Set Sail for... Fail?

Marion couldn't help but feel out of place. The calmness of the small town, the faraway merriment of small children... It was so lethargic, Marion could feel himself actually slowing down out of boredom. But he had to stay focused. He had a job to do, and he just wanted to get it over with. He headed for the biggest building in Littleroot, with large windows and an inviting path leading up to its doorway. Marion did not feel very invited.

A small pond glistened in the sunlight on the way to the Pokémon laboratory, and Marion stopped to check his reflection. His hair was messy but hidden under his straw hat, and his face was red with sunburn. His clothes weren't too wrinkled, and his sandals not too shoddy. He hoped he would make a good first impression.

He continued along the path, until finally reaching the foreboding lab with its unpleasant connotations. He didn't want to do this, but he knew he had to. If he would survive in this new country, he needed protection, and the free handout offered by this "Professor" would be the quickest way to get it. Marion hated handouts. He hated being a charity case.

He hesitated at the door. Should he knock? It felt impolite to barge right in. Marion decided to rap on the door three times, then waited for something to happen.

Code:

OOC: Sorry if I've done this all wrong. Dx I'm new at this.

Surprised at the knock on the door, Professor Birch had gotten up and was surprised to see the young man at the door. Grinning, he simply begins to explain some things.

"Well hello there son, I'm Professor Birch, and I'm assuming you are here for your first Pokémon? Well, before I can give you a Pokémon, or a PokéDex, or anything I'll need your name, so what is it?"

Marion hears every word, but other than the professor's question, he only notices a poster with ten Pokémon on it, with ten PokéBalls underneath, and a sparking machine on the other side of the room. At any rate, just what will he do?

"I'll need your name, so what is it?" the man standing at the door asked politely. Marion couldn't help but notice the colorful pictures of Pokémon hanging on the wall behind the Professor. He recognized a few, but was startled when a strange-looking machine in the corner hissed and sparked suddenly.

Marion remembered his manners. "Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, I'd like a Pokémon, and my name is, um, Marion..." He felt hesitant to give away too much about himself. "Marion Clearwater." It felt bad to lie, but if he was going to keep his identity a secret... After all, he had come this far already. He wasn't going to get caught.

Marion grinned at the Professor in hopes of coming off as simply nervous.

Professor Birch grins before he responds.

"Well then, it's nice to meet you Marion, and with that, I can get you a PokéDex and Pokémon, now you see I'll take you out for a short practical exam, but before we leave, I need to get you a few things, so while I get those items and your PokéDex, take a look at that poster, check out which of those Pokémon you'd want and we can get you started as soon as possible. If you have any questions though, just ask."

With that, Professor Birch walks into another room, and as Marion takes a long look at the list, he can hear the professor moving things around in the background... just which starter will he choose?

Marion felt uncomfortable being left alone in the stranger's house. He decided just to take a ball and get out of there as soon as he could. He plucked a red-and-white orb from the rack and turned for the door, but his sandal came loose and he stumbled, causing him to drop the PokéBall on the floor.

"Oh, damn..." he muttered, rubbing his stubbed toe, but just then there was a popping noise and a flash of red light - and scuttling on the ground in front of Marion was a gray-and-green bug-looking creature. It looked up at him curiously as Marion hastily checked the chart on the wall to determine its identity.

"Um, nice little... Nincada? You know, you aren't too bad..." he said as he watched his new companion begin to explore the lab, scampering over to investigate the sparking machine in the corner.

As Professor Birch poked his head into the room, Marion apologized and asked awkwardly, "Um, what does it... do?"

He knew what Pokémon were and how battles worked, of course, but he was referring to the small Nincada before him. It looked cool and all, but it didn't look terribly powerful.

Professor Birch laughs as Marion asks that question, but at any rate he does answer.

"Well then Marion, I know that he's your first Pokémon, but you don't have a PokéDex yet, so I should tell you. Nincada is a Pokémon that can sometimes live underground for more than 10 years. It absorbs nutrients from the roots of trees. If only to use the definition from your soon to be PokéDex. At any rate, your Nincada, like every other Pokémon in my lab is Level 5, and he has the attacks of Leech Life, Scratch and Harden, he's also a pretty good Pokémon.

On another note, my healing machine isn't in the best of shape, it's broken right now so I've had to produce some healing items from my own stores, but we'll go on a short trip before we do anything else, once you've picked up the items on the table, so get ready."

As Birch finishes speaking, Marion stares at the table, and as Nincada sort of stares, if a bit uninterested, at the Town Map, Revive, 2 Potions, 2 Full Heals and 3 Oran Berries on the table.

Advance to Route 101 if you wouldn't mind