Chapter Three: Exit Crystal

Crystal's mother made no secret of her dislike of pokémon, but that didn't mean that she was nasty about it. New Bark Town was small, so news of Dr. Pine being attacked and what his attacker had taken reached her even before Crystal got home. The older woman didn't say a word to Crystal about Kitsu as the young girl refused to stray more than a few feet from the pokémon for the rest of the day.

"Who'd steal a pokémon?" Crystal asked, as Kitsu sat on her bed, licking the fur on her leg. As Elm had suggested, Crystal had taken off the cast at around sunset. The fur on it was pressed down where the metal cast had been, but otherwise the leg seemed to be almost fully healed, if a little stiff. Crystal herself was sitting next to the bed, watching Kitsu and juggling a pokéball between her hands.

"I mean, who?" Crystal asked, looking down at the pokéball in her hands. It was technically Kitsu's, but Crystal didn't have the heart to put the Eevee in a pokéball, not after she had spent last night cuddled up to her in her bed (unbeknownst to her mother, who thought that she was simply in the closet).

Kitsu looked at her with one eye, and ventured that only the scum of the Earth, a despicable and thoroughly reprehensible person with precisely no redeeming qualities, would steal a pokémon. Or so Crystal supposed Kitsu meant to say when she coughed and stretched her leg experimentally.

The young girl smiled, putting her head on her mattress, staring up at Kitsu. The Eevee cooed and leaned forward, putting her head on top of Crystal's, burying Crystal's face in her mane. Her fur was downy-soft, and it was difficult to believe that a creature could live in the wilderness and still keep fur this soft.

"And why did it have to be Tyrogue?" Crystal asked. Her voice so close to Kitsu's sternum must have ticked Kitsu, because the pokémon leapt away a little, then rolled onto her back and stretched her legs up. Crystal began petting Kitsu's stomach like she might on a Growlithe, and the pokémon seemed about as pleased as a Growlithe would, cooing softly.

"I mean, you don't know this," Crystal said, and she leaned in to Kitsu as though sharing a secret, "And please don't tell my mom, but Tyrogue's actually saved me. Probably not from death, but from a lot of pain. Nido stings, Spearow talons, Rattata bites, this one really unusually mean Sentret…"

Kitsu leaned forward and grabbed Crystal's hand with her mouth, a sign for Crystal to stop petting her. The young girl did, and Kitsu rolled onto her stomach, curling up into a furry ball and clearly intent on falling asleep. Crystal supposed she needed to as well, and so slipped out of her clothes and into her pajamas, sliding into bed. Kitsu wasn't precisely pleased about having to make room for her, but the Eevee settled down after a few moments, falling asleep quickly.

Crystal didn't, thinking instead about the Tyrogue, wondering what kind of monster had stolen him and what he was going to do to him. Battle, most likely, or sell - Tyrogues weren't very common, and it was difficult to tell pokémon apart from one another; their ability to heal fast meant that any kind of branding or tattooing for identification didn't work, and collars couldn't be taken into a pokéball any more than splints could. Someone with few scruples and a desire for cash could get a lot of money for a stolen Tyrogue.

But why a kid? What would a kid want with one?

Crystal rolled over onto her side, careful to not disturb Kitsu as she did. No one could possibly have predicted that Dr. Pine would be walking out of Elm Labs with a Tyrogue. But they could know that they would have a pokémon of some variety. And Elm Labs specialized in pokémon that were feral, or as nearly feral as could be achieved, usually having never been in a pokéball. Except…

Crystal sat bolt upright, a move that startled Kitsu. She looked up at Crystal as though waiting an explanation as to why she had been woken up.

"Starter pokémon," Crystal said, reaching down at petting Kitsu. The Eevee bit Crystal's hand, though - not hard, but enough to let her know that this was a very inadequate explanation. Kitsu went to the end of the bed and lay back down, out of reach of Crystal, and went back to sleep in a very determined way.

Crystal shook her head, laying back down. Of course! Catching pokémon was very hard, nigh-impossible, without a pokémon of one's own to do the fighting. By law, every city and town in the Johto Region had appointed centers where a novice pokémon trainer could get their first decently-strong, League-standard trained pokémon, with Elm Labs being the one for New Bark Town. In smaller towns like New Bark Town, though, most people received pokémon as gifts or inheritances, and so therefore the large fee attached to starter pokémon could be skipped over. But pokémon given as gifts were generally weak, often just-caught such as Eevee was, so someone intent on becoming a trainer was much better off getting a starter.

Most of the starter pokémon in Elm Labs were never given out despite this, since a pokémon given as a gift from a friend meant more than an essentially store-bought League drone. When Gold and Silver had started on their journey to complete the Gym Challenge last year, they had taken two, but a host of others were still waiting there, well-trained and disciplined. They often doubled as helpers around the lab.

Like Tyrogue. Crystal had never actively thought of it before, but she remembered that Tyrogue was one of those League-standard trained pokémon.

