All she could see was an endless expanse of black, no matter which way she turned. She could look down at herself and see her favourite dress and boots, proving that there was some form of light in the room, but she struggled to even locate that.
She spun around once more, attempting to gain her bearings in the odd room, and was ecstatic to discover the source of the light. A majestic white creature stood proud and tall only a few meters away from her. She watched, transfixed, as the beautiful beast threw back its head and let out a shrieking cry. She jumped slightly at the sudden noise and looked around once more as the room began to crumble. She felt the floor beneath her give way as the creature hovered above her, seemingly unconcerned about her imminent doom, watching on as she fell away from the light and down into the never-ending blackness.
"White…Eve!" She shot up, covers tangling around her as she moved her long hair out of her face to see who had woken her.
"Cheren?" She grumbled, combing a hand through the tangled hair on top of her head. She slumped slightly. "Why am I awake? Why are you here? Actually, why are you here while I'm in my pyjamas, evidently enjoying the blissful activity known as sleep? And why did you feel the urge to be so cruel as to wake me from my peaceful slumber?" She glared, hazy brown orbs fixed on him as he shifted awkwardly.
"Why are you sleeping in when we can have Pokemon today?" His eyebrow twitched. "Also, your Mum let me in and neglected to tell me you were still asleep. Sorry. Happy Birthday, by the way. I left your present downstairs with your Mum. She mentioned wanting to open them all together. You might want to get dressed before that."
"She's trying to set us up again. I thought she would have finally stopped after last time, but apparently not, no matter how many times I tell her that she would have far more luck trying to set you and Black up."
"Hey!"
"But never mind. Why don't you go wake His Majesty while I get ready?" He nodded.
"Bianca is, of course, running late again."
"And you are, of course, here at an ungodly time again." She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "She probably just lost her hat or something. She'll be here soon. Now, get out so I can have some privacy." She playfully pushed him towards the door, her silk nightie flowing back down to her knees as she stood and stretched.
"How long are you going to be?" Cheren asked from the door.
"Absolutely ages. Which should be about the same time it takes for Touya to gain consciousness." He rolled his eyes at her before shutting the door behind him.
Eve grinned at the door before strolling over to her vanity table, pulling a brush out of the drawer and settling herself on the stool. As she brushed through her long, green hair, she thought back her dream. It could have been a Pokemon. She shuddered in delight at the idea and her eyes brightened, remembering the upcoming events of the day. If there is a Pokemon out there like the one in my dream, I would love to meet it. She smiled to herself, running her fingers through her now pin straight hair and tugging at a slight knot by her hip. She put the brush away as she stood, waltzing over to the wardrobe. She eyed up the long dresses and resisted the urge to take one out, instead drifting over to the short dresses, skirts and shorts which would allow her to most move easily. Shame I didn't buy that long dress with the slits up the side, that would have been perfect for manoeuvrability, if a tad dramatic. She sighed wistfully, before plucking out a black, off-shoulder dress with laces along the front which tied at the top, picking up a pair of short high heels with panels on the sides. Perhaps not the most practical, but I'm giving up the majority of my creature comforts for this journey – I refuse to abandon my heels as well. She nodded stubbornly to herself before realising that if anyone had been watching her, they would have thought her to be insane, making her decide to tone down the more physical responses to her train of thought, yet she couldn't quite help the slight giggle at the thought of Touya running away screaming for their Mum. That would make for an interesting Birthday Party.
It was as if a switch had been flicked on inside her. It was her birthday. She was shocked by how it had only just sunk in. With a sudden burst of energy, she changed into her clothes and wrangled the awkwardly small straps around the ankle of her heels into place, quickly growing frustrated and murmuring abuse, before apologising when they finally fell perfectly into place, feeling a little bit silly as a result of her anger being caused by her attempting to fasten the buckle the wrong way in her haste. She chuckled to herself once again before throwing the door of her room open and prancing out, crossing the hallway to her brother's open doorway.
"Blaaaaack~!" She smirked at the lump curled up in the covers and glanced at Cheren, who had obviously been trying to wake the birthday boy. A muffled mumbling came from near the pillow. She winked at Cheren before pouncing onto the covers. "Morning, brother mine~! The sun is up, the curtains are open, for your torment of course, and our presents are waiting downstairs, and you will not ruin this for me by slowly becoming one with your bed. Get…up!" Eve pushed the lump, kneeling on the corner of the covers. The bundle of Touya came swiftly unfurled and he rolled off the bed, groaning. Cheren smirked down at him.
