Chapter Two: Professor Pine
A gleaming yellow sun had just been beginning to crest the ring of mountains that surrounded the Timber Valley when Rin had taken her first steps through the village. It created a soft golden light that made a decent effort of warming the early spring morning as well as to dispel the shadows that were attempting to prolong the night. In these shadows, dustings of frost clung to cobblestones or blades of grass, glittering faintly in the light before the sun inevitably melted it away.
Timber Valley was created by a ring of mountains that held within the circle of its arms not only the small village of Starpointe, but the massive Forest known as Timber Wood and the appropriately named Starry Lake, the star shaped body of water taking up a third of the valley. The valley itself was situated in the south eastern corner of the Arion region. It was a nearly complete circle of mountains that surrounded the bowl like valley, with a single canyon creating a break at the northern most point. The lake took up the southern third of the valley and was surrounded by a large meadow. Starpointe Village itself was nestled between two points of the star on its eastern bank. That left the last two thirds of the valley to be covered by the large trees in a blanket of evergreens, a road connecting the canyon to the village creating a pale scar that cut through one side.
The valley was also fortunate enough to have its very own professor that had decided to settle in the small village rather than seek out a large city to live in. This caused enormous relief to the inhabitants of Starpointe who wanted to travel on a Pokémon journey. It saved them the trouble of having to travel to Goldust City, the home of the other Professor in the region, in order to receive their partner. Rin happened to be one of these people.
Enjoying the chance to be able to stretch her legs in the crisp morning air, she was rather grateful that the butterflies knotting in her stomach would be settled sooner rather than later. As she walked, she contemplated who she would decide to choose as her partner. This was a very serious decision, seeing as the one she chose would be there for her entire journey. And she didn't want to end up with a partner that would one day change their shape into a form that would dredge up lingering terror. Every now and then, she would be pulled from her thoughts to respond to greetings or gestures from some of the other early risers in the village.
One man, who was on the large side and sported a bald head, didn't hesitate to call out to her with, "Starting out on your journey then, Alarin? I wish you the best o' luck in selecting your partner and safe journeys to you."
Rin politely nodded to him and his Simisear that was perched on his shoulder, smiling at them. She watched him for a moment as he turned to unlock the door to his bakery, assailing her nose with the smells of already baking bread. He and his Pokémon made a delicious tasting orange roll and she was almost tempted to stop and purchase one. But the fluttering in her stomach quickly pushed those thoughts aside. It had been quite the effort to take a few more bites of the apple she had grabbed earlier before she had finally given up and offered it to a more than willing Zigzagoon that she came across.. She was quite grateful she hadn't given into the temptation when a few moments later the large Pokémon laboratory came into view and her stomach attempted to do a back flip. Staring up at the wide white walls of the building, her attention was drawn by movement near the front door. A man was standing there and after a moment, she felt the corners of her mouth drawn up in a smile as she realized it was none other than the Pokémon professor himself.
Professor Augustine Pine was young in comparison to a lot of the other professors, barely entering his late 20s. He stood well over six feet, but whenever he was asked about just how much, he always changed the answer with a cheeky grin. He usually seemed to be smiling, his favorite expression. This made his green eyes dance as if he were privately enjoying his own joke. His hair matched his eyes, only slightly darker in the green coloring, and was kept in a relatively short cut. At this moment, his head was bent slightly towards a small pink Pokémon that was often perched on his shoulder. This Pokémon was quite lovingly known as Nugget, and was a miniature Slowpoke. She was usually found with her body draped casually across her owners' shoulder, her tail dangling down his back, tiny front paws gripping a loop of cloth that the professor had sewn into his lab coat to make sure she didn't fall off. Her wide dark eyes, which were normally staring vacantly into space, were currently quite riveted on her trainers face as he spoke. She then quite suddenly, which was an accomplishment, turned her head to look at the approaching Rin, A dopey smile spreading slowly over her face. Noticing, Professor Pine lifted his own eyes to smile quizzically down the road. When he spotted her approaching, he suddenly broke into a brilliant smile.
