xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Hokulani Observatory, Ula'Ula Island, 2:32 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Alola region, a series of four islands surrounded by vast ocean, and home to many various Pokémon that coexist with the people that live in the beautiful archipelago. The four islands; Melemele, Akala, Poni and lastly, Ula'Ula, are home to many landmarks but at the peak of Ula'Ula Island rests the Hokulani Observatory, home to one of the regions Grand Trials and a place for research into the vast unknowns of space. Inside the observatory, a thin man with bleached blonde shaggy hair, glasses and a casual outfit of a blue jacket, blue shirt and tie and brown pants and shoes was looking at one of the major telescopes in one of the many labs.
"This isn't right..." The man said to himself. "It's not properly calibrated to examine the Minior shower phenomenon." He said as the automatic doors opened up to the lab.
Entering the room was a chubby child with small orange hair, a short yellow scarf around his neck, a white shirt with a handheld game console design on the front, brown pants that were slightly rolled up at the bottom and a pair of green sneakers. Following alongside him was a round Pokémon that was similar to a mouse in appearance with grey fur, a curvy tail and yellow dot-like cheeks.
"Maru!" The small Pokémon said as the taller skinny man was checking nobs and dials on the telescope.
"Molayne, how goes it?" The chubby boy said as he walked towards the telescope as the skinny man named Molayne sighed.
"Not good, Sophocles... The primary telescope for the observatory is going to take hours to get it set correctly and by the time I get it done, the majority of the Minior in the sky will pass." Molayne said to the chubby boy named Sophocles.
"Togede..." The mouse-like Pokémon said in a depressed tone as Sophocles looked down at it.
"It's okay, Togedemaru. Minior aren't going extinct, so they'll be other showers." Sophocles said in a reassuring tone as he bent down towards the mouse-like Pokémon.
"Maru!" Togedemaru said in a chipper tone.
"Still..." Molayne said as he caught the attention of Sophocles and Togedemaru. "This is the fourth time this month we've had this issue with the telescopes... And I've explained it to a certain someone more times than that that they need to set them back to normal after each use." He said in an exasperated tone.
"Only person in the building who might have left it this way..." Sophocles said with his arms folded.
"Fifth time now..." Molayne said as he fixed his glasses as Sophocles and Togedemaru followed him as they walked out of the lab and through the halls of the observatory.
"Some intern she is..." Sophocles said, critically.
"Come on, it's good to have some more people around this stuffy lab." Molayne said in response.
"Her job is to help out but all she wants to do is use the telescopes for her own purposes." Sophocles said.
"Sounds like someone I know... Hehe." Molayne said embarrassingly.
"Hey! I don't mess around with technology and leave things in disarray!" Sophocles retorted.
"Maru! Maru!" Togedemaru said loudly in a similar tone.
"...But that is something you do..." Molayne thought as he scratched his cheek before the pair and Pokémon stopped at the door to a room in the observatory. "Look, be nice with her because she's not that- uhhhh..." He said as the automatic door opened and the pair were shocked at the sight before them.
In a laboratory that consisted of several computers, a window that was covered by blinds, a couch that had a large crab-like Pokémon sleeping on it and piles upon piles of papers all over the place in a heavy mess, was a lone woman, asleep at a desk. Her long blonde hair that ended with burgundy red highlights in a mess as strands went in different directions, her glasses sideways on her face, and her lab coat draped over her backside. Out like a light, the woman drooled onto the desk as some of the drool fell off the desk and onto her clothes that consisted of a blue satin blouse with the sleeves rolled up, a black long skirt that reached down to her ankles and a pair of blue shoes.
"Ahem!" Molayne coughed in order to get the woman to wake up but to no avail.
"Cleugh..." The woman mumbled in her sleep as Togedemaru walked over to her feet.
"Hello. Anik?" Sophocles said towards the woman named Anik. "She's in her own little world..." He said with a judging facial expression on his face as Molayne scratched his head.
"Anik!" Molayne said loudly to get her to wake up without touching her.
"...The Machoke and Seviper..." Anik said in her sleep as Sophocles sighed.
"Okay, enough. Togedemaru, use "Zing Zap!"' Sophocles ordered towards his Pokémon.
