Chapter 19:
The Future is Now, Thanks to Understanding
Route 5 – Tancoon Way
Thankfully, the way from Comet Port to Rochfale Town was just as short as the road from Comet Cave to Comet Port. While the group of six left Comet Port in the morning, they managed to reach Rochfale Town shortly after noon.
"Here we are! Rochfale Town!" Mairin excitedly said, as she ran towards the sign that welcomed new visitors.
Welcome to Rochfale Town
Watch out for the falling boulders!
"Falling boulders!?" Bonnie repeated in horror, as she protectively held Dedenne.
"It must be some kind of prank..." Ash deduced. "I think."
"I think they must be talking about the mountainous area that surrounds the town from the west," Serena said, as she checked information on the town on her tablet. "Rock slides happen sometimes, and I'm not talking about the Pokemon attack."
"Makes sense. Besides, this doesn't look like a place where boulders fall often," Clemont noticed.
The group took a good look at the town as they walked in. It was a rural town, mostly made of one and two story houses of wood with red roofs. There were no asphalted roads, just tracks of dirt outlined by grass. In a way, it reminded the group of Moki town, only replacing all the green with reds and oranges. And just like Moki Town, there was a larger and more modern-looking building on a small hill in the northernmost part of the town.
"That must be Professor Cypress' lab," Alain said.
"And look! There's the Contest Hall!" Serena excitedly said, as she pointed to the colorful building, which stuck out among all the wooden houses. "It feels like it's been ages since the last time I've been in a contest."
"Is the next contest today?" Mairin asked.
Serena shook her head. "In three days. That gives me enough time for some last minute training and to make sure my Pokemon are ready for it."
"Professor Cypress' conference won't be until the afternoon, so we'll have some spare time to spend as we please," Alain said.
"Great. Let's go to the Pokemon Center and have all our Pokemon checked," Ash suggested, something that all of them agreed with.
It wasn't hard to find the Pokemon Center, as it also clashed with the rest of the town's décor. Once they crossed the sliding doors and headed for the counter, where the blue haired Nurse Joy and her Aromatisse and Miasmedic were ready to attend to them, they were greeted by a familiar voice.
"Hey, it's you guys! Quite some time since we last saw each other!"
They turned around towards the source of the voice, and much to their surprise, it was Professor Bamb'o, who was sitting on one of the Center's tables, a cup of hot coffee next to him, working on something on his tablet.
"Professor Bamb'o!" Ash said, as he walked to greet the man, followed by the rest of the group. "It's so great to see you!"
"Heh, I see you picked up a couple of new friends, didn't you?" Bamb'o said, as he looked at Alain and Mairin.
"Oh right! These are Alain and Mairin. They're from Kalos too. They're here helping Professor Sycamore," Serena introduced the duo, who were looking at the eccentric man as if they were wondering if somebody who dressed and acted so casually was a Pokemon Professor. "Guys, this is Professor Bamb'o. He has a laboratory in Moki Town."
"Ah yes! Lily said that Sycamore was going to send somebody in his place," Bamb'o said, before he looked at Ash and his friends again. "So, I assume that you know about this afternoon's conference. Will you guys come too? Anybody can attend."
"If there's no problem, sure! I can't wait to see what this Professor Cypress is going to show," Clemont said, excitement bubbling within him.
"Oh! And before I forget, Natalie and Vitor are here too!" Bamb'o told the group. "They're sparring on a nearby battleground, in order to test their new Pokemon. You should go and take a look. I'm sure you'll find them interesting."
Before either of them could say anything, Bamb'o stood up and led the group towards the battleground just outside the Pokemon center. And just like he said, the Moki Town twins were there, engaged in a Pokemon battle.
"Ice Shard, Snopach!" Vitor ordered his pokemon, a small brown elephant with blue ears and tail, a white trunk and back, little tusks and black beady eyes.
"Counter with Brick Break, Slothom!" Natalie told her Pokemon, brown sloth with a yellow furry collar, yellow and black marks on its front paws that looked like plugs, and a dark blue bony crest above its eyes.
Vitor's Pokemon launched an ice missile towards Natalie's, which smashed it to bits with a chop of its glowing paw. It was that moment that the twins noticed the newcomers at the edge of the battleground.
"Hey look, it's Ash!" Natalie excitedly said.
"And Serena!" Vitor said, sharing his sister's enthusiasm.
