Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.

Note: I am English, so some of the wordings, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.

Chapter Forty-Four: T(h)ree Professors

"You must get over it."

"I can't."

"But you must!"

"I said I can't!

Archer sighed. "I understand how you feel after the events at Pokémon Tower, but it's nothing compared to the debacle at Mt. Moon."

Petrel took a long drag from his cigarette. "A failure is a failure. I failed. I failed Team Rocket. I failed myself. I failed Giovanni. I've gone the same way as Proton."

"No, you haven't," Archer said, his silky-smooth voice quelling the irritation that sought to make itself known to his comrade. "Proton went to Mt. Moon and was defeated by children and the weak wild Pokémon, ending the operation much sooner than we would've liked. You led this operation, almost filling our quota for skulls, and were only undone by supernatural anomalies. If it wasn't for that, you would've still had your squad, none of your team fainted, and the boy wouldn't have stood a chance."

Another suck of the cigarette. "But that look on Giovanni's face…"

"He was disappointed, of course he was. Aren't we all allowed to be disappointed if something goes against our desires? But he understands. We all do. And Ariana and Biruritchi – well, maybe not Biruritchi since I believe he is certifiably insane – would say the same thing."

Petrel stubbed out his cigarette on the edge of the building, watching the passing cars speed below his dangling feet, breathing in the city air he craved, intermingling with the nicotine that clung to his uniform.

"I'm gonna kill that kid," Petrel muttered.

"That's reasonable."

"The other kid I saw when I was climbing down the tower too. He goes the same way."

"Less Rattata to trip us up."

Petrel got to his feet, standing on the building's edge, toes hanging off it. He stretched out his arms and allowed the noise and smog to swirl around him, breathing it in, ingesting it, becoming one with the city.

Archer left him to his own devices. Now he could fully focus once more on ensuring Team Rocket's next operations would not suffer any more setbacks.

There could not be any.

Now, Celadon – and Giovanni – beckoned him.

o~o~o~o~o

"The university's in central Celadon, huh?" Red said as he and Pikachu sat on the Celadon Tram, watching as the rest of the city flew by. To be honest, there was no need to use the tram if one was not in a hurry, but Red had never ridden one before. It was simply another experience for him to enjoy. "I thought it was going to be up north near the Department Store."

A voice came over the speaker, announcing that they were about to arrive at their stop and for everyone to doublecheck they had their belongings, children, and Pokémon. The tram slowed before stopping entirely. A bell rang and the voice spoke again, "We have arrived at Central Celadon Station. Please disembark in an orderly fashion."

"Let's go, Pikachu," Red said, tightening the straps of his rucksack. It was odd that he had not noticed it before, but his rucksack seemed to be getting lighter over the course of his journey, but that may have been in part due to his adventure making him physically stronger. Or maybe he had a hole in his rucksack and everything had been dropping out of it without his notice. One or the other.

They hopped off the tram and pushed their way through the throngs of people who were either getting on or disembarking.

"A lot of people," Red mumbled, shivering. Now that he knew Team Rocket were menacing Celadon too, he could not help but feel rather unprotected, as though the syndicate had eyes on him at all times, perhaps even amongst the busy crowd. "Pikachu, hop on my shoulder. I don't want to lose you."

It was always nice when Pikachu did as Red asked, which he did now, although that may have been more due to common sense than anything his Trainer said.

"Where do we go now?" Red wondered aloud as he headed down the street, cutting through the hustle and bustle of Celadon life. "Do you see a map anywhere, Pikachu? Or do you think we should ask someone for directions?"

Pikachu yawned, instead choosing to watch a Fearow fly overhead.

"I'm pretty sure it said the Central Station was near the university," Red went on. "I guess it makes sense for the students who don't stay on – erm, what was that word again? – campus! Yeah, if they don't live on campus, then they would need an easy way to reach the university. Does that logic make sense?"

Pikachu scratched his ear, staring at a building that seemed to reach into the sky. Well, not anywhere near, but it was still rather an impressive construction. People and Pokémon filed in carrying bookbags and discussing things that included hideously boring words like 'tests' and 'lectures'. The people that is, not the Pokémon.

"What are you looking at…" Red began to say before he read what was written across a sign in front of the building's grounds:

CELADON UNIVERSITY

Cognitionis apud Flore

Red's mouth formed an o-shape, which did look quite comical if you asked Pikachu. "Well, that search didn't take long, did it?"

A tad tentative, Red merged with the crowd and followed them into the building.

