To Boldly Go [Starter!]

[Lilith Bellerose]

LILITH BELLEROSE !!

Lilith was up at dawn, fussing with her outfit and hair before Mi-aro's sun began to peek over the horizon. Countless hours had been spent the past few days on what exactly she would wear for her rebirth. As soon as she'd pull an outfit from her closet, she'd quickly put it back. Not wanting to appear as if she had made an effort, Lilith still wanted to look her best. As the sun began to rise, filling her room with natural light, Lilith finally decided on a simple black dress paired with black tights and a not-so-appropriate pair of small black heels. Finishing her outfit was her typical headdress, two large black horns atop her head. Paired with small black gloves, Lilith practically oozed mystery, just the way she liked.

By the time she headed to the kitchen, her mother had started breakfast. Lilith sat down at her usual spot by the window, green eyes cast away from the vacant seat opposite her. Since her father's death a year ago, his chair had remained untouched. A stark reminder that his presence was noticeably absent. Noticing the frown creeping onto her daughter's face, Mother Bellerose placed a heaping plate of pancakes with Poiups jam onto the table.

The two ate in silence. Lilith had already begun to worry about starting over again at her age. Wasn't she too old? What would people think of seeing the near thirty year old woman entering the Emissary to get her first pokemon. Why couldn't she just take her Growlithe instead? The directions sent to her were very specific about coming without any prior pokemon and Lilith couldn't see herself winning an argument with The Ambassador. 

Helping her mother clear the table, the two said their brief goodbyes. This would be the first time in a full year that Lilith would not be coming home in the evening. She could see the sorrow, mingling with pride, in her mother's eyes as she hugged her goodbye. Closing the door to the family home was the hardest part, and Lilith felt herself wanting to turn around and rejoin her mother.

Having lived in Port City for most of her childhood, she had traveled to The Emissary often. The familiar brick road greeted her as she approached the shiny metal building. Lilith had always liked the odd structure, with it's dome shaped roof. In her travels as a guard-for-hire, she had encountered many strange buildings. This one always seemed to take the cake. Lilith pushed open the front doors for the first time in years. Having studied in the building years prior, the weight of the doors seemed familiar and calming.

Once inside, Lilith instinctively headed to the receptionist's desk. It felt odd giving her info to be added into the New Pioneer Database, considering she had been living in Mi-aro for the majority of her life. The receptionist, a young man, even gave her odd looks as he entered her information. Lilith chose to ignore it, feigning boredom with a melodramatic yawn.

"Alright, you're entered. Ms. Nugyen is expecting you. Go down the hall to the left--" Before he could finish, Lilith was already on her way. She had probably been in this way longer than the young man, having started her training as a fledgling mercenary over fifteen years ago. How dare he treat her like some new person to Mi-aro? Lilith had to remind herself that he didn't know her personally, to avoid saying something hurtful to the man.

Once inside The Ambassador's office, Lilith took a moment to survey the surroundings. Nothing had changed since her last visit, so many years ago. The curious machine stood on the corner, same as ever. Lilith took the liberty of sitting down on one of the chairs opposite the desk, crossing her slender legs as she waited for her idol to make her appearance.  

---

OOC:
Word Count - 650
Inspiration - Blackmill - Let It Be
Tagged - N/A

[Olive]

Moments after the soon-to-be renewed trainer slid into her chair, a strong, full-figured woman entered the room. Today she wore a green pantsuit with short heels, her slick black hair tied into its usual tight bun. Anita readjusted her glasses with the sight of long horn peeking over the top of one of her chairs, "What in the w-" she released something of a chuckle before she moved to the woman's side, tapped her shoulder, and opened her eyes with a call for a hug. 

Anita didn't recognize most of the rookies that came into her office, and this week had already been filled with unnecessary bureaucratic nonsense. It was just nice to see a familiar face that didn't plan on torturing her with documents about where to build the new whatever. With a deep inhale, the woman sat behind her desk and nodded. 

"Lilith, I know you feel self-conscious being here. But let me give you a piece of advice before we continue," the ambassador stared deep into her green eyes, "Life is not a race." With another nod and something of a smirk, the mentor moved on to the most important part of this visit.

Anita pulled a desk drawer open, tapped a few buttons, brought five pokeballs to the desktop, then released each onto the floor beside Lilith.

