Revised edition of Back to the Basics! Part 3; January 2nd, 2011.
Professor Rowan began his lecture as soon as he cleared his throat. "As you all know, most pokemon have the ability to evolve under certain conditions," A student raised his hand and asked a question about what Professor Rowan was going to specifically talk about on evolution. Meanwhile, Ryan was thinking about the various ways a pokemon could evolve, relying on past memories with the old show and his gameboy adventures from long ago.
"Yeah, by," Ryan thought as he waited for the student's question to be answered. It was worth a shot, Ryan reasoned, trying to remember the various ways to evolve a pokemon. "Battling, and I think something about a stone? Evolution stones?" Ryan tuned back in as Professor Rowan finished answering the student's question with more than satisfactory information.
"Now, there are various ways to evolve a pokemon, but the main way is by battling side by side with your pokemon," Professor Rowan continued on in his rough voice.
"One for two." Ryan thought as he gave a slight smile due to Professor Rowan validating one of his guesses.
"By battling as partners, you will eventually gain your pokemon's trust in you and your ability to lead." Squirtle smirked at Professor Rowan's statement, mainly the part with gaining a pokemon's trust.
"Like Ryan's ever gonna lead. Eevee got creamed by Seviper and I had to help her..." Squirtle thought as he recalled the other night when Eevee fought Seviper under Ryan's leadership; whatever leadership there was, Squirtle laughed in his head.
"Another evolution method is when certain pokemon make contact with certain evolution stones," Professor Rowan helped validate another one of Ryan's guesses.
"Two for two!" Ryan fist pumped in his head as he continued to listen to Professor Rowan.
"One thing to note; only some pokemon evolve via stones. For example," Professor Rowan turned to his briefcase, which lay unopened on Professor Maple's front desk, and released a couple of brass latches that kept it closed, opening his briefcase. He pulled out an orange and yellow sun shaped stone and held it up towards the students so they could catch a glimpse of the object.
"This is a Sun Stone. If, say, a Gloom were to touch this stone, they would evolve into a Bellossom,"
"Whoa. I've never seen that before," Ryan thought as he examined the Sun Stone with his eyes.
"And this," Professor Rowan pulled a grey stone with a green leaf out from the briefcase with his other hand.
"This is a Leaf Stone. Using the same example for the Sun Stone, if a Gloom were to touch the Leaf Stone instead of the Sun Stone, the Gloom would evolve into a Vileplume."
"I've definitely seen that before," Ryan recalled the stone from the old cartoon. An episode involved one, but Ryan couldn't remember the details. However, something bothered Ryan."Wait, since when could Gloom evolve into two different pokemon?" Ryan thought. He snapped out of his thoughts as a student in the front row of seats raised his hand.
"Yes?" Professor Rowan called on the student, who lowered his hand when he was called on.
"Um, professor, is it alright if I could use one of those stones to have my Gloom evolve?" The student asked with little expectation of a positive reply, however, that wasn't the case.
"Why of course," Professor Rowan nodded. He quickly added, "However, have you talked with your Gloom yet?" The student nodded his head in reply.
"Well then, I don't see why not. Have your Gloom come out." Professor Rowan motioned for the student to get up from his desk and walk up to the front, where the stones were, which the student did. The student pulled a Pokeball from his belt as soon as he reached the front, enlarged it and lightly tossed it into the air.
"Come on out, Gloom!" A small purplish plantlike pokemon with a maroon colored bud on it's top appeared from the Pokeball as it opened up. The Pokeball fell back into the student's hand.
"So, that's what a Gloom really looks like," Ryan quietly thought out loud as he pulled out his Pokedex from his pocket and looked down at it as it began talking. What he didn't know was that the girl with the white fisherman hat with a pinkish red line on the edge was staring between him and the Pokedex, and the boy with glasses from earlier looked at Ryan with a wide open mouth, in astonishment.
GLOOM: THE WEED POKEMON. WHAT APPEARS TO BE DROOL IS ACTUALLY SWEET HONEY. IT IS VERY STICKY AND CLINGS STUBBORNLY IF TOUCHED.
Ryan didn't realize how loud the Pokedex could be, as it echoed in the lab for the others to hear. The whole class, wondering what the noise was, turned to see what it was. Professor Rowan looked at the Pokedex Ryan was holding in his hand. Ryan closed the Pokedex and kept it out, figuring an evolution was going to take place. He turned his attention back up front, only to find a wall of stares facing him once more. Ryan felt uncomfortable, to say the least.
"Are they gonna do that every time I do anything? I'm not Bigfoot." Ryan thought.
"Strange, that looks like a Sinnoh edition Pokedex I give out to starting trainers," Professor Rowan decided to stuff the thought until later and started to speak to the student standing in front, drawing everyone's attention to the front, relieving Ryan once more.
"So, young man, what will it be?" Professor Rowan held the appropriately named sun shaped Sun Stone in one hand and the Leaf Stone in his other hand in front of the student as he looked between them both and then at his Gloom, believing it should be up to his pokemon.
"Hey buddy, what do you think? I'll let you decide." His Gloom walked up to Rowan, who kneeled down so Gloom could pick a stone. The Weed pokemon looked back and forth between the Sun Stone and the Leaf Stone, debating which one to choose. Squirtle and Umbreon went over to the staircase in the center of the seats in order to watch Gloom make its choice. Gloom started glowing as soon as it reached over and touched the stone in Professor Rowan's right hand. The stone glowed and then disappeared, almost like it disintegrated.
"It's evolving! Well, obviously." Ryan mentally slapped himself at the obvious remark he made in his head. The white glow stopped and dissipated to reveal a significantly smaller pokemon with what looked like a grass skirt with two shades of alternating greens and red flowers with yellow at the center of those flowers, on its head.
"It's a Bellossom!" The boy with glasses next to Ryan exclaimed.
"Bellossom?" Ryan looked down at the Pokedex in his hands as he opened it again, ready for information on Bellossom.
BELLOSSOM: THE FLOWER POKEMON. BELLOSSOM GATHER AT TIMES AND APPEAR TO DANCE. THEY SAY THAT THE DANCE IS A RITUAL TO SUMMON THE SUN.
"I always wondered how they did that," Umbreon said to Squirtle, as they heard the Pokedex entry for Bellossom. Squirtle didn't answer Umbreon's remark. "Squirtle...?" Umbreon looked at Squirtle who had an apprehensive look on his face and a bead of sweat dropping from his head.