The twins quickly forgot about their sparring match, and went to greet their friends from out of the region. While Professor Bamb'o introduced them to Alain and Mairin, Ash and Serena took a look at the Pokemon they were using to spar. At first sight, they didn't look like anything special, but if Bamb'o had told them they were, there must have been a reason. The duo took out their Pokedex in order to scan them.
"Snopach, the Tiny Tusk Pokemon. Ice/Rock. A Pokémon that roamed the tundra millions of years ago. They used their small tusks to dig up berries and roots under the ice."
"Slotholm, the Sloth Pokemon. Electric/Rock. A very lazy Pokémon that lived millions of years ago. They would climb to the top of trees and wait to be struck by lightning."
"Millions of years ago?" Ash echoed.
"Yeah-" Natalie began.
"That's right!" Professor Bamb'o quickly interrupted her, his voice carrying a hefty amount of enthusiasm. "Snopach and Slotholm were prehistoric Pokemon that lived on Tandor long before human beings existed, and sadly became extinct many years ago! Thankfully, thanks to our technological advances, we can bring extinct Pokemon back to life through their fossils!"
"...yeah," Natalie said, rolling her eyes a little. "Vitor and I got these when we were crossing Comet Cave."
"They were unearthed by a group of paleontologists we ran into," Vitor continued to explain. "Since we protected them from wild Pokemon that inhabited the cave, they gave us a couple fossils as a reward, and walked with us here in order to revive them into Pokemon. The rest of them are in Professor Cypress' lab."
"So lucky. I wish we also found a few fossils. But we only ran into an old man and a giant, two headed snake," Bonnie complained.
"That old man gave us Keystones and Mega Stones, Bonnie," Serena gently chided the younger girl.
She crossed her arms. "Which I didn't get. And I wanted a fossil..."
Serena rolled her eyes, but decided to ignore Bonnie. She crouched next to Snopach in order to see it better. "It looks pretty healthy. Are you going to use it during the next contest?"
"Oh, no. I only got Snopach a few days ago. Nat and I have been training them in order to help them catch up to the rest of our Pokemon, but Snopach is a little too green for anything yet," Vitor said.
"I'm sure that they will be great in battle once they get enough training," Ash said. "I've seen my own share of prehistoric Pokemon, and all of them were amazing."
"Hey, since you were in the laboratory, were you able to see what Professor Cypress is going to show?" Clemont asked the twins.
"Not really. Whatever they're preparing, they're rather secretive about it. They're afraid somebody might attempt a robbery or something like that before it can be officially unveiled," Vitor replied.
Bamb'o clapped Clemon'ts shoulder, startling the Lumiose Gym Leader a little. "Hey, calm down kid! Where's the fire? We're all going to see it in a couple hours! Try to relax a little, you'll live longer."
"Well, Clemont can't help it. He's really passionate about science and inventions almost as much as I am about Pokemon battles," Ash let out a good natured chuckle.
"Yeah, especially inventions that don't blow up," Bonnie deadpanned.
Before Clemont could protest, he was silenced by the noise of spinning rotors, first faint and soft, then progressively louder. Everybody turned towards the source of the noise, and saw a white, sleek looking helicopter approaching the town. On the sides of the helicopter there were two Ls written in bright red.
"Ah, of course he's here too," Bamb'o said, his voice losing some of its usual energy, as he removed his shades to look at the chopper better, who was descending. "He always likes to make such an entrance."
"Professor? Do you know who's coming?" Natalie curiously asked.
"Yeah, my senior," Bamb'o said. "We should better move. This battleground is the only place in the entire town big enough to fit a helicopter."
And indeed, much like Bamb'o had said, the helicopter was heading towards their position, the noise made by the propellers growing louder, while raising a strong gust of wind in every direction. The helicopter then landed on the battleground, and as its propellers' spinning began to slow down, the doors opened, and from the flying vehicle came out three figures: a man followed by a couple of younger women.
The man was middle aged, with shoulder length navy blue hair with a noticeable balding spot at the top of his head. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of opaque glasses. He was wearing a lab coat, completely buttoned. Under the coat he was wearing a white shirt with a red tie.
The two women following him were noticeably younger, and looked identical. Both of them had short hair with a long bang that fell on one side of their face, one of them having teal hair and the other bright brown. Both of them were wearing shades that hid their eyes. Like the man they were following, they were also wearing buttoned lab coats.
"Kids, this is Professor Randall Larkspur, the third and most senior Pokemon Professor in the region of Tandor," Bamb'o began, as he watched Larkspur and whom they believed were his assistants walking towards them.
