@Scyther,

(( i was gonna wait til you pmed me back regarding the starting location of the rp, but since i didn't get anything back i just figured i'd start the rp anyways ^^;

this is a 1x1 between me and Scyther; please don't ask to join! ))

This new kind of Pokemon -- oh, sorry, "people" -- made him uncomfortable. Sure, they looked normal for the most part (besides the ears, tails, wings, fins, flippers, et cetera et cetera), and they talked like normal people, but however he looked at it, they just... didn't seem like people. They were more like Pokemon with human faces, and he just couldn't shake the notion that they all disapproved of his kind keeping Pokemon like pets. Sure, the few he'd met had been polite enough not to bring the matter up, but he could have sworn that he'd seen them stealing disapproving glances at the Pokeballs he kept on his belt. Since then, he'd made a point of pulling his shirt down to cover them, even though he rarely crossed paths with the Pokemon-people where he lived. Those encounters had made him extremely self conscious about his Pokeballs and their contents. Lady Luck, naturally, decided to feed that self consciousness sending him off to the new country on the basis of a job transfer.

Why he had been one of the ones chosen for this, he didn't know: he was still young, barely out of college, and more or less a greenhorn in his field. There were a lot of other researchers who were more talented than him, and most of the ones working under his employer had much more experience. The only reason he could come up with was that they wanted to gauge just how well he would do in a strange land, but even that reason seemed silly and unprofessional. Ah well.

There were more important things to worry about right now. Like finding out where he'd be living for the coming months. He regretted spending all that time on board the ship either sleeping, reading, or getting seasick -- he'd only just set foot on the docks, but he was already lost. Scouring the map in his hand wasn't helping much; this city was huge and he couldn't even find the location of his apartment, much less figure out how to get to it.

He sighed. Nothing else to do but to ask for directions.

Lowering the map, he started to look for someone who didn't seem busy or in any particular rush. It didn't take too long to find someone despite the hustle and bustle all around him, and he bounced towards the person as quickly as he could.

"Um, excuse me." He paused. He was speaking too quietly -- he couldn't even hear himself above the noise. "Excuse me!" He pointed at the map in his hand. "Do you happen to know where Stone Street might be?"

(( hope that's enough for you to go on -- if not, feel free to tell me and i'll edit it c: ))

Casually walking through the bustle of the streets, was Selene. She was a white hooded figure, covering her curved horn on the side of her head. Her cloak concealed her dark face, furred collar and tail from behind. She wore a simple black shirt underneath the cloak and as she walked, she heard a quiet voice.
"Hm? Asking for directions eh? I suppose I can help." Selene muttered to the human in a quiet and assuring voice, turning to face him and examine him. A touch small. Wonder what business he has here. She thought. "Mmmm, the street you are looking for, is down south from the docks, turn right and you should be right at your destination. What are you doing here, may I ask? You seem quite confused." she said looking at him. "Well anyways, you should learn how to read that map right, or get a better map. Seems like it's not helping you much. Oh, and a hint of advice, watch out for a certain bug looking person, she's been hating on your kind for a bit. It might not be wise to approach her, make eye contact, or mention her name, not that you know it." She said. "You be careful now, and do you have anything else to ask me?" Selene said, looking at him questioningly.

"Ah, thanks." He nodded gratefully to the stranger, then looked back down at the map to commit the route to memory. "I think I have an idea of where to go now. I really appreciate it!"

The hooded figure's next statement made him grimace, but he managed to smooth his expression before long. "Confused, huh? Guess that's one way of putting it." Now that he'd gotten the directions he'd needed, the young man took a step away from the girl and extended his hand. "Well, I just got transferred here for some research work. I study Pokemon and their habitats for a living. Er, well, I guess in this case it's just habitats... or something." Smooth, man, smooth. "The name's Ryan. It's nice to meet you...?"

His last statement sounded more like a nervous question. He couldn't tell under the cloak, but there was a pretty high chance that this stranger was one of the Pokemon-people that lived in this country. There was also a chance that he'd offended her with the whole "I study Pokemon" spiel. Great going, moron. Two seconds on land and you already messed up.

"A-anyways!" Ryan mentally shook himself before continuing on. "It's not that I don't know how to read maps or that this map is faulty. It's just that I kinda... sorta... didn't think to take a look at it until just now, and I didn't think the city would be that big." Embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not really that great at planning things, y'see."

That probably sounded really uncharacteristic for a researcher, but that was just the way he was. He regularly had to make complex lists of things he had to do so that he wouldn't forget to do any of them. Of course, sometimes he forgot to put some necessary things on or managed to misplace that list (both physically and mentally), but that was besides the point.

"...A bug-looking person?" He could only imagine what someone like that looked like. "Uh, thanks for the tip. But do you know what she looks like? Y'know, so I can... avoid her..."

He'd anticipated something like this happening, but to be informed that there was a person out there who hated every human she came across right as he hit port was more than a little unsettling. Ryan could only hope that, given the size of this city, he wouldn't have the displeasure of running into her, or any other person who would dislike him for being... well, him.