"Squirtle, are you alright? You look like a Haunter scared you to death." Umbreon asked as he noticed how tense Squirtle became after the evolution.
"I-I'm fine..." Squirtle looked away, avoiding Umbreon's gaze. Umbreon knew that wasn't the case, but he left it alone.
"I wonder if this has to do with what Squirtle told me and my sis about the Pokemon Hunter..." Umbreon thought in curiosity.
The newly evolved Bellossom started to happily dance almost like a hula dancer, celebrating it's new evolution. The class started clapping for the newly evolved pokemon and its trainer.
"Congratulations Mark!" Professor Maple congratulated his pupil as he clapped his hands in applause.
"Thanks professor!" The student shook Bellossom's hand in celebration; both of which wore elated faces, before returning it to its Pokeball and taking his seat again. Ryan closed his Pokedex once more and put it back in his right jean pocket. The boy with glasses took the time the class needed to stop the applause to press Ryan about the Pokedex.
"You have a Pokedex? That must mean you're a trainer!" The boy whispered to Ryan as Professor Rowan started talking again.
"I'm not a trainer, but-" Ryan began to whisper back, but was interrupted by another voice, a female whisper.
"If you aren't a trainer, then why do you have a Pokedex?" Ryan turned his head to see the girl with the white fisherman hat looking at him with her piercing brown eyes. Before Ryan could answer, a warning cough from Professor Maple redirected all three of them to pay attention to Professor Rowan's lecture. Fifteen minutes passed as nothing else disturbed the lecture.
"And last but not least, a pokemon can evolve when you, the trainer, gained it's trust. For example, an Eevee can evolve using a Fire Stone, Leaf Stone, Thunderstone, or a Water Stone. However, if the Eevee in question trusts the trainer before a stone is used, and depending on the time of day, it will evolve into either an Umbreon or an Espeon." Professor Rowan spoke in a balance of a gruffness and in an interesting tone of voice.
"Umbreon and Espeon?" Ryan looked down at Eevee, who seemed fast asleep on his lap, since her mouth seemed to make a low snore as she breathed in and out. Then, Ryan looked at Umbreon, who returned next to him, along with Squirtle, for a second then turned back to face Professor Rowan.
"Depending on the time of day; so, if Umbreon was the result of Eevee trusting me during night," Ryan didn't need to finish the thought, knowing the same applied to an Espeon, only during the day.
"Now, I understand there is a trainer here with an Eevee?" Professor Rowan said as he looked straight at Ryan. The students turned their heads to see who Professor Rowan was looking at. The boy and the girl with the fisherman hat also looked at Ryan. Ryan felt another wave of nervousness, from all of the pairs of piercing eyes watching him.
"Could you come on up here?" Professor Rowan asked.
"Sure." Ryan answered as he shifted nervously. He didn't want to wake Eevee up, so he picked her up and cradled Eevee like a baby in his arms. Ryan got up from his chair and walked down the stairs in the middle of the seats to the front, next to Professor Rowan and Professor Maple. "Aww" was heard from a couple of girls as they laid eyes on Eevee, who was asleep in Ryan's arms. Umbreon followed closely and stopped beside Ryan while Squirtle stopped beside Umbreon. Umbreon and Squirtle stood facing the class, while Ryan faced halfway between the professors and the class.
"Now, tell me; I know we've touched on this, but when did you meet your Umbreon?" Professor Rowan asked. The entire class of students and Professor Maple all stared at Ryan for the answer. Everyone was wondering what Professor Rowan was trying to point out.
"Y-yesterday." Professor Rowan continued with his questions as some jaws dropped to the floor in surprise. However, another surprise had yet to hit them. "And did you meet Umbreon as an Umbreon, or did you meet it as an Eevee?" He asked Ryan.
"I met Umbreon as an Eevee." Ryan answered without haste. Professor Maple slightly jumped at the response. The students started whispering to each other once they realized Ryan had met Eevee only yesterday! Now jaws dropped row after row, in pure astonishment. The girl with the white fisherman hat wore a shocked look. She unknowingly shared a thought with Professor Maple.
"That would mean Eevee trusted him in less than twenty four hours!" They both thought in part criticism.
"No way! That means," The boy sitting next to Ryan earlier readjusted his glasses. "This is crazy Cuz!" The boy turned to the girl with the white fisherman hat. She nodded in agreement and looked back up front at Umbreon. Ryan noticed the murmurs in the student body.
"Whoa. They're going crazy! Is it that unusual for an Eevee to evolve? No, it's probably something else," Ryan thought in response as his nervousness slightly dipped as he wondered why the students whispered to one another.
"That's all, Ryan, you can head back to your seat," Professor Rowan told Ryan, who nodded and began his ascent up the stairs to his seat. As Ryan sat down in his seat and softly set Eevee on the desk, she slowly stirred awake. Eevee gave a small yawn as she stretched out her legs and shook herself, getting up to her feet.
"Hey! Have a good nap?" Ryan asked quietly as Eevee turned to him
"Yeah!" Eevee nodded a bit slowly. Ryan smiled in response and pet Eevee behind her ears, which made her coo cutely.
"Psst! Hey," Ryan stopped petting Eevee as he turned his attention to the boy, who seemed to have a stunned look on his face. "Were you serious up there?" He asked Ryan.
"Yeah, I was," Ryan answered him, which left the boy with an even more shocked, but awed look.
"H-how'd you meet-" The boy was brimming with questions; especially since he had never heard of a pokemon evolving in just a day! Ryan waved both of his hands in warning and told him to wait until later to ask him; especially since he noticed Professor Maple staring at them. Eevee stayed on the desk and laid down on it, facing Ryan. She wanted to play with him, but Ryan shook his head, quietly saying with a smile, "Wait 'till later, okay?" Eevee nodded as she stayed quiet for him. A few more minutes passed as Professor Rowan wrapped his evolution lecture up.
"And, with this newly acquired knowledge, you all will become better trainers, but more so, better friends with pokemon, as now you have a better understanding of their growth. Do not be with a pokemon merely for an evolution; pokemon are our friends," Professor Rowan finished.
"That's my mentor, Professor Rowan! Thanks for giving the lecture! Let's give him a round of applause!" Professor Maple said as his students started applauding along with him. The applause grew to a roar, even a lone wolf whistle was heard.
