Into the void~

Eve unplugged her headphones and sighed, taking off the light, white ear-gear and switching off the music. Her drawing spree had left her short of paper – even though she drew on scrap paper – and her fingers aching. Realizing night had fallen, and that was the reason she had been straining her eyes to see in the dark, she switched on her desk light, and raised her head to see the large collage she had created on her wall. Pokémon drawings of all kinds scattered themselves in a messy, unorganized pile, some drawings buried within several other upper layers of pinned papers.

It had been three months since she’d turned 16, and her mother was still hesitant to let her go on her journey. Eve tilted back on the chair legs, balancing herself precariously, staring at her art – currently a female human figure with long tresses. Much like herself, only this one bore an alabaster brow and raven hair. It was unusual for any of her human figures to be by themselves on a sheet of paper; they were usually accompanied by a Pokémon of some sort.
And yet male and female characters alike adorned her wall – albeit the former being significantly lower in number. She still couldn’t draw males too well yet. She diverted her attention to her newest drawing, all aglow in the pale light of her lamp. Sensuous crimson eyes and hard contrast between black and white.

An Absol.

Or at least the head of it. A fan of fluffy, most of her drawings were of quadrupeds. But this was the first time she’d drawn an Absol. She liked it. It was one of her better pieces. Stretching, and righting the chair, she got up, scratching her belly. It was all quiet and dark in the house. Her mother must be asleep. And taking note of the time, she ought to have been too.
Pinning up her lengthy hair, she slid into a cold bed, surrounded by Pokémon plushies from when she was young. But sleep eluded her. She knew not for how long she stayed awake, staring into the darkness. Her mind roved, as it was prone to. She picked up a much frequented topic nowadays – her memories. She’d taken to thinking of her past a lot now, much more than she actually had in…well, the past.

The past is a comforting darkness, real and definite. You cannot change the past; it has already occurred. And that’s what made it so comforting. It was the present that was an uncertain dream.
She hugged her voluminous Flygon plushie closer, staring sightlessly at her medals and trophies, and pictures of herself in them. Never very good at academics, all of them were for extracurricular activities or practical education. There she was at 10, proudly displaying her trophy with a wide grin – awarded for completing two years of archery. Next to that was a much larger trophy, awarded for completion of eight years of archery.

Certificate of indication of her skill in practical Pokémon battles. She’d particularly liked those classes, for they taught children how to battle with Pokémon. She could make a Weepinbell win against a Growlithe.  Other such medals and certificates strew themselves on the drawer made especially for them, and Eve moved on.
There was that time when she’d won her first award in an Art competition, lending her confidence to participate in others, when led to her win too. It escalated to the point when she entered in every art competition she could lay her hands on – the prizes were good too. Art supplies, cash prizes, scholarships.

There were some drawings on her wall, Eve idly realized as she stared at them, that she wished she’d drawn on better paper. The paper where she drew only the best of her drawings was expensive, but there the sudden, random, unexpected drawing that came out on regular paper that was worthy to be adorned upon her special paper.

Realizing that she wasn’t going to be sleeping anytime soon, she got out of bed – though it killed her to get out of a nice, warm bed. Padding over to her drawing table, without bothering to switch the light on, she sat down. She didn’t reach for her pencil; she didn’t intend to draw. There was her notepad, with the paper she liked; she brushed her fingers against the rough, corrugated surface of the sturdy substance it was made of.
She immersed herself in staring at the Absol drawing she’d made. Beautiful. Eve let out another sigh, gazing and gazing, without ever breaking her concentration. She felt as though she were on the cusp of a cliff, staring down into an abyss. She looked down at her drawing.

Almost without realizing it, she had written Abyss on the bottom left corner.  She looked at the deep red gaze of her drawing; it was funny how a simple two dimensional drawing could have such a hypnotic gaze. Once again, as though she stared at a void. Extracting herself with some difficulty out of her reverie, she lay her head down on her desk, she cheek against the Absol’s. She suddenly felt drowsy, and heavy-headed. Yet her thoughts felt light, as though she was light-headed and heavy-headed at the same time.  Was this, she wondered, what it felt like to be drunk?

