Updates! Flashbacks! The glamor of fanfiction! Let it begin… (It's long to make up for any delays.)
Five years ago:
Twelve-year-old Duke had run away from home after he'd had a fight with his father. Neither was an irregular occurrence of late. Now he was bicycling as fast as he could to the other side of town. His new starter, a Charmander his father had never wanted him to get and that had been the source of their most recent argument, clung to the handlebars in front of Duke and made squeaks alternating between fright and delight depending on just how out-of-control Duke's pedaling and traffic-dodging was. By the time they reached the other side of Domino, the rich people's side, Flamethrower was grumbling, chattering, and chortling all at once, having left claw marks in the metal of the handlebars while still bumping his head affectionately under his trainer's chin.
Flamethrower had attacked Duke's dad, biting his leg as he'd yelled at Duke for not living up to his potential. How he expected Duke to feel that he had any potential when he was constantly being putdown and attacked for the things he did do was a mystery to his son. Duke's father had kicked his Charmander away, Duke had gone to its rescue, and then the fight started. Duke had run out with Flamethrower clutched to his chest, gotten on his bicycle, and left. Tears mixed with sweat were dripping on Charmander now that he was stopped in the high-class area of the city.
A cop car turned onto the street a few intersections up. He didn't think his dad would have reported him missing, but he didn't want to chance it and be forced back home just yet. Abandoning his bike on the sidewalk and shifting his Charmander so that it was clinging to his back, Duke clambered over a fence and into the backyard of some hoity-toity person's palace. He continued roaming around, catching the attention of several shocked and pampered house-Pokémon as he and his Charmander trespassed on their territory. They were finally chased over one last fence by a snorting, growling Pignite that didn't take kindly to their appearance on its scene.
Duke caught his shoe on a fence post and tumbled to land face-first in the next house over's yard. Flamethrower on his back let out an 'oof' for him. The shoe that ruined their dismount remained dangling from the fence by a shoelace. Duke stayed on the ground, hiccupping a little and thinking of his father's threats to send Flamethrower away. Flamethrower crawled off of him and nudged his side.
"Char, char," it murmured. It curled up against him and the two commiserated in their misery for a while before they were caught out.
"Oh, dear. We seem to have some crocodile tears watering our lawn."
Duke gasped and looked up to find a man with long gray hair covering the left side of his face staring down at the sniffling teen sprawled at his feet. An Espeon was twined around his legs.
"Esssssssssssssp,"it hissed at Duke and Flamethrower. Flamethrower snarled back, and Duke grabbed its hind legs as it charged past it keep it from attacking the Pokémon or its owner.
"Nice catch," the man with gray hair said. Duke watched in disbelief as the man sat down cross-legged on the ground to stare at his little trespasser from closer quarters. Dirt was already clinging to his black suit. "What are you doing trespassing here, boy?" The Pignite that had chased Duke and Flamethrower out of its yard it the other side of the fence in one last protest against the two, causing the shoe still dangling to bang against the post, catching the man in black's attention. "Ah, I see," he commented, almost to himself.
"Don't call the cops," Duke begged suddenly. He pulled his Charmander back and managed to get into a kneeling position with Flamethrower on his lap. "I'm sorry. I won't come back again. I was just…"
The man made a considering noise and pursed his lips out. "I suppose my pretty and I can let you go this time." He stroked along the Espeon's spine as he said this. "But I'm going to have a name to go with your face and the reason for why you've tumbled into my yard." He raised his visible eyebrow at his trespasser. "Does this sound like a good deal to you…?"
Wiping his face somewhat clean with his sleeve, the thirteen-year-old nodded and said, "My name's Duke. Duke Devlin."
"I am Pegasus."
Every Saturday afternoon, Duke had a standing meeting with Maximillion Pegasus, the CEO of Industrial Illusions. The agent was let into the house by Pegasus's butler, a Mr. Mime. It smiled and waved in greeting with its giant gloved hands at Duke before gesturing for him to come inside. This Mr. Mime had been the one to serve him a cup of tea and cookies the first time Duke had met Pegasus and been invited into the house for a chat.