The Ambassador's countenance was one of pride. As Lilith knew, all the Pokemon that Ms. Nguyen gifted to trainers were from her personal collection. And these were descendents of some of the rarer and closer partners that she's had over her many years. 

"Normally I don't know the incoming trainers very well, all I can do is work with what they give me and try to fit the Pokemon that match their job description." She gave a quick smirk, "But see, there are a few advantages of being a veteran Mercenary."

Her focus moved to the first Pokemon, Houndour. "Regarding your history with dog-like Pokemon, I'm sure you're aware of how loyal they are to their partners. Houndour are not only loyal, but great hunters that also understand the idea of a 'pack mind,' a great asset when it comes to fighting off hordes of creatures in the wild." The dog sat in a poised position, its snout in the air. Although it refused to make contact with the other Pokemon, its eyes connected with Lilith's as the Ambassador spoke.

"Litwick, although not the most mobile Pokemon, has a very high capacity for power. Its evolutions are some of the strongest fire Pokemon I've seen thus far, but of course, that would be up to you to get it there." She paused as the Pokemon yawned, "This one also has an issue with apathy, but I'm sure that's nothing you can't handle."

The next Pokemon plopped around the office the entire time Anita spoke. It poked at everything that had any sort of color or texture. "Now I know what you're thinking, and no, I did not choose Gothita based on your," her eyes searched the trainer, while also searching for a word, "But yes. Ahem. Gothita is a very intuitive creature, and having a partner with a strong sixth sense is always a great option."

By this point Pawniard had grown weary of waiting for its name to be called so it snuck behind the Houndour and pricked its tail with one of its blades. As a result, the puppy sprung up and pounced on the prankster. With nothing more than a glare and a clap of her hands, the two immediately stopped fighting and pouted back to their spot in the line-up. Anita cleared her throat before continuing. 

"Pawniard is honestly one of the most perfect Pokemon for any guard. After all, we used to use these Pokemon to guard treasures and the like in the Old World. However," she eyed the steel Pokemon, "this one might be too mischievous and immature to leave the Emissary, but I'll leave that up to you."

Finally, the small dragon-bat who waited patiently realized that it's turn was next. It let out a quiet bark before flapping the armrest of the Lilith's chair. "Ah Noibat," she grinned as the Pokemon landed, "This Pokemon requires an advanced instructor who understands strategy over pure power. They prefer to fight tactically, using their speed and intelligence to conquer their opponents."

Anita then handed Lilith a Pamphlet and nodded. "As you know, Mercenaries start their adventures with two Pokemon." The Ambassador gestured to the group, "Choose wisely."

[Lilith Bellerose]

LILITH BELLEROSE !!

Lilith heard a chuckle, her eyes quickly going towards the sound of the noise. The Ambassador in doorway, in all her splendor. Her dress was simple, a green pantsuit and tight bun. It gave off the air of someone who was in charge, who had no time to fool with their outfit because they had the world to attend to. In theory, that wasn't exactly incorrect. Lilith found herself hoping that The Ambassador wouldn't notice the amount of time spent on her outfit. After all, it was hardly anything more than her usual garb. No one but her mother would notice the attention to detail, right?

Standing quickly, she embarrassed the woman before her. It was brief and professional but it helped calm the suddenly nervous woman. Lilith tried to remind herself that she didn't care what others thought, but she had always felt a small tinge of nerves when she came into this woman's presence. Lilith had to remind herself she was one of the legendary three, the first to enter Mi-aro.

Lilith waited for her to seat herself before resuming her own position behind the counter. She crossed her legs, folding gloves hands on her lap. It took more willpower than the woman thought she possessed to keep eye contact. Internally, Lilith cursed her own nerves. She was a great fighter, one who was paid rather well do body guard duty, and here she was... Skittish as a newborn pokemon. Keeping her face as neutral as possible, she nodded at the advice she was given. "Life is not a race."

There was truth to that. Lilith had always found herself racing to be number one in her past. The last year had completely changed her point of view. With her father's death, she had found herself taking a back seat in all things. "You're right." Lilith admitted, her green eyes drifting downwards to hide the pain behind those words. "But it's still a competition." She said after a moment, her eyes refocusing on Ms. Nguyen with a firey determination, "One that I will win."