Realizing she’d fall asleep if she remained here any longer at the desk, she got up and swayed unsteadily to her bed. The clock told her she’d been at her desk for no more than a few minutes, but to her it felt like an eternity, an infinity within time. She stared at the drawing for a final time, feeling her eyelids droop…but when she turned away to get into bed, she suddenly jolted wide awake, for no apparent reason; as though somebody had doused her in ice-cold water.
She lay in bed, wondering what happened; she turned away to face the wall, and within minutes, her breathing evened out. She was asleep.
She hadn’t noticed, as she turned away from staring into the void, that the void stared back at her, into her.


Eve woke up feeling cheery, for all her ‘adventure’ last night. She patted her bag, one that she kept eternally packed. Today she would leave. Finally! She understood the cause of her mother’s worry, but she was 16! She could take care of herself. She took the stairs down three at a time. “Hey, mom!” She greeted her mother as her breakfast, toast and mashed berries, was put on the table. Asra smiled tenderly at her daughter. “Good morning, sweetie.” She dropped a kiss on Eve’s head and busied herself in the kitchen. “So….” Eve mildly hinted, suggestively holding up her bag.

Asra sighed. “I know, sweetie. Take care of yourself out there. Don’t forget to write home.” Eve nodded her head enthusiastically. “Yeah, I know. I’ll send loads of flying-types.” She spoke around a mouth full of berries. She did a final, cursory check of her room to check if she’d forgotten anything, while Asra hovered worriedly. “Have you enough water? And food? The professor will give you some refreshment, yes?” Eve rolled her eyes, feeling for her sketchpad in her bag, and checking if her graded pencils were there.
“Mom. It’s a five-hour journey to the lab. It’s longer than that to the town. I’ve packed enough food for three months.” She informed her, looking around, upon sudden remembrance, for her drawing from last night. Odd. She was sure she kept it on her table, and everything was intact except for her monochrome drawing. Mother knew better than to touch or move her things around, and it couldn’t have flown off.

“Alright, but water? What about water?” Asra asked, her voice mildly tinged with paranoia. “Uh, same.” Eve replied distractedly. Eh well, she could do without it. “All set. See you. Love you.” She waved, mysteriously pressing something on her desk. As Asra watched her daughter fly down the stairs again, strains of music could be heard from the desk. ‘Remember me, for centuries~~’
“Eve!” Asra called after her daughter with a grin, from the window. Eve grinned back mischievously, and continued on her path, stride unbroken.

It was a fine morning, as though Arceus himself had tailor-made it for the auspicious occasion. Well, maybe not really. Hundreds of trainers started their journey each day, and Eve had often wondered why the law insisted all young adults travel. I mean, sure, it was their world, the world they would live in for their entire lives, a hundred years, but really.
Now that she thought about it – for which she had plenty of time as she pressed on to the beaten path – she had not decided what she wanted. In so many ways. Neither had she decided her partner, nor which field she wished to specialize in. She didn’t wish to be limited to just one type, as she believed in versatility to take down opponents, so she never really wished to be a tamer. A breeder would be interesting, as understanding sentiments came easily to her, but she was no good around children, human or otherwise.

She was torn between a coordinator and trainer. She’d heard that people like her, with akin interests in drawing or photography travelled to ‘expand their horizons’, with Pokémon to keep them safe, and she wondered if she fell in that category. But displaying the flair and beauty within each Pokémon appealed so much to her, as did discovering their strength and potential and building a powerful team.
She brushed some hair out of her eyes, idly plaiting the ends, precariously balancing on a stile, before jumping down as the owner of that land appeared. She waved cheerily but got no response; no surprise there – the owner was a grumpy old farmer, raising Mareep. But today seemed to be different. He called out for her and made for her general direction. Eve stopped in surprise and waited patiently as he hobbled up and thrust some yellow fluffy object in her hands.