"White… You're so meeean…" He whined, sitting up slowly and rubbing his eyes. He tugged his pyjama shorts back down into place – having become twisted from his rather rude awakening – and slowly stood. "Cheren, why didn't you save me, you know she's evil… Barricade the door next time or something…" He yawned sleepily.
"I woke her up this morning, so I owed her. At least this way she can't call in the favour for anything else." Touya patted him on the shoulder.
"I can respect that. Save yourself, my friend."
"I already said it, but I think you were unconscious at the time, so Happy Birthday, Black." Touya smiled.
"Thanks, Glasses." Cheren's eyebrow twitched.
"Ooh, I think I saw a vein pulse in his forehead, that's impressive." Eve giggled.
"Best thing is, sister dear, that he can't retaliate because it's our birthday and he has to play nicely."
"Today is going to be amazing~!" He glanced at his sister oddly.
"We make fun of Cheren every day. It doesn't make that much of a difference, especially since he ignores us most of the time anyway."
"No! I mean because of the Pokemon! You mentioned our birthday, you reminded me."
"How did it being our birthday remind you of Pokemon?"
"Because we aren't the only ones getting presents, of course! It makes our birthday feel more like Christmas, honestly. Now I feel guilty. I should have gotten Mum something… I'll just cut down on my shopping for the week or something…. No. Not going to happen. Extra slice of cake for mama it is then." She nodded to herself.
"You really do concern me sometimes." Touya looked away from his sister, shaking his head.
"What?" He just kept shaking his head.
"Right, well, Black needs to at least put a shirt on so we can go downstairs." Cheren piped up, completely disregarding everything Eve had said.
"No! It's our 16th!"
"And that affects me wearing a shirt, how?" He gave her an amused smirk.
"Because Mum will want to take pictures and I doubt you want the photo album full of pictures of you with tiny little Pikachus on your arse." She shuddered are the thought of the scrapbook in sync with Touya's terrified expression.
"Not the bloody book…" He sighed. "Fine, I'll get dressed, give me a moment." He turned around. Cheren and Eve stepped outside the room. A minute or so later, Touya emerged from the room in his usual outfit, hat in hand. "You do realise that we're most likely going to be starting our Pokemon journey today, White?" Eve tilted her head.
"Yes…? I kind of gathered that from how we're receiving Pokemon today…" Cheren smirked.
"Then why are you wearing a dress and heels? Your dress doesn't even cover your shoulders! You'll attract all kinds of weirdos wearing that!" Brotherly instinct took over as he moved in between his sister and their friend, although apparently not quite as surreptitiously as he had thought, as Eve rolled her eyes.
"I always wear heels and I'll most likely be wearing a jacket most of the time. No one will see my shoulders, brother dearest, I assure you." She chuckled.
"I still say your skirt is too short."
"I still say you're overprotective." They stared each other down for a moment before he shrugged.
"Don't come crying to me when you attract swarms of weirdos." He smirked.
"Please. It will most likely be you crying to me when you don't attract anyone at all~" He pouted.
"That's just rude."
"What? Trust me, brother mine, I want a sister-in-law just as much as you want a girlfriend, but I'm not ready to be an aunt. Hence why I haven't told you about the ink all over your face. I suspect Cheren or Mum. Most likely Mum." Touya shrieked.
"Ink?!" He ran down the hall to the bathroom before he suddenly stopped in the doorway, catching sight of his face in the mirror above the sink. "White… You're such a pain!" He plucked a small towel off the rack and twisted it. Eve's eyes widened before she ran off down the stairs with a shriek, Touya just behind, whipping at her ankles.
"It was just a joke! The ink is actually on your neck! And it was Cheren!"
"I'm hardly going to trust you now, am I?" He grinned evilly as he caught up with her at the bottom of the stairs, before he caught sight of Cheren's expression. "What!? Cheren?!"
"You weren't waking up…" He shrugged, smirking. "I got bored and had a pen in my pocket."
