Thanks for waiting! Here's chapter 4! Just for the record here are the ages of the characters introduced so far.
Nick and Nicole: 15
Red: 19
Cynthia: 24
Professor Oak: 48
The little boy sat on the porch, tears streaming down his cheeks. He tried his hardest to hold in the tears, to stop the stop the crying, but the most he could do was hold in his breath for a second or two, and the sobbing would continue. The small boy hadn't noticed, but a person had sat beside him and was now rubbing their hand on his back.
Finally, the boy managed to cease the tears, taking short quick breaths.
"What happened son?" the boy's father asked. Through a strained voice the boy told his father what had happened. In response the father sat up, sighed and rubbed his head. After a bit of silence, letting the boy recover from telling his story, the father began to speak.
"Listen to me son. People say a LOT of things. Sometimes they'll say things they don't mean. Sometimes they do," The man paused checking to see if his son was listening.
The boy looked up, upon hearing silence. As he turned, he saw his father's eyes and found something different about them. His expression too was something the young boy had yet seen. Something about it made the boy listen intently.
Seeing his son look up at him he continued, "But none of that matters because words, by themselves at least, are meaningless. When those children told you, 'You can't be the Pokemon champion!' it didn't mean a thing. Did he do anything to stop you? Did he put you in a cage or stuff you in a bag?"
The boy's expression became lighter, a half smile forming on his face. It was true that while all of those kids taunted and ridiculed him, chanting thing such as "loser" and "nerd", no one had actually laid a finger on him. The boy shook his head no slightly. His father smiled as well. "No, didn't think so. But even if he did would that stop you? You told him you were gonna be the Pokemon champion. Are you going to do something about it?"
The boy looked back down at the ground, remembering back to how he retaliated by yelling at all of the kids that he would become champion. When he said it, he wasn't actually sure if he could be the champion, but he yelled back at them with all his might nonetheless. Remembering the words his father had just given him he knew it was possible. It just had to be.
The man watched as his son shook his head up and down furiously. Placing his hand on the boy's head he continued, "Right, of course you are. Cause at the end of the day, you don't have to listen to a word anyone says, you don't have to say a word to anyone, you just have to…do."
The man frowned at that last sentence he gave. He couldn't find the right words so it came out oddly worded. Shrugging his shoulders, he looked back down at his son and asked, "I'm sorry but did you understand any of that?...son?"
The little boy gave no response.
Present
"My, is it good to see you again Cynthia!" the professor whole heartedly exclaimed. The group now sat in the lobby of the lab. The professor and the Sinnoh champion sat on one couch while Nick and Nicole sat on another facing the other two. Meanwhile, Red, the mysterious young man with the red eyes, opted to stand, leaning on the wall next to the door.
"Likewise professor," the champion warmly responded.
The professor smiled and turned facing the other two he had scheduled an appointment with.
"Oh right, introductions! Nick, Nicole this beautiful young lady is-"
"It's alright professor, we're already past introductions," Nick interrupted, holding his hand up to the professor. Oak looked over to Cynthia who nodded in agreement.
"Really now? I would've imagined that knowing Cynthia's identity would have produced a greater reaction from you two. Especially you Nicole," the professor nodded toward the girl. He noticed that she had walked in sedated calmer than usual. Hearing this Nicole blushed from ear to ear.
Nick tried not to laugh while Cynthia gave a soft smile. An awkward silence filled the air which was interrupted by a cough from Red, surprisingly enough.
"Oh right well then, we already know what you two had come for but Cynthia on the other hand…" the professor's voiced trailed off as he turned to the champion. The professor's expression became darker all of a sudden. "I wish we could have reunited under better circumstances." Nick and Nicole looked at professor with intrigue and concern.
Cynthia on the other hand gave Oak a questioning look. "Are you sure it's okay for them to know?" Cynthia was a little confused. Why was the professor letting the kids know about this dangerous ordeal that even Professor Rowan wouldn't tell her about?
"Yes," the professor replied, "In fact, I would like them too." The two turned to face each other for clues. Seeing as how the other had a confused look, they both turned back toward the professor.
"Is there something wrong Professor Oak?" Nicole asked worriedly.
"Yes, I believe so."
Oak proceeded to tell the three about strange events occurring all over the Kanto region. There were certain routes where wild Pokemon were scarce, police reports of Pokemon kidnappings were at an all time high, billions of pokedollars were disappearing from big corporate companies, and many other huge scale events. All the while, he pulled out files with statistics and photos showing the deserted routes.
"This is insane!" Nicole slowly got out. She stood up and examined the files, checking to see their validity, as she refused to believe any of this was happening.
Cynthia did the same, except in a much calmer manner. She studied each of the files closely, burning every detail in her mind. On the outside she appeared unfazed by it all, but on the inside the champion was burning with a passion to find out what ever was causing all of this.
