More introductions; Selene
It took Selene a few moments to recover from the initial shock; outwardly she showed no sign of reaction, due to years of carefully training her emotions not to betray themselves on her pale face framed by long dark hair, but inwardly she was staring in disbelief. Pretending that she was unphased would be pointless; Grandmother was every bit as Talented as she was, and certainly realized that Selene wasn't exactly ecstatic about her "birthday present."
"Sssssn," said the present, crossing long two-clawed arms and staring up at her with an unimpressed expression, flicking her feather-tipped ear irritably.
{Ew, a dark type.}
[Shaman, hush,] she replied absently to the voice in her head, a voice that did belong to a corporeal being; in this case, "Shaman" was an Abra who spent most of his time clinging lazily to her backpack. One of her longest friends and companions, Shaman was a very unique Abra who thought himself quite witty...and as a noncombatant Pokémon, he also had issues with dark types. Selene felt the Abra send his amusement back at her, then shunted that aside to focus on the interesting situation at hand. "Grandmother... I'm grateful for the gift, but a dark type? I already have Cassandra," and she referred to the headstrong Absol who was part of her party.
"Call it an old woman's intuition," the silver-haired matriarch of the Montgomery family replied with a smile. "Kan'ya is her name. Already loaded with a few TMs, and used to battling. Used to listening, too," she added with a stern eye to the Sneasel, who smirked and flicked her feather-tipped ear. "She's a good one as darks go, and I just have the feeling you'll need her."
"Far be it for me to question premonitions," Selene murmured, finally accepting the Pokéball her grandmother had held out. "Well then...this makes for an interesting team. Five now."
"You've still got that old Steampunk?" Grandmother asked with a grin.
"Well, of course I do. Metang now, Grandmother, not the little Beldum you say you used to all but trip over as it followed you like a hovering metallic puppy. And Oracle's a Gardevoir. I suppose I'm not doing that badly for someone who isn't exactly a trainer." Selene smiled faintly; a large display of emotion for her.
Her Grandmother smiled back. "You're doing well enough," she replied. "Especially now with Kan'ya."
Selene was about to reply when her cell phone started to beep insistently. "Just a moment, Grandmother," she said, excusing herself to the porch. As she did, one of her Pokéballs at her waist glowed and released its occupant, a silver-furred creature that stretched langurously before giving the steely-pelaged creature on the table a sniff.
"Sssol," Cassandra muttered, sitting back on her haunches boredly.
"Sssel," Kan'ya shot back, baring her tiny little fangs in a smirk.
"You two!" Grandmother said sternly. "It's a good thing Selene's due to get a fighting type to keep you in line."
The Absol sniffed, though she did seem a bit unsettled at the idea of a fighting type on the psychic-centric team. She pointedly ignored the Sneasel, instead peering out to the porch where Selene was taking the call.
"Bad reception in here," Grandmother mentioned, and the Absol flicked her bladed tail irritably. Cassandra was quite used to humans NOT knowing what she was thinking; Grandmother Montgomery's intuitive nature unsettled her a great deal.
Any further interactions were interrupted by Selene's re-entrance into the living room. "Sounds like things are about to get more interesting," she murmured, favoring the Absol with a frown that she had yet again let herself out of her ball. Cassandra ignored it. "That was Professor Birch. Apparently I'm being hired on to help with some research he's running with Professor Oak and he'd like me to meet him in Blackthorn along with another of their student field researchers." Selene smirked. "At first he seemed a bit worried that I was so far away, but...I assured him there was no reason to be concerned, that I would be there in time."
{Great, that means I get to do the grunt work.}
[Or Oracle could Teleport us there. It's not always about you, Shaman.]
{Trust Overdramatic Oracle to your safe passage? Hardly. Just say when.}
"What did I tell you? Kan'ya will come in handy," Grandmother said with one of her inscrutable smiles. "Best be on your way, dear."
"Thank you again, Grandmother," Selene replied, crossing over for a fond embrace. A tap of a few Pokéballs summoned both Sneasel and Absol into their balls. "I'll keep in touch. Ready when you are, Shaman," she said aloud to the Abra, and with a flash of light, they were gone.
"Good luck, Selene," Grandmother murmured into the sudden emptiness of the room. "You will be tried and tested...but I know you can make it through."