Chapter 3

"I am Professor Sycamore! Bienvenue, as we say, to Kalos!"

To Red and Blue, the researcher was certainly a surprise. He didn't look like one, especially not when the pair had always considered Professor Oak the role-model for his kind; where Blue's grandfather was all aged wisdom, playfulness and experience, Professor Sycamore looked more like an actor, young, handsome, charismatic and scruffy.

Caught off guard by the sudden need for social interaction, Red reflexively put his hand to his cap before thinking that maybe it would be more polite to verbally greet their host. Next to him, Blue floundered as he struggled to find his Kalosian again.

"Ah! Hum - Bonsoir, et merci...Professeur!"

Sycamore's grin widened, an amused look spreading across his face.

"C'est très amical de votre part. Et entièrement correct, ajouterais-je! Je vois que vous êtes déjà quasiment prêts pour votre séjour à Illumis."

Encouraged by the Kalosian's words, Blue seemed to find his confidence again and relaxed. Perhaps Sycamore wasn't too different from Professor Oak, then; both were not just researchers, but teachers. Red thought back to his musings on Kalos and Kanto and wondered whether some things might just be the same across all regions.

"Ah, but of course, I would not want to exclude my other guest. I assume you are the famous Red! Yes, I have heard much about the two of you. I even wondered...Well, it is a matter for another time. Let me introduce you to our beautiful region!"

Red nodded, Blue grinned and the trio headed towards the car.

"So," began the professor, "Where to begin? You have both done so much for pokémon-related research. Yes, even for me! Kalos shares many pokémon with Kanto, thanks to our regions' similar climates. You know, Blue, your grandfather was part of the reason for my success as a pokémon Professor. And oh, did he go on about how proud he was of his "star pupils!" If I remember correctly, the two of you began your journeys with a charmander and squirtle respectively, yes?"

"Yeah. I don't use my blastoise all that much anymore, though. The League already didn't wanna let a former Champion become Leader, so they decided to handicap me by not letting me use my starter. Even then, Ethan's the only one to have beaten me in an eighth-badge battle." Blue's face soured.

"Ah, yes, the new Johto Champion. You know, we recently had a change in leadership too. A young woman named Serena - only a year or two younger than you two, in fact - managed to defeat our former Champion a few weeks ago. You will very likely get to meet her on your travels. An excellent trainer, with an unbreakable bond with her team. She started with a froakie, one of our regional starters. Which reminds me: once we get to the lab, I would like to give you one each as well. To commemorate your arrival here!"

Red almost stopped walking. A new starter? He hadn't forgotten about Professor Oak's request to catch Kalos's pokémon, of course, but he had never considered what he would do with them. On Mount Silver, he had only been with his team - his charizard, pikachu, venusaur, blastoise, lapras, espeon and snorlax - and he had grown so accustomed to their presence he barely considered them pokémon anymore. Now, though, faced with the prospect of a new team member, a spark lit inside him. Perhaps this was what he had been looking for: an escape from the stagnation of his life as a trainer, a chance to train and trust more pokémon from different regions, almost like a renewal of his first pokémon adventure.

"Red? You alright there? You've got a look." Blue and Sycamore were looking at him, the former clearly trying to decipher his friend's sudden thoughtfulness.

"...I'd like that…"

"Like what...?"

"...Training a new starter...just like before...that's what I've been missing, it's why Mount Silver just wasn't enough…" he looked at Professor Sycamore. "...Thank you…"

Blue's face lit up as he looked between Red and the researcher.

"Well whaddya know! Bien joué, Professeur, that's the longest sentence he's said since we were kids!"

Sycamore merely looked amused, his arms out and one eyebrow slightly raised.

"Well, I am glad I could help. To the lab, then! Which reminds me - as I have research to attend to like always, I actually won't be able to give you the tour of Lumiose myself. There is, however, a very special person whose timetable recently opened up. You'll meet them there, in the morning!"

And with that, the trio entered the nearest cab and took off for Sycamore Labs.

Lumiose was even more beautiful from the inside. The airport was far from the city's epicentre - of which, for most of the journey, they could only see the famous tower - and they mostly saw small, homely neighborhoods similar to Red and Blue's corner of Pallet Town. The biggest difference was the atmosphere. The old-fashioned, style-over-substance architecture and quaint decorations gave an impression of a past glory, one that had let itself be diluted into a simple beauty with the passing years. As they got further into the capital, however, they saw more and more modern buildings and large apartments, some retaining the unique Kalosian architecture and others almost entirely made of polished stone or steel. The streets were aglow with the light of streetlamps, markets, headlights and billboards much more reminiscent of Kanto's metropolises.

Thousands of people walked the streets, people of different regions and backgrounds, some accompanied by their pokémon - some that Red recognized, notably the odd meowth or eevee, and some that he did not: he saw white, quadrupedal pokémon with differently styled fur, gray meowth-like ones with spiral tails, small pidgey-like creatures with red heads and black tails, and odd brown long-eared ones that hopped alongside their trainers. There were also some clearly more experienced trainers in the lot, wearing stylish outfits that reminded Red of Kanto's so-called "cooltrainers." At their sides were purple, slimy-looking pokémon akin to wingless dragonites, large, white, vaguely humanoid monsters with green arms and legs and fur that looked like newly-fallen snow, and so many more. He even thought he saw a venusaur's iconic flower at one point before it disappeared.

