[C].~.The first steps are just the beginning.~.[C]

[Lara]

The boat ride was filled with trepidation. Wyatt had paid his way, read the lips of the man behind the counter to make sure he was on the right boat, and then rigidly made his way towards the front of the main deck. Finding his seat he plopped himself down without so much as a glance around to who else was on the boat. Really, he could have been the only one on the ride and it wouldn’t have changed anything, so it wasn’t like he needed to pay attention to any of them.

Still, he found himself a little nervous about what this new journey of his would bring. He had insisted on going, of course, to the point where his parents could no longer disagree, especially after the time where everyone else had up and left on their own Pokémon journeys had come and gone.

There was a flutter of movement on his lap, and he looked down to see the small ghost Pokémon looking back up at him as if smiling reassuringly. He looked up again; the boat had already started moving while he wasn’t paying attention. Or had he been sitting there for a while already and just not realized it? Time had a habit of passing by quickly for him when it came to important events like this. Or maybe he just wasn’t paying enough attention.

A particularly large wave crashed against the side of the boat, drawing his attention only due to how close he was to the railing. He tensed as specks of water hit him, nerves suddenly swarming in as if they had been waiting for the ocean’s cue. Who was he kidding, going out on a journey on his own? Him? The little deaf boy who couldn’t even communicate with his own Pokémon unless they were looking at him? Oh, he’d never be a good trainer-

Something caressed his arm softly, another attention to reassure him that everything would be alright. Everything was going to be fine. “It’s going to be okay, Wyatt, you’re going to do just fine.”

He started at that, trying to figure out exactly what he had just – heard? What? What was going on? He jumped up in shock, turning his head to look around and try to pinpoint exactly what had just happened. Everything else around him was still as silent as before – had he just imagined whatever it was?

“Wyatt,” the voice said again, a soft, gentle murmur in his mind, far too airy to be something normal, but what did he know of normal, he who had never heard anything in his life? He looked around wildly; no one was paying any attention to him – no, wait, was that little girl over there peeking at him? It seemed awfully far-fetched, but…

“Wyatt. Right in front of you.” A small, transparent figure shimmered up into his vision, and he focused on it with a bit of confusion in his eyes. “Good,” the Shuppet said approvingly once she knew she had his attention. “Now settle down. You’re making a scene, you silly boy. Go on, sit down.”

He stared at Cara, his Pokémon companion for some time by this point, but slowly reached behind him and found the top edge of the bench, steadying his body before lowering himself down on to it. With an ever growing sense of wonder, he raised his hands and signed first his symbol for her, then a simple question. [Cara, you’re… talking to me?] His signed words were hesitant, but he saw her beam at him and sway in excitement.

“Yes, isn’t it wonderful? I’ve been trying for ages, but I guess we weren’t close enough to the shore yet.” Her ghost-like body flipped in the air before settling back down at his eye level.

His head cocked to the side, and the sign his hand formed was short. [How?]

“You know, I’m not too sure myself, but it’s just a cool aspect of the region, or something. I heard your dad mentioning it to your mom, hehe, but he wanted it to be a surprise. And isn’t it? Oh, you should have seen your face!” She tittered for a moment as if recalling the image a second time.

His brow furrowed in a thoughtful yet confused expression, and the hand sign was repeated a second time. [I can hear everyone here?] he asked, adding a few more hand movements after the initial question. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but already he could feel a bit of excitement bubbling up inside.

“Oh, no, sorry Wyatt,” she said, face falling for just a moment. “I’m talking to you telepathically, which isn’t something every Pokémon can do. You know that…” Seeing the faint slump of his shoulders, she hurried on. “But you’re the only one who can hear me right now, isn’t that a neat change of pace?”

He blinked, the words not yet sinking in. The only one? The only one? A grin began to form on his face, and his lips parted as he silently chuckled at the twist of fate. Oh, he would love this region. Only being able to converse with Cara was still a tremendous leap from how it had been at home. And his father had known all along!

The Shuppet grinned a bit, Wyatt’s mute humor contagious on the small, rocking ferry. As he stretched out on the bench, she fluttered closer, hovering just about an empty part of the seat, as if she was actually sitting next to him. “Oh, look, look!” she exclaimed brightly after a moment of silence. “Wyatt, it’s the shore!” She was immediately up again and zigzagging back and forth in her excitement. “It’s even prettier than Lilycove’s, don’t you think? Ooh, Curty would be so jealous if he could see this.”