Meanwhile Nick sat dumbfounded. He was trying to take in the gravity of the situation. The crimes were ridiculously absurd in scale. What's more, the professor had a Pokemon champion reviewing all of it, and no one gets a champion on a case for no good reason. After a while he managed to pull himself together, he shook his head and began rubbing it.
"Wait, wait," said Nick, holding up a hand, "let me get things straight. First of all, how is this the first we're hearing about this? Why isn't this showin' up in the news?
"Well for one reason, the police have purposely told the press not to cover any of it in order to keep the public from going into a state of panic, the second is-"
"The World Tournament is coming up, which is what everyone is interested in so the press are more than happy to oblige," the champion finished for the professor.
"Very good observation Cynthia, that is quite correct." Nicole was absolutely astonished with how amazing her idol was. She loved how relaxed and insightful the young woman was. The entire time Cynthia had sat straight up, arms crossed with one leg over the other.
"So cool!~" Nicole thought. Just then she realized, she was the exact opposite, standing up and acting all surprised. She quickly sat back down and listened closely to the conversation.
Professor Oak continued, "Not only that, but all the crimes can be explained by other causes. The disappearance of Pokemon could be due to the changing climate, the billions of dollars being used for secret company projects." The professor went on listing statistics and explaining phenomena before concluding, "Truth be told, the police are very skeptical that any of these event are related. I can't blame them either. I mean, who would think to connect all these strange occurrences together?"
"Well, you did professor!" Nicole chimed. It was true that no one would think to connect the events together except for the great Professor Oak.
Oak chuckled. "Well I had a bit of help." Nick and Nicole looked to each other, wondering who the professor's inside source could be. Cynthia however, had a pretty good guess, seeing as how the professor had glanced at a certain someone as he said that. She stole a quick glance as well, finding the now very intriguing young man, the same as he had been, leaning against the wall, head tilted down, with his hands in his pockets.
"Who are you?" the thought lingered in her mind as she focused her attention back to the professor. Ever since she saw him down at the entrance, she couldn't seem to keep him off her mind.
Nick breathed. "Ok. Well if all these crimes are related then, who's behind it all?"
The professor began to pull out a single photo from his lab coat, tossing it down on the table for everyone to see. The photo was blurry, but it revealed a man and a woman similarly dressed in strange black and white uniform. It looked as if the two were sneaking around a garden or forest.
"They call themselves Team Shadow."
Nick was stunned. He shook his head widely as he lay back in his seat. "What!? So another Team Rocket!?"
"I'm afraid so," Oak grimly replied.
"Great, so what these guys want?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Hearing this, Nick looked up at Cynthia but then quickly realized she had not been the source of the voice. Following the champion's gaze, he turned to his right and found Nicole in the exact same pose as Cynthia.
Brushing her hair to the side, she stood up and pointed to the clutter of papers on the table, and continued as cool as possible, "They're trying to take over the Kanto region!"
The three blankly stared at her. Red pulled his hat down farther.
"What the hell Nicole?" Nick thought, embarrassed for her.
"Well yes I suppose that would be a safe assumption," Oak replied.
Nicole sat back down, now with a smug look on her face. Nick buried his face in his hand.
"So one more question professor, why are you telling this to us?"
Cynthia was interested in the answer as well, although as always she already had a good guess. Professor Oak is a good judge of character after all.
"Well seeing as how you two are starting your Pokemon journey and will be traveling across the Kanto region, I would like it if you were to help me investigate these crimes and find out what this "Team Shadow" is up to," the professor revealed.
Nicole's eyes sparkled. Nick however was not amused.
"Absolutely-," he began.
"YES!" she finished.
The two looked at each other, both with sour looks on their faces.
"Nick the professor needs are help!"
"Nicole we are not-!" as Nick said this he made eye contact with Cynthia and remembered their conversation.
You can't always save a person you care about from being hurt.
The words echoed through his mind. He sighed deeply. A moment of silence passed and then, "Wait, didn't you call Cynthia to do what you're having us do?"
"It would be great if she could, but as a Pokemon champion I'm afraid have her running all over the place looking for criminals the world doesn't even know, or believes exists, would be possible."
"Professor if I may," Cynthia began.
"Please, Cynthia. We need to keep the public peace first and foremost. As champion that should be your priority. That said, we can't have you doing anything out of the ordinary. You must stick to your work schedule and appear to the public, assuring them that everything is fine."
The champion pondered the man's words and after a while, agreed.
"So why is she here then?" Nicole asked worriedly. She felt as if she was somehow undermining her idol's authority.
