"Thanks a lot Nurse Joy," Alex thanked the pink haired nurse and made her way over to us, clutching two pokeballs.
"Well?" I asked, petting Froakie's head.
"They'll make a full recovery," she said. "It'll be a couple hours however."
"Time to kill," Robert stood from his chair and stretched. "What should we do?"
I shrugged. "We need to meet with the Professor still, then ask him where the closest gym is."
Alex nodded. "First though, I'm famished. I need some Kalos cuisine."
"There's a cafe down on Vernal Avenue," I said. "But I'm sure there are places closer to here."
"You two go on ahead," Robert nodded towards the store in the back of the Pokemon Center. "I'm going to stock up on supplies then try to contact Professor Juniper, tell her how things are going."
He waved us goodbye and went to speak to the guy at the counter.
I turned to Alex, Froakie jumping onto my shoulder. "Well, shall we?"
She smiled. "Why not."
...
We ended up going to a cafe next to the PMC so Robert could find us easily. We sat at a round table, an umbrella blocking the sun. As we waited for our food, I decided to ask Alex something.
"So," I said. "Despite getting away from your family, how were you these last six months."
Alex shrugged, leaning back against her chair, gazing sideways. "Well, fine, I guess. When I first got back home, things were mostly fine. My parents weren't as bad as they used to be. They still drink a lot, but it was more contained. But..."
She trailed off, lost in thought.
"But?" I prompted.
She flicked her gaze back to me. "My brother was the one I didn't see often. He and I were more close when we were younger, having each other's back. But, I guess he hated me for leaving him and going to Alola. Now, I'm afraid I've just made it worse when I came here."
"Why did you leave him?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound accusing.
"I-," she said. "I thought he'd be better off without me. I was always the one to get in trouble with our parents, so without me, I hoped he would be fine."
She sighed. "Turns out, he only became more like them and more distant. He's more of the reason I left this time, my parents on top of that."
I reached my hand over the table and grasped hers. "It's okay Alex. Sometimes, sometimes our families are unstable. But, maybe one day, that can still change."
She looked at me. "Are you still hoping for that?"
I shrugged. "I'm not going to go looking for it anytime soon. If he reaches out to me, maybe."
Alex smiled. "Maybe I'll do the same as well."
Three plates of sandwiches were delivered and we began to eat in silence. Froakie was given a bowl of pokefood and he jumped on the ground to eat it. Soon enough, Robert joined us and practically wolfed down his sandwich. He patted his stomach afterwords. "Ahh, delicious. Compliments to the chef."
Froakie finished up as well and leaped onto the table. I tickled his chin and said, "How 'bout we go see the Professor now?"
"Sounds like a plan," Alex said, standing up. "How about I pay for the meal."
"No no," I said. "I can-"
I started rummaging through my pockets and groaned. "Umm, never mind. I think I didn't take any when I left home."
Alex smirked and held up a wad of pokedollars. "Lucky for you, I swiped some of my parent's alcohol money before I left. I still have enough left to get us through a couple cities. After that I guess we could find small jobs to get money..."
"Nah," Robert said, holding up a credit card. "I got us covered. Well, at least Professor Juniper does. She made the necessary transactions to fund my Kalos trip."
"Remind me to thank Professor Juniper myself," I said, getting up.
"It's a deal," Robert smiled, then pumped a fist. "Now follow me. I know where the lab is."
"Uh, Robert," I said, pointing to the lab diagonally across the street to our left. "It's right there."
"Oh," he said, then began to hurriedly cross the street. "You guys coming or what?"
Stifling our laughs, Alex and I ran after him. We crossed the cobblestone street, mostly filled with pedestrians and one taxi cab farther down the road. Slowing to a walk next to Robert, I took in the sight that was Lumiose. I hadn't really inspected it when I was here last, but the buildings sure were tall. Some might even be bigger than Saffron City's tallest buildings. Signs were stuck on the sidewalks, showing which way some things were. Of course there were many cafes listed, but there was also the PR Video Studio, Stone Emporium, Ditto Corporation, Pokemon Catching Study, and, of course, Professor Sycamore's Pokemon Lab.
We went through the open gate and went up the walkway to the main doors. We pushed them open and stepped into the slightly cool entrance hall. The blue carpet squished slightly under our feet and scientists were still bustling around. One was carting a large container labeled, "Shipped from the Galar Region. Handle with Care."
"Galar," I said. "Now there's a region you don't hear much about these days."
"Indeed," said a pleasant voice that matched the dark haired man walking towards us. In the same getup as last time when I spoke to him via Holo Caster, was none other than Professor Sycamore. He held out his arms in an open greeting. "Bonjour Zeno and Froakie."
Froakie squealed with delight and hopped onto the Professor's shoulders, making the man laughed as he rubbed Froakie's head. "I see you're doing well Froakie. He must be quite the trainer to be able to bring out this side of you."
"Froak," Froakie cried.
Professor Sycamore held out his hand as Froakie jumped back onto my shoulder. "It's a pleasure to acquaint with you in person Zeno. I am Professor Sycamore."
"Great to see you too Professor," I said, shaking his hand. Calling him Professor was a bit weird for me, since I could only really picture Kukui's face when I said Professor.
Sycamore shook hands with Alex next, then Robert, who said, "Nice to meet you Professor Sycamore. I'm Professor Juniper's newest assistant from Unova, sent here to study the Kalos Pokemon in person."
