The Choosing [GRAND OPENING - OPEN]

Lawicke was built more like a castle than an academy.

By the time they'd made it to the front entrance, off the platform at Brooke Station and up, up, up Cycling Road in carriages drawn by Mudsdale and Gogoat, the sky had began to bruise red and purple. Every step through Lawicke's cathedral-like front hall seemed to echo as loud as a thunderclap, and the portraits of past Lawickes and famous alumni hung from the walls, leering at the students below. They were led to the auditorium through two grand oak doors by their shrewish looking carriage driver, tall and thin as a spear, but she seemed to disappear the moment Gwyn looked away.

Then they were on their own. All except for the man on the far end of the room.

The doors opened up to a magnificent coliseum of an auditorium, hundreds of seats ringed around a large open stage. On the stage there were ten long tables, and what had to be almost a thousand Poké Balls between them, lined side by side in organized rows. Plain and unadorned Poké Balls. Not one stood out from the other.

As they filtered in, the man on the stage spread out his arms.

"Welcome to our school," he boomed. Neat, properly dressed and well groomed, but there was a hint of grizzle in his face, and a hint of muscle behind his suit. "My name is Edmund Lawicke. I am your head teacher and your principal. Before you, you will find a Poké Ball for almost every Pokémon known to man. To truly be initiated as a trainer of Lawicke, you must choose the one that you feel calls out to you... This Pokémon will be your trusted partner and lifelong companion for as long as you are enrolled in my school. You cannot give it back, or choose again." The principal stepped back, making a sweeping gesture toward the tables. "Once you open a Poké Ball, your choice is sealed. Then you will be a true Lawicke trainer. We hope you make your school proud."

---

Alex followed in with everybody, hugging her bag tightly to her chest still as she did her best to avoid bumping into everybody. It took a while as she was lost in the crowd but finally - as the principal mentioned them - she saw the thousand Poké Balls lined up. She swallowed as she waited for him to finish, her eyes drifting across all of the balls as she tried to come up with which one she would pick. Finally, the students rushed forward to take their choices - most students no doubt hurrying to pick their first. She followed along slowly, only stepping into get her choice when a clear spot was open.

Slinging her back over her shoulder, she stared at the balls that all rested before her. Which one? She swallowed as she leaned forward, ready to pick one but kept finding herself drawing away before her hand could touch the smooth surface of it. Which one, which one? The fear of picking the wrong one weighed down on her as she stared at them. Finally, she sighed as she closed her eyes and reached forward. Finally, her hand brushed against a ball and she picked it up. Blinking open, she stared at the Poké Ball in her hand before she smiled softly. Yes, this one would do. She quickly darted away from the table to take her seat, picking a rather empty section.

One she was sitting down and had rested her back on the floor at her feet, she rolled the Poké Ball between her hands with a held breath. Should she figured out what she had picked now? Should she wait? The two options both seemed good but after staring at the ball in her hand for what seemed like such a long time, she found she couldn't wait any longer. With a big smile, she clicked the middle button as it flipped open. A red beam shot out of the open ball and within seconds, she had an Eevee sitting on her lap.

It blinked as he glanced around in faint confusion as Alex studied it with glee. She had never been so close to an Eevee before but had seen a few of them at the Lilycove Contest Hall - and she swore this one was even fluffier then normal adding to the cuteness. The idea of that it had so many options to evolve into was wondrous. Resting the empty Poké Ball on her legs, she leaned forward and scooped up the Eevee as it whined softly in surprise. "Hello there," she breathed with a grin as she held the Eevee up to her face. "I'm going to name you Cato."

Cato watched her with soft brown eyes, almost frowning as he seemed to study her. He seemed rather content with being picked up and he leaned his face forward, sniffing at her carefully. After a few moments, he nodded as if deciding upon something. He started to wave his paws, a clear sign of wanting to be let down. Alex lowered him with worry, but sighed in relief when Cato simply curled into a ball on her lap, his ears perked as he gazed across the large room. His large furry collar standing to stand on edge when somebody walked close. Alex frowned softly as she gently rested her hands on Cato to keep him from jumping off of her lap.

