Chapter 2: Moving Day

After settling the arrangements with Professor Cerise, Ash and Lillie headed back to Pallet Town to tell Ash's mother and get ready to move in. Although Delila was sad Ash was leaving so soon, she supported him wholely.

"Oh, my little boy is growing up! First a girlfriend, now a job, soon I'll be getting grandchildren!"

"Mom!"

Lillie blushed, Ash groaned in embarrassment, and Delila laughed.

"Calm down, dear, I'm only joking. Still though, do try to stop by every now and then."

"We will, don't you worry!"

"Come on Ash, we'd better start packing."

"Right!"

Ash and Lillie woke up bright and early the next morning, and after saying goodbye to Professor Oak and Delila they caught the first bus to Vermillion City. Professor Cerise was waiting for them outside the building.

"Welcome, you two! Are you ready to start your new jobs?"

"We sure are!"

"Where's Goh? Shouldn't he be here?"

"I told him 8 o'clock. I wonder where...oh, there he is!"

Sure enough, Goh came running down up the steps, dirty and caked with mud.

"Sorry I'm late! I was trying to catch an Oddish, but then its mother saw me and hit me with Sleep Powder, and..."

"Its alright, you got here just in time. Come on in, I'll show you around."

Professor Cerise opened the door, and the trio followed them in. The inside of the building was pretty simple, with fluorescent lights guiding their path. Their first stop was a fairly large cafeteria, with a few researchers seated down eating.

"This is our mess hall, open 24 hours. They serve all three main meals, but can make you a snack on request."

Ash caught one whiff of the food cooking, and his mouth began to water.

"Ah man, that smells good."

Lillie just rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, leading him away to the next stop on the tour: a large biodome filled with various habitats for Pokemon.

"This is our indoor research facility, where we can take care of and study various Pokemon. You're more than welcome to keep any Pokemon you catch here when you don't need them."

"Sweet! This place is awesome!"

Lastly, Professor Cerise led them to a room full of monitors and other assorted devices.

"And this is the main hub that controls it all. Here we keep all of our research data and information. Any data you gather will be kept here."

"Cool!"

"Oh, that reminds me! As new members of the Institute, you'll each get one of these."

The Professor walked over to his desk, pulling out three objects from it and handing them to his new employees.

"What's this?"

"Check this out."

Whistling, he summoned three Rotom, buzzing with excitement. The three Pokemon zigged and zagged all over the lab, before launching themselves into the objects. After a few moments, the phones took the appearance of their new inhabitants. After a minute to scan the trio, the Rotom spoke:

"User identified. Greetings, Ash/Lillie/Goh! I am at your humble service!"

"Woah, that's so cool!"

"Reminds me of the Rotomdex I had in Alola."

"Meet the Rotom Phone. Silph Co. has been producing in conjunction with us as the next evolution of the Pokedex. Now not only will they give you a brief summary of the Pokemon, but they can tell you their preferred habitat, as well as keep track of how many Pokemon you've seen and/or caught, among many other useful functions."

"Sweet! Thanks, Professor Cerise!"

"My pleasure, Ash. Now come on, let's show you three where you'll be staying."

He led the trio down a long hallway, to a small amount of bunkrooms.

"Usually, these are for associates who need to do some overnight work, but it should work just fine. Ash and Goh, here's your room."

The two boys entered to find a modest room, with a desk on one end, a tv, and a bunkbed in the far corner.

"This is nice. I call top bunk!"

"Hey, no fair! I wanted that!"

"Well, I called it first!"

Lillie chuckled nervously watching her boyfriend and Goh argue over who got the top bunk like a bunch of five year old's. Chloe just shook her head.

"Boys."

"Come on Lillie, let me show you to your room."

Lillie's room was similar, except there were two beds with a desk in between.

"This is Chloe's room for when she needs to stay over night for any reason, but she volunteered to share it."

"Really? Thanks, Chloe!"

"Hey, us girls have to stick together! I'm just glad to have another girl to talk to around here."

"Oh, tell me about it. I'd kill for a sister..."

And so the two spent the rest of the night talking about their family, and soon became good friends. Lillie and Ash went to sleep that night knowing that whatever tomorrow held, they'd face it head on.