It was mildly sticky, and she tilted her head curiously at him. “Hello, Mr. Lynde. Good morning, isn’t it?” She inquired politely, edging towards the road; she wished to continue her journey, but he apparently had other plans. Laughing a wheezing laugh, he nodded consent. “Leavin’ today, are we?” He interrogated, with a raised eyebrow. “Why, yes! I finally am! But what’s this?” She held up the fluff.
“That’s first grade Mareep, it is.” He said. Eve looked physically sick, and about to throw it away, when he interjected. “Ah, jes messing’ with ya. The wife’s made some o’ that modern sweet. What’cha call it? Catta candy?” Eve breathed a sigh of relief and nodded with a slight smile. “Cotton candy. Thank you. I’d…best be going.” She corrected, waving before continuing on her way. The cotton candy was actually quite good, and she let some Mareep lick off the last of the stickiness off of her hand as she passed by.
It was quite hot by the time Eve finally reached the lab, sipping water tiredly. She felt grimy and tired out, and breathed out a single huff of air. The lab was, like probably all labs, a large white building, blinding to look at. It looked quite deserted; was no one there? As she approached it, she stopped, feeling her hair prickling.

She felt as though someone was watching her.

Turning around slowly, she scanned the undergrowth on either side of the road, but saw nothing except the shimmering leaves and shadows. Feeling unnerved, she picked up the pace. Her way was barricaded by a glass door, and she saw no handle. As she neared, she raised a hand to knock, but it slid open automatically. Oh.
She was hit by a blast of frigid air as she entered, and her suspicions were confirmed. She couldn’t see anyone, and the back of the lab faded away to darkness. All she could see was a board on the wall with something written in fine writing – not a note, she noted – and cases of books.

Silence. It was the first thing that hit her. All around, there was no sound. The very air seemed to fall still and sterilized, as though to match its surroundings. There was a vague smell of disinfectant, and nothing else. It was a hard contrast against the earthy smell outside, and Eve felt grimy and out of place in there. She drew towards the bookcases, and sniffed lightly; the smell of books always calmed her down. Books were the conclusive proof that humans were capable of creating magic, and Eve had lived several lives, travelled worlds while never moving from her room within them.

But there too, there was the sad, uncomfortable void, a mirthless laughter. Taking a deep breath of the now staling, foul air to calm herself, she turned to leave post haste. Once outside, she felt as though a pressure had been lifted off her chest. She could breathe again. As she fidgeted about, her hand brushed her bag, encountering some paper. Looking down curiously, she pulled it out, staring into the face of her Absol. Had that always been there? Confused, she sat down on a convenient rock, staring at it, losing track of time as a hundred thoughts raced through her head. Finally, at length, she put it away, impatiently waiting for somebody, anybody.

Warrod wasn't just any pokemon-breeder. Oh no, far from it, he was called the leafmaster, because he specialized in breeding various strong grass-type pokemon, but they all had one thing in common, they all were top notch in both appearance and strength. After all, he had been breeding and training his favorite type of pokemon for about seventy long years now and while he trained even the newborn pokemon he had, he himself was far from a young lad, but the old man was still spry for his age of eighty-four and still enjoyed his daily walks through viridian city and the viridian forest.

At one such of his walks, the old Warrod noticed a young girl with a rather confused look on her face, as if she had just been going through some kind of weird moment and was now left wondering what it all was. Surprisingly silent and impressively quick for someone his age, warrod thought to at least cheer up this young girl, by trying to sneak a peek at what she was looking at.

"Now that is a mighty fine drawing you have there dear," Warrod chuckled, suddenly popping his head above her own, looking at the drawing with much interest and a warm smile on his face. "Is that an Absol, yes yes...that is indeed an absol, quite a rare pokemon, even I can't say to have seen more than two or so in my entire life."

With a quick and spry hop 'n skip, the old man settled himself next to the girl. "What's yer name girl, my name's Warrod. Do tell what's troubling you, if it is allright with you."

"Waaah!" Eve yelped and rolled off her convenient perch, limbs flailing, before she could be in a still enough state to comprehend what had happened. In an unguarded moment, a passerby who she had miraculously missed had caught her, and hence she found herself lying in a most uncomfortable pose on her back. Picking herself up and dusting off her clothes, she regarded the man curiously for a moment, vivid eyes questioning, quizzical.

A scrap of paper floated past her eyes, breaking eye contact long enough to startle her for the second time within the day; within the span of a couple of minutes, to be precise. Finally blinking, she now stared at the paper: her drawing. She could have sworn she put it away. Had it come loose? That was a violent fall; her bones attested to that.

