Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Pokemon! *one of two chapters today*
Professor Oak has been giving out starter Pokémon for many years. In fact, he has a system for this day to optimize the most efficient way to care and study the Pokémon in his care as well as the new trainers and whatever questions they may have. With the help of his aides, they start the morning at 5:30. Some feeds the Pokémon while others prepare the area where the starters are being held and awaiting their new trainer. The preparations are finished by nine so the professor and his aides can have time to eat and prepare for the day. At ten the doors open for the new trainers. This formula has worked every year since it went into effect.
But today is going to be a challenge. He always ordered a few extras just in case the parents wanted one or the trainer changes their mind on what starter they want. But because the demands are high and the supplies are low, a lot of trainers are going to go home empty-handed. He could catch some wild Pokémon, like he does when starters are low, but he had been too busy this year with the illnesses and research.
This morning, when he looked over the starter Pokémon, the thought of how some of the parents are going to react entered his mind. There are a lot of people not happy with his work and try to take him down at any chance they get. The poor result of today is going to be hard to brush off since he is still under fire for "allowing" the Pokémon in his care to get sick and die. That last part was not true as he caught the illness early and save most of them. The ones he could not were the older ones at the end of their life.
By the time nine rolled around, Professor Oak feels tired enough to sleep. This year his student, Ash Ketchum, would be starting his journey. He is worried for Ash. The boy is dead set on Dragons he wouldn't even look at any other Pokémon. He only started teaching Ash in hopes the boy would start to look at other Pokémon but to no avail.
It doesn't help much when his grandson joined their sessions. The two boys turned everything into a competition. If Gary got a better grade, Ash would complain about Gary being his grandson and is playing favorites, then would study hard to improve his grades. If Ash got a better written assignment, Gary would complain Ash is his prized student and is playing favorites, then would rewrite his assignment until it rivals researchers. At times there's no pleasing the two.
Right now he hopes the boys won't start fighting again. Choosing Pokémon is a first come first serve to insure no one feels cheated or wait too long for their Pokémon. But since he allowed Gary to stay there, its going to be a problem. If Gary goes first, Ash would point out about Gary staying at the lab overnight. But if Ash went first, Gary would say he's playing favorites again.
With all of the problems he has, Professor Oak hopes the boys would be civil enough NOT to start a war. Just for today. Is that too much to ask for?
"GARY OAK! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" the voice of his student cut through the sounds of the kitchen. Two things went through Professor Oak's head at that moment; 'so much for expecting them to behave themselves' and 'since when did Ash get here?' Looking at his aides he could see the confusion and frustration in them. No one likes to deal with those two.
Professor Oak rubs his head as he fights off a headache. Soon both boys ran into the room while dodging everyone. For a moment, Professor Oak is pleased with their agility and is proud of them. But that moment died when they started circling the table.
"Boys!" he said in a strict voice. He's hoping using this voice would tell them he means business and is not in the mood for this. The boys did not listen as they kept running around the table, trying to get/avoid the other. He raises his voice and tries again, "Boys!"
"Hey Gramps/ Hi Professor," the boys said while still chasing each other. If Professor Oak doesn't know any better, he would think the boys are playing with each other, but that's impossible and wishful thinking. Their laughter startles him and makes him think otherwise. Looking at the aides surprised faces made Professor Oak to realize he didn't imagine it.
"Alright boys, knock it off," he says with a smile. He really didn't want to stop them, as they haven't been playful with each other in a long time, but a few things needed to be address. Things like "Would one of you explain why Ash is here early?"
"I/Gary invited him/me," the boys said in almost perfect unison while still using the table as a shield. It was… unexpected. Never would Professor Oak think of Gary inviting Ash over for whatever reason. Not since they became rivals. That leaves the question… Why?
"I can see that, but I don't understand why you have invited him," he clarifies. The boys stop running around the table as a shield and look at each other. It almost looks like they are having a silent conversation. Or, silently saying "You tell him", which makes Professor Oak suspicious.
