Chapter 86 – The Seafoam Island Diversion
Martin decided that we should take our training to Seafoam Island. May and I were a little surprised by this, but I didn't realize he had an alterior motive in going. Anyway, we took a ferry to the island, along with our Pokemon, and arrived in a few hours. It was a beautiful island, with beaches and palm trees, as well as lots of places to eat. There was also windsurfing and other activities. "So, why did you insist we go here?" I asked. May said, "Yeah, a resort island isn't exactly an ideal Pokemon training spot." He said, "I figured you could use a break, Joe. In my opinion, you're more than ready to win the League Finals. I'm actually here on more personal business." I asked, "Oh?" He continued, "Seafoam Island is home to Professor Westwood the fifth. He's the Pokemon researcher who programmed the Pokedex. Well, it's been a long time now since I discovered Sneasel, and I really want to find out why it hasn't been included yet." May asked, "Is that what this is all about?" He said, "Yes. Now let's go."
We walked along, accompanied by Flamefox, Amber, Redfur, Fiona, and Tails, passing by beautiful palm trees and picturesque beaches. Soon we reached a square shaped building with a tower with a dome on top of it. "There it is" Martin said, and walked ahead of us. May and I looked at each other, then followed him to the door, and he rang the doorbell. "Why hello!" said an older man who answered the door – he was bald, with gray hair in puffs only above his ears, big gray eyebrows, and a big nose, and he was dressed in a lab coat with a green shirt and gray pants. Martin said, "Hi, Professor. I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Martin Frost, the son of Pryce, and I discovered the Pokemon, Sneasel." He said, "Why, yes, I remember you. How could I forget you? The phone calls three times a week…" Martin said, "That wasn't getting me anywhere, so I came to talk to you in person. Oh, and these are my friends, Joseph Ehlle and May Redfield." He looked to us and said, "It's nice to meet you both. Wow, 2 League champions in one day!" Then he said, "Come on in!" We followed him inside, down a hallway. The walls were all bookshelves, crammed with books. I said, "Are all of these books about Pokemon research?" He said, "Yes. I use all of this information to help me program the Pokedex." May asked, "How long have you been a Pokemon researcher?" He answered, "All of my life. It runs in my family." He led us to a room with huge picture windows, and above the window on the back wall were 5 portraits. "All of the Westwoods, starting with Westwood the 1st, have been Pokemon researchers." The pictures of Professor Westwoods 1 – 4 all looked identical, but his portrait looked more modern, and he had a rose in his mouth! I asked, "How come your portrait looks so much different from the others?" A sweatdrop appeared on the side of his head and he asked, "How about I get us some refreshments?"
We sat at a table on a balcony that overlooked the beach and had some iced tea. Martin then asked, "So what is going on? How come Sneasel hasn't been included yet?" Westwood answered, "I'm very sorry, Martin. I brought it up at the Pokemon Symposium several times, but they still don't feel that enough research has been done to include Sneasel in the worldwide Pokedex yet. There's no reason that it can't be included in the Johto Pokedex, though." Martin said, "That's a start, but I just can't see why its so much to ask." Westwood explained, "Every new Pokemon discovered has to go through this. We need to know their type, their skills, their special attacks, and all their other information before we can include them, and this takes time. There are very nearly 100 new Pokemon who were discovered in Johto, alone, who probably won't be in the worldwide Pokedex until a year from now. The problem is, the only way we can learn what they do is through experience, which is why we often give certain trainers a newly discovered Pokemon to use until it evolves." May interjected, "Like me. Professor Elm gave me Cyndaquil back when I started out, but wanted him back once I had evolved him to a Typhlosion." Westwood said, "Exactly! Now Professor Elm can study the Typhlosion and see what moves he can learn. Once we're pretty sure we know every move they can learn, they can be included in the Pokedex." I asked, "Pretty sure? You mean, they're included, even though you're not 100 sure you know every single move they can learn?" Westwood kept nervously pressing his index fingers together and said, "Yeah… we kind of do include them before we know absolutely every attack…" Then he ran over to the paintings and shouted, "Forgive me, Westwood the first, second, third, fourth, fifth… oh wait, that's me." I whispered to Martin, "He seems a bit eccentric." Martin replied, "No kidding." Westwood walked back over towards us and said, "Martin, I'm sure Sneasel will be included in the worldwide Pokedex within the next 2 years. Please be patient… and please stop calling me three times a week to ask. You'll be the first person I give the news to." Martin said, "Fair enough. Thank you for your time, Professor" and shook his hand. With that, we all left the Professor's lab.
"So, what is there to do here?" I asked. Martin answered, "Lots! There's windsurfing, parasailing, or you can just relax on the beach." May saw a sign and said, "There's also going to be a Pokemon show." I asked, "Where?" She said, "In town. There will be prizes for best groomed, best bred, best riding, and others." I said, "Sounds like fun! Let's go!" We walked to a park in the town, where the event was taking place, and registered. Martin opted to just watch. For the riding Pokemon, I entered Tauros, May entered Fierymane. We each had to ride slowly, ride fast, jump hurdles, and do a trick. This was a cinch for Tauros, who was used to it from all of our riding, but Fierymane also did quite well. Between May and myself, we trampled the competition. Tauros came in first, and Fierymane second. As for the best groomed, that ended up being a tie between Flamefox and Amber, because they made such a perfect couple. For best bred, May entered Fiona, the little princess, and I entered Vaporeon. May and Fiona won. We didn't really enter some of the other competitions, but instead just watched, and there were some good trainers and breeders there, who did quite well for themselves.
Before we left Seafoam Island, we took in a little windsurfing, which was a lot of fun. I released Vaporeon to swim around in the water around me. May and Martin also seemed to enjoy themselves. Afterwards, we relaxed on the beach for a bit, along with our Pokemon, before returning to the ferry and back to the mainland of Kanto, to finish my training and head for Indigo Stadium!