Chapter 3
"I see. That's what happened to you two."
"Yep. Turns out Diamond's quick thinking really CAN solve problems…as long as the problem in question was caused by him in the first place."
John was at home now, sitting at the bar counter in his kitchen while his mom tended to his Pokémon, who was currently slurping on a hot tomato soup out of a bowl. The little Chimchar was having the time of his life, being rubbed with a special cream while cupping the bowl with both hands.
"Chim…"
"You know it wasn't his fault, John…" she reminded him, moving to turn off the sink next to her as she finished applying the cream. "He was just trying to help."
He set down his self-concocted smoothie that he had been drinking.
"I get that. I guess I wasn't prepared to be ambushed so badly." He glanced at his new buddy, who had just finished his soup and was now running around the living room in pure joy. A smile crept up his face. "But I think it was worth it."
His mom watched the little chimp run, and saw the grin on her son's face as he watched him go. Eventually, she smiled also.
"Well, since you two seem better, do you think he can make the trip to Sandgem?"
He turned to look at her oddly.
"But, Mom, there are Pokémon…" He trailed off as he realized what he was saying. "Wait…I have a Pokémon now, don't I?"
"Yep, things have changed." She walked over to the TV and sat on the couch, flipping through the channels. "You should probably go now, while it's still light out. I'm sure Prof. Rowan will be happy to see you so soon."
"You ready, Chimchar?"
"Char!" The Pokémon leapt to John's side, raising his hand with a grin on his face. Returning the high-five, John started out of the house and towards the north, where the trail to Sandgem began.
As they walked along the road, Chimchar looked around nervously, occasionally raising his fists in a battle stance when a rustling sound was heard. As the trees grew steadily thinner, the chimp slowly relaxed, lowering his fists. Noticing this, John couldn't help but quietly raise a hand behind the little chimp and quickly nudge him in the back. The startled leap was exactly what John wanted. The fight response involving his claws was not. Thankfully, the stinging pain had mostly subsided by the time John was able to see the white-roofed building: the Professor's Lab. Clutching his hand in slight pain, he could see the woman from earlier standing outside the door to the lab.
"Hey, glad you could make it!" she called out, walking towards him. "You're surprisingly quick…" She noticed him clutching his hand. "Are you ok?"
"We had a simple misunderstanding. We cleared it up." Chimchar looked at the ground in embarrassment.
"Char…"
"Well, ok, then. Let's keep moving." She turned towards the building next to her. "This is the Lab where we work. The Professor is waiting on the two of you, so let's head on inside." John walked up to the door, but stopped before touching the door handle, hesitating. Rebecca looked confused. "Is there a problem?"
"I have a bad feeling…" Almost instantly, the door swung open, and the person behind it slammed directly into him, knocking him to the ground. The culprit skidded to a halt in response.
"Ow, ow…" Diamond quickly realized who he had smashed. "Oh, hey, John! Guess what? That old man isn't as crazy as he is totally out there! Well, I gotta dash, but I'll see ya later!" With that, Diamond took off at what looked like Mach 2, occasionally skipping in happiness. Rebecca turned her head between him and John in confusion.
"Uh… Are you ok…?"
"Yeah…" Chimchar looked at him worriedly as he rose to his feet. "I think so."
"Well…moving on… Let's go inside…"
The inside of the lab wasn't bustling like John had expected it to be. Only a few scientists were in the building, each one typing stuff on rows of computers on the left side of the building. On the right, someone was talking with another scientist over the phone, discussing some kind of migration pattern to the east.
"Ah, good, you've arrived!" Turning, John saw the older man Rowan at the far end of the room, shuffling through papers on his cedar desk. "I apologize for the clutter. I've been very busy lately." Rising from his chair, he walked around his desk to stand in front of John. "So, how was your first journey with that Chimchar of yours?"
"Well, sir, it was very nice…" He quickly read the subtext. "Wait… Are you saying…?"
"That's right. That Chimchar is yours to keep." He smiled warmly. "Congratulations."
"Wow, really?! Did you hear that, Chimchar?"
"Char!" Bending down, the two of them exchanged another high-five, grins all around.
"Well, now, what should I call you…?" He glanced at the stubby flame on the chimp's tail. "I'll call you Inferno. That fire of yours will be big someday, you know~"
"Chim." Inferno puffed his chest in pride, clearly enjoying the promise of his new name and Trainer.
"Now…" the old man interjected. "I do have a favor to ask of you and your new Pokémon, if you're willing."
"Of course, Professor."
"As I'm sure you know, I study the nature of Pokémon, specifically the nature of evolution. What is evolution? How does it work, and why do some Pokémon evolve while others don't? These are the questions I have dedicated my life to answer." He began pacing back and forth as he continued. "That is what I study, and yet I am nowhere closer to answering them than when I begun! It's baffling!" He reached into his white coat pocket, pulling out a small, red, rectangular device. "This is my favor: travel all over this region of Sinnoh. Explore its mysteries. Fill this Pokedex with the knowledge you acquire. Perhaps you will find what I have not. Chase the answers to the questions that have plagued me all these years."
