"Test One"
"Test Subject #1 is a Ninetales with a rare coloration called a 'Shiny.' It is a female, fox like Pokemon with nine tails, hence the name. Its eyes are crimson red and each tail is tipped with a darker shade of blue fur. The rest of its fur, instead of gold seen in other Ninetales, is a pale blue, giving it a ghost like appearance. So far we know nothing of its intelligence, which is the subject of today's test."
Ninetales and her kit were in a pure white room, save for multiple cameras, and a glass window on one of the walls; it was a different room from the one they were initially kept in. Behind said window stood a bunch of scientists holding emote books and pens. Before the foxes was a simple puzzle many, adult and child alike, have seen before; it was a rubix cube. "What is this?" Ninetales poked the toy with her paw, before padding over to the window and peeking in. She could see that a camera was also placed in the room where the scientists resided, but it wasn't facing into the room like the other cameras were. It was behind the humans up in the corner of the ceiling.
One of the scientists backed up, almost surprised that the Ninetales could "communicate" with him. The eldest scientists, who many would guess was leading the experiment, didn't budge. He simply pressed a button on some machine. "That little cube on the ground you see is a rubik's cube. Despite its simple appearance, it stumps a lot of people. We're doing this test to see how smart you are," the scientist instructed. "If you wished to find a smart Pokemon, Alakazam is a much better option than a Ninetales," the fox sat down, but still kept her sights on the scientists.
"So far, you're the only Pokemon we have gotten ahold of in this facility, so we might as well start with you and come up with a baseline for future experimentation," another scientist said. "Just make it so every side is one color. You'll see that each side has a bunch of scrambled colors… you're not colorblind are you?" The elder asked. "I can make out the colors on the cube just fine," Ninetales said. Vulpix took the puzzle in her mouth and brought it over to her mother to solve. "Thank you, dear," Ninetales sighed as pawed at the cube. "How am I supposed to do this without hands?" She asked. "We know you've got telekinesis. The guy who caught you said you have telepathy as well, so it's safe to assume you've got psychic powers other than just that."
Ninetales' vision went blue as her mind lifted up the rubik's cube. She eyed at if for a couple of seconds, analyzing the toy, then started twisting it around. There wasn't really any rhyme or reason, there was no penalty, that Ninetales knew of, for being dumb. The fox got distracted by how surprisingly fun it was to just twist the cube around, especially with the clicking noise it made each time, she lost herself in just messing with it. The scientist took notes while she was distracted.
The elder one chuckled. "You really are just a smart animal with superpowers aren't you?" He asked. Ninetales remembered what was going on and giggled when her child tried snatching the cube; she liked the sounds it made as well.
"I suppose I am. I cannot help but just want to twist each part of this thing, not to solve it, but just for the sake of doing it," Ninetales said. "Don't worry about that, some people are the similar, we usually classify those sorts of people as having ADHD." The elder said. Ninetales barked at her kit, to let her know it was time to calm down. The fox then began actually trying to solve the puzzle, twisting it here and there, and eventually got one side to be one color. "Five more sides to go," the scientists said. Ninetales got another side to one color, but found herself stuck. She spun each side but only got the completed sides to slip up and growled in annoyance.
Eventually the rubik's cube was back where it started, a jumbled mass of colors, which made Ninetales growl in frustration this time. "I hate this thing," she said. The elder scientist chuckled and stepped through a door in the little side room. The remaining scientists started talking to each other. "That thing can't be smarter than a first grader," one of them said. "I don't even think it's on that level. We're here studying what is essentially a fox with magic. Woohoo, glad I got my degree for this!" Ninetales closed her eyes and suddenly only she and the cube existed in a dark void. She spun the toy around for what seemed like a third of an hour, and stopped.
"Hey mom," Vulpix nudged her mother. "Are you mad about those humans calling us dumb?" The little fox honestly couldn't be mad. She never thought of herself as intelligent, maybe her father thought differently, but intelligence was never a concern for either of them. She looked over at the cube, each side was the same color. Ninetales opened her eyes and checked on her kit. "Are you hungry?" Ninetales sniffed at her child, before smiling. "No mom, I just… You looked mad," Vulpix said. "I was mad at that stupid cube," Ninetales looked up to see the cube completely finished and cheered in triumph.
The door, that Ninetales didn't even know was there, opened up, and the older scientists walked in with a couple bowls. He came to a stop before the rubik's cube and his jaw dropped. "I thought it was impressive that you even got two sides done…" He chuckled as he laid both bowls on the ground. Each were filled with kibble, a bunch of plants, and chunks of meat. "Well, I could've taken that thing apart while you were gone, and stuck it back together," Ninetales said. "I suppose… which then would just show your problem solving skills," he said. "Now you two should eat up, we have another test in an hour or so. So let's have a lunch break eh?"