Five years ago, when he'd made his way on his bike all the way to the rich people's side of Domino, he'd ended up in Pegasus's backyard, pouring his heart out to the man on the grass and then in the man's dining room, not even knowing who the guy was at the time or for several months following. Despite his promise to never come back, Duke had shown up in Pegasus's backyard the next weekend, and the next, and the one following that, risking the Pignite's temper and the loss of his bike every time as he cut across the other lawns to get to his destination. Finally, Pegasus had just told his welcome trespasser to use the front door after his neighbors had reported a suspicious punk wandering on their properties.
Other than Flamethrower, Duke considered Pegasus to be his first friend, and more of a father-figure than his own dad had ever been. Pegasus had listened to every complaint and hope Duke had about his family and home life that first day, only breaking in to get some food into the boy, and from there on he'd only offered support and a sympathetic shoulder for Duke to lean on. It made Duke think that Pegasus might have had a father like his himself.
The Mr. Mime led Duke to the same room it always did. Duke assumed it was some sort of parlor, but it was far within the house and had many white sheets draped about and paint splatters on the floor. Duke liked the room, but had never dared to actually look under the sheets; he was already enough of an interloper in this house, though he'd never been harshly called out for it.
A large Serperior was draped in and over and around a plush armchair, the only furniture in the room other than what might be hidden, that was facing out the room's windows. It was always there that Duke could tell. The Mr. Mime paused when it caught sight of the other Pokémon. Pegasus's Serperior was a particularly territorial male. Duke had always found this surprising considering what an affable person Pegasus himself was. But it had been his starter as a Snivy years ago, so maybe he'd had a different character then, was all that Duke could figure. Though the somewhat flamboyant ornamentation of the Serperior did kind of match Pegasus's style.
"I'm good for now, thank you," Duke said to Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime smiled and nodded, then mimicked eating and drinking. "Naw, I don't need anything. Thanks again, though." Mr. Mime gave another nod before sending a glance towards the Serperior, who'd ignored them completely so far, and leaving the room to the agent and the Pokémon.
Pegasus would show up soon, so Duke would only have to avoid the Serperior's attention for a short while, not that the Pokémon had ever given any indication of caring about Duke one way or another. Now that Duke considered it, he could see a little bit of resemblance between Serperior and his trainer. When Duke had met Pegasus the very first time, he had been morose in the abstract. Duke remembered the black suit he'd been wearing, and dirtying, their first meeting. It had been a few years until Duke realized that Pegasus had likely been depressed that whole time, because suddenly he hadn't been.
Two year ago, Pegasus had told Duke to stay away for a couple of weekends, and when Duke had come back, Pegasus had been a different, ecstatic, and admittedly slightly crazed-seeming person. This new Pegasus was the one Duke had come to see and enjoy even more.
The door to the sheeted room opened and in walked Pegasus.
"Devvy! Good to see you this week, boy!" Pegasus gushed. Duke had warned him that with a new partner, he might now be able to make it as often as every week. Pegasus had brushed him off, but Duke had thought the man had looked a little downtrodden when he'd told him.
Duke felt a grin spreading over his face despite the trouble of the past several weeks. "Hi. How are things, Pegasus?"
"Marvelous, of course. Industrial Illusions might just have something coming up that could for once put us ahead of Kaiba-boy, considering the "straights" he's been in since that horrible explosion, but I can't really tell you any details, as you're a Numel-skull." Pegasus added a wink to the normally derogatory name for BPA agents. Originally coined by common criminals, now businessmen had taken it up for their own personal abuse. Duke didn't mind it all that much, considering the relative lack of wit it carried. The agents had their own choice phrases for the people they went after; 'Spoink' for petty thieves was one of Duke's personal favorites. That was a clever insult. Now they just needed a good one for sleazebag corporates.
He'd never use it on Pegasus, of course. He respected the man, despite having the sneaking suspicion that Industrial Illusions might be the company behind the creation of Trubbish and Garbodor, as well as Rotom and others. That was how Industrial Illusions became known to the world and managed to stay in business despite Kaiba Corporation's great success in all things to do with Pokémon. KC might cater to the needs of Pokémon and trainers, but Industrial Illusions created Pokémon. Porygon had been its very first. And then Pegasus had taken a step further: reanimating the fossils of ancient Pokémon. Duke absolutely idolized Pegasus, though that had begun long before he'd known he was speaking to every Saturday.
