Chapter 9:
"Budew Poison Powder! Murkrow, Night Shade!" the girl shouted at the two pokemon in front of her, reminding Arthur that this wasn't the time to get distracted.
"Fire Spin and Flamethrower, burn it away!"
All their pokemon rushed into action. The small Plant type released a puff of dangerous purple spores which got immediately incinerated by the stream of flames released by Growlithe. The attack itself only grazed Budew, but that was enough to make it stumble backwards. Above them, Murkrow gathered ghostly energy in its eyes and let it rain from above, forcing the puppy to dodge to the side, abandoning its attack in the process. The avian soon found itself stuck in a Fire Spin; the attack nigh guaranteed to hit due to the low ceiling.
His opponent clicked her tongue. "Blow the flames away with Gust! Budew, spray them with a wide Poison Sting!" Inside the Fire Spin, the sound of flapping wings got louder and louder as the fire slowly dispersed.
Determined to write that method of dealing with the attack later, Arthur got shoved to the ground by his Ponyta as the Poison Sting sailed over his head. Momentarily shocked be how close he was to becoming a pincushion, it took him longer to response, by which Murkrow was free again. But before he or his opponent were able to give new commands, a loud noise from where Blaine and Jupiter were fighting caused them to pause and shook the whole ship. A stream of hot air went through the corridor, followed by the sound of creaking metal.
He looked over his shoulder and saw how the metal double doors that led to the cargo hold had been damaged, and how Blaine continued to face down three opponents. It didn't seem like Blaine was in any trouble, but their attacks must've clashed or one slipped through to damage to door like that. What surprised him however, was how two small red figures managed to squeeze through the made openings in the door. They looked around before running towards his direction.
"Boss, we got them!" The girl behind him shouted. "Haze and Stun Spore!"
"Fire Spin and Flamethrower! Don't let them escape!" He responded in kind, but the dark smoke was already upon them. The fire attacks shot through it but by the time the corridor was visible again, the girl had already vanished. Getting back up from the ground, he noticed that Ponyta's body trembled and twitched, no doubt the Stun Spore had hit it. He wasted no time and returned it to its ball, before he looked at the attentive puppy to his side, which looked perfectly fine.
"Char!" His attention turned to the form of a pokemon that was even more surprising than the appearance of Jupiter and her Sinnoh native pokemon. Its humanoid body was primarily black and red, with a lighter orange and a tiny bit of blue mixed in. It looked up at him from under its helmet, its eyes ablaze with determination. Just what was a Charcadet doing here?
He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things before crouching down. "Hey buddy, what's up?" Growlithe flanked him and looked at the newcomer with a mix of interest and wariness before sniffing the foreign pokemon. The Charcadet didn't seem bothered, instead it focused on him and tried to animatedly tell him something. It ended its story by pointing back to where his opponent had left.
"Sorry, but I have no idea what you're trying to tell me." He responded, unable to understand the pokemon's rushed explanation. But since it stayed by his side, he guessed it wanted to be with him rather than Team Rocket.
"Hah! Just a bunch of crooks after all." Blaine bellowed behind him as he walked over. "Their leader wasn't even worth my time, but it looks like we'll have to secure our ships better in the future. And what do we have here?"
They turned towards the Gym Leader, Growlithe barked happily and wagged its tail, while Charcadet hid behind Arthur's leg with an unsure expression. "Sir, this one slipped out of the cargo. I don't know why but it seems kind of interested in me. Although I can't understand anything it's trying to tell me."
"That so? Maybe the guys on deck have some info, I don't even know what they're supposed to transport nor who those attackers were." Blaine replied. "Looks like a Fire type to me, so unless it's supposed to be sold, I say we take it with us. Haven't seen one like that yet." Just as he was about to turn to their way back, the man stopped. "By the way, that lassie you're fighting had the same fire in her eyes as you, if you get what I mean."
"Weren't you battling three opponents? When did you have the time to take a good look at her?" Arthur replied jokingly. He had noticed, but he couldn't make sense of it.
"Pah, as if some third-rate pirates needed all my attention. You mentioned your parents quite a few times, but never a sister." Blaine twisted his moustache as he looked at him, or more importantly his eyes.
Arthur shook his head in response. "None that I know off." If whatever family he had equaled that of his written counterpart, then there's no way he could have a sister. As the story went, his father had died when he had been but an infant. Technically a second child wasn't impossible, but highly improbable. His mother was supposed to have white hair, though, and he hadn't planned for a sibling either. Then again, this was a different world so he assumed everything was possible. At times like this, the made-up parents he used to justify his knowledge weren't helping in the slightest.
