Dazgar: Are you reading my mind? ;D


Chapter 3

Lucas wasn't listening throughout the talk. For him, this was a first. He was still in shock. The only thing he actually learnt was that this "Professor" had spent four years out of Sinnoh and had just returned, apparently to do some project-or-other. But when the Professor took out the briefcase and revealed three Pokeballs within- that was when Lucas knew they were well and truly screwed.

"Across my travels, I have managed to obtain three rare Pokemon," the professor was saying. He then pressed the release buttons- revealing Chimchar, Piplup and another Pokemon, a brown quadruped with a leaf on its head- Turtwig.

To the immense shock of everyone in the class (except maybe Lucas who knew it was coming and Damion who was fast asleep), Chimchar immediately dashed over to Lucas, leaping onto tables and people's heads to jump into the boy's arms, hitting him with enough force to knock Lucas backwards off his chair. The little Pokemon cooed contentedly and immediately fell asleep, despite Lucas's attempts to get it off him. In the chaos that ensued (at least three people had fallen over during Chimchar's mad rush to Lucas and a few more screamed, thinking Chimchar was trying to kill him) Lucas caught Rowan's eye.

Rowan didn't look remotely surprised. In fact, he looked rather resigned, as though he had expected it. Raising Chimchar's Pokeball, he recalled the small monkey, calling the class's attention to Piplup, which was still behaving like a spoilt kid, and Turtwig, which seemed much more amiable and cooperative in general. The girls were fascinated with Piplup- at least until it refused to do anything it was asked to. Or perhaps it was because it was being treated like a dog, some were asking it to "roll over" or "beg". Annoyed, the little penguin blasted the offending students with a jet of water before retiring to its Pokeball, leaving several students soaked and dripping all over the floor.

Turtwig sighed in exasperation.

As soon as the lecture was over, Rowan asked to see Lucas and Damion. The teachers and other students seemed to think Chimchar was rabid. Lucas and Damion knew it was more complicated than that.

So there they were, standing just outside the school, talking to an old man who looked more than capable of murder. Well, not murder, but a very expensive lawsuit. The kind which came with legal fees so large you had to count the number of zeroes on the end with three hands. "You are the boys who found my briefcase at the lake this morning, am I right?" Rowan began.

"Sir," began Lucas, "we can explain," the look in his eyes answering Rowan's question.

"There is no need to explain," Rowan rumbled. This was true to an extent- his voice was so deep it could be felt as well as heard. Exactly the type of voice one would expect from an elephant, or a Groudon, if one existed. "Please follow me to my laboratory in Sandgem Town. We have... things to discuss." Saying that, the professor set off on the route out of town. After a moment's hesitation, Damion shrugged and followed, with Lucas close behind him.

"Dear diary," Lucas muttered to no one in particular, "we are following a crazy old man who looks as though he is going to sue us. He could be angry, or a paedophile, or both. We are following him to his laboratory in Sandgem Town. We don't actually know it's a laboratory. It could be a dungeon of some kind for all we know. If anyone finds this, it wasn't my fault. It was Damion's. I'm sorry for not listening and following a stranger out of town. I leave everything to my parents."

Their feet crunched along the fallen leaves on the path winding out of Twinleaf. Lucas looked up for a moment, distracted from his rather graphic visions of imminent doom, and it registered in his mind that there was, once again, not a single Bidoof in sight.

By his side, Damion was once again acting as though he was experiencing a sugar rush so great it made Sweet Honey seem sour in comparison. "Man," he whooped, "he's bringing us to his lab! I'll bet he has all sorts of cool Pokemon. Like the kinds you don't find in Sinnoh- whatsitsname? Babasore?"

"It's Bulbasaur," Lucas groaned. "And they're rare outside of Sinnoh, too. Now keep quiet," he ordered as they watched the old man walking in front of them. "If he gets annoyed with all the noise you're making he might just kill you now instead of waiting until we get to his lab."

"Chill, man," Damion pouted. "Why'd you have to be so pessimistic all the time? Look on the bright side of life!"

"If I look too hard I might just get blinded," Lucas grumbled. "Like you."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

It was a relatively short distance from Twinleaf to Sandgem, so the boys soon found themselves standing in front of a large building in the middle of the seaside town. Without a word, Rowan walked in. Shrugging, Damion followed just behind, whilst Lucas took a little longer to follow. He was memorising the layout of the area in case he needed to make a quick getaway.

The place within was crammed from top to bottom with bookshelves, which in turn were bursting with tome after tome after tome, each thicker than the last and each probably containing more information than Damion had learnt from school in over eight years of education. But then again, most books did.

Rowan was waiting for them at a table in the middle of the room, accompanied by a lab assistant and the girl from the lake earlier.

"My name is Professor Rowan," the professor started.

"We knew that already," Lucas whispered under his breath, rolling his eyes.

