Don't judge a book by its cover

[Red]

It was one of those crisp clear days which would have been utterly perfect were it not for the bitter bone deep cold. Small puffs of dust billowed up around the feet of the tall lean man who came to rest just far enough from the doors of the pokemonlab that they didn't open. The soft clink of metal on metal echoed through the air as he set down the end of the tall staff he carried and leaned against it. It was a quiet day. The weather might be nice, but few were willing to go out into this biting cold unless there was real need, and thus he had the road all to himself right now. He pulled his robes a bit tighter around him, trying to ward off the bitter cold now that he was no longer moving and keeping warm that way.

The soft clinking came again and the man looked up, nearly black shaded brown eyes focusing on the Haunter Daemon who was resting atop the metal circle which tipped his staff. "Abby" Valen grinned up at his other half. "You ready?" He asked her. The Haunter's response was to poke her tongue out at him "How long's it been since we left the monastery?" She asked, her question more rhetorical than anything.

"You remember what we wanted?" The daemon asked, suddenly serious. "Yes Abigail" Valen rolled his eyes. He rarely used his daemon's full name unless he thought she was nagging "I remember what we picked to ask to look at." Seeing the Haunter open her mouth he quickly reeled off the list "Riolu. Zorua. Ralts. Abra." "Alright, alright" The haunter raised a hand "You do remember" Valen just shook his head at the daemon "I'm not a kid any more Abbs"

Shaking his head again he shifted and made his way to the door. Apparently he was slightly too tall for the sensor on the automatic door, and it took waving his staff at it to get it to open up. Valen blinked in surprise at the room which greeted him on the other side of the door. It looked like his parents living room, or the backstage room the Dancer's used to relax and hang out. To the monks sensibilities, used to the extremely simple life within the monastery, despite his order being not nearly so strict as some he'd heard about, this place seemed rather luxurious.

"Hello?" he called leaning against his staff once more, Abby floating harmlessly to his left. "Anyone about?" It was still fairly early in the morning. Perhaps they hadn't been expecting visitors this early. With a shrug Valen looked about as he waited, peering curiously at the various things decorating the place.

----------------------------------
OOC: I know he can't actually get a Riolu, But I figured he could ask and get told they don't have any at the moment? I wasn't sure about Zorua since the gen 5's aren't in the rarity list yet. Ideally I'd also like to ask if he could be offered a shiny Ralts as one of his choices once the thread gets to that point?

[Birdybot]

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[bg=4D1111][cs=2][div style="background: #7D2920;[br"]margin: 0px;padding: 2px;padding-top:2px;text-align:right;font-size:10pt;letter-spacing:0px;font-family: Bookman Old Style;text-transform:uppercase;color:#C68179; margin: 0px 10px 10px 10px;]smile, you're beautiful!

[/div][/td][/tr]
[tr][td][bg=4D1111][atrb=width,100]

Name
Jonathon Pine

Dæmon
Telepa, Noctowl

Level
N/A

Ability
N/A

Moves
N/A

[/td]

[td][bg=4D1111][atrb=width,350]

The little alarm built into Professor Pine's watch was set off by the sensors sensing a person walking inside the lab. The small device picked up the signal, bleeped softly and vibrated gently - it couldn't be too loud for fear of alarming a Pokemon or in case a noisy Pokemon drowned it out, so having it vibrate too made it easier for the Professor to realise someone had entered. He wasn't doing anything to serious when Valen arrived, as it was after all quite early. He was just starting a day of work, planning what he would do and starting on the small tasks that needed finishing like cleaning up a room or ordering something, and seeing to the aides who took care of the trainer's PC Pokemon in the huge expanse of land the lab owned.

Professor Pine put down the folders he was organising and hurried off to deal with whoever might have arrived. A good deal of new trainers passed through, but of course it was just as likely to be someone with a problem who had come seeking help. Each day a few people would go to his lab with some question or other, or with some mysterious artifact for him to try and figure out. A couple of times a week he usually had previously arranged appointments with other scientists about important matters. As soon as he saw Valen, he could tell he was here for a starter. At first, he'd always had to ask what a visitor wanted. Now, one look at a person could tell him a lot about why a person was there and how he should treat them.

Valen's expression and the fact that he had no Pokemon with him told Pine that he was here for a starter and had lived a simple life before then, perhaps following one profession before deciding that a life with Pokemon was his true call, based on how he looked older than the teenagers who passed by. That also meant he would probably make a more dedicated trainer, as the teenagers who came for a Pokemon usually went on a journey to find what they truely wanted to do with their lives and ended up finding that and settling down. It wasn't that the Professor had anything against that, of course, in fact he thought it was good that people and Pokemon could work together to find what they wanted from life.