John held his head a little higher.
"It would be my honor, sir."
"Excellent!" His face lit up. "I just knew you would say that!" As John took the Pokedex from the old man's hands, he couldn't help but admire the slick design of the Poke Ball on the front.
"Thank you, sir."
"Congratulations, uh…" Rebecca stammered for a minute. "I'm sorry, but what's your name, again?"
"John," he replied, looking at her now. "John Parker."
"Got it. John… Anyway, congrats! I got my Pokedex about a week ago, and was just about to head off when Prof. Rowan came back from Kanto and wanted to check the lake."
"Really?" He couldn't help but grin slightly. "Does that mean you'll be shadowing me all the time?"
Her eyes seemed to almost twinkle, a mischievous grin flashing for almost a millisecond.
"Do you want me to?"
"Do you want to tag along?" he retorted.
"Chim?"
Her gaze lowered as she considered the offer.
"Sure, why not? We each could use a helping hand in a project this big."
"Chimchar!" Immediately, the little Pokémon ran over to the girl and hugged her leg.
"Oh… Thank you, Chim…Inferno. We'll be great together!" She turned to John again. "Meet me at the Pokémon Center next door. I want to talk to you about some things before we go." As she left, Rowan smiled.
"Ah, youth! If only I still had some… Now John, go out into this world, and see what it has in store for you!"
"I will, professor!" John replied, heading out the door. "Thanks again!"
As he stepped into the evening air, he stood there for a few moments, basking in the wind of his new adventure.
"Hey, are you dozing off already?" Jarred from his moment, he walked over to where she was standing, next to the door of the red-roofed building known as a Pokémon Center. "Come on, let's head inside."
The Pokémon Center had several people conversing, talking with the nurse on the far counter, people taking the escalator to the second and third floors, where the temporary apartments were. The walls were specked with the occasional TV, on which the evening news was currently playing. Rebecca was standing at the little corner to the right of the Pokémon Recovery Counter, which was lined with PCs for Trainers' use.
"Ok, in order to be a Trainer, you have to fill out an online form with the Pokémon League."
"Really? That's new…"
"You're right, it is new. Since Sinnoh is currently in the process of becoming a member of the Pokémon Union, they started incorporating key regulations. One of those is the registration of all Trainers."
"Why would they do that?" John inquired, head cocked slightly. "That seems like a breach in Trainer privacy, right?"
"It's mainly for organizational reasons. Pokémon Trainers are different than Pokémon Breeders and even casual Pokémon pet owners, like your mom. The Union likes to keep official records as to who's who. Luckily, that's the biggest thing that's changed, so it's really no big deal."
"Ok…" He climbed into one of the chairs as Inferno hopped up on his shoulder, while Rebecca glanced down his other shoulder. "Let's see here…"
Several hundred miles away, atop a high plateau, two people were sitting at the top floor of the Pokémon League building. One of them had on a red shirt with white trim and jeans, with a red baseball cap. He glanced at the computer screen in front of them.
"I'm impressed, Cynthia. I didn't think the program would be up this quickly."
The blonde woman beside him nodded.
"We just want this to happen quickly, before anything odd happens."
"Why so paranoid?"
She turned to face the screen, avoiding the young man's gaze.
"I'm paranoid because whenever you people show up in a region, things happen. Just look at Johto and Hoenn."
"I'll have you know that Hoenn's crisis happened well before I arrived there. We're certainly not responsible for all that."
She cringed.
"I know that." She sighed. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I guess I'm just stressed these days."
"Take a few days off. Relax somewhere interesting, like Eterna. I hear the Pokémon Statue there holds impressive secrets."
"You're just reading out of the tourist pamphlet we designed two years ago, aren't you?"
Of course, I'm not!" he exclaimed, slipping the pamphlet back into his pocket. "Why would I do that?"
She shook her head.
"At least you're sociable." Suddenly, her computer chimed. "Oh…? I think we've got a hit."
"Huh, how about that?" Cynthia looked at the screen as a completed form flashed on the screen, sporting a picture of a young man with dark, blackish-blue hair and a bright red cap.
"Well, looks like the system works," the man announced proudly. "All right, let's close the site down until tomorrow, then. We don't want to crash your servers tonight, so we'll just let this guy's form pass for now."
"Got it. Hey…" She leaned closer to the screen. "It says he's applying for a professor's pass."
"Really…?" He took the time to look at the screen as well, studying his credentials. "Interesting. Single mother, dad passed away when he was little, no siblings. Sixteen years old, just received his first Pokémon from Prof. Rowan… A Chimchar… How interesting… Does it say where he's from?"
"This John Parker seems to be from Twinleaf Town."
"Ok, well, a Professor's Pass grants him full range of activity with the PC network, as well as partner Pokémon privileges like other Trainers."
"Sounds good."
The man glanced at the clock.
"I'm afraid I must be heading elsewhere, Cynthia. I'll be seeing you later."
"Nice to meet you, Red!"
As he walked out of the room, he pulled out his new Poketch that he got from Jublife. Pressing some buttons on the screen, he whispered into the mic.
"Did you get that?"