Larkspur smiled upon seeing his junior. "Ah, Professor Bamb'o. I imagined we'd see you here," he began, extending a hand towards Bamb'o. "How is your new lab going?"
"Going well. A bit messy, but little by little, the place looks a bit more like a place of work and science," Bamb'o admitted.
"You could have worked in a real laboratory, but you keep rejecting my offers," Larkspur replied. "But hey, as long as you can 'fly on your own', everybody's happy, right?"
"Right," Bamb'o said.
Larkspur then took a look at the varied group of teens that was standing behind the Moki Town professor, and adjusted his glasses, scanning them with his hidden eyes. "You have quite the cadre of youngsters following you. Surely not all of them are your interns, are you?"
"Oh, no, no, no!" Bamb'o quickly replied. He then grabbed Vitor and Natalie and moved them towards himself. "Only these two. Natalie and Vitor. Well, there's also Theo, but he isn't here."
One of Larkspur's assistants came closer to the Professor and whispered something to his ear, which caused the man to nod.
"Oh, right! You're the children of our esteemed Chief Ranger, aren't you? As well as Doctor Lucille," Larkspur said, before his expression grew somber. "Her loss was a huge tragedy."
"You knew our mother?" Natalie asked.
"Know her? Child, I worked alongside your mother for years! The most brilliant mind I had the pleasure to meet and foster." Larkspur said with nostalgic fondness. "My team and I have been trying to continue her work with the notes she left behind, but alas, without her genius, our progress isn't as swift as we would have hoped."
The twins drank every word that the older Professor was saying. To Ash, they looked as if this was the first time somebody told them about their missing mother.
"Wow... can you tell us more about her?" Vitor asked.
"Er... of course, but I'm sure that your father has told you plenty of things about her, hasn't he?" Larkspur asked.
Vitor averted his gaze, and rubbed his arm, looking visibly uncomfortable. "Our dad... he doesn't like to talk about mom with us much..."
Natalie rolled her eyes. "He doesn't like to talk with us, period. We barely get to see him. He claims to be too busy with his job."
"Now, now, your father's job is quite an important one, given that he keeps the region safe," Bamb'o said, hoping to play peacekeeper. "And the rangers are more needed than ever now, with those Team Omega thugs causing trouble."
"Ah, yes, ehem, ah, a truly despicable bunch. Let's hope our Rangers can dismantle them and put an end to their operations," Larkspur said.
"Anyway, should I introduce you to the rest of this group?" Bamb'o offered. "This is Ash Ketchum, from Kanto. Serena Gabena, from Kalos. Clemont and his sister Bonnie, from Kalos too. And these are Alain and Mairin, Professor Sycamore's field researchers, who are here in his stead."
"From Kalos too," Mairin added.
"Uh..." Larkspur stuttered, before the other assistant whispered something in his ear, and nodded again. "Ah, of course! Alain and Ash, the winner and runner up of the Kalos Pokemon League! And Serena, the runner up to the Kalos Master Class Showcase! And the Lumiose City Gym Leader, on top of an engineer of renown, Clemont!" Larkspur said, before looking at Bamb'o. "You have the talent to surround yourself with promising youths, Bamb'o."
"What can I say? I can recognize potential when I see it!" Bamb'o shrugged.
Larkspur looked at his watch. "It seems that we've arrived a bit earlier than expected. Say, why don't we go inside and update me of everything of interest that has happened in West Tandor?" he asked, as he began to walk towards the Pokemon Center.
"Sure, as long as you tell me the same on your side of the pond," Bamb'o replied.
"I could, but I'm afraid that you'd end up extremely bored."
…
"I have to admit, these designs are truly impressive, especially coming from somebody so young," Larkspur said, his eyes looking at the screen of Clemont's laptop.
"Thank you, sir. It means a lot from somebody of such renown as yourself," Clemont bashfully replied.
The group was now sitting on a table in the Pokemon Center, alongside Larkspur and his two assistants. Alain and Mairin were sitting at another table with Bamb'o and the Moki twins, and were using their spare time to get to know each other better.
Upon hearing from Clemont, the old professor had shown interest in the Gym Leader's work. Clemont was able to show him a couple of his inventions he had on hand (thankfully, none of them exploded, a fact Bonnie was quick to point out) as well as others he was working on. When Larkspur asked for more, Clemont showed him the blueprints of future designs, as well as designs of inventions he didn't have on hand.
"Well, Bamb'o isn't the only one who likes to surround himself with talent," Larkspur said, adjusting his glasses. "You know, Clemont, my laboratory specializes in research, development and production of equipment and devices to improve the capabilities of Pokemon, as well as to help humans understand them better. And I think my team could benefit from somebody as bright as you."