"It's about the starters," they say as they turn to him. It stuns Professor Oak, and his aides, to hear the boys speaking in unison. Professor Oak feels his headache returning as he thought about their answer. Of course it's about the starters.
"Look, I wasn't going to give one of you your Pokémon until both were present," he says as he found his voice. "In fact I was going to give you your Pokémon at the same time. And, no, I am not going to give them to you right now." He hopes the boys would be comfortable with this explanation, but the look on their faces says otherwise.
"That's… not what we mean," Ash says carefully. Both boys take a chair and sits down in them while facing Professor Oak. The aides continue their breakfast as they know this doesn't involve them.
"What do you mean, then?" he asks, confused. What do they mean if not who gets their starter first? Ash motions to Gary to explain.
"Remember when the shipment came in?" his grandson asks, almost innocently. Professor Oak nodded as he does remember. Having all of the remaining Pokémon and it still wasn't enough to satisfy his costumers, worries him and it still does.
"Yes, but what does this have to do with Ash being here?" A simple question, really. He is really hoping Gary isn't trying to talk his way out of trouble. He tends to do that by reminding him of something he doesn't like.
"Well, I was returning the fishing pole I borrowed a week prior," he says. To Professor Oak, it makes sense; Gary would have been able to see the Pokéballs and wonder why there are so few. But he also knows the files are off-limits to those not a part of his research team. "As I entered, I saw papers all over the floor, mostly near the filing cabinet."
"What! Nigel!" the angered professor yells while looking at the aide in charge of the files that day. The whole room went quiet and all eyes focus on that aide, who seems to be holding his head.
"Well… I… I really had to use the bathroom so I put them on the cabinet," he stutters. All eyes drifted towards the boys who were studying Nigel's face. Right now, Professor Oak doesn't mind the two reading people.
"Liar," both boys says after a very short while. Nigel grew angry with them and Professor Oak almost had to move the boys behind him.
"You little brats!" he said in a raised voice. None of the aides thought to intervene as they were too stunned by his anger. As he approaches the table, both boys prepare to fight him off. "I otta…"
"Harm my son in any way and you'll have to answer to me," a female voice interrupted. All eyes turn to face the speaker. Delia Ketchum is standing at the doorway, carrying a green backpack and a grocery bag, looking not too happy with the man who threatens Ash's and Gary's life. "Not to mention you'll have to deal with Professor Oak, your boss, if you harm his grandson."
"Mom!" Ash exclaims worriedly. He tries to move closer to her but Gray stops him. Nigel doesn't seem to notice this as he walks towards Delia.
"Look lady," he says, in a twisted way. His eyes seem, almost distant and unfocused. Both boys take note of this but did nothing else. "I don't wanna hurt you, but I gotta, you know?"
Just as he leaps towards Delia, vines came from behind her and tie him up. The vines pull him into the hall and out of sight of everyone present. Delia calmly walks to the table Ash, Gary and Professor Oak are station at and calmly sits down. Ash wasted no time getting by her side.
"Gramps," Gary says with a worried look as he got closer to his grandfather. "Nigel, he doesn't get violent easily. I think he isn't feeling right."
"He's right, Mom," Ash says in agreement. "His emotions were changing too fast to be normal, especially for him. I don't think he's thinking straight."
"Royal Vine?" Delia calls behind her. "Could you be a dear and put the man to sleep before taking him to a hospital with some sort of insanity ward?" The sound of a grass whistle being played is the only confirmation she got. Delia seems pleased with the response.
"I'll check in on him after the Pokémon are sorted," Professor Oak says. He looks at his grandson with a stern but gentle look. "Now, why don't you finish explaining why you invited Ash over?"
"Sure thing," Gary agrees with a nod. Sitting back down, he went back into explaining. "So I saw the papers and went to gather them up. I remembered the last time I stepped on them and you weren't happy with it. As I gathered them I realize the papers were out of order. It also looks like someone threw them into the air and left without picking them up.
