"Get moving, you two! This is a great undertaking in Pokemon history!"
*THUD*
With the door of the laboratory shut closed, both Prof. Oak's nephew and his neighbor's son are off to their own adventure along with his Pokemon.
"And off they go. *Sigh* I hope they'll be okay out there."
But the professor didn't get to pondering his inner thought for long, as there's a doorbell ringing in front of the laboratory and since there's no one in the lab, it's up to the old man to answer the door himself.
"Tom?"
"Hey Sam, it's been a while, isn't it?"
In front of the doorstep, with an unmistakably fluffy Santa Claus looking beard, is the roboticist, Dr. Thomas Light. Even though they're studying different professions, they still hang out occasionally in the university, but because both of them were an exchange student who come from a different country, when they graduate, they never get to talk to each other ever since.
Especially when the war begins shortly after that…
"Sam?"
Prof. Oak snap out of his trance and notice Dr. light didn't come alone. Also with him are two kids, a boy and a girl who look to be around his nephew's ages, presumably his offspring. The boy has short, spiky black hair that seems to be always swept back by the wind even if there isn't one and a bright, blue eye like the doctor's eye. He wore a T-shirt and shorts like that of common youngsters the professor has seen before, albeit with a different pattern on the T-shirt. The most uncommon feature of the boy, however, is his footwear. It was unlike any kind of footwear he has ever seen before, it has a metallic appearance that covers the entirety of the boy's calves. It also has a similar shape to that of the bell-bottomed pants back in his youth which combined with the rigid appearance of the boot would make for very clunky and uncomfortable boots. However, the boy has no problem walking in it whatsoever, as if it was a part of his body. Another notable appearance of the boy was his forearm. Most people have their forearm tapered down slightly before connecting to the wrist. However, the boy's forearm was expanding slightly before connecting to his wrist which in a way resembled his boot. The girl beside him also has a similar appearance to him: striking blue eyes, slightly enlarged forearm, and about the same height as the boy. She wore a red dress and a green ribbon that tied her blond hair into a ponytail. Another feature Prof. Oak noticed is that while she didn't wear the same boot as the boy, her leg seemed to form a cone shape that end at her feet which blurred the line where her ankle is. In fact, if only their silhouette was shown, sans the hair and their appearance is practically identical.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're doing good, Tom. So, what brought you here and when did you have a kid?"
"Kid? Oh, yeah. My kid. Well, more about them later, what about you? I see two kids running out of your lab, what are they doing here?
"Those kids are my grandson and my neighbor's son, and they ran off with my greatest creation yet."
Prof. Oak walked to his desk and opened the drawer before reaching inside it. His hand emerged from the drawer, revealing in his hand a clump of wire and protoboard adorned with several components and whatnot. Then the professor gently places it on the table near a red and white ball that have a switch in the middle.
"This may not look like much, but its function is identical to the device I give to those kids out there. This is the Pokedex"
Prof. Oak reach within the clump of wire for the switch, pressed on some switch inside which lit up the screen that was neatly separate from the rest of the component. "This Pokedex is a prototype and proof of concept. You know how most of the post-war recovery effort went into the infrastructure, economy, and all of that right?" "Yes, it was quite a trip traveling here. I mean, I have to reach here by boat because the road to you was completely covered by all sort of vegetation and tall grass." said Dr. Light. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the Pokemon research fund was cut down by a lot. So I think: "What if I create a device that allow a single person to record and collect the information of a Pokemon?" which results in this Pokedex. Now let me demonstrate" Prof. Oak plug the prototype of the Pokedex into the PC on the desk and start typing something on the keyboard.
"Why did you delete the data in the Pokedex, professor?" said the boy.
"Now now Rock, don't go looking over people's shoulder like that" Dr. Light said calmly, yet firmly make it clear to the boy that what he's doing isn't appropriate.
"So your name is Rock, huh. You sure got a keen eye here" mused Prof. Oak. "Well, I just delete an entry of one Pokemon that is in this Pokeball right there so I could demonstrate the process of the registration of this guy on the Pokedex." The professor then remove the Pokedex from the computer. "Alright, now observe as the Pokedex create an entry of this particular Pokemon here."
