Professor Persimmon is in her lab, bent over a machine with blinking lights on it.

"Hello, Gwen! Are you ready to begin your Pokemon journey?"

Gwen grins and nods eagerly. What do you have?

She knows who she'll pick, if Professor Persimmon has them.

"Wonderful! Then it's time for you to choose your first ever Pokemon! Take your time and choose carefully; with care and a little bit of luck, your Pokemon will be your companions for life.

I have three Pokemon here for you to choose from.

Would you like Charmander, the flaming salamander Pokemon?

Would you like Squirtle, the water turtle Pokemon?

Or would you like Bulbasaur, the plant dinosaur Pokemon?"

Bulbasaur, she signs, almost before Professor Persimmon's done talking. Obviously Bulbasaur. She bounces some more. Her very own beautiful plant-type Pokemon!!!

"Somehow, I am not at all surprised." She hands Gwen a shiny red-and-white ball. "Here he is. Why don't you take him out of the ball for a bit and get to know him?"

She lets her Bulbasaur -- her!! Bulbasaur!! -- out of his ball and kneels down to stroke his head and coo wordlessly at him. Does he want scritches in any particular place?

"Bulba-bulba!" He likes scritches behind his ears!

Awwww.

"I have some pokemon treats here. Would you like to give him one?" The Professor holds out a small blue piece of what looks like dried berry paste.

Gwen spends another moment scritching her Bulbasaur (who needs a name at some point, but it should be something she can say with her mouth) and then takes the treat with her free hand. "Can'y?" she asks him as she holds it out.

"Bulbasaur!" Om nom candy! Little vines come out of the bulb on his back and wave around a bit, then go back in.

"You seems to be getting along great! Would you like to learn to coach him through attacks now?"

Gosh, would she? What a hard question!

... No it's not. She signs Yes very exuberantly (read: more happy-flapping than average).

"Right now he knows Growl and Tackle. Tackle is a physical attack, and Growl is a nonphysical attack that startles the opposing Pokemon and makes their next attack do worse. I'm going to let one of my Pokemon out now, so he has a target to practice on."

The professor releases a Ninetales. "Ninini!"

"Alright, Fluffy, can you just sit here for a bit and be a target?"

"Tales."

"There's a good girl."

"Alright, now look at your Bulbasaur, point at the Ninetales, and say 'growl!'"

Nrrrr. R-sounds. Hopefully her best will get across what she means.

She gets her Bulbasaur's attention, points at the Ninetales, and says, "Gowl!"

... Maybe Pokemon can be taught to understand signs.

The bulbasaur goes "Aur-rrr-rrr!" at the Ninetales, which looks unimpressed.

"Hmm. Try making a sign with your other hand while you point. If you make the same sign every time, the Pokemon will learn that the sign means the same thing as the word."

Hmm...

Yeah, sure. "Gowl!" she says again, pointing with one hand and signing G-W-L with the other.

"Aurrrrr!"

Eeee she's got a Pokemon and he's adorable and she's helping him battle~~

Ahem. She is a Responsible Ten Year Old. She will only bounce and flap for ten seconds. ...Fifteen. Ok, now she's done.

Professor Persimmon's Ninetales is being a training dummy, so...

"'Ackle!" she says, pointing and signing T-K-L.

Bulbasaur charges Fluffy headfirst! 

It's rather like running into a furry wall. Fluffy twitches one of her tails indulgently.

She's not laughing at her own Pokemon, not even a little.

... Ok, a very little. Fluffy barely even noticed!

Hmmmm. One more attack. "'Ackle!"

Same charge, same result. "Saur."