"Am I right in saying you're looking for your starter Pokemon? My name's Professor Pine, by the way, and this is my dæmon, Telepa. Welcome to Pine Labs!" he beamed a warm, welcoming smile. Up until then the Noctowl-dæmon he had just introduced as Telepa had been silent, but at this point in time she felt it was right to nod respectfully at their guest's own Haunter-dæmon and hoot softly in greeting.

[/size][/justify][/div][/td][/tr]
[tr][td][bg=4D1111][cs=2][div style="background: #7D2920;[br"]margin: 0px;padding: 0px;padding-top:2px;text-align:left;font-size:5pt;letter-spacing:0px;font-family: Bookman Old Style;color:#C68179; margin: 10px 10px 10px 10px;]Notes: none
ooc: I updated the rarity list and Zorua's Rare, so you can't get one, sorry. Sure, if you want a shiny just have him ask the Professor for a shiny.[/div][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[Red]

The appearance of the professor didn't startle Valen. He'd been expecting someone to show up sooner rather than alter. Instead, with a wide smile upon his features, he settled his staff into the crook of his arm and made a rather elaborate bow to the other man. Straightening up he continued to grin as he automatically adjusted his grip onto his staff so that it was in hands once more and said "Indeed we are. I am Valen Blackstone, of the Bell Tower Monastary within Johto's Ecruteak City. My Daemon is Abigail" The haunter daemon also grinned at the professor and his noctowl daemon and waved one disconnected purple hand.

Valen was glad that the professor didn't seem find his age an issue. He knew that he was more than a few years older than most people just starting out with their first pokemon. "I'd heard tell that you have a range of pokemon available for those who are looking to start out?" There was a hopeful tone to the man's voice. He did hope that what he'd heard was true and he wasn't going to have to his thoughts of starting out with a particular pokemon dashed before he could even ask for them. He understood that some pokemon would surely be more popular than others and that the professor might not have a particular species on hand at that moment, but surely he'd have at least one of the pokemon he was looking at starting with.

[Birdybot]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][cs=2][bg=4D1111]

[bg=4D1111][cs=2][div style="background: #7D2920;[br"]margin: 0px;padding: 2px;padding-top:2px;text-align:right;font-size:10pt;letter-spacing:0px;font-family: Bookman Old Style;text-transform:uppercase;color:#C68179; margin: 0px 10px 10px 10px;]smile, you're beautiful!

[/div][/td][/tr]
[tr][td][bg=4D1111][atrb=width,100]

Name
Jonathon Pine

Dæmon
Telepa, Noctowl

Level
N/A

Ability
N/A

Moves
N/A

[/td]

[td][bg=4D1111][atrb=width,350]

This man being from Bell Tower Monestry explained a good deal to Professor Pine, and made sense of his unusual outfit as well, to some extent, his age. From what the Professor could tell, it seemed Valen must have been a monk for some time before deciding that a journey in a foriegn region would be a good idea, perhaps to help him spiritually or because he wanted to get away from the life of a monk and start afresh. Whichever it was, it was Pine's job to help Valen on his way to achieving whatever goal he had and improving the man's life as far as possible. Giving a person a Pokémon could change their life more than people thought.

Telepa noted the hopeful tone in Valen's voice. Did that mean he was still unsure of something? In her typically uninterested state, she decided that if he had his doubts that was his own problem. She generally appeared to be bored yet accepting and friendly, while the blank expression generally was used to mask any other thoughts she might have. In reality, she could be sensitive, empathetic and was normally very interested in scientific research, but only showed it when she felt there was need to.

Pine, much more energetic and cheerful, nodded at Valen's question. "Yes, we have loads of Pokémon! In fact, we have just about every first-stage non-legendary Pokémon, with the exception of several of the rarer or more popular ones. We even have some shinies! Just name a few species you'd like to see and I'll see if I have any. You can request for a shiny, too, if you want," he smiled. He was quite proud of the starter Pokémon living happily at the lab. "Oh, and are you planning on being a trainer? Or do you plan on being a coordinator, breeder or ranger?" he asked, out of interest as well as so he knew what advice to give Valen. If he wanted to be a ranger, he'd have to give him a capture styler, too.