"Really? Whoa, that's..." Clemont began, before a realization dawned upon him, curbing his excitement. "I'm afraid I have to decline. At least for the time being."
"Oh? Do you have any other commitments?" Larkspur asked.
"Yes. The reason I came to this region, actually," Clemont said, letting a little pride slide from his usual humble demeanor. "I've been hired to work on Nuclear Power Plant Epsilon."
"Nuclear Plant Epsilon?" Larkspur repeated, confused. "That... that can't be right. That power plant suffered a terrible meltdown ten years ago. The Rangers declared the whole island off-limits, and no one has been allowed there ever since."
"Oh, I know! But now that the radiation has subsided, they're working on a new power plant to replace the one that was destroyed, and I've been called to help them," Clemont explained.
Larkspur paid a lot of attention to every word that came out of Clemont's mouth. The older man looked at Clemont as if he was telling the world's biggest tall tale, before a small smile crossed his mouth. "This is... the first time I heard of such a thing."
"Oh?"
"I guess I spend way too much time locked inside my lab on East Tandor. I need..." he briefly glanced at his two assistants, who shifted on their feet. "...to pay more attention to what happens on the bigger side of the region."
"I'm sure it will be on the news pretty soon," Clemont said, as he felt a bead of sweat running down his neck.
For some reason, Clemont felt a little uncomfortable with the way Larkspur had reacted to that piece of information.
"Then again, I'm sure they won't keep you there forever. Once your work on the power plant is done, please come to my laboratory. It's next to Silverport Town," Larkspur said. "Now, I've seen quite a lot of your work. Would you like to hear about the work my people and I do?"
"Of course! I'm always eager to learn," Clemont nodded.
"Eh, I think I'm going for a walk," Bonnie said in mild disgust, as she got up from the table. "The nerd talk is going to get even thicker."
"Looks like the professor and you have a lot to talk about, so I think I'm going out too," Serena said, also getting up. "I should find a place to do some training for the contest. Ash, would you like to come and help me train?"
"Sure!" Ash said, also getting up.
"Be sure to return in time! The presentation begins in two and a half hours!" Clemont reminded his friends and his sister as they left the Pokemon Center.
…
Half an hour later, Ash and Serena were on the edge between Rochfale Town and Route 6, towards the west of the town. While its terrain was uneven, rocky and steep, given its proximity to the mountain chain that cut through West Tandor, it was the best place to train they found until then.
The two trainers were currently in a double battle in order to keep helping Serena hone her abilities in such a match. Serena felt her victory against Aisha was too narrow, and wanted her next one to be less dependent on luck.
"Minicorn, Fairy Wind! Form a tornado!" Serena called.
Minicorn neighed, her horn glowing with a pink hue as sparkly winds gathered in front of her, forming a tornado that moved towards Ash's Pokemon, Aveden and Colarva.
"Now, Pancham, Dark Pulse into the Fairy Wind!" Serena added.
"Paaaan...!" Pancham cupped his paws together, before thrusting them forward, releasing a black and purple stream of swirling energy at Minicorn's attack.
Both attacks combined into an impressive pink, black and purple tornado with pink and purple sparkles.
"Let's fight wind with wind! Aveden, Gust! Colarva, Powder Snow into the Gust!" Ash commanded.
"Ave!"
"Co!"
Aveden cawed, as he began to flap his wings as fast as possible, forming a tornado of similar size to the one formed by Minicorn, while Colarva blew a gust of chilly wind with small bits of snow on it into Aveden's attack, increasing its size. The two attacks clashed in the middle, producing an explosion of pink and purple light, as well as bits of ice and snow.
"Come on Ash, do you really need to copy my combo to counter it?" Serena playfully asked. "I know you're more creative than that!"
Ash's mouth curved into a smirk at the prospect of the challenge Serena was throwing at his feet. A prospect that wouldn't go unanswered.
"In that case, how about this original maneuver! Aveden, grab Colarva and fly into the sky!" Ash commanded.
"Den!" Aveden cawed, as he swooped towards Colarva, and caught him between his talons.
"LAAAAAAAR!?" the Snow Mite Pokemon cried in shock, as Aveden carried him away from the ground.
"Don't worry Colarva, Aveden won't let you fall down!" Ash assured the scared bug type. "Now, time for an aerial bombardment! Colarva, Signal Beam! Aveden, Mirror Shot!"
