"And in other news, Dr. Fuji is still missing following his mysterious disappearance in May of last year. Authorities still have no leads on his whereabouts."

A young woman with long brown hair turned the television off and walked over to a desk in the corner of the room. Paper and pens were strewn about the whole surface of the desk. Various sentences on the papers were highlighted in a myriad of colors. She pulled out the chair and began organizing the papers. Nearby a bulletin board was hung on the wall. Tacked to it were various newspaper clippings, all involving Dr. Fuji, and all highlighted in the same manner.

"Still fascinated by Dr. Fuji, I see," said a voice from behind the woman.

The young woman leapt to her feet and turned around. An older man with gray hair stood in front of her, wearing a white lab coat over a red shirt and khaki pants.

"Professor!" she exclaimed. "Please don't scare me like that. I nearly had a heart attack."

"Sorry, sorry, Delia, I didn't mean it. I came to check on you because it's the fifth day in a row you've stayed up past midnight studying it."

"It's past midnight? I should really…"

"No, don't worry. Everything is fine. Stay as long as you like. Although, your fascination with Fuji seems to have rekindled Elm's Egg obsession and all of us know how Hale is about the Unown."

Delia giggled. "Those two get so fired up about it, too."

"You're the same, you know. Between the three of you, I'm losing my best students to side projects!" The professor sighed. "Well, I suppose it's all well and good that you're all eager to learn. So, can you tell me what you've learned about Dr. Fuji? I seem to recall he was famous for something, but I don't remember what it was."

"He was a Pokemon biologist, always on the hunt for new species. Specialized in Pokemon genetics. He was on the expedition team that recovered an ancient carving of Mew."

"Oh yes! I remember him now. That carving turned out to have a single strand of Mew's hair as well, which propelled that whole archaeological team to scientific superstardom."

"And then, his disappearance shocked everyone. No one else on the team has disappeared since, only him. I've been scanning his papers line by line looking for any hints or clues to his location. And I've still got nothing after almost a year. I'm just...tired of searching for an answer. You said it was past midnight. I think I'll go to bed now." She walked to the door.

"Delia," said the professor.

"Yes, Professor Oak?" she replied.

"You're not doing anything foolish, are you? It's been a year since it happened. I told you that you and Ash could stay here as long as you needed to."

"What are you saying, Professor?"

"I'm not revoking that. I'm saying you need to be careful, Delia. Despite the lack of other disappearances, Fuji's vanishment may not be benign."

"I understand, Professor. I'll be very careful."

"Good."

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Delia walked down the hallway and opened the door to her room. Her 4-year-old son was sleeping, sprawled on the floor. A smile spread across her face. She gently roused him.

"Huh? Mom? What's...going...on?" he asked groggily.

"It's OK, Ash," she replied. "I just wanted to say goodnight to my favorite kid."

"Will we get to go home soon? Will Dad be there? It's been so long."

"Yes, it should be very soon Ash. And Dad should be there too."

"Yay! I can't wait to play with him again." Ash fell back asleep, still smiling.

The smile disappeared from her face. "At least I hope so. I've finally figured out where Dr. Fuji disappeared to. I just hope he can actually help. First things first. In the morning, we're getting you a haircut."

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Professor Oak could not shake the feeling that Delia was hiding something from him as he strolled back to his lab. He called Professors Rowan and Juniper, but neither proved able to help. A thought struck him. He rushed to the computer and looked up the first report of Dr. Fuji's disappearance. A chill went down his spine. Right there, in black and white, one simple sentence.

"Dr. Fuji is a celebrated Pokemon biologist and geneticist whose specialty is in the field of cloning."

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