Poke-genetics: Mister Stan Folklow
Genno closed his cellphone after saying a «Bye, it's been nice talking to you again. ».
Ash looked at Genno in confusion.
«How can you tell she's from Team Blast? »
He could talk freely; nobody would understand him except Genno. His friend, on the other end, had to think of a way to tell him without alerting the woman.
Genno smiled and petted him, just like any ordinary trainer.
«Yes, we're going to that restaurant, the one we went to with my father. »
Okay, she was one of the members that kidnapped his father.
«What are we going to do? »
Genno pretended to think of something.
«Hum… maybe we should try to find Stephanie first. What do you say? »
«We could follow her… »
«She might be mad if we arrive at the wrong moment, though... »
«Yeah, I understand that it will be dangerous if she finds us, but if she can gives us even a hint about your father, it'll be worth it. »
«You're a great pokemon, you know? »
«Wow, it's the first time someone tells me that. »
«But it's the second time you were turned into a pikachu though. » Pikachu added mischievously.
The trailing was not exactly easy. That woman clearly wasn't an anonymous henchman. She was constantly looking around, always in a subtle manner. More than once, Genno had to pretend to look for his way, asking random passersby.
They all thought their hearts would stop when they saw the woman walked right toward them.
«Hello, cuties. I'm Janes. »
«Hello… » Genno said mechanically.
«You seem lost, boys. May I help you? »
«Huh… we're huhh… looking for the Heaven's plate! »
«Oh, I know that place! Come with me, I'll take you there. »
They had no choice but to comply. Had they refused, they'd have looked even more suspicious.
Quite to their surprise, she was extremely nice to them. That she noticed how tensed the boys were was unsure. She had been a little self-absorbed and spoke of her life to them. After a five minute walk with her, they knew her boyfriend was a horrible, egoistical jerk that she couldn't do anything but love with all her might, that she loved pokemon, that she had finished studying law in University and that she was traveling to get a little experience as a trainer before beginning to work as an advocate. They also had knowledge about her parents being a little insecure about Team Rocket's behavior (how ironic, they thought).
«Well here you are, boys, the Heaven's plate. »
«Thanks for showing the way, Janes. »
«Oh, it was my pleasure; my boyfriend is also very bad at directions. Anyway, have a nice meal. I heard they serve lovely T-Bones there. »
All three of them felt their bodies freeze in horror.
«Goodbye. » she waved at them with an innocent smile.
«G… goodbye. »
They had to resist with all their might not to run in the opposite direction. Instead, they entered the restaurant.
They sat at the nearest table. Once they had all sit, Genno hit the table with his head, unaware of the cold looks he got from the waiter.
«I am so stupid! »
He hit himself once more.
«I should have waited until we were out of sight to tell you. »
«If you did that, we wouldn't have been able to follow her. »
«You saw how well that went? She definitely knows we were trying to follow her. »
«No, that's not sure. » replied Pikachu. «She only said that there were nice T-Bones here. »
«Oh come on, Pikachu, you know very well what it stood for. »
«We do, but she might not have. She could have just overheard you without understanding the reference. »
Genno and Ash were both looking at him with amazement. It could also be that simple.
«Come on, Genno, Pikachu's right. It sure took me a while to understand your message and I knew there was something hidden. »
«Sir. »
Genno turned around to see a waiter with a notebook, standing as straight as a broom.
«If you're done talking to your pokemon, you might want to order something. »
Genno felt his face become red in embarrassment.
«That was so humiliating! They all looked at me like I was crazy. »
«Oh, it wasn't that bad. »
Ash grinned.
«Of course not. You tried to make me talk to you the whole time. »
«Hey, I've gotta use whatever advantage there is to being a pokemon, don't you think? »
Genno suddenly looked everywhere under the confused eyes of Ash and Pikachu. When he saw there wasn't a soul, he grinned too.
«Yup. We've gotta use all the advantages! »
He turned into a pikachu and he jumped on Ash.
«That's for the restaurant! » Genno said as he pushed him to the ground.
«That's for the collar! » Ash rolled and pushed him to the ground.
Pikachu tried to interfere, but they both pulled him into the fight. Soon, all three pokemon were rolling everywhere while trying to push the other two on the ground. When the friendly brawl ended, they were one on top of the other. As soon as they realized in which position they were, they all burst out laughing.
«Here, Ash, your cap. »
«Thanks buddy. »
«What are you three doing here? » inquired a strange looking man.
«Oh Mew! » said Genno. « Ash, Pikachu, stay here, I'm coming back in a second. »
They had just noticed he was running away. Having faith in him, they stayed calmly where they were. The man's glare was severe but not angry. He opened his mouth to say something else when he was interrupted.
«Sir, have you see my two pikachus? They got into a fight with a third one and I lost them. »
Genno, in Ash's human body, had just come back.
«Are those the ones? » he asked as he lifted them.
«Yes! Thanks you very much for finding them. You're my hero! » Genno complimented him as he took his friends.
«Well… » he scratched his head, embarrassed. «I didn't do much. They were already in my courtyard when I found them. »
«Many would have tried to kidnap such great pokemon, but you are so honest you didn't even think about it. »
The man was slowly turning red, but his smile was certainly not disappearing.
«What are you doing? » asked Ash.
