``by your side • • •

[randomosity]

Jeiza stopped her bike in front of the lab and stared at the building in wonder. Her brothers had told her about the place but she had never seen it for herself. Her mouth was agape as she stared at it a little bit longer but then anticipation and excitement made it too hard for her to stand outside any longer. She had wanted to start with Meowth, the family pokémon, but her mother had refused to let her take it out of the house. So, Jeiza's next hope for beginning her journey was to start just like everyone else, at the pokémon lab in Acorn Town.

Jeiza leaned her bike against a tree before heading into the lab. She was supposed to meet with the Professor and receive a starter. Jeiza knew which ones her brothers started with and was determined to be different from them all. As she stepped in, she saw that there were several of the starters sitting, waiting for her to choose. She looked around for the professor but he seemed to be nowhere in this room. Hoping she had not arrived too early or too late, she looked at her watch. Nope, she had arrived just in time.

A Starly looked up at her with curious eyes. Jeiza smiled and pet it on the head. "Hi there, Starly. My oldest brother started with a Starly before. It's a Staraptor now. Oh, you're so cute," she said before turning to the Lotad next to it. "And my other brother started with a Lotad like you. It's only a Lombre right now as far as I've heard. But hopefully it'll evolve into a Ludicolo soon." She then turned to the other starters who were eyeing her, hoping to be chosen. All of them except for the houndour who was laying by itself in the corner, not really caring. Jeiza sighed. There were so many pokémon to choose from and she did not know which one would be best.

[Amy]

After a few minutes, a young woman ran into the room, huffing and panting. Her hair was tied back into a messy bun at the back of her head, and her glasses rested on the end of her nose. Over a simple green top and black skirt, she wore a white lab coat, left open, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. A Roselia followed her in.

She pushed her glasses up, and smiled as she noticed Jeiza. "So sorry, we had a slight... issue to deal with out back." She cleared her throat. "So, I'll be giving you your starter today." she added with a nod. "Have you decided which one you'd like yet?"

[randomosity]

Jeiza kneeled down around the pokémon and began petting them. They were all so wonderful and she felt that it would be quite hard to choose just one. If she had it her way, she would take them all. But she had to remember her dream. After she had met that Gastly long ago, she knew that she wanted to know and learn more about Ghost-type pokémon. Thus, she had to get a starter that would help her achieve that goal. She had gotten in contact with her brothers and had asked them what they knew as well as doing her own research and she was able to narrow it down to Houndour and Mareep.

Houndour would be more helpful in battling Ghost-types but as Jeiza looked over at it, she wondered if it was anywhere as friendly and energetic as the others appeared to. Jeiza stood up and went over to see it. She knelt down again next to the Houndour and pet it gently on the head. It looked up at her for a moment and then continued staring ahead. Jeiza smiled. "You are a cute one, aren't you," she whispered. "How would you like to join me on my quest to be a ghost-type pokémon master? You would be the perfect partner and we would make a great team."

The Houndour yawned and stretched before standing up and looking at Jeiza. For a few moments, they stared at each other, and Jeiza hoped that a connection between them would form. She was feeling it. She could see Houndour helping her catch more ghost-type pokémon. And other pokémon for that matter--she wasn't picky. She reached out her hand to pet it on the head again and it turned away, and laid back down, obviously disinterested. Jeiza then heard the entrance of the professor.

"Uh, oh," Jeiza muttered, standing up. "Is there anything I can do to help?" She moved toward the woman and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Jeiza Verris. Pleased to meet you. Yeah, I'm leaning toward that Houndour over there but it doesn't seem to like me very much..."

[яєmoяsє]

A slight chuckle escaped the young woman as she rubbed the back of her head in an almost embarrassed fashion. "Oh, thanks for the offer, but we should finish with your situation first. You said you wanted that Houndour?" She glanced at it, examining it from a distance and seeing if it would work out with the trainer and Pokemon.

Soon enough, she smiled again. "I think you two will get along great, after some time together." She went over to the counter and took out its Pokeball; handing it to the girl, she smiled again. "I do hope you two had a worthwhile journey. Take good care."