That said, they went back on deck, with Blaine's Magmar, his Growlithe, and the Charcadet in tow. There they were approached by the Rocket member in charge and Blaine's Arcanine, a group of attackers bound in the corner. "Sir!" the man saluted, "we managed to capture some of those pirates, but I'm afraid their leader managed to slip past us. Our freighter won't be fast enough to catch up with them either."
"I see. Be sure to make a clear report of everything that has happened here tonight." Blaine nodded and returned his Arcanine to its ball. "Say, what were you transporting that could've prompted an attack like that?"
"Sir! We were on our way to HQ to deliver a payload from one of our teams out in the foreign regions! I don't know where they got most of the shipment from, but there are a lot of precious metals, gems, and accessories in it. That and two pokemon."
"Hmm … then it looks like I'll have to wait for their report to get an answer. Me and my student have secured the payload, you'll have to fix the door, however." Blaine stated, then pointed at Arthur and the pokemon by his feet. "We'll take that one of your hands. The other one wasn't anywhere to be seen, so I can only assume those pirates managed to bag it."
"B-but sir, our orders-"
"Your orders are to deliver the payload. I'll let your superiors know I shortened the list a bit. Judging by this pokemon's appearance it would've landed at my lab sooner or later anyways." Blaine cut him off gruffly. "Anything else?"
"N-no sir, thank you for your swift help."
Blaine turned back to Arthur and clapped him on the shoulder. "You heard him, lad. But before we get going, make sure that one doesn't get lost." He handed Arthur an empty black pokeball.
Pokeball in hand, Arthur crouched back down to the Charcadet. "You'll stay around, right?" He asked, barely suppressing a yawn, the time of night finally getting to him. The pokemon nodded in response and put its hand against the balls button, vanishing in a blur of red energy. The ball shook three times and let out a satisfying 'ding' as it stopped.
After a much-needed rest, Arthur nibbled at a piece of toast when Blaine entered their designated employee rest room. The man got himself one of the coffees Arthur had prepared and sat down across from him.
"Good job last night, lad." Blaine said and took a sip from his coffee. "You handled yourself well given the situation."
Not agreeing with that, he grumbled into his toast. "I let them escape with one of the pokemon."
"You did, but you also did your job. While it would've been preferable if we caught them there wasn't much you could've done different. Aside from badly burning your opponent, that is." Blaine agreed and fixed him with his stare. "But that's not something you'd do."
"Of course not! Even if I almost got hit by a Poison Sting, I would never order a direct attack like that." He responded, horrified by the suggestion. But then again, he was supposed to be a member of Team Rocket.
"No, you wouldn't have. And that's exactly why I support the angle you're chasing." The Gym Leader nodded and looked at the cup in his hands. "An order like that should be the last straw. There's a reason why certain pokemon are used in this organization of ours; to incapacitate our opposition without causing too much damage. The last thing the boss can afford is a tragedy caused by one of his own that'll paint a massive target on our backs."
"I'm not sure everyone agrees with that, though …" Arthur countered. He remembered how physical some of the recruits in the academy were, or how spiteful. "Why are you with us anyway?"
Blaine snorted, his eyes not leaving the cup as he swished around its contents. "Because I'm a researcher that needs a lot of money. Because I'm a war veteran known for his unforgiving fighting style. Because it grants me access to resources I wouldn't have legally. It may look like I joined by choice, but my choice is an illusion."
"Would you leave, or at least distance yourself if you stopped being dependent on them?" Arthur questioned and took another bite from his toast. "I don't know more about the war than we're taught back in the academy, but judging by your lack of Johto native pokemon in your arena I believe you hold some grudge there."
"Even if I weren't depending on them, it's too late to leave. I know too much." Blaine answered, his hands tightening into fists before he released them with a sigh. "But you're right. If it weren't for those Johtonians I wouldn't be restricted in the scientific world, nor would I have to rely on Team Rocket like that. Or …" The man turned solemnly quiet.
Arthur felt guilty for seemingly trigger some bad memories. He quietly finished his breakfast before he changed the topic. "So, about that unknown pokemon we have around now."
It took a moment, but Blaine looked back up, interest reflected in his shades. "Yes? Do you know anything about it?"
He knew well what it was, but Arthur didn't know how to properly package the information up. So, he fell back onto his usual fake excuse. "I've seen it once or twice. My parents had one around to study, as its way of evolving is a bit different. Well, not the way, but how its procured." Blaine gestured him to continue and he did. "It's called Charcadet and it's a Fire type from some region I don't know. It has two possible evolutions that both need very specific items and while I know how they should look like, I have no idea where to get them. Or make them."