"Seriously?!" He stomped back up the stairs and towards the bathroom, when he noticed the word 'IDIOT' scrawled in Cheren's handwriting across the back of his neck, mostly covered by his jacket.
"Here." Cheren stepped forwards and took the towel from him. "You can't see it properly." He turned the tap on and soaked a small portion of the towel in water. He then wrung it out a little, bundled it up slightly and scrubbed at Touya's neck. "Gone. Let's go. White's probably bored as hell waiting to open the presents. He dropped the towel on the rack and strolled out, Touya just behind him.
"Thanks. And how much do you bet that she gets more presents than me? I'll bet you £200. He smirked at his friend.
"I bet you'll get the same amount." They shook briefly before they emerged into the living room. Eve was sat nursing a cup of milky tea whilst their Mum was organising the presents into two piles.
"Good Morning, Touya!" She placed the last present onto Eve's pile before standing and gliding over to her son in the same graceful way that her daughter tended to. She hugged him, planted a kiss on his cheek and wished him a happy birthday before gesturing towards the piles. "Just waiting on Bianca. I texted Angela, she was just leaving a couple minutes ago, so she'll be here any second now. Kettle's just boiled. I'll make you a cuppa, you go sit down. Fancy one, Cheren?" He politely declined as she smiled at him, giving her son another hug and patting his cheek on the way into the kitchen. She was just handing Touya his mug as the door flew open.
"Am I a little late again? So-oooo-orry!" Bianca cried, smiling widely at them. "Happy Birthday, Black, White! Hi, Cheren!" She placed a small box on each pile.
"Bianca…I've known for ten years that you have no sense of time, but… seriously… Today's the day we can get a Pokemon from Professor Juniper! And Black and White's birthday." Cheren lightly scolded her.
"I like how you tagged our birthday onto the end there. That made me feel really special." Eve winked at him, smirking. He simply ignored her. She pouted into her favourite mug.
"I know. Sorry, Black, White. Sorry, Cheren." She smiled apologetically at him.
"Since you're all here, presents!" Their Mum declared. Touya and Eve shared a glance before diving at their respective piles.
Bianca had gifted them each a bag for their journey, hers being a rigid green backpack with gold accents. She absolutely loved it, especially as it was her two favourite colours, earning Bianca a dive-hug from the green haired girl. Cheren had given her a bundle of books about some of the more intricate details of Pokemon genetics and interaction between different species of Pokemon, which she had adored, cooing an "Awe, Glasses!" at him as she blew him a kiss.
The twins had accidentally bought each other incredibly similar gifts in the form of bracelets with a little masterball pendant, though the bands were black and white for their respective nicknames
"Does yours expand into a real one too?" He nodded, and they hugged and helped each other put them on before moving on to the present from their Mum.
"Xtransceivers! Thank you, Mum!" She smiled and kissed their heads before allowing them to move back to their piles.
"Your Father helped pick them out, so remember to thank him as well when you can." They happily agreed.
There were two boxes left. Eve pulled the black one closer to herself and checked for a label, eventually finding a small tag with her name on. Touya checked the other box.
"Professor Juniper. This must be the Pokemon for us all. What's that one?" Touya asked his sister.
"I don't know, but it has my name on…"
"Ha!" He whipped around to face Cheren. "You owe me~ I win~! Pay up, Glasses!" Said glasses wearing boy simply rolled his eyes and handed over the money.
Eve rolled her eyes at them before carefully undoing the ribbon on her gift. She pulled the lid off and found that the gift was wrapped in tissue paper. On top of the paper was a black lily. She gasped, picking it up delicately and smelling it – it was still fresh. She set it aside before unveiling the gift. She slowly extracted a long green dress from the package. She gasped again. It was the very same dress she had seen in the window of an incredibly expensive clothes shop she had passed while out with her Mum. She stood and held it up against her front. The dress was a vibrant green with a gold outline, falling all the way down to her ankles with a slit up one side to reveal her legs and the skin of her left hip. It had a long collar with a cape attached, which she giggled at, remembering a previous debate about how ridiculously wonderful yet unnecessarily melodramatic capes were. A thorny, gold belt was still laid inside the box, along with a golden lily hairclip and a long, green and gold sword, Underneath them all was a matching pair of high heeled boots to go with the dress, which varied in length, one reaching mid-shin and the other mid-thigh, as well as a single, long glove to cover the arm left bare by the dress.
