A/N: Here we go, chapter 4 is here for your reading pleasure. And during this chapter you'll be introduced to a new character who will...
Tyler: New Character? What you mean like my sidekick?
DrPhill26: Well not exactly, she's kind of...
Tyler: She? You mean she's a girl? Is she hot?
DrPhill26: You'll find out when you meet her.
Tyler: Oh man that sounds like a yes to me, I can't wait!
DrPhil26: I don't think the reader can either so let's roll.
"So this is the place? Tyler rhetorically asked himself coming in full view of the Pokémon Lab his father had told him about. The place was completely different than he'd expected it to look. Its shape reminded him of the Pokémon Beldum in a way with its main circular component having an extended body off to the side and behind it. The extension was completely white, which at least made sense considering it was a research lab after all. The main room for whatever reason was almost floor to ceiling glass window spanning two stories, and above it floated a holographic image of a Poké ball. "I guess the architect got a little kinky with the blueprints." Tyler thought to himself slowing to a halt on the dirt road before him.
Walking up to the circular glass part of the lab a black blur ran past Tyler catching his eye. He turned in time to see an Umbreon who had stopped to stare at him too. Its black fur was radiant with the traditional yellow ring markings on its legs, ears and tail, fading in and out with its breathing. Only the one ring on its face did not fade creating an eerie stare with its intense red eyes. Umbreon was always one of the cooler Eevee-lutions in Tyler's book, but he'd never actually seen one in person before. Maybe he'd evolve his Eevee into an Umbreon someday.
Tyler and Umbreon's staring contest was broken up by someone walking out the door behind him. Umbreon perked up and trotted over to the person. His gaze still following Umbreon, Tyler turned seeing who must have been the Umbreon's trainer. He was older than Tyler, about 6 years by his best guess. His appearance was tall and lanky, wearing a yellow shirt and blue track pants. His orange-red hair of lengthy spikes lay behind a blue headband.
"Umbre, Umbreon Umbri." The twilight colored Pokémon said now staring at Tyler again.
"Did you make a new friend?" The trainer bent down to pet his Umbreon's back. "He didn't startle you any did he?"
"No, not at all." Tyler replied.
"Good." The trainer began jogging past Tyler. "Come on Marth." The Umbreon took off again after his trainer as they went down the dirt road into the surrounding forest.
Stepping inside the main building of the facility, it already had that distinct laboratory feel to it. You could just tell through the constant humming of generators and electricity that some pretty important stuff was being researched. A petite woman with beautiful flowing hair sat behind a receptionist desk and waved Tyler over breaking him out of his scientific whimsy.
"Hello there. Welcome to the Orre region Pokémon research lab, can I help you find something?"
"Hi, my name is Tyler Lawson. I'm looking for Professor Krane. My dad said he would be expecting me."
"Ah, you must be Mr. Lawson's son." Tyler nodded. "Yes, the professor has been looking forward to meeting you. I'll buzz him on the intercom for you."
"Thanks." Tyler's gaze wandered around the lab once again, falling on a group of lab workers walking out of a large room behind him.
"That's where our famous Purification Chambers are." The receptionist said following Tyler's gaze.
"Purification chamber huh? So I guess they're used for some sort of medical research?"
"They are now, but they were originally designed to handle purifying shadow Pokémon.
"Shadow Pokémon?" Tyler turned around again surprised. "Wait a minute; is this the same lab that helped in stopping Team Cipher's plans to enslave all Pokémon?"
"That's correct." A lighter, airier voice came from behind Tyler. Standing behind him was a man with short, wavy brown hair and a green dress shirt tucked into pants under his lab coat with his hands lazily hanging in their pockets. "But we couldn't have accomplished much without Michael's help. His efforts were invaluable to us in helping all those poor Pokémon."
"I take it you are Professor Krane?" Tyler asked.
"And you must be James' son Tyler." The professor removed one hand from his pocket and extended it to Tyler. "Your father has told me a lot about you."
"I'm honestly surprised you know him." Tyler said shaking his hand. Despite his lanky appearance, the professor had a very strong grip.
"Oh James and I go quite a ways back actually. Come with me a while and I'll tell you all about him over some tea." The professor escorted Tyler to an elevator in the back of the room as the receptionist smiled a good bye. Professor Krane apparently had met Tyler's dad when he'd been brought into Phenac city as a consultant on a case when his dad first joined the force. Somehow the two of them hit it off immediately despite having next to nothing in common between them and they would regularly send each other letters until the Shadow Pokémon incidents started up. Their conversation on this topic had long been abandoned a while ago as the day crept on and their tea time took on more of a relaxed atmosphere. The professor wanted to see Tyler's Pokémon at some point, so Tyler had released Magnus from his ball and introduced the professor to his favorite scratching spot behind his left ear. Before either Tyler or the Professor had realized it they'd spent the entire afternoon conversing, trading stories and talking about Pokémon.