Fortunately for Ash, Colarva managed to regain his bearings and snap out of the shock just in time to hear his order, as the Snow Mite Pokemon began to fire a rainbow colored energy beam at the two Pokemon below him, while Aveden fired from his beak a greenish silvery beam of light towards them.
"Dodge it, quickly!" Serena said, urging her Pokemon not to stay still. "Pancham, stop them with Stone Edge!"
Pancham dodged a Signal Beam with a graceful cartwheel, and as soon as he landed, he slammed both paws into the ground, summoning a row of large stone pillars towards the airborne Pokemon. Unfortunately, even with a passenger, Aveden was as swift as ever, and managed to skillfully dodge the stone pillars by flying in a zigzag pattern around them. Colarva then fired another Signal Beam, which hit Pancham squarely in the chest.
"Pancham!" Serena cried as she began to scan the battleground, wracking her brain to come up with a countermeasure as fast as it could. Serena watched how Minicorn tried to take down the aerial duo with Charge Beam unprompted, but once again Aveden skillfully dodged the yellow electric beam before firing another Mirror Shot, though he looked a bit tired by the extra effort of fighting while carrying Colarva. Then, an idea hit Serena. "Minicorn, Pancham, run towards each other! Stay together!"
"Aveden, Colarva, watch out and keep your distance!" Ash warned his Pokemon. "Keep attacking, but get ready for whatever Serena's planning!"
Serena's two Pokemon continued to avoid the attacks, running towards each other as fast as they could until they closed the distance between them. Aveden and Colarva saw this as an opportunity to take the two Pokemon at once, and fired a Mirror Shot and a Signal Beam.
"Now! Pancham, counter those attacks with Dark Pulse! Minicorn, use Charge Beam!"
With a cry of affirmation, Serena's two Pokemon fired their attacks, which met the rainbow beam and the silvery green energy stream in the middle. Both pairs of attacks struggled against each other, before the Dark Pulse and the Charge Beam began to push through the attacks of Ash's Pokemon, until they reached their targets. Aveden and Colarva were engulfed by the resulting explosion of electricity and dark power, the two of them falling to the ground.
"Aveden! Colarva!" Ash cried in worry.
While Colarva fell to the ground on his carapace, Aveden was able to break his fall by righting his body mid air and quickly flapping his wings.
"Nice counter. Aveden could dodge your attacks while flying, but not if you used them to directly counter my Pokemon's moves," Ash praised Serena, while realizing her tactic. He then looked at his Pokemon, Aveden still in the air, and Colarva with enough energy to barely get back to his feet. "While Aveden can keep fighting, I think that was a bit too much for Colarva. Should we end the spar here?"
"Sure, I don't mind," Serena said, before walking towards Pancham and Minicorn. "Great work there, you two! If you keep fighting like that, we'll win our third ribbon in no time!"
"Pan, chanpan!" Pancham said, puffing his chest with pride.
Minicorn neighed cutely and stomped one of her hooves once.
"Let's take a little break before moving onto something else," Ash said, as he sat on a nearby rock. He patted the spot next to him, motioningSerena to sit down. "You're doing so good, Serena. You already have that ribbon in the bag."
"I have a great mentor," Serena giggled, as she sat beside him. "Maybe I should have trained alongside you in Kalos as well. Maybe I could have honed my skills much faster."
"Eh, I don't think I would have been of much help. Showcases are too different from battles," Ash said, scratching his temple. "Contest, on the other hand... plus, I have experience mentoring fledging coordinators."
"Yes. May and Dawn, right?" Serena said, rubbing her arm a little.
Ash nodded. "Sometimes I wonder what are they up to. Not just them, but pretty much every friend I traveled with."
"You miss them, huh?" Serena asked.
"Well... yes and no," Ash replied, sounding a little confused. "As in, sure, I always remember the good times we had together, and it'd be great if we got to see each other again, but I'm somebody who likes to look towards the future rather than the past, you know?"
Serena nodded. "The past... that's what I could become... that's what I could have become if it wasn't for Delia's invitation to Pallet Town," she began, deep in thought. "No one said that I would never see Ash ever again, but by the time we met each other again... maybe things would have changed and I would lose my chance to confess my feelings... what if when I meet him again, Ash already has a girlfriend? No, I need to be more decisive, I spent all of Kalos-"
"Serena, are you okay?" Ash asked, snapped the honey blonde out of her thoughts.
"Uh? What? Eh... uh, yes!" Serena stammered.
"You sure? You're getting a little red," Ash pointed out. "We can go back to the Pokemon Center if you aren't feeling well..."