[/size][/justify][/div][/td][/tr]
[tr][td][bg=4D1111][cs=2][div style="background: #7D2920;[br"]margin: 0px;padding: 0px;padding-top:2px;text-align:left;font-size:5pt;letter-spacing:0px;font-family: Bookman Old Style;color:#C68179; margin: 10px 10px 10px 10px;]Notes: none
ooc: By the way, in your profile you used a picture which looks like it could be a character from a manga/anime... if so, you should post in the face claims thread.[/div][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[Red]

The tall monk grinned at Professor Pine's enthusiasm. Without thinking his mind reached out, sampling the emotions which flowed of the man and his daemon. He got a sense of pride and happiness from the man and what he thought was boredom?, from the noctowl daemon. Realizing what he was doing the man pulled his senses back inside his skin. With his smile still firmly in place Valen said "As I expected then. If you have them, my preferences would be for a Riolu, Zorua, Ralts or Abra. Females if at all possible and.." He gave the professor a charming smile "I'd dearly love to see a shiny. I've never seen one with my own eyes before"

The professor asked about what his plans were and Valen couldn't help but blush slightly in embarrassing, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly with the hand that wasn't holding his staff "Well... Actually... I was hoping you'd be able to give me a bit of advice on that..." He said "See... when they sent me out, they just told me to travel, told me I should look at getting a pokemon as a companion. I didn't even think to ask if they had anything else in mind until I got off the ship." Abby put a hand gently on the man's shoulder. She felt just as stupid as he did for having not asked that question of their superiors.

"I've been thinking about it, and being a ranger rather appeals to me. But, at the same time, things some folk have said to me in the past, makes me think that being a Coordinator or a Breeder would be something I would very much enjoy and be good at. I remember hearing stories back home about rangers who did a bit of training or coordinating on the side. I was wondering if there was a chance I could do something like that here?"

[Birdybot]

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[bg=4D1111][cs=2][div style="background: #7D2920;[br"]margin: 0px;padding: 2px;padding-top:2px;text-align:right;font-size:10pt;letter-spacing:0px;font-family: Bookman Old Style;text-transform:uppercase;color:#C68179; margin: 0px 10px 10px 10px;]hurrdurr

[/div][/td][/tr]
[tr][td][bg=4D1111][atrb=width,100]

Name
Jonathon Pine

Dæmon
Telepa, Noctowl

Level
N/A

Ability
N/A

Moves
N/A

[/td]

[td][bg=4D1111][atrb=width,350]

"Certainly, I'll see what I can find," Professor Pine walked over to a filing cabinet and opened a draw, searching through it for the requested Pokémon. He took out three Pokéballs, releasing the Pokémon inside. Two Ralts and an Abra emerged; one of the Ralts was a shiny. The shiny Ralts and Abra appeared to be female, the normal Ralts a male. "Sorry, we don't seem to have any Riolus or Zoruas at the moment. Still, I managed to find a shiny Ralts! I'm not surprised you haven't seen a shiny with your own eyes before; while 5% of all Pokémon are shiny, most of those live deep in the wilderness," he added.

The normal Ralts seemed quite shy and quiet, remaining fairly close to the Professor upon being released. He looked at Valen in curiousity, but wasn't in a hurry to rush up and greet the stranger. Abra, though sleepy as was in the nature of all Abras, showed more interest and confidence. She walked lazily up to Valen and smiled at him, sitting down at his feet to watch sleepily as the shiny Ralts walked up to Valen and studied him carefully, then decided he was not to be feared and smiled at him. She wasn't shy, but didn't rush into things as quickly as Abra. She took more thought in her actions. ~Hello,~

[/color] she said to Abigail, knowing the dæmon would understand Pokémon speak.

In response to Valen's question, Professor Pine shrugged. "I believe a lot of rangers, possibly more than half, are trainers, coordinators or breeders as well. If you did decide to be a ranger, you'd have to keep in mind that your duty to complete a mission and help other would come before training your Pokémon, but I'm sure you'd manage to take some time in between missions to train. Oh, feel free to talk to the Pokémon, by the way. See which one's personality suits you best," he smiled.[/blockquote][/size][/justify][/div][/td][/tr]
[tr][td][bg=4D1111][cs=2][div style="background: #7D2920;[br"]margin: 0px;padding: 0px;padding-top:2px;text-align:left;font-size:5pt;letter-spacing:0px;font-family: Bookman Old Style;color:#C68179; margin: 10px 10px 10px 10px;]Notes: none
ooc: none[/div][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[Red]

Valen nodded as the professor released three pokemon, saying that he'd been unable to find any Riolu's or Zorua's. Valen hadn't really expected there to be any. Both pokemon were fairly rare and sure to be popular for that reason alone. His dark eyes widened slightly as he looked over the pokemon the Professor had released.