"May I know your name? I feel as though we'll be having to work together in the future," Ninetales said. "I'm Riot. Can I know your name… if you guys have names?" Ninetales and Vulpix looked at each other for a couple seconds. "We do not have names, if you end up calling us by something else, then neither of us would mind," Ninetales said. She was hoping that she'd be given a name; it would mean she's worth something. She would be more than just a Ninetales. "Well, I might as well give you both names while you're here. Otherwise we call you by species name or by an ID number," Riot said.
He pointed at Ninetales. "Your fur makes you look kinda like a ghost, so I'll just call Casper for now," Riot pointed and Vulpix. "And… I'll call you Ruby for now," Riot smiled proudly, he was the one who got to name the lab's Pokemon. He scooted the bowls even closer to Casper and Ruby. "Well, are you two gonna dig in?" Riot pulled a simple ham sandwich, which was in a baggy, out of his pocket. "What even is this?" Ninetales asked as she sniffed at it. "We assumed your diet couldn't be too far off from a normal fox, so we took a bunch of stuff foxes like eating, and mixed it into a bowl," the scientists pointed.
"Hey sir, you do know you're having lunch with two monsters right?" One of the scientists in the booth asked. "Nonsense, they're just animals with superpowers. Brilliant little animals, but still animals," Riot nudged the bowls closer to both Pokemon. "Well?" Ninetales licked the man's hand, in her animalistic way of saying "thank you", and urged her kit to dig in. "Is the next test going to be on my child?" Ninetales asked, despite the mouthful of beef and carrots she just ate, her telepathy still worked just fine. "Yup! We're gonna see how she controls fire, since we also were planning on doing that with you… then I figured you might accidentally burn the place down," Riot said. "I'm guessing Ruby's flames are easier to control if they set something on fire," he said.
Ruby didn't have a care in the world, despite how her food looked like an odd mix of meat and plants, it tasted surprisingly good. Her tails wagged happily and suddenly jolted. Riot laid a hand on her while she ate. "It should be a crime to touch my kit without my permission," Casper said. Ruby jumped after noticing a human was petting her and back away from Riot's hand. He chuckled as the fox went back to its food, this time when petted, didn't try to run away. "But… your kit's a little walking fluffball. It's almost criminal to not pet her," Riot said as Vulpix waddled over to him, her face was covered in the leftovers of her meal.
"No you don't," Casper took Ruby in her jaws and laid down right next to the scientists. "Mom!" The Vulpix pouted as her mother began grooming her. "You'll get our caretaker's clothes dirty if you approach him with your muzzle covered in food," Casper said. "Hey Riot, get out of the containment room already. We got donuts and coffee in here," one of the scientists said. "Why are you lot here if you're not interested in studying these creatures?" Riot asked. "This is like a Biologist's dream, a whole bunch of species appear into the world, and then we all get to study them. I get to study one of these incredible creatures and get to be up close to them," Riot said.
"And we're here for an easy pay check and recognition. Sure studying new animals is cool and all, but we can make a name for ourselves by acting like we found something huge by looking at a Ninetales," one of the colleagues said. Riot shook his head. "There just aren't as many scientists, in it to just make discoveries for the sake of it, in the world I guess." He shrugged and reached out to pet Casper.
"Before you place your hand on me, you better ask," the Ninetales said. "I gotta ask if I can be your friend?" Riot chuckled. "Of course not, but please do let me know when you're going to pet me. I won't let you otherwise," Casper said. She went back to grooming her kit when the scientists held his hand right over the fox's back . "So, may I pet you?" Riot asked. Ninetales nodded, before returning her focus back to Ruby's grooming. "I gotta say, you're one smart fox," the scientist said. "And why do you say that?" Casper asked. "you solved… well at least worked surprisingly well with a rubik's cube. Most of the foxes I've met are clever, but nowhere near capable of even messing with a rubik's cube," Riot picked up the puzzle. "And if I look over the footage and it turns out you solved it without pulling it apart, then you're definitely as smart, if not smarter than an average person. Just ignoring the fact that I'm having a proper conversation with you, that would make you incredibly smart amongst the animal kingdom," he added.
"I think you meeting an Alakazam would be a fun time, I heard they're supposed to be even smarter than the smartest of humans," Ninetales said. "On that topic, Ninetales and Vulpix are considered to be your typical Pokemon in terms of intelligence," she added. Riot made two fist and held them in front of his face. "Haha! I can't wait to get more Pokemon in here if what you're saying is true!" Casper grinned. "And if they're as friendly as you…" Ninetales placed a paw on his leg. "Some Pokemon are downright evil, so don't get ahead of yourself," she said. Despite the fact that the scientist looked a couple decades older than the other scientists in the booth, he had an almost childlike attitude. That's what Casper could get from this at least. "Ah… damn."
Riot's phone began going off, which made him groan. "Lunch break's over guys," he sighed. "Once everyone else heads home, imma spend a bit more time with you," he said. "You're set on being my friend?" The scientist laughed at the Ninetales' comment. "I can't learn about Ninetales if I don't spend time with one," he waved goodbye and headed for the door.