It was a kinda small, serpent like thing, with the most adorable face. Jeff recognised it straight away.

"A Dratini?"

He was surprised, I mean, these Pokémon were pretty rare, in fact, you couldn't catch them in the wild in Kanto. Why would Oak give this one to him? Then he realized. Dragons are notoriously hard to train, hard to evolve. This would be a much bigger ask than a typical starter Pokémon. Still, he had to try.

The thing eyed looked up at him with big bright, curious eyes. This thing looked really young, like it had just been hatched.

He keeled down and put his hand out.

"Hey there little guy..."

It darted away from his hand, clearly scared. It was probably only the second time it had seen a human. This was understandable, but it really wouldn't count as a good explanation as to why the Professor's bookshelf had now fallen over. In it's rush to get away, the Dratini had knocked it over with it's rather long tail.

"Oh...I should have seen this coming" Jeff put his palm to his head

He then picked up the ball and tried to coax the Dratini out, so he could just zap it and get it inside. It wasn't working though, so he had to get closer. Jumping quickly into the corner it was hiding in, he blocked it's escape.

"OK, you're gonna wait in this ball for a lit-"

The Dratini dashed forward, smacking him the the stomach, causing the ball to fly out of his hand, half way across the room. He then fell back, winded. It took this opportunity to run off, deeper into the lab. Or, it would've, had it not met with a door.

"That REALLY hurt." Jeff groaned, rolled over onto his belly, then pushed himself up.

He scanned the room for his Dratini, and it's ball. He saw the Dratini, banging it body off the door, attempting to break through. No ball though. He did see something that might be a suitable replacement. A sheet.

"Hmm...maybe." he made his way over to the sheet, pulling it off the table it was sitting on.

Getting on his knees, he slowly crept up behind the Dratini, trying to not make any noise. It didn't notice him. Seizing the opportunity, he jumped with the sheet, covering the little thing with it. He successfully managed this, putting all his weight on each corner. The sheet was perfect...only problem was, he didn't have the ball.

"Jeff, are you there?"

The door creaked open as Professor Oak stepped in.

"Je-"

He saw Jeff on the ground, wrestling with the Dratini on the floor. It had now slipped out, and he was grasping it with his hands.

Jeff glanced up, as the Dratini stopped struggling, also noticing the mood change.

"Um...I let it out, and it kinda ran away..."

Suddenly, someone else stepped out from the door, carrying various cases and bags. It was some girl with blonde hair. She couldn't have been older than twenty.

"Oh my, eh, Professor?" the girl turned to him, a very confused look on her face.

"This..." he sighed and put his head in his hands "...is Jeff."

The Dratini burst out of Jeff's hands and dashed at the girl. She put her arms out and it leapt into them, making cheerful cheeps as it did.

Jeff was confused, why was it so easy with her?

"P-Professor? Who is this?"

"This, Jeff, is your assessor, Ashley."

He suddenly became very embarrassed, this wasn't a good first impression. He quickly stood up, then made his way over to them, adjusting himself as he went. He took this time to quickly analyse Ashley, get a bit more familiar with her face. She was wearing a cap, with her hair coming out the back of it in a long pony tail, she also had bangs that went over the sides of her forehead. The rest of he clothing looked very...touristy, like she'd just came of the Cinnabar ferry...rather suitable, then. A blue Hawaiian shirt with a Pokéball motif, jean shorts, and a pair of blue sneakers. She certainly didn't LOOK like an assessor, more like a typical trainer.

"Heh, you don't need to look so nervous." Ashley laughed, noticing him quickly inspecting her.

Reaching them, he put his hand out, offering a handshake.

"Well...I'm Jeff, but I guess the Professor's already told you that..."

She smirked, taking his hand.

"Ha...well, we might as well get properly acquainted, we'll be stuck with each other for a while."

"Well, hopefully not THAT long" Oak interrupted

"Enough of this talk then, I guess you're wondering why Dratini here is so welcoming to me."

Jeff nodded.

"Well, you see, I hatched this little guy, he was part of a special litter, specifically bred for this little experiment the Professor wanted to try."

His eyes lit up.

"So, he's special?"

"Guess you could say that, specially bred to be difficult to train. Really loving though, one you get his trust...hence why he's so comfortable with me."

This was a lot more planned than Jeff had originally thought, much more difficult than it had seemed from the outset. But, this assessor seemed nice, both in temperament and body...she did look very close to his age...maybe...he shrugged this thought off, he was never really the best with girls.

"So, when do we start?"

He was desperate to get this Dratini training started, learn the ins and outs of everything.

"Eager, I like that...Professor?"

"Well...I should probably show you where you'll be staying first, get you settled in...perhaps in a few hours?"

"That seems like a good plan, OK Jeff, meet me in the lab at...let's say 1pm, we can have lunch in the field, during training. Nice weather for a picnic I think, don't you?"

"That sounds great, should I take Dratini home with me, or just leave him with you?"

Jeff...really wasn't sure if she'd allow him to, after that ludicrous display just there

"Well, he's your Pokémon, it'd probably be the best idea to get him familiar with your home."

He was kinda amazed at this. Making his way over to the Pokéball, which he noticed during the conversation in a corner of the lab, he picked it up.

"Wait, before you return him, why don't you pet him a little, I'm sure he'll be a bit more comfortable with you then."

Jeff nodded, making his way over to the Dratini. It panicked a little at first, needing Ashley to calm it down, whispering something into it's ear. He put his hand out to stroke it, expecting a kinda slimy texture. It wasn't like that when he touched it, actually much more scaly, leathery, actually kinda warm. Dratini visibly enjoyed this.

"Do that with your Pokémon a few times a day, it really helps it develop a bigger attachment to you, which, you probably know, is pretty crucial."

He returned the Dratini to the Pokéball, promising to do so.

"Right, Jeff, it's been nice to meet you, and I'll see you later. 1 pm, remember. Professor Oak has told me you have problems with timekeeping..."

"Oh...yeah...I'll be there..."

Ashley giggled, "Don't worry about it, we aren't all perfect."

"Yes, Jeff, please be here. I'm sure you will though, you seem very eager" Oak waved him off as he left, closing the door behind him.