There was a sound behind Duke, a combination between a hiss and a sigh. He turned to see Serperior had finally looked away from the window and was now uncoiling itself from its undersized armchair and staring at Pegasus, a message contained in its gaze that Duke couldn't decipher.
"Ah, yes. I'll meet you down in the lab, Devvy-boy," Pegasus said. "I have something to discuss with Serperior." There was a glimpse of the less flamboyant Pegasus from a couple years ago, but he was quickly swept under the rug and his flashy self reappeared. "Hurry, hurry, I have something I want to show you when I get there. A great treat and sneak-peek for a Numel-skull." Pegasus winked again and laughed as he encouraged Duke out the door.
The Mr. Mime was on the other side and bowed and gestured with its giant gloves for Duke to continue through the house and around to the lab in the back of the property. He knew his way. He knew his way all over this mini-mansion. He did wonder why Pegasus didn't have some huge palace off on the coast of some exotic country or in the heights of famous mountains, instead of an extremely upper-class version of suburbia with flowers busting out all over the place in the spring and kids playing in the very well-kept street.
Duke exited out the back door of the house and headed across the lawn. The Espeon was curled up, lounging on the step leading to the door of the lab. The pink-purple Pokémon yawned as Duke approached, its bright canines and brilliant red jewel flashing in the sunlight.
"Hello, pretty," Duke said, having known the Espeon for as long as he'd known Pegasus and always greeting her the same way, the way Pegasus greeted her. For all Duke knew, the Espeon's name was 'Pretty.'
She murred her welcome back, and Duke heard a series of clicks and clanks from the knob-lacking door behind her before it drifted open, an invitation for Duke to enter. She controlled any and all entry into the lab, using her psychic abilities to control the locks and catches of the door.
"Thank you, Pretty," he said, stepping forward. She seemed to smile with her large purple eyes in response, her forked tail giving him a wave as he passed and went inside.
Two years ago:
Duke said hello and passed by Pretty. This would be the first time he'd be visiting Pegasus for a few weeks, since the "renovations" had been completed and Pegasus started insisting the garage Duke had never really even known about now be called a 'lab.' It had been a large garage, but Duke didn't see how a few weeks could change it into a 'lab.'
Pegasus had told Duke to just say 'hi' to his Espeon to be let in. He'd done that, and now he was starting to understand what Pegasus had created while Duke had been barred. He walked between two separate sections of bi-parting rolling file cabinets that created a short, wide hall between them before opening up into the rest of the lab. He whistled in great appreciation.
"I'm guessing it wasn't always like this," he said, looking over the expanse of the white marble-floored area. It was very bright, with large caged lights hanging from the ceiling at precise intervals. Two… pits? Two humongous pits were opposite him in the warehouse-sized lab. The rolling shelves continued all along the wall on this side and to Duke's left, and partially along the one on his right. Several black-topped tables were arrayed in the center of the room. One had a one thousand gallon cylindrical fish tank being filled with water from a hose sitting beside it. Pegasus was stationed there, keeping track of the rising water level.
He looked up and Duke could immediately see that something was different about his older friend. The grin that spread across his face was a little more manic, but also much bigger and more sincere-seeming than normal.
"Hello!" he called to Duke, beckoning him over. "Isn't it grand? I've been meaning to do something with this place for who knows how long, and finally it hit me that I should convert the place into a workspace for when I'm not at the company."
"You're going to make Pokémon in your own backyard?" Duke asked, stepping forward. He nearly tripped when a pink and blue Corsola tottered in his path.
"Don't mind the Babies," Pegasus said. "No, manufacturing Pokémon will still have to be done with all the resources at headquarters, but Fossils can still be studied in a more "homey" setting."
As Duke got closer, watching that he didn't find another of two of the three Corsola under his feet, he could see that on some of the other tables there was already evidence of the dirt, rocks, and tools that went along with Pegasus's work. He took a seat in a stool across from Pegasus.
"Why do you like Fossils so much, anyway?" he asked. One of the 'Babies' bumped his leg, distracting him while Pegasus's face caved for a moment before recovering.
"Oh, someone I knew thought they were interesting. Made me catch the same fever," Pegasus dismissed. "I think that's enough water. Come here, Babies," he cooed. All three rushed to him for various point around the room, and one by one he picked them up and plunked them in the tank.
Duke had met the Babies once or twice before. They always brought out Pegasus's soft side, same with Pretty.
