We got to the Lab in about ten minutes after we left my house.
Standing in front of the lab, everything came back to me. Within moments I would learn what she had in store for me, good or bad. Oddly enough, for all of the dread I had been feeling all day, I couldn't feel anything but numb. I wanted to say it was peace, that whatever happened would happen and I would be fine, so thats what I decided to tell myself despite knowing it wasn't really true.
Cheren and Bianca didn't seem to share my worry, as they had already began to walk towards the door. Cheren opened it and, before going inside, looked at me still frozen in place. "Hinata? Are you coming?" He asked. Shaking myself from my thoughts, I nodded and finally moved from my spot. Bianca walked through the door, and I followed close behind, with Cheren closing the door after walking in after us. This was it, this was where everything would change forever, even though I didn't know it at the time.
The Lab looked amazing once you entered. It had sleek white walls and light grey tile lining the floor, giving the many scientists scuttling around a certain clink to their steps. It sounded nice to my ears, and far more tame the the whirring of machines and the chattering of everyone in the lab. As my mind registered the voices it quickly tuned them out, ive never been a fan of crowds. Far too much noise. I kept my eyes to the floor as I lagged behind my friends, who were already heading over to the back as quick as possible. As we got closer to the back, the form of Professor Juniper came more into focus.
Professor Juniper looked surprisingly young for a seasoned Professor. Tall and brown haired, with brown eyes that unnerved me. She seemed smart, of course she was. She was wearing normal lab clothes, but of course that wasn't I found my eyes going to. Instead I found myself looking right past her and three round objects on the desk behind her.
Pokeballs.
The moment I saw the Pokeballs, I realized what was happening, and my heart threatened to beat out of my chest. So this was what she was asking us here for! She was giving us Pokemon! For all of my fear for this meeting, I couldn't help but feel exited about the prospect of getting a Pokemon from the professor. Hiro had gotten one too, I remembered the day he brought it back to show us. What did he call it? A Tepig? I remember that day well, and I especially remember saying that one day I wanted a Pokemon too, then I would come show it to him!
Although Hiro wouldn't get to see them, it seemed my prediction about getting a Pokemon someday would be realized today...
I finally realized that someone was calling my name.
"Hinata?"
Looking up, I saw the Professor looking directly at me. "Are you with us?" She asked again.
Snapping out of my daze, I walked a bit closer, standing next to my friends. Bianca looked starstruck, while Cheren had a wide grin on his face.
The Professor looked at each of us and began to speak once again.
"Welcome to my lab, you three. Im sure you are wondering why I asked you all here?"
"Yeah! Whats all of this about?" Bianca was the first to reply, her eyes darting around the room as if distracted by every little sound the lab made.
Cheren nodded in agreement, while I just stared straight ahead, not really feeling like answering.
The Professor smiled. "Well, I brought you all here because Ive noticed something about you." She began. "Cheren, Bianca, Hinata, You three have remarkable potential. I see a little bit of myself in you all, which is why I called you here to make a request."
"A request? What kind of request?" Cheren raised an eyebrow as he asked her. Honestly I was wondering as well, I had thought we were getting Pokemon, but perhaps I was just mistaken.
Professor Juniper nodded in Cheren's Direction before turning around and grabbing three flat rectangle looking devices off of the desk with the Pokeballs. She showed them to us, and then paused for a moment as she realized we all looked rather confused at what she was holding.
"Ah, yes, You three probably don't know what this is-" She chuckled. "-This is a Pokédex. Its a device I and a few other Professors made that gathers data on Pokemon you meet automatically. Think of it like an encyclopedia of sorts, all you have to do is hold the little camera up to it-" She gestured to a small little lens on the corner of the device."-And it will record the Data on that Pokemon!"
Ok, even I had to admit that the Pokédex sounded really cool. I had never even heard of something like that before! Although, why she was telling us this and why there was three of them I couldn't quite connect.
"Which, of course, brings me to my request." Professor Juniper continued her speech. "I want you three to take these Pokedexes, and fill them up as much as you can. I would do it myself, but as i've gotten more busy I find I don't have the time to travel like I used to. However you three are young, and time is in your favor. If you do this for me, you will see all of Unova on your adventures, and meet many different Pokemon. And you may fill them however you wish as long as you do fill them up some!"
...All of Unova. Those three words caught my attention. Everything else faded into the background as I processed that. All of Unova, that would take a while, maybe even years. Maybe thats what she had Hiro do, if so then maybe thats why she wants to send me out too! My brother hadnt been seen in a year, so maybe if she sends someone he knows out, we can find him again!