"Thank you, thank you," Professor Rowan bowed for the students. As the applause died down, Professor Maple started to address the students as Professor Rowan packed the unused Leaf Stone in his briefcase, closed it, and closed the brass latches, locking the briefcase.
"Okay class, remember, I need a one page response to Professor Rowan's lecture. It needs to be double spaced with a header." Professor Maple told his class, who reacted with a series of groans. They thought today's lecture was supposed to be fun; not to mention a day off from weeks straight of homework.
"Reminds me of school back at home..." Ryan smiled as he thought. As he looked around the class, he saw the same slightly annoyed look on nearly everyone's faces due to the assignment. "Well, it's only a page; could've been worse for them, I think," Ryan thought. He noticed the only people who didn't groan and had indifferent reactions to the assignment were the boy and the girl with the white fisherman hat. "Why aren't they complaining? The kid, probably cause he's Professor Maple's aide, but her?" Ryan thought as he looked at the boy with the glasses and the girl with the white fisherman hat.
"Until tomorrow, class dismissed!" Professor Maple dismissed his class with a clap. The students groggily got up from their seats and proceeded to the door, not looking forward to doing their assignment.
"It definitely feels like college, even a bit like high school!" Ryan thought as he turned to Umbreon and Squirtle who, to Ryan's surprise, were still awake.
"Hey guys, how'd you hold up?" Ryan asked them, since he was mainly busy absorbing the content of the lecture.
"Fine." Squirtle and Umbreon nodded, since saying anything would end up confusing Ryan.
"I guess that means okay, huh?" Ryan knew their nod meant yes, but he tried to understand what Umbreon and Squirtle were saying. Their language's meaning still eluded him."I wish I could understand them... if only there was a way..." Ryan thought.
"Hey!" The boy with glasses got up from his seat and walked up to Ryan, waving his hand in front of Ryan's face, snapping Ryan out of his thought and turning his attention to him. The boy stood at around four feet and a half in height and had light brown hair that seemed to form a cup shape with a few rebel bangs in the front. The pair of glasses, Ryan now noticed, had a slightly thick black frame, most likely because they were meant for kids. The boy wore a pair of grey shorts, a red Tee shirt, sneakers with a mixed design of red and grey stripes, and a small identification card was clipped on his left pocket, with the boy's picture in it. The picture, generally as pictures turn out, had him smiling. The name on his identification card was Daniel Maple, unknown to Ryan.
"You still didn't tell me how you met Eevee!" Daniel pointed out to Ryan, now that nearly the entire class had left. Only the girl with the white fisherman hat remained at the front, next to Professor Maple and Professor Rowan, who seemed to be talking with her.
"Oh, I'll tell you," Ryan promised as another thought crossed his mind; what was this kid's name?
"I'm sorry, but what's your name?" Ryan asked Daniel as he adjusted his glasses and answered.
"My name's Daniel, but you can call me Dan," Daniel extended his small hand, prompting a handshake. Ryan connected his hand to do a handshake, careful not to be too firm on his handshake.
"Nice to meet you!" Ryan said to Daniel. Professor Rowan called out to them; the call seemed to echo a bit more than earlier due to the room's acoustics, and the lack of bodies in the room.
"Ryan, would you mind coming down here?" Professor Rowan asked him from the front of the lab. Ryan looked at the front, noticing Professor Rowan and Maple stood alongside the girl with the white fisherman hat.
"Well, I guess we'd better go," Ryan said to Umbreon, Eevee, Squirtle and Daniel, as Daniel nodded in agreement. Ryan got up from his seat and started down the stairs to the front. Daniel went ahead of Ryan, getting to the front before him and stood next to Professor Maple. The pokemon struggled a little bit; Squirtle's center of balance was thrown off each step he came down to. Eevee nearly tripped on a step, an Umbreon didn't have any trouble, due to his bigger body and longer legs.
Ryan and the pokemon came up to Professor Maple, Professor Rowan, Daniel, and the girl, who were all waiting for him. As Ryan came up he noticed a few things; Professor Maple was shorter than Rowan, but barely, so that meant he was approximately five feet and ten inches tall, meaning he was four inches taller than Ryan. Ryan also noticed the girl's height as well; she was almost as tall as he was, just an inch in difference, give or take. Along with the white fisherman hat, now Ryan noticed a pink Pokeball outline on the hat, the girl wore a red skirt that cut off midway of her thighs along with a light blue sleeveless shirt with white lining on the ends. She also sported long light blue socks with white and red accent sneakers and a yellow side-bag that seemed to have many pockets. After noting that, he noticed she had long light brown hair that went a little past her shoulders; it looked well maintained due to the straightness of the hair.
"Well, she is a girl, not saying anything, but... I wonder who she is? She looks older than the other students," Ryan thought, unconsciously noting certain features of the girl. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Professor Maple.
"So, this is the kid who's been causing a ruckus," Professor Maple poked in a joking tone.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Ryan apologized with a cheeky smile and turned to Professor Rowan. "Your lecture was great!"
"Thank you, young trainer," Professor Rowan thanked before Daniel cut in with an important piece of information.
"He's not a trainer!" Daniel quickly said, trying to correct Professor Rowan. Everyone, including the girl with the white fisherman hat, looked at Ryan with different levels of astonishment on their faces. Umbreon, Eevee, and Squirtle decided to sit back as the humans conversed.
"Really?" Professor Maple said. "But, then show me your Pokedex!" Ryan pulled the blue Pokedex out from his pocket and held it out in his hands for the circle of people to see. "That looks like the ones you give out to new trainers, Professor Rowan!" Professor Maple said as he examined it.
"Hmm..." Professor Rowan voiced out as he thought. This was quite a development, he thought in his head. Ryan, Professor Maple, Daniel, and the girl were looking at Professor Rowan, waiting for him to continue on with his thoughts. Something unexpected appeared, slowing Professor Rowan's train of thought.
"Hey, here it is! Told you, Ash!" A young female voice rang through the doorway. Everybody turned to the door to see where the sudden voice came from. A blue haired Dawn, with Piplup in her arms, seemed to be leading Ash along, who had Pikachu on his shoulder.
The two had spent a few minutes lost around the lab before noticing Professor Maple's students, who were leaving the lab. Ash and Dawn wondered where everyone had just came from, especially with textbooks and notebooks in their arms. Eventually, they found the same sign that pointed Ryan in the right direction, thanks to Dawn.
