"Doctor Grant! Doctor Grant! Come quickly! I've found something!"
A huge wall of volcanic ash had been carefully chipped away revealing the entrance to the Cinnabar Pokemon laboratory. Though the stuff had severely discolored the walls and bent the massive metal entrance door, the entire laboratory still remained standing. An elderly scientist rubbed his eyes to remove the dust that had accumulated over the past forty-eight hours. After he had finished this exercise, he proceeded towards the newly excavated building.
"This is really quite amazing. I'm surprised to see everything still intact. The granite foundation and steel support girders were designed to protect this building from earthquakes. Who could have guessed they would have kept the building together while it got buried under these dirt and mud flows?" commented Doctor Grant.
"Is it safe to try and open the door?" asked Grant's young assistant.
"I've no idea how close the building is to collapsing. I suppose there's only one way to find out."
Doctor Grant slowly advanced towards the front door to the laboratory. The colors of the walls and doors were lost under a layer of dark brown dirt. Grant moved towards a large rectangular outline in the wall and proceeded to hit it with his fist. A faint metallic clang followed. The doctor put his hand over his fist to give himself something of a fighting stance, but it was really just to massage the recent pain that he felt in his knuckles.
"This is the door alright. It's going to take a considerable amount of force to open," said Grant as he proceeded to give the door the strongest kick he could muster.
The door remained within the frame. If it could survive Cinnabar's volcanic eruption then it could surely a kick from an aged archaeologist.
"Vanessa, would you mind helping me?"
"I don't think you're going to kick it down Doctor Grant. You've had too many diet cokes over the years," replied his young assistant.
"Don't help me kick it. Help me push it," ordered the archaeologist.
"Okay."
The two began push against the metal door with all of their might. Vanessa's body tensed as she rooted her legs further into the soft dirt ground before pushing with full leverage. Grant wiped the sweat from his brow as he struggled against the weight of the door.
"Okay, that's enough."
"You don't mean to push it down?"
"We couldn't."
"Shall I get the rest of the excavation team to help us?"
"Go ahead."
Vanessa darted off to find as many able-bodied bodies as she could find. She only had to announce that they were going to open the way to the pokemon lab to get a huge crowd along with the men she needed. In half an hour, Vanessa had brought ten of the strongest men on the Cinnabar Excavation project as well as the rest of the people on the team to watch.
"You'll get an honorable mention in the rostrum if you manage to push this thing down," said Grant.
Ten muscular diggers lined up together. Five advanced directly towards the door and put their palms on it. The remaining five would do their best to push the first five forward. This moment would be the crowning achievement of the entire project.
"Just remember, science has to stoop down to the level of brute physical force every once in a while. Get ready. Push!" shouted Doctor Grant.
Ten men let out a grunt and tensed up as they shoved all of their force against the metallic door that now seemed more like a wall.
"Harder! Harder!"
Another wave of grunts followed. The team began to exert all the physical force that could be expected of men. The door did not budge. It would not be moved. One by one, the company of ten collapsed in exhaustion and sweat.
"Stop!"
The order was hardly necessary. Most everyone was already down on their knees and panting. The noise of a helicopter could be heard in the distance.
"We'll need something much more powerful if we're going to bring this thing down."
The noise increased and the entire excavation team began looking upwards towards the helicopter that was now nearing them. It hovered a bit directly overhead before it descending downward. As it moved closer, a miniature sandstorm formed as the helicopter blades tossed dirt and ash asunder. Either from the sand in their eyes or from the desire not to be crushed, the crowd parted to allow the helicopter a relatively wide landing area.
The chopper landed and a side door opened. A familiar men in a red and black uniform emerged and looked around. He first examined the wasted Cinnabar landscape before directing his attention to the excavation team and the faint trace of a building. An elderly archaeologist approached. The two gazes met.
"I need to speak with whomever is in charge!" shouted Will over the sound of the helicopter.
"Turn that thing off please," returned Grant.
Will now became aware that his helicopter was creating an unpleasant whirlwind of sand and dirt as well as making shouting the only form of communication. He made a signal to his helicopter pilot and within moments the unpleasantness stopped.
"Thank you. Now then, you're Will of the elite four, are you not? What brings you here?" asked Doctor Grant.
"I am. I'm here to take a look at your excavation work, particularly the work on the pokemon laboratory and the old mansion."