Wyatt cracked a wicked smile at the obvious nickname for his uncle, whom the Shuppet had hung around with before coming to stay with him instead. Standing up, he moved over to the railing and gazed out towards the first sight of the Kairuu shore. What would it be like, this strange new region, where new things had already happened before even touching a foot to it? He couldn’t wait to find out.

-----

His wide eyes took in everything as he and Cara departed the ferry. There were so many people – such a contrast from his own town of Mossdeep! And the Pokémon! His excitement meter was going wild as he looked from Pokémon to Pokémon, all who were walking amiably along the dock with their trainers. He recognized most of them, but now and then he spotted one that was unfamiliar, and it only made him even more eager to explore. Things were so different here; he felt free already, unconfined and able to start anew, without anyone looking at him strangely-

Oh, right. That was one thing that would stay the same, he reflected with a small frown, mood dampened slightly. He had nearly forgotten – forgotten, can you believe that? – that even with Cara able to speak with him, others still likely wouldn’t be able to understand his hand signs. And yet, this new capability, did it mean Cara could help him speak with others as well? Could the bridge be crossed more easily? It sounded too good to be true.

“Wyaaaaatt!” Cara’s excited voice broke into his thoughts, and he looked up to see the Shuppet floating a few feet ahead of him. “The laboratory is this way! All the trainers have to stop there before leaving town, so that includes you! Come on, slowpoke!”

Her words brought an overwhelming burst of happiness. That’s right! He was here to become a Pokémon trainer, something he had anxiously waited for all his life. His hand rose into the air triumphantly, signing a single gesture in the same movement. [Coming!]

-----

“Oh wooow, this place is huge!” Cara chattered, dancing in place as the two walked up to the entrance to the lab.

Wyatt had to agree. He took in the building with a bit of awe – hailing from a town on the complete opposite side of the Littleroot, he had never been given the chance to see the Hoenn laboratory, so this was a treat. He stood staring in silence for another moment, just trying to take it all in. This was going to be the first step on his journey… It would only continue to get better from here.

Unless – unless something went wrong. The sudden doubt trickled once again into his mind, and his staring took on a different light. What if the professor didn’t like him? What if he wasn’t allowed a Pokémon? Did they even let deaf people become trainers here?

“Oh, just knock, Wyatt,” Cara said, exasperated at his anxious fidgeting just feet from the door. “I’d do it for you, but I’m the one with no arms, so obviously that’s not going to work. Come on, go, go!”

He blinked and looked over to her, realizing exactly how long he was taking. Looking back to the door, he swallowed, his uncertainty fading into the background as he straightened and walked the last few steps that would take him to the door. Raising a hand, he moved to knock, hesitated an inch from the wood, and then finally, finally went through with it.

No one came to the door at first. Well, really it was probably just a minute or so of waiting, but it left Wyatt ready to collapse into a puddle of anxiety right then and there.

“Don’t worry, Wyatt, I hear footsteps! Someone’s coming~,” Cara said brightly, bringing his attention fully to the door in front of him. Obviously he wasn’t going to hear the same thing, but he didn’t want to give off a bad impression when the professor came to the door – just in case they really didn’t accept people like him, you know.

The man who opened the door didn’t look much like he had imagined, Wyatt had to admit, but the easy-going grin on the young man’s face almost made him want to smile right back. He did so after a moment, though he immediately began concentrating more on the man’s lips than anything else.

“Welcome, welcome!” the professor was saying. “You must be here to choose a starter Pokémon, am I right?” At Wyatt’s quick nod, the other man clasped his hands together and then beckoned Wyatt inside. “Come right on in, then, don’t be shy. We’ve got a co… …fer…”

At being ushered inside, Wyatt had lost sight of the professor’s face, where he had been diligently reading lips as to not lose track of the conversation. A wave of alarm at the thought that he would miss the instructions coursed through him, but the turn of his head was more casual than anything else. A stubborn part of him refused to give the man any notion that he hadn’t heard every word spoken.

“… or I can briefly lend you one of my Pokémon, and you can try catching a starter of your own.”

Wyatt bobbed his head, indicating that he would go with the option that he had just caught. Never mind what the others were – he didn’t want to try and get the professor to repeat himself, not wanting to deal with everything that came along with it.