"Hi, Professor Rowan!" Ash greeted as he and Dawn walked up to the group. Professor Rowan was still in thought, or at least looked like it. Ryan decided to greet them for him.
"Ash! Dawn! Hey!" Ryan greeted back, nearly forgetting that they had said they would join him, but after getting Brock.
"Wait, speaking of Brock; where is he? I thought they went to get him?" Ryan thought as he tried to slyly look behind Ash and Dawn, but decided to stop as Dawn started talking.
"Did we miss it?" Dawn asked as she looked around at the empty lab room and the empty seats.
"Yeah," Ryan answered and visibly looked behind Ash and Dawn for Brock. "Where's Brock? I thought you guys went to go get him?" Ryan asked them with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, you see," Dawn began to explain the tale to Ryan as everybody began to listen in, even Professor Rowan, who was still thinking of the recent developments. Even thought the girl, Professor Maple, and Daniel had no clue who Brock was, they listened out of politeness and the fact they were waiting for Professor Rowan's thoughts. "We went back to the Pokemon Center and back to our room- he wasn't back yet, so Ash and I went to look for him." Ash continued the story for Dawn.
"Yeah, we went lookin' for him, and we thanks to Staraptor, we found him, except," Ash stopped in mid sentence.
"Hmm? Except...?" Ryan was wondering why Ash had stopped in mid sentence. What had happened to Brock to where Ash and Dawn wouldn't say much?
"When we found him, he was being... well, Brock!" Dawn finished for Ash.
"Huh?" Confusion showed on Professor Maple, Daniel, and the girl's face, even Ryan was a bit confused, until he thought about it for a quick second.
"What do they mean?" An image of what happened earlier with Brock and Nurse Joy popped into his head, clearing up Ryan's confusion.
"Did Brock-"Ash and Dawn nodded before he could finish out loud. Ryan couldn't help but pop a slight smirk on his head and laughed in his head at how much of a Casanova Brock could be; he had just met him too!
"He's back at our room with Croagunk; he'll be fine." Dawn told Ryan, who nodded at the information and then slightly cocked his head back to a small degree in surprise; they had left Brock alone with the "Casanova Killjoy"?
"Well, okay," Ryan had his doubts but decided to leave the issue alone. The looks of confusion eventually faded as Professor Maple looked at his mentor and asked him something, even though he still looked like he was in thought.
"Professor Rowan, pardon, but who are they?" Professor Maple asked him.
"I'm Ash, from Pallet Town!" Ash introduced himself to Professor Maple, to the girl and Daniel. "And this is my partner, Pikachu!" Ash pointed to Pikachu, who stood on his shoulder.
"Hi!" Pikachu waved as Ash introduced him.
"I'm Dawn, from Twinleaf Town!" Dawn stepped up and introduced herself as well. "And this is Piplup!" Dawn introduced as she looked down at her arms, where Piplup was.
"Hey!" Piplup greeted, as he raised a wing to wave.
"Pallet Town? That means you came from Kanto!" Professor Maple noted as Ash said his birth place. He wondered what someone from Kanto would be doing in Sinnoh.
"Yeah, I'm here to compete in the Sinnoh league!" Ash answered Professor Maple's curiosity.
"Cool!" Daniel cut in with awe. It had been a while since he had meet a tournament competing trainer, considering the last Sinnoh League was a couple of years ago. "How many badges do you have?" In response to Daniel's question, Ash pulled his badge case out and opened it.
"I've got seven; as soon as I win at the Sunyshore Gym, I'm going to the Sinnoh League!" Ash explained with fiery enthusiasm as he clenched his hand in front into a fist in excitement. However, Daniel seemed to lose his envy for a split second as Ash mentioned the Sunyshore Gym.
"But, hasn't the Sunyshore Gym-" Daniel recalled hearing tales of the fiercest gym leader in all of Sinnoh, who had yet to lose a single match to anyone! Also, Daniel recalled rumors about the gym leader and, simply put, his job security.
"Yes." Professor Rowan cut in suddenly, emerging from his thoughts."The Sunyshore Gym's leader is, at the moment, uninspired,"
"What do you mean?" Dawn asked, recalling similar descriptions from another situation.
"You will see when you get there."Professor Rowan simply said.
"Does that have to do with what Palmer said?" Ash asked as he recalled the Twinleaf Festival, wanting to know more.
"Palmer? Tower Tycoon Palmer?" Professor Maple asked with a gleam in his eye. Back in the day, as Professor Maple recalled, he had always wanted to try battling Palmer, but he never got the chance!
"Yeah, Ash almost beat his Rhyperior and he suggested Ash should go to the Sunyshore Gym!" Dawn explained. A series of small gasps escaped from the rest of the group, save for the girl, Ryan, and of course, Ash and Dawn. Ryan was confused.
"Who's Tower Tycoon Palmer?" Ryan asked as everyone looked at him. Everyone except for Ash and Dawn gave Ryan one of those looks that seemed to convey, "Are you serious?"
"You don't know who he is?" Daniel asked. Ryan shook his head.
"What rock have you been living under?" Professor Maple asked, amazed that someone actually didn;t know who Palmer was.
"Uh," Ryan muttered under the awkward situation he was placed in due to his question. Professor Rowan suddenly cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.
"As I was about to say, yes, your Pokedex is indeed one of the Sinnoh versions I give out to beginning trainers. However, I do not remember giving you one, even though you look older than a beginning trainer," Professor Rowan finally revealed his thoughts. He was recalling nearly every trainer he had helped start out, ever since the beginning of his career as a Pokemon Professor. Ryan just didn't seem familiar, at all.
"Well, that's true, I'm seventeen... and I got this from an old fortune teller back home," Ryan said, causing Professor Rowan to raise an eyebrow at the last part.
"Hmm... and what region are you from?" Professor Rowan was intrigued that a Sinnoh version of the Pokedex was given out in another part of the world. Little did he know, however, that wasn't the case.
"I'm from the United States," Ryan said, even though he knew they didn't know what it was, he figured he should say something.
"United States?" Professor Maple questioned, as this was the first time he had ever heard of this country. Ryan knew what was coming, and took a deep breath; this was going to be a long story.