The tall monk crouched as the pokemon came over, one knee hitting the floor and his staff balanced in the crook of his arm once more. The Abra had settled to the ground by his feet and it was just about automatic to reach out and pet the psychic type, just as he had once done with the pokemon belonging to the Dancing Girls and the other friends he had made in Ecruteak City.

The shiny Ralts was watching him and Valen watched her right back, studying her as she studied him, still petting the abra. His brown eyes flicked for a moment to the normal ralts, who was still standing nearer to Professor Pine than himself or the other pokemon. Valen had nothing against shyness, but he wasn't sure such a pokemon would be suitable as his first. When his eyes flicked back to the Ralts, the little female was smiling and Valen couldn't help but smile in response. He liked this little pokemon. He liked the Abra as well. The Abra reminded him of himself, while the Ralts was perhaps more like Abby.

Abigail floated down until she was more on the same level as the Ralt's who'd greeted her. "Hello" The haunter-daemon greeted the little psychic type. Abby was glad to be greeted so pleasantly by the little ralts. Many people and pokemon was afraid of Ghost types and having settled as a Haunter, Abigail was well used to getting strange looks and outright fearful ones from some of those she met. "I'm Abigail. My human's Valen" Abby thought she preferred this Ralts over either of the other two She had enough trouble keeping Valen out of trouble as it was, she didn't need him getting the encouragement she thought the Abra's less that cautious nature would give him, while the other ralts was to shy for her tastes.

[Birdybot]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][cs=2][bg=4D1111]

[bg=4D1111][cs=2][div style="background: #7D2920;[br"]margin: 0px;padding: 2px;padding-top:2px;text-align:right;font-size:10pt;letter-spacing:0px;font-family: Bookman Old Style;text-transform:uppercase;color:#C68179; margin: 0px 10px 10px 10px;]hurrdurr

[/div][/td][/tr]
[tr][td][bg=4D1111][atrb=width,100]

Name
Jonathon Pine

Dæmon
Telepa, Noctowl

Level
N/A

Ability
N/A

Moves
N/A

[/td]

[td][bg=4D1111][atrb=width,350]

The normal Ralts was watching Valen closely, and wasn't sure how to react. He blinked, trying to avoid looking Valen in the eye but still looking at the stranger. He shuffled forward a little, moving closer to Valen while still watching him with a mixture of interest and suspicion. He wasn't just shy, he was also quite timid. The shiny Ralts was aware she was getting a lot more attention that the normal Ralts, and took this as a sign that she was more likely to get chosen than the other Ralts, which made her happy but at the same time made her feel a little guilty and sorry for the other Ralts. She took note of Valen and Abby#s names. ~Cool. So, you settled as a Haunter? No doubt people judge you two as bad people, then, cos of the Ghost type dæmon? Stupid, really. I say don't judge people by their dæmon's form or gender or their appearance or beliefs or anything, get to know them first, then see if you like them or not.~

[/color] she said proudly, a strong believer in equal rights for everyone and not afraid to show it. She was incredibly confident in who she was.

Abra made a sort of purring noise as she felt a hand on her head. She liked the way being pet felt, and she relaxed a little more, half closing her slitted eyes and smiling slightly. ~You seem like a nice guy,~[/color] she commented sleepily. Professor Pine decided to give a little information on the Pokémon he was showing Valen as his starter options.

"Abra may seem sleepy and lazy, but it's actually just their species. Abras generally need about twenty hours of sleep a day and can be quite sluggish in the few hours they are awake. This may seem like a ridiculous amount, but it's all in preparation for when they evolve, as this sleep is required for their bodies to develop the vast amount of psychic power they gain as a Kadabra and Alakazam. It'd be tricky starting off with an Abra, but definately rewarding once they evolve. As for the Ralts, a Ralts also has psychic abilities, as does a Kirlia and Gardevoir, but not so much as the Abra family. They are better with emotions, but the Abra family are good and powerful all-rounders. The Ralts family are, because of their ability, sensitive and easier to start off with than an Abra, but there are pros and cons of each you'd find later on in your journey," he spoke, hoping some facts would help with Valen's decision.[/blockquote][/size][/justify][/div][/td][/tr]
[tr][td][bg=4D1111][cs=2][div style="background: #7D2920;[br"]margin: 0px;padding: 0px;padding-top:2px;text-align:left;font-size:5pt;letter-spacing:0px;font-family: Bookman Old Style;color:#C68179; margin: 10px 10px 10px 10px;]Notes: none
ooc: none[/div][/td][/tr][/table][/center]