"Morning, Professor Oak. Morning, Nicholas," Alex greeted with a smile, feeling refreshed as did her Pokémon.

Between getting a great night sleep and a healthy breakfast, they were full of energy.

"Alex, what brings you back?" Oak greeted happily.

He was surprised to see her back so soon, though smiled brighter when seeing the fire type following right behind her.

"I see Sienna's really grown on you," he commented.

"She really has," she grinned.

"Char!" the fire type grinned as well, tail swishing excitedly.

"Good morning, Alex," Elm greeted as he set a stack of papers down. His Sentret were dancing around his feet as they chased one another. "You're letting Sienna walk with you?"

Alex nodded, "When I was in Viridian City, I saw some other trainers doing the same thing. I thought it might be fun. Plus, she seems to really like walking with me."

"Maaan…" the fire type purred when her trainer knelt down to pet her.

"I know I probably won't be able to have her follow me everywhere, especially when she becomes a Charizard, but for now, I really enjoy having the company. Same for any other Pokémon I get down the road."

"That's quite alright, I've had Pokémon follow me when I was younger," Oak reassured.

"I can't help but wonder if having a Pokémon travel outside of its ball has an impact on their growth," Elm wondered.

"You never know," the professor shrugged.

"It would be pretty neat if it did," Alex hummed softly. Almost immediately, she remembered the package she had. "Oh, that's right! Professor, I have something for you. It was a package from the clerk in Viridian City. He asked me to bring it to you since their delivery guy was sick."

"Package? Oh, that's right, I've been expecting it," Oak laughed. "I was actually getting ready to send Nicolas out to get it for me if it wasn't here by noon."

"Could I ask what…" Alex started before someone came running in. "Hi, Azure."

"Yo," the boy greeted, giving his father a quizzical look. "So what was so important you wanted to call me here?"

"Funny thing about that, I was originally going to ask you to help me find Alex and bring her here. However, it appears that fate had plans to bring here anyway," Oak chuckled. "Come with me, you too, Nicholas, I planned this out for you as well."

"Really?"

Nodding, the professor guided them over to a table, taking the package from Alex.

Opening it up and taking the protective wrapping out and off several red devices.

"What are they?" the girl asked.

They were small, the metal casing well-polished, a large, blue, bubble-like glass in the upper left corner. There were three smaller ones in red, yellow, and green next to it. The strange item looked as if it could open, the professor doing just that, displaying a screen and various buttons inside.

"It's been something I've been working on for many years, something that might become my greatest invention. I call it the Pokédex."

"What do they do?"

"Think of these as computerized encyclopedias for every Pokémon that is native to Kanto. It has various Pokémon recorded to help you learn about them. It will also tell you where some could be found, as well as facts you may not be aware of. It will also inform you of their typing, their attacks, anything that would be beneficial to trainers."

"That's really cool, so this is what you and Mom have been working on?" Azure asked excitedly.

"That's correct. She helped make the proper blueprints to ensure that it'll work before I had them sent off to a friend in Silph Co. to actually build them. For myself, I've been compiling years and years of data I and another colleague from Sea Foam Islands have collected."

"This is really amazing!" Alex asked, staring at the devices in awe. "Does it also read data on other Pokémon not native to Kanto? Like Sentret or Hoothoot? Maybe even tell us of possible shiny Pokémon?"

"Not yet I'm afraid," Oak laughed, giving her a pat on the back. "These are just prototypes, so they don't have as much memory as I would like them to have right now. I'm hoping to expand it further once they've been given a proper field test. If all goes well, I would say that the Pokédex will become a huge hit for trainers everywhere."

"That's really awesome."

"Professor, how did you come up with this?" Elm asked.

"To be honest, I can't really remember what inspired me to come up with it. It was many years ago when I was traveling through Johto. I was about your age actually, Azure," Oak answered as he tried to recall the memory. "The most I do remember was seeing a couple of very rare Pokémon and encountering a unique trainer, but that was about it. If I manage to remember or remember some key pieces, I'll be sure to share it with the three of you if you're interested."

"Sure, that'd be great," Alex smiled with the other two nodding.

"It's still really cool. But why did you want us here?" Elm asked as he looked up at his mentor.

"Well, this is up to you, but I would like you three to each take one and use them. I want you to give them the necessary field test that they need."

"A-are you sure? What if they break?" the young man stuttered, the kids looking just as surprised.

"That's exactly the point," Oak laughed. "I requested only the best materials used to ensure they're protected given what they'll be used for and who'll use them. However, nothing is absolute and there's always a chance that what I wanted or specified may not have been used."

"What do you mean?" Azure asked.

"Mostly any materials that I asked to be used for wires or casings were replaced with something else that may or may not hold up as well. I gave some leeway for them to do what they could to make them not only functioning but lightweight and avoid overheating."

"I think I get it, so you want us to take them not only to see how well they work but how well they endure rough travels?" Alex said, seeing the man nod.

"That's exactly it. Each of you has a reason to head out into the world. You and Azure are both going to be challenging the gyms, so you'll be traveling all over Kanto. You'll be traveling through different terrains and weather conditions, which will test out how well they handle getting wet and going through sudden temperature changes."

"But couldn't you have essentially done that here using different Pokémon?" Azure asked curiously.

"I could, but I think better results would be gotten this way. Plus by giving them to you, you can actually use them to scan Pokémon you encounter to learn more about them."

"This is really cool," Azure awed as he picked up one of the devices. "I'll do my best to help you out."

"Same here," Alex smiled as she took the other one.

"But what could I do though to help? I'm here to study, not challenge gyms or anything like that," Elm explained nervously, uncertain whether to take the final one or not.

