Hostile First Encounters

A sandy-blonde haired boy walked up to the large building, an excited grin on his face. His oddly colored eyes landed upon a sign nearby, reading the words "Redwood Laboratory". He stood there for a while, trying to calm his rushing heart. He had to be calm and collected before walking in, especially since a well-known scientist apparently managed the lab. Today was the day he would finally become a trainer after years of studying and perseverance. He was always prepared- heck, he was already planning his next moves right there!

Taking one last deep breath, the boy walked through the doors, being greeted by the sight of an ordinary white room filled with tables, machines, and other miscellaneous laboratory materials. Although it didn't seem to be as high-tech as the lab in Johto, it was still pretty impressive. The 14-year old wandered around, closely inspecting the many items in the building. From the charts, to the odd machinery, he seemed quite interested.

He stopped, remembering what he was supposed to do. He looked around, trying to find any lab coat-clad researchers nearby. "Hello? Is anyone here?" He asked, hoping that he had come at a right time.

"Agh! ANOTHER trainer? That's the 13th one today!" A man walked out from a back door with a huff. "So what is it shrimp? Need something?" The man had red hair and a name tag that simply read, "Spirit" he was shorter than the tall boy, but glared at him none the less.

"What did I say about insulting our guests Spirit?" A man wheeled in from seemingly nowhere, his silver hair glinted in the light and his glasses sagged a bit on his nose bridge. He seemed depressed, but really wasn't/

"Shut up old man I do what I want."

"Since when did you get so unruly?"

"Since you started sicking your pokemon on me!!! You're just a lazy scientist that is going to make me do all the work in giving chihuahua here a pokemon! I-"

"Riolu if you please..."Stein interrupted Spirit. On cue, a blue shape flew in from the side and gave spirit a perfectly horizontal kick in the ribs. Stein smiled a bit as the riolu gave a roll in the air as it landed on the ground.

"WHERE DID IT EVEN GET THE MOMENTUM FOR THAT KICK!?" Spirit cried as he clutched his side.

"It defies the laws of physics. Anyways You wanted something?" Stein turned to the trainer.

Alistair seemed taken back when a man suddenly walked into the room. Well, the boy assumed he was a man, but from his height it almost made it seem like the blonde was older. The 14-year old gave a chuckle when the man called him 'shrimp', finding the irony amusing. He found the name calling a bit offensive, but decided it was just what adults tend to do. He opened his mouth, about to speak when another professor entered the room on a swivel chair.

The blonde watched them bicker for a while, confused yet on the verge of laughing at their little argument. It reminded him of a grandchild being scolded by his grandfather. Their argument was then cut off when a small blue pokemon dashed out of nowhere, effectively landing a kick and sending the scarlet-haired man writhing. The sight made the 14-year old shudder, dreading the pain Spirit was enduring but yet at the same time in awe at the blue pokemon's strength.

'Hmm... Wait, I've seen that pokemon before! It's a... a... a Riolu! Yes, that's right.' He thought, observing the canine-like pokemon. He snapped out of his thoughts, hearing the silver-haired professor question him. With an enthusiastic smile, he spoke. "Ah, well, that 'Spirit' guy was right. I'm here to get my first pokemon. I'm Alistair, Alistair Chevalier. I'm guessing you're the famous Stein?"

"Nope....I'm Santa Claus. Ho-Ho-ho..."He spoke slowly, he rolled backwards a bit and opened a drawer. The drawer contained a paper bag with 5 pokeballs and a pokedex, "Here" he tossed the pokeballs to the trainer. He held a different pokeball in his other hand, "Judging by the way you're looking at Riolu here, I'd say you want a riolu." He spun the pokeball on the tip of his front finger with ease, as if to tease the boy a bit.

Spirit meanwhile had recovered from his pain a bit and tried to speak, only to receive a roundhouse kick by the riolu. A sound of a bell rang twice as if in a boxing match.

Stein tossed the bell he had pulled from his pockets to the side, "So? What shall it be? Riolu or something else?" The ball continued to spin on Stein's finger though through all of that.