"No, no! It's nothing! I'm feeling just fine!" Serena insisted, waving her hands in front of her, sounding a little more forceful than she wished to.
"If you say so..." Ash replied, and Serena inwardly thanked him for not wanting to press the issue.
There was a moment of silence, as Serena regained her bearings and put her thoughts in order. She took a deep but hopefully silent breath in order to calm herself and suppress her blushing. She was going to ask something important, and she needed to be as serene as possible.
Serene, heh.
"Say, Ash..." Serena broke the silence. "You have traveled with quite a few girls already..."
"Yes...?" Ash replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you think... there could have been something between you and either of them?" Serena asked. She swallowed in order to suppress a lump in her throat, before asking her next question. "You know, something more than... more than friendship?"
"More than... friendship?" Ash repeated, sounding obfuscated.
"You know, like, a relationship. Boyfriend and girlfriend," Serena basically had to force those words out of her mouth, and averted Ash's gaze so the Pallet Town native couldn't see how she was seconds away from combusting.
"Huh..." Ash stuttered. Serena dared to look at him, and much to her surprise, there was a little bit of red between his eyes. "Um... I don't think so?"
"Really? Don't you think some of those girls might have feelings for you?" Serena pressed.
"Well, I'm not sure. But I don't think so," Ash replied. "If that was the case, they would have said something. At least before we parted ways."
Somehow, Serena's face lost all her color while simultaneously continuing to blush. "Good grief, I might not even be the first one. It might be just me, but there's no way somebody like Ash had met so many people, so many girls, and none of them fell for him. I really need to step up my game and make my feelings known to him..."
"Serena? Are you sure you're okay?" Ash asked, placing a hand on her shoulder, startling her a little. "You're zoning out a lot."
"Yes, yes! I'm fine!" Serena almost shouted. She took another deep breath to calm down. Okay, time to throw subtlety to the wind. Maybe not a full confession but something to pave the way for one. "Say, if one of those girls said they liked you and wanted you to be more than just friends with them... would you say yes?"
The red on Ash face spread a little further. This time, it was him who averted Serena's gaze.
"Eh... uh... um... I'm not sure..." Ash weakly replied. He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not something I give a lot of thought to, you know? I don't tend to dwell on what ifs. Why are you asking me this, Serena?"
"Oh, nothing in particular!" Serena tried really hard to sound nonchalant. "You know, I thought it was an interesting conversation topic to have while we rested. But if I'm making you feel uncomfortable, I'll stop right now!"
"Oh, no, don't worry, you're not making me feel uncomfortable or anything," Ash reassured. "It's just... like I said, it's not something I tend to think too much about."
"Well, that's good to hear it," Serena said, before sitting up, ready to put an end to the conversation before it could get more awkward. "I think I'm going to see how Selkid and Chicoatl are doing."
And she left before Ash had any chance to say anything.
…
Greninja was standing vigilant over all of Ash and Serena's Pokemon, who were training either on their own, or under their respective trainer's supervision. As one of Ash's strongest Pokemon, it was his duty to watch over his less experienced teammates, at least when Ash wasn't training him.
Closest to him were Pikachu and Orchynx. The former was trying to show the latter a move she could learn, though the Kitten Pokemon seemed to be more interested in licking herself clean than in listening to anything Pikachu had to say.
"Pi, pika, pikapi!" Pikachu explained Orchynx, waving his arms for added emphasis.
"Or?" Orchynx asked after stopping licking her front legs, tilting her head a little.
"Pîka!" Pikachu said, pointing to a nearby boulder. He then jumped into the air as his tail began to glow with a silvery light, before striking the boulder with a powerful Iron Tail, blowing a good chunk of it. "Pi, pikachupi!"
This demonstration seemed to spark Orchynx's interest, who quickly jumped to her four legs.
"Orch!" Orchynx nodded, as she began to concentrate. Her tail stood on end, growing stiff, as it began to intermittently flash with the same silvery light as Pikachu's tail did, trying her best to emulate the move.
"Pi, chupi!" Pikachu cheered.
Greninja was also going to cheer for the Grass-type, when all of sudden his instincts practically screamed at him of danger. Someone was close, watching them. Someone who didn't bear good intentions towards them. Someone very powerful.
"Gre!?" Greninja turned around just to see a flash of green disappear behind a large rocky formation. "NINJA!"
"Pika?" Pikachu asked.