"Maru!" Togedemaru said as its body begun to spark up with electricity as small spikes emerged from its sides.
Spinning on the floor, Togedemaru proceeded to slide towards Anik and slammed into her ankle as a blast of electricity hit her.
"Gagahahah!" Anik exclaimed as she was electrocuted and fell out of her chair, finally waking up as she hit the floor and her glasses falling off. "Agh! Ugh!" She grunted on the floor while twitching.
"Kikiki." The crab-like Pokémon muttered as it woke up.
"...Did you have to do that?" Molayne asked towards Sophocles. "Also, hello Kingler." He said as he waved at the Pokémon on the couch.
"Kiki." Kingler said with a happy expression as it waved its big claw at Molayne.
"It was faster than just shaking her slightly." Sophocles said.
"My glasses! My glasses!" Anik said as she got onto all fours and was reaching around on the floor for her glasses before grabbing them. "Ah thank goodness..." She said contently as she put them back on her face before standing up.
"Ahem..." Sophocles mumbled with an unamused face as Anik nervously turned around to see the duo.
"Oh... Hey... Mr. Molayne, Mr. Sophocles. Fancy seeing you here..." Anik said embarrassingly as she finally noticed her bosses as Molayne started to pick up some of the papers that were on the floor.
"Of course we'd be here, we're in charge of this place!" Sophocles exclaimed as the grown woman was taken aback by Sophocles loud tone. "That includes the telescope you didn't recalibrate!" He continued scolding her.
"Oh... Uh, sorry..." Anik said in an embarrassed tone. "So close to a breakthrough and this is happening..." She said as she adjusted her glasses as Molayne looked at her notes.
"Doesn't seem like you have made much progress." Molayne said as Anik and Sophocles looked at the skinny man.
"Ah!" Anik muttered as she quickly grabbed her notes from her boss. "Those aren't ready yet!" She said as she rushed over to her lab coat on the ground and put it on before placing her notes in the coat's inner pockets.
"So, you didn't make any progress with your own work and left everything in a messy state so no one could do their work either... Again..." Sophocles said with his arms folded.
"Not on purpose!" Anik said in her own defense. "I was keeping an eye on things in the sky last night to see if my hypothesis was correct!" She continued as she pulled out one of the papers she originally shoved in her pockets.
"What'cha find?" Molayne asked as Anik gave him one of her papers that depicted a constellation of stars.
"Look!" Anik said with an enthusiastic tone. "This is the constellation that Hoenn astronomers claim is a Gardevoir but look! See this star formation forming a line down the side? It's actually a Hatterene from the Galar region! Right next to the constellation for Lampent!" She said with stars in her eyes.
"Oh... I see..." Molayne said, unsure of what she meant.
"Anything else?" Sophocles said with a raised eyebrow as Anik turned to the chubby boy with wide eyes.
'"Anything else?" "Anything else?!" I just made a serious breakthrough in the acknowledgment of a major star constellation!" Anik responded with an offended tone.
"Calm down, both of you." Molayne said calmly. "Anik, this is good and all... But you only managed nine constellation examinations." He said as he handed back the paper to Anik.
"...Out of eighty-eight, I know but-" Anik said with a concerned tone until Sophocles spoke up.
"You're hardly making progress with your own research and you're leaving problems for everyone else's work." Sophocles said as he interrupted Anik.
"I'm on the verge of a major breakthrough with my examination of the constellations and proving what Pokémon they correspond with!" Anik responded back with.
"Anik... You've said that every time you use our best telescope." Molayne said as Anik made a troubled expression. "Astronomy is a good field to get into but when you're causing problems for everyone else..." He explained before looking at the couch where Kingler was and saw the pillow and blanket on it. "And sleeping here when you really shouldn't... Yeah, you might want to take a break from being here." Molayne said as he scratched the back of his head.
"Are you seriously telling me to leave?" Anik said with an upset tone.
"Not really-" Molayne said until Sophocles spoke up.
"Yes." Sophocles said bluntly as Anik made a shocked expression.
"Am I fired?!" Anik said loudly.
"No!" Molayne said loudly towards Anik and then looked at Sophocles. "Look, just take some time off. Continue your work in your spare time. We have our own things to work on." He explained as Anik made an angry expression before reaching over to her work and grabbed a handbag and placed them inside it.