"I guess I'd better explain," Ryan began to tell his tale as he took a seat on a clear spot on Professor Maple's desk.
"You see, I'm not exactly from around here," A questioning look appeared on everyone's face, except for Ash and Dawn, as they've heard Ryan's story before. It didn't stop them from listening once more. "Or anywhere in this world; at least, that's what I think."
"Go on," Professor Rowan was intrigued as he prepared to listen in to all of the details..
"I was with my childhood friends at the amusement park in our hometown, winding down after a week of..." Forty-five minutes passed as Ryan recounted his exploits and adventures up until the point of ending up in Arrowroot Town. He, on purpose, left out the part where he skipped a few roller coasters from his phobia. Umbreon and Eevee served as visual examples at certain parts of his tale, such as when Ryan got to the part about waking up to Eevee licking his face; she tried to do it again, to everyone's entertainment, but Ryan caught her before she licked his face clean. When Ryan finished up with the reason why he was in the library earlier, Professor Maple had one of those "aha!" moments slightly showing on his face once he knew why Ash, Dawn and Ryan were there earlier. He was expecting another reason as to why they were there, only known to him.
"Wow..." Daniel was amazed, as his face clearly expressed. He wasn't the only one; Professor Maple stood with his mouth wide open during his "aha!" moment and the girl's eyes widened in amazement.
"Hmm, so from what you have told me, you are from a world without pokemon, and this fortune teller sent you here?" Professor Rowan asked, unfazed by the oddity of a story Ryan had told him. He acted like it was everyday, casual nonsense! Ryan nodded in response to Professor Rowan's synopsis.
"I don't know why she sent me, but I thought I heard something before I blacked out; I can't remember exactly what it was," Ryan said as his mind jumped to faint images of the masked fortune teller waving at him as he fell into, what it seemed like at the time, an endless dark void. It was probably because his eyes were closed, Ryan reasoned.
"But more importantly, I am amazed the pokemon you met yesterday warmed up to you so quickly." Professor Rowan commented as he looked at; Eevee, who ended up on Ryan's right shoulder once more, Umbreon, who quietly sat and listened on his hind legs next to Ryan, and Squirtle, who crossed his arms, faced the opposite direction Ryan did. Ryan wore a sheepish look on his face as Squirtle popped into his head instantly. Professor Rowan was almost right, more specifically, he was two for three on his assumption. Ryan only hoped it would be three for three soon.
"Not only that, you even got Eevee to evolve into an Umbreon! Most trainers spend months, even years to gain their pokemon's trust!" Professor Maple commented, pointing out the oddity, but amazing quality.
"Is it that odd?" Ryan asked, amazed evolving in less than a day was outlandish. After all, Ryan recalled, he remembered instantly evolving his pokemon in his old game. However, he figured there was a world of difference between the game and the world he was stuck in.
"A little, of course, but it's amazing," Professor Maple said as his thoughts turned to his old friend and how long it took him to evolve. Ryan looked down at Umbreon, who was still quietly listening in on the conversation, and patted Umbreon on his head, who happily shifted around.
"Thanks..." Ryan smiled, a bit emotionally touched that Umbreon had decided to evolve. Squirtle, who still was facing the opposite way, looked back at Ryan and Umbreon, who both looked happy. Going against the feeling in his gut, Squirtle turned back around stubbornly.
"Hmph! I know I'm definitely not gonna evolve for him, of all people!" Squirtle thought, burying his gut's feeling.
"More importantly, if you really did come from another world, there must be more alternate dimensions out there!" Professor Maple concluded, snapping his fingers, in a "Eureka!" moment type of fashion.
"Hmm? There're more dimensions other than mine?" Ryan asked, wondering how Professor Maple came to his conclusion.
"Well, I can't say for sure, but since you're here, I can only assume there're more alternate worlds; this is a huge breakthrough! Wait right here!" Professor Maple told Ryan as he opened his lab's door and started to run out. "Be right back!" Professor Maple said as he slipped out of the others sights.
"Huh? Where's he going?" Dawn wondered aloud. Professor Rowan sighed as he looked at Ryan in a slight sympathetic look.
"Ryan, please accept my apologies before he comes back," He told Ryan, who gently let Eevee down from his shoulders, as it begged Ryan to let her down, via a sensation called aching pain.
"What do you mean?" Ryan asked as Professor Maple came rushing back through his door with an old thick notebook and a pen in his hands.
"Mind answering a few questions?" Professor Maple asked, with delight in his voice.
"I guess I don't mind," Ryan shrugged, not knowing what that meant.
"Okay, come on!" Professor Maple suddenly pulled Ryan out of the room with lightning quick speed and before Ryan could register what was going on, he disappeared from the lab. Even Squirtle, who turned as Professor Maple reappeared in his lab, had to take a couple of seconds to register what happened.
"Ryan!" Eevee called out as she almost ran after him.
"He'll be fine, sis," Umbreon said to Eevee as he stepped in front of her, stopping her from running. "Besides, he's only answering a few questions; how long could that take?" Umbreon innocently said, not knowing Professor Maple.
"Yeah, Umbreon's right!" Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder to join in on the conversation.
"Yeah!" Piplup jumped from Dawn's head and uncharacteristically landed on his feet with poise and grace, generally absent in Piplup's case.
"I'm guessing he'll be back in a few minutes' tops!" Piplup suggested.
"I don't think so," Squirtle thought as he remembered the thick notebook Professor Maple held as he dragged Ryan along with him.
"My apologies to you all, my former student is still hyper about his research," Professor Rowan offered his apologies to the people left behind; Ash, Dawn, Daniel and the girl with the white fisherman hat.
"What is Professor Maple even researching about?" Dawn asked, curious as to why Professor Maple seemed giddy as soon as he reached his conclusion about alternate dimensions.
"He's continuing a topic we took care of months ago; alternate dimensions." Professor Maple purposely mentioned the time frame of a few months ago, wanting Ash and Dawn to recall something.
Ash thought a bit, putting his hand at his chin. Pikachu repeated his trainer's actions before realizing at the same time Ash did, "Wait, isn't that around the same time we stopped Team Galactic?" Daniel's and the girl's eyes widened as they looked incredulously at Ash.
"Hold on, you're one of the ones who saved the world?" Daniel asked. It seemed like a day full of surprises, he thought.