"I'm wearing it." She nodded to herself, pinning the golden lily onto the right side of her head. "This is officially my journey dress. And these heels! Oh, I love them so much! And the sword!" She swung it experimentally. "Perfect. Perfect length, perfect weight, perfect style… simply perfect!" The thin blade sliced through the air and she giggled. "I'll stop swinging this around before I give poor Hattie a heart attack." Bianca smiled gratefully.
"Pokemon, now, then?" The blonde tilted her head.
"Actually…" The twin's mum spoke up, holding up two more small boxes. "These are first. Last ones, I promise." She winked and handed the pair a box each.
Eve opened hers to reveal a beautiful wide gold necklace with a large teardrop emerald pendant. "Mum, this is so beautiful…" She looked over to Touya to see him lifting a thick set gold bracelet, with the exact same teardrop shaped emerald pendant.
"They're family heirlooms. When my parents died, we emptied out their old manor, but we could never find the necklace and bracelet that they always wore. I came home and relieved the babysitter – you two were only around two or three then – and there you two are, laid in Eve's bed – since you refused to sleep apart – cuddling those two pieces of jewellery. Took a lot of convincing, but I eventually managed to pry them off you and store them away until a time when you could cherish them properly. Of course, it's still a mystery how they got there, but I think your 16th birthday is as good a time as any to return them to you." She smiled at them, pressed a kiss to both of their foreheads before exiting the living room, a soft Happy Birthday called over her shoulder.
Eve and Touya looked at each other. After a moment, they switched jewellery and helped the other put them on.
"Isn't our birthstone emerald...?" Eve asked, examining her pendant.
"I think so." They shared a smile. "So, Pokemon?" She nodded eagerly.
"They were delivered to Black and White's house, so they get first pick." Cheren nods.
"Naturally, as it's also their birthday. The Pokemon are waiting for us inside that gift box. OK, you two go first and take a peek at the gift box. I want to meet the Pokemon right now!"
"There's a note." Touya announced, handing it to Eve, who read it aloud.
"'I've brought six Pokemon, one for you two and one for each of your friends. The other two I will collect later. Please settle your choices politely. Enjoy your Pokemon! –Professor Juniper' Rock, Paper, Scissors, brother mine?" Touya nodded. They played, drawing with scissor the first round before Touya defeated Eve with scissors. They opened the box, to reveal six Pokeballs.
"I'll pick… this one!" Touya picked the second from the left.
Eve picked up the third from the right with a smile.
"OK, I'll take this Pokemon!" Bianca chirped. She picked the third from the left.
"Hey, how come you get to pick who chooses first? Oh, never mind. I'll take the far left." Cheren retrieved his Pokemon.
"Ready?" Eve asked them, smiling. "Send out your Pokemon!" She released her Pokemon, revealing a Snivy. "Snivy! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She looked around at the others. Cheren also had a Snivy, but Touya had an Oshawott and Bianca had picked a Tepig. She focussed back on her own Pokemon. "My name is Genevieve Grey, but I usually go by Eve. My Friends also call me White, so take your pick." She leant closer to the Pokemon and began to whisper. "By the way, I can understand you." The Pokemon's eyes widened comically, its jaw dropping slightly before it collected itself with an embarrassed expression, seeming to blush slightly. "My brother, the brown haired one with Oshawott, he knows, but the other two don't, so it's a bit of a secret." She winked and smiled.
'I'll keep it secret!' The small grass type cried before blushing at his volume. 'Sorry, I didn't expect to be quite that loud…' He smiled sheepishly.
"It's alright, and thank you! Now, it's my birthday today-"
'Happy Birthday!' The Pokemon cried suddenly. 'I interrupted, sorry.' He put his head down slightly, blushing again.
"No problem, and thank you! But I just received this lovely dress, so I'm going to go put it on. Would you like to stay down here or come explore my room as I change?"
'Could I perhaps, please, maybe come with you?' He looked up hopefully.
"Of course, hop on." He slipped onto her shoulders, enjoying the sudden change of height as she stood. He soon burrowed into her hair, nuzzling into the side of her neck. She turned to her friends and brother. "I'm going to get changed, back in a minute."