"Fine! But don't be shocked if I complete my work without your telescopes!" Anik said angrily as she took out a Pokéball and recalled her Kingler into it. "Good day!" She said as she walked out of the room and walked through the automatic door as it closed behind her.
"...Got what you wanted?" Molayne questioned towards Sophocles.
"Maru!" Togedemaru said loudly.
"We're not firing her; we just need some time to work without her getting in the way with her own project." Sophocles said.
"I know but- huh?" Molayne said until he noticed the sliding door opened up and Anik appeared again.
"...Can I borrow a portable telescope?" Anik questioned with a red face of embarrassment.
"Sure..." Molayne said with a wry smile as Sophocles put his hand on his face.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Malie City, Ula'Ula Island, 4:02 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"One spicy malasada and one diet lemon soda, have a nice day miss." The clerk woman said at a malasada stand.
"Thanks..." Anik said with an unenthusiastic tone as she walked away over to a bench that was adjacent to a water fountain. "Great... Just great... All this time spent monitoring the constellations and now I'm suspended from the observatory." She said aloud to herself as she took a sip of her soda as she sat down, placing her handbag on the bench.
As she talked to herself, a Pokéball inside her handbag opened up as a burst of light emerged from it, Anik's Kingler now in front of her.
"Kikiki." Kingler said as it looked at Anik.
"And it's not like I wasn't doing anything wrong." Anik said to herself, not noticing her Pokémon in front of her. "All I needed to do was the stupid telescope to examine the stars!" She exclaimed in frustration as she pulled out her malasada from the bag.
"Kiki." Kingler said as it raised its big claw and waved it to try and get Anik to notice its presence.
"It's not like I found a major breakthrough in the structure of a major constellation and disproved multiple institutions pre-existing notion of it being one design over another!" Anik exclaimed loudly as some people passing by was even looking at her outbursts.
"Ki!" Kingler screamed as it outstretched its smaller claw, proceeding to pinch Anik on her leg.
"Yahaah!" Anik exclaimed in pain as Kingler let go of her leg and she proceeded to rub where the crab-like Pokémon grabbed her. "What the heck was that for?!" She questioned as tears begun to form in her eyes from the pain.
"Kikiki!" Kingler said with an angry expression on its face as it pointed its small claw at her malasada in her hand.
"Huh- oh. You wanted some. Sorry." Anik said as she realized that her Kingler was hungry. "Water type Pokémon that likes spicy foods. Unbelievable." She thought as she split her malasada in half and gave one piece to her Kingler as it grabbed the portion and began to eat it.
"Kiki." Kingler said happily as it enjoyed the food.
"Least one of us is happy." Anik said with a wry smile before sighing. "Now my research is going to be hit with setbacks..." She said as she looked at Kingler.
"Kikiki." Kingler said.
'Mr. Molayne was nice enough to let me rent a portable telescope so I can do field work but it's going to be ridiculously harder to look at the constellations with a standard grade scope as opposed to the one on top of the observatory." Anik said as she adjusted her glasses. "And I'm worried I even still have my internship because I'm apparently annoying Sophocles..." She thought as she ate her half of the malasada before standing up and walking away with Kingler following her, shuffling sideways. "The life of an astronomer is a hard one- huh?" Anik said as she walked away until stopping.
Looking forward, Anik was confused as she saw a small crowd congregate in the middle of the street. Walking forward into the crowd, she looked ahead while adjusting her glasses to see better as she noticed a massive Pokémon was blocking the road.
"Laaaaax..." The massively round and bear-like Pokémon with slanted eyes, round feet and small clawed hands yawned.
"What's this Snorlax doing here?!" A random male stranger said.
"Can someone wake this Pokémon up?" A random female stranger said.
"No! Don't! It's a Snorlax, this thing will rampage if you wake it up!" A different random male said.
"Oh come on! This is holding up everyone! And me!" Anik thought with a disgruntled expression.
"Pardon me!" A man said as everyone turned to look at in his general direction.
A young man in his mid-twenties had appeared sporting green hair that was parted completely to one side and wearing a pair of black pants and boots along with a brown vest that had an image of a Mantine on the back with no shirt underneath and piercings in his nose, ears and mouth.