Flashes went off as soon as they got off the train, even the carriages were subject to his photography. The academy was awe inducing. Bellamy swore that they were actually in a castle of all things. Their footsteps were deafening, and the excitement from the other students was completely obvious based on their shining eyes and quickened pace.  

Bellamy himself was feeling anxious. The prospect of picking one Pokemon, any Pokemon. Then they could be stuck with it, and they would become partners. He was essentially picking a partner, a life long companion. The boy bit his lip as he looked along the tables. The principal's voice seemed to push him along and to find a pokeball that called out to him. How would he know which one called out to him? How would he know that this was to be his partner?

His footsteps halted next to one of the balls, staring at it for an extraordinary amount of time. This one, he decided. Picking it up, the boy clicked open the ball. A red light shot out, forming a Pokemon. A Denio to be exact. It looked up at him, or its head was pointed in his direction. Its eyes were hidden. Bellamy smiled at it, determination to be a good partner filled him. "Hey there--" He had to pick a name, something that would stick...?"Robin. I'm Bellamy and I'm going to be your partner, okay?"

The Pokemon did not respond for a long moment, and Bellamy slowly reached down to pat it. It seemed to enjoy his actions, pressing its head against his hand once he let go. He bent down to the Pokemon's level and stared at it with a growing smile. "I guess we are cool then, huh Robin?" As if to answer, the Denio reached up and bit his nose then quickly licked it afterwards. This left Bellamy with mixed messages, but it seemed that Robin did not seem to mind his company all that much. For that, he was grateful.

Throughout the meeting processes with his new partner--it seemed Bellamy had forgotten to take pictures.

Stephen was even more impressed by the academy as they went in the carriages and approached the entrance. He followed the crowd of new students and entered the main hall where he saw the headmaster. As he listened, he saw the hundreds of pokeballs, wondering which one he should pick. He'd be happy with anything he chose. Well, almost anything. Once he saw that others were heading to the tables, he also walked up to them. It took him a few moments to find one that "spoke" to him, but once he did he snatched it before anyone else could grab it, just in case others were going to go for it. Stepping away from the table, he pressed the center button of the ball and out sprung an adorable little land shark. Gible! Stephen smiled and laughed slightly as the Gible looked at him with large eyes. The Pokemon smiled the best it could and jumped onto the boy's head, lightly biting down. The bite wasn't enough to cause any pain, it was only a nibble. Stephen hoped that was a good sign, and laughed. It seemed they were both happy with Stephen's decision.

Marcus was more or less pushed in by others. He had gotten off of the carriage, grabbed his bags and headed inside, but as the crowd grew larger from the students piling into the hallway and spilling into the auditorium, he found himself just pushed by the students into the large room where they were greeted by a man who introduced himself as the head of the academy. Not to mention that immediately, the boy's eyes were drawn to all of the pokeballs that surrounded them. "No way..." he gasped. He could hardly contain his excitement as he bounced around slightly, moving from ball to ball at the headmaster's command. There were so many... How could he choose? As he walked around staring at each one, he was beginning to grow worried that he wouldn't fine 'the one.' Already several students had picked theirs, already sitting with their companions. Currently, there were only a couple that he had never seen before-- he would most definitely make sure he introduced himself later-- but he couldn't seem to find his.

Looking over and over, nothing really 'spoke to him.' In fact, the sheer quantity of pokeballs in the room was making his head spin. With a defeated sigh, he finally put his hand down and picked one up. It looked just like all the rest but something about it felt different. With a shrug, he felt like he should finally settle on this one. Taking it back to his seat, he sat down with a plop, staring down at the ball for several seconds as his fingers explored it. It was just like he imagined, the outside cold and hard to the touch but smooth like a nice, finished, polished product. Finally, his thumb pressed down on the center button gently at first before it opened up, popping out a small gray creature that floated before him. It looks particularly sleepy, its eyes dozing for a moment before it realized that Marcus was even there. Blinking a couple of times, the pokemon stared quietly at him before cocking its head to the right.