Professor Oak was definitely here, right? He said so (even if Red did mishear) and Daisy did too, and there were precious few people Red trusted more than her. But maybe he should have called ahead from Celadon Gym? Anyone one of the young women there would have been glad to help judging by how warmly they welcomed him into their abode. Well, it was too late for that, so his only hope was to wander into the professor himself or ask a member of staff for help and pray they did not throw him out onto the pavement.

"Excuse me, young man? May I help you?"

Parting through the flow of students was a man with tousled grey hair that did not hide his true age of around the mid to late thirties. His attire was quite strange if you asked Red, wearing a white lab coat over what appeared to be an outdoorsy kit, something more akin to sports and other physical activities.

"Oh, er, yeah," Red said. "Sorry, I'm here to see Professor Oak."

"Is he expecting you?"

"No, but I don't think he'll turn me away. I'm one of the Trainers on his Pokédex quest, you see."

The man snapped his fingers, which did not go so well considering he was wearing black sporting gloves. "Ah, you must be Red. Yes, Professor Oak has mentioned you many times. And word is amongst the Gym Leaders is that you've impressed in your Gym Challenge so far. Pleased to me you."

Red's face took on a shade of re… crimson, it took on a shade of crimson. "Likewise. And yeah, Misty said something like that. I'm just glad that my team and I are proving ourselves."

"You definitely are," the man said warmly. "You know, Professor Oak's got a good eye for potential, whether that's for battles, research, you name it. I should know, he was my mentor and because of him I'm where I am today. I am Professor Willow."

"And I'm Red and… oh wait, you already know who I am. Never mind."

Professor Willow let out a burst of laughter. "Come on, Red, I'll take you to Professor Oak. He should be about to talk to your colleague, Leaf, right about now. Someone else will probably arrive and sit in too."

"What?" Red shouted, almost causing Pikachu to fall off his shoulders. "Leaf's here?"

"Yes. Professor Oak asked her to come straight in from Cinnabar. As a matter of fact, she arrived here not a few minutes ago. I got a call over the radio that she flew her Fearow to the top of the university."

"Wow," Red said. "I was not expecting to see her here." He beamed. "Right, lead on, professor."

o~o~o~o~o

After wandering the expansive university halls with Professor Willow, heading up staircase after staircase, listening in on some of the lectures taking place, the duo finally arrived at a door, wooden and ornately hewn, smelling of antiquity and knowledge.

"After you," Professor Willow said, pulling the door open.

What greeted Red was a spacious room filled with tables, computers, and bookcases filled with, you guessed it, books! But that was all Red caught sight of before someone barrelled into him, squealing excitedly.

"Red!" the squealer said, their hair tickling his nose. "What are you doing here? I can't believe you're here!"

"Hi, Leaf," Red said, returning her hug with a big one of his own before they separated, taking the other in. "I'm here because Daisy said I should come. I thought 'why not?' because I was in Celadon to battle Erika anyway. It's not out of my way."

"Well, it's great to see you," Leaf said, her face glowing. "You wouldn't believe what I've had to go through since we last met."

"Same here," Red said. "Looks like we've got a bunch of stories to tell each other."

Eevee bounded up to Pikachu and tried to nuzzle him; Pikachu shoved her away.

Someone cleared their throat. The children looked up. Good ol' Professor Oak was sat at one of the tables, dark and varnished, with a now seated Professor Willow and another gentleman with a grey moustache, wearing a waistcoat and tie as opposed to the other two's lab coats who strode in after them.

"This is a surprise," Oak said, smiling at his assistants. "No, not a surprise since Daisy informed me that you would be showing up, Red, but glad to see you in person all the same. Hmm, as a matter of fact, I've not seen either of you or Blue in person since you all left on your journeys. Oh, how it only seems like it happened yesterday."

Oak beckoned them nearer. "Anyway, these gentlemen here are my colleagues in the scientific community." He gestured to Willow. "This is Professor Willow ("Already met him," Red whispered smugly) and he specialises in Pokémon habitats and distribution, much like Hoenn's resident professor."

Willow gave them a wave.

"And this here," Oak went on, inclining his head at the moustachioed man, "is Professor Rowan, the resident professor of the Sinnoh region and he –"

"Yes, yes, yes, Oak," Rowan said, silencing his colleague. "Thank you for the introduction, but I can take it from here." He cleared his throat and the two Kanto Pokédex users stiffened under his steely gaze. "As Oak said, I am Rowan. My specialised field is Pokémon evolution, and I am currently here in Kanto furthering my studies. A pleasure to meet you."

Red and Leaf mumbled 'likewise', unsure of what to make of this new professor.