"Hark! Is that a potential trainer coming down the road to visit us, Nugget?"" Pine cried happily, knowing full well who it was coming towards him. With only three long strides of his long legs, he closed the distance between himself and the young woman. Reaching out, he gathered her right hand into both of his own, smiling warmly down at her. He didn't seem to notice, or mind, the fact that that particular hand was robotic. But this was just part of the professor's character.
Smiling up at the professor, Rin felt some of the anxiety and nervousness ebb out of her body by the perpetual bubble of euphoria that seemed to surround, and indeed emanate from, the man. She always felt that way when she came here, which had been a very frequent thing before she'd been convinced of starting out on a journey.
"Good morning Professor," she responded in her soft voice, reaching into her pocket as she did so and pulling out a piece of dried pineapple. This she lifted to Nugget, politely placing it inside the Slowpoke's mouth and gently closing it. "And good morning to you too Nugget." She added, smiling at the look of surprised delight that entered the Pokémon's eyes.
"And a good morning to you as well Rin." The professor responded in kind, eyes sparkling at the treat she had brought his Pokémon.
Rin felt another piece of anxiety vanish at his use of her informal name. She hadn't really gone by Alarin since her mother had died, the use of it reminding her too much of her loss. The other people in the village hadn't made the transition, having been around when her mother was alive. But the professor had come at a later date and quickly accepted calling her Rin without question.
Nugget added her own squeaky greeting in a slightly muffled voice, unwilling to relinquish the hold on her treat. Pine laughed delightedly, releasing his hold on Rin's hand and reached up to give his partner an affectionate scratch behind one of her ears. He nodded his head after a moment and his smile seemed to become brighter.
"Nugget is right. Are you ready to come into my laboratory to take the first steps to become a Pokémon trainer?" he asked, tilting his head a little and lifting both of his eyebrows.
The excitement peaked within her and Rin felt a smile blossom into new life upon her lips. "I thought that was why we are both here." She said, taking a stab at making a joke. It had a desirable effect on the professor, who tilted his head back slightly and laughed. Turning on his heel, he gestured for her to follow him through the open double doors of his laboratory.
"I do believe that is correct." He responded with another chuckle, glancing to the side when the young woman started to follow him in a quick step. For every one step that he took, she had to take almost three.
The room that they entered was small and square shaped, with a table against one wall with a complicated looking computer on top of it, a row of cupboards and drawers against the opposite wall, and a machine that healed Pokémon situated in one corner next to a doorway. Walking over to one of the cupboards, professor Pine opened it and began to pull out various items, occasionally muttering something to the Pokémon on his shoulder. As she waited, Rin stood quietly to one side of the room, looking around curiously. She spotted a small deck of cards situated on the end of the table and smiled. It was Magikarp's Go Fish. It was something that she and Nugget had done together, helping her to overcome her fear of Pokémon and getting to know the professor at the same time. In retrospect, she was extremely grateful she had come to this place on that day five years ago.
Clearing his throat, Professor Pine was able to draw her from her thoughts of the past and pull her attention to him. He had made his way over to another smaller table in the room, a cardboard box set on top of it, and was gently gesturing her to come over. Allowing one final glance of fondness for the game, Rin stepped across the room and closed the distance between them. Glancing curiously at the box for a moment, she then focused her bright green eyes up at the man she had come to consider a father figure. Smiling when their eyes met, Pine began to talk.
"I'm sure you know quite a few useful things about Pokémon, considering you have been coming here frequently over the last five years. I know that you are aware of how to use potions and healing items, the differences between the vitamins, how strong each pokeball is, which types are effective or not against other types, things like that. I want to talk to you about what you will find useful on your journey, things that will give you information. For example, "at this point, he reached into the box on the table and pulled out a much smaller flatter box and handed it over to Rin, "your Pokedex."
