|
Post by Atticus on Nov 1, 2017 15:58:40 GMT -5
"Well, uh, I-I don't know if 'menace' is the word I would use," Eliza defended softly, gesturing to the now complacent, if not irritated, green Pokémon. It had no doubt caused more than its fair share of trouble, but at the end of the day it was totally harmless. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable in this woman's presence, and hoped she wouldn't take her up on her offer to clean.
Roy was less subtle, a clear frown set on his fair complexion and his arms crossed indignantly. "We were only able to grab it because of my sister's Sylveon," he stated matter-of-factly.
Eliza was not looking for a fight though, and autonomously clutched Kitto against her chest defensively.
"Does this professor live nearby?"
|
|
|
Post by subtleAssiduities on Nov 1, 2017 16:07:00 GMT -5
Likewise, the woman clearly had not meant to offend her rescuers; her tone was embarrassed and a bit repentant. "Yes, he does. But you should take the little thing to the lab. The professor does field work, and his assistants will be able to take care of it if he's not there. Thank you again..."
She made her way to the door and poked her head inside her house. After doing a brief examination, she set her child down inside. "Just a moment, please." She disappeared into the house for a minute and returned with a wallet. She deposited 1000 pokedollars into Eliza's hand for each of them; she wasn't about to jeopardize Chelle's grip on the critter. "It's not much, but I really appreciate your help. Go on to the lab now. I'll take care of the mess on my own."
Chelle's eyes shined at the exchange, as if she had any idea what she would do with money. The high of victory could make anything exciting.
|
|
|
Post by Atticus on Nov 1, 2017 16:22:33 GMT -5
"O-oh! Wow, thank you," Eliza stammered as the woman placed the 3000 pokedollars onto her open palm. Kitto slipped out from under her arms so that she could deal with it, and settled by her ankles. The blonde bowed and once raised, looked around for the labratory -- which wasn't all that hard to spot, in a small town like New Bark. "Thank you again, ma'am. We really appreciate it," she said, nudging for her little siblings to do the same. Roy's nostrils flared, still upset by her comment, but bowed so that Eliza wouldn't grill him for it later. "Thanks," he muttered, his lips pursed.
|
|
|
Post by subtleAssiduities on Nov 1, 2017 16:24:18 GMT -5
"Thank you!" Chelle echoed, flashing the woman a smile. As she slipped into her house, Chelle turned toward her sister expectantly.
|
|
|
Post by Atticus on Nov 1, 2017 16:41:48 GMT -5
Eliza felt relief roll off her shoulders, in addition to the straps of her backpack. Putting the money in its appropriate, secure pocket, Eliza slipped the bag back on and started making her way towards the lab, making sure all her little chicks were in tow all the while.
"Thank you, Elliot, Sarge," she said, stopping by the two absolutely disoriented looking Charizards. "You can let Mom and Dad know we're gonna' be totally okay." She gave them both a kiss on their brow before continuing towards the very obviously marked building.
|
|
|
Post by subtleAssiduities on Nov 1, 2017 16:50:21 GMT -5
Taking her sister's queue, Chelle thanked and kissed the charizards. "I won't be feeding you anymore, so try not to miss me too much," she teased, patting their thick necks. Then she continued on.
The Pokémon lab was in a bit of disarray, but the reason why was not immediately clear. A handful of assistants and interns mulled about nervously, conversing when they met before lurching off in their respective directions. One scooted past the siblings with a rushed pardon. Another, upon seeing them, all but fainted on the spot.
"Y-You found him!" He peeped, scurrying up to the kids. "Oh, thank Arceus! I mean, thank you! Er..." He paused, getting his bearings. "My apologies. Thank you so much for bringing Chikorita back. I hope he didn't cause any trouble."
|
|
|
Post by Atticus on Nov 1, 2017 20:35:54 GMT -5
"Not for us, but you should have seen the house we found him in," Roy responded, his eyebrows raised.
Eliza put her hand on her brother's shoulder, sure that the thirteen year old could have worded that more delicately. The professor's assistants were clearly not happy to have lost their little Pokémon. There was no use putting more grief on their shoulders--the woman after all had said she'd take care of the mess. Mothers were master mess cleaners--
"Your neighbours don't really like you guys," the boy continued, and Eliza felt her inner strength crumbling.
"It was fine, really," Eliza interjected, pulling herself together. Kitto yipped by her heels.
|
|
|
Post by subtleAssiduities on Nov 1, 2017 20:43:59 GMT -5
The assistant's face colored in embarrassment. "Yes, um, well." He cleared his throat, struggling to find the words. "Our research here has been a bit... disruptive lately."
"Why?" Chelle asked, blowing the chikorita's leaf out of her face.
"Uh-- Come this way!" He turned on his heel and motioned the kids along like he was trying to herd mareeps. "We'll find the ball for that little guy and then we can move on from this whole thing. Are you children new here? You don't look familiar...?"
Chelle allowed herself to be guided, although she made sure that her siblings and Sylveon stayed close by. She looked around the lab. The appearance of the lost chikorita seemed to calm some of the chaos, but scientists were still buzzing about like they were trying to herd meowths instead of three rather complacent children. Maybe another Pokémon was lost?
|
|
|
Post by Atticus on Nov 1, 2017 22:29:41 GMT -5
Eliza tried not to get lost in the buzz of the laboratory as she was herded along, trying to make sure her siblings and the Pokémon stayed in line.
"We're Eleanor Surge's kids-- the Kantō Gym Leader," she introduced, walking along uncomfortably. "I'm Eliza, and these two are my little brother and sister, Roy and Chelle."
Winter butted her head against the blonde's calf, while Kitto walked along unperturbed. Eliza looked down and cracked an awkward smile.