"I'll tell you what," said Grant, "We've just uncovered the entrance to the Cinnabar Pokemon laboratory. If you've got a way to open it for us, we'd let you have the first crack at whatever we find."
"Is it just some sort of giant security door?" asked Will.
"That's about the size of it."
"It should not be a problem," said Will calmly.
"If you say so."
Will approached the excavated entry way to the laboratory with what could only be described as a strut. Reaching down into his uniform pocket, he caught hold of his weapon of choice. A baffled team of researchers stared at him while wondering what he was about to do. Will responded by drawing out a pokeball from his pocket. The first elite four member enlarged the ball and threw it out on the floor.
"Xatu, come out and use your psychic energy on the door."
The psychic bird will released looked like it belonged atop a totem pole in a fireside ceremony. After a bit of flight, the bird perched itself a few yards away from the door and spread its gorgeous wings. The security door glowed a light blue before it began to slide along the ground. The effort was incredibly taxing on Xatu.
"That's fine Xatu. Primeape, just kick the blasted thing down."
Recalling the psychic pokemon, Will sent the pig monkey in its stead. It emerged, boxing gloves, anklets, and all. Letting out a squeal that belonged to neither a pig nor a monkey, primeape lumbered forward. With a swift and powerful quick, primeape sent the entire door crashing down. It landed with a large clang that echoed through the newly opened corridor. The excavation team looked into the dark corridor before looking back again at Will.
"I thought you only used psychic pokemon," came a voice from the crowd.
"It's just a specialty," replied Will.
=====================
High powered flashlights illuminated the dark hallways of the Cinnabar Pokemon Laboratory. The portrait of the laboratory's founder, Dr. Fuji, had not seen light in over five years. The excavation team marveled at how the interior of the building remained relatively intact. Ahead was a very large hallway with three doors on the left. Somewhere down the hall came a metallic thud.
"What was that?" shouted Vanessa.
Another metallic noise came from the distance. Everyone remained completely still. The sound stopped. The team waited. Five seconds, nothing. Ten seconds, nothing. Twenty seconds, nothing.
"It was probably something structural caused by our forced entry. If the building could take a kick like that it's probably not going to collapse anytime soon," Doctor Grant reassured.
Consoled, the company advanced forward to the first door on the left. "Meeting Room," read the sign on the door. Cautiously, Will reached for the doorknob. Turning it slowly and with the smallest amount of force possible, the door creaked open. Lights raced across the entire room, probing for dangers. Will walked in.
"This was the meeting room for the laboratory. Perhaps we can find something that will explain what happened," said Will.
The room was as large as it was foreboding. At the center was a giant dust covered table surrounded by chairs. In each of the four corners of the room were dead and shriveled up plants. So it goes. There seemed to be some papers littered about the table. Vanessa grabbed a hold of one and began to read.
"Evacuation is nearly complete. Sealing the security door will be the final step. It is unfortunate that much of the instruments are unable to be transported. With any luck, the structure itself will remain intact, making our devices salvageable. Make sure that it (she emphasized it) makes it out of here too."
"There's nothing of value here," Will interrupted.
"All the good stuff is further down the hall. We may as well be on our way," put in Grant.
The two men turned and headed towards the door. Vanessa was still clutching that same piece of paper. Sweat streamed down her brow. She was afraid of it.
"Doctor, please wait up," she pleaded while dashing to keep up.
The small company made their way to the next door. A sign just to its side read "R-and-D-room." Will opened this room with the same cautiousness.
This seemed to be a room of analysis. Amber pipes and microscopes adorned the back wall and huge bookshelves were stationed along the side. All manner of documentation and reference was contained in this room. Everything a zealous genetic engineer could ever want would be contained within the space of this one room. Everything that is, except for the equipment itself. Only the analyzations were performed here. The testing room was one more door down the hall. Will shut the door. Another metallic clink chimed. It was louder and closer this time.
"Doctor! Hold me!" shrieked Vanessa.
"Now now, that wouldn't be appropriate." chided Grant.
"Testing room," read the final door. Vanessa darted back outside. She did not seem to mind if she would see the equipment a little bit later.
"Shall I open it?" asked Will.
"Go ahead and unleash all evil on the world, Pandora," put in Grant.
"Well when you put it that way..."
