stumbling blindly into life

[Birdybot]

A figure in a faded brown cloak walked towards the laboratory on Valencia Island. He was limping noticably, but did not seem to be wounded. His careful movements were like that of someone who did not quite trust themselves to know where it was they were walking, yet his steps were confident as if he knew exactly what he was doing at the same time. This was because while Sean Finch knew very much what his reason to go to the lab was, but it was a little tricky for him to find his way so easily owing to the fact that he was blind. His Umbreon leg was to blame for the limp, hidden by the cloak. His Umbreon ears were also to hidden by the cloak, as were his ruby red but useless Umbreon eyes. In becoming a Pokémorph to restore his body that had been ruined by an explosion, Sean had at least aquired an extra sense which was almost like sensing auras, only this was more sensing where everything was, something which he often wondered if it would affect his vision if he could see. Perhaps it would offer him night vision, or something. He hoped to some day see again, but for now, he would live without that.

He had an idea as to what Pokémon he wanted to take with him as his starter. He wanted to catch an Umbreon at some point, so an Eevee might be a good choice to consider. He also felt that a Meowth or Ponyta might me useful, especially as the Ponyta could be ridden in places where his extra sense wouldn't be enough to guide him, for example a place like a sheer mountainside where it would be dangerous to try and rely on that. He wasn't exactly the sort who cared much about the looks of anything, and so he had narrowed his options down so far with how useful a Pokémon would be to him, and intended to pick one of the three based on their personality.

Having reached the door to the lab at this point, he knocked loudly and hoped someone would hear.

[/blockquote]

[Goniochrome]

Professor Ivy stirred her coffee with a spoon slowly, resting her chin on a hand. She'd been doing some work on recording sizes of wild Pokémon so she could plot some graphs. Her aides had been the ones doing the measuring of course but still. It was very time consuming and she was grateful to get a moment's peace. She began to have a daydream in which multicoloured Magikarp were leaping out of the ocean and back in again in arcs.

A loud knock on the door brought her attentions back to the present. It could not be an aide bringing another Pokémon to be measured since they had the keys to the back doors. She wasn't expecting any other visitors. It could only be a trainer!

Smiling, she went over to the door, leaving her coffee behind on the desk. A moment of peace and quiet was all well and good but she loved to help out new trainers on their way. She opened the door to find a cloaked teenager with black hair on the doorstep. She had no idea he was a Pokémorph or that he was blind but his unusual red eyes caught her attention at once.

"Hello there. I'm Professor Ivy. Am I correct in assuming you've come for a Pokémon?" she asked, smiling warmly. She stepped aside so he could enter.

[Birdybot]

Sean heard the door open and sensed a figure looking at him once it had. A warm, welcoming voice met his ears with a cheerful greeting. He smiled back, eyes turning instinctively on where the figure's head was, perhaps a little higher. "My name's Sean, and I have indeed come here for a starter," he confirmed as he heard the rustle of clothing and sensed that the figure, who claimed to be Professor Ivy, had moved. He hoped she was the professor. There was a large amount of trust involved in being blind as he could only recognise people by voice and so couldn't look up their picture or anything, having to trust that they were who they claimed to be. It helped greatly that people generally didn't realise he was blind and so wouldn't try to device him that way.

Stepping inside the room of the laboratory the front door led to, Sean looked around - that is, he turned his head about so that his ears and whatever else pieced together his senses, it seemed to be the rings on his ears, Umbreon leg and arms, could help him piece together a vague idea of the room's layout. He moved over to a table and reached out, touching the surface gently. This was basically so that he could have a point to base his position in the room on, and it made him feel more comfortable.

Now, it might be an idea to tell Professor Ivy what Pokémon he was considering for his starter. Meowth, Ponyta and Eevee. Simple as that. "Could I please see a Ponyta, Meowth, Eevee, and Vulpix? Thank you," he said as politely as he could, thinking that he might as well see a Vulpix in case one was shown to him that seemed a good companion for him.