But wait-
"Isn't that dangerous!?" I found my words leaving my mouth before I could think. I instantly felt three pairs of eyes snap in my direction, I must have spoke a little louder than intended. Feeling my face heat up, I stammered over my words as I tried to backtrack. "I-I mean, Theres tall grass and stuff and-and it would probably be dangerous to just get close to wild Pokemon with no protection-"
"Im aware of that, Hinata" Professor Juniper interrupted me. Her face seemed kind but still I felt my stomach drop. Surely i've upset her, I interrupted her and everything with a stupid complaint. Of course she knew it was dangerous, she was a professor!
"I-Im so sorry I didn't mean-" I tried to apologize, but she smiled almost apologetically and shook her head.
"No, no. I may have been too blunt, Hinata. Im not upset, in fact I knew you would ask that. What I meant to say was that I know it would be dangerous to go alone. Which is why I also have three little ones who would love to help you in this endeavor."
As she said this, she grabbed the Pokeballs as my friends gasped in realization. So I wasn't mistaken! We were getting Pokemon!
Professor Juniper threw the Pokeballs and out came three small Pokemon.
One of them was a serpent looking creature, with green and gold cascading down its body in an almost regal fashion. It narrowed its eyes at us as it seemed to stare deep into our souls. A grass type, even someone with no knowledge like me could see that. Shuddering, I looked away. That one was way too intense for my liking.
The second one I saw was one I recognized already, a Tepig. It had a small, stocky body covered in blotches of black and red, but orange was the color I saw the most of. Unlike the serpent, it seem lively, instantly running around in circles as it was freed, looking at all of us with eyes full of wonder. They seemed cute, but I couldn't look at it for long without feeling a pang in my heart. Hiro had chosen a Tepig as well, it just didn't feel right choosing the same Pokemon he did.
However, when I saw the third one, I couldn't help but smile. It was the smallest of the three Pokemon, and had already pulled away from the crowd, engrossed in throwing a shell in the air and catching it. It had a white head and small stubby arms, its blue body and feet complimenting the white rather well. Unlike the other two, who seemed either suspicious or curious of me and my friends. This one seemed to not even notice us.
Looking back over at my friends and the Professor, the Professor nodded in my direction with a curious spark in her eyes. "You three can pick any of these three you want to accompany you on your journey." She said.
Cheren and Bianca burst out at the same time, confusion mixed with adoration in their voices as they looked at the serpent and the pig. Smiling at them, I nodded my thanks to the Professor before once again turning my attention to the lone Pokemon in the corner. The Pokemon had stopped throwing the shell, and instead was staring at me with a tilted head. Looking back at the others for a moment, I slowly walked over, sitting down across the Pokemon.
"...Hey there..." I began, not really know how to speak to a Pokemon. Can they even understand people anyway? This one seemed to, as the moment I spoke it back up a little, not breaking eye contact with me. It seemed to think for a few seconds, before taking the shell in its hands, putting in on the floor, and kicking it over to me.
"Uh, What d'you want me to do with this?" I asked it. Why did it even give me the shell? Did it want me to hold it?
The Pokemon clapped its hands together, opening them wide afterwards. It didn't do much to help my confusion, but fortunately the Professor must have noticed, as I heard her walk over to me. Soon enough she was crouched beside me with a grin.
"He wants to play catch, Hinata." She explained the Pokemon's intent to me as she placed a hand on my shoulder. "Throw it to him."
"Okay?" I wasn't so sure, but she was much more aware of how Pokemon acted than I was, so I decided to take her advice. As gently as I could, I threw the shell at the Pokemon. The Pokemon caught it, before looking up at me with a look of pure joy I never thought something other than a human could express. The Pokemon proceeded to throw it back to me, his hands clapping together once again.
I threw it back, and then he did, then I did again. I don't really know how long the two of us kept that going. However, eventually he caught and simply placed it back on his stomach before waddling over to me. He looked up at me with expectant eyes and, cautiously, I reached out and placed my hand on top of his head. The Pokemon didn't turn away, and almost seemed to nuzzle into my hand.
"So you're choosing Oshawatt, Hinata?" I heard the voice of the Professor behind me.
Oshawatt...I didn't like that name. I didn't really know why, but it just felt off when I tried to say it. I decided to call it something else, and staring at the Pokemon below me I soon found the perfect name for him.
"Yeah but...I don't really wanna say Oshawatt every time I talk to you. Im gonna call you..."
For a second, I paused, considering if my idea was actually a good one, but for once I felt my gut feeling was actually correct.
"Seaburn"
