"Test Two."
"Test Subject number 2 is a Vulpix, much like a Ninetales, it resembles a fox. Unlike its evolved form, it has six tails instead of nine, is much smaller, and has a red coat of fur instead of a gold fur. Test subject number one appears to have a different coloring from normal Ninetales, which turns its fur into a light blue, giving it a more ghost like appearance," said one of the scientists. "Whatever happened to those names we were given?" Casper asked. "You're just a fox, woohoo, you can talk. You wanna be treated like you're a person?" One of the younger scientists asked. "Odd, your superior seems to think I am at least as smart as a human being," the fox said. "You're a fox, nothing more, nothing less," the scientists fired back. "Ouch, I will have to cry myself to sleep tonight," Ninetales put on a sad face before the "Ninetales grin" came back. This was really just a confident smile most Ninetales often dawned.
"Treat that fox with some respect then. Not only could Casper burn us alive if she chose to, or she could curse you and your children for multiple generations," Riot said. "No, I could do even worse. Unlike your petty colleague however, I can be nice when I choose to," Casper said. She looked over at her kit. "So you would like Ruby to… control fire if I recall correctly?" Casper asked. In response, Riot nodded. "You've got that right. I left a box of matches on the table in the center of the room. I think you can pick up on how to light a match. Then I'd like you to instruct your kit to control the match's fire for me," Riot said. The Ninetales nodded and led Ruby over to the table.
"Mom, you can just shoot a weak fireball," Ruby said. "I could, but Riot instructed us to use this box of matches. Since I like him, I'd like to follow his instructions," Casper said. The box of matches was opened with the fox's telekinesis, and a match was promptly taken out. "I believe…" Casper held the box down with her paw and took the match in her mouth. "I… don't think I've ever even seen a box of matches before," she chuckled. No human she knew of would've used matches, as most always had a Pokemon with them. Usually the Pokemon was responsible for lighting the fire, so match boxes were just never used by anyone. "Can I just light it with Ember?" Ruby asked. Her body started shivering in hope. "Just a little one, we don't want to burn the lab down."
The Vulpix cheered and shot a tiny little fireball, which she then guided onto the end of the match. "Good job Ruby, your control of your fire output is really good," Casper said. Ruby jumped and barked, which elicited a chuckle through the microphone. Both foxes could guess who was chuckling. "Now… Ruby, can you take the fire and make a circle in the air?" Casper asked. Her kit nodded and took the fire up, it was like a little orb, bobbing up and down as the fire began to expand. It began to start twirling and moving in a circular motion in full view of the scientists. Ruby's eyes were glowing while all of this was happening. Her paws tapped the ground as she happily controlled the fire as it began to die out.
"Okay dear, that is enough," Casper said. Once again, Riot was gone from the little side room. He was likely getting a fireproof suit before walking in, even if the fire would've been completely gone by the time he got inside. "Okay Mom," Ruby stopped the fire and hopped up and down. As expected, Riot came in through the hidden little door, this time with a fist full of something. "This is excellent!" He said. "Can you guys make a fire stop burning?" Riot asked. "We can with smaller fires, but if you'd like fire fighting Pokemon, Squirtle makes great for this. They're also quite friendly and cooperative, which makes them even better for the job," Ninetales said. Riot quickly pulled out a notebook and wrote that down.
"The next test will involve you and me… but that's for tomorrow. Right now you guys get to relax for the rest of the day," Riot said. He unclenched his fist to reveal a handful of treats. "After you guys eat up, we'll walk outside of the testing room, and then you guys can walk around the lab. I know you guys are smart enough to not break off from me while we're out and about," Riot said. "Well… that is if instincts don't kick in. We like sniffing at every little thing we find interesting," Casper said. The foxes took the treats, Ruby was given most of them, as Casper chose to only eat a couple treats. "Well… I guess you two wanting to sniff at everything is fine. Just don't sniff any liquids that look colorful, those can be… dangerous if breathed in."
Riot then pulled a radio from under his lab coat. "Can one of you guys close the chemical lab and chemical storage room? I don't want either of these Pokemon wandering in there and sniffing at something toxic," he said. "Yessir," a voice said. Once Ruby scarfed down the last treat, Casper picked her up, and sat by where she thought the invisible door was. "Mom! I can walk myself," the kit whined. "I am aware, once we get out of this room I will let you do so," Riot walked on over and the door opened up with one of the other scientists holding it open. "That Ninetales is gonna shred you tomorrow," he said as they passed by.
