As professor Lyra begun her speech, Mina's attention shifted towards the people in the room. For the first time since her arrival, she was actually paying attention to those around her. Most everyone seemed to pay attention to everything the Professor said so the girl took advantage of everyone being distracted, to scout the room for potential travelling companions.
Chibi seemed to be immersed in Lyra's explanations, as the Candle Pokémon's eyes were pinned on the woman and she didn't even notice the fact that her trainer had long left her side and gone towards the table to check the Pokégears.
Mina's eyes fell, once again, on brown-haired boy and his Cyndaquill. He seemed so focused on Lyra, that Mina couldn't help but smiling. He looked kind of funny, staring like that. Pinning her eyes on the boy for no more than a few moments, the girl decided that she would
MOST DEFINETLY approach him at some point. She
STILL had no idea what it was about him that made her so curious, but she
ABSOLUTELY HAD TO satisfy her curiosity.
Around the same time, a frail, but cute looking girl that looked to be no more than ten years old arrived, seemingly late and immediately asked Lyra for explanations in what seemed to Mina like the cutest voice ever. The little girl was accompanied by a Zorua that seemed to love resting on its trainer's head.
Watching the girl, Mina couldn't help but want to get to know her. A newfound instinct made its way into the girl's mind and soul. She felt the urge to be there, by the adorable girl's side, she suddenly felt protective of her, even though she didn't even fully understand her feelings.
Soon enough, a line was formed so people can choose a Pokégear and receive the rest of their Starter Kits. Mina picked up her backpack and then grabbed her Litwick and gently wrapped her arms around her, as the Pokémon looked up at her trainer, confusion in her eyes.
"It's almost time to go, Chibi." Mina said with a smile and the Pokémon nodded.
Sneaking through the crowd, Mina picked a place towards the end of the line and kept watching the table and every trainer as they picked their things up, hoping that no one picks up the Pokégear she set her eyes on, a cute, purple one that the girl thought would work great with her style. Luckily, nobody seemed to show interest in it so, when she was up, she quickly grabbed it and gave it to Chibi to hold, as she picked up everything else from Lyra.
Stepping aside, the girl opened her backpack and placed everything in the right pocket, her eyes subtly scouting the room once more, slowly following the two people she was interested in, as all the trainers started leaving. She noticed the boy, getting ready to leave. For some odd reason, however, he seemed to look over his shoulder, straight in their direction. This caused the girl to look away for just one second, enough for a loud thud to be heard and for her to look towards the source of the noise and spot the very same boy bumping into the nearest wall and his Pokémon laughing at him. Mina shook her head and covered her mouth to stop a giggle from escaping.
Soon after the boy was out of sight, Mina shifted her attention towards the little girl and could see her leaving the room.
"Hey, wait up!" Mina thought but didn't dare asking, as she found doing something like that odd, given the fact that the two girls didn't even know eachother. She instead decided to rush after the girl and introduce herself so she quickly zipped her backpack and followed the girl, keeping some sort of distance between them.
At some point, the little girl stopped and Mina could clearly hear her say that she was lost. She expected the girl to start crying or start yelling for help, instead, the girl simply groaned and sat down for a while, organized her backpack and then got back up and seemed determined to get her journey started.
Mina quickly searched her backpack for her Journal and a pen and ripped a piece of paper out of it. She then hastily wrote the following:
"I am so sorry for this indirect and seemingly rude way of getting in touch with you, but I am in a hurry and I honestly wouldn't want to scare you off by hastily introducing myself and then running off. You'd think I was crazy…
I saw you in the Lab earlier and I'd like for us to travel together and maybe even become friends at some point. I'll be at the Inn tomorrow morning, should you choose to accept my humble invitation.
I'm looking forward to meeting you and I hope your first day as an official Pokémon trainer goes well.
Best of luck,
Mina Akimoto & Chibi
P.S. To reach the exit, take a left, then a right at the next junction and then go straight ahead.
P.P.S. I hope that didn't make me look like a stalker."
She then folded the paper and wrote "To the little girl with the Zorua" on the side, as clear and as large as she could, making the text stand out by bolding it with her pen. Quickly rushing by, Mina "dropped" the note on the ground, in the girl's way and crossed her fingers, hoping that it will reach the person it was meant to get to.
Outside, Mina and Chibi felt a lot better than in the Lab. The two smiled and quickly dashed through the fields, enjoying the day. A few Voltorb rolled about and a group of Geodude seemed to be wrestling somewhere nearby, their cries being the only thing signaling their presence. Soon enough, the two partners reached a tiny grove and could see a couple of berry shrubs next to a comfy-looking bench and to what seemed like a well.
Chibi jumped off her trainer's arms and hopped over to the bery shrub. Grabbing one with her tiny little hands, Chibi carried it over to her owner and handed it to her. The berry seemed to be purple on the top half and yellow on the bottom half and it was slightly rhombus-shaped. It was a Chesto Berry.
Mina picked up the berry and Chibi happily pointed towards the shrub, as if encouraging her trainer to pick up some more. The girl smiled and decided to do so, thinking that berries could be helpful. A notice was posted in front of the shrub:
"Chesto Berry Shrub
Chesto Berries may be used or held by a Pokémon to recover from sleep. Their texture and taste are extremely dry, and its thick skin and fruit are very tough, however, the entire berry can be consumed.
Trainers may only pick Three berries. Should they pick more than three, they are to replant all the extras."
"Three, huh? Well, we got one, so that means two more!" the girl cheerfully said as she quickly picked two more ripe berries and placed them in a special pouch and then in her backpack.
Mina and Chibi spent the rest of the day loafing around, planning ahead and having fun, watching all the various Pokémon the Complex had to offer. As the Sun started setting and the wind picked up, a storm warning could be heard coming from the speakers placed throughout the Complex, followed by advice to take shelter. The girl quickly picked up her backpack and she, along with Chibi, quickly rushed to the inn. They made it just in time as, the moment they stepped inside, it started pouring.
Shortly after they booked a room, the two decided to have dinner, but, just as they were about to head to the dining area, a soaked Professor Lyra dropped by the Inn and asked for help. Apparently, a Trubbish that lived in a hollow tree, in a grove by the Lab was now trapped in its own home as the old tree collapsed under all the rain and strong winds.
"We should help too!" Mina told Chibi as she took out her purple raincoat and her matching rain boots and, as she quickly equipped herself for an adventure out in the storm, she quickly rushed after professor Lyra and towards the Pokémon Center.
As she got there, she noticed another boy waiting for the Professor. He seemed lost so she decided to approach him.
"Are you waiting for the Professor too?" she asked the boy as she was trying to distinguish his face behind his goggles and his weird-looking scarf.