"Excuse me but I happened to notice everyone's problem with this wild behemoth. Well, I believe I may be of some help!" The pierced man said with a smile, almost coming off as a salesman as he reached behind his vest.
'"Wild?"' Anik thought with a raised eyebrow.
"Allow me to assist with this!" The pierced man said as pulled out flute-like object that had a Pokéball-like end.
"Whoa, a PokéFlute?" A random male stranger said.
"Haven't seen one of those in years." A different male stranger said.
"Wait, if you use that, it will wake up and attack!" A random female stranger said in a cautious tone.
"No it will not!" The pierced man said. "For behold!" He said as he held the flute up to his mouth.
Playing a dulcet tone from the instrument, the wild Snorlax began to stir as it shifted its head upward and proceeded to stand up. The crowd begun to back up slightly as the Snorlax stood tall, casting its shadow as it loomed over everyone before yawning in everyone's general direction. Scratching its lower backside, the Normal type Pokémon proceeded to walk away in the direction of the mountains.
"It's leaving!" A random male stranger said.
"But why didn't it rampage?" A random female stranger said in confusion.
"My skills with a flute are unmatched." The pierced man said casually with a smirk as he put away his flute.
"It was really good playing." Anik said as the crowd begun to clap slowly as she joined in.
"Now then..." The pierced man said with his hand outstretched.
"Huh?" A random male stranger muttered.
"My compensation." The pierced man said with a greedy smirk.
'"What?!"' The crowd said as Anik just looked at the man with surprise over his sudden request.
"My skills aren't cheap you know... And who knows, if I didn't show up, that Snorlax could've done some serious damage." The pierced man said with while rubbing his left hands fingers. "So I think getting some money back is a small price to pay for zero pain and suffering for the general public..." He continued.
Looking at one another with troubled expressions, members of the crowd proceeded to reach into their purses and pockets and started to look and see if they had any money to give the man.
"Great... I might have lost my internship and now I need to pay this guy a few bucks..." Anik thought with an annoyed expression on her face.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Malie City, Ula'Ula Island, 8:30 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A crescent moon in the sky and multiple stars shining brightly, Anik was examining them through her telescope as she stood on the roof of a small complex with a pen and clipboard in hand as her Kingler was asleep on nearby.
"Looks like the constellation doesn't appear any different..." Anik said aloud to herself as she wrote information on her paper. "Ugh... I can't get a good angle of the constellations from here!" She thought with frustration.
Adjusting her telescope to try and get a better angle on the stars in the sky, Anik began to scratch her head with both hands in frustration. The sounds of her rustling causing Kingler to wake up as it looked at its trainer, confused by her actions until she walked over to her purse on the floor, placing down her pen and board and then took out a phone with a case that bore a similar design to a Porygon.
"Hmmmm..." Anik mumbled as she began to set up a recording function. "The constellations in the sky consist of thirteen predominant constellations with an additional seventy-five constellations that make up the total number of Pokémon made up of the star lines. Some constellations are reportedly a fusion of two Pokémon but further examinations remain inconclusive." She said into her phone as Kingler looked on before she sighed and put her phone down on the ground.
"Kikiki." Kingler said as it approached Anik.
"Huh? Oh hey, sorry if I woke you up." Anik said in an apologetic tone as she sat down on the edge of the roof. "Aside from what looked like a Wailord rising out of the ocean with a boat on top of it, I haven't seen anything of the other "presumedly complete" constellations to map them out." She explained with a headshake. "Ugghhh!" Anik groaned as she stood up and walked back towards the telescope.
"Kiki-ki?" Kingler said until it shifted its eyes upwards and noticed something strange in the sky. "Kikiki!" The Water type exclaimed as Anik looked through the telescope at the stars.
"Come on Kingler, I need to focus- whoa! What's that!?" Anik said until she suddenly looked through the telescope and noticed something odd.
Through the telescope, Anik and Kingler looked upward into the night sky and saw something moving fast amongst the stars and aiming straight down towards the woods somewhere on Ula'Ula island. Seeing a dimly lit glow coming from the woods, Anik and Kingler stared from the rooftop as they looked on in surprise.
"Whoa, was that a Minior?" Anik said, thinking out loud.
"Kiki?" Kingler said confused.