"Do it."
Will turned the knob. There it was. The entire back wall of the third room was not visible for it was covered with all manner of equipment. Will did not even know what cloning instruments were supposed to look like. It seemed to be a complex network of wires and cables with some huge main console, or some generic description like that.
Everything seemed to be in order, except there seemed to be some weird shape in the back of the lab. As the light shined on it, it seemed to be very solid. The thing seemed to have a head which came out to two points. Will wondered what in the world it was. The beam of the flashlight reflected along a moving silvery surface. It was a scythe. Its bearer was alerted to their presence.
"Get out of here! All of you! I'll deal with this!" shouted Will.
All of the excavation team within the lab made a hasty retreat as Will fixed the flashlight on his opponent. As it advanced forward it sliced clean through a nearby desk causing some computers and keyboards to crash on to the floor. Will knew what to do. He ran past the door and down the hall.
Will awaited the thing in the hall. Close quarter battles were dangerous for him and the equipment. A single slash could be fatal . The more open hallway would be a better place to engage in combat. To do battle with the unknown scythed creature, Will sent out starmie. The door to the third room was cut in half and then quarters in seconds. Will would not wait for it to emerge fully.
"Starmie, thunderbolt!"
Starmie emerged and charged up a bolt of electricity struck the doorway perfectly. A moan in some unknown voice followed.
"Again!"
The hallway became perfectly visible for about two seconds. The assailant was a pokemon. The assailant also collapsed just a bit in front of the door frame.
"Ultra ball!" shouted Will as he hurled a purple pokeball down the hall.
The purple pokeball's center glew red as a pokemon was now within range of capture. Automatically the two halves split apart and a red beam of light was shot directly down. Whatever was visible of the pokemon was now a glowing red light that was sucked into the halves. The ultra ball shook violently before it finally steadied. Will advanced forward to claim his new prize.
=====================
The excavation team was fighting over who would go and haul back the carcass of an elite four member when Will emerged, seemingly unscathed. In his hand was a beautiful purple pokeball.
"Are you okay?" Doctor Grant asked.
"I'm fine," replied Will.
"What was it?"
"This."
Will dropped the pokeball on the floor and the entire team moved back several feet. A sturdy looking pokemon with scythes for arms emerged. It looked like it had come from the sea and that it belonged on earth and that it was supposed to have existed many, many years ago.
"That's, that's..."
"Kabutops," interrupted Will.
"Yes. Was he difficult to capture?"
"That thing has been trapped there for a very long time. I don't know how it survived for that long, but it's not important. It's living proof that the cloning facilities of Cinnabar were operational. We already knew that, but this fellow here would lead us to believe that these things are still intact. I took care not to damage anything during our little scuffle. He seems to have left the equipment unharmed."
"That's great. Our team's job on this structure is pretty well finished then now that the excavation is taken care of and the equipment is safe. We mayaswell begin work on that mansion. I'll send for a team of researchers to examine what you've helped us uncover," said Grant.
"One more thing Doctor Grant."
"Yes?"
"This is of great importance to the league. I know you're not exactly the biggest expert in the area of cloning, but how much do you know?"
"I can answer some general questions," replied Grant.
"Good. The Cinnabar laboratory actually obtained these ancient pokemon directly through cloning, correct?"
"Correct. I'm not them, but that is the only way they could have revived one of those creatures," answered Grant.
"Good. Now can this type of cloning work for non fossilized pokemon?"
"My thought is that it certainly could. It's a lot easier to extract DNA on a living subject. I know what you're thinking. I imagine that their instruments are set to run off of fossilized DNA samples for the cloning process and we'd have to make some adjustments to allow for cloning of something else but it would certainly be feasible. The only thing is that those types of adjustments aren't really my department. Some more advanced genetic engineers with some resources and finances say..."
"Silph Co.?" interjected Will.
"Yes. Some company like them could do it easily. I'm sure with their minds it shouldn't be any trouble. They haven't pioneered the field, but the R-and-D room seems to have a perfect paper trail covering every advance made here," said Grant.
"Good. Do not notify anyone else of what we have discovered today. I will contact the league and then Silph. Understood?"
"Sure. We were going to establish contact with another local unit. If you can get Silph over here then that would be great. League business is also something we've got to respect when the discoveries involve pokemon," Grant said obediently.