"He is indeed, along with Dawn," Professor Rowan motioned to Dawn, who awkwardly waved as Daniel increased his incredulous look. "And their friend named Brock," Professor Rowan told Daniel.
"You mean, they're the trio from the legend?" Daniel asked Professor Rowan, in order to be sure. It wasn't everyday a person met a legend.
"Huh? Legend?" Ash and Dawn cluelessly asked at the same time. Daniel looked at Ash and Dawn, raising his suspicions, but looked back at Professor Rowan as he began to explain the legend to them.
"It's something that refers to the ancients and the Lake Guardians. The legend stated that Dialga and Palkia had escaped from their respective dimensions and clashed in our world. The massive energy from their attacks caused widespread damage across Sinnoh. The Lake Trio of Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie decided it was time to stop the destruction and each summoned a young child to their lake. The children and the Lake Trio combined managed to calm Dialga and Palkia down and send them back to their dimensions." Professor Maple told the legend in a tone suitable for storytelling.
"Wow, so what happened back at Spear Pillar and Mount Coronet; it happened before!" Dawn thought aloud as Ash nodded in agreement; this was the first they had even heard of a legend.
She referred to an incident where a group syndicate known as Team Galactic, led by Cyrus, tried to summon Dialga and Palkia and control them. Cyrus was stopped by Ash, Dawn, Brock and the Sinnoh champion, Cynthia, but not before a tear in the time space opened up, threatening to swallow the entire world. Ash, Dawn, and Brock; along with the Lake Guardians, repaired the tear and sent Dialga and Palkia back to their dimensions. Before the tear was sealed, Cyrus jumped in, proclaiming that world to be his, and disappeared into the void of space-time.
"I didn't know there was a legend!" Ash said.
"Neither did I, until a little bit after the Team Galactic incident. Professor Maple, phoned me about finding a closed off cavern near Mount Coronet; it was unraveled under the shaking during the incident," Professor Rowan explained as Ash, Dawn, Daniel, and the girl with the white fisherman hat were closely listening. Daniel recalled something.
"Oh! Big brother told me he found some ancient writing in the walls and a series of pictures etched in stone!" Daniel said as he recalled the memory. Professor Rowan carefully took mental note of what Daniel said; he had yet to talk with his former pupil yet about the subject of his visit, aside from the pokemon evolution lecture.
"Huh? Pictures? And Professor Maple's your brother?" Dawn asked as she pieced it together.
"Yep! He's my big brother!" Daniel said, adjusting his glasses.
"The picture you are referring to referred to the legend that was written below it," Professor Rowan said, referring to an Email discussion he had with Professor Maple prior to visiting.
"I'd love to see it sometime," Dawn said, picturing ancient, dusty ruins with ancient pokemon etchings in them.
"Right now, the area is still being researched by Professor Maple. He believes he found hints and clues of another closed off chamber, or so he told me a while ago," Professor Rowan said.
"Is that why you came to Arrowroot, professor?" Ash asked, reasoning the discovery was huge.
"Why, yes. I was also here to give a lecture to these fine young trainers in the making," Professor Rowan answered, looking at the girl, who smiled back.
"Were they all trainers?" Ash asked Professor Rowan. Daniel cleared his throat to cut in and answer.
"Nope, in fact; none of them are licensed trainers! Well, except for my cousin over here," Daniel pointed to the girl, who seemed to shift a bit nervously.
"I think you and Ash should battle!" Daniel turned and suggested to the girl, who now looked almost shocked at the mention of a battle.
"Yeah! That sounds great, right Pikachu?" Ash agreed and asked his partner standing on his shoulder.
"Yeah!" Pikachu raised an arm in agreement, already getting pumped for a battle.
"Maybe some other time," The girl was backing up slowly towards the door, as the others were paying attention to Ash, and bolted through the lab door.
"Hey, wait!" Ash said to no avail as the door closed. "What's up with her?" He thought aloud as he crossed his arms. It was just a pokemon battle, Ash reasoned.
"Man, what will it take? Come on, Leaf," Daniel worriedly thought as he crossed his arms and let out a puff.
"You're sure?" Professor Maple asked in a questioning tone as he eyed Ryan closely, like he was examining something under a magnifying glass.
"Yeah, I play it all the time for my school back at home," Ryan explained as Professor Maple continued to eye him.
"Hmm, interesting. An ancient sport is being played in a modern alternate world," Professor Maple thought aloud as he scribbled notes of what Ryan said on pages of his notebook. He was writing in his personal research log, reserved for oddities found during his career as a researcher. A part of his notebook contained information Professor Maple had found on alternate dimensions and the, in progress, calculation of the situation needed for a certain type of travel. Professor Maple originally reserved his notebook nowadays for slight quirks like differently colored pokemon since leads on alternate dimensions seemed to dry up after the Team Galactic incident, but Ryan's situation qualified for more than a simple quirk and sparked the research once more. Now Professor Maple had a window on, technically, an alien to his world.
Ryan looked around the room, which was Professor Maple's study next door to his lab room, from the plush seat he sat on, facing Professor Maple's desk. His study had a subtle color scheme of dark reds and grey accents on the edgings. The study had a wooden floor, with a decorative rug in the middle of the room that had many colors that matched the color scheme and Professor Maple's, presumably, wooden desk stood in the corner, facing the door leading out of the room. A bendable desk lamp, that was turned off, overlooked various sheets of papers were spread out on the desk, but in an orderly fashion, like they were being looked at carefully. Bookshelves lined the wall behind Professor Maple's desk, brimmed with various reference books on pokemon. Knickknacks were aplenty in the study, to the point where Ryan decided to stop looking for them. He turned back to Professor Maple, who was seated in his recliner chair behind his desk and finishing up the notes he took of Ryan's answers.
"Ancient? How is football ancient?" Ryan asked as knew in his world, football was a product of the twentieth century in America. How did the pokemon world have ancient roots to an American sport?
"According to artifacts my excavation team and I have found nearly a year ago, ancients' centuries ago wore padded equipment made to protect the head from, what speculation says, head injuries from ramming," Professor Maple told him about his findings.
"So, from what I've said, you think ancient people centuries ago in Sinnoh played football?" Ryan critically asked.
"Yeah!" Professor Maple snapped his fingers. "Well, I suppose I've asked you too many questions and," Professor Maple looked up at his orange Octillary wall clock that hung up on the wall, next to his personal desk.