"A-ah, and this is Winter and Kitto."
She worried fleetingly about the presence of a hybrid like Kitto in a lab, but the mutterings and activity from the other assistants distracted her. Was the Johto lab always this strange? Where was the professor? This energy of this lab was unsettling, and as intrigued as she was, Eliza would be happy to get out of there as soon as possible.
|
|
|
Post by subtleAssiduities on Nov 1, 2017 22:38:38 GMT -5
"Oh, really? Welcome! What a treat to have high-profile guests! I'm sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances."
The scientist brought them to a side room of the building where, to Chelle's delight, a scientist was literally herding Pokémon-- chikoritas! The little green nymphs were bouncing away from the young scientist, who appeared to be trying to take notes on individual Pokémon, based on the clipboard clutched in his hand. The chikoritas were uncooperative, but they appeared to be having fun. Upon seeing the other chikoritas, the one Chelle held squirmed and chirped. Chelle tightened her grip on it ever so slightly to keep it from slipping away. "Look at them all!" she gasped.
"Yes, this little one is part of the group we have available for beginner trainers." He took the chikorita from Chelle; he wasn't in a hurry to introduce him back to the others. "He's a bit of a troublemaker-- he doesn't get along well with the others. But I can't imagine how he sneaked out of this room..."
Now that the children had some other chikoritas to observe, they could see that comparatively, their catch was quite fat. The other chikoritas' legs weren't quite so stubby with their tummies being higher from the ground, making them more agile. It wasn't much bigger-- just rounder.
|
|
|
Post by Atticus on Nov 1, 2017 22:51:33 GMT -5
"They're so weird!" Roy exclaimed. He'd never seen so many pears before in his life!
Winter's tail flicked eagerly as she walked around the chikoritas, batting playfully at their leaves as they passed.
"Yeah, he doesn't seem very, uh... kid friendly," Eliza breathed with a forced chuckle, rubbing the back of her neck. She bit back the fact that the lady had proclaimed that it had also attacked her kid... looking at the thing, and recalling her earlier mention of menaces, Liz could hardly see it. The chikorita had more likely attacked her sandwich than anything else.
Still, she couldn't imagine it being some kid's reliable starter Pokémon. That thing would drag its trainer into all sorts of unimaginable trouble.
|
|
|
Post by subtleAssiduities on Nov 1, 2017 23:03:23 GMT -5
The scientist laughed nervously; the story behind Eliza's comment wasn't lost on him. "Yes, well. They can't all be perfect. Pokémon have personalities, just like people."
Chelle crept closer and knelt, holding out her hand. Several chikoritas were happy to meet her, so she got in all the pets she could. The documentation scientist, relieved, took the opportunity to catalog the ones distracted by her attention. Others noticed Winter, and while most were afraid, a brave duo approached to investigate her, albeit with caution.
"What's going to happen to that one?" Chelle asked. "It's not like these."
"Well, we don't know," he admitted. "It's not a beginner Pokémon... and it doesn't have the skills to survive in the wild. It was hatched here, after all. But it doesn't have the disposition to be a companion Pokémon either. I think that it will most likely go to auction."
Chelle wasn't sure what that meant, but from the tone of the scientist's voice, she could gather that it was sad. That was a shame; a grumpy Pokémon still deserved a good life.
|
|
|
Post by Atticus on Nov 1, 2017 23:11:07 GMT -5
Eliza felt herself stiffen and her brows set. "Of course they do, I know that," she mumbled, cross.
Roy knelt beside his little sister as she conversed with the assistant, sticking out his hand for the chikoritas to investigate. Even though his eyes were distracted, however, his ears stayed open. "What's an auction?" he asked, gently bopping the nose of a chikorita who had approached him.
Winter, ignoring the conversation, sat up proudly as two chikoritas approached her. The pink and white Eeveelution got into a play bow and showed her teeth. ("Hi!") she greeted, wriggling her haunches. Kitto sat behind her, his sorrel-coloured head cocked. ("You might want to put away those teeth if you're trying to make friends,") the hybrid offered.
|
|
|
Post by subtleAssiduities on Nov 1, 2017 23:17:08 GMT -5
"Well, it's a kind of sale," the scientist replied, adjusting his grip on the wiggly chikorita. It very much wanted to get down. "The price isn't set, and the highest bidder buys the Pokémon. They're very popular among collectors and breeders."
"But why would a collector or breeder want a starter Pokémon? Aren't they for kids?" Chelle asked, rubbing the head of a particularly affectionate chikorita.
The scientist was losing the fight against the chubby chikorita. "Starter Pokémon are considered rare in their own right. Not everyone is lucky enough to get one, and because they are mostly male, they aren't easily bred."
Kitto had the right idea; Winter's grin sent her investigators running, cheeping nervously all the while. From what they determined a stiff distance they crouched and watched her.
|
|
|
Post by Atticus on Nov 1, 2017 23:26:13 GMT -5
("What, hey no!") Winter whined, getting back up. ("What do they think, I'm a Wild? We're in a room full of humans!") The Sylveon crinkled her nose and made sure to keep her mouth shut tight as she repeated the bow.
Kitto was more interested in why none of them seemed to speak. ("I wonder how old they are,") he murmured, watching some of the smaller chikoritas toddle about. Why did they all seem so scared..?
"Do you at least make sure they go to good people, not just the highest bidder?" Eliza butt in, her hand on her hip. She didn't want to sound accusatory, she just wanted to make sure that a high profile place like a Pokémon laboratory was leading the rest of the region by good example.
Roy was engrossed in play with a few chikoritas, but his interest in the conversation was piqued.
|
|