Sycamore's eyes widened. "Ah, that's right. I was wondering where you were. Though I suppose I did miss your scheduled arrival. Oh well, better late than never. Did you get the supplies?"
Robert nodded. "The Holo Caster is pretty neat."
"Indeed it is," Sycamore laughed. "My friend was actually the one who developed it. Maybe you three will meet him one day. Anyway, my best regards to Juniper. Lovely lady she is."
He tapped his chin, then held up a finger, apparently remembering something. "Ah, yes. Galar. There's a reason they don't feature in the main spotlight."
"Why's that?" Alex asked, reflecting my own curiosity.
"As you might know," Sycamore said, leading us towards the left of the stairs. "Galar is a region just North from Kalos. Really more of an island, Galar likes to stay independent and out of global connection, except for a few regions. But it's rare we can get anything imported or exported with them. Kalos and Galar have a bloody history."
"But," Sycamore said, his smile brightening. "Now isn't the time for history."
He led us through glass doors behind the stairs and into a room as big as Viola's gym, maybe much bigger, with all the flora to boot. I saw a couple of Kalos starter Pokemon roaming around, a Scatterbug clinging to a tree, and three Vivillons flying past us. While Robert was bust recording them in his pokedex, Sycamore led us to one side of the large Conservatory where a Garchomp was resting in the shade of a small sycamore of all things. And beside the Dragon type was none other than Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor.
I raised my hand in greeting. "Hey you three. It sure hasn't been long."
Tierno grinned widely and did a little dance. "Hey Z!"
"Z?" I said, confused.
"It's his nickname for you." Trevor said, annoyed. "Ignore him."
Shauna smiled. "How did your gym battle go?"
"Smoothly," I said, showing the inside of my black over shirt where I had pinned the Bug Badge. "Froakie did amazing, didn't you?"
"Froakie!" Froakie croaked proudly, pumping a fist into the air.
Shauna laughed. "I knew you'd two would do well together."
Garchomp lifted his head at all the racket and snorted.
"Zeno, Alex, Robert," Sycamore said. "This is Garchomp."
Alex bent her knees to look into the Dragon type's eyes. "Is he the same one that went berserk on top of Lumiose Tower?"
Sycamore nodded. "Unfortunately yes. He's gotten much better though, thanks to Ash and his Pikachu."
I nodded. "We saw that on television."
"Do you have any idea what caused him to become like that?" Robert asked, stuffing his pokedex away.
Sycamore drew something out of his lab coat pocket. A shiny needle, the end of it crusted with faint purple. "This, whatever it is. As far as the Lab's been able to find out about it is that it causes Pokemon to go berserk. At least, that's as much as we know from what happened to Garchomp. We're not willing to try it on another Pokemon."
"Did you find out who did it?" I asked, kneeling next to Alex to rub Garchomp's head.
Sycamore shook his head. "That answer is no as well. We have no idea what this is even made of nor who made it."
I made up my mind right there. "We can do it."
"Do what?" Shauna asked, confused.
I looked straight at Sycamore as I stood. "We'll help search for whoever did this."
Froakie nodded confidently on my shoulder. "Froak froak."
"Yeah," Alex said, coming to stand next to me. "We'll help you."
"Why not?" Robert said. "I mean, we've dealt with worse things I'm sure."
Sycamore laughed. "I'm sure you have. I've heard a lot about you three from Kukui."
"You know Kukui?" I asked.
"Met him years back," Sycamore said, nodding. "He was still really just beginning, but his method of Pokemon research is unique to say the least."
"Anyway," Sycamore said as Alex, Robert, and I smiled, fondly remembering Kukui. "I wouldn't normally have kids like you help me with something like this, but I think you can handle this. Actually, I told Ash that as well."
"Makes sense," I nodded. "He's stronger than even I."
Sycamore held out his hands. "So I'm going to give you something, all three of you."
He handed us three small rectangular cards, with lines of information written on them. "These will help you get places fast and cheap, if not for free. They'll also help get you into places that would normally be off limits. They might come in handy."
He was about to say something, then appeared to change his mind. "I would explain Mega Evolution to you, but I'll leave that to the Guru since I'm about to be very busy."
He turned to walk away and waved goodbye. "Good luck on your journey. Feel free to contact me via Holo Caster if needed at any point."
"Will do," I called after him, then the three of us said our goodbyes to Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor.
As we walked back to the entrance hall, I asked, "So where to next?"
"Well we never did get the chance to ask him where we should go next," Alex said. "So I say we just pick a path and go with it."
"How about Route 5," Robert suggested. "I mean, it is just after Route 4."
I shrugged. "Alright."
As we entered the main entrance hall once more, we came across a huge man with flaming orange hair that looked like a Pyroar's mane. He was in black leather that shone with outlines of orange fitted into it along the seams. The neck rim was lined with white fur, real or fake I had no clue. He was talking to a scientist, before nodding and turning to walk out the main doors.
"Who is he?" Robert wondered.
"Whoever he is," I said, narrowing my eyes. "I have a bad feeling about him."
I couldn't put my finger on it quite exactly, but for some reason unknown to me, this man reminded me of my father, Giovanni.
So if you haven't noticed by now, I'm publishing chapters for this after I publish chapters for TMR. So I'd say a couple days wait before the next chapter for this to arrive, depending on how long the next chapter for TMR comes out. I'm telling you, TMR is chock full of details and story. I might even go as far as saying it's better than HBoD, which is hard for me to say. Anyway, till next time. Toodles