"Yikes! They're still waiting back in the lab!" Professor Maple said, referring to Professor Rowan, Daniel, and the others.
"Yeah, I think we'd better get back," Ryan agreed, secretly relieved the "interrogation" was over. He and Professor Maple quickly got up from their seats and prepared to leave the study. Ryan opened the door without looking and said to Professor Maple, "Well, even though there were a lot of-" A late warning from Professor Maple didn't stop Ryan from colliding with someone and knocking them both down, making a "thud" noise.
"Ow," Ryan looked at the other person as he gathered himself. He recognized it was the girl wearing the white fisherman hat from earlier, who looked a bit flustered.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" The girl quickly apologized.
"No, it's my fault," Ryan admitted as he got up to his feet and helped the girl up to her feet.
"Ryan, Le- oh!" Professor Maple stopped talking suddenly, so Ryan turned around to see why, only to find Professor Maple clenching his mouth shut with both of his hands.
"Sorry, almost forgot!" Professor Maple muffled through his hands. The words were muffled, making it hard to understand, but the girl got the message.
"Huh?" Ryan was a tad confused at what Professor Maple apologized for. He looked at the girl, who seemed to have a slight pink hue to her face, but he figured it was his imagination; although she did just run into him.
"It's alright, Matt." The girl reassured through the faint pink on her cheeks, a little more flustered that Professor Maple nearly said something she didn't want said out loud in front of a stranger.
"Phew! Anyways, you wanted to see me? I mean, it looks like it, from the way you bumped into Ryan here," Professor Maple said in a humorous tone of voice.
"I do," The girl pulled Professor Maple aside, away from Ryan, and started talking in a hushed whisper.
"Daniel tried setting up a battle between me and the kid named Ash," The girl explained in a whisper while Professor Maple looked at her and then suddenly smirked, to the girl's surprise.
"What?" The girl asked, wondering what Professor Maple was thinking about.
"Well, I think he may be right. It's probably, no, definitely, time for you to battle again!" Professor Maple declared in a louder whisper. The girl seemed to almost flinch from the mention of battling like earlier, like someone had put ice on her back.
"B-but-" The girl began to object instantly.
"No buts!" Professor Maple raised a finger and waved it back and forth and then continued talking back and forth. Professor Maple used body motions and hand signals while he talked to the girl. Ryan was standing near the door, looking at the two of them whisper back and forth.
"I wonder what they're talking about? Wait a sec, I can hear what they're saying!" Ryan felt a little mischievous for eavesdropping, but his curiosity got the better of him.
"I know you've lost the semifinals in Kanto, and the quarterfinals in Johto, but you have to get over them!" Professor Maple whispered a bit harshly to the girl, who kept silent with a lost look gleaming in her eyes.
"Not that look again," Professor Maple worriedly thought as he remembered something about his cousin."Maybe it is a little soon, especially with her mom,"
"Leaf, I'm not going to push you or anything, it's just," The girl named Leaf raised a hand to stop Professor Maple in mid sentence.
"It's alright. I'm glad you're concerned. I really am," She turned around to leave, a bit disappointed. "I'll be in my room." Leaf said as she turned, went over to the door leading to the foyer, while passing Ryan, opened it and took one step out of the study when she heard Ryan say something.
"Her name is Leaf?" Ryan thought aloud without thinking as Leaf jumped suddenly, turned around, ran up to Ryan, turned him to face her and gripped him by the shoulders. Ryan was still registering what was happening as Leaf asked him in a frantic tone,
"How did you know?" Leaf turned to Professor Maple, who let out a small yelp. "Did you tell him?" Professor Maple waved his hands in front of him back and forth, like he was signaling "mercy!".
"No! Remember? I shushed myself before I said anything, Leaf! Oops," Professor Maple bit hit lip as he let Leaf's name slip out. Leaf gave him a look and turned her attention back to Ryan, staring him down, waiting for an answer. Ryan felt compelled to confess to his eavesdropping earlier.
"I sort of eavesdropped on your conversation over there; whoa!" Leaf suddenly grabbed Ryan and started shaking him back and forth, with his head bobbing.
"You can't tell anybody! You can't!" Leaf frantically told him, not paying attention to how hard he was shaking Ryan.
"Whoa! What's- the- big – deal?" Ryan managed to say as Leaf shook him. He wondered how Leaf could shake him back and forth like she did as he dizzier; was she a secret bodybuilder or something?
"Leaf, I think you'd better stop!" Professor Maple warned as he noticed a dazed look appearing on Ryan's face. Leaf looked at Ryan's face, seeing the dizzy look and immediately stopped shaking Ryan , letting go of him. A stronger blush appeared on her face as she realized her rash action.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Leaf apologized as she put her hands behind her and dipped her head slightly as she felt the hot blush on her cheeks. Ryan had no idea how to respond; he found out her name and she shook him over and over again until he was dizzy. It was like those roller coasters back home, Ryan connected in his head. Then again, thinking in an understanding way, Ryan reasoned that there may be a story behind Leaf's behavior; after all, this wasn't the first time someone overreacted in Ryan's life.
"I-it's alright." Ryan managed to say while recovering from dizziness. He shook his head as soon as everything straightened out.
"This kinda reminds me of when I found out Carter was afraid of heights and when I found out he had feelings for Taylor," Ryan laughed a bit in his head at the memory, which resulted in a small chuckle that was audible in the would be silent room, if it wasn't for the ticking of the Octillary analog clock.
"Huh?" Ryan looked at Leaf, whose blush had disappeared and she even looked appalled.
"Why does everybody have to laugh at my name?" Leaf thought aloud as Ryan jerked back a bit in shock; she had thought he was laughing at her!
"Oh, no! I was laughing about my friends back at home!" Ryan waved his hands back and forth in panic, wanting to settle the misunderstanding.
"Yeah, sure," Leaf said with sarcasm, as she wasn't convinced.
"I'm serious!" Ryan said, appalled that Leaf didn't believe him. Leaf turned away in a huff, leaving Ryan lost on what to do.
"Now now children," Professor Maple said in amusement at the developing scene before he started flinching at two approaching figures that turned on him.
"We're not kids!" Ryan and Leaf both shouted in objection, in stereo. They both looked at each other, realizing they both had spoken at the same time, and that they both were offended by Professor Maple's remark.
"Uh huh, sure," Professor Maple decided to save his jokes for later as he looked at Ryan and Leaf in front of him.