"What is with your coworkers being so… nasty?" Ninetales asked. "I guess they don't like Pokemon? I don't know. I've never took interests in the games…. but the biologist part of me loves the fact that there's a whole new set of organisms I get to study," Riot put his hands in his pockets. "Plus, I know some people will love to keep… perhaps a Vulpix as a pet. I might as well gather information on as many Pokemon as I can to help educate people on this sorta stuff. Kill two birds with one stone, run experiments in a field I love and help to teach people about how you Pokemon work," Riot added. "There's Pokemon games now?" Casper asked. Riot chuckled. "We'll have a lot to talk about later," he said.
Ruby hopped and skipped along as her mother spoke with the scientists. She had little care for what was being discussed, as it was just nice to not be in that damned room anymore. It was so… boring. With how it was completely white on each wall, same with the floors and ceiling. It just looked like an endless void to her little mind, which wasn't particularly fun. She stopped once they passed a weird looking Pokemon. "What is…" Ruby got in front of it, ignoring the human holding said Pokemon on a leash. "Hey little fella," the guard knelt down. The fox kept her eyes locked on the dog before her. "Be gentle Blitz, she's a small one," the guard said. Before the interaction could keep on going, Casper plucked her kit off the ground and continued walking.
"So… about that test for tomorrow," Casper continued on after placing her kit back on the ground. "I'm not the one who came up with this test, so don't bite my face off tomorrow," Riot said. He pointed at the fox's tails. "Tomorrow I'm going to have to pull on those," he said. "And… you think I will curse you for doing so?" Ninetales asked. "One thing the Government, who's funding this, wanted to know if you Ninetales can actually curse people or not," he said. "Well, you'd be a terrible subject for that. I wouldn't like to curse you, even if you pulled my tails. I like you for starters, so you'll end up being nipped at worse," Casper said.
"You like me?" Riot chuckled. When the fox nodded, the scientists smirked. "I'm honoured that you'd consider me likable. But... I don't know about after tomorrow," he said. "Well, all you have to do is tug on my tails, was it stated anywhere about how hard you had to pull?" Casper asked. "No… I suppose not," he said. "Also I can just tell you this; Ninetales can indeed curse anyone they'd like. Most just don't really know how to, as they often live in human captivity. You can't really find Ninetales in the wild, as they require a special stone to evolve from Vulpix. Who can't find such stones quite as easily. Humans have a knack for finding these stones, which are then used on any captive Vulpix they'd please. Since captive Ninetales fully trust their trainers with their tails, they almost never need to know how to curse anyone."
Riot shrugged. "I guess I could write that down… but the government wants to see somebody get cursed by a Ninetales… I guess they chose me," he said. "I could give you a weak little curse that will only last a week," Casper offered.
"Wait a second. You were a wild Ninetales. Thought you said those pretty much don't exist," Riot said. "Some Vulpix get lucky and find a Fire Stone. Others steal them from humans, or get lucky enough that a human offers them it for nothing in return," Casper looked at her reflection in a window as they passed by, she looked over herself a couple times. She whined as she noticed a crum on her cheek, before continuing to speak. Riot quickly took his notebook and noted it down. "I just got lucky that a human wanted to see me evolve and was then given the opportunity to," she said. "Hey, why are you writing again?" She asked. "You just passed a mirror test," Riot said. "What?" The scientist chuckled. "You can recognize yourself in your reflection. I know you're as smart as a person, but this is another step in showing just how smart you are," Riot said. Casper nodded and looked down at Ruby.
Who wasn't even close to her mother, she was busy playing with a random person walking by, who had a lab coat, and looked pretty young. "Ah, Hey Beth, that's my Pokemon," Riot said. There was an Emphasis on "My." The lady chuckled. "Well, then I will just have to join your Pokemon on your walk, because this little Vulpix is simply delightful!" Ruby barked as she was lifted up into Beth's arms. "I wish I was that outgoing when I was a Vulpix," Casper giggled as the new face joined their little walk.