"I've had a lovely time today Tyler." Professor Krane said pouring himself another cup of tea, his fifth. "I've just been so busy of late that I haven't been able to take time to relax like this for quite a while."
"Busy with what?" Tyler asked steering the conversation.
"Well you might be interested in it." The professor started leaning back into his chair. "It's basically the continuation of our research into Shadow Pokémon and their re-acclimation to being around other Pokémon and humans."
"Okay, so what have you been up to with that?" Tyler's curiosity seemed to energize the professor further.
"It's fascinating work really. Now of course you're familiar with the Shadow Pokémon incidents that Teams Snagem and Cipher were behind correct?"
"Yeah, they basically took Pokémon and somehow turned off their ability to feel happiness making them darker versions of themselves."
"That's right. Well the original purification process was for Shadow Pokémon to spend time in a nurturing environment with a trainer and then after time they could be purified naturally at a special cave in Agate Village. Our studies there lead to the creation of the purification chambers here, which allowed for multiple Shadow Pokémon to be purified at the same time. But now that we have no more Shadow Pokémon being made since Michael defeated Team Cipher, we've been studying the purified Pokémon to see if they've changed any since their initial corruption."
"That's pretty cool." Tyler thought to himself while nuzzling Magnus, who wanted a bit more attention than he was receiving at the moment.
"In the time sense then, we've kept monitoring their affection and happiness levels with the use of the TM Return and regular interaction with other Pokémon and the researchers on staff. We've even extended the research to the former Shadow Pokémon's children since a lot of them have become parents since they started living here." The professor reached into the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a silver colored device shaped like a Poké ball. "To that extent we've created a new version of our Pokémon Digital Assistant or P*DA with a special feature that allows you to accurately monitor your Pokémon's current affection and happiness levels."
"Oh cool! How does it work?" Tyler asked.
"I'd be more than happy to show you. Here, take the P*DA and press the center button like you would a Poké ball." The professor said handing Tyler the device. He did as he was told and the device folded open in his hand expanding in size revealing an interface beneath its sheath. "Find the Pokémon menu and press the center button again." The display interface changed again showing the outline of a Pichu and a bunch of encyclopedic information about his species.
"You should see a tab that mentions happiness. If you select that icon you'll see the fruit of our research." Tyler did as the Professor told him, and the display changed again to just a picture of Pichu and a transparent heart shaped gauge, alongside a slew of information pertaining to this Pichu's affection towards the theoretical trainer, including how strong the move Return would be, and how close it was to evolving to Pikachu from its friendship level.
"You would need to have your own trainer information inputted into the P*DA in order for the app to work properly but you should see what it is capable of at the moment." The professor stated in a matter of fact way. "If you'd like, I can let you have that and keep it for yourself."
"That's so cool." Tyler said looking at the P*DA again. "Thank you professor."
"Oh you don't need to thank me. I'm plenty happy being able to see a trainer like you who appreciates his Pokémon just like Michael does. That's exactly how it is supposed to be." The professor said smiling at the two friends before him.
"Well of course, we've only been together forever haven't we buddy?" Magnus jumped up into Tyler's lap smiling happily and saying his name, getting a soft chuckle from the professor as he did. "So has anything else been found out from this research?"
"Nothing that isn't still in a hypothesis stage I'm afraid." The professor said finishing his cup of tea. "But this alone is a pretty nice piece of technology we've created if I say so myself." He said showing off the P*DA again. "Remember, you'll need to input some information into it before it becomes fully functional. And if you do take it with you on your adventures around the world, we've modified it a bit more to function like a normal Pokédex would. Just download a specific region update when you arrive in a new region and you'll be good to go."
"I guess I shouldn't keep you any longer then." Tyler said standing up again.
"And I suppose I've put off my work long enough. Thank you for coming to visit." The Professor said bowing slightly catching Tyler off guard before he extended a hand to shake it. "It's getting late so you're welcome to stay here for the night. We have some spare rooms that you can use in the back of the facility."
"That's okay professor." Tyler replied. "I already have a hotel booked in Gateon Port for the night. I'm going to be staying there until I decide what region to head to for my adventure."