Crystal was sure of it: Whoever had clubbed Pine upside the head with a tree branch had been after a strong pokémon, but didn't necessarily care which one. The kid probably wanted to undertake the Gym challenge but didn't have a pokémon of his own and couldn't get one from his family

Crystal put a hand to her mouth. Tyrogue probably had very little to look forward to but being let out of his pokéball only when battle was required of him…or for medical attention, once he'd been in a battle. Unless someone saved him, of course, but Crystal knew how unlikely that was.

Crystal rolled onto her side again, curling up into a ball, feeling tears stinging her eyes. Why Tyrogue? She felt selfish and cruel for thinking it, but Tyrogue wasn't just a random pokémon she had heard was stolen. She knew Tyrogue, had worked with Tyrogue, depended on him, and now…now he was just going to be a gladiator for the rest of his life - a very short one, if the trainer was anything like the monster that Crystal saw him being in her head.

Kitsu's ears perked up, and she looked down the length of the bed at Crystal. While pokémon were often thought of as intelligent, few had ever thought of them as, or attempted to find out if they were, truly aware. Kitsu was not an exception; like any other pokémon, she lived in and for the moment, and was only dimly aware of such things as the past and the future.

But she was aware of the fact that Crystal was upset, deeply troubled. That didn't require thought or full sapience, only instinct and emotion. Kitsu didn't know what the cause of it was - didn't even think that of the fact that there could be a cause. She did know that Crystal had been kind to her, had fed her and healed her, and had only woken her up by accident as a result of her worry.

The Eevee stood, stretched, and walked down the bed, limping slightly due to its formerly broken leg, though it was only mildly uncomfortable now, not even truly painful. She sat down in front of Crystal, who's eyes glistened with tears as she looked into Kitsu's eyes. Kitsu leaned forward and rubbed her head against Crystal's nose, which she knew the human girl liked, then spun around and snuggled up close to the girl, cooing softly in an attempt to calm the girl down. Crystal wrapped an arm around Eevee, pulling her close, and though she didn't seem much happier, she did seem a little happier. Kitsu made a determined effort to remain awake as long as it took for Crystal to fall asleep, then decided that she'd done all she could, and went to sleep herself.

Maybe Crystal would feel better tomorrow.

Kitsu put forth the opinion that Professor Elm was in a bad mood and maybe Crystal didn't need to come to work today; after all how dirty could the pokémon pens realistically be? Actually, that was just Crystal thinking that, but Kitsu certainly seemed to be intent on not approaching anyone who's expletives could be heard from behind closed doors and down the hall. Crystal would have taken a different route, but the only way to the locker room was by passing by Professor Elm's office.

"Wow," Crystal said, looking down at the Eevee. "I have never heard him even sort of that mad." She picked up Kitsu, who forgot the shouts from down the hall and became more interested in the backpack Crystal was wearing to carry her work clothes. She scrambled up the young girl's shoulder and stood there to sniff at it, before turning around and sitting down, rear on the backpack and forelegs hanging over Crystal's shoulders. The young girl could practically hear the instincts of the Eevee's brain working - from atop Crystal, Kitsu could leap down or at any potential foe or prey. Also, this way she wouldn't have to walk, which was a terrifically tiring exercise.

Crystal stopped a junior aide who was walking by, the same girl that had come in on Crystal, Elm, and Kitsu yesterday. "What's wrong?" She asked.

The junior aide - Melissa, Crystal was pretty sure she was named - made a face as she looked down the hall. Elm had stopped swearing, but the tension was almost palpable. "Uh," She began, tapping her fingers together. "Professor Elm got a phone call today, from that friend near Cherrygrove. Apparently he had details on what he found." She looked at the Eevee sitting on Crystal's shoulder, who looked back silently for a moment before eev-eev-ing, showing off her new perch. "That's just adorable," She said.

Kitsu eev-eev'd again, but Crystal ignored her. "Details?" She asked.

Melissa sighed. "Yeah. Mr. Pokémon - apparently that's his real name, swear to God - found eggs."

Crystal stiffened. "Eggs?" She asked. "You mean egg shells, right?" That was a rare find, but not unheard of. The only reason why anyone knew that pokémon bred at all was from shattered egg shells found in wild places and fossilized pokémon eggs excavated from places like the Ruins of Alph.

But Melissa shook her head. "No. Living eggs. Two of them. Or…one now. Apparently one of the eggs cracked yesterday, and the pokémon inside…died." She looked to Kitsu, as though worried about her reaction, but the Eevee was blissfully unaware of what had been said. "A species never seen before, too."

Crystal bit her lip. "Did Professor Elm know?"

"About the eggs?" Melissa asked. "I think so, but he wanted to keep it secret. And I guess he wanted you to pick them up since you're our handler, not a scientist, and you're good with pokémon, so if they hatched while you were coming back…"

Crystal nodded - half her job involved minding the pokémon at Elm Labs, with help from whatever scientist or guard she could rope in. She used to have Gold and Silver for help, but then the two of them suddenly got it into their heads to grab a Cyndaquil and a Totodile and start gallivanting across Johto…at the same time. With only a week's warning. And skipping their last day of work besides.