"That may be true, but remember, even as a researcher, there may be times you need to go outside to do fieldwork. There might even be errands I might send you on between retrieving valuable data to delivering important papers."

"I see, thank you for entrusting us, Professor," Elm smiled brightly, taking the last one.

"By the way, what happens if we somehow lost ours or it got stolen?" Alex asked, the guys agreeing.

"Just treat it as you would any other valuable you own. If it were stolen or even lost, report it to the police. However, I don't want any you putting your lives in jeopardy over these, even if it was stolen by a Rattata. They're replaceable, you kids aren't."

"Anything else we should know about them?" Azure asked, carefully pocketing the Pokédex in his jeans.

"One of the features installed onto them is a miniature map. It should help you have a general idea of where you are. However, I can't guarantee how accurate they'll be. So be certain to keep an actual map on you in case the one on the Pokédex is inaccurate. This is also the same map that will be used to show the general locations of certain species of Pokémon habitats."

"So it would show where we could find a Pokémon like Vulpix or Venonat?"

"Yes, but if you're uncertain if their locations are correct, don't be afraid to try and call me or talk with other trainers in the area."

"Would we have to take notes or something?" Alex asked.

"Not at all. These Pokédexes have a feature similar to a black box you'd find on planes and ships. It'll record everything that goes through, both good and bad alike. But if you wanted to, that's perfectly fine."

"That's really neat."

"Indeed it is," Oak chuckled softly. "Once enough data has been collected, I'll use that to fine tune them and start working on an official Pokédex."

"That's amazing, and by doing this, we'd be a huge help to your research," Azure grinned widely, clearly excited by this opportunity.

"Professor, if you plan on adding more data for the official Pokédex, I'd like to help out as well if that's okay. I could have some papers brought in to compile notes and such for future upgrades," Elm offered. "I think something like this would be amazing to have for the Johto region, and we have just as many crazy terrains if not more than Kanto."

"That would be wonderful. I'm hoping that if all goes well, I'd be able to share this with other professors in other regions."

"Really?" Azure wondered, giving his father a look.

"As you and Alex have seen, there are far more Pokémon than what you've studied. And I'm certain there are even more species we've yet to encounter. There may even be other forms of evolution to the ones we know of."

"I can only imagine how different they must be," Alex giggled.

"They certainly are, my cousin has shared some information about a few unique species from where he's been," Oak said with a pleased smile.

"Do you think the Pokédex could be upgraded where it'll hold the data of all species of Pokémon?" his son asked.

"Maybe someday, but I can't be certain. New species are discovered every day from ancient fossils to new regions opening their doors to foreigners."

"I'm sure you'll succeed!" Alex beamed, the other two nodding.

"Thank you," Oak laughed, glancing at the clock. "You two should get going if you want to get back to Viridian City before nightfall.

"Alright then," Azure nodded as he ran for the door. "Don't worry, Dad, I'll make sure to give the Pokédex a workout of a lifetime. And I'll work on becoming one of the best trainers in Kanto!"

Immediately, the boy was gone, a huge smile on his face, Alex standing there a little surprised by his burst of energy.

Before she started to head for the door as well, she turned to Oak when he started chuckling, giving her and Elm a smile.

"Alex, I know you and Azure are essentially rivals, but could you make sure he'll be okay? I'm not asking for you two to travel together, but if you can, be there for him if something happened to him."

"Of course I will, Professor. Azure would do the same for me," Alex nodded much the man's relief.

"I'm glad to hear that," he smiled. "You have a good heart. You don't know how much it means to me, to Anne, Azure even to have you as a friend."

"Thank you, Professor," she smiled as she turned to leave. "I should get going…"

"If you could wait a moment," Oak started as he went over to a desk, pulling an old map out. "By any chance do you have one of these?"

"I was thinking of getting one at the store in Viridian City. How come?"

"How about something better than a store bought one?"' the older man grinned. "I've already given Azure one, but this is a spare back from my days as a trainer."

He handed the well-kept map to the girl, seeing her eyes light up at the gift, "Th-thank you so much!"

"It's no problem at all. If you open it up, you'll see some old marks I made from some spots I've traveled through. They're mostly areas I had been and found to have unique Pokémon to catch or gyms I battled. While it's been many years, I don't think things have changed too much, so this should be able to guide you well. If you happen to find new places or find new things that are different, don't be afraid to make notes on it."

"I'm sure it'll help me a ton. Thank you again, Professor. I'll be sure to take good care of it," Alex beamed as she hugged the professor.

"I know you will," he laughed as he returned the gesture. "Take care of yourself and try to have fun out there."

"I will, and thank you again for everything!"

Alex pulled away, running out the door as Azure had, her Charmander at her heels. Both looked more excited than when they first left, the trainer waving goodbye.

"I really hope they'll be okay," Elm said as she was out of sight.

"They'll face hardships as anyone would, but they'll pull through," the older man reassured.

"How are you sure?"

"Azure's a tough kid and Alex is stronger than she looks. Both of them adore Pokémon and I know they'll treat them well. In return, their Pokémon will protect them with all they have."

"What about this Team Rocket I've heard about though?"

Oak's smile faded hearing the group, "It is troublesome that they became trainers with Team Rocket so active, but it wouldn't be fair to deny them this chance. So long as they keep away and know to get the police, they'll be fine."

"I certainly hope so," Elm sighed worriedly.


Alex - Pokémon 1 - Badges 0 - Deaths 0

Team:

Sienna - Charmander


I apologize for this chapter is on the shorter side. I couldn't think of what else to put without stretching it unnecessarily.

If you enjoyed this, please leave a review and any helpful critique that may better improve the writing.