"Ah yes, well best of luck to you on that adventure." The professor said as Tyler left the laboratory towards his parked hovercraft. The man with the Umbreon was coming back in from the forest as Tyler left and the two exchanged pleasantries once again. Tyler thought it was a bit of a shame he didn't get to meet the famous Michael today but it wasn't as important to him as it was meeting the professor.
Guided by the light visible from the port town's lighthouse, Tyler arrived at Gateon Port as the sun was finishing setting for the evening. The reflection of the sun along the ocean nearby created a truly surreal visual as he drove along the road leading into town. Bright reds and oranges doting the pale cloud covered sky with sunbeams beating along the ocean waves as they crashed into the rocky coastline, spraying everywhere on impact. Occasionally sea spray was intense enough to get Tyler wet a couple of times as he continued along the coast. The first thing he could see of the city aside from the lighthouse was its expansive port complex that primarily housed cargo ships. But occasionally a luxury liner could be seen transporting people from one region to another. It was through a ship in these ports that Tyler had hoped to leave the Orre region. He'd always wanted to experience a voyage at sea after reading the ever popular Rites of Relicanth book series. These books told a story of an ancient sea faring society that tried to find the edge of the ocean, and infatuated Tyler as a child with the opportunity to sail on the oceans like they did.
By the time he'd made his way into the heart of downtown, the sun had set completely and night was upon the port city. Neon lights sparkled and danced on the waves as they trickled up against low tide. Tyler's hotel was a small little chain thing that sprouted up hoping to take advantage of the limited beach development that was springing up throughout the city. It wasn't that impressive, nor did Tyler feel the need to relax in the sand; he was trying to get away from it after all. The night was young though and Tyler didn't exactly feel like retiring to the hotel room just yet. He was young and on his own so he was going to find an adventure this evening. Walking through the neon valleys of buildings he stumbled across an interesting looking building with the shape of a Krabby. Its unique red design complete with "pincers" on both sides had caught his curiosity.
Tyler stepped into the building and was met with the sights and sounds of live music instantly viewable from the stage in front of him. A local band was playing a sort of grunge rock sound that was at least more passable than the majority of bubbly pop music that was on the radio in this day. Tyler found himself an open seat at a table, taking off his hat as he continued to listen to the music. The band consisted of four members, a scrappy looking lead singer, two guitarists; one of them was female who Tyler thought looked too punkish for his tastes. The drummer was busy in his own world smashing away at everything in sight like an animal. Their song continued with Tyler relaxing along to the music being played. It had been quite a while since he'd experienced live music and it was quite enjoyable, even if the music wasn't much to brag about.
The song ended and the bar gave a lukewarm reaction of applause to the group. The band introduced themselves as the Will-o-Wisps and said they'd be playing all night. With nothing better to do, the idea of listening to their entire set seemed appealing enough that Tyler decided to stick around and see if anything would happen. The guitar players started a duet indicating a new song was beginning.
"Excuse me." A soft voice broke Tyler's concentration as he turned to face its source. Behind him was standing a woman who looked to be a year or two older than him by his best guess. Her brunette colored hair was shoulder length accented by a pair of blonde highlights along the outside of her eyes that reminded Tyler of lightning bolts. Aside from those accents in her hair, her appearance wasn't very outlandish, but damn did she look good in it. She was wearing a purple shirt with black horizontal stripes that fit her curvy body nicely. She also wore a tight pair of blue jeans that complimented her appearance nicely showing off her well toned legs. She looked great, and Tyler had to force a cough to avoid staring at her like an idiot.
"Um… can I help you with something?" Tyler asked
"Oh it's nothing really, I was just wondering if I could sit with you this evening." The woman asked politely. "I don't usually like coming to places like this without someone to talk to and you seem like you'd be a fun chat."
"No go ahead, please take a seat."
"Thanks, my name is Wendy by the way." She said sitting down opposite Tyler at the table extending a hand.
"Tyler." He hoped his hand wasn't sweaty as he grabbed hers. Of course hers was soft and delicate to his touch. "Damn." Tyler thought. "I get to chat it up with a pretty girl like her and I'm only a couple days into this adventure. Not a bad start." Wendy signaled over a hostess wandering around the club.
"Can I get a Strawberry Sunrise?" The hostess nodded writing down the order on her pad. "Would you like anything?" She asked looking at Tyler.
"Uh… nothing at the moment. I'm fine." His only excuse not getting a drink himself was his poor knowledge of cocktails. The hostess walked off towards the bar as Wendy's attention turned back to Tyler.
"So what's your story? You look a bit like a local but you also have a different air to you than everyone else here tonight."
"Oh, well I'm from Phenac City out in the Eastern desert. But a couple days ago I left with my Pokémon to go see the rest of the world."