[/blockquote]

[Goniochrome]

After the teen first spoke, Professor Ivy noticed his eyes weren't quite looking at her properly. Because of this she realised he might be partially sighted but she didn't quite realise he was fully blind. Maybe his red eyes were a sign of him being an albino. Albinos could have weak eyes. She began watching him carefully to make sure he didn't bump into any sharp furniture corners. Then she felt guilty because he'd probably been like this for a long time and he was probably was used to it and didn't need watching. There, see? He found that table alright and didn't bump into it.

"It's nice to meet you Sean. Of course you can. I'll just be a moment." she smiled, going to fetch the correct Pokéballs.

She returned within a minute with the Pokémon he'd asked to see. One by one, she released them from their balls.



"Here they are." she said as she released the last one. The Pontya began trotting around and inspecting things curiously. The Meowth did so too but it only investigated spherical things. The Eevee looked up at the new trainer inquisitively. Nearby, the Vulpix groomed its tails.

"What do you think?"

[Birdybot]

ooc// Sphere fetish :3

ic// Sean spent a moment to think about the Pokémon he was faced with, practically jet black hair the only thing confirming that he was not an albino - he had everything else, the pale skin, the red eyes. There was a chance that he might actually have dyed his hair white to try and make people think he was an albino, but just as well he probably wouldn't be so bothered when it got down to it. As for the Pokémon, he was trying to make decisions but was also worried that he was being too harsh on the Pokémon.

Ponyta was one he was seriously considering. While it was large enough to be the best guide out of the Pokémon presented to him, it also seemed curious and curiousity meant learning, which meant intelligence. Meowth, too, although less so as it only seemed interested by anything round, although he could be wrong as his senses were far from perfect. Eevee was sitting near him, possibly watching him. That too meant curiousity and so the Eevee could be intelligent, too. Sean bent down to try and lift the Eevee up so that he could find out more about its personality. Vulpix was grooming itself, perhaps a little vain and less interested in the outside world.

Sean, still holding the Eevee provided it hadn't run off, moved over to the Vulpix first. He hoped to talk with the Pokémon and see how they got along with him, and as a Pokémorph he could understand their speech. "Hello, Vulpix. I hope you are well. My name is Sean, and I hope to take one of you four so that I might travel the islands and find what it is I want to do with my life," he introduced himself to the fox, awaiting a response.

However things had gone with the Vulpix, he turned and spoke to the Ponyta next, after which he spoke to Meowth. He wanted to talk with each Pokémon to see how they reacted to him and the kind of things they would say.

[/blockquote]

[Goniochrome]

Professor Ivy had moved on from thinking about whether the boy was an albino or not. After all, what did it matter? So long as the boy was kind to his Pokémon; that was what mattered. She slinked silently back to her coffee and began to finish it, all the while watching in case any of the Pokémon misbehaved.

The Eevee allowed itself to be lifted without any trouble. It was going to snuggle into Sean's chest but it sensed something was different about the boy. The Eevee didn't seem to be scared. It just sniffed at Sean intently all over as far as it could reach. What was this boy?

The Vulpix finished off smoothing one of its tails and turned to the boy, its head slightly on one side.

"Hello Sean." it began. It hadn't realised that the boy could understand them yet. "Shame you humans can't understand Pokétalk. We could be saying anything. Hahaha!"

It ended with a playful chuckle but it wasn't a mean one. Just a mischievous one. The Meowth had found a lost marble under a desk and dribbled it skillfully over to Sean, the Eevee and the Vulpix. It batted it from side to side while it waited for its turn. The Ponyta had finished wandering around the room and it put its front hooves up on Professor Ivy's desk. It had smelled sugar.

"Sugar? Please?" it asked. However Professor Ivy wanted the sugar for her coffee so she batted him away, encouraging it to go towards Sean. It did.

"Well anyway. I shall say my say." the Vulpix continued. "If you take me with you I promise to always keep you looking your best and away from trouble."

"Me next!" the Ponyta said. "If you pick me, I promise to always have exciting adventures and make sure you always have a supply of sugar. So long as I can have some."