Watching in anticipation, Lilith found herself leaning over in her seat as five pokeballs emerged and were released by her. After the flash of red light subsided, she cocked her head to the side in curiosity, listening to the woman's explanation of each pokemon. A smile spread across her face as Ms. Nguyen touched on the loyalty of dog-like pokemon. Without a doubt, Lilith had already chosen the Houndour. She hoped that her Growlithe back home wouldn't mind that much when she came through the door with another canine type as her new companion. Those thoughts quickly vanished The Ambassador continued onward. 

The Litwick was a pokemon capable of power once trained up. Lilith wasn't sure if she had the ability in the harsh world to do that, however. In it's first evolution the small pokemon wasn't mobile. Lilith worried about how she'd transport it from one place to another without sacrificing her own mobility. When The Ambassador mentioned the Gothica, the curious smile turned into an all out toothy grin. "Could you imagine what people would say if I chose that one?" She mused out loud, green eyes dancing with mischief.

The quick struggle between Houndour and Pawniard almost made her question whether she would get the Gothica out of spite to those who labelled her. Pawniard would be a great pokemon for missions later on, but could she really handle chasing after a mischievous pokemon? Would it hurt her reputation? Those were factors she had to consider despite her like for pokemon who didn't follow rules.

Of course, when the Noibat was announced, Lilith found herself smiling at the pokemon who delicately fluttered to her armrest. An pokemon able to scout from above would be incredibly handy. Lilith already saw her using the Houndour and Noibat in tandem, casing an area before moving in. Despite the last twenty-five years of progress, the wilds of the world still held horrors, something Lilith had learned pretty clearly.

Taking the pamphlet, she mused over the other choice of pokemon. The basic starters, Lilith thought to herself, didn't they all used to reign from different regions on PokeEarth? Depending on where you started out, you had a different choice of three. For a brief moment, Lilith found herself wondering about the splendid and easy life as a trainer on PokeEarth. No one's father had to dedicate his life to fighting off the ever looming presence of mutant pokemon.  A flash of jealousy entered her, before she quickly dismissed it as something she'd never experience, and therefor nothing to be jealous of.

"Choose wisely."

Green eyes looked at the group of five before her. "Well, you know I'll take Houndour." Lilith said quickly, mentally thanking The Amasador for her choice. "The question now is which other pokemon should I pick?" Her slender hand came up to the armrest, gently rubbing the Noibat's fluffy purple cheeks. "Perhaps... Noibat?" Although poised as a question, it clearly wasn't.

"Houndour and Noibat, please." Lilith said, taking her eyes off the Noibat and returning her attention to the woman before her.

---

OOC:
Word Count - 861
Inspiration - None
Tagged - Olive/The Ambassador 

[Olive]

Ms. Nguyen grinned at her first choice. No surprise there. She was quite curious about the second though, it wasn't as if she had picked easy choices for the trainer after all. The Ambassador responded to Lilith's second choice with a nod. 

"Excellent choice Lilith." With that, the mentor gave each of the remaining Pokemon a nod and grin before recalling them. The Houndour and Noibat's pokeballs were given to the woman before Anita gestured to the back wall of shelves. Each shelve held tons of neatly organized items, they were categorized the same way the Global Market was.

Key Items - Trainer Items - 

Tools - Weapons - Survival Supplies

Anita then handed Lilith an X-Gear, with an already installed Holo Chip, and five empty pokeballs. "You can pick any three Trainer Items save the Full Heal, as well as either the Dex or Ability Chip."

---

Once Lilith chose her items, Anita grabbed a book from the corner of her desk and began to pad through it. Her eyes scanned down the page before a quiet, "ah" escaped her. She placed the book cover up on the empty desk space in front of her, leaving the page she left off, open. The title read 'Threats to the Colony.' It must've been a recent document because of how intact the cover was, but it was eerily enough, quite thick.

"Port City has been relatively calm since the last swarm we had a few months ago. The Anorith have calmed and no other Alphas have popped up here since." Her eyes deepened, "That being said, many of the trainers that were here for the fight have lost their will to continue. I can only assume that they decided to choose life over adventure. Which is a logical choice." Something of a determined smirk crossed the strong woman's face before she continued, "But I couldn't imagine a life without risk."