"Wait, where's your Snivy?" Touya asked, making Eve tilt her head.
"Snivy?" She chuckled slightly, looking down at her shoulder. "I suppose he does kind of blend in." She swept her hair back to reveal her Pokemon curled around the back of her neck like a living green scarf. Touya burst out laughing. She smiled, chuckling to herself slightly, before heading towards the stairs.
When she came back downstairs a few minutes later, wearing her new boots and dress, sword and Pokeball attached to the thorny golden belt, Bianca immediately stood.
"Everyone has chosen a Pokemon! …So that's that! Hey, I know! Let's have a Pokemon battle!"
"Honestly, Bianca…" Cheren sighed. "Even though they're still weak Pokemon, you shouldn't have Pokemon battles inside a house."
"Don't be a worrywart! These little ones are weak, like you said. We have to let them battle so they'll get stronger." Bianca smiled at him brightly.
"Still…" Eve stepped in and Bianca's face fell slightly. "We might as well do it where we can have two battles at once. Let's go outside. Rock, Paper, Scissors. 1st place vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd." Bianca instantly brightened.
"Okay!" They stepped outside and played. Eve came first, beating Cheren in a face-off for first place. Touya then lost to Bianca, making it Cheren vs Bianca and Eve vs Touya.
"Birthday Battle it is then, brother dear." She lifted her Pokemon from her neck, placing him in front of her as Touya sent out Oshawott.
"Ready?" She nodded. "Let's go!"
"Snivy, use leer!" Oshawott gave the grass type a wary glance as it glared at him.
"Oshawott, use tackle!" The Pokemon charged forwards to comply.
"Snivy, try dodge it if you can, then counter-attack!" Snivy manage to slip around the water type at the last moment and tackle him from the side.
"Use tail whip, Oshawott!"
Eve gritted her teeth. That, they couldn't exactly dodge from that position.
"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're my baby sister, White!" Touya smirked.
"You're barely even older than me!" She rolled her eyes. "Snivy, tackle!" The Pokemon darted forwards.
"Oshawott, use tackle!" They met in the middle, both taking damage.
"Tackle!" Snivy snapped to attention and tackled the Oshawott whilst it was still dazed by their collision. The water type flew backwards and landed on its back, fainted.
"Oshawott!" Touya rushed forwards to return him to his Pokeball. "You did brilliantly." He smiled up at his sister. "You too, White! You make your big bro so proud!" He pretended to wipe a tear and sniffled, before handing her the reward money. They chuckled.
"Thanks. Well done, Snivy! That was amazing!" She turned to her Pokemon as Touya turned to tend to his own.
'I just followed your directions…' He smiled at her sweetly.
"And followed them far better than I ever could have imagined! You're incredibly fast! Future opponents will definitely have to be on guard for your counter-attacks!" He beamed up at her. "Coming back up?" He nodded, and she picked him up, settling him on her shoulder so that he could wind his way back around her neck, settling on top of the collar of the dress.
'You know…I noticed this earlier, but your dress reminds me of a picture I saw of my fully evolved form, Serperior.' She smiled, swishing the fabric of her dress slightly.
"Really? Then I'm glad I picked you! When you evolve, we can match!" She giggled.
'I'd like that…' The Pokemon sleepily murmured, before falling asleep on her shoulder. She smiled at his light snores in her ear.
Touya and Eve shared a smile at the Pokemon's peaceful state before turning to walk towards their battling friends. Cheren's Snivy darted forward to tackle Bianca's Tepig for the last time, sending it sprawling to the ground. The blonde knelt by her Pokemon's side, stroking its head gently before returning it to its Pokeball. She stood, smiling at Cheren as she walked over to hand him the reward money.
"The Pokemon on both sides did their best!" She turned to watch as the twins walked towards them. "Hey, who won?"
"My Snivy was awesome~! Defeated Black then settled down for a nap." She turned to Cheren. "Nice work there with your Snivy, but I can see us having the same type of Pokemon becoming awkward quite quickly." They laughed, before turning to walk towards the lab. Cheren suddenly stopped. Here, let me restore your Pokemon for you." He took Touya and Bianca's Pokemon and healed them. He then turned to Eve.