"Now me!" the Meowth spoke up. "If you choose me, I promise to find you awesome round things like this thingy here and to keep nasty Rattatas away from you."

"Uhh guys? I don't think he's quite human." the Eevee said, its ears pricked.

[Birdybot]

Sean stroked the Eevee gently as it sniffed him curiously. He didn't mind if any of the Pokémon found out he was a Pokémorph, but he wasn't so sure about how the Professor might react. She seemed kind, but people like him were quite interesting to scientists. He chuckled at the irony of Vulpix saying that it could be saying anything. "Yes, you could, couldn't you?" he smiled at the fox. He heard each of the Pokémon speaking what they hoped to do if chosen, pleased to see that they were speaking for themselves and seeming to be truthful.

Vulpix seemed sensible, and perhaps would nag at him to be more fashionable or whatever. It seemed to have a kind heart and was willing to help him stay out of trouble. Ponyta seemed to be more energetic and ready to go on some adventure. It didn't seem to be frightened of danger and would be easily bribed and could become loyal through sugar. Meowth also appeared to be a kind Pokémon at heart, defensive and obsessed with round things. He imagined the cat would bring him a load of 'presents' all the time, which could be sweet but also perhaps annoying after a while. Eevee looked affectionate, curious and intelligent. This was confirmed when it had apparently figured out already that he wasn't a human.

"No, I'm not a human. You're clever, aren't you, Eevee? I'm mostly human, but look..." Sean let an Umbreon ear poke out from under his hood. "I'm part Umbreon. It's a long story," he smiled at the Pokémon. They all seemed awfully nice creatures, and it was so difficult to pick just one. They all had unique, developed personalities and he wished he could take them all. Or, at least, the Ponyta and Meowth. Still, he had to make a decision.

"Professor, it's really difficult to decide on just one of these Pokémon. They're all so nice and lovely and smart and unique. But I have to choose just one, so I think that the one that's best for me is... Ponyta. Oh, and to the others; don't be sad, you're all just as good as each other. Somewhere out there is a trainer who's perfect for each of you," he declared firmly.

[/blockquote]

[Goniochrome]

At Sean's words, the Vulpix's mouth dropped open in shock.

"W-what? How did you... how?"

"Oh, Umbreon! That's one of the things I could turn into if I wanted." the Eevee told the small group from Sean's arms. The Meowth stared at the circular marking around Sean's visible ear. It really, really wanted to pat at it. It decided to resist the temptation though while it still had a chance of going with the teen.

As Sean spoke to the Professor, all four listened in attentively and glowed with pride as they heard the compliments. As he made the decision and chose Ponyta, the other three sighed and the two on the floor slumped down a bit. The Eevee in Sean's arms wriggled out of them and went to sit in between the other two.

"Congratulations." he said to the Pontya. The other two nodded in agreement.

"Wahoo! Oh yeah!" the Ponyta neighed, rearing and kicking its forelegs out in celebration but not near anyone. He walked over to Sean and gave him a nuzzle.

The Professor smiled and passed Sean the Ponyta's Pokéball. The other three Pokémon looked a little better after Sean's words. They calmly waited to be returned by Professor Ivy which didn't take long.

"Here are your starter items." the Professor smiled, handing over the items in a bag. "Good luck on your adventure."

---

ooc:


Ponyta
Name: (Member's Choice)
Gender: Male
Level: 5
Ability: Run Away or Flash Fire
Personality: (Member's Choice)
Attacks: Growl, Tackle, Tail Whip
Met: Starter Pokémon
HP: 23/23


[img]http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/b/bf/Spr_5b_077.png[/img]
[b]Ponyta[/b]
[b]Name:[/b] (Member's Choice)
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Level:[/b] 5
[b]Ability:[/b] Run Away or Flash Fire
[b]Personality:[/b] (Member's Choice)
[b]Attacks:[/b] Growl, Tackle, Tail Whip
[b]Met:[/b] Starter Pokémon
[b]HP:[/b] 23/23