"But you knew that already," Rowan continued, as though reading his mind. "I hear that you two found my briefcase in the grass this morning. I thank you for finding my briefcase, however..." He reached into the briefcase, which was lying on the table, and drew out the Pokeballs of Piplup and Chimchar, releasing the two Pokemon. The fire monkey immediately leapt straight into Lucas's arms once again, whilst Piplup snorted in disgust at the babyish behaviour of its companion.

Rowan's expression was grave. He looked Lucas straight in the eye. "Please explain," Rowan said, leaning back in an office chair.

And they explained.

They told the whole story, from seeing Rowan and the girl at the lake, to realising they had left a briefcase behind, to trying to retrieve it and getting attacked by two wild bird Pokemon they had never seen before. Lucas's throat was already hoarse from the talking when he got to the part where they had used the Pokemon to battle the wild ones when they had no other choice.

Rowan was silent for a few seconds.

"I see," he said finally, breaking the awkward silence. He stood up, draping a lab coat around his shoulders, before walking over to a window, his back to the boys and his expression inscrutable. "That Chimchar does seem to have become attached to you," he said to Lucas whilst still looking out the window.

"I-I guess it has, sir," Lucas muttered. Chimchar had fallen fast asleep in his arms.

"It is a very young Pokemon," the professor said. "Two days old. It was supposed to be one of the Pokemon to be given to starter trainers starting from next week, when the Pokemon League officially opens its Sinnoh Branch- you know about that, don't you?"

"Of course we do," Damion said excitedly. It had been all over the news for three years already- the Pokemon League had decided to set up a branch in Sinnoh, opening Gyms and setting up a League for trainers to take part in and be recognised for their talents and abilities.

"Then you will understand why it is odd that the timing of this opening has coincided exactly with several very strange changes in the climate. Do you know about that?" Rowan continued.

That, too, had been a major focus. The weather in Sinnoh, indeed the very climate, had changed dramatically. The Western side of Sinnoh, where Twinleaf and Sandgem were situated, was originally dry and hot- but across the last three years, it had become gradually colder, with windspeeds increasing drastically too. This change was so great that a species of Pokemon called Shellos, a small, sea-slug like creature, had changed appearance within Western Sinnoh- originally, they had been blue in colour, but with the decrease in temperature and stronger winds, they had turned red- a coating of slime produced by the Pokemon to keep itself warm and prevent dehydration from the strong winds. At the same time, North-Eastern Sinnoh had become warmer and warmer, with the clash in temperatures in the middle, where Mount Coronet (the tallest mountain in Sinnoh) was situated. The climate changes had resulted in devastating crop failures in parts of Sinnoh as well as disasters like tornadoes around Central Sinnoh. Errant tidal activity had also been observed- altogether, the situation was serious and getting worse every passing day.

Lucas nodded. "The weather changes started around the same time the announcement was made, right?"

Rowan didn't respond, only straightened his shoulders and stood up a bit straighter, drawing up to his full height.

"I need a favour from you two."

Lucas and Damion were surprised, to say the least. To be more precise, they were flabbergasted.

"As the representative of the Pokemon League in Sinnoh, I have been ordered to investigate the weather changes," Rowan revealed. "But I cannot do it due to... limitations on my part. I entreat you two to do this for me. This situation is becoming grave. It has actually affected Pokemon behaviour. For instance, the bird Pokemon you were attacked by..." Rowan finally turned away from the window and walked over to a bookshelf, taking from it an extraordinarily thick book, about the thickness of a human thigh and more.

"Betcha this old man's going to look in that dictionary for it or something," Damion grinned, and dodged before Lucas could elbow him.

However, Rowan opened the book to reveal that it was solid- not pages at all, but made of a hard material with three large spaces set into it. Two were currently occupied with red devices about the thickness of a relatively thin hardcover book, one of which Rowan took out of its slot. He flipped open its cover and pressed a few buttons before turning it to allow Lucas and Damion to have a look at it.

The small screen showed a picture of a bird- the exact same type of Pokemon which had attacked Lucas and Damion. "Starly," Lucas read off the description. "They flock in great numbers. Though small, they flap their wings with great power."

"This is the Pokedex," Rowan explained proudly. "It has a complete record of all species present in Sinnoh. This particular Pokemon- Starly- has had its migration patterns affected by the climate changes. That's why flocks of them are now appearing all over Western Sinnoh. They usually range from Northern to East Sinnoh, but the temperature changes have driven them here. That is why I need your help." His face was deadly serious now. "I need you to help me update the Pokedex with information on the habitats and species of Pokemon in Sinnoh, as well as find out why the climate is changing so much. Will you help me?"

Lucas stared at him. Damion, as always, was raring to go. Lucas, on the other hand...

"No."


Once again reviews are appreciated, especially suggestions I'll try to make the following chapters longer too.