"Hey, professeur, what are they talking about on the news up there?" said Blue suddenly, pointing outside the window. Red looked in the direction of Blue's finger and saw a news broadcast on a billboard.

It was broadcasting images of a small town that seemed to be in the middle of reconstruction, with comfortable-looking wooden houses being rebuilt (and in one case, pushed back onto its base as it appeared to have been toppled suddenly). In the middle of the town was a gaping, rubble-filled chasm. The reporter wore red-tinted glasses, a black, high-collared turtleneck and had striking pink hair. She was speaking in rapid Kalosian that Red couldn't hear from inside the car.

"Ah, yes, well...there was a bit of an...incident...a few weeks ago. A man called Lysandre, who was the founder of a very powerful company in Kalos, created an organization whose goal was to destroy the world's population and build it anew in his image."

"Hang on, what?!" exclaimed Blue. "Why wasn't anyone in Kanto aware of this? Who stopped this guy? I mean, I'm glad he was, but - we could have helped! Imagine if he had gotten away with it!"

"...Well, as you know, communication between regions has never been, shall we say, optimal. Team Flare, Lysandre's organization, operated under the shadow of his company. We did not even know it existed until it revealed itself, and by then, Serena was already halfway through their headquarters. It turns out they hadn't planned for one powerful trainer to infiltrate them single-handedly."

"...Team Flare?...Like Team Rocket...and Lysandre must have filled the same role as Giovanni did…"

Sycamore looked at Red, flabbergasted.

"Red...you do not think that there could be any connection between the two, do you?" asked the professor. Blue answered for him.

"No way. Giovanni disbanded Team Rocket himself after Red beat him. Speaking of which - nevermind, later. Nobody's seen him since. Plus, all he wanted was money and power, not to destroy the world. So unless he broadened his scope and took just about the biggest risk he possibly could have, there's practically no way it was Giovanni pulling the strings."

Sycamore looked thoughtful.

"All the same, I would like to be sure. I know a member of the International Police; perhaps he could find this Giovanni, or at least prove that he was not in Kalos recently. If anyone can do it, it's him. In any case, let us look to better things! We are almost at the lab."

They spent the rest of the trip in a slightly heavier silence.

Finally they arrived at Sycamore Labs. It was quite an unassuming building, though evidently quite old. It had three floors, all well lit by rows of classical arched windows (most of which were dark as people had gone home for the night). Its color scheme of green and beige was soothing to the eyes, especially compared to the surrounding blocks of concrete and glass. Two giant pokéballs marked the entrance, while the rest of the perimeter was fenced off with metal bars atop stone walls. The trio entered the lab.

"Well, messieurs, it was a pleasure meeting you. Your rooms are on the third floor, south wing, numbers 150 and 151. I will see you in the morning. Bonne nuit!"

"Merci beaucoup! Bonne nuit à vous!" replied Blue. Red nodded at the professor with his hand on his cap.

"...Merci…"

Sycamore smiled and headed towards his quarters. Red and Blue looked at each other, and headed off for their own.

The rooms were small enough to be cozy, but large enough to be comfortable. They were oddly similar to Red and Blue's own rooms in Pallet Town, in fact, simple (yet with some extravagant, Kalosian touches like frilly covers and curtains) and effective.

The two prepared themselves for bed - even finding pyjamas, color-coded to their names.. Before Red could get tucked in, however…

"Hey, Red?" Blue was standing at the door that connected their rooms, arms crossed.

"Sorry for leaving Team Rocket up to you. I could've done it myself, I was at Silph Co., I beat Giovanni at Viridian Gym too, but...well, I didn't care at the time. When I won the Earth Badge, it was just for that. The badge. You fought him to beat Rocket."

"...'S'okay. The fact that there were two trainers capable of beating him probably helped."

Blue grinned. Then his face soured again.

"Probably more than that, actually. I'll never get why the League never got involved. Lance definitely coulda' gotten him too. Lorelei had type advantage on her side with almost his entire team...Distortion Realm, Erika and Misty might have been able to with their full teams too. Sabrina would have annihilated his Nidos...maybe that's why Lance helped when Ethan was on his journey. Probably felt bad. If I had been in Johto then...well."

"...I was on a mountain training with no goal in mind...we all kinda screwed up."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. Let's make sure that doesn't happen again, huh?"

"...Yeah...Bonne nuit, Blue."

"Tch. My accent's better. G'night, Red."

And with that, they went to bed.

I was going to go until they got their starters, but this felt like a more natural place to end.

Translations:

Bonsoir, et merci...Professeur!: Good evening, and thank you...Professor!

C'est très amical de votre part. Et entièrement correct, ajouterais-je!: That's very welcoming/friendly on your part. And entirely correct, might I add!

Bonne nuit: Good night

Messieurs: Sirs

Merci: Thank you