"It would most likely be best to simply let him rest." She patted the Pokemon's head and smiled as he snuggled into her hand in his sleep. "I'll feed him some berries when he wakes up."
He nodded, and they continued on their way. Bianca then paused.
"Oh! Wait! I've gotta go home first." She turned to face them all. "I'll meet up with you all there soon!" She darted off towards down the street. They shared a glance, then shrugged.
"You two go wait outside the lab, I'll go wait for her." The boys nodded as she started off down the path to Bianca's house. Knocking as she stepped inside, she smiled at Bianca's Mum, Angela, momentarily before turning her gaze to Bianca, who was facing down her Father, clutching her Tepig tightly to her chest.
"No, no, a thousand times no!" Bianca's Dad shouted at her, rage written across his face. Bianca cringed.
"But, I'm… I'm a good Trainer who got a Pokemon and everything! I can totally go on an adventure!"
"I said NO!" He barked at her, before flushing as he realised that Eve had seen their argument. "Don't think that this is over, young lady." He glared at her as she huffed.
"No, I'm going out to the Pokemon Lab to tell the Professor how grateful I am to finally have a Pokemon and then I'll leave on my own journey." She ignored his protests, giving her mother a weak smile as she gently guided Eve out of the house. Even outside they could hear Angela's infuriated shrieks.
"Hattie…?" Bianca shook her head as she took a deep breath, her head snapping up at her nickname.
"It's OK… It's fine." The shorter of the two simply sighed, knowing that prying would only further upset her friend, so she simply linked their arms together and began to prattle on about how she had defeated Touya in their match, the greatly exaggerated descriptions and wild hand gestures soon cheering up the blonde.
"You took your time." Touya smirked as the girls approached.
"Ok, let's go meet the professor." Cheren impatiently began to nudge the other boy through the doorway.
"Hi there! I've been waiting for you!" A relatively young-looking woman with her brown hair in a bun strode over to greet them, her lab coat swaying behind her. "Let me introduce myself again. My name is-"
"Professor Juniper? We know your name." Cheren interrupted, an eyebrow raised.
"Come, come, Cheren! This is not a time to take things lightly. Today is a day to remember always, so it's best to behave with some formality." She gently chided him, "That being so, once again, my name is Professor Juniper, and I am researching when and how the creatures called Pokemon came into existence." She gave them a brilliant smile as she approached them, observing how Bianca's Tepig and Eve's Snivy happily cuddled into them. "Oh, that's unusual! You've already had a Pokemon battle! So maybe that's why… It feels as though your Pokemon have already begun to trust you! By the way, would you like to give your Pokemon a nickname?" Eve chuckled.
"With two of us having snivys, that might be best." She removed her own Pokemon from her neck and cradled him in her arms. "How about Freyr? It's one of the Old Gods who had influence over nature." He grinned as best a Pokemon could at her.
'I love it! But… That's a powerful name…Are you sure I suit it?'
"I think it's a powerful name, but you'll grow into it, so it suits you perfectly. Is that okay?" He nodded before launching himself up to cuddle against her face.
'I have a name~! And an incredible Trainer~! And we're going on an adventure~! And it's White's Birthday~! And this is the best day ever~! I'm so happy!' She smiled at his enthusiasm and chuckled slightly when he calmed down, blushing as he wound himself around her neck once again.
Once he had settled, Eve turned her attention back onto her brother, who was holding his Oshawott up to his face and staring intently at it. The poor Pokemon was confused, but decided to start a staring competition, its eyes watering as it glared at its trainer.
"Oscar!" Touya suddenly cried out, raising the Pokemon high in the air and making it even more confused. He brought it back down to eye level and stared into its eyes, grinning. "Oscar the Oshawott. That's you." Oscar blinked slowly a few times before crying out a cheer and raising its little arms in celebration.
'I'm Oscar the Oshawott! And I'm going to be the best Pokemon ever!' Eve raised an eyebrow and hid a smirk at the pokemon's naïve behaviour.
"I'll go next!" Bianca announced, placing her Tepig on the ground and crouching in front of it.
"Call him Bacon-Cakes." Eve called out.
"Bacon alone is a good enough name. Or Sir Porky. Ooh! Sir Porky von Baconstein!" Touya became more and more excited as he suddenly crouched next to the Tepig and announced his suggestion for its name.