"Good," said Will.
A huge wall of volcanic ash had been carefully chipped away revealing the entrance to the Cinnabar Pokemon laboratory. Though the stuff had severely discolored the walls and bent the massive metal entrance door, the entire laboratory still remained standing. An elderly scientist rubbed his eyes to remove the dust that had accumulated over the past forty-eight hours. After he had finished this exercise, he proceeded towards the newly excavated building.
"This is really quite amazing. I'm surprised to see everything still intact. The granite foundation and steel support girders were designed to protect this building from earthquakes. Who could have guessed they would have kept the building together while it got buried under these dirt and mud flows?" commented Doctor Grant.
"Is it safe to try and open the door?" asked Grant's young assistant.
"I've no idea how close the building is to collapsing. I suppose there's only one way to find out."
Doctor Grant slowly advanced towards the front door to the laboratory. The colors of the walls and doors were lost under a layer of dark brown dirt. Grant moved towards a large rectangular outline in the wall and proceeded to hit it with his fist. A faint metallic clang followed. The doctor put his hand over his fist to give himself something of a fighting stance, but it was really just to massage the recent pain that he felt in his knuckles.
"This is the door alright. It's going to take a considerable amount of force to open," said Grant as he proceeded to give the door the strongest kick he could muster.
The door remained within the frame. If it could survive Cinnabar's volcanic eruption then it could surely a kick from an aged archaeologist.
"Vanessa, would you mind helping me?"
"I don't think you're going to kick it down Doctor Grant. You've had too many diet cokes over the years," replied his young assistant.
"Don't help me kick it. Help me push it," ordered the archaeologist.
"Okay."
The two began push against the metal door with all of their might. Vanessa's body tensed as she rooted her legs further into the soft dirt ground before pushing with full leverage. Grant wiped the sweat from his brow as he struggled against the weight of the door.
"Okay, that's enough."
"You don't mean to push it down?"
"We couldn't."
"Shall I get the rest of the excavation team to help us?"
"Go ahead."
Vanessa darted off to find as many able-bodied bodies as she could find. She only had to announce that they were going to open the way to the pokemon lab to get a huge crowd along with the men she needed. In half an hour, Vanessa had brought ten of the strongest men on the Cinnabar Excavation project as well as the rest of the people on the team to watch.
"You'll get an honorable mention in the rostrum if you manage to push this thing down," said Grant.
Ten muscular diggers lined up together. Five advanced directly towards the door and put their palms on it. The remaining five would do their best to push the first five forward. This moment would be the crowning achievement of the entire project.
"Just remember, science has to stoop down to the level of brute physical force every once in a while. Get ready. Push!" shouted Doctor Grant.
Ten men let out a grunt and tensed up as they shoved all of their force against the metallic door that now seemed more like a wall.
"Harder! Harder!"
Another wave of grunts followed. The team began to exert all the physical force that could be expected of men. The door did not budge. It would not be moved. One by one, the company of ten collapsed in exhaustion and sweat.
"Stop!"
The order was hardly necessary. Most everyone was already down on their knees and panting. The noise of a helicopter could be heard in the distance.
"We'll need something much more powerful if we're going to bring this thing down."
The noise increased and the entire excavation team began looking upwards towards the helicopter that was now nearing them. It hovered a bit directly overhead before it descending downward. As it moved closer, a miniature sandstorm formed as the helicopter blades tossed dirt and ash asunder. Either from the sand in their eyes or from the desire not to be crushed, the crowd parted to allow the helicopter a relatively wide landing area.
The chopper landed and a side door opened. A familiar men in a red and black uniform emerged and looked around. He first examined the wasted Cinnabar landscape before directing his attention to the excavation team and the faint trace of a building. An elderly archaeologist approached. The two gazes met.
"I need to speak with whomever is in charge!" shouted Will over the sound of the helicopter.
"Turn that thing off please," returned Grant.
Will now became aware that his helicopter was creating an unpleasant whirlwind of sand and dirt as well as making shouting the only form of communication. He made a signal to his helicopter pilot and within moments the unpleasantness stopped.
"Thank you. Now then, you're Will of the elite four, are you not? What brings you here?" asked Doctor Grant.
"I am. I'm here to take a look at your excavation work, particularly the work on the pokemon laboratory and the old mansion."