Blaine eyed him peculiarly like he had on the ship, but if he had called his ruse, he didn't show it. "Hmm … sounds like a perfect study for you to take on for the remained of your time here. The fact that there's a Fire type like that is intriguing, so count me in. Not like I can do much but wait on the boss's experiment anyway." Blaine decided. "Can you try and visualize the items required?"
"I can try, but for what?" Arthur replied with furrowed brows. He imagined drawing out the armors that evolved Charcadet, only to have James look over his shoulder and ask him why he drew weird planes.
The Gym Leader grinned. "Well, our guys had to get that pokemon somewhere, right? If they didn't get one of those items too, then we'll use Rocket's underground network to try and get our hands on one. If that doesn't work … then we can still try and make them by ourselves. At least you made it sound like we could."
"It's a possibility, but I'm not sure."
"Good, good. Then you'll do that first and then study that pokemon. You can train it with the others, hell, if the boss sees fit you can keep it. No rarer pokemon to get than one we don't even know where it came from!" The man laughed loudly. Then he rummaged around in his coat and took out what looked like the top half of a pokeball. "Just make sure to put that on its ball. We don't want to deal with unnecessary attention after all."
Once Arthur had done so, the two of them emptied their cups and got up. "To work!"
"There's nothing in any of the payloads the teams brought back, nothing on the black market, and of course not on the regular ones either. We don't even know where they got Charcadet from in the first place since that group fell out of contact after the attack on the freighter last year." Arthur listed up their findings, a bit distraught by their lack of advancement. "Which leaves us with the option of crafting those items ourselves, but …"
His rambling was interrupted by an annoyed sigh. "I can't make any sense of this. If at least the types were similar to anything we have, but neither Psychic nor Ghost types are known for having evolution stones or something similar." Blaine swiped at his whiteboard, pulling up the different known evolution items. "You said it needs armor, but not a Metal Coat. It's a Fire type, but a Fire Stone won't work. There's known item that fits the description either, nor is there a known location filled with Psychic energy. The Pokemon Tower in Lavendar City obviously acts as a nexus for Ghost types, but talking with them is like pulling teeth from a Gyarados. Stupid Agatha and her traditions." He grumbled out that last part.
Arthur's head went up from the screen his eyes had been locked onto as he remembered. How could he forget, of course no one knew about Dusk Stone's yet, despite that half of the pokemon it could be used on were Johto natives. He mentally and physically facepalmed before he pulled up his emails and quickly sent one with the description of the stone he's looking for to the Pewter City Gym. Perhaps they could combine a handful of those stones with some metal to build the Malicious Armor. At this point he didn't care whether they managed to get it or the Auspicious Armor, he just wanted to get somewhere. The armors were supposed to those of knights with lingering wills, but where in this world did knights even exist?
Over the past year, he'd trained Charcadet intensely. While the training was primarily for studying purposes of an unknown species, he knew that the small Fire type needed all the head start it could get. After the boss – he'd to remind himself to call him that since he wasn't supposed to know its Giovanni – had waved their initiative of taking the foreign pokemon with them, they got right to it. If he remembered correctly, then the Charcadet species wasn't all that strong, a good bit weaker than Growlithe, but made that up by having strong evolutions. As it was the first pokemon he caught, and because he was the only one able to make sense of it or rather her, Charcadet would be his starter, which he was fine with, but a trainer's starter was usually their strongest pokemon. Blaine's Magmar, Flint's Rhydon, Lance's Dragonite – the first one – all were undoubtedly the strongest pokemon each of them had, and all of them were their first as well. And while something like a Pikachu wasn't impressive going by game statistics, it could be way better if his observations were correct.
He'd watched last year's Indigo League Tournament together with the other children and had been surprised by some of the pokemon that had been brought into it. While most if not all of the pokemon brought in by older trainers had been fully evolved or stuck at the currently known last evolution, that hadn't been a given for the younger trainers. But what had been equally surprising was the fact that some of the not fully evolved pokemon had managed to pull their weight. Coincidentally – or not at all – that only applied to those that were their trainers starter.
So maybe he didn't have to push his Charcadet that much. Maybe she wouldn't struggle that hard before he managed to evolve her. But then again, she was fire and flame when it came to training and needed to be told several times that it was time to stop. Unfortunately, they were pretty much locked to Fire type moves, the only other offensive moves she'd managed to learn until now being Astonish, Night Shade, and Take Down. Maybe he could try and have her up- or downgrade those moves in their remaining time here, maybe he could try his hands on a custom move or two to solve that. Blaine had a handful, that he knew, so it'd be worth a shot. He'd have to find a suitable nickname for her as well, but he'd decided that he'd give her one once they officially became partners, which left half a year to come up with one.