"So, how's that torture called high school going for you?" Pegasus asked. Duke had moved on from talking about his dad all the time to detailing the trials and pains of his school career.
Duke sighed. "Really, I'm thinking of just dropping out."
"Good for you," Pegasus said, turning his attention to a Helix Fossil he was in the process of polishing. "High school is a waste of life, anyway."
Duke smiled. That was another part of what made him like Pegasus. Not only was the man capable of turning the craziest of schemes into successes of all kinds, but he didn't default to the expected adult response. He didn't go on about how high school was character-building, or lie that it would prepare him for life. He treated Duke like he had a brain and was capable of judging for himself what was necessary to his life and what was not. Duke had found himself relying on that belief in him to get through the tough days at school and at home, and that was what he was counting on now.
"Pegasus, I would like to ask a favor that goes along with my wanting to drop out."
"Of course, of course," Pegasus said, waving his hand back and forth as if there was nothing that would be too extreme of Duke to ask.
"Um…"
The door to the lab opened with the same clicks and clanks that had accompanied Duke's entrance and someone entered.
"Lovely… laboratory, Maximillion," said the stranger at the door.
"It is splendid, isn't it?" Pegasus said, beaming over his work. "Devvy, meet Shadi. Shadi, Devvy," he introduced, gesturing between them.
The turbaned man walked over and shook Duke's hand. "Charmed, Devvy."
"It's Devlin, actually. Duke Devlin," Duke corrected. Only Pegasus was allowed to call him 'Devvy,' and even that had taken a while to get used to.
"Forgive me," Shadi said in response. "I hope you don't mind my saying, but Pegasus has told me of your talent with your Pokémon." Duke blinked in surprise and looked over at Pegasus who had never mentioned speaking to anyone else of his friendship with his years-old trespasser. "What Pokémon do you have?"
"My starter is a Charmander. And I have a Ditto and Seaking as well," Duke answered. With Pegasus's encouragement, he'd charged headlong into trying to become the best trainer he could be, and, yes, he did like to think he had some talent.
Shadi nodded. Taking a step away, Shadi focused on the tank and put a hand in to give one of the bobbing, happy Corsola a pat on the head. "I do hope I'm not interrupting the two of you. I'm afraid that I had no choice but to come." He looked at Pegasus who ignored him in favor of picking up a Dome Fossil.
"Of course," Pegasus responded. Neither elaborated in front of Duke. "Duke was just about to ask a favor. He wants to drop out of high school, you know."
Duke flushed as Shadi turned his shady blue eyes to him. "Is that so?"
Duke cleared his throat. "Yeah." He made sure to direct his words to Pegasus, doing his best to shut Shadi out. "You see, I had this idea that I might be able to open a Pokémon shop. It would provide everything necessary for Pokémon care and training; Pokėballs, Pokémon food, first aid material, etc. Also novelties and stuff to pamper Pokémon with… I already have a space that looks promising downtown…" Duke felt he was losing Pegasus, especially with Shadi still there, no doubt judging Duke for the inept sixteen-year-old he thought he was. "I just need someone to help back me while I get it started," he trailed off, preparing for rejection. He was such a mooch.
Pegasus shrugged. "I like it. I'll fund it. Maybe I can even get Industrial Illusions to officially sponsor you, or something of the sort."
Duke was about to breathe a sigh of relief —he knew he could count on Pegasus— when Shadi spoke up.
"How are you going to compete with Solomon Moto's shop of the same nature? He is set up near downtown, is he not? And he has a reputation as quite the successful trainer that would appeal greatly to his intended customers. Do you have a plan to compete with someone whose shop and character are already well established?"
"…No," Duke admitted, hanging his head. He risked a glance at Pegasus, who himself was watching Shadi out of the corner of his eye. He had paused in his polishing.
"Then, might I suggest something beyond opening your own shop?"
"No offense," Duke started, feeling defensive himself, "but I don't even know you."
"I understand, but I think that it might be a good idea for you to try out for the Bureau of Pokémon Affairs agent exams. They are coming up in the spring, and, at sixteen, you are considered of age, as long as you have passed some form of high school equivalency exam. It seems a good fit for you."