As he brought the Pokeball near the Pokedex, the device to emit a light that seems to scan on a ball for a few seconds before it emits a single beep and turn of the light. On the screen, new message was shown: "registration completed."
"That's amazing, Sam! Though you may have made it a little more compact if it's supposed to be carried around."
"Yeah, I know. As I mentioned earlier, this is a prototype to comb out all the bugs and kinks in the device. The final version of the Pokedex I gave my grandson and that red boy looks much better than this. Here, just look at this blueprint."
"Hmmm… it definitely looks much slimmer than what you have here."
"I must be really careful not to go over the budget here like I told you earlier. I mean it's not like I'm broke or anything, it's just that the grant has become much harder to obtain and the fund is as slim as my final version. So, I have to make sure that my device definitely work before getting it made to final product here. Say, How's robotic working out for you, Tom?"
"Well...I'm not very proud of it, but the military choose my robot design to be mass-produced which granted, is awesome and all but also mean I'm responsible for many lost lives in the field."
"Your robot design? … Ah! You mean those Joes, right? I heard they're doing massive numbers on the battlefield, too so your concerned are definitely not far-fetched here."
"Thanks for reminding me about my crime against humanity, Oak. And they also paid me handsomely for the royalty, so I'll use that to build an industrial robot that will be used for peaceful purposes. And I'll told ya, it's gonna be…"
While two old men share their work and the story they have to tell, Rock look at the machine on the table with a curious glint in his eye. Then that glint starts to change into something resembling that of pondering before darting around the room before locking his eye with the girl. She too, locks her eye on him but also shaking her head slowly as if trying to dissuade him from whatever he is planning. Rock simply looks her dead in the eye, his flat, expressionless lip start to curl into mischievous grin while stretching his arm toward the table.
"And what about that Wily guy? You still work with him?" asked Prof. Oak. "Albert? Yeah, he may be hard to work with, but his robotic skill is top of the field and I'm glad he's working with me. He's even going to help with the robot master after I finish this vacation. And also…"
"Dr. Light! Dr. Light! I tried to stop him!" The voice of the girl gets the attention of both the professor and roboticist. "Roll? What is he trying to do?" "He's copying Professor Oak's Pokedex! Look at the table!" When they both look at the table, they see Rock by the table. His arm reaching deep into the clump of wires making the Pokedex's prototype, emitting an eerie, bluish glow which is the same glow radiating from his eye.
"Um, Thomas? Care to explain why is your boy glowing? And what is he trying to do with that prototype?" Said Prof. Oak in a very concerned voice like the voice the people who just see a glowing person would make. "*Sigh* Sam, do you still remember that part where I told you about-you know what, I'll elaborate later. For now, let just see what he'll get out of that" "What do you mean by he'll get-" before Prof. Oak could finish the sentence, Rock emits a short voice message that was too synthesized too be his own voice: "Utility Get: Pokedex"
Dr. Light finally approaches Rock and Roll. "Sam, these two is my creation: DLN-001, Rock. And DLN-002, Roll. They are the first two robots of my robot master series." "What Rock has done to your Pokedex, Sam, is using the Variable Tool System he had which enables him to scan any electronic device and allow him to imitate the ability of said device. I usually have him use the system on digital equipment in my lab so he doesn't have to go and pick it up often and also free up his hand for other heavy lifting need."
Prof. Oak examines his Prototype before sighing in relief as the device seems to be intact. "So does that mean your robot have a Pokedex of his own now?" "Yes, I am" Rock said his first sentence since he stepped into the lab. "Of course, Rock. Show him what did you get out of this, would you?"
"Yes, doctor", said Rock before his left eye started to glow brighter and emit a beam of light which projected onto the lab's wall forming a string of letter and other icon. "Well, he does seem to function like one to me", mused Prof. Oak.