The phone rang next to him and brought him back to the here and now. The receptionist on the end of the line informed him that the Professors were here and waited for them in the foyer. He thanked her for the call and got up from his seat, stretching his lazy muscles. "Blaine, the Professors are here."
"Already? It's only-," Blaine looked at his wristwatch, visibly surprised by the time it showed. "Never mind. Let's get going then, can't let the real researchers wait."
They made their way to their guests, where the duo was waiting for them. The world's most influential researcher in all terms pokemon sat on the couch, a smile appearing on his face as he drank from his steaming coffee. Professor Oak looked exactly as Arthur remembered him; short grey hair, dark eyes, a combo of long beige pants and a red button shirt with a white coat over it. Even relaxed, Oak seemed keenly aware of his surroundings, something that couldn't be said for his former student. Seated in the chair next to Oak, Professor Elm made his excitement more than known. Wearing the same white coat, Elm changed up the colors underneath from beige and red to green and light blue, although he didn't look as orderly as Professor Oak, no less to the countless papers that were sticking out of every of his pockets.
Before they engaged the two Professors, Arthur and Blaine got themselves cups of coffee as well, sipping and relaxing from it in perfect sync. The Gym Leader took a deep breath and focused, then walked over to their guests.
"It appears we've lost track of time in our research, but it looks like you two have kept each other company well enough." Blaine greeted them.
The two professors looked up and Professor Oak was the first to respond. "A trait many of us scientist share, I believe. But don't worry, this is only our second cup." He said with a sincere laugh. His eyes met Arthur's, and the old man's excitement was plain to see. "And this is your student, I believe?" Oak stood up and held out his hand, an aura of grandfatherly warmth surrounding him. "It's a pleasure to meet someone that's already contributed to our society in such a young age. I'm-"
Arthur shook his hand and continued for him. "Professor Samuel Oak, famous pokemon researcher and former Champion of the Indigo League." The professor scratched the back of his sheepishly. "I believe everyone knows who you are, Professor." He said with a chuckle. "I'm Arthur Anderson, third year intern at the Cinnabar Gym."
"Third year already?" Oak asked flabbergasted. "The fact you even got old Blaine here to take you in is a surprise, but for so long? Then again, we are here for your discovery."
"You better believe I was skeptical in the beginning, Samuel." Blane snorted in response. "The lad took a lot of work from my back though, and put in even more."
The older professor nodded. "Yes, I believe the renaissance of Cinnabar Island was in the news not too long ago, and the changes I've seen have a youthful touch indeed. My grandchildren are especially fond of that petting zoo of yours. I'm sure they'll have a lot to talk about after they lead Delilah all around town."
Elm cleared his throat beside his former teacher. "We have time for friendly chatter later, we're here for a reason." He told his fellow researchers before he shook hands with Arthur. "Professor Elm from New Bark Town Johto. I specialize in the topic of 'Pokemon Breeding', so please forgive my excitement about your recent discovery."
"It's alright, Professor, I feel very much the same." Arthur replied with a smile. "Then how about I show you the results of our experiment …"
They arrived at the second breeding ground not long after. Arthur led them to the half open nursery that was directly connected to the breeding and playing area. There, it didn't take long to get the attention of the group of newborns. Half of them had the regular orange fur with black stripes along with beige tuft atop their heads, similarly to their tail and mane. The other half's fur had a dark orange-red tone, and instead of beige their mane and tail were light grey, and most of them had their eye's hidden underneath. Instead of a tuft of fur, they had a hardened horn on top of their heads and were slightly taller than their Kanto counterparts. Aside from the colors, this 'new' form of Growlithe's fur was wavy and curly as opposed to the regular spiky fur.
"This group of Growlithe all hatched only a few days apart from each other and are about three months old now, so their data is the most comparable from all our specimen." Arthur explained as he presented the puppies and went over all the differences in their appearance from one another. The two professors hastily made notes along the way, sneaking in a picture here and there, but waited with their questions until he'd finished.
"That are a lot of differences, but how did they come to be? There must be a reason as to why we've never seen this version of Growlithe before." Oak started.
"And how did you manage to pull them out? Diet? Special parentage? Cross breeding? Maybe some special arrangements?" Elm added.
Arthur just smiled and waited for them to finish before he answered. "The deciding factors are the location and the flow of energy we've set up. Growlithe typically live in plains and near civilization, but here on an island with an active volcano there are many differences regarding the type energies in those places." He moved to the side and used the prepared laptop to show his notes and pictures as he went on. "I've spent around two years trying to find this form and it has only shown itself recently, and only in this specially prepared facility. Unlike the other facility, its nearer to the volcano itself and has been modified with additional items that improve the circulation of the natural type energy here, thanks to some valuable insight from Gym Leader Flint."