Silence hung in the air for a long while. Duke again looked over at Pegasus to gauge his reaction. The man was now frowning slightly as he gazed down at the Dome Fossil in his hands, staying out of this conversation. Whatever ecstatic nature he'd taken on was once again lost.
"I really don't know if I'm BPA material," Duke hedged. He had no idea what BPA material would even consist of.
"The exams will help to place you in an area that would work for your skill set and temperament," Shadi answered. He then spoke to Pegasus. "I realize that it is your choice to do as you wish with your money and company, but might I ask that you hold off from making your decision to fund Mr. Devlin's business until he has at least taken the exams?"
Pegasus seemed to consider. Eventually he said, "Since I know he'll pass them anyway, why shouldn't I just loan him the money now? Seems like a waste of time and resources to me."
Thank you, Pegasus, Duke thought.
Shadi's eyes seemed to narrow slightly. "If that's the case, then I will have to offer him a better deal. You offer him the patronage of your company, but we both know you can't get your board of directors to agree unless they see some sort of return from his shop. Duke," Shadi addressed him, "should you decide to take the exams, just take them, I will cover every expense of starting your shop, in full, and you will not have to pay me a single dime back." Shadi offered his hand. "What do you say?"
Duke had aced the exams, which had had nothing to do with tangents and cosigns or fragment sentences or covalent bonds or memorable dates in history. It was all about Pokémon: Pokémon habits, Pokémon breeding, Pokémon types, Pokémon laws which he'd had very little experience with but had been fascinated by as he'd studied, for one of the first times in his life, before the tests. And then there had been the physicals for himself and his Pokémon, and the psychological evaluations for them all, and finally multiple observations of Duke working with his Pokémon in various situations.
The exams had lasted weeks, and, in the end, Duke had been recommended for a position as special agent. He could have gone to Pegasus and his mysterious friend then and made Shadi stick to his end of the bargain. Instead, he'd decided to join the BPA, thinking he'd better like actively working to help save Pokémon than he would like sitting behind a store counter for the rest of his days. At least joining a government agency meant his dad couldn't yell at him about wasting his life and talents, Duke had thought.
He'd been wrong, but it wasn't like he talked to his dad anymore, anyways. He had Pegasus for his heart-to-hearts. Sometimes he felt he abused Pegasus's seeming willingness to be Duke's confidante in all things, all the time, but encouraging Pegasus to open up in the same way seemed wrong for their positions, especially on the rare occasions Duke remembered that they had over a decade, at least, separating them in their ages. He wasn't actually very sure how old Pegasus was. Or what he'd done in his life before Industrial Illusions. Or much beyond what the rest of the public knew about his history.
The door Pretty had opened for him closed on her mental command once he was in the lab. He walked between the rolling storage cabinets that now housed multiple specimens of all seven known Pokémon Fossils as well as other artifacts, like stones of various sorts, found on digs funded by Pegasus's company. It was from Industrial Illusions that the BPA received the Fossils that they then revived and handed out themselves as gifts or rewards to people who had done the bureau or the public at large a Pokémon-related service, like Seto Kaiba's Kabutops… or Gozaburo Kaiba's Omastar before that. There was another BPA screw-up.
Above Duke, on a perch between two of the caged lights, an Aerodactyl sat. It, along with many other Pokémon, had been introduced to the lab over time to join the three Corsolas. The two pits on the other side were filled with Fossil-types just living their lives, and a Starmie was mounted flat on one of the tables in the center. Duke had never seen in move or Pegasus use it for anything other than a decoration, though Duke did find that whenever he walked by it, anything electronic he had on him went wonky, and figured the Pokémon was likely very active mentally, sending out strong psychic waves.
The Aerodactyl watched Duke pass beneath it. It was very quiet and Duke often forgot it was even there when he visited. But he couldn't ignore the rather obvious new edition of a Snorlax to the lab. It was sagged against the wall to the right after where the cabinets ended.
"Dang," Duke said to himself. He had no idea of how Pegasus would have managed to get such a large Pokémon into the building. Very impressive. He had to wonder why it was here at all, though. That was what he contemplated while he waited.
Pegasus joined him a few minutes later. "Sorry for the wait, Devvy."
"No problem. You have a new Snorlax," Duke commented, nodding at the snoring beast.
"That's not all that's new," Pegasus said. "Come see what gems my people found on our Pokémon reservation on the coast."