"Well it's not as if Cynthia can't help at all. It's not like the public needs to know Cynthia's whereabouts 24/7," the professor assured them and continued, "While you two go around investigating, I will have Cynthia crack down on their hideouts and confront the villains directly."
"Oh I see!" Nicole exclaimed, "We'll scout out their bases then Cynthia will come in to finish the job!"
"Correct," Oak replied, "That is if she would be willing to."
He turned to the champion who quickly replied, "I would be more than willing to."
Nick breathed a sigh of relief. At least it wouldn't be as dangerous now.
"Now it isn't as bad as it seems. You'll be helping me investigate, but you'll also be participating in the league as I'm sure you were planning to. As you travel across Kanto you'll have time to challenge the gyms, catch pokemon and train them, as any other trainer would. So, do I have your help?" the professor asked.
"You bet!" Nicole quickly answered, excitement flowing through her body.
"Well if she's going, then I am too," Nick responded.
"Good, now your first job is in Route 1."
"WHAT!?" the two exclaimed.
"You see this picture of Team Shadow was taken recently and right outside of Viridian City, which leads me to believe that they have a base on Route 1."
"It makes sense if you if think about it," the champion commented, "who would ever think to look for a villain lair on Route 1."
"True," Nicole agreed.
After thinking for a bit a thought came to Nick.
"Wait. If Cynthia's supposed to keep the public peace by showing up at events, what happens if she gets hurt?"
Nicole was shocked by that comment. "Are you kidding me Nick!? This is Cynthia we're talking about here! There's no way someone like her could get hurt! I mean she hasn't even lost a battle!"
"Didn't she lose to that girl that one time though? What was her name? Da-"
"DON'T SAY HER NAME!" Nicole cried, running over placing her hands on his mouth. "That wasn't true that didn't happen! It was just a rumor!"
Nick managed to free his mouth and went on, "There was another rumor too that she lost to some boy while she was visiting Unova. Plus she participated in the first Pokemon World Tournament but lost to-"
"Ahem," the professor coughed, nodding his head toward the woman being spoken about right next to him.
Nicole quickly got off Nick and sat next to him straight up. Nick blushed and rubbed his head.
"No offense or anything," he muttered just loud enough for her to hear.
Cynthia simply smiled and replied, "None taken." The champion fondly recalled back to her battles with people previously mentioned. There was no way she could ever forget them.
"Going back to your question Nick, I actually did think about that as well and so, I have prepared a bodyguard," the professor said and pointed a hand. The three followed it and found themselves looking over to the mysterious young man who had remained silent the entire time.
"Woah. I forgot he was there," Nicole whispered to Nick.
"My assistant will be joining you two on your investigation and will be accompanying Cynthia when she goes in to confront the criminals."
"Wow, so he's traveling with us." Nicole said aloud to herself.
"Yeah I guess it won't be just us two," Nick remarked. Hearing that Nicole looked over at Nick and stared at him. Nick felt her eyes on him and looked back, giving her a questioning look. She quickly turned away and blushed.
"I-i-it's nothing!" she assured Nick.
"You know professor," Cynthia began, turning to him revealing a wicked smile on her face. Her interest for the young man had peaked. She just had to find out more about this "bodyguard" and she knows just the way to do it. "Forgive me if I sound a little arrogant, but I always found having bullet proof glass protecting a diamond a little redundant, seeing as how the diamond would be stronger. Do you mind if I see just how strong this glass is?
Oak wondered what she meant by the analogy but quickly got it. "Oh, you want to battle him?"
"Yes, I would," she replied simply, turning back to the young man who was now looking directly at her. His eyes were hidden from shadow cast by his visor, but it was no question what (or in this case who) he was looking at. Cynthia gave him a smile, but his expression remained blank.
Cynthia felt her pulse rising. There was something about this man that made her excited. She felt his aura grow stronger. There was no way she was going to leave without battling him.
"Would you mind?" the champion asked the young man himself. Her reply was a shake of the head. "Then please lead the way to the field."
With that the young man turned to open the door, and turned back to Cynthia. She stood and made her way over. As the two exited, the other three got up and followed suit.
"Oh man that guy's gonna get crushed!" Nicole said aloud to herself, throwing a punch at the air.
"Well, I don't know about getting crushed, but don't your hopes up too high Nicole," Oak remarked. Nicole simply ignored the comment, thinking it was just the professor teasing her. There was no way this random guy could beat Cynthia.
Nick on the other hand didn't know what to think except that the guy was really intimidating. He looked over to Professor Oak.
"Do you really think he stands a chance?"
The professor shrugged, then answered, "I'm actually not too sure myself. I haven't seen him battle in a very long time, but..." he turned and faced Nick. "I'll be damned if he doesn't."
Sorry but I managed to delay the battle to the next chapter. Keep an eye out for it!