"I'll tell you what," said Grant, "We've just uncovered the entrance to the Cinnabar Pokemon laboratory. If you've got a way to open it for us, we'd let you have the first crack at whatever we find."
"Is it just some sort of giant security door?" asked Will.
"That's about the size of it."
"It should not be a problem," said Will calmly.
"If you say so."
Will approached the excavated entry way to the laboratory with what could only be described as a strut. Reaching down into his uniform pocket, he caught hold of his weapon of choice. A baffled team of researchers stared at him while wondering what he was about to do. Will responded by drawing out a pokeball from his pocket. The first elite four member enlarged the ball and threw it out on the floor.
"Xatu, come out and use your psychic energy on the door."
The psychic bird will released looked like it belonged atop a totem pole in a fireside ceremony. After a bit of flight, the bird perched itself a few yards away from the door and spread its gorgeous wings. The security door glowed a light blue before it began to slide along the ground. The effort was incredibly taxing on Xatu.
"That's fine Xatu. Primeape, just kick the blasted thing down."
Recalling the psychic pokemon, Will sent the pig monkey in its stead. It emerged, boxing gloves, anklets, and all. Letting out a squeal that belonged to neither a pig nor a monkey, primeape lumbered forward. With a swift and powerful quick, primeape sent the entire door crashing down. It landed with a large clang that echoed through the newly opened corridor. The excavation team looked into the dark corridor before looking back again at Will.
"I thought you only used psychic pokemon," came a voice from the crowd.
"It's just a specialty," replied Will.
=====================
High powered flashlights illuminated the dark hallways of the Cinnabar Pokemon Laboratory. The portrait of the laboratory's founder, Dr. Fuji, had not seen light in over five years. The excavation team marveled at how the interior of the building remained relatively intact. Ahead was a very large hallway with three doors on the left. Somewhere down the hall came a metallic thud.
"What was that?" shouted Vanessa.
Another metallic noise came from the distance. Everyone remained completely still. The sound stopped. The team waited. Five seconds, nothing. Ten seconds, nothing. Twenty seconds, nothing.
"It was probably something structural caused by our forced entry. If the building could take a kick like that it's probably not going to collapse anytime soon," Doctor Grant reassured.
Consoled, the company advanced forward to the first door on the left. "Meeting Room," read the sign on the door. Cautiously, Will reached for the doorknob. Turning it slowly and with the smallest amount of force possible, the door creaked open. Lights raced across the entire room, probing for dangers. Will walked in.
"This was the meeting room for the laboratory. Perhaps we can find something that will explain what happened," said Will.
The room was as large as it was foreboding. At the center was a giant dust covered table surrounded by chairs. In each of the four corners of the room were dead and shriveled up plants. So it goes. There seemed to be some papers littered about the table. Vanessa grabbed a hold of one and began to read.
"Evacuation is nearly complete. Sealing the security door will be the final step. It is unfortunate that much of the instruments are unable to be transported. With any luck, the structure itself will remain intact, making our devices salvageable. Make sure that it (she emphasized it) makes it out of here too."
"There's nothing of value here," Will interrupted.
"All the good stuff is further down the hall. We may as well be on our way," put in Grant.
The two men turned and headed towards the door. Vanessa was still clutching that same piece of paper. Sweat streamed down her brow. She was afraid of it.
"Doctor, please wait up," she pleaded while dashing to keep up.
The small company made their way to the next door. A sign just to its side read "R-and-D-room." Will opened this room with the same cautiousness.
This seemed to be a room of analysis. Amber pipes and microscopes adorned the back wall and huge bookshelves were stationed along the side. All manner of documentation and reference was contained in this room. Everything a zealous genetic engineer could ever want would be contained within the space of this one room. Everything that is, except for the equipment itself. Only the analyzations were performed here. The testing room was one more door down the hall. Will shut the door. Another metallic clink chimed. It was louder and closer this time.
"Doctor! Hold me!" shrieked Vanessa.
"Now now, that wouldn't be appropriate." chided Grant.
"Testing room," read the final door. Vanessa darted back outside. She did not seem to mind if she would see the equipment a little bit later.
"Shall I open it?" asked Will.
"Go ahead and unleash all evil on the world, Pandora," put in Grant.
"Well when you put it that way..."
"Do it."