001 SEEN
BULBASAUR 3
002 OWNED
_ 3
003
004
CHARMANDER
005
006 DATA
_ CRY
007 AREA
SQUIRTLE QUIT
Rock starts to look further into the pokedex. Selecting "BULBASAUR", he opened its entry. Inside the entry log contained the picture of the pokemon. Despite a noticeably low resolution, one could assume what the pokemon would look like from the picture. There's also a text in the entry saying:
BULBASAUR
SEED
HT 2' 04"
WT 15.0 lb.
A strange seed was planted on its back at birth.
The plant sprouts and grows with this Pokemon.
"Uh, Professor Oak, the Pokedex says you have 3 Pokemons in your possession. Can I see them please?" Rock asked nicely. "Well Rock you see, the two kids I have sent out didn't only receive the Pokedex from me. I also gave each of them a Pokemon to defend themselves and help with mission, namely the Charmander and Squirtle in the entry" Prof. Oak explained. "So you still have the Bubasaur with you, isn't it? Where is it now?" "Sure kid, here you go." Prof. Oak reached out onto the table, grabbing the single Pokeball on the table, before handing it to Rock. "It's in this ball, you could release it by either pressing the switch here or throw it. Whatever suits you best." Rock receives the Pokeball and starts to examine it for a moment before throwing it at the ceiling, hitting it with a loud *THUD*. And then the ball opened, unleashed a green energy which started to form into a shape of creature resemble the creature in the first entry and after a short growl, Bulbasaur materialized before falling right on Rock's arm.
"Say professor," ask Rock, firmly grasping Bulbasaur in His hand. "What do people do with the Pokemon anyway?" "Why, there are so many things we do with Pokemon" said Professor Oak. "I, for one, study these wonderful creatures as a profession. Other people use their wonderful power to do various jobs. But the most popular activity is the Pokemon battle! Every kid nowadays wants to become a Pokemon Trainer and train their Pokemon to fight against each other" "The most popular activity around here is making these creatures fight each other? That's...doesn't sound ethical" the boy robot weight in his opinion with concerned voice. "Well, it's counterintuitive, but from numerous research, mine included, a Pokemon that receive a moderate amount of battle actually grew up stronger in the long run. And most battle end when the Pokemon was simply knock unconscious, not on the brink of dead. Only Pokemon battle with a goal to kill each other would be an underground battle which, unfortunately, exist." Rock starts to look at the Bulbasaur in his arm again contemplatively, it looks back at the boy right at his artificial eye with a quizzical emotion somehow conveyed. "Anyway, Pokemon Battle isn't the only activity Pokemon and trainer should do, as a Pokemon trainer, one has to develop a bond with their Pokemon if they want to be a successful trainer. And these trainers go on an adventure of their lifetime all across the land. "Why, when I was much younger, I used to be a trainer, and a competent one at that! In fact, I was well-known across Kanto and won many prizes with my Pokemons. But now with my age and so many changes going on, I could no longer go out on an adventure like before, so I have to donate them to other capable trainers, some to the sanctuary, and now only few of the Pokemon from those days remain. Including the one you're holding now, Rock" said Professor Oak with lamenting tone. "You know what, kid? I'll give this Bulbasaur to you. Now that I think of it, I never really have a plan what to do with it and maybe you can take care of it better than me. Say, you do know how to take care of living creatures right?"
Rock's gaze, fixated on Bulbasaur in his arm for a few seconds before turning to Dr. Light. "Doctor, can I... would you be okay if I... Stay here with it?" "It's alright Rock" said Dr. Light "I may have built you to be my lab assistant, but you're also Like a son to me. And as a father figure, I should let you explore the venue of your life as you, and you alone, see fit" "Doctor..." "And about the lab, I'm going to be very busy building more robots, but I still I got Roll with me and there will be much more robots at the lab, so I think we could manage if you're not around." "Thank you, Dr. Light. Alright everyone, I'm leaving now. I'll make sure to keep in contact with you, doctor." "Now, now Rock. It's not the right time to go on an adventure right away. It's getting dark out there and you should check yourself and do some preparation first" "Well, all of you can stay at my place for a night or two after helping me close the lab here. I've pulled too much all-nighter working on Pokedex." "We'll help!", Rock and Roll chimed in simultaneously.