Study pokemon and their habitats...So he's saying he's going to study us eh? For Arceus sake, he sounds like a moron. Selene thought as she looked at his extended arm. Rolling her eyes, she pulled back her hood to scratch a bothersome itch behind her ears with her clawed hand. "You should always be prepared in some amount, not looking at that map, and not knowing how large this city is was a bad choice on you. And Indeed you are bad at planning." She said looking at him with a scrutinizing look. "Well this bug is what your kind call scyther. She lives nowhere and everywhere, but mostly in the Garden, and the forest north of here." With a sigh, she continued. "She has a group of other, abandoned pokemon, friends, she calls them that, are, well, exactly like that. They don't fight much, so there's no worries about them attacking you. That's why she doesn't like humans, she thinks they're unreliable, untrustworthy and so on. Steer clear of those areas, don't attract much attention, and you should be fine." She said. "anyways, I have to take my leave. Be seeing you." She said, pulling up her hood, and began to walk to the Garden.
(Just in case, Selene might be a temporary character. Still trying to get myself situated.)

(( alrighty then! and don't worry about that -- i'm still trying to get situated, too. |D ))

Despite his knowing that most of the residents of this city would consist of Pokemon-people, Ryan still found himself flinching back in alarm when the stranger pulled back her hood to reveal a face that was not quite human. "Ah! Uh, um, y-yes ma'am." Embarrassed, he looked away, lowering his map to his hip in the process. He had to keep the momentary flare of irritation he felt at being chided by a person he didn't even know the name of down -- if he did anything he'd regret here, he doubted it would be treated the same way as if he'd been back in his homeland. It wouldn't do to tarnish his reputation right off the bat, and especially in a place that didn't exactly see humans as the Best Thing Ever.

"A... Scyther, huh?" He couldn't help the shudder that ran through his spine. There was no guarantee that this Scyther-girl would sport the species's huge arm blades, but it was a definite possibility. The stranger had said that she and her friends ("Pokemon"? Like, actual Pokemon or more of these people?) don't do much fighting, but that would hardly be a comfort if he'd have to face two deadly scythes every time he faced her.

What the hell, man. I thought the plan was to avoid her at all costs.

He was still trying to envision what this mysterious girl would look like when his conversational partner suddenly excused herself and turned away. "A-ah, wait a second!" Hurriedly snatching up his suitcase, he waddled as fast as he could to catch up to her. "If I could ask one more question! Where's this 'Garden' you were talking about? What is it exactly?"

"Hm? Why, I'm going there. It's to the east of the town, not the port. It's quite large, and was built to synchronize nature and our kind together. So that we may be able to understand mysterious things a little better. The Garden has a lake made by some of our water kind, and a small clock tower that plays music every hour. The music calms the mind, and soothes the soul. It's almost a shame you can't come." Selene said with a sigh. "Now are there any more questions? Or do you think you're prepared enough?: She asked as calm and neutral as she could. This was also one of the many times a human flinched at her face. Not uncommon, but it was getting pretty annoying to her. The streets were bustling with activity, which meant more of her kind. Since this idiot's afraid of me, I wonder how he's going to handle the rest? He'd probably faint. I better get him somewhere else. she thought, imagining Ryan passing out in the middle of the streets. "Heheheh. Well, should I show you the way? I highly doubt that you'll last the streets at your state, you seem a bit...anxious." She said.

Well dang, that was a whole lot of information at one time. It was all a little overwhelming, especially considering the fact that Ryan understood little of what the stranger was saying. Synchronizing nature with their kind? What's that supposed to mean? He would have questioned her further, but it seemed like she was starting to get annoyed with him. It was better not to risk her anger.

"Anxious?" Ryan raised an eyebrow, and absently pointed at himself. "Me?" Well, he guessed he did feel sort of nervous -- given the fact that he'd just landed in a completely new place, it couldn't really be helped -- but he'd thought that he'd been able to act pretty normal around Selene. Maybe these "people" have heightened senses and can, er, smell fear? If that were the case, then he'd have to adjust to life here fast if he wanted to avoid being a walking dung bomb.

He sighed inwardly. This was gonna be a ride.

But, whatever. He was sure he could "last in the streets" long enough to at least find his apartment, but getting a little help from a local never hurt. He nodded towards the stranger and smiled gratefully. "I'd appreciate that," he said. "Thanks."

(Getting ready for school. School is no fun. So is not having motivation, but hey, I try.)

"Let's hurry then, it's going to be more crowded soon." She said as she walked towards where the human said his home was. She paused to look back and make sure the human was following, they can be quite slow sometimes. Moving smoothly between the streets, passing buildings and trees, she paused again, to see a group of boys crowding around Ryan. "Great. It's them." she muttered.

"Look what the ships brought in. Hey guys! Look, it's a human!" One of the boys said. He was small, too small to know what's good and what's bad yet. He still had the tendencies to do something bad and not know the consequences. He outer appearance was much like a Houndour, red, grey and black clothing. He had a skull shaped chain around his neck.
His friends were similar, and there was a teenager that was like a Houndoom.
"This isn't worth my time." Said the teenager turning away.

Bah, yet another human tainting the land. Let's see if he'll last a day and a night by himself. He already seems to be getting help with that jerk. Bleh bleh bleh, warn the humans about me. a dark green clothed figure thought in the branches of a tree. I wonder what purpose he has to come here. None of my concern, I'll bash him a bit, then leave him alone. she thought grinding her jaws. Oooh, look, it's the boys. What's going to happen I wonder? she thought.