He presented them with the different kinds of rocks and stones they'd embedded in the soil and around the field, as well as the measurements in energy. "We've managed to even out the Rock and Fire type energy with this arrangement, which in turn changed these Growlithe's appearance and typing. As this new form of Growlithe's fur has adapted to its Rock typing, it appears like it traded its speed for additional physical power, shown in their height and weight, however that is still up for debate." He switched to the next set of pictures after the professors finished making notes. "Considering their change in type we've also had our designated breeder come up with a suitable diet for them, but since our oldest specimen are only half a year old, we'll have to see what the future will bring. Similarly, we don't know how this type of Growlithe will interact on a breeding basis with other species." He ended with an answer to the question Elm had raised his arm for but didn't need to ask.
With his presentation finished, he waited for more questions as the professors looked at their notes. Some of the puppy pokemon walked over, interested in the newcomers and promptly triggered Elm's desire to inspect them himself, which no one stopped him from doing.
"Arthur, if I may ask," Oak started and looked back up at him with an inquisitive gaze. "How did you come up with this idea in the first place?"
In response, he shrugged, trying to play it off. "We were set on breeding mostly Growlithe, and since there are pokemon like Magby, Magmar, Slugma, and Magcargo that like the intense heat of environments like a volcano, I thought we could try and see how other Fire types reacted to an environment like that. Since Magcargo gains the Rock typing upon its evolution, I wanted to see if that could be triggered in other pokemon that adapted to this environment as well."
The professor nodded along. "Judging by what you've shown us, you made quite the effort with all the different materials used, but what would you've done if you hadn't succeeded in your endeavors?"
While reasonable in terms of resources, Arthur felt like there was more to that question. He hummed in thought as he rested his head on his fist, pondering about what to say when it hit him. "I would've been sad, but all the more motivated to make my next experiment a success. My gut was telling me that I was on the right track, though, and until now I could always count on that feeling."
Blaine barked out in laughter. "Lad got guts; I tell you. He didn't take no for an answer and even threatened to cut me off my coffee supply if I didn't let him try."
"Reminds me of another hot-headed researcher I know," Oak chuckled along. "Since I doubt my fellow professor will stop fussing over the group of pokemon in front of him soon I want to ask you something, Arthur. You'll be sixteen before the start of the next league cycle, right?"
He nodded with a smile on his face, knowing where this question led to. "Yes, just in time to start my journey."
"Wonderful! Tell me, have you thought about-" Oak started but got interrupted by Blaine.
"I'm already sponsoring the lad, Samuel. He even made a deal with that old lady from the clothing store to promote her in exchange for clothes. If he continues growing the way he does I don't blame him."
That caused the professor to chuckle once more. "Possessive of your protégé, Blaine? You know as well as I that the more support a promising young trainer gets the better." He looked at Arthur once more. "If you have the time, I'd suggest you taking the exam I give out for Lab Trainers. Considering the success in your experiment here and how long you've been with Blaine, I doubt you'll have much trouble with it. That way I can offer you the position and additional sponsoring without any problems."
"Does that include a pokedex with full access?" He asked in return. The pokedex was his aim and he couldn't help but wonder how much information it would grant him.
"But of course! That and the privilege of receiving one of the three Kanto starters, although with access to this new type of Growlithe I doubt you'll find anything rarer than them for the time being." Oak clapped his hands as he replied. "Other than that, you'd have more responsibilities as well, but I can tell you about those when we get there. I imagine your name will be well-known after you release the study and results for this new form of Growlithe. Combine that with the natural high esteem my Lab Trainers receive and I doubt you'll have much trouble on your journey, both in case of resources and status."
"That's the plan. The more support I have, the easier it'll be to reach my goal." Arthur replied confidently.
The professor nodded but couldn't help but ask. "And what would that be?"
He grinned in response. "Becoming Champion, of course."
They shared a good-natured laugh. "Aiming high, I see. Well, I can tell you it's a full-time job that'll require a lot from you. If you want, I can tell you more about it if you become my Lab Trainer. But we should wrap things up for today. There's just one last question I have." Professor Oak said as he clapped Arthur on the shoulder. "How are you going to call these Growlithe?"
A good question. One he hadn't thought of an answer yet.
Back again with the end to Arthur's stay on Cinnabar. With his experiment a success, he's made some valuable connections and can focus on other topics. Like how he can get his Charcadet to evolve. Next time the journey, finally, begins!
Thanks for reading!