Alistair smirked when Stein gave the Santa Claus remark. He watched as the professor rolled off to a drawer, retrieving what he could guess were 5 small pokeballs and a device commonly known as the 'Pokedex'. The starting supplies of a trainer, he recalled. He caught them with ease, stuffing the items in his backpack. At first, he expected the professor to start talking about how to use them and all those beginner explanations as Professor Elm had told him to expect, but it seemed the man was more straight-forward than most other professors. He was relieved at this, as enduring long explanation about the basics he'd already studied about would probably have been excruciating.

The blonde watched as the professor spun a pokeball on his finger, deciding whether or not he would take up the man's offer. He'd never actually been given the task of caring for a Riolu, as the only one he'd seen in the Daycare had been assigned to another caretaker. That caretaker was sent to the clinic mere hours after being with the Riolu and was reported to have at least 2 broken bones in his arm for trying to feed the fighting pokemon. Although known to be docile to their trainers, Al was well-aware that these canines weren't ones to trust strangers. A true challenge.

He laughed, seeing the little scene with the bell. Were these two always up for these antics? Well, it definitely made the start of his journey entertaining. He turned back to Stein, making up his mind. "Sure, I'll take the Riolu. A challenge would be nice."

From the corner of his eye, he swore he saw the Riolu give him a glare.

"Alrighty then," he stopped the pokeball with his other four fingers and flicked the ball in the trainer's direction, leaving it up to them to catch it, "You'll get the little missy right here. She's the only one available at the time, I hate to see her leave, but I hope you treat her well." Stein had walked closer and leaned into the kid's face with a serious and intimidating face, "If she get's seriously hurt or worse i'm going to track you down and f**king kill you...." after a few more seconds of glaring he instantly brightened up with a smile and said, "Well then! Off you go!"

"TAKE THE GOD DAMNED RIO-" Spirit was saying before a ditto that had been disguised as a joltik resumed it's origional form and landed on top of Spirit's head, silencing him as he desperately tried to get it off. "THEY DON'T PAY ME ENOUGH FOR THIIIIIIIIS!!!"

"What are you talking about? This is volunteer work..." Stein said with a sigh.

Alistair caught the pokeball, putting that in his backpack as well. When he brought his head up to thank the professor, he was greeted with the man's face dangerously close to his. "U-uh... Of- Of course! I'll make sure she'll be fine! I swear!" He said, raising his hands in front of his face defensively. Once Stein moved away, the blonde gave a sigh of relief. Well, it seemed the professor was awfully attached to the Riolu. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be glad or utterly terrified.

He looked over to the blue pokemon, who had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot impatiently. Mustering up his courage, he walked over to the Riolu and knelt down on one knee, now near-eye level with the fighting type. If he was going to spend his life as a trainer with this stubborn-looking pokemon, he knew he had to be friendly.

"Hello, I'm your new trainer. The name's Alistair." He said, waiting for the pokemon's reaction. She seemed unimpressed, huffing in response. The riolu stared up at him with mild interest, her ruby eyes half-lidded.

"Well, I suppose I'm going to have to name you now. Hmm... I guess something tough-sounding... How about Zora?" He said, only to be met with the Riolu's threatening growls. It pulled back its leg, as if preparing to kick him. He immediately put his hands up in front of him again, waving them to call off the impending attack.

"Whoa, whoa, alright, alright! I guess you don't like those kinds of names..." He said, relieved as he watched the Riolu stop her attack. It narrowed its eyes at him, waiting expectantly.

"Hmm... This is a tough one... Well, you're like the Professor's little angel right? How about Angel?" Alistair proposed, already preparing to jump back if the Riolu decided to kick him in the shins. To his surprise, the fighting pokemon didn't act. She let out a low growl, but didn't seem to show any violent protests to the name.

"Well, alright. Angel it is. Nice to meet you!" The trainer said, offering a hand to the blue pokemon. The Riolu huffed, turning away from the hand. Al gave a sigh, deciding that the riolu wasn't in the mood for any greetings. He stood back up, adjusting his backpack straps and turning to the professors once more.

"Thank you for your help. We'll be off now."