"No! That's weird!" But it was too late. The newly dubbed 'Sir Porky von Baconstein' was so ecstatic with his new name that he refused any other names that Bianca suggested, even other pig related names. Eventually, Bianca sighed in defeat and began insulting Touya, going so far as to take off her hat and beat him with it.
"Just take the most inconspicuous part of the name and go with that. Nickname him 'Vonny'." Eve shrugged, making Bianca calm down enough for Cheren to name his own Snivy.
"Hildegard." Cheren looked at his Pokemon and smiled as she gave a brief nod.
"Those are such great names!" The Professor smiled as she called their attention back to her. "As for why I gave all of you Pokemon…"
"It's for the Pokedex, right?" Cheren finished for her, his eyebrow quirking once again.
"Pokedex?" Bianca echoed.
"It's a high-tech device that automatically records information about the Pokemon you encounter." Eve offhandedly explained.
"I am astonished. Nice work, Cheren, Eve! You have already studied Pokemon extensively, haven't you? Anyway, I want you three to visit many places and meet all of the Pokemon in the Unova region! This is my request. Eve! Cheren! Bianca! Touya! You'll go on an adventure to complete the Pokedex, will you not?" The quartet shared excited glances before Eve answered for them.
"We would love to, Professor!" She smiled slightly. "Thank you, because of you, we can become Pokemon Trainers and travel as we have always wanted."
"All of you, thanks! You have given me the best possible answer!" She handed each of them a Pokedex. Cheren's was a dark blue, Bianca's red, Touya's black and Eve's white. "Now go ahead and have fun, I bet you're just itching to go explore Route 1!" They shared a smile and left the lab thanking the professor profusely.
"Oh, there you are!" Touya and Eve each walked forward to give their mum a quick kiss on the cheek as she smiled at the four of them. "And…? What did the professor have to say?" She caught sight of their pokedexes. "She asked you to complete the Pokedex?! I can't believe it! Well, actually, I can. I already knew she was going to ask." She gave them a mischievous grin and handed each of them an A3 sized piece of paper. "That's why I brought the three of you these Town Maps. Take them with you!"
"Thanks, mum!" The twins chimed, storing away their maps.
"Th-thank you so much!" Bianca stuttered.
"I'll take good care of it." Cheren lips twitched, which Eve absently thought was as close to a smile as they would get from him, the excitement strangely making his face blanker than usual.
"Ah, your Pokemon are all so cute! You seem so close to them already. With Pokemon like that at your side, you'll be safe wherever you go! I'll let your parents know! I hope that, in addition to Pokemon, you'll find lots and lots of places you like in the Unova region—and become wonderful adults! Have a great trip!" She gave her children a brief hug before taking off back towards their home, leaving the twins slightly stunned.
"Our mum is amazing." They agreed in synch before turning to their friends. "Shall we head to Route 1?"
"Sure, but stop doing that. You're like stereotypical horror film twins."
"You'll be fine Cheren. The nerd always does the best." He scowled at Eve, who shrugged elegantly, the smooth gesture not even disrupting her Pokemon.
"Let's go, let's go!" Bianca cheered as they headed to the Route. "You know, if we're starting a journey together, we should all to take our first step at the same time!" She linked arms with Eve and Cheren, the green-haired trainer dragging her brother into the chain as they approached the edge of town. "One, two!" A broad grin split her face as she enthusiastically split away from them and twirled. "Oh! I wonder what will happen! Isn't this so exciting?!"
"Yup! Now if you don't stop twirling, I doubt Sir Porky will survive the journey to Accumula Town." Touya shot a brief concerned glance at the swaying Tepig in Bianca's arms, before she whirled around and clipped his ear with her hat, which had been swiped off her head with a shriek of indignation.
"Don't call him that! He's Vonny!" He simply rolled his eyes.
Eve, however, was watching the Tepig with amusement as it managed to escape the blonde and landed on the ground, only to take a single step forward and face-plant with a groan. He then lifted his head and gave an excited cry.
'I wanna go again! Oi, trainer! The noble and powerful Sir Porky von Baconstein demands that you entertain him!' His haughty cries for attention as he dizzily stumbled over to his partner were ignored as Bianca continued to whack Touya, who simply continued to make pig jokes. She barely contained her laughter.