"Well, then," Oak said, clapping his hands together. "Now that's all sorted, I believe it is time for young Leaf here to demonstrate a couple of her new captures before I take the opportunity to rate your Pokédexes."

Red tried to slink away. Leaf grabbed a fistful of his jacket with a Kingler-like grip.

The five moved to an open area of the room, where the tables were all pushed to the side. "I already prepared for you," Oak explained.

"What kind of Pokémon did you capture?" Red mumbled to Leaf.

"Just wait and see."

"But that'll take forever!"

Leaf rolled her eyes.

The three professors stood off to the side, watching in anticipation as she took out three Poké Balls. "I need this one to help make things easier," Leaf said, answering their questioning stares.

She tossed the Poké Balls into the air.

The pink blob that was Ditto appeared first, followed by Omanyte, who immediately squealed at the sight of the strange people and ran to his adopted sibling, where the Normal-type used Transform in the blink of an eye and became a second Omanyte. Omantye's squeals of trepidation turned into coos of contentment.

But while that happened, Aerodactyl glared at everyone before him, standing proudly in the centre of the room, a soft growl emanating from deep within his throat.

The professors were struck dumb by a sight none of them scarcely believed they would ever witness in their lives.

"Omanyte…" Willow whispered.

"Aerodactyl…" Rowan mumbled.

"Right before our very eyes." Oak took a step forward, keeping eye contact with a very suspicious Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl's growl deepened.

"Hey, be nice, Aerodactyl," Leaf said sternly.

The dual Rock and Flying-type ceased its growling and stared at his Trainer with wide eyes. He whimpered instead.

The three professors and Red watched on with dropped jaws.

"You already have it under control?" Oak asked.

"A bit," Leaf admitted, massaging the reptile's chest. "He hasn't had the chance to be in a battle so far, and he doesn't know how to fly yet, so I'm not yet sure if he'll fully listen to me in those cases. Still, I haven't had a disobedient Pokémon yet and he seems to like me so far."

As if to confirm that fact, Aerodactyl licked her face.

Thanks to Leaf's soothing words, Aerodactyl permitted the professors to venture forth and study him, two of the three still a bit cautious; Rowan analysed the Fossil Pokémon without so much as a single thought that the creature could easily bite his head off.

Red and Pikachu, meanwhile, watched Omanyte play with his clone, opting to give the professors more time with Aerodactyl.

"It moves weirdly," Red said. "What's it like in battle?"

"I haven't used him in battle yet either," Leaf said. "I've just been working on getting him used to everyone and everything. Ditto helps a lot." She nudged Red playfully in the ribs. "Hey, do you recognise the shape of the shell?"

"Er… no. Should I?"

"Yes! Omanyte came from the Helix Fossil you gave me. What, did you not look at it after you found it?"

"Not really. Almost immediately after I picked it up, I had a battle with that Mitsuharu guy I told you about and the whole Team Rocket stupidness happened. Then I forgot all about it until Nugget Bridge. Why? Is her shell the same shape as the Helix Fossil?"

"His shell is the Helix Fossil," Leaf said.

"Whoa," Red said. He recorded the two Fossil Pokémons' data into his Pokédex. "It's part Water-type? Man, I've been trying to get a Water-type for ages."

"We could trade," Leaf offered.

"Nah," Red said with an immediate shake of his head. "I can't imagine trading away any of my Pokémon. Besides, you said he needs Ditto to help him along. I don't have a Ditto."

After the professors finished studying Aerodactyl, they moved on to Omanyte, who hissed at them and tried to blast them with Water Gun, only to be scolded by Leaf and Ditto. Thankfully, with Ditto close to him, he was less volatile after that.

"Remarkable," Oak said. "Simply remarkable."

"Agreed," Rowan said. "Science has come a long way. And with more advanced excavation technology, more Fossils should be, theoretically, easier to come by. Perhaps, in the future, Fossil Pokémon will become a staple to Trainers." He strode over to Aerodactyl, who snarled at him. "Oh, hush up," Rowan told him gruffly and, to everybody's surprise, Aerodactyl, either out of shock or wariness, stopped snarling. "Hmm, Aerodactyl looks a little like a Charizard. I wonder if they are ancestors to the Charmander family, much like how palaeontologists in Unova are convinced the remains of a turtle Pokémon found there could be the ancestor of the likes of Squirtle, Shuckle, and Turtwig."

"I would also like to see Fossil Pokémon return to the world," Willow said. "If done with great care, they could even be released into the wild one day and not to disrupt the ecological balance of the planet. However, that would no doubt be generations away."