Greninja immediately leaped towards said rock formation, Night Slash ready to strike, but found nothing. The Ninja Pokemon frantically looked around in search for the stalker, but found nothing.
"Greninja?" Ash asked, running towards him. "Is everything alright?"
The dark energy sword in his hand dispelled into nothingness, and he shook his head. "Gren."
"False alarm?" Ash guessed, before he smiled sympathetically. "It's okay. Don't worry, I doubt there's going to be a repeat of what happened with those Pokemon thieves."
Greninja, however, had the feeling that what had been stalking them was much worse than a mere thief.
…
A couple hours later, Professor Cypress' Laboratory
"No offense Professor Bamb'o, but compared to this laboratory, yours feels like that of a middle school," Vitor commented, as he looked around.
While a bit insensitive, Vitor's comment wasn't unwarranted. The entrance had automatic sliding doors, the walls and floor were in pristine condition, everything was arranged in a meticulously tidy way, from the smallest tool to the largest machine. Not to mention how much bigger it was. As Professor Bamb'o led the group through the laboratory, the group could see many scientists working and testing a multitude of gadgets on different Pokemon.
All in all, the place had a much more professional feel. The only one who didn't seem impressed was Professor Larkspur, whose face remained stony.
"Eh, no offense taken. Lily always was the smarter of the two. Between the fact that she graduated earlier than me and all the breakthroughs she made in her field since then, getting funding for her projects must have been a piece of cake," Bamb'o said good naturedly.
"I'm sure you'll also get to her level soon," Clemont reassured. "From what I have seen, your work is also pretty impressive."
Bamb'o smiled as they entered a room with some scientists talking to each other. "Thanks, kid. Let's hope you're right and- oh look, there she is! Hey, Lily!"
The group saw a woman of the same age as Bamb'o talking with two other scientists, who appeared to be undergraduates. Upon hearing Bamb'o, the woman dismissed the undergrads, and walked towards Bamb'o, beaming in joy. She had green hair neatly tied in a ponytail that fell down her back, and eyes of the same color behind oval shaped glasses. She was wearing an unbuttoned lab coat on top of a light blue shirt with a green tie, a navy blue knee length skirt, and flat black shoes.
"Ernest! I'm so glad you could make it!" Professor Cypress said, welcoming Bamb'o with a hug, which the shades-wearing man returned.
"Of course, Lily. I wouldn't miss your big moment for anything in the world!" he reassured her.
"Ernest? Lily? Ohhhhhhh, look at that, Serena, they call each other by their first names!" Bonnie whispered to the honey blonde while nudging her. A sly grin formed on her face. "And that hug! That's not very professional behavior, is it?"
Serena couldn't help but giggle and nod in agreement.
"Professor Larkspur. It's an honor to have you here as well," she said to the other Pokemon Professor. Her tone was cordial but much less warm. She extended her hand, which the man accepted and shook.
"I'm sure that whatever you have prepared for us, you won't fail to impress," Larkspur said, smiling at her.
"Yeah, if only Professor Oak was here. I called him and asked him to come, but the old guy said he was busy," Bamb'o said, letting out a dismissive snort.
"It's okay, Ernest. I already have the confirmation that another Kantonian Professor, Cerise, is planning to attend with his family," Cypress told him.
Professor Cerise? Ash didn't know there were more Pokemon Professors in Kanto besides Oak. The more you know.
Lastly, Cypress took a look at the entourage of teens that accompanied the professors.
"Oh my, you told me you were going to get a couple interns for field research, but I wasn't expecting you'd hire so many," Cypress said, adjusting her glasses.
"Only these two are my interns," Bamb'o said, motioning towards the Moki twins. "The others are trainers that are here on behalf of Professors Oak and Sycamore."
"I see. I hope you enjoy the presentation of my latest project. Why don't you head to the auditorium and choose your seats?" Professor Cypress suggested. "The presentation will begin shortly, and I'd love to see all of you on the first row."
"This place has an auditorium too?" Natalie said, amazed. "Professor Bamb'o, you need to do a lot of catching up with your lab."
"No need to remind me. Come on people, you heard her! Let's get to the auditorium!" Bamb'o said, as he lead the group towards the aforementioned place.
…
It was a good thing that they reached the auditorium as soon as they did, because only a few minutes after occupying most of the front row seats, more people began to pour in, some reporters, others scientists, and others that were neither. In no time, most of the seats were already filled. A few minutes later, Professor Cypress walked towards the atrium.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Fellow members of the scientific community, and members of the press," Cypress began talking as if she had addressed a crowd a thousand times. "Welcome to the presentation of my newest invention, one that will revolutionize the way humans and Pokemon interact."