All Marcus would do is stare back. He had never seen anything like it before. He had barely even seen it in pictures. All he knew was that the name of it was stuck on the tip of his tongue. Didn't it start with a C? Maybe Castform? That sounded about right. Well, if nothing else, it was absolutely adorable. "Well aren't you cute? You're that man-made pokemon aren't you?!" The longer he stared at his new partner, the more excited he got. "Castform right? This is so cool! Hopefully we'll be great friends soon! You should have a name. What about... Ollie?"

The Castform blinked again, tilting his head even farther to the right as it listened intently to Marcus. All it knew was that the boy was getting more excited which, in turn, got it more excited. A big smile crossed its face at the sound of the name before it pressed against the boy's chest with its tiny head, rubbing gently as what Marcus hoped to be was a sign of affection. "Ollie it is! I can't wait!" he paused as Ollie moved away again only to reveal a soaked spot on his shirt. "Well, we'll have to work on that," he said with a laugh.

Lillian was amazed by all of the pokeballs that sat on the tables when she had entered the giant room. She knew she could only choose one, but she wanted to pick all of them. What would they continue for her? What would she get? She was nervous, anxious even. What if she got something she didn't like? What if her new partner didn't like her? She shuddered at the idea. She didn't want her first days to start out that way...

She sat in one of the chairs, on of her hands grabbing the arm of the chair as she listened anxiously to the speaker. She just wanted to choose her pokemon already, but at the same time she didn't want to choose. There were a lot of risks in choosing but that is what she was here for right?

Lillian kept shifting until it was finally time for them to go up and choose.

As soon as students were allowed to go get their pokemon she followed the massive crowd, but she found herself getting further and further to the back of the group of students out of fear, but finally someone had shoved her forward, on accident, and onto the stage where the tables were missing pokeballs here and there because of the number of students.

Her hands fidgeted as her blue eyes looked at the numerous pokeballs that sat on the tables. Which one should she choose? Another student had bumped into her once again in their rush to get the pokeball they wanted. Which shoved the poor girl into the table knocking off one of the pokeballs. She reached out for it, intending to put it back into it's place, but something about it called to her. She looked around at the other students before gripping onto the ball tightly and returning to a section of the auditorium to meet her new partner.

Lillian looked over the bland red and white ball over and over again. Should she go back and get another one? No.. This one was the one for her.. This one held her future. Nervously she pressed the button on the pokeball and a light flashed in front of her, and then.. sitting on her lap was a pokemon she was unsure of. It looked like a vulpix but not the ones she was familiar with. Was this an alternate form that she had heard about?

She observed the white blue pokemon that was staring back up at her with blue eyes. It's fur flowed and curled in places, which made Lillian smile. It was elegant. It was pretty. "I will name you Luna." Luna was good for the pale colors the Vulpix had. The pokemon just responded to her with a quick yip and her smile grew.

The whole place was even more extravagant up close. Caroline stared at the academy in awe, excited to get inside and look around. She'd never seen a building with such grandeur before. It was incredible. Down the halls, she listened to the echoes of their footsteps reverberating off the walls. She wanted to run down the halls in excitement, but there wasn't any room with all the people around her.

In the auditorium, she was practically vibrating, trying her best to listen to what the man on stage was saying. The moment he was finished, Caroline rushed to the stage along with the rest of her fellow students. When she got there, she reached over the table to grab a farther-off Pokéball and cradle it in her hands. Despite every ball looking exactly the same, she was sure this particular one was special. Finding a spot where she could see her new partner, she pressed in the middle button and watched as her new friend appeared.