«I'm so happy to meet a great scientist such as you. » Genno continued, ignoring his friend's question. «It's an honor to meet the great Stan Folklow from the Avery and Folklow duo. »
Pikachu looked at Ash with his eyes wide.
«Avery as in…» he began.
«Jonathan Avery? That guy is the poke-geneticist we're looking for? »
Stan Folklow certainly wasn't an impressive fellow. He was wearing geeks glass, had a dusty smock and an unshaved chin.
«No, no, Jonathan is the best. I was more of a sidekick to him than a real partner. »
«No, no, I talked to him recently and he said that your researches inspired him greatly for his owns. »
«Really? »
«Yes, he even wanted me to give something to you. »
«What is it? »
Genno looked at their surroundings. He lowered his voice, taking a tone of conspiracy.
«Do you mind if I show you… inside your house? »
Mr. Folklow raised an eyebrow, but made no comment. With a brief hand sign, he told them to follow him.
«Messy. », that was the first word that came to their collective minds. Even Ash thought that it was almost shameful and he was not too fond of cleaning his room. Every single room they caught a glance of were filled with notes, books and coffee cups.
He took a key and unlocked the door at the end of the corridor.
In contrast with the rest of the house, his office was almost normal. There was just one pile of paper lying around. He pointed at a few chairs in the corners and they took seats.
«Well, I can't say I'm not curious. What does my old friend want you to show me? »
Genno tried to hide his sadness.
«Actually, he didn't have the time to ask. He was in the middle of a great discovery when…»
«He got kidnapped. » Stan finished.
All three teenagers looked at him.
«The media didn't announce it, but the police contacted me, saying they discovered his place trashed. Both him and his son are missing. »
Ash clearly saw a hint of pain in Genno's eyes. Did Genno know about his missing status when he «locked» his DNA into his body? It would make sense.
«The police suspects Team Rocket. »
«What? Why? »
«Jonathan is not the only friend I kept in touch with. Helen Futchi called me a month ago. She told me she had been threatened by Team Rocket. She said they were looking for a poke-geneticist with knowledge about Ditto. They didn't found anything about it in her researches, but they took her address book. »
They stayed silent. Genno's head was spinning. What did this mean? Was his father taken by Team Blast or by Team Rocket? He was sure it was their uniforms, but it could have been a setup.
«So, I know this is a sad story, but the best thing to do is to let the police handle it. »
«I… suppose. »
«So, are you going to show me those notes or what? »
«Y… yeah. Here. » Genno said as he handed the researches.
As Stan began reading the notes of his old friend, Ash asked Genno:
«Hey, buddy, are you alright? »
Genno just looked at Ash sadly. He couldn't even tell him how enormous this thing was becoming. Were they in the middle of a conflict between two criminal organizations? What would happen to his father?
«This is incredible! » Stan shouted. «With data like this, we could reproduce the DNA of any pokemon. »
«Read further. » Genno said, concentrating on the present situation.
«… this is… »
«The tip of the iceberg. »
«… This formula… » he looked at Genno with disbelief.
«…could be used to turn humans into pokemon. » completed a now calm Genno.
«That's insane! What was Jonathan thinking? »
They were all startled by his indignation.
«And here that fool was kidnapped by criminals… who knows what they could do with knowledge like that. »
The three friends looked at each other. They had a pretty good idea of the possible applications, especially since two of them were former humans.
«We should destroy these notes. » said Stan .
«NO! » shouted both Genno and Ash, though in the latter's case, it sounded like «PIKA! ».
Mister Folklow was clearly startled.
«They already have it! This is only a copy I found in Mister Avery's vault! If we destroy these, we'll lose our only chance to create a counter to the morph substance. »
«They have it? Oh dear Mew… »
«Do you think you could create a counter? »
Stan noticed how eager they were to hear his answer. Could it be… ?
«Hum… I'm not sure. »
Their face all fell. The poke-geneticist was sure there was something they didn't know. The Pikachu with the hat sure seemed concerned about the notes a lot…
«I'd need a lot of time. These data are incredible, but I'd have to study them all thoroughly. They are ridiculously advance in a domain we had trouble understanding before. If you agree, I'd like to keep them to study. I'll call you as soon as I discover something. »
«Of course. » Genno replied with a strangely faint voice. He took a sheet of paper lying on the ground and wrote something on it. «Here's my cell number. Call me anytime. »
On this, they left. Ash and Genno were clearly depressed. They had hope for an answer to their problem, but it turned out much more complicated than they thought.
Stan Folklow was in awe. Jonathan really was a genius. All these information were precious to the domain of poke-genetics. They could revolutionize the field of study. There was a dozen of sheets just about the analysis of a ditto's transforming ability. It was fascinating. The mechanism of transformation was a lot more complicated than the popular belief.
His train of thoughts was interrupted by a polite knock on the door.
Fairly annoyed, he stood up and went to open the door.
Immediately, he was charmed by the person in front of him.
«Hello, mister Folklow. » she cheerfully greeted him as she entered the house. «I'm looking for a few friends, three to be precise. »
«And who might a charming lady like you be? »
«I can't believe I didn't even introduce myself to you already! » she gasped in a theatrical manner. «My name is Janes. Nice to meet you. »