((Methinks five days is a long enough wait.))
The metal container that comprised the starter kit was cold in Ivan's hands, much like the pokeball had been, but without that warm sensation from within, and both he and Lumina, who had moved up to perch on his shoulder, were curiously staring at it in anticipation - of course, he knew what was in it from the professor's explanation, but the world of pokemon was unfamiliar enough to him to make these things that much more fantastic. When the inevitable could no longer be avoided, he undid the metal clasp on top, and carefully opened the kit, much like a child would open his lunchbox at school, never knowing what his parents had stored there for him. Inside, five empty, minimized pokeballs rolled around haphazardly, no doubt for the wild pokemon they would be encountering in the near future, bouncing off of the strapped-in spray-bottles holding a strange purple liquid, probably potions. Then there was...another box, though this one was obviously a good deal smaller, probably to keep its contents secure.
Curiosity welled up inside Ivan once again, and, after taking everything out of the kit and stowing them in his backpack while Lumina flew away momentarily, he opened the smaller box. Instantly he took note of the small wad of paper stuffed inside: thirty bills of 100 pokedollars ((correct me if I'm giving this the wrong name)) - far more than he earned for chores each month! But then behind that, stuffed cozily in the cushiony black covering the box's interior, was a rectangular, reddish-orange device, the latest model of Pokedex. Ivan couldn't help but feel a little downtrodden at this; he had wanted to become a pokemon trainer to see the world, after all, not so much to stop and classify every little detail along the way.
He shoved the money into his jean pockets and flipped the 'dex open, and he was instantly bombarded by an array of flashing lights, buttons, and a few screens, upon which numbers and pictures were displayed. While he reeled in the momentary daze, Lumina squawked as she was bathed in a flash of infrared light by the machine's automatic scanner. A new image appeared on the screen, an image of a Pyratiel, with various statistics stacked along the border. Ivan blinked at the words, then grinned, "Well, Lumina, it seems like this is more than just a tool for research - we can use this to size up our competition!"
The two looked at the screen attentively as Ivan panned the pokedex around him, towards all of the myriad trainers gathered. Closest to him were two girls in the center of the room, and near them were a small, leafy, long-necked reptile and...some creature with a vaguely feline floating about on a crescent moon - a Palmlee and Tsuki, two pokemon that were hardly standard fare for beginning trainers. Then there was a second gathering, farther away at the door, two boys, both with a slimy-skinned Bettaqua, and two more girls, one with a Polipent coiled around her neck like some exotic necklace, and the other with a very evil-looking Enculi hanging on her shoulder precariously. Going after the grass-types would be too simple, Ivan thought, weighing up his options, And there's no need to give myself a disadvantage with water, and... he paused to look up from the pokedex, and almost instantly felt the gaze of the Enculi's wide eye upon him. A shiver went up his spine; And I'm staying as far away from that as possible.
That left the little oddball of a Tsuki, but Ivan's thoughts were interrupted when Lumina forcefully tapped the side of his head with a wing, and he turned in that direction to face another boy, probably in his teens, kneeling down on the floor and looking somewhat despondently at his pokemon. But this wasn't just any pokemon, he noted, it was another Pyratiel - this one had yellow feathers on his head as opposed to Lumina's grey, an indication of a male according to the pokedex. Ivan and Lumina only glanced at each other, a mischievous glint present in both of their eyes, and they approached the teen quietly and Ivan said in a booming voice, "Well, well, well - it would appear that we have the same pokemon, you and I; how would you like to have a battle, just to see which of them is stronger?"
((I feel so lazy for not describing any of the trainers.))
