Pokémon Research HQ Lab, Orre Region

The purple rain had not let up at all since Erika and Gary had arrived to the Orre Region. Gary had kept with constant contact with Ash on his Pokegear and told him about what happened with Michael. Ash was in shock that there was more than Erika in the Jones family. Gary made a fist, more than angry. Ash noticed this and decided to calm him down.

Ash commented, "Gary, calm down. Erika had a reason for not telling us, I'm sure."

Gary stated, making a fist, "Her brother was freaking killed and Jovi is now an Electric type trainer!"

Ash questioned, "What's so wrong about that?"

Gary answered, still mad, "She shouldn't have to be forced to do something she doesn't have to do! This is my Erika and she's not gonna do something she doesn't have to!"

Ash caught this and corrected, "Um, your Erika? I thought you were talking about Jovi!" As Gary realized his mistake, he blushed feverishly. Ash chuckled and added, "Listen to me, Gary. Erika is the only one that can do this. She knows the technology and knows how to snag Shadow Pokémon. We have to let her take the lead so we can stop Team Rocket's plan - once and for all."


A few years ago

Michael jogged across the hallway of the lab and entered an office with a bookshelf overflowing with books standing against the back wall and a desk covered in paper sitting in front of the bookshelf. It was a shortcut from the Sim room to his bedroom in the Lab. The Lab itself was made of two buildings – the residential/office building and the building that held the actual laboratories – and this particular office was connected to one of the offices in the residential building. Michael took advantage of this to avoid using the winding path he'd have to take to get into the residential wing otherwise.

Normally, this office was empty, its owner downstairs working on some pet project of his, but, to Michael's irritation (as he technically wasn't allowed within this office without good reason after he'd unintentionally destroyed some important research notes with coffee), this time two scientists were present, chatting.

"Hi, Michael. Have you finished training," Professor Krane greeted.

Lily gave Michael no chance to respond as she questioned, "Michael, this is the director's office. Did you want to pay a visit to Professor Krane?"

Krane laughed and pointing out, "You don't need to be that stiffly official, Lily!"

"But," Lily started to say.

"Oh, yes. I've heard your Pokémon battle tutor singing high praises about your battling skills, Michael. That's outstanding! I sure don't think I'd stand much of a chance against you." Krane laughed again at the pleased blush that spread across Michael's face at the compliment.

"I wish everyone wouldn't drown them with such gushing praise all the time. My son and daughter will become spoiled rotten," grumbled Lily.

"There's nothing to worry about. Both Michael and Jovi are wonderful kids," Krane said, grinning.

Lily frowned, looking somewhat troubled as she turned to Michael and asked, "That reminds me… I don't think I've seen Jovi since lunchtime. Michael, I hate to bother you, but could you go find Jovi for me?"

"Again," Michael groaned.

Jovi, his eccentric sister, always ran off to play and explore, no matter how many times she had been reprimanded for disappearing and forbidden from doing so again. He was usually the one sent to find and retrieve her, to his continual consternation.

Because of the complaint and resentful look on her son's face, she added, "Michael, I think you already know, but several research projects are in their critical phases in this lab. That's why your mother can't afford to take any time off right this instant. So please, honey, will you go find Jovi for me?"

Michael sighed, resigning himself to the tedious task. "Alright…"

Lily smiled. "Thank you. I'm counting on you. I don't think she could have wandered off too far, but just in case, check outside, too."

Krane, understanding Michael's annoyance, piped up and commented, "I'm sorry, Michael. After five long years, this project is finally on the verge of coming together. But for that to happen, we can't do without your mother's expertise." He paused for a moment before adding, "By the way, I left a P*DA in your room, Michael. Go check it out."

"Really," Michael asked as his eyes lit up. He'd wanted a P*DA ever since the newest, multi-purpose version had come out on the market! He added, "Thanks, Professor!"

Krane grinned and explained, "I'm sure you already know this, but P*DA stands for Pokémon Digital Assistant. It's very useful – it can be used for email, among other things. I'm sure that you'll find its many features helpful. It's also quite easy to use. I'm sure you'll have no trouble figuring it out."

Michael already knew all of this, but he still exclaimed, "Alright!"

He dashed excitedly through a doorway on the other side of the room which led to another office, ignoring Krane's amused chuckle and his mother's call to slow down. The lab tech inside the office glanced up, startled, but Michael paid no attention to him. After exiting a tube elevator and running through a few rooms, Michael entered his bedroom. Upon seeing the clutter – clutter that hadn't been there the last time he'd checked – he groaned.

"How many times have I told her to keep her hands off my stuff?!" he exclaimed, reaching over to tidy a stack of books that Jovi had been rifling through.

His desktop computer was logged onto the web, and the site that displayed was a virtual Trainer simulation. Apparently, the Trainer was a fan of pink, Plusle, Minun, and Skitty. Michael exited out of the website and then made his rumpled bed. After dumping all of the things that didn't belong to him in Jovi's room next door, Michael turned his attention to the silvery device he'd seen on his desk.

"This must be the P*DA…" he murmured, turning it over in his hands to fully examine it.

He'd seen models in commercials, but this was the first time he'd actually held one in his hands. While the P*DA looked exactly like it had been shown in the commercials, it was slightly textured, instead of being completely smooth as he'd imagined it to be.

Tossing a Pokéball in the air and releasing the Pokémon inside, he said, "Eevee, what do you think of my new P*DA?"

The brown, fox-like creature jumped on the desk and sniffed it curiously.

"Vee eevee," he said, deadpan.

Michael scratched the male Eevee behind the ears absentmindedly. Suddenly, the P*DA started beeping and vibrating, startling both Trainer and Pokémon. Michael pressed a button to open the device, and the metal shifted to reveal two screens, one of which displayed his Trainer information and several different applications. A mail symbol flashed at the bottom of the screen, which led Michael to assume that he'd received an email. He tapped the symbol, and the second screen displayed an email—it was from Professor Krane; he recognized the email address.

The email read, 'If you're reading this email, then you must have obtained the P*DA. Go ahead and try out its many features. By the way, Adon was playing hide-and-seek with Jovi. Why not have a chat with him?'

Michael mentally sighed. Running around inside the maze-like lab was the last thing he wanted to be doing when it was such a perfect day outside to be training Eevee, but fear of his mother's wrath overruled his desire to disobey her. After clipping his black bag with red trimming on his belt, which contained three Potions and two Antidotes, and slipping the new P*DA into his pocket (and making a mental note to toy with its features later), Michael turned to his Pokémon.

He said, "So, we need to find Adon. Eevee, can you help me locate him?"

"Vee," said the evolution Pokémon.


AK1028: Well, there we have it. Gary sorta admits that he likes Erika and we get more a look into how Michael's journey was before he was killed. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, the next one will come out next weekend! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!