There was an air of excitement around Pegasus as he strode across the now stained marble. He picked up a lab coat on the way. He hadn't dressed in black since the construction of the lab and instead liked to wear things that emphasized the mood he was in. Lab coat meant he was in a very archeological sort of mood.
"New find?" Duke guessed. There was a new fish tank set up on one of the tables and a cage with a covering on another. Pegasus first took him to a rock and fossil covered table where he picked up two of them.
"These are the new Plume and Cover Fossils. We'll be officially introducing them to you agents in a month or two. Or, you know, whenever I feel like it," Pegasus joked.
"What do they become?" Duke asked. Pegasus set them down and dragged Duke to the new aquarium.
"I figured that the Lileep and Cradily should probably be moved out of the pits, anyway, so now we have this beauty—" Pegasus ran a hand along the new 1500 gallon rectangular tank "—and we also put the Cover Fossil's Pokémon in there. This is Tirtouga." He and Duke watched as the turtle-like Pokémon swam amongst the two Lileep and the single Cradily Pegasus had acquired when the Root Fossil had also been on one of Industrial Illusions's Pokémon sanctuaries. Something else that had always been a little below-the-level with Pegasus's company was that, under Pegasus's direction, it always seemed to know where and when the next new Pokémon Fossils would be discovered.
"Does it have an evolution?" Duke asked.
"Yes, Carracosta. It's in the larger pit with the other big ones. Let me show you the Archen."
Next it was to the covered birdcage where two Archen were dozing.
"Cool, another flying one," Duke said. "They have an evolution, too?"
"Archeops. Its cage is over in the corner, but it's a rather nasty piece of work," Pegasus informed with a grin. "Back in the day it no doubt could have given Aerodactyl up there a run for its money."
They wandered around the lab for a while, getting a distant look at the Archeops, circling the pits. Pegasus gave the Snorlax a giant nudge that didn't cause so much as a break in its sleeping breathing pattern.
"I've always thought that this place always seemed smaller on the inside than the outside," Duke said.
"It's an effect of the cabinets," Pegasus supplied.
"Whatever it is, the Snorlax makes this place seem even smaller."
Pegasus laughed, and then there was a clunking sound from the cylindrical tank by the table. Two more quickly followed. The three Corsola were bumping against the glass and staring wistfully at Pegasus.
"Ah, my Babies. It's time for their daily sanding. Oh, Devvy, help me find my fishnet," Pegasus entreated. They spent the next few minutes searching for the long-handled net. Duke found it behind the Archeops cage. The Pokémon inside eyed Duke with a malicious light in its eyes. It made several attempts to catch pieces of Duke in its bright teeth through the brass bars of its cage.
While Pegasus dipped around and fished out the Corsola, Duke wandered over to the larger of the two pits while Pegasus cooed over his attention-wanting Babies. Like the Serperior, and even Pretty to an extent, they were a Pokémon that Duke would never have expected Pegasus to have, and yet he doted on the three.
He leaned against the pit's railing and look down on the Carracosta, Bastiodon, Rampardos, and Armaldo contained in it. The slightly smaller pit to the side held Kabuto, Kabutops, Anorith, Omanyte, and Omastar. Both pits had ponds to swim in and drink from, plants to eat, dirt to dig (before they hit the marble beneath), and various toys and gadgets to stimulate their intellects. Rather than a lab, the place often felt more like an archaic zoo to Duke, with at least one of each of every evolution of the Fossil types discovered so far.
Duke watched as the two Rampardos challenged each other and made a game of butting heads. Duke felt like one of them with everything that had been messing with his life, mainly Maguire and his new position, was the other. He was once again not being very fair to Yami, but the exams he'd taken had specifically put him in a position where an individual was meant to thrive on their own. Teamwork was not his forte.
"Hey, Pegasus," he called over his shoulder.
"Hmmmm?" Pegasus continued rubbing the Corsola down with sandpaper. They made peeping, purring sounds of delight.
"Mind if I vent?" Duke knew the answer, but he still felt the need to be polite about asking permission to complain to his heart's content over his new partnership, his old supervisor, and just the Bureau of Pokémon Affairs in general.
"Please," Pegasus invited with a small smile.
Thanks for reading! Updated to celebrate the end of this semester even though I've immediately jumped into first summer session. Let me know what you think!