Payton Murphy
Littleroot Town
"Goddamn, this place stinks," remarked Payton Murphy to nobody in particular. Or, that's what he would have said, had the man right in front of him not been Professor Birch, the Hoenn region's leading researcher on Pokemon, and the one in possession of his soon-to-be Pokedex. Even if the lab did have a certain aroma to it, thanks to Birch's habit to study out in the field and what Payton could only describe as 'weird artificial laboratory smells', he wasn't stupid enough to disrespect the man's workplace.
Payton had stayed the night just outside of Oldale, before heading out to Littleroot early the next morning to receive his Pokedex. It wasn't that he was eager to start his journey, he had just decided that he wanted to be out of there before the other starting trainers showed up. They'd probably want to get to know him, considering that they would be leaving at the same time. The thought that someone might want to
travel with him was more than enough incentive to get him up and away. With his Mudkip in it's ball tucked away in his duster coat and his dome swag swung over his shoulder by a lone strap, he kicked dirt over his camp fire's remains and set off.
Payton had realized after a few minutes of walking that he had never been down route 101 before; there had never been a reason to. It was hard to tell, otherwise. It looked just like every other route in the area, save for how little trainers there seemed to be. The entire town of Littleroot only seemed to exist thanks to Professor Birch's Lab, but otherwise it was completely out of the way. Before he knew it, he had arrived at his destination. Much as he had hoped, it seemed that he was the only one there. As he barged in to get the morning over and done with, he was overtaken with unpleasant smells, machines and papers everywhere, and the sheer whiteness of it all. It reminded him of a hospital's interior, and the people working inside with white lab coats only helped with that. He didn't get much time to look around, however. A middle aged man sipping from a coffee cup turned around with a shock as Payton rudely welcomed himself in, and the look of disdain on the man's face nearly rivaled his own.
"I'm here for my Pokedex," Payton stated flatly. Might as well skip the greetings, he wasn't planning on staying.
"I'm sure you are, but you've arrived too early. Professor Birch isn't ready yet." Drat. So, this man wasn't the professor he was looking for. He certainly looked the type, giving off a vibe that he held some kind of importance, yet now that he thought about it, Payton remembered Birch being a lot older. "Well then," he started, "Can I just say that this place
reeks? I mean, you guys obviously spend way too much time cooped up in here, and I'd say Birch spends a bit too much time playing around in the mud. Someone around here should probably do something about that."
The guy who 'welcomed' Payton didn't look too happy about what he said, and looked as if he was about to spit his mouthful of coffee straight back into his cup. He politely swallowed it, however, and was probably about to impolitely give Payton a piece of his mind before he was interrupted. "Y'know, I haven't had breakfast yet. Got anything to eat?"
All Payton got was kicked out of the lab by a rather unimpressed scientist. Birch wasn't giving out his Pokedex yet, so it didn't make any difference. That was, until a couple of trainers arrived. Now
there's something he didn't want to deal with. Well, if fate says that it can't be avoided, then so be it.
"Birch is busy. There's a grumpy scientist just inside, so I'd wait out here for a bit if I were you two." Payton looked between the newcomers as if he had something else to say, but instead just huffed and mumbled incoherently as he walked over to the corner of the building to smoke, yet only to keep the other trainers from bothering him. Some mutt was barking from not too far behind the laboratory, probably signifying the arrival of yet another trainer.
Curse you, cigarettes, for being the only people deterrent I have. He told himself that he was quitting, but hadn't put any effort towards it. As he took a drag, he looked around the town to occupy himself. There were a couple of houses surrounded by forest, a- oh. Actually, that was about it. Yeah, Payton was pretty keen to leave already.