She paused for a moment and looked out her large window to the sea.  "But I sense a deep threat to our race..." she shook her head and refocused on Lilith. "I need you to train. Get better, be ready for anything that comes our way. In the meantime," she allowed a breath and a slight eyeroll, "I've sent most of the new trainers to New Pallet. The colonists there have been hearing things from the woods to the west, and if you wouldn't at all mind, I'd like you to go as well and make sure we avoid any and all casualties. And remember, you can always make money by protecting Researchers, Merchants, and other citizens as they cross between the two settlements, or beyond." 

Finally, the woman stood up, her countenance ludic, "Do you have any questions before I leave you to reventure into the wilderness?"

[Lilith Bellerose]

LILITH BELLEROSE !!

Lilith fought the urge to smile as her long-time idol complimented her on her choice of pokemon. She had to remain calm and collected, there was no reason Ms. Nguyen needed to know exactly about how much hero worship the weird woman held for her. Lilith reached out a dainty gloved hand and gently took the two pokeballs containing her new pokemon. She hastily put them in the front pocket of her bag, making a mental note to create some sort of belt that would allow for easier access later on.

Lilith followed The Ambassador to the shelving unit, taking the offered pokeballs and stashing them quickly in a side pocket of the large leather travel pack she had left by her chair. She then took the X-Gear, mulling over exactly which would be more useful. As it stood, her two new pokemon were too weak to really make much use of the Ability Chip. If Lilith remembered correctly, it was something easily enough obtained later on anyway. She could use the Dex Chip now, to help detail exactly what pokemon she would later encounter. Of the two offered, it seemed obvious which she would chose for practical reasons. "Dex Chip, please." Lilith said, nodding as if to affirm her choice.

It was then that she went to the actual shelving unit, her eyes peering at the neatly labelled items. "Three trainer items, yeah?" She said under her breathe, green eyes scanning everything but the full heal. Again, it was another matter of choosing items for practical reasons. She had just been given five pokeballs, any more and she might seem greedy. Lilith remembered the price of the bag of pokemon food she had seen on the market at home. It wasn't an expensive thing, of course, but still something she'd have limited funds for.

Lilith grabbed the bag of pokemon food. She then grabbed the next two practical things, a potion and an antidote --Both something she saw herself needing in the near future. Despite the strides the citizens of Mi-aro had made, the wilds were still a dangerous place. With a hasty movement, Lilith stashed the items in her back, making another mental note to actual organize them later on.

Lilith followed The Ambassador as she grabbed a book from the shelves. Tried as she might, she couldn't exactly ignore the title nor the girth of the textbook. The title of the page caught her attention and she tried not to stare as Ms. Nguyen started talking again. Lilith nodded, trying to listen despite her mind wandering. Had her father seen the passage laid before her? Had that been the reason he had run off into the wilds, leaving Lilith and her family alone? Resisting the urge to drown in self pity, Lilith brought her attention back to Anita as she finished up. She could understand exactly what the trainers had felt. Hadn't she just shook herself of out of a civilian lifestyle?

As The Ambassador finished up, Lilith felt the old familiar flame of determination. "Things to the west, huh?" Lilith said, crossing her arms and tapping her chin in a thoughtful manner. She had heard things similar in the past few weeks, but had chosen to ignore it in a wave of apathy. Unfortunately, accepting the pokemon and standing here now meant it was something she must address. "I'll do my best to train these two up, I'll deal with whatever is in the forest." Lilith said, nodding in affirmation, her eyes alight with determination. 

However, Anita's last comment almost sucked the fire right from the woman's eyes. 'Any questions?' Lilith found her mind racing again with "what if's." It took more willpower than Lilith wanted to spend not to find herself drowning in the self pity that rose every time she had a moment to herself. The death of her father had shaken her to the very core, and Lilith knew she'd have to fight to stay out of the dark pit that threatened to suck her in. "I think I'm ready to go." Lilith said, shouldering her bad and heading towards the door before the self doubt threatened to spill from her eyes.

---

OOC:
Word Count - 701
Inspiration - None
Tagged - Olive/The Ambassador

• Lilith took a pokemon food, potion, and antidote.
• Thread finished.

[Olive]

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