Whew… this is the day…, Mac thought to herself, peering at herself in the mirror as she admired herself in her new Dawn Dusk uniform. Although it was nothing close to a pretty outfit, it was more than a hundred times better than the one pair of ripped and beat up clothing she wore during her training at the academy. It had been a while since she had been able to change to a nice set of clothes – in fact, she hadn’t been able to do so ever since she was forced out of her city after the rotten theft had happened in her band. She would’ve loved to return back to her home to assure her parents she was still alive and well, but she knew she wouldn’t be safe returning there – especially since she was not only wanted as a jewelery thief, but she was also now an official member of a criminal organisation to boot. She wondered if her parents were doing well, and hoped they did not fret too much over her disappearance way back when; however, she was glad they didn’t know about where she was in life now. She knew they would be a little short of proud if they saw her wearing this uniform as she was.
“Well… let’s do this,†Mac breathed to herself, blowing the fringe out of her left eye before it fell loosely back down. Her heart was racing with both nervousness and excitement – she hadn’t expected to graduate with her barely passing marks,and she definitely didn’t know what she was to expect now. She had signed her name on a piece of paper (to help determine her team? Her brain was half-awake as she did it) and was handed her the new uniform she was to wear. She remembered learning from her courses that she would be receiving a partner pokemon to assist her with her assignments and she was more excited about that than anything. Mac had never owned a pokemon before, aside from her mother’s bulbasaur that was kept as the family pet more than anything else. She did, however, remember tidbits of what she learned in her classes about training pokemon, and she hoped her small amounts of knowledge wouldn’t fail to assist her in what she was expected to do as a Dark Dusk member.
As Mac left the restroom and tagged along behind some of the other graduates she recognised from her classes, she was led to a room full of many different kinds of pokemon and her heart started beating wildly at the sight of them all. What kind of pokemon will I get?, she pondered, twiddling her thumbs in anticipation, Whatever it is… I hope it’s a good one. Although just having one now… oh, this is so fantastic… if only mother and father could see me now, receiving my first pokemon… well, they’d be…
“Oi! Having a little trouble deciding…?†a voice came from her right, and Mac spun around to meet one of the higher ranked Dark Dusk members – assigned along with the group to help out with the newly graduated rookies, she was sure.
“Oh, just a little…†she chuckled in response, scratching her neck, “I mean, there’s just… so many of them, I guess. I’m really not sure where to look…â€
The higher member looked at her bemusedly and crossed his arms, “You mean, you don’t even have an idea at all? Do you perhaps, favour one pokemon type over another? A dual type? Would you prefer a pokemon that evolves quickly, or one that takes a little longer but pays off with a vigorous, sturdy evolution – like a dragon pokemon?†As Mac tilted her head to think, he continued, “You know, most graduates have at least an idea of what kind of pokemon they want. There must be something you’ve got your mind set on.â€
After pondering for no more than five seconds, Mac shrugged – she really wasn’t sure what pokemon she preferred, because she had never even owned one before. “Well, I… I guess it’d be nice to have a loyal pokemon,†she finally decided, “You know, a pokemon that will always stay by my side, through thick and thin…â€
The member shook his head and palmed his forehead – how much of a rookie was this kid? “I can assure you, Miss… Mac,†he said, glancing at the name tag pinned on her new Dark Dusk jacket, “All of the pokemon here were trained to be unmistakably loyal and follow orders by their respective masters,†He chuckled a bit at the girl’s stupidity – surely she should know that, having attended her courses and graduated? As Mac lowered her gaze, about to think it over a little more, the Dark Dusk member got an idea and took her arm, “But if it’s loyalty you’re looking for,†he suggested, “We do have a naturally loyal pokemon that you may remember learning about, which is almost guaranteed to obey you unconditionally. Do you think you may be interested in a growlithe?â€
Growlithe… what was a growlithe, again?, Mac wondered to herself, trying to recall the pokemon from her memory – it wasn’t easy to remember all those pokemon she learned about, even though she sat down trying to memorise them all for hours on end before her exam on the subject. Instead of responding with a gap of silence, she quickly came back with a “Sure! That sounds like a good pokemon!†The member sweatdropped, but took her hand and led her to the long rows of specially trained partner pokemon nonetheless.
