Dear Delia,
I don't want to trouble you overmuch. I know you have more than enough on your plate without an old fool like me adding to it, but I just wanted to wish you the best and let you know that I'll help in any way I can. If there's anything I can do PLEASE let me know.
P.S. In response to your questions, I can confirm that I did not preside over you and Spencer's wedding at any point. You have not been married. Ash has also only met Molly once before the last few weeks. To the best of my knowledge they did not have a true relationship beforehand, and certainly did not regard each other as brother or sister in any sense. I hope this helps, Delia.
Your friend,
Samuel
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Gary,
I'm afraid I still haven't heard if Daisy will be visiting Indigo soon. She's still fairly spooked from the news of what happened in Indigo. I'll keep doing my best to get her to visit for the Silver Conference this year. I know you were disappointed that she didn't make it home for the Indigo Conference. She's been in touch more often than she has been recently, however. I think Ash meeting her has been a good reminder for her. I'll keep pushing.
I'm glad to hear you'll be seeing Ash, Jonathan, and Amelia soon. Try not to push Jonathan too hard. I know you and the boy don't get along but he could be a good and loyal friend if you gave him the chance. Pushing people away won't do you any favors in the long run. Take it from my personal experience. One of my dearest friends and I fell apart due to personal differences decades ago. I regret it every day.
Give it a shot, please. People have value beyond their strength. Do you hold Ms. Ketchum in lower regard because she isn't a trainer?
Love,
Grandpa
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Daisy,
I know you said you wouldn't return to Kanto after you left Pallet last time - you don't have to keep telling me, I promise. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm sorry. Our last meeting face-to-face didn't go as planned. I don't want to keep having these arguments. Please come home soon.
Pallet Town doesn't have the best memories for any of us. What happened all those years ago torments me every day. Not a day goes by that I don't remember them. Your grandmother. Your mother and father. I miss them, just like I miss you. I know you had it hard. Gary was just a baby, but you were already a girl forced to grow up too fast. A little girl far too smart and too able to understand what you'd lost. You were too young to bear such a burden and I'm truly sorry. You shouldn't have had to take care of me as I fell apart. I should have been the adult, not you.
I failed you, Daisy. I'm sorry. And if you don't want a relationship with me beyond these sporadic messages then I understand. You have more reason than any other to dislike me. But don't punish your brother. He plays tough but he misses you. He's lonely. The only person his age he even mentions favorably is Ash.
Please come back for just a month. One month while Gary competes in the Silver Conference this year. He's going to win, and he needs you there when he does. It will mean the world to him. Please, Daisy. I'm begging you.
Love,
Samuel Oak
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Blaine,
No, I do not need any help with my 'secret project', which I can assure you doesn't exist. Beyond my regular duties for the Indigo League I have not taken on any extra responsibilities. Why would I want to? I only just finished work on my recent project for Silph. I'm taking a well-deserved break. Any additional research I'm conducting is purely for scientific advancement and my own curiosity.
You have your own responsibilities. If I have need of your expertise, I assure you that you'll be the first to know. Lance will keep you informed.
Oak
P.S. I also don't want to come down to your inn to 'get my ass kicked'. My team might be retired, but Inferno and Arcanine would still be happy to prove their strength as fire-types. Come to Pallet Town if you're so eager for a challenge. Leaving that volcano might be good for your lungs.
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Professor Rowan,
Thank you for the data you sent. I appreciate your insights into the most recent event. I have already prepared a report for Champion Lance due to the happenings in Johto, but I will analyze your findings and ensure I take them into consideration.
I've sent some of the data taken from Greenfield to your laboratory by League courier. I'm eager to see what you think of it. Perhaps we will be able to trace other reserves of Codename: SKELETON KEY if we can synchronize their psychic signature and other physical markers to our reconnaissance psychics. Though I am more than hesitant to see further caches of SKELETON KEY activated (an opinion I know you share) I believe it could be beneficial to place further protections around them.
Please inform me if you believe my plan to trace further SKELETON KEY stores has merit. They are truly dangerous, but I suspect that we might need their strength if things should truly fall apart. A last resort, but there is one individual I believe might have the ability to truly control them.
Warm regards,
Professor Oak
Indigo Pokemon Professor
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Lance,
Per our last exchange, I've decided that we should update the dossiers on Project SCRY given recent happenings. The world is changing quickly, it seems, and it seems a new happening or report has been coming in every day since the Greenfield Disaster. Not all can be seen as reliable, but it's worrying. Here is a status update on our targets in the Indigo region.