Shaking the cobwebs out of her head, she returned to the present moment. One conclusion could be drawn for sure - this was a most baffling day. Taking the liberty of a couple more silent moments to take in the details around her, she finally concluded the obvious decision that he was clearly not the Professor. Then who was he? He was not one of her neighbours, for she had never seen him before. Yet he couldn't live far, for a man of his age surely couldn't walk far. Right?

And yet he by no measure seemed to be ignorant or lacking in knowledge. Correctly recognizing - and appraising - her sketch was not a detail to be missed by Eve. A couple more blinks made clear to the oh-so oblivious teenager that she'd been silent for longer than what might be deemed polite. Yet the man did not seem to be one of whom would mind. Surely he wouldn't mind, or grudge, the initial moments of surprise and the time taken to overcome it, seeing that he was the one that had startled her.

She nervously cleared her throat, straightening up, grey eyes flashing green; glittering purple, studded like a blossoming purple twilight flecked with stars, giving her all the stately look of a woodland queen; a young slim birch tree with their white bark and earthen core.

"I, uh, I'm Eve." She offered a hand, her initial alarm quickly slipping away, as was her keen attention. Something about the light filtering through the dappled trees, lilting like a faerie breeze, falling upon this odd male, made her feel that he was right in his element within this forbidding jungle. He carried no pokeballs - at least none visible to her, not that she was looking too closely - yet the fact that she hadn't seen him before meant that he was off the beaten track, on the less safe side tracks. His apparel signified that he seemed to be out for a walk.

Only after these small revelations did the female realise that there was a second part to Warrod's funny little speech. What was bothering her? Why, nothing, nothing at all. And nothing meant, 'nothing she can tell a stranger'. She bent to retrieve her fallen drawing, her grip on it imperceptibly tighter than normal.

All the man did was smile at Eve with his eyes closed, almost as if he was asleep, but when she offered a hand, his eyes opened and showed a spark of joy in them. "Eve, Eve, very nice to meet ya girl."

For a moment his smile vanished and Warrod carefully observed the girl, nodding with his head for a bit, before he took a pokeball out of a pocket of his trousers.

"It is obvious that you have much on your mind, young lass," The old man sighed, dropping his pokeball to the ground, after which a relatively large venusaur appeared. "This here's Venusaur, he's almost seventy years old and just like me, he has seen trainers come and go in the world. Now tell us child, what is it that holds you back, what is it that seems to cloud your mind so much?"

Eve blinked another couple of times. The stranger did not take her proffered hand, only nodded. She felt an impulse to giggle - he looked so much like one of her bobble-head figurines at home when he nodded so much. Stifling the laughter bubbling inside her, she too tilted her head curiously, inquisitive, a smile playing across her face.

She took a step back when a large Venusaur was released. So he was a trainer! Perhaps kindred spirit flashed recognition of kindred spirit after all. Casting aside the niggling thorn of doubt as to why he had released this impressive specimen, she spent a few moments scrutinizing the Pokémon.

Even if information hadn't been supplied to her, it wouldn't have taken her much time to figure out most base details. The powerful legs, darker colour, violently flowering bud and tough, strong vines made it clear that it was a male, more built for combat than their meeker female counterparts. Bulbasaur were by no means an easy species to bring up, despite being generally well-behaved. It takes immense skill to unlock the potential of a rare pokemon such as this one and make it this powerful behemoth that it now was.

She would have very much liked to pet this Venusaur, encouraged by the fact that it had a calm, easy-going demeanour and was practically smiling at her - all signs of being very well brought up - but turned to Warrod instead.

Her young hopeful eyes darkened into deep pools of silvery moonlight, but the next moment, the shadow passed. "Oh, it was nothing. Just a dream." She said airily, waving her hand to emphasize on the passing on of it. It was, after all, definitely a dream. There was no such thing as predestination.

"you know...you may pet Venusaur, he's quite happy with people showing their affection," Warrod chuckled when noticing the girl's hesitation. He himself however, did not hesitate, placing his hand atop the large pokemon's head and rubbing it in a strong, but affectionate way, resulting in the venusaur blissfully closing its eyes and letting out a soothing rumble from its throat, a sound of great joy and pleasure. "I will tell you something child, dreams are meant to be followed and fulfilled."