The professors talked and talked about the Fossils for another hour or so until Oak's heavy eyebrows climbed his forehead. "It appears time is getting away from us. Red, Leaf, would you mind me rating your Pokédexes now? I am quite curious to see how far along you two have come."

Red and Leaf offered him their Pokédexes, with different reasons of reluctance. Red felt Leaf's looked more substantial than his; Leaf could practically hear the malicious sounds from her own.

Oak beamed as he analysed Leaf's Pokédex. "Aha, this is coming along nicely. You've captured a few more Pokémon since I last evaluated it. But you haven't captured an Electric-type yet. However, you've made up for that with an unexpected capture in Baltoy and, oh, quite a number of Pokémon seen that are not from Kanto. And, of course, that Mew sighting."

Red and Willow backed into the bookshelves, mouths agape. Rowan, on the other hand, merely raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Mew?" the moustachioed man said.

"Mew?" Red and Willow said, their voices high, their faces pictures of hilariousness.

"Er, yeah," Leaf said. "Mew saved me but vanished just as quickly as it came. Er… Professor Oak, there's nothing wrong with my Pokédex, is there?"

Oak furrowed his eyebrows. "No. Like last time, your Pokédex is in perfect working order. Good job."

"Er… thank you," Leaf said as he handed it back to her.

Oak was less pleased with Red. "Not good, not good at all. However, I will say that most of the Pokémon you own have not yet been captured by either Leaf or Blue. Charmeleon, Pikachu, Clefairy…"

Oak froze. Red's Pokédex dropped his grasp, fall cushioned by the carpet.

"Oak?" Rowan said.

"Professor?" Willow said, visage lined with concern.

But Oak might have had Soundproof for all he heard. He picked up the Pokédex again, stared hard at it, and frowned. Without another word, he rushed to one of the bookshelves and scoured them, mumbling under his breath as he scanned the titles, before following that up with a loud 'Aha!' which made Omanyte squirm and got him a glare from Aerodactyl. He returned with a heavy tome which he slammed onto the table. Wordlessly, he passed Red's Pokédex to Rowan, who then passed it on to Willow. Rowan frowned, while Willow gasped.

Leaf turned to Red, seeking an explanation; Red shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"Red," Oak said, finally. "That other Pokémon you've captured, do you know what it is?"

"Do you mean the metal-looking one?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I call it Lo. I have no clue what it is because the Pokédex couldn't tell me, but I think it still recorded it, like it's picture and weight and height. I don't even know what type it is, but I think it's a Steel-type, maybe Steel and Electric."

"And… do you have it on you now?"

"Yeah! Do you want to meet it?"

"That would be lovely."

Lo came out from its Poké Ball, blinking in the light (as much as something without eyes could blink). It scurried over to Red and hugged his ankle.

"Aww, it's adorable!" Leaf squealed.

"No, it can't be," Willow breathed.

"I don't believe this," Rowan said. "But it's there, plain to see."

"Um," Red said. "What are you guys talking about? It's just Lo."

Oak beckoned to Red and Leaf. "Would you two please come over here? It would be better for you both to see this for yourself."

Red and Leaf did as they were asked, sidling up either side of the professor.

"Have a quick look at this," he said.

They did. And on the page that Oak had opened to was a painting of a Pokémon that looked very familiar. More than familiar. It was Lo. Or, more accurately, Lo's species. In the picture, there were a whole heap of them gathered around a large box.

"Why… why is Lo inside this book?" Red asked dimly.

"You should read it," Leaf said, doing so herself. "Because it seems as if Lo is a Pokémon called Meltan. It's a… it's… oh my." Leaf clasped her hands to her mouth. "This can't be true. No way. Meltan is a Mystical Pokémon!"

"What!" Red shouted, scouring the passages in the book, realising nothing made sense, and reading it again slower. It was true. "Lo… Lo's a Meltan? Lo's a Mythical Pokémon? Nah, I don't believe that."

"It's written right there," Leaf said, prodding the page.

"No, I get that," Red said. "But aren't Mythicals and Legendaries said to be super powerful? Lo isn't that strong. We've had a few battles, but it hasn't run through the other Pokémon, you know, one hit K.O-ing them."

"It's there in black and white, Red," Oak said. "Lo is a Meltan. But what I don't understand is where you captured it. I can't fathom how you even came across it. Could you please explain the events that led up to its capture?"

With no reason to hide anything from Oak, Leaf, and the two other professors, Red told them everything. He told them of finding Lo, of the Mystery Box, of Team Rocket who had apparently taken his friends and family, of Lorelei dropping in to send them packing, of her recommending him to make Lo a part of his squad. He ended it by telling everyone of his promise to rescue Lo's friends and family if he could.

