Author's Note:
More ellipses, aside from the following:
With all due shout-outs to WyldClaw for their Review! Not to sound mocking, but, ah… could you maybe be more descriptive? And while I'm at it, a second about-out to abbydobbie for the Favorite!
Disclaimer:
Pokémon and any other referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.
Of Children, Men, and Monsters
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Resume
Cue music – Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal soundtrack – Professor Elm's Laboratory
Marza simultaneously was and was not surprised to find Elm slouched over a desk, fast asleep, arms crossed underneath his head.
'He certainly seems like the type to fall asleep at work… Or potentially worrying, in this case.'
She snuck over and gently shook the Pokémon Professor awake, for he had not woken from the sounds of the door unlocking, opening, and closing again.
"Mhmhhh… Gimme some co'ee, hun'… They ain't back yet…"
Marza pondered on how Elm managed to fall asleep in just an hour and a half or so when he was worrying so much but ignored this idle curiosity and muttered in a slightly amused tone of voice: "Actually, Professor, we are."
He rose with a certain amount of bewilderment, bending his head to look at Marza before exclaiming with a surprising amount of vigor despite having just woke up: "Ah! Why, yes, you are! I hope Chikorita is with you…?"
"Indeed she is," Marza said back, said Pokémon walking up, looking quite tired, her scrapes and bruises pronouncing this further.
"My, she looks beat up! She clearly got into a fight, as did Oscura," he remarked, noting the other Pokémon's injuries. "I hope it wasn't something that got too out of hand…?"
Marza shrugged. "We made it so that it didn't. We just had to bully a small flock of Spearow for a bit – that's all that happened."
"Is that so? Well, in that case, I'm grateful that nothing else happened to you all!"
Marza scratched the back of her head at this proclomation. "Erm… Actually, Oscura and I accidentally encountered a Donphan and some young Phanphy – probably a family, now that I think about it – and accidentally woke the Donphan up. We almost got into a fight that we probably couldn't win, judging by how strong the thing looked. We just backed away slowly, like we would with any other dangerous entity of sensibility, and we got out just fine."
Elm looked not too startled when he head this, glasses unintentionally falling askew for effect. Pulling them back up to the bridge of his nose, he next proclaimed, "The sensible thing to do, to be certain. It does me some good to see a Trainer who puts peace and logic before an opportunity to grow stronger."
Marza felt tempted to scoff. "You make it sound as if I had any other option but to retreat in that case. But, yes, I do prefer a peaceful resolution over a violent one."
'In most cases, at least…' she muttered internally, remembering the grim satisfaction that she had felt when she showed the pair of bullies from her world who was really on top.
"Well, incidents aside, I think that all three of you are looking quite tired! How's about you go take a rest on that couch over there–" he gestured appropriately to a moderately sized green couch, "while I heal up Oscura and Chikorita? It'll only take a few minutes, I assure you."
"I am aware of that because of a Pokémon Center that I visited, yes, and I will gladly rest. My feet feel like they're covered in blisters…"
She took off her white-on-black shoes as Elm guided the pair of Pokémon upstairs, settling in and attempting to make herself cozy on the sofa.
'I've only experienced the luxury of these things twice so far in this world, but I still must wonder as to just how high the standard of comfort is for these things…'
About three minutes later, the sandy-haired professor returned, Oscura and Chikorita in tow. The presence of the latter made Marza experience a tiny amount of surprise.
Elm scratched at his hair for a moment before saying, "Ah… Chikorita here seems insistent about sleeping with you and Oscura. I think she's gotten kind of attached to you two, thanks to what was apparently your timely intervention!"
The Leaf Pokémon didn't look particularly enthused at the cheesy and slightly exaggerated way that Elm stayed this, but nodded in confirmation to this nonetheless.
"… Well, it's gonna be cramped, but hop on here along with Oscura if you want…?" Marza said with some awkwardness, not really having anticipating her rest time to turn into an impromptu snuggle-fest. Elm grinned slightly as he went back to his actual living space, already knowing how this would turn out.
Oscura hopped aboard the comfy couch with all due speed and pleasure, as she had yet to spend a night of her life without Marza by her side. The Grass-type was slightly more reluctant, leaping up to the piece of furniture after a few seconds of indecisiveness.
Sleep overtook the trio rapidly, with Marza's final conscious thought of the day being, 'Ah… Forgot to ask about that "Evolution" thing… I'll just have to ask Elm about it first thing tomorrow, then…'
The first thing of note that she did the next morning was just that.
"Ah, yes! Evolution! I'm having a hard time believing that I forgot to mention that when I gave you my little tutorial! Evolution is not really what the name would make you think – it's hardly something that happens over a long period of time, but, rather, over the course of… what, fifteen seconds, tops? A more proper term would certainly be "metamorphosis" – under certain conditions, with the most common being a sufficient amount of strength (though you should be aware that many other Evolution conditions exist), a Pokémon will undergo a transformation, changing appearance and gaining a large amount of power in the process. This also frequently has the Pokémon mature both physically and mentally, so it tends to mark a transition between one age of a Pokémon's life to another.