Fingers fumbling for a moment at the edge of the box, Rin felt her breath catch as she finally managed to get her fingernails under the lip and remove the top of the box. Sitting nestled amid soft styrofoam was a sleek thin electronic book, it's tough outer shell a light blue in color. Finally releasing the breath she had been holding, she reached inside to pull out the Pokedex. It was fairly lightweight, with a camera on the front cover and a port near the bottom where the charger could be plugged in. Pressing a small latch on the side, the top part popped open to reveal a space where a trainer card could be placed on the underside of the cover and a blank screen that took up most of the inside of the device. There was a small button to the side of the screen that Rin pressed, and the machine powered on, flickering into life. The menu appeared on the screen with the following list: Pokémon information, map, messages, camera, item information, and customization.. Fascinated, she tapped the screen where the button for item information was located, watching in amazement as another list appeared that had every item a trainer could use arranged in alphabetical order.
Blinking, she quickly looked up at the professor, "I... Uh, thank you!" She whispered, pressing a button on the screen that said "back" before closing her new possession.
"You are welcome. I'm guessing I got the color right then?" Pine responded with a wink, satisfied when the girl nodded her head. "You'll be able to send me messages should you feel like it, using this latest version of the Pokedex, as well as anyone else who has a similar device. To record Pokémon information, you simply point it at the Pokémon in question. I am issuing you with a challenge to fill out as many pages as you can."
Nodding her head once again, Rin decided to test out her Pokedex on Nugget, opening her device once again. Pointing the camera in the Pokémon's direction, she listened as a computerized voice then proceeded to say:
" Slowpoke. Slowpoke are amphibious creatures of notoriously dim intellect. They take a long time to respond to outside stimuli; it takes as much as five seconds for them to process pain. Their tails are particularly numb to pain, as it takes more than a day for them to feel when they have been bitten on their tail. Although they are generally seen as being extraordinarily stupid, they are very gentle and caring, as well as skilled anglers. Unfortunately, they are easily distracted and forget what they were doing. Although many view Slowpoke as largely useless creatures, many folktales surround Slowpoke, including the belief that their yawns cause rain."
Glancing up at Nugget, she lifted both of her eyebrows at the description that had been given. "I hope she doesn't yawn often when she is inside then," she said, causing the professor to burst into laughter. He reached down to lovingly pat his Pokémon on the head. She looked rather indifferent, still working on her piece of dried pineapple.
"Well, on that note," Pine managed to say between chuckles, "I think that it is time for me to show you where you will be able to select your own partner."
There was the feeling of swallowing butterflies once again as Rin followed the professor to the doorway at the back of the room, her hands slippery on the Pokedex still clutched tightly between her fingers. She hadn't received any answers to what would be available and the idea of facing the unknown was enough to make anyone nervous. When the professor paused just inside the doorway, she felt as if her stomach had tried to do a barrel roll. Lifting both of her eyebrows in surprise, she looked up at the man next to her for answers. He smiled at her once again, gesturing to another open doorway at the end of a short hallway.
"Through that door is where I keep all of the Pokémon I have caught, or bred, and study. I usually keep them in outdoor enclosures, but have brought them inside this morning for your perusal. I will be in here if you need any help, have any questions, or have made your decision," he explained, touching a door to his right that had a bold 'STUDY' printed on it. "I figured that you would rather go alone and select by yourself then have me fluttering around you making you nervous and coloring your decision," he added, noting the slight look of confusion on the young woman's face.
Rin felt slightly better after this explanation, grateful once again that she hadn't decided to travel to Goldust to have this same discussion with Professor Spruce, and nodded her head in understanding. "Thanks Professor." She said genuinely before turning to continue down the hallway alone, feeling her excitement start to peak once more.
Behind her, unseen, Professor Pine subtly crossed his fingers and offered a silent prayer for her success.