When Warrod stopped petting the venusaur, the old man seemed to whisper something to the venusaur, who let out a loud, yet harmless growl. In an instant, the air was filled with a flowery, soothing aroma, a scent of spring and life flowing through the air.

"Seventy years ago, this venusaur was just a bulbasaur, given to me by my father," Warrod laughed, smiling at the young girl. "With it, I decided to make my dream a reality and now..."

Suddenly the old man put his two hands into his trouser's pockets and took out five tiny balls which he threw up in the air. In an instant, there were another five pokemon surrounding the old man and the girl: a beautiful Roserade, a majestic Meganium, a cute little Leafeon, a strong-looking Shiftry and a slightly intimidating, but gentle looking sceptile. "I made my dream a reality, to be a breeder of the grass type, to train children, trainers and even gymleaders all around the world. So now child, rather than being shy or withdrawn, shout it into the air, let the world know your dream and let me help you find your path."

Eve smiled at the man, and stepped forward, encouraged by the rumbling Grass type. She petted it, rubbing behind his ears before pulling on them gently. Most of the species under her care had enjoyed such treatment; another of their favourite amusements was to roll over, waving stubby legs in the air, asking all those who passed by for a belly rub. Of course, this only worked with their lesser evolved counterparts; Venusaur were too large for this absol-ute exploit of colossal cuteness.

She blinked as she was yet again surrounded by Pokémon and a sweet scent. She took a moment to close her eyes and revel in the phantom fragrance of the tranquil dawn, one of sunrises behind the firs and the pale pink buds opening in the plains. Something insolently ethereal in its ephemeral beauty and glory.

It took her more than a moment to reluctantly abandon her reverie, blinking eyes open to slowly, individually take in the sights of the Pokémon surrounding her. Roserade were always the possessors of certain, assured confidence, but this one was flowering exceptionally under the Grass breeders care. The Meganium was indeed of a powerful line, and it showed in its stocky build, yet beautifully pruned little this-and-that's that not many would notice. Pared claws, carefully stroked neck buds, well fondled head which were adorned by great liquid pools; wonderous eyes they were.

All Eeveelutions had been a personal favourite and interest of the young girl's, like all of her age and gender, and she smiled gleefully at the Leafeon. A nimble, graceful feline, with an attractively curving leaf and alluring cuteness. With it's well-known battle prowess, a formidable combination. Yet so adorable.

Shiftry created a new interest in Eve. She had never seen one before, and she could see the immediate link between it and the Tengu of legend. It's dark nature perfectly complemented its look. And finally, Sceptile. Notoriously fast, and striking hard at the same time, a living lightning flash. Perfect for competitive battling. Eve was oriented towards it, and she looked forward to having one by her side.

She turned back to the man with a smile. "No, this dream is mine alone to hold dear to my heart. But the courage to go ahead and fulfil it...that's a different story. I thank you, sir." She nodded and curtsied lightly, eyes alight with respect.

For the momentit lasted, Warrod smiled as he saw the perplexed or rather enthralled look in Eve's eyes when she was looking at each of his pokemon, silently admiring each and everyone of them for the strength and character they showed without hesitation.

"I reckon you have an Absol, am I correct?" The old man suddenly inquired, since it was quite strange for someone to make such a near perfect drawing of a pokemon with such an elusive nature without owning one or at least knowing a trainer who had one. "But that aside young girl, what were you doing out here, sitting there so lonely looking?"

With his attention turning towards his pokemon for a bit, Warrod pulled out a small pouch from the vest he was wearing, opening it and throwing a wellmade poffin at each of his dear pokemon, before looking after the girl once more. "Each has a dream girly, but not everyone has the strength and passion to see it through."

Eve blinked again at the man; she was becoming rather like a feline. "Oh, no, no!" She amended hastily, waving hands to emphasize. "I don't own an Absol. I only drew one." She looked around at the second part of Warrod's dialogue. Yes, it was rather lonely around - of course, not now when she was surrounded by seven live organisms. "I, uh, was waiting for the Professor?" She hedged; what was she doing there? How long had she sat, or intended to sit? She really did wish to start off today, and to leave empty handed to walk back home...she stifled a groan. It had taken her the better part of the morning to walk here, and now was the latter end of the hottest part of the day.