"I didn't mean to read them, I swear. But I kind of had to in order to organize them. As I was organizing them, I realize the numbers didn't match. There were more trainers then there were Pokéballs. I didn't think much at the time as I remembered the news with the illness and the thieves. I also knew you catch wild Pokémon as extras just in case. I didn't realize you were too busy to do that this year.
"Yesterday I went in to grab some supplies for my journey; the extra medicine and repels you said I could use. I noticed there weren't any new Pokéballs and I wondered why. You were too busy to speak to me about it so I went into the cabinet. I know I shouldn't have but I wanted to know." By now, Gary is shaking and freaking out.
"Gary," the Pokémon professor says as he put his hand on Gary's shoulder to calm him down, which works. "It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong except not asking for permission. Of course, I was really busy and might not have given it to you but you didn't change the documents or misplaced them, so no harm done. Okay?"
"I actually refiled some of the papers," the young Oak admitted. Seeing his grandfather's stern look, he hastily explains, "Nothing bad. Just needed to make the system simpler and I noticed some of the info was wrong so I corrected it."
"Question!" Delia politely interrupted. "Could someone explain to me what is going on or do I have to sit here and try to figure this out?"
"They're trying to explain why Gary invited Ash if not for the starters," one of the other aides said. This is when everyone at the table notice the aides are interested with what is being said.
"Oh, I see," she says. "But isn't the starters the reason why Gary invited Ash? Just to explain what is going on?" Then she turns her head towards Ash and asks, "And didn't you say in a letter you were going to Professor Oak's early as you couldn't sleep?"
"Mrs. Ketchum, I was getting to that part," Gary interjects before anyone could reply. "The information I found was keeping me up as I wasn't sure how Ash was going to handle it. I was planning on waking him up and dragging him over."
"How did you plan to wake me up?" Ash interrupts. Delia gave a displeased look at her son, who shrank a bit into his chair.
"I still have a key to the house," Gary explains. "If you had changed it I would have thrown rocks at his window and hope it wakes him up."
"I sleep, and eat, like a snorelax!" Ash exclaims while getting out of his seat. Everyone in the room laughs at this but Ash didn't really mind much. It is true and anyone who knows him would agree.
"Good thing I didn't need to, then," Gary said with a smug look. Ash growls quietly but kept his cool and sat back down. His eyes never left Gary.
"This is all good but I still like to know how this played out, or when it played out. We were up and about by six am." Professor Oak says as he looks at the clock. 9:42 it reads. He doesn't have much time left if he wants to open the doors on time.
"When we met up, Gary said it was about… 4:30?" Ash says as he tries to remember. Gary gave a small nod before picking up.
"We left the storeroom about 5:00. I didn't get any sleep so we agreed to talk to you around nine." Then both boys grew serious and sat straighter in their seats. "We talked about it and had an agreement concerning our planned starters but we need your advice."
"Oh?" Professor Oak became interested with what they have to say. He never thought the two would be so serious on anything other than being better than the other.
"We've already agreed we can't accept the Pokémon we want until ALL of the trainers get theirs," Ash says.
"We know the breeders don't have Pokémon to breed, or spare, and the starters aren't in the wild anymore," Gary adds.
"We agree we can't catch wild Pokémon without a Pokémon to weaken them and the only ones we could borrow who would listen to us are too powerful," Ash adds.
"And we know we can't ask someone else for a Pokémon in fear of playing favorites nor can we wait a year though we know we might," Gary says suddenly.
"And we know you can't get a Pokémon from the other regions for a Kanto beginner trainer, with all of the controversy on which region is better," Ash finishes. He shuts Gary's mouth before he could go off on how mindless it is. Neither boys like the controversy one bit.
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ASH AND GARY!" one of the aides yells. He is also pointing an accusing finger at the two. "You two are getting along too well to be Ash and Gary!"