It was a weird-looking creature: blue with faded pink antennae-like things on the side of its head. Its tail whapped against the ground as it looked up at her with a goofy grin. It was... It was... adorable! Breaking out into a huge smile, she scooped up her Pokémon and looked it over. She... had no idea what kind of Pokémon this was. She'd never seen one in the gardens before. However, she knew what its name was be.

Goofy. She smiled and hugged her new friend, ready to become a real Pokémon trainer!

Anticipation. Dread. The emotion welled up in her in equal measure, threatening to swallow her like a wave. She let herself get carried by the tide of people making their way up the center aisle, toward the grand stage, blinded by the spotlights, dizzy from the chatter. Her Pokémon. Her own, real, actual, physical Pokémon. For her. After today, she'd be an actual, genuine trainer...

Gwyn traced her fingers along the table, eyes flitting from one Poké Ball to the other, a thousand conflicting voices in her head screaming to be heard, the indecision tearing at her from the inside out. That one! No, that one! Wait, no, that one looked... She closed her eyes with a light breath. This was about finding the Pokémon that spoke to you. A Mareep. Chikorita. Even something like a Corsola. She imprinted the images in her head, inscribed the wish on her core, made a symbol with her fingers over her heart.

If she willed for it, then maybe...

She sucked in one last deep breath, walked to the far end of the table, and reached out for a lonely Poké Ball in a forgotten corner. Gwyn let her hand linger before she picked it up.

"It looks like we're going to be friends from now on," she whispered under her breath, staring at herself in the Poké Ball's sheen. She let it expand in her hand. Please don't be....

Gwyn tossed it to the floor.

Don't be a...

It bounced, a flash of white light, a tiny silhouette.

Not a...

The ball bounced back into her hand, but she barely noticed. She was transfixed by the sight in front of her. Pointy black-tipped ears. Yellow fur. A cute little bolt-shaped tail... Her breath caught in her throat, the start of a squeal of a delight, and she fell to her knees, reaching out to pet it between the... The... "Th-th-th..."

What should have been its head bobbed unnaturally underneath her palm, like a stuffed doll. She snatched her hand back like it was acid. The Pokémon turned around, a crude false face scrawled on faded fabric like crayon.

That's not a Pichu...!

Gwyn fell back, screaming. The Mimikyu just stared up at her.

Homesickness, excitement, so many emotions overwhelmed Casey as she followed the crowd of awestruck students into the auditorium, glad that she wasn't the only nervous person here. The ride here had been pretty amazing, getting to look at the enormous school from bellow and she had to admit, who ever made the school was either a genius, or insane.

Sitting down, she waited in the huge buzzing room, tapping her foot nervously against the floor and soon enough, it was time to pick her pokemon. Making her way to the table in which a ton of pokeballs sat, she didn't bother taking forever to decide. Reaching out her hand, she squinted her eyes and grabbed the closest ball to her, knowing that if she thought to hard about it, she would just end up getting a crappy one. Taking a deep breath, Casey stepped back from the hoard of students and adjusted her hat, looking down to the little red ball that rested in her quivering hand. This was it, there was no going back. Please lord, please let it be something cool, she prayed to herself.

Pressing the silver button she lightly tossed the ball to the floor, not daring to breathe. With a flash of light, a Pokemon appeared and for a few moments, she didn't know how to react. A... a... Totodile? The cute little blue 'gater titled it's head in curiosity as Casey fell to her knees, an ecstatic grin growing on her face. "A Totodile!" she squealed happily, pulling in the little creature to her embrace. He was perfect, all that she could've asked for!

Starting to tear up from happiness, the girl wiped the tears from her cheeks and set the Pokemon down in front of her. "I'm going to call you Todo," she said between sniffs. "Ready to become the best Pokemon team in all of Lawicke?!" Pumping her fist into the air, Casey couldn't wait to get started and knew that Todo would make a great partner.

Glad that Casey was happy, Todo snapped his jaws together used his little legs to jump into the air and let out a yowl of excitement, how do you describe a Totodile sound? ;n; a smile on it's scaly face.