Her eyes and mouth curved and curled in a small, sly smile. "Oh, lie yourself?" She teased as he spoke of fulfilled dreams. True, one had to struggle to see a dream through. Run after it, fly, fall; just not stop. She took a step aside as the Leafeon nibbled its poffin, head adornment brushing her leg. Grass types always liked this hot, humid climate.

"The professor, hmm?" the old man suddenly had a grin plastered upon his wrinkly old face, a glittery twinkle in his mischievous eyes and a whole lot of spirit. "Why would you be waiting for that dorky old bat with his annoying habit to forget his appointments and when he does remind them he'd always be late?"

Without a single worde, but with that same grin still on his face, Warrod took out a small key-like object from his vest and showed it to the girl. "I think I understand now...completely."

Giving his pokemon the sign to stay calm and rest their, the old man started chuckling and walked towards the door of the professor's lab, signaling Eve to come over. "Let me guess, you're supposed to get your first pokemon today?"

Despite the fact that Eve had not really ever met the Professor, or known him, or the fact that Warrod was technically poking fun at him (which was not very nice), she couldn't prevent her mouth quirking into a smile. Of course, the smile persisted, but as was wont of her transparent nature, her expression grew to look much like a question mark plastered across her face, her eyes once again quizzical. This man was full of surprises; what was he going to do next?

"Yep. It's the day for me." She chirped cheerfully upon recollection of the fact and nodded at him, tilting her head but following him nonetheless. Already within their short yet immensely quirky conversation, she knew she could trust this odd old man. She made a mental note to come visit him whenever she bestowed the same favour upon her mother, which would, she hoped, be often. She cast a final glance back at the happy, powerful Grass type group and silently tailed Warrod.

"you know, why not have a peak inside the lab," The old man laughed, opening the door of the professor's lab with the key he had been holding in his hand. A smile on his face, he went inside and seemed to know exactly where to look. Alas, when he had found the presentation-table, where usually there should've been three pokeballs, there was nothing but three empty holes. "Really, I was supposed to deliver one of my newborn bulbasaurs for him. I would do better by giving it to my grandchild."

Letting out a sigh, the old man turned towards eve and gave an apologetic nod with his head, though he quickly seemed to light up again. "Say, rather than getting a pokemon from that professor/idiot let's just catch you one. Viridian forest is full of wondrous pokemon, let's see if we can find something there. All the while I could tell you the basics on how a trainer goes through their daily life."

Eve didn't say a word as Warrod opened the door, but her thoughts raced. Was that a spare key? It wasn't locked to begin with; she'd entered herself, but it seemed to be the key to the inner parts of the lab - where the pokemon were kept. There was, of course, a sad lack of said pokemon, as Eve noticed the empty places at the same time as Warrod did. "You were?" So that's where the pokemon came from! The professor must also have an affiliation with a Fire and a Water breeder. Although they must be imported from quite a distance; a forest was no place to raise a Fire type, though the Water types could be excused with the nearby water body. She also noted that Warrod had grandchildren. How nice.

She was quickly struck with disbelief as Warrod put in his two cents - the suggestion actually floored her. "W-What?" She nearly staggered, but she was not quite as dramatic. "Er, um, that'd be great, but..." Of course, it'd been her mothers suggestion and self-invoked duty to contact the Professor - from one unreliable to the other. Authority did come to play here. But the fact that he seemed to possess a spare key spoke of a great bond of trust and friendship between the Breeder and the Professor. Of course, he'd only get his pokemon from a certified breeder. She trailed off uncertainly.

Truly, she hadn't even decided what kind of a pokemon she wanted. One with grace and explosive power. One that she could nurture and have the joy of watching it grow. Perhaps she could have gone out on a limb and seen which pokemon she best 'gelled' with. This historic day was quickly turning upside down.

"So, what do you say, girly?" Warrod inquired, while rummaging through some of the multitude of pockets his vest had, until he pulled out a handful of pokeballs. "I'll assist you in catching the pokemon you want."

Taking out yet another pokeball, the old man smiled and tried to hand it over to Eve. "I'll lend you this pokemon, that way we'll be able to see how good you are as a trainer and I'll be able to see if that bulbasaur is ready for my grandson's journey."