“Very well, which of my Pokémon would you like to borrow? There’s Da’Aren, my Pidgeotto, Jigsaw, a Lileep, or Taika, who’s a Grovyle. They’ve each got their own fighting style, but any of the three will be able to help you out.” As they were mentioned, three Pokémon moved into view from the corner of Wyatt’s eye. Annoyance fluttered through him for an instant, but he squashed it, determined not to show any reaction; they weren’t sneaking up on him, not this time. There was no reason to get mad.

“Ooh, go with the Grovyle!” Cara suggested excitedly from where she hovered just inside his line of vision.

Quirking a smile, Wyatt pointed towards the grass type, looking from it to the professor, who nodded.

“Excellent choice. Now, if you’ll just take this Pok?ball… Oh, I almost forgot. You can choose from three areas –there’s the alley out back, the garden patch just a little down the road, or the docks. The Pokémon at each of the places vary, and I can’t guarantee you’ll find a specific one you’re looking for, but they’re all good choices.”

Wyatt was briefly stumped at how to respond, if only because he didn’t know how to communicate which of the three he wanted to explore. His hand raised slightly, as if preparing to make the set of signs, but he lowered it again with a small frown of frustration.

“Which one do you want, Wyatt? I can tell him, if you want.” Cara’s voice was soothing, understanding the way he was feeling, having seen it so often in the past back in Mossdeep.

He looked up to her with a bit of surprise in his eyes. Of course, if she could talk to him, and all the other Pokémon could talk as well, that meant she could talk to others, too. Others like the professor. He nodded slightly and raised his hand again, making the motions for which option he wanted.

“He wants to go into the back alley, Professor,” Cara said aloud, voice still airy as ever, but he knew the professor had heard her from the nod of his head and the dawning expression on his face.

“Alright then, let’s head out there and get you a starter.”

A feeling of relief coursed through him as Wyatt realized the professor wasn't going to prevent him from getting a Pok?mon, even though he now knew that the prospective trainer couldn't hear.

"And it was silly of you to even think that in the first place," Cara said, just to him, with a wryly amused tone. Wyatt just made a face back at her as the professor turned and led Wyatt out the door with the Grovyle in tow, rendering anything he might have said afterwards useless to the deaf boy, who couldn’t hear it anyway.

[bijuu.]

ooc. um yeah, shitty quality and all that but i lost internet for a few days and this has gone unattended long enough. sorry about this...! D: anywho, my mod skills suck, so i hope this is satisfactory..

Lee could tell from the start the boy in his current company was different; his reluctant manner should've been pointer enough, but the professor didn't quite understand until he witnessed the Shuppet relaying Wyatt's orders. The poor thing. It was hard to swallow the pity, but he did it anyway, realizing with a sharp slap of embarrassment that Wyatt was probably sick of being felt sorry for. Wasn't it some sort of unspoken rule to treat handicaps like any other human beings?

Taika seemed to relish the chance to exercise, and bolted into the alleyways as soon as she was let outside; the professor led the boy and his translating Shuppet into the same direction, skirting a dumpster and standing aside as the Grovyle, a veteran at this job, scanned the area with sharp yellow eyes.

The small furball wandering nearby certainly wasn't expecting to get chosen as a target; he was busy reaching into an overflowing rubbish bin, pawing at a leftover crust of bread, and looked up in time to see a glowing leaf blade aimed for the back of his head.

Before the Normal-type could react, he was already down. Lee stepped past the Grovyle to assess the situation, and dropped a Pokéball on the downed Pokémon's body.

Lee has captured a Meowth for Wyatt!

level 5, male.
ability is either pickup or technician.
knows scratch & growl.

The professor turned to hand the Pokéball now containing the Meowth, along with a bag containing several items necessary for the journey; fairly uncertain who to address, he fixed his gaze on Wyatt, and spoke so the boy would at least understand what he was saying, yet clearly enough for the Shuppet to clarify if needed.

x2, x1, Badge Case, Fashion Case, Pokédex.

"Alright, good start there, you got a Meowth, and... lessee, here're your items, including the Pokédex, Badge and Fashion Cases, some Pokéballs to get you started, and a Potion. They should hold you up until the first town at least."

Wyatt is set to leave the lab.