Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon; it belongs to Nintendo, Gamefreak, etc. All of the OCs and the Doren region, however, are mine.
After about an hour, the door to Zane's room opened again.
He looked up at Professor Alder with dry, reddened eyes. "What do you want now?"
Professor Alder shrugged. "If you're done grieving, I think it's time we took you over to my lab."
Zane laughed bitterly. "You're gonna run some experiments on me, Frankenstein?"
Trying to keep from showing his annoyance, Professor Alder continued.
"Actually, there's someone waiting for you there," he said in a voice that suggested Zane should already know who this someone was. "How do you feel about getting out for a while?"
"I can walk, if that's what you mean," Zane answered, rising to his feet. If I'm spending the rest of my life here, he thought, I should probably see what it's like. "Alright, let's go." He strode as confidently as he could toward the door.
"You don't want to be walking around in public looking like you do now, do you?" Professor Alder asked casually.
Zane paused. He hadn't really thought about his appearance since he had looked in the mirror. "I guess not," he answered sheepishly.
"Well then, there's a shower down the hall to the right in the third room on the left," the professor said. "I managed to find some clothes that will fit you, as well. See you outside."
Zane shrugged. "Sure. See ya there, Frankenstein." He walked out of the room towards the showers, closing the door behind him.
Professor Alder grumbled to himself after Zane left. The boy hardly seemed to understand the concept of gratitude. And on top of that, being called "Frankenstein" was really getting on his nerves. As soon as he could no longer hear Zane's footsteps in the hallway, the professor wheeled around and punched a wall.
He mumbled in angry tones as he felt the pain sink in.
Zane followed Professor Alder over the boardwalks that served as roads in the town, which he had been surprised to learn was floating on top of a lake. That revelation, however, was the last thing on his mind as he tugged at the white wool jacket with red and blue wave designs that the professor had managed to find for him, along with a pair of khaki pants and a black t-shirt. The darned thing was remarkably itchy, and he wondered for a second why he had decided to keep wearing it. The answer came to him swiftly enough: he really liked the way it looked, though at the moment, he was seriously debating whether or not that was worth the itch. He decided to ask the Professor some questions, hoping it would take his mind off the itch.
"Hey, Frankenstein," he began, "what-"
Professor Alder whirled around. That was the last straw. He reached into his pocket and opened a poke' ball, releasing his Altaria, Dirge.
"Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrr," thrummed Dirge, contentedly flapping its wings as he hovered near the edge of the boardwalk.
"Zane," the professor began, "I'd like you to meet Dirge, my Altaria. He's the one who carried you back from the beach after we found you there. He's normally very kind, but he has a mischievous streak a mile wide."
"Um, hi," Zane addressed the Altaria in a confused manner. "Uh, thanks, I gue-"
"Now then," interrupted Professor Alder, "I've given you the courtesy of calling you by your given name, and I would be grateful if you would show me the same gesture. Otherwise, I'm sure Dirge would be happy to fly you back to the beach and drop you in the ocean. Are we clear?"
As if on cue, Dirge began pushing Zane forcefully with his beak, as though trying to knock him of the boardwalk.
"Alright, I've got it, Franken- err, Professor," Zane mumbled. He didn't feel like going near the ocean for a long time.
"So, Professor," Zane said, rephrasing his earlier question, "What's this town called?"
"New Pallet Town," the professor replied off-handedly, simultaneously speaking with Zane, recalling Dirge, and greeting a passing friend.
"Why the heck do they call it that?" Zane asked. "We aren't anywhere near Kanto."
"Well," Professor Alder explained, "Most of the people who landed on this part of Doren-"
"This part?" Zane asked. "Does that mean-"
"Stop interrupting!" Alder snapped. "It's getting on my nerves. Anyway, as I was saying," he continued, trying to recover his collected appearance, "Most of the people who landed on this part of Doren were Pokemon trainers from Kanto. They banded together and built this city. The name 'New Pallet Town' is symbolic to them. It represents new beginnings."
"Where are you from, Professor?" Zane asked, once he was sure Professor Alder had nothing else to say.
"Originally, Sinnoh, but that doesn't matter. Now then, my lab is just ahea-"
"What was it like in Sinnoh?" Zane asked, having forgotten Professor Alder's warning for the moment.
Professor Alder stuck his right hand in his pocket and began rummaging around in it.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" Zane said, remembering the Professor's threat.
"Good. Now then, my lab is just ahead." Professor Alder motioned toward a metal building, apparently made from the pieces of several ship hulls, that was held up by a series of iron posts.
Professor Alder walked up to the building and opened the door. "Step inside, Zane."
Zane walked inside and looked around the lab. There wasn't a great deal of decoration. Several tables were lined up on the sides of the room, with one in the center that was covered in research papers and had a few poke' balls lying on it, most of them open. A water wheel in the back of the room, far away from anything else, was apparently hooked up to power several computers that sat on the side tables. The room had several light bulbs, but a great deal of light came from the skylight directly above the water wheel. A purple, froglike Pokemon with a horn jutting out from its skull was turning the water wheel using a handle on the side. It waved at Professor Alder as he came in behind Zane.
"Icroak," it grunted in a tired but cheerful voice.
"Take a break, Toxicroak," Professor Alder said. "No one else is working right now."
Toxicroak croaked happily, nodded at Zane and the Professor, hopped over to one of the open poke' balls on the table, hit the button, and disappeared as the poke' ball closed with a click.
Zane just stood there, somewhat surprised. "Was that who I was supposed to meet?" he asked the professor quizzically.
"No," Professor Alder admitted, "but you're on the right track." He sounded like he was hinting at something.
"So you've got a Pokemon for me to meet?" Zane inferred.
"Not just any Pokemon," the professor replied. He strode over to the central table, picked up the only poke' ball (other than Toxicroak's) that wasn't open, and hit the button. A flash of red light burst out, and a small, echidna-like Pokemon with a pale white body and silver back appeared.
"Quil," said the Cyndaquil, in a voice that was just on the edge of Zane's hearing.
"I figured you'd be glad to know that your Cyndaquil is safe and feeling just fine," Professor Alder said with a smug face.
The Cyndaquil sniffed the air. Professor Alder smiled.
Zane stared back and forth between them with complete shock.
Also, thank you Maypie Lord for reviewing this story. I'm glad someone's reading this.