"Gerald, please calm down," Professor Oak says to this aide.
"I agree with Gerald," another aide says. "They are too nice to each other and they aren't acting like ten year olds!"
"Mason, please stop," the Pokémon professor says as he rubs his head again. The headache is really becoming too much. "And don't anyone else start! This is an important issue that needs to be address now."
"Ash? Have you and Gary thought about using Sugar G?" Delia asks. Ash gave a small nod as he is recovering from what the aides have accused him and Gray. He is certain they are playing around as he knows Gary well enough to spot a fake. Besides, how else did they expect them to take a serious matter? Goof Off?
"We told you, Pokémon we borrow would either be too strong or not listen to us," Gary says as politely as he could. He really didn't want to come off as rude.
"Pardon For Interrupting," a male computer voice says suddenly, startling the people in the room. All eyes look at Professor Oak as the voice came from his pocket. Professor Oak pulls out two small red computers and places them on the table. One of the red computers started talking. "It Is Possible To Catch Pokémon Without Weakening Them, Just Very Unlikely."
"Bring A Lot Of Pokéballs And Throw Them," the other red computer says, but it had a more feminine voice. "Hopefully The Pokémon You Are Trying To Catch Would Tire Out Enough To Be Caught."
"No money," both Gary and Ash says in a monotone voice. The room erupted in laughter at their tone, and the fact the spoke in unison. Then both boys add "What are you?" at the same time and in the same voice. Both boys' looks at each other as the room went into more laughter.
"I Am Dexter," the "male" computer says. "I Am A Pokédex Created By Professor Oak To Record Data On Pokémon For Pokémon Trainer, And Future Dragon Master, Ash Ketchum. My Function Is To Provide Ash With Advice On Pokémon And Training As Well As His I.D. If Lost Or Stolen I Cannot Be Replaced."
"I Am Dee," the "female" computer says. "I Am A Pokédex Created By Professor Oak To Record Data On Pokémon For Pokémon Trainer, And Future Pokémon Master, Gary Oak. My Function Is To Provide Gary With Advice On Pokémon And Training As Well As His I.D. If Lost Or Stolen I Cannot Be Replaced."
"I made them for both of you to try out," Professor Oak explains. "They only have information on Pokémon native to Kanto. I would have added more but since the controversy started, I hadn't been able to get the other professors to help with it. I do hope that changes soon."
"Hey, Gramps?" Gary says suddenly. "I just remembered something important."
"What is it?" Professor Oak asks. He doesn't really care at this point.
"Bad news or good news first?" Gary asks. But a look from his grandfather made him realize that was a bad idea. "Okay, bad news first; you don't have as many charmander as you thought."
"What!" Professor Oak exclaims, nearly jumping out of his chair. Charmander is very popular right now.
"Yeah, Ash cleaned of a Pokéball to reveal it wasn't holding a charmander… sorry about that," Gary explains as he tries to calm him down. "At least you have one more squirtle than you thought."
"Since we have five minutes till ten, how about we finish up here and head on over?" Delia says as she stood up, trying to defuse the situation. Everyone takes her lead and stands up too. Then she looks at Ash with her best mother glare. "And you need to change out of those clothes, young man!"
"But Mom…" Ash protested. He doesn't like the idea of looking like a normal trainer. However, Delia isn't having any of it.
"No buts. You will not leave this town dressed as you are now!" She shoves the bags she was carrying into his arms. "You can wear that outfit during gym battles; NOT while traveling. Now hurry up. You don't want to be late."
"Alright," Ash says defeated. He really wanted to wear his "Dragon Master" outfit but maybe he should wait until he gets his dragon Pokémon. And he really hates disappointing his mom.
Author's Notes: Haven't been Beta Read yet. It will be edit once I get that going. In the meantime, please feel free to point out any errors in ways that would help me as a writer.
And most of these chapters are going to have characters explain things we already know. But its for the other characters who weren't present when the info has been revealed.