Codename: FRACTAL is believed to still roost atop Mt. Silver. Our sensors reported meteorological phenomenon consistent with its movements across Kanto from the Seafoam Islands (long-time suspected affiliation with Ice Time of the Seafoam Islands corroborated by Codename: PRECOCIOUS) in the Ore Mountain range during the Greenfield Disaster, but it settled to normal levels soon after the incident in Greenfield was put to rest. Continued observation is absolutely necessary, and I'd suggest reaching out to the local pokemon of Mt. Silver for information. It will also be useful to see if their behavior has altered in accordance with other eyewitness reports of the Ice Time and FRACTAL's movements.
Codename: TEMPEST has not been located since it left the region several months ago. My team had hoped the Greenfield Disaster might induce some sort of display we could use to track it, but as of yet it appears to not exist at all. Due to the scale of our monitoring throughout the National League and the trajectory of its last known flight, I personally believe TEMPEST to have come to rest in the Dark World. We would at least be able to detect its electromagnetic fluctuations and severe effect on regional weather patterns as a result. Our reconnaissance teams have begun to question wild pokemon living beyond Kanto's northern borders and near the Shield of Mew in order to find more concrete evidence.
Codename: BEACON has been confirmed to remain in Mt. Ember by a team I dispatched. You no doubt understand why I could not simply take your word that BEACON had not moved or reacted to the massive psychic reverberations emanating from Greenfield.
Codename: PRIMIS has not been sighted. PRECOCIOUS gave eyewitness testament to PRIMIS appearing during REDACTED and engaging NEMESIS, but no video evidence exists to evaluate the extent of this action. My teams have been turned away by wild pokemon and historical knowledge of PRIMIS has always been limited. Due to collection of several obscure texts and legends, I have reason to believe PRIMIS can be found at least occasionally in Rota. The Tree of Beginning is impossible to breach, but several local legends of Rota consist of children being taken in by a friendly creature who would play and entertain the children for years before returning them to the outside world, oftentimes without the children aging. I will continue to investigate this situation. Should progress not advance, I will speak to PRECOCIOUS and consider dispatching PRECOCIOUS to investigate. PRECOCIOUS is the most likely to invite its attention.
Codename: NEMESIS is nowhere to be found, as per usual. Although we have retained coordinates of New Island and confirmed it against what PRECOCIOUS told us, the island seems to have vanished entirely. Whether this is due to psychic manipulation of our scouts and instruments or something altogether different cannot be confirmed due to the abilities of NEMESIS.
Codename: AEGIS is difficult to track. Our information on it (including recent reports submitted by yourself and PRECOCIOUS) suggest it is highly mobile and possesses psychic abilites sufficient to hide itself from our sensors. In addition, it spends much of its time on the seafloor far from our ability to perceive. There have been unconfirmed reports of sailors seeing 'a white dragon' beneath the waves in Hoenn and most recently near the Whirl Islands of Johto, and rumors passed along oceanic pokemon seem to support these sightings. Should it remain stationary for long enough I will assign a team to reach out and make contact.
Codename: CRYSTAL has been sighted several times in recent months, particularly since the actions of Codename: NEMESIS. As reported previously, we have our suspicions that CRYSTAL, IGNIS, and FULGURITE were responsible for the strange diffusion of the dangerous weather patterns generated by NEMESIS. This is unconfirmed, and all attempts to make psychic contact with CRYSTAL, IGNIS, and FULGURITE have failed. The Ecruteak sages have been similarly unhelpful in regards to our inquiries. Approximately five days ago they were briefly spotted in Ecruteak and the surrounding areas. Gym Leader Morty has confirmed that they appeared within the city and made contact with PRECOCIOUS, though the extent to which is not known. I will inquire further when I next meet PRECOCIOUS.
Codename: REBIRTH has not been spotted, but is suspected to be in the Ecruteak territories due to the ringing of the Crystal Bell. Gym Leader Morty has contacted me and reported that he suspects PRECOCIOUS to be involved somehow, though I confess I'm not surprised by the news. He reports that PRECOCIOUS was in the Bell Tower when the Crystal Bell rang. REBIRTH has been a frustratingly illusive entity thus far. My team will attempt to capitalize on this sighting to more accurately pinpoint its position.
