On first arriving within the world of UNOVR, Nero spent the first few moments shifting and twitching and flexing a little. Head cocking form side to side, fingers wiggling, knees bending - it was a matter of testing out what his muscles could do and feeling out where each body part currently was. He imagined it was habit that he would grow out of in time, but for now, it helped him to feel a little more at home in whatever surroundings he found himself in on leaving the starting screen.

Today, it was a lab environment, and a particularly cluttered one at that. It was an understandable starting point for a new Pokemon game - it was an early part of most of the previous ones after all - but it was simultaneously an odd first impression. It almost felt a like a test of some sorts, an obstacle course to complete before earning your starter Pokemon as a reward. Maybe if he knocked over a stack of books on his way across the room, he'd be booted from the game and never allowed back in again... Probably not though. He imagined there'd have bee some sort of instructions to tell him that if that were the case.

Still, he put a significant amount of effort into keeping his limbs very close to him, slowly picking his way across the cluttered lab space to approach the other character currently in the room. The woman seemed to be stood on the desk, which was... odd, but Nero didn't have much time to consider that in any detail, as by the time he made it to her, she was already turning to face him.

His nose wrinkled as he spoke, clear distaste on his face for the way that she spoke that he made no effort to try and hide. It was possibly just at the fact he was being called a 'newb' - despite that being entirely correct - but he bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything about it. Just get the Pokemon and get out - don't start any fights until you're in some way armed.

He remained standing despite her offer, taking a moment to eye up the case behind her, scanning over each Pokeball that lay there. Could someone particularly skilled at a game like this over power her and snatch them all? Probably not, and there would probably be security measures in place beyond the physical cabinet itself, and so the thought floated away very quickly. Nero himself certainly couldn't attempt anything like that anyway, so his best bet was to simply follow the given instructions. "Fire," he repeated, keen to get the interview underway so he could get his hands on the one thing he needed to really begin the game.

What sort of question was that? Nero frowned as he stood awkwardly among the clutter, arms crossed over his chest partly just to make sure he didn't accidentally knock anything over with a stray hand. What did they even mean 'interested in', were they trying to be coy, did they mean someone you had a crush on? Honestly, Nero didn't really have any 'moves' or strategies or whatever for getting attention that way. He had an entire arsenal for getting the attention of teachers and parents and authority figures, or even peers that he wanted to start a fight with, but love interests? He'd had them, he just... hadn't really put a particular effort in to getting them. Maybe that was his answer then. "I don't," he replied with a cocky smile. "They come to me."

After that first answer that would have had anybody rolling their eyes, it was probably only fair that the second one shook him a little. After all, he almost heard it in his mother's voice for a moment, alongside all the other comments that she'd made about him having no talent whatsoever, of him being useless, worthless, and nothing like his far superior brother. He wasn't even sure which of those words were memories and which were nightmares - it didn't really seem to make much difference in his head. It was so loud though that it was hard to see through it to find an actual useful answer. So... what was he supposed to say here. "Trouble. I have a natural talent for getting into trouble." That's what he'd always been told after all, and he was quite proud of how disruptive he could be when he wanted to be. That was still a talent, just... maybe not a generically useful one.

Drink of choice though, that was much easier. "Vodka shots," he said with a wide smirk... before realising who he was talking to and the actual context of the conversation... "I mean... coffee... Like... just black coffee..."

... They weren't going to give him a Pokemon after these stupid answers now, were they?

The scientist was writing his answers down... crap. Was she going to report him for not taking this seriously? Was he going to be kicked out of the game so soon? He hadn't bothered to read all of the terms and conditions so he couldn't be quite sure, but nobody actually read those, did they? He tried not to let any sort of concern show on his face, the rest of his body still surprisingly rigid, crossed arms now hugging tighter against his body. Whatever, he'd just find a different game if that happened. There must be something else like this available... probably... he'd find someone who knew.

The piece of paper was torn off the pad a moment later, and Nero peered forwards to try and get a glimpse of what she'd written - in particular searching for the words 'banned' or 'voided' or similar, but he only managed to see... a drawing? Of a stick figure it seemed?

Huh... maybe he'd been reading a little too much into her scribbles.

The paper disappeared into a filing cabinet, and Nero's attention flicked back to the scientist as she spoke again. Just in time too is seemed, as a small object was thrown towards him, Nero just about managing to raise his hands in time to catch the Pokeball rather ungracefully from the air in front of him. Turning it over in his hands until the tape was readable, he smirked to himself as he took in the name on the front of it. Cyndaquil. Nice. He'd always liked fire types the most as a kid for their raw power and danger level, and that resonated strongly with him in this moment too. And the sleek but frightening Cyndaquil line with its external flames and dark fur would go well with the edgy look that he'd constructed for his avatar.

He gave a nod of approval and thanks to the scientist - a minimal show of gratitude but still one all the same - before instinctively turning back to where he had entered from. He'd half expected to see a door back to the start screen but that wasn't quite how this place worked, was it? He paused, shoving the Pokeball away for a moment as he figured out how to leave within this new game system, happy to leave the lab behind and start his adventure for real.