The professors sat in solemn silence, visages rigid and stony. Leaf's hands were balled into fists, her furious blue eyes burning holes through the imaginary Rockets that stood before her.

"You had to deal with them again?" Leaf said, the them coming across like she was talking about something unpleasant at the bottom of her shoe.

"Yeah," Red said, finding himself staring at the book instead of Leaf, trying to discern the picture of another creature on the next page, a massive metallic monster. "They know who I am, which sucks, but as long as they don't touch my mum, then I'll call that a win." He groaned and arched his neck. "I just wish Lorelei was there when we had to face them at Pokémon Tower. Still, I suppose Charmeleon evolving against that Rocket Executive was the only good thing that happened."

Leaf reached over and grabbed Red's wrist, her fingers digging into it.

"You faced them again?" she said, deathly quiet.

"Er, yeah," Red said, wincing. "Luckily for us, Blue arrived to help out. We battled earlier and… and… urgh… Leaf, you're hurting me. Leaf? Leaf!"

Leaf started and released Red's wrist. "Sorry, Red," she said. "I just… I didn't realise you had gone through all this. And now Blue's involved too?"

"Did you know this, Oak?" Rowan asked, his stare as hard as steel.

"I didn't," Oak said, sounding far away. "Blue took a stand against Team Rocket too?"

"Yeah. He really came through for us."

Oak's eyes lit up and his voice and body movements gained renewed energy. "He honestly did? I would not have expected that of him. It is amazing how well you children are doing, fighting back against the evil that is Team Rocket! It is simply inspirational! If we had more people willing to –"

Rowan cleared his throat, scowling at Oak, who took the hint. "But I'm glad you are all safe. I must talk to Blue about this when I get the chance." He drummed his fingers on the table. "Well, this has been rather enlightening, hasn't it? Ancient Pokémon and a Mythical. Now, I must ask you both a big favour – I know, Leaf, your favour was coming to Celadon to show us your Aerodactyl and Omanyte – and this is for you to stay in Celadon, at least for a little while. I'm sure Rowan and Willow would agree that we would like more time to study Aerodactyl and Omanyte, and I feel it is pivotal to study Meltan while we can. After all, how many can say they've encountered a Mythical, let alone examined it? Well, apart from Leaf, that is. Now, what do you say?"

"Yeah, I can do that," Red said. "It'll help me learn more about Lo, and I've got to battle Erika anyway, so I could use the time to train." He tried to snap his fingers but realised he didn't know how. "Oh, Leaf, by the way, Evan is here in Celadon, and he's got new moves for Pikachu and Eevee! Exciting, right?"

"Is he?" Leaf said. "Well, I suppose I can stay so Eevee can learn those moves, and I guess Tomo can wait a bit longer. Besides, didn't you say Team Rocket is here in Celadon too?" she asked Red. "You're going to need someone to protect you." She winked at him.

"You joke," Red said, "but having you around would make me feel safer. And you've got way more Pokémon than me, so it's like you've got an army on you."

"I guess you could look at it like that," Leaf said. "Especially with the Pokémon Box."

"What's a Pokémon Box?"

"I already explained it to you."

"When?"

"In Vermilion?"

"Did you?"

"Yes. When we were waiting for Mina's parents."

"Oh. To be fair, it was hard to listen to anything then with all the people and Pokémon everywhere."

"So you didn't hear a thing I said about the Pokémon Box?"

"No. Wait, I think Blue said something about it though. He mentioned throwing his Raticate into it. What the heck is a Pokémon Box, then?"

And so, before the day was done, Leaf quickly elucidated to Red about the Pokémon Box, an artificial world Pokémon were sent to when their Trainer had already filled their quota of six party members on their person. It was a world, Leaf explained, that matches real life, with forests and rivers and volcanos and crags, places that all kinds of Pokémon would be comfortable living in. It was a world that the Pokémon of different Trainers could interact in, doing whatever they wanted to their heart's content until their Trainer called upon them, eating the food the world created, as nutritious and tasty as anything they would find outside of the Pokémon Box. A wonder of science!

After Red's lesson, Oak offered them a place to stay at the university instead of going to the Pokémon Centre. It saved time he told them, and allowed Aerodactyl, Omanyte, and Lo to feel comfortable knowing their Trainers were near (or Ditto in Omanyte's case).

It was also much safer at the university which Team You-Know-Who skulking about.

Thus, ended a big day in Celadon City. A day of revelations, a day of new meetings, a day which promised new events in the immediate future.

Both good and bad.