yelled, twisting his head around like he was carrying some sort of megaphone.
"Shhhh," the Professor said as a blond boy barged into the lab. This was, perhaps, the only time that the man would ever chide or scold anyone. He raised an index finger to his lip in the universal sign of "please be quiet". Professor Cypress had set up a little play pen (all right, well, it was large enough to fit ten Pokémon so it couldn't have been that small) and within the pen's fencing were ten sleeping Pokémon. Each of them snored softly, and it none of them appeared to be particularly bothered by Colton's shouting. In fact, they slept peacefully right on through it.
Professor Cypress straightened from his post by the pen. He rose back to his feet, brushing his lab coat off a bit. "O-oh, I'm sorry," he said, apologizing quickly. "I-I didn't realize that you, um, th-that you had arrived. Y-you're, ah, a new Eos recruit, aren't you?" Eos had done some excellent advertising lately. He'd been receiving trainers recruited to cull the Scourge at a much greater wave than they had in the past. It was an accomplishment, he supposed, yet Cypress would never forget that Scourge were once docile Pokémon too.
"W-well, um, I... I suppose you could go ahead and pick a Pokémon. Ah! Don't worry about them sleeping. Y-you see, I'll just wake them gently. I-I'm sure they won't mind." The man smiled a bit. "They... they wore themselves out by staying up all night. Couldn't w-wait to meet their new trainer, y-you see?"
"Oops." Colton slapped a hand over his mouth mid-sentence, eyes flickering to the professor, back at his hand, and then back to the professor again. A few seconds ticked by, then he removed the hand slightly, one finger at a time, whispering sorry before leaning back on his heels, rocking slightly. The guy wasn't mad at him for doing whatever it was that he did wrong, was he? He scrutinized the professor's emotions, all over his face for as long as he dared before it started to look too much like staring, but found nothing. Huh.
"Yeah. Name's Cole." Didn't stick out a hand, but perched a smile on his face and nodded to the professor's words, his eyes flickering. "You're the guy everybody talks about, right? Professor....uh..." They'd told him that it was a professor, but he hadn't gotten a name. Maybe that was what they were doing when they tried they tried to chase after him for one or two steps, mouth open in protest before they kind of just gave up and let him leave (oops).
When the professor let him see the pokemon, part of him kind of wanted to just pick a one and go. Part of him wanted to look at them awhile longer. He opted for a mix in the end, edging a little closer to the pen. "Hang on, mind if I just-" Then, without waiting for an answer, he pressed a finger to each pokemon's head and rubbed, like a mini-noogie. Touch, touch, touch.
The Professor nodded at Colton. "U-um, it's Professor Cypress, y-yes," he responded, rubbing the back of his neck a bit absentmindedly. Eos was sending in all sorts of whippersnappers these days, but Colton was quite the character. He was a little surprised that Colton had been at a loss for his name. Professor Cypress was nearly something of a celebrity. Sole survivor of the Pax Institute fallout (or at least, "supposed" survivor, for he was nearly certain that there were others who had made it out alive) and a pioneer of the Hades Vaccine, yes, that was him. He supposed that he should carry that title proudly, but instead, he could not help but feel that he had somehow contributed to the systematic massacring of Pokémon.
Ah, but c'est la vie.
"Wh-what are you doing -- " The Professor merely blinked as Colton began to touch each Pokémon's heads. They all stirred, one by one. Some smacked their lips lazily. The Tympole and Teddiursa began to cry softly as the Archen and Shinx tried to take a bite of Colton's finger. The Mankey snapped to attention as the Sneasel grumbled about being awakened from its nap. The Rufflet, Mantyke, and Chimchar all stretched their limbs before giving each other quizzical expressions. Their frowns all turned upside-down when they saw Cole, and the they chirped excitedly in their own languages. The Roggenrola was the only Pokémon that did not move. Perhaps it had not felt Cole's nudge.
"A-ah, feel free to, um, examine them as long as you please," the Professor stated.
Cypress sounded like a common name, and Colton knew that he was supposed to know it, which was kind of embarrassing. To save himself from further embarrassment - last ditch attempt, more like - he punched his palm, eyes lighting up even as the sound faded. "Right, right, I remember now." Tacking on a "Nice name you got there, Professor." before turning his attention back to the pokemon.
They all felt different, that was for sure - Colton really wasn't sure why he did what he did, maybe he thought, there was some 'aura' that appeared out of the right one or something, but wasn't so sure a second later. Nevertheless, the process was quick, and he swept past each and every one of them, grinding his teeth and wincing with a "Oops, sorry." At the first two, jerking his hand away when some tried to snap at it and flickered his gaze past the rest, observing curiously. "Wouldn't be so sure of that word, Professor." Said it without turning around, grinning. "Examine? I'd choose a word like...bonding." On second thought, that wasn't quite right either. But it was closer, and that was what counted.
Silence, for a few more seconds, then he raised himself up again, rubbing index finger and thumb together, swiping his tongue over his lips. "I think I got one now. Mind if I take him?" Maybe it was because the rufflet had a sort of 'flair' to it. Reminded him of his mum.
The Professor gave a nervous chuckle. "Oh, um, d-don't worry about it, please," he said. "I-it's quite all right." One did not necessarily had to be a genius rocket scientist to notice that Colton had not remembered Cypress' name. He didn't mind too much though. Sometimes, he longed for obscurity. It was much easier in that sense, anyways.
Bonding, yes. He liked the sound of that, he supposed. It was much nicer than "examining". Professor Cypress blinked as he realized that Colton had finally settled on a decision. The two Pokémon that had tried to bite the boy's fingers were a no-go. They were usually docile. He wondered what had set them off. Surely, those were only play nibbles they intended on giving Colton? In any case, the Professor was relieved that Colton had made his choice swimmingly. People made him nervous.
"Of course, o-of course," the man said, lifting the Rufflet out of the pen. The bird Pokémon fluffed his feathers and gave Colton a proud squawk. "Well then, Braviary, off you go, y-yes?" the Professor said, handing Colton a Pokéball. "A-ah, I hope that you will, um, take very good care of him, y-yes."
:srufflet: LVL10 all level-up moves + heat wave + 1 STAT BOOST of your choice
That'd gone off easier than he'd thought. Colton laughed a little at the bird pokemon's (greeting?) call and gave it another touch on its head, wondering if the feathers there were a natural formation, or if it did on the side preening. Then, it would really resemble his mum. The thought of that made his grin widen a little, if not adding an edge of a smirk to it.
"I'll be sure to, promise." In one fell swoop, he took both the rufflett and the pokeball out of the professor's hands, still curious and, observing as a result. "We're gonna get along swell, I can tell. But uh," Scratched the back of his head because dang, he wasn't so good at this next part. "Thanks for everything." Coughed a little. "Maybe I'll come back and visit sometime when its grown up. This place is pretty neat." And, with that, he gave a tip of his hat and a wave, backing out through the door.
"Shhhh," the Professor said as a blond boy barged into the lab. This was, perhaps, the only time that the man would ever chide or scold anyone. He raised an index finger to his lip in the universal sign of "please be quiet". Professor Cypress had set up a little play pen (all right, well, it was large enough to fit ten Pokémon so it couldn't have been that small) and within the pen's fencing were ten sleeping Pokémon. Each of them snored softly, and it none of them appeared to be particularly bothered by Colton's shouting. In fact, they slept peacefully right on through it.