As they approached their destination, Mac took sight of a small, orange blob that was tightly curled up in a ball as if sleeping. One of its ears perked and the pokemon lifted its head – after catching sight of them, it automatically jumped to its feet and started wagging its big bushy tail and grinning widely, its tongue lolling down and over the side of its mouth. Mac instantly remembered the pokemon at the sight of it: An average sized dog-like creature with orange fur and charcoal black stripes down its back and legs, and cream coloured hair on top of its head and around its neck, reaching down its underbelly. It looked exactly as it did in the textbook; just looking a little smaller than “average-sized†with ears that looked larger due to its smaller head and a longer tongue, giving it a more the appearance of a puppy, or a younger growlithe.
“Oh – a growlithe!†Mac finally exclaimed, putting her hand out under the growlithe’s nose, “Hey there, little guy… you sure are energetic, aren’t you?â€
“Growl… ruff roff!†the growlithe responded happily, its voice higher as opposed to the deeper voice of an older male growlithe. It sniffed her hand and gave it a juicy lick, causing Mac to chuckle at the ticklish feel of it.
“I’ll take this one,†she decided nearly instantly, falling in love with the pup’s adorable antics, “I wonder why no one else has already chosen you? You’re such a sweetheart, huh?â€
“Roff!†the growlithe’s tail wagged faster as a liquid began running down from its legs, creating a puddle on the array of newspapers underneath its feet that Mac had failed to notice before. She looked over to the Dark Dusk member who had escorted her and saw him smirking at the sight of the hyper growlithe.
“That is likely your reason…†he replied with a hint of amusement in his voice. “That growlithe is still a little younger than some of the other trained partners,†he went on to explain, “It’s a popular pokemon around these parts; it’s hard to keep up with demand, so we got stuck receiving this growlithe a little later than some of the other pokemon.â€
“I can still choose it though… right?†Mac asked to confirm, picking up the dripping puppy and holding it under its arms and in front of her face, receiving another juicy lick to her nose. “I mean, it’s not too young…? And you did say it was trained…â€
“Oh, of course!†the Dark Dusk member assured quickly, glad that the pokemon had been chosen since they had expected it to be rejected because of its lack of… potty training, “It’s already trained quite well in battle – it’s got a good ember and bite attack at its disposal, and it will be a great partner. It just might be a little… slower than the others, because of its age…†He put his hands back up again, “But no worries! It’ll prove to be a strong pokemon the more you train it, and its evolution, arcanine, is a pretty fierce competitor. Growlithe is a solid choice.â€
Mac grinned. “Great!†she chirped… before realising that seemed a little cheery for someone in a criminal organsiation. “I mean…†she cleared her throat, and slanted her eyes down at the member, “This will do just fine, sir. I will not let the team down.â€
The member clasped her shoulder, a little painfully on Mac’s part, “Now that’s the spirit,†he chuckled lowly, locking eyes with her before walking off to help another, “Make sure to get your partner registered, and find the rest of your subteam – keep your eyes and ears open, rookie. Remember, this isn’t a game… this is the future of Dark Dusk, and we’re counting on you…â€
“Sir! Yessir!†Mac yelled out, clutching the growlithe pup to her chest with one arm whilst saluting to the senior member. She looked back down at the growlithe and allowed herself to grin again at it. “Well…†she started, caressing the scruffy hair between its ears, “You and I are partners then, huh? I guess we should probably get registered, shouldn’t we?â€
“Grrooowwwl!â€
OOC: Long intro post is long… I apologise. The others won’t be as long as my first couple posts, just 'cause I’m trying to get some background before interacting. x’D
Mac"s partner pokemon is her first pokemon, and the lack of battle pokemon isn"t going to be good for her, is it? xD She"ll be receiving a zubat shortly for a battle pokemon just to start her off, but I didn"t include that whole part in this first post because I was kinda trying to make this post as short as I could without stifling yawns. She"ll also catch her other battle pokemans near the beginning-ish… if things go as planned. x]
Also, Mac might not be very… evil at first. But she"ll learn. Oh, she"ll learn… ;P She"s just a little slower than everyone else – much like her growlithe. X3
Goodness; she and that growlithe are starting to show similarities, are they? Let"s just hope Mac is potty trained… (haha! :lol:)