Eve looked down blankly at the pokeball proffered. Still attempting to wrap her head around the rather bizarre idea, she hesitated to take the pokeball. "Don't Pokémon bond with the first trainer they fight with...?" She asked, unsurely. She didn't mind picking up one of the empty pokeballs though; pokemon didn't have to be caught by weakening it. Their sentiment counted too. Any pokemon that was willing to go along with her was good enough for her.

Pushing the pokeball into her hands, Warrod gave her a smile and motioned her not to worry. "Pokemon exist to be seen as friends. They won't mind making multiple bonds, like we don't mind making many bonds either. This particular bulbasaur is indeed for my grandson, but that does not mean it wouldn't help you."

Taking his own pokeballs, warrod waved at his own pokemon and let each of them return to their balls, except for the leafeon, which he asked to just walk alongside him. After all, the old man had seen that the girl seemed to have more interest in the leafeon than in any other of the pokemon he showed. "Alright girly, to the forrest we go...and no buts, we've got to help you now that that dimwitted prof's forgotten all about us again."

Making a slight, murmuring vocalization as the pokeball was thrust in her hands, she didn't protest any furthur. No matter, she did want a Pokemon. She smiled at the pretty, lithe Leafeon, secretly glad Warrod had left it out, blissfully unaware of the fact that he had done so on purpose. Admittedly, she was nervous walking off the beaten track and into the tall grass where there were possibilities of getting mauled by a foot-high purple rat, but the cool sphere in her hand was reassuring and calming. She walked unsurely, uncertain if she should rustle the grass to attract pokemon or just walk quietly and cruelly ambush someone. That would be funny.

While the two finally made their way to the Viridian forest, something seemed to be quite odd. Usually, there were a lot of pokemon around, especially entire variaties of bird and bug pokemon. However, now there was more or less only an eerie silence.

"Somehow this doesn't seem right," the old man sighed quite worried about the nature of this silence. "We best tread careful now."

Just as he spoke those words, a rustle could be heard coming from the bushes, followed by a swiftly leaping shadow. It seemed something was keeping an eye on the two humans...

Eve had been busily thinking about the general populace of the forest, combined with the Leafeon, and wondered if she could sight some of the rarer Eevee or Pikachu. Of course, sighting one was usually enough, but she wouldn't back down from catching one! Although Eevee were a docile species, she'd often heard of cruel treatment meted out to Eeveelutions who did not perform well enough in their contests.

Her thoughts were interrupted - broken, shattered into a thousand fragments - by the swift rustling of undergrowth, causing her to hesitate for a moment and wildly look around. When alone, it was a bad idea to turn and look, for you may actually see what's watching you, and they may not like that, but accompanied by Warrod, Eve discarded all fear and caution. Her grip tightened on the pokeball, and she noted the lack of the usual base evolutions. Only something tall and lithe - much like a Leafeon - could move so swiftly and cleanly. The usual Weedle and Caterpie lacked the...limbs, and Pidgey didn't fly so low.

Out of the darkness behind the bushes, two large red eyes seemed to observe the old man and the girl, seemingly curious or maybe more so cautious and wary of what the duo was doing in the viridian forest.

The sky turned dark and rain started pouring out of the thick pack of gray clouds, drenching warrod and eve in a mild drizzle at first, but a true downpour five minutes later.

"This isn't exactly a bad sign," Warrod laughed, still confident that nothing was wrong. "there's a lot of good pokemon that actually enjoy the rain."

A loud rumble suddenly sounded not to far from the duo's location, with the ground trembling ever so slightly with periodic intervals.

The teenager smelt the rain before it actually arrived, albeit only a few minutes before. She flinched at the first icy-cold drop falling on her, but that did little good, as she was soon drenched, even through the drizzle. Her light clothes she wore wouldn't take too long to dry off, but her heavy outer jacket could take hours. It also failed miserably at keeping her warm through the freezing, penetrating downpour which gradually rose to a crescendo. Rain in this season was rare, but not unwelcome. It seemed to be just a passing storm, that would disappear as suddenly as it had appeared.

Trying to stifle a sneeze, she wished miserably for several things, as was wont of her nature. To have warm, dry clothes, for the rain to stop, for something warm to hug - she glanced at the Leafeon - to....oh, to go home. She sniffed. What a wretched day! Even as it had started bright, it had quickly turned dismal. Just when she felt numbed and ready to teeter over, a rumble and light shaking snapped her eyes open. Had she actually fallen over? No...the ground was actually moving...! She moved imperceptibly closer to Warrod.