Sometimes, after a particularly hard day, Crystal hoped they were eaten by a Tyranitar, mind-wiped by a Hypno, or - her personal favorite - frozen solid by a Jynx, but still alive, aware, and used by that Jynx for terrible things that Crystal supposed that she, legal adult or not, was too young to think about.

Not that she was bitter or anything.

"Then I couldn't go," Crystal said. "But no real problem, Dr. Pine could go, he's at least as good as me, and Professor Elm got enough warning. But now Dr. Pine's in bed for a few days and Tyrogue…" She didn't finish the sentence; thinking about Tyrogue in the hands of the horrible person she had built up his kidnapper to be was too much.

"And none of the rest of us are good enough with pokémon to send." Melissa said after a moment.

Crystal decided it'd be a bad idea to say good point. "Couldn't Professor Elm go?" She asked. "We could hold down the fort for a week or two."

Melissa shook her head sadly. "He probably would if he could, but Professor Oak is coming tomorrow, so he needs to be here."

Crystal stiffened. Professor Oak…

Once, when she was young and not long after the Kanto region had first contacted the Johto region, she had been coming home from playing with some friends, holding a stuffed Clefairy doll, when a car drove by. Cars were rare - the gasoline to power them was simply nigh-impossible to safely extract without disturbing deep-sea or subterranean pokémon - so she of course chased after it simply to watch it go, and had been followed by many other people who were equally eager to see this strange and exotic sight.

From the car had stepped a few individuals - the President of the Johto region at the time, a few guards in strange uniforms which immediately released Arcanines - not Growlithe - from their pokéballs, and an old man in a white coat.

The old man had been greeted by Professor Elm, and Elm, knowing that everyone was watching, introduced the old man as Professor Oak, his counterpart from the distant, almost mythical Kanto region.

Oak had been all smiles and cheer, had said a few words to the effect of he was going to be the principle financier of Elm Labs from that point on as a sign of trust between Kanto and Johto, but Crystal took none of that in. Even as a child, Crystal could see that everything Oak did was a calculated move. Every smile, every frown, every word carefully chosen for maximum effect.

He had looked at Crystal - no particular reason, their eyes simply locked for a moment. And Crystal, despite being young and a child, could practically see what he saw and thought when he looked at her. He first took in Crystal's approximate height, weight, and age, and compared those to some averages he knew. He took in her stance and appearance and so made some educated guesses about social class and personal habits. Then, in Crystal's mind, he started thinking of uses for her. She clutched her doll protectively and so probably began thinking of her potential job as a pokémon handler, used to calm down trained and experienced but not yet fully controllable pokémon, or manage pokémon who were feral and were to be experimented on. She was of average height and weight, but her hair was an unusual color and she would probably be quite attractive when she became an adult, so a secretary was a good choice as well, though for that she would need the proper training and control.

Control. Everything about Professor Oak spoke about his desire to control - more than that, to command.

Their eyes broke contact then. Crystal had lasted a few more moments after that, but turned around and ran home as soon as she had snapped from her trance, tears in her eyes and feeling like she had just stared at a Gyrados in human form. Twice since then, Professor Oak had come to Johto to 'check up on things,' most recently last year just after she got her job at Elm labs. She had been sure to be violently ill that day - so she said - and over the week that followed had cleaned, scrubbed, and repaired every inch of Elm Labs she could get to, as though trying to physically remove every trace of Oak's presence from the building.

Crystal dragged herself back to reality only after Melissa snapped her fingers in front of Crystal's eyes. Crystal shook her head, looking at her. "Huh?" She asked.

"I said," Melissa apparently repeated, "You better hurry or else you'll be late. I think Elm will want this place spotless."

"S-sorry," Crystal said, as Melissa turned around and walked away. Crystal took to Kitsu, who looked back to her.

Professor Oak is coming...

She couldn't deal with Professor Oak, not so soon after Tyrogue being stolen, not with the news that the greatest find in pokémon research history had to be forgotten about while a living embodiment of control came. Melissa was right, Crystal was by no means a scientist, but she certainly could appreciate science when she saw it.

A pokémon egg…one has already cracked and died…but the other…

Crystal started walking, but not towards the locker room.

Kitsu yawned as though to say, this is a stupid idea and you are stupid for thinking it up; one day they will write songs about this as a warning to others not to be this stupid.

"Shut up," Crystal responded as she checked her backpack, supposing she had packed enough food for her and Kitsu. Her mother was out running the shop, so she had the house to herself as she checked to make sure she had everything she needed.

Satisfied she did, grabbed a notebook and a pen and scribbled out a quick note, leaving it in plain sight on the kitchen counter.

Then, grabbing Kitsu and propping the pokémon up on her shoulder, she left her home.

Mom,
Went to Cherrygrove with Kitsu. I'll be back soon. Please don't worry too much, and please ask Professor Elm not to fire me.
Love,
- Crystal