"Random shooting star phenomenon and crashing down in Alola, it's most likely a Minior." Anik said with a shrug as she looked at her crab-like Pokémon. "At least Sophocles and Molayne are making progress in their stuff if that Pokémon landed-..." She continued until she stopped talking as a realization begun to form in her head.
"Ki?" Kingler said confused once more.
"Minior comes from space... It's a Pokémon that spends most of its life amongst... The stars." Anik said as a smile was forming on her face and her eyes widening behind her glasses. "It knows the proper structure of all the constellations if I could! Or-or I could send it up into space and it can examine the stars more authentically than even a telescope could!" She said as she put her phone, pen and pad into her handbag before shifting towards her rental scope to break it down.
"Kikiki." Kingler said with an excited tone.
'All we gotta do is catch it!" Anik said as she took out Kingler's Pokéball and recalled her Water type Pokémon. "It's too late tonight though, I should go into town and get some better clothes for running around the woods!" She thought with twinkles in her eyes as she grabbed her stuff and ran towards the door of the roof.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Ecruteak City, Johto Region, 8:47 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Bllaaaaggghhhh..." Keats yawned, dressed in a black T-shirt and a pair of blue striped boxers, while lying in his bed as the morning began.
Sitting up, Keats rubbed his eyes before removing the blanket from his legs. Getting out of bed, Keats looked down at the rustling pile of dirty socks as Keats waved at the socks before walking out of his bedroom and into the living space of his trailer. Grabbing a toothbrush, a cup from a cupboard over the kitchen sink and a container labeled "Iced Tea," Keats dipped the brush into the cup and proceeded to wipe his mouth over the sink.
"Zzzzt." Rotom said as it turned on its phone body and floated up from Keats' dinner table. "Morning Keatzzzz." The phone Pokémon said as it floated over to Keats.
"Hey, whazzzzup." Keats said as he brushed his teeth and imitating Rotoms sense of speech.
"...There'zzzz no toothpaste in your mouth..." Rotom said with a confused look on its screen.
"Yeah, but the brushing is helping out my enamel get rid of the tartar." Keats said as he looked away from Rotom before putting down the brush and taking the cup of "Iced Tea," taking a sip and then swishing it around in his mouth.
"Your teeth and breath are going to be awful after this, zzzzt! No wonder your home is a Grumpig-sty!" Rotom said critically towards the large adult male currently washing his mouth out in a strange manner before he spit out the tea from his mouth.
"Oh like you know everything." Keats said with an annoyed tone.
"I am connected to the internet at all time- huh?" Rotom said until stopping as he noticed something behind Keats.
"What? You losing Wi-Fi signal strength" Keats said with a roll of his eyes as he slowly turned around.
"Dirty." A sudden male voice said as Keats turned around.
"Ahhh!" Keats exclaimed as he was startled by the sight of a man in his apartment as he dropped the cup of "mouthwash" he used on the floor.
Standing in front of a scared Keats was a clean-shaven man with pale skin and slicked back brown hair. His apparel was a teal blue suit and tie with a white shirt with a pair of pure white boots and a pair of white surgical gloves.
"Who-who are you?!" Keats said fearfully.
"Who am I?" The teal suited man said. "I'll tell you who I am..." He continued as he slowly walked forward towards Keats as he and Rotom looked at him. "I'm "The Cleaner."' The man said, introducing himself as Keats shuttered.
"Guh! The hell?!" Keats thought, scared out of his mind from The Cleaners presence.
Uhhh... Excuse me, I need to go clean some stuff because I'm getting a strange feeling... That there is someone looking at me right now and he is about to say "dirty..." Anik is an astronomer who works as an intern at Hokulani Observatory under Molayne and Sophocles until her own desire to work on her research leads to her being removed from the premises. But now that she saw a falling star and potentiality to find a Pokémon that could help her, she sets off to find a Pokémon from space. Meanwhile, Keats has a bit of a new problem; a strange man named only The Cleaner... Who knows what will happen next! Find out next time on Wannabe!
Keats' Pokémon:
1. Pineco
2. Timburr
3. Druddigon
Authors Note: (Thank hell! I got this new chapter up BEFORE the official launch of Scarlet and Violet!... Well at least in my part of the world.)