Leafeon noticed how the girl was closing in to Warrod, her fear, though first unnoticed by the old man, had quickly garnered the pokemon's attention. In response to her fear, leafeon started walking closer to her, as it deemed her the weakest of the two humans in the forest, after all, Warrod was an experienced breeder and an accomplished trainer who had traversed the land of Kanto and beyond in his youth and even to this day in search for the pokemon of the grass type.

"girly, you should be glad that leafeon has taken a liking to you..." The old man suddenly stopped talking, when a louder rumble was heard through the forest and the sky was really turning black, with flashes of light coarsing through the sky. The thing that made him stop talking for a moment though, was not the sound or the sky, but the fact that not far from them, a majestic looking pokemon with a white fur and black elements such as the snout and tail, was standing and staring at them. "Well I'll be damned..."

Eve stepped mincingly, afraid to tread on the absurdly tiny brown paws of the Leafeon. All Eeveelution who had ever been under her fortunate care were flawless in looks, and took particular care to preen daily. Perhaps their looks and appeal were why they were largely successful in the show-business industry. She'd heard that pokemon born with tiny defects, such as a Leafeon with a brown spot on her forehead and one white paw were often...eliminated from the competition. Of course, such a trait didn't matter to a battling pokemon.

Lost in such ruminations, she ran into Warrod just as she was gratefully saying 'Oh, I am." She clenched her face as it impacted with his back, and took a step or two back after a quick survey to check where the location of the Grass type was. The appearance of her live drawing didn't strike her immediately; her mind was preoccupied with the Leafeon. However, once her eyes claimed the silhouette, the silhouette claimed her thoughts.

An Absol. That was all she stupidly thought; her mind was bogged down as she once again experienced the 'void'. Ruby eyes within which she lost herself. She blinked her own mild grey-green eyes, in contrast to the sharp red ones in front of her. As though in sync, all sound around her ceased - Warrod's words (haha), the pattering of rain on leaves, the rumble of the earth. Though the reverie lasted only for a moment. Everything came rushing back with a flood. She felt her knees weaken under the shift of the beguiling tectonic plates beneath her. The suddenly amplified surrounding assailed her senses, though her eyes never left the perfect harmony of black and white.

"Girl, this is possibly your best chance at battling and capturing the very pokémon you adore," Warrod chuckled, almost unfazed by the brewing storm and the obvious danger around them. The leafeon braced itself as well, quite uncertain what to think of the majestic Absol, but quite clearly ready to engage if there was a need.

"Judging from its size, it is still a youngling," The pokémon breeder made a professional observation, mumbling a few unclear words after that, before placing a calming hand upon Eve's shoulder. "Use bulbasaur, I'll help you understand the ways of battle...and win girl, win not only the battle, but the heart of this Absol. remember the dream you have and let it all play out as it should."

"Eh? What? What?" Eve blinked, finally coming to her senses, taking a moment longer to scrutinize the Absol. Indeed, it was young, for it's fur was still short and not quite luxurious yet. Still, for something so young, it appeared quite menacing, and the eyes quite put one off. She shook off the nervous jitters and looked closer. She knew those glowing red orbs were watching her as carefully as she watched the owner of them. The sharper claws and horn, leaner build and slim hips all said that it was a male. Living in the wild, it had to be battle-hardened, but it put off the whole effect when she realized the Leafeon was much stronger than this Absol here. Was he the one causing the terrible weather?

She put the notion of of her mind as soon as it appeared. Absol did not naturally learn weather-inducing moves; her experience with Absol's had led her to believe that they were not a naturally malignant species. She blinked blankly up at Warrod. Feeling prone to babble out a hundred things, she chose the wiser option of keeping quite, nervously nodding and taking a slight step forward, still within Warrod's arm's length; she had the feeling she might need the support of an arm or two to remain on her legs. She fixed her gaze on the Absol, not quite sure how to convey her intentions, and managed to suffice with just tossing the pokeball to release it's occupant. (At least she didn't forget there was something inside and just hurled it fiercely at the foe.)