"Huh? You're not a kid?" Ryan suddenly asked Leaf. Now it was Ryan's turn to flinch in fear as Leaf huffed.
"I'm eighteen! Do I even look like a kid?" Ryan prepared for the worst, but Leaf only turned in a huff and stormed out the door, slamming it and disappearing from sight.
"Yikes." Ryan thought, realizing it could've been worse.
"Well," Professor Maple began as he walked up to Ryan, who was still thinking. "Not the best way to meet someone, but that was my cousin Leaf," Professor Maple subtly added a tone of humor to his talk.
"Yeah, I got the memo when she flipped," Ryan said his thought aloud, earning a smirk from Professor Maple. "Speaking of which, why did she? And what was she talking to you about?" Ryan asked as Professor Maple sighed.
"Her name? That's kind of easy to figure out," Professor Maple implied, which Ryan understood. He had heard of weirder names before, though. There had to be more, Ryan thought. "And she doesn't want to battle," Professor Maple continued on.
"Hmm?" Ryan let out a sound of curiosity. "What do you mean?" Ryan asked, wanting to know more.
"My little brother suggested a battle between Leaf and your friend Ash," Professor Maple told Ryan.
"Who's your little brother?" Ryan asked Professor Maple, but then his light bulb clicked in his mind as he recalled something Daniel stuttered about earlier during the lecture. It had sounded like he said the word, "big". "Is Daniel your brother?" Ryan asked as Professor Maple nodded.
"Leaf apparently declined the offer to battle and came in here to talk to me," Professor Maple continued on.
"But, what's the big deal? I mean, I guess trainers don't have to battle everything they see, right?" Ryan said as a slight frown emerged onto Professor Maple's face.
"If only that were the case," Professor Maple seemed to take a dramatic pause. "You see, I can't say too much, but, as far as I know, Leaf is one of the best trainers out there," Ryan nodded, waiting for Maple to continue.
"She even came out a champion within a tournament in the Sevvi Islands, and came in fourth in the Kanto tournament." Professor Maple explained. Ryan had no idea where Sevvi was, but where ever it was, Leaf was the champion of that place!
"Really? She's that strong?" Ryan recalled the flushed girl huffing out the door earlier and had a hard time believing Professor Maple.
"Believe me. I was a prime trainer a few years back when she first started her journey. We battled a year afterwards, and she whooped me,"
"Well, one year can make a difference," Ryan noted.
"Yeah, but, what if the other trainer had nearly five years of experience?" Professor Maple said, waiting for a shocked look on Ryan's face.
"Say what?" Ryan's eyes widened, meeting Professor Maple's criteria for a shocked look.
"Yeah, that's what I thought too," Professor Maple said.
"Wow, she could probably kick anybody's butt if she wanted to, from what you've said," Ryan said, amazed at Leaf's strength as a Pokemon Trainer. Professor Maple wore only a faded frown on his face.
"She could have," Professor Maple said through a slightly dampened tone of voice.
"Could have?" Ryan wondered.
"You see, Leaf... lost her will to battle." Professor Maple explained in a somber tone, knowing her full history, and as he recalled it, Professor Maple felt slightly more depressed.
"Her will to battle?" Ryan was confused.
"Like I said, it's a long story." Professor Maple finished.
"Hmm… now I'm curious." Ryan thought as he turned around to open the door.
"Wait, where're you going?" Professor Maple asked Ryan as he stepped out the door..
"Well, I'm going to ask Leaf if I could, well, battle her." Ryan answered. A silent, awkward tension suddenly emerged and lasted for a few seconds. Ryan wondered if he had possibly crossed the line, and prepared to apologize, when Professor Maple started to laugh hysterically.
"Hey! What's so funny?" Ryan asked, feeling slightly offended.
"You're joking, right? I mean, after what I just said," Professor Maple said through slight chuckles after he stopped his major laughing.
"No, I'm not," Ryan said with confidence.
"Well, then your idea's a joke then! She's not going to battle you! Besides, you've just met your pokemon." Professor Maple said simply, trying to rip Ryan's idea apart. A determined look on Ryan's face proved otherwise in Professor Maple's opinion; however, it masked Ryan's true thoughts.
"He's right! I mean, I'm still trying to remember the basics of battling! And Squirtle? Don't get me started," Ryan thought as he was about to dismiss his own idea.
"Well," Professor Maple scanned Ryan's face, which wore the determined look like a poker face, except, after regrouping his thoughts, Ryan emotionally backed up his expression.
"Haven't seen a look like that since…" Professor Maple recalled a certain young trainer he had seen years ago.
"Tell you what. Why don't you battle me?" Ryan raised his eyebrow at Professor Maple's suggestion.
"I wanna see what you've got; so, yes? Or are you chicken?" Professor Maple taunted.
"Fine, I'll battle you!" Ryan said with a smirk, falling for the taunt.
"This kid made an Eevee evolve to an Umbreon; and after a day! My Eevee evolved after nearly two years... what does this kid have? I'm gonna find out. Maybe Leaf will watch this? It's a long shot, but," Professor Maple thought with his hand on his did Ryan and Professor Maple know, Leaf was hidden outside of the study door, behind a potted tree that was meant for decoration in the foyer. The pot was big enough to barely hide Leaf completely.
"They're gonna battle?" Leaf slowly popped her head from the side of the pot, keeping out of sight. "What's Matt up to?"
"Well, then, meet me outside on the Lab's battle arena in one hour!" Professor Maple declared.
"Right," Ryan nodded and turned to leave.
"Oh no! He's gonna see me!" Leaf ducked out of sight before Ryan spotted her.
"Oh, one more thing," Professor Maple asked as he remembered something. "You can have your friends come along to watch. And could you ask Professor Rowan to come back to my office?"
"Sure," Ryan turned to leave through the study's door, walking out and failing to notice Leaf, who hid behind the pot. Meanwhile, inside in his study, Professor Maple reached into his white lab coat pocket and pulled out a Pokeball, looking at it with a nostalgic look in his eyes.
"Well, old buddy, let's see if we still have it," Professor Maple thought as he turned and looked at a framed photo behind his desk of a younger version of him, and a younger version of Leaf, both waving the peace sign, standing in front of a gang of pokemon. A light purple cat-like creature hopped over the younger Professor Maple's head.