Codename: PURIFICATION is currently confirmed to exist only by a handful of accounts. Were it not for my own brief encounter with the entity I would question its existence. If PURIFICATION's rumored temporal manipulation abilities are true, it might be impossible to track it in any sense of the word. We do not possess those capabilities. Despite this complication, however, I have made forays into Orre in order to pursue the claims made by CODENAME: JANITOR about its interactions with JANITOR in ORRE six years ago. JANITOR has also made mention of several individuals in Orre who might be willing to speak of their supposed experiences with PURIFICATION during the Shadow War in Orre eleven years ago.
As you can see, not much has changed with FRACTAL, TEMPEST, and BEACON. I am curious about this recent change in behavior with CRYSTAL, IGNIS, and FULGURITE. If they are consciously seeking out PRECOCIOUS in tandem with their recent assistance with Codename: SKELETON KEY it might signify that they may be willing to deal more directly with the League. I will continue to pursue these opportunities.
Regards,
Samuel
P.S. A certain mutual acquaintance of ours told me he will be in Blackthorn soon to challenge your cousin. Perhaps you should inform your grandfather? I'm certain that our friend will be of interest to him.
P.S.S I would appreciate the chance to speak to Chinatsu. I realize she might not be particularly be particularly amenable to the idea due to my short-lived tenure as Champion, but I hope she will be more informative about her links to a certain thing than you have been.
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Spencer,
In the wake of recent events, I believe you shouldn't plan another expedition as you mentioned in your previous correspondence. Molly is no doubt in a vulnerable state of mind after her experiences. It's not healthy to leave again so soon, particularly with Delia in such a state.
Delia has not been in much contact aside from asking questions about her past. Her psychic observers have suggested she refer to a trusted source in each of her different memory sets when she is uncertain about a detail, which in this case is me. I can't inform you of the details out of respect to Delia, but I assure you she is becoming more and more certain of herself every day.
I know it's difficult. It hurts me as well to see her in this state, and I know that you and Delia have become close in recent months. Don't deny it - you're somehow even less subtle since you were a bright-eyed teenager taking your first steps in my lab. I know it's been hard since the divorce, and I know Delia has been a spot of brightness in your dark times. I understand, I truly do.
Nobody has ever heard what I'm about to tell you, and I would appreciate that you keep it that way.
Delia saved my life many years ago, Spencer. She never knew how close I came to succumbing to despair. In the months after the attack I was at my darkest point. Every day I fell a little further. I couldn't sleep without seeing their faces. My dreams were filled of my Sarah and Samantha. I could only remember Samantha as a little girl dancing in the flowers with Inferno and Alakazam at her side, walking down the aisle in her wedding dress, and when she had Daisy and Gary. And those little moments of happiness were stolen every morning I woke up alone in my bed to find my world in ruins. Sarah and I would never reach our next anniversary. Samantha and Daniel would never get to watch their children grow up.
For too long I was a broken man. I only survived because Delia saved me. She ensured I ate and drank. She forced me out of the lab to hold Gary while Daisy played with the pokemon. Delia shouted at me when I was close to giving up and pulled me into a hug when I fell apart. Even though she had a young son of her own she kept Daisy and Gary taken care of better than I could ever hope to. She forced me to remember myself. It took months, but she ensured Daisy and Gary would have their grandfather back. I could work every day for the rest of my life and never repay her.
This is a difficult road to walk, but Delia is stronger than either of us. She'll be back before you know it with a smile on her face. She's a survivor.
Be patient, Spencer, and take care of your daughter. She needs you. Don't waste your chance to watch your daughter grow up. If you allow yourself to fall into your work as an escape then little Molly will suffer for it. You'll wake up one day and she'll be a wonderful, brilliant, talented young woman who wants nothing to do with you.
You're a better man than I am, Spencer. Prove it.
Your friend,
Samuel
P.S. After some consideration and consultation, I've decided that I will assist you with an expedition. There are certain conditions that will be met. You will not be living at the research site and will be purely in an oversight role. You will work with me on analyzing data and will only make periodic visits. This project could be vital and I'm excited to continue working with you as a member of the team. I'm awaiting feedback from Professor Rowan before we begin, but I wanted to ensure you were aware of the terms.
A/N: I didn't think I'd be releasing another chapter of Recollections so quickly, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head and it only took about three hours to write up. I hope everyone enjoyed this look at a day in the life of Professor Oak! This is all about a day's worth of correspondence (with the most important cherrypicked to write) and I hope it gives you a better idea of his character and history. He's a phenomenally important character and I've always wanted to dig deeper into him.
This is just the beginning of Traveler's look into Professor Oak and his family and I hope you enjoyed! I'll be able to respond to the reviews from the last chapter very soon!