"So you're starting your Pokémon journey?" Tyler nodded. "Just how old are you?"
"18." Wendy's smile curled a bit as she looked at Tyler. "I know that's pretty late compared to most people but I'm a lot more experienced than some rookie. I've been training under Justy, the Pre Gym leader for almost four years."
"Ooh. So you're not a virgin?"
"Wait what? How'd you… I mean that's not exactly… I uh…" It was obvious how caught off guard he was by that comment.
"Relax Ty, that's just my brand of humor." Wendy laughed sweetly. "You don't mind if I call you Ty do you?" The hostess returned with Wendy's cocktail.
"Uh, no not at all." Tyler said with an embarrassed blush coming over his face.
"Okay then. So do you have an idea where you're going to go on your journey Ty?" Wendy asked taking a sip of her drink. "Oh yeah, this always hits the spot." She absentmindedly added.
"You know I've been asked that question a lot since I started and still don't have an answer." Tyler caught his hand drumming along to the beat of the Will-o-Wisps again, but it looked like Wendy didn't seem to mind. "I just know I have to take on the Pokémon Gyms when I get there. It's a bit cliché yeah but battling is what I'm best at."
"Well I can always recommend the Sinnoh region where I'm from. I'm from Canalave City originally, but live in Hearthome City working as a freelance writer for the Pokémon News Press in nearby Solaceon Town." Wendy said stirring her drink with the straw. "I've been here for an assignment the past few weeks but I've finished that up a couple days ago so I'm heading back home on the next ship out two days from tomorrow."
"Oh that's cool." Tyler said devoting his full attention to Wendy. "What was your story about?"
And with that simple question, Wendy and Tyler started a conversation that lasted for a couple hours. The music that he had originally come to listen to quickly became background noise as the two of them traded stories with each other about their life experiences. Wendy on occasion would continue to tease Tyler as he quickly found out was part of her brand of humor, and he was able to dish out a few of his own much to her amusement. The more they talked, the more Tyler found himself thinking just how lucky he was that he was sharing a drink with someone, not only incredibly funny, and very sociable, but she was also a very pretty woman to boot. It wasn't until the bartender walked up to the two of them and told them they were closing up shop in a few minutes that the two of them ceased their talks.
"I suppose we should probably get going." Wendy said after the bartender talked to the two of them.
"Why should we stop? Let's go get some coffee or something." Tyler half joked. He probably could actually keep a conversation going with Wendy into the wee hours of the morning if he wanted to. She'd traveled all around the world from her job as a writer and shared many fun stories with Tyler while they chatted. He'd love to hear a few more if he could.
"At two in the morning?"
"I know a place."
"That place wouldn't happen to be your hotel room now would it?"
"No… okay maybe." Both of them laughed again stepping outside into the cool night air.
"Nice try Ty, I like sleepless nights as much as the next person, but pretty girls like me need our beauty sleep from time to time." Wendy said with a yawn Tyler found completely adorable. "You should seriously consider taking that ship to the Sinnoh region though."
"I'll have to think about it. But I can't see a reason to say no." Tyler thought out loud.
"Well if you do climb aboard, you and I could keep each other company again." Wendy said winking at Tyler causing him to blush. She'd proven to be equally good at making him blush tonight as she was at telling stories. Wendy then took it a step farther, blowing a kiss in his direction further reddening Tyler's face. Giggling all the way and having teased Tyler enough for the night, Wendy turned and left for her hotel while Tyler stood in front of the Krabby Club completely awestruck.
"The Sinnoh region huh?" Tyler said out loud finally walking towards his hotel ready to call it a night. "If she was any indication, I think this adventure is going to be a hell of a lot of fun."
A/N: And that makes four chapters in the books. Sounds like our boy Tyler is headed to the Sinnoh region for his first set of adventures. Not to mention he got to meet quite the charming young lass in Wendy.
Tyler: Speaking of her, why isn't she joining us in this little banter shtick that we do?
DrPhill26: Didn't you hear her earlier? She said she needed to get her beauty sleep.
Tyler: Oh yeah... Hey, why do they even call it beauty sleep anyway? What's so beautiful about sleeping?
DrPhill26: That's a good question, I know my cabin mates aren't exactly the most beautiful sleepers; one of them snores louder than a jackhammer.
Tyler: Man that must suck. How do you sleep at night?
DrPhill26: I don't...
Tyler: Yikes, sorry to hear that.
DrPhill26: Yeah so I'm gonna catch some well earned z's while I have the chance, I suggest you do the same. - This is DrPhill26 signing out and I hope to see you next time.