Will turned the knob. There it was. The entire back wall of the third room was not visible for it was covered with all manner of equipment. Will did not even know what cloning instruments were supposed to look like. It seemed to be a complex network of wires and cables with some huge main console, or some generic description like that.
Everything seemed to be in order, except there seemed to be some weird shape in the back of the lab. As the light shined on it, it seemed to be very solid. The thing seemed to have a head which came out to two points. Will wondered what in the world it was. The beam of the flashlight reflected along a moving silvery surface. It was a scythe. Its bearer was alerted to their presence.
"Get out of here! All of you! I'll deal with this!" shouted Will.
All of the excavation team within the lab made a hasty retreat as Will fixed the flashlight on his opponent. As it advanced forward it sliced clean through a nearby desk causing some computers and keyboards to crash on to the floor. Will knew what to do. He ran past the door and down the hall.
Will awaited the thing in the hall. Close quarter battles were dangerous for him and the equipment. A single slash could be fatal . The more open hallway would be a better place to engage in combat. To do battle with the unknown scythed creature, Will sent out starmie. The door to the third room was cut in half and then quarters in seconds. Will would not wait for it to emerge fully.
"Starmie, thunderbolt!"
Starmie emerged and charged up a bolt of electricity struck the doorway perfectly. A moan in some unknown voice followed.
"Again!"
The hallway became perfectly visible for about two seconds. The assailant was a pokemon. The assailant also collapsed just a bit in front of the door frame.
"Ultra ball!" shouted Will as he hurled a purple pokeball down the hall.
The purple pokeball's center glew red as a pokemon was now within range of capture. Automatically the two halves split apart and a red beam of light was shot directly down. Whatever was visible of the pokemon was now a glowing red light that was sucked into the halves. The ultra ball shook violently before it finally steadied. Will advanced forward to claim his new prize.
=====================
The excavation team was fighting over who would go and haul back the carcass of an elite four member when Will emerged, seemingly unscathed. In his hand was a beautiful purple pokeball.
"Are you okay?" Doctor Grant asked.
"I'm fine," replied Will.
"What was it?"
"This."
Will dropped the pokeball on the floor and the entire team moved back several feet. A sturdy looking pokemon with scythes for arms emerged. It looked like it had come from the sea and that it belonged on earth and that it was supposed to have existed many, many years ago.
"That's, that's..."
"Kabutops," interrupted Will.
"Yes. Was he difficult to capture?"
"That thing has been trapped there for a very long time. I don't know how it survived for that long, but it's not important. It's living proof that the cloning facilities of Cinnabar were operational. We already knew that, but this fellow here would lead us to believe that these things are still intact. I took care not to damage anything during our little scuffle. He seems to have left the equipment unharmed."
"That's great. Our team's job on this structure is pretty well finished then now that the excavation is taken care of and the equipment is safe. We mayaswell begin work on that mansion. I'll send for a team of researchers to examine what you've helped us uncover," said Grant.
"One more thing Doctor Grant."
"Yes?"
"This is of great importance to the league. I know you're not exactly the biggest expert in the area of cloning, but how much do you know?"
"I can answer some general questions," replied Grant.
"Good. The Cinnabar laboratory actually obtained these ancient pokemon directly through cloning, correct?"
"Correct. I'm not them, but that is the only way they could have revived one of those creatures," answered Grant.
"Good. Now can this type of cloning work for non fossilized pokemon?"
"My thought is that it certainly could. It's a lot easier to extract DNA on a living subject. I know what you're thinking. I imagine that their instruments are set to run off of fossilized DNA samples for the cloning process and we'd have to make some adjustments to allow for cloning of something else but it would certainly be feasible. The only thing is that those types of adjustments aren't really my department. Some more advanced genetic engineers with some resources and finances say..."
"Silph Co.?" interjected Will.
"Yes. Some company like them could do it easily. I'm sure with their minds it shouldn't be any trouble. They haven't pioneered the field, but the R-and-D room seems to have a perfect paper trail covering every advance made here," said Grant.
"Good. Do not notify anyone else of what we have discovered today. I will contact the league and then Silph. Understood?"
"Sure. We were going to establish contact with another local unit. If you can get Silph over here then that would be great. League business is also something we've got to respect when the discoveries involve pokemon," Grant said obediently.
"Good," said Will.