"Pokémon evolve through many ways and at varying points in their lives. As I said just a few moments ago, growing to a certain level of strength is the most common condition for this to happen. If I remember correctly, Oscura evolves via this method, though it happens a good deal later than the average Pokémon. Same with Chikorita, by the way. Other conditions include exposure to special, energy-charged stones or other items, knowing a certain Move, and, oddly enough, a Pokémon growing close to their Trainer or simply trading Pokémon with another Trainer.. I don't really know why those last two can happen either, so don't ask.
The learned man cleared his throat before he finished off: "Some Pokémon don't evolve at all. Some evolve once. Some evolve twice, with some examples again including Oscura and Chikorita. There's even a short-term third state of evolution that can be obtained known as Mega Evolution, which require extremely rare stones and particularly close bonds between Trainer and Pokémon. Chances are you'll rarely – if ever – see this happen, as it is just such a rarity to have met the elusive requirements needed to have it happen.
"And… I think that about covers it. Any questions, Marza?"
'… Well, who knows where that shady person is, and I may as well have some secondary objective…'
With this in mind, she next said, "On the issue of Evolution? No. On a few other topics? Yes."
"Well, by all means, ask away!"
"You said at one point that I should go do challenge the Gyms. Seeing as how I don't have any remaining business here, where should you recommend I go first for this?"
"Ah, yes. I get asked this a lot, and my answer is always Violet City. I hope you remember where Mister Pokémon's house is?"
An affirmative nod.
"Violet's straight west of there, and it's not exactly a long trek from there, either. You're going to have to take a fork in the road just before you get to the house – be sure to bank left rather than right! If you leave now and be speedy, there's a pretty good chance you'll get there before night falls."
"Thanks for the advice. I suppose that I'll be seeing you later, then…?"
"With any luck!"
He waved good bye, but just as Marza was about to grab the door handle, he exclaimed, "Oh, wait! Forgot about one last thing!"
Marza stifled a sigh. She was a bit forgetful herself, but that hardly stopped her from suffering foolish shenanigans lightly.
"What is it?" she asked, successfully keeping the irritation out of her voice.
"Well, as it so turns out…"
Elm picked the encased Pokémon egg up (Marza had completely forgotten about the thing due to last night's events), cautiously walking through the clutter on the floor before handing it to the lass.
"Pokémon eggs tend to hatch considerably faster if they are with groups of Pokémon and people – Trainers, in particular. It's an odd phenomenon that we don't quite know how to explain, but it exists, nonetheless. As such, I'm going to have to ask you to take this thing with you and care for it when it hatches."
"Are there no other candidates for this? I mean, I'm glad that you trust me enough to give me this and trust me with it, but I would rather not be sullied with this the potential risks if given the option…"
"Well, Ethan left… yesterday, was it? As did Lyra. There are no Trainers around your age or of your responsibility level, and the only Pokémon left here is Chikorita. Cyndaquil, the third Pokémon that was here, is quite shy, and, as such, you didn't really get to see him. Now that he's with Ethan, however, there's now the chance you'll see him in combat. That aside, again, if you don't take it, the egg is going to take a great deal longer than it would if you were to take it with you. It may be riskier than just leaving it here, yes, but I believe it would benefit the Pokémon that will hatch from it more than if it were to stay cooped up in this lab. So, would you be so kind as to accept this egg from me?"
Marza exhaled softly, closing her eyes for a moment.
'This world is going to be the end of me, I swear…'
"Well, if you're going to be so insistent with this, I may as well."
"Thank you very much, Marza! Do be sure to call me and tell me of what the Pokémon is like when it hatches!"
He promptly handed the lass the egg, and they waved their goodbyes, a grin on the male's face and a somewhat worried grimace on the female's.
"What am I getting us into, Oscura…?"
The Rock Skin Pokémon shrugged for the nth time, not really certain, either.
"Well, regardless, it's time to get my feet sore again. Joy…"
Chikorita looked out of one or the building's windows, gazing wistfully at her saviors as their forms retracted into the distance.
"… Do you want to go with them, Chikorita?"
She glanced back and forth between Elm and the other two – who, by this point, were barely visible – and, after several seconds of indecisive reluctance, nodded. Elm, in turn, sighed.
"Well, go on, then! Don't let me stop you!"
Chikorita ran off as Elm finished saying this, determined to catch up and join her to-be companions.
It was now Elm's turn to look out the window. He pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, proclaiming to himself: "Next thing you know, there's going to be another batch of starters here… Better get to requesting them from the League…"