This seemed to catch the attention of everybody involved, especially Ash, who shot Pikachu a meaningful look.
"Humans and Pokemon have coexisted since time immemorial, and lived in harmony with one another. But alas, no matter how deep our bonds with our Pokemon are, there has always been a barrier that stopped us from taking our relationship to its fullest potential, and that's the way Pokemon communicate.
"For those who don't know, I specialize in researching Pokemon language and speech patterns, and what we can do to understand them the way Pokemon can understand us. That has always been my dream, which had pushed the work of my life," she began, before growing visibly excited. "And now I can safely say that said dream has become a reality! Ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure to unveil before you the very first functional prototype of the Pokemon Speech Translator, or PST!"
As she made the announcement, one of her scientists walked towards the atrium, holding what appeared to be some sort of rectangular blue and yellow device with a microphone linked to it via plastic cord. It looked like a toy cassette recorder.
"Now, forgive the somewhat crude design, but like I said, it's only a prototype. Once we polish all the kinks, we will focus on making a more easy to use design," Professor Cypress said, holding the PST for everybody to see.
"Excuse me, are we supposed to believe that that gadget is able to translate what Pokemon say?" a reporter asked.
"Perhaps a demonstration is in order?" Professor Cypress said, as she scanned the crowd with her eyes, before they set on Ash. "You, the boy with the Pikachu. Would you be so kind as to get up here?"
"Uh? Eh... sure!" Ash said, as he walked towards the atrium as well.
Once he was next to Professor Cypress, she pressed a switch on the PST, seemingly turning it on, before bringing the microphone closer to Pikachu. "Now, say something."
"Pikapi?" Pikachu asked, before it was followed by an artificial voice from the PST: [What I'm supposed to say?]
There was a wave of gasps from the crowd.
"Pika?" [That was me?] Pikachu asked in shock. "Pi, pika, pikapi!" Look Ash! I'm talking in your language!
"WHOA! This is so cool!" Ash almost shouted, excitement overflowing through his very being. "And does it work with any Pokemon?"
"While we still need to do more tests, so far it has worked with every Pokemon we tried it on," Cypress confidently replied. "Do you have any other Pokemon you'd like to hear talk?"
"Sure!" Ash said, as he pulled out a pokeball. "Aveden, I choose you!"
The Bliss Bird Pokemon emerged from his pokeball, flapping his wings in mid air, as he looked around, a little confused. Cypress brough the microphone next to him.
"Come on Aveden, say something," Ash told his first Tandorian Pokemon. "Tell them about yourself."
"Av, den, ave, aveden!" Aveden cawed. [Hello, my name is Aveden. I love to sing and to fight to get stronger. But above everything else, I love my trainer Ash.]
There was a wave of "awwwws" at Aveden's earnest introduction.
"Can I use another Pokemon?" Ash asked, another pokeball already in hand. "There's a Pokemon I have that can be kind of difficult, and understanding what he says would help immensely."
"Of course. That's why I called you here," Cypress amiably said.
"In that case, Dunsparce, I choose you!" Ash said, releasing the Land Snake Pokemon from the capture device. Cypress crouched down and brought the microphone close to Dunsparce. "Come on Dunsparce, say something!"
"Duns," Dunsparce said.
BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
The air excitement in the room immediately vanished, replaced by an extremely uncomfortable silence. People began to murmur if Cypress' invention was as good as she claimed to be. The green haired woman certainly looked a bit upset.
"Uh... Professor Cypress?" Ash asked. "Did the PST fail?"
"Actually no, it didn't fail. It works as intended," Cypress said in a neutral tone.
"But-"
"You see, the PST also has a built-in censor in order to block swears, curses and vulgarities in general," Cypress said. "What we heard was the censor in action."
"Ah..." Ash dumbly said, before the implications of Cypress' words finally sunk, and angrily turned towards the Land Snake Pokemon. "Dunsparce! That was uncalled for! Apologize right now!"
"Parce," Dunsparce said.
BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
"Dunsparce!" Ash shouted, before sighing, and recalling him back to his pokeball. "You're impossible. Return," he then looked at Cypress with an abashed look. "I'm very sorry for Dunsparce."
"No wonder you said he was a little difficult," Cypress said, chuckling awkwardly. She then cleared her throat before addressing the public again. "Sorry for that little incident. At least we know the censor works, hehe. So, does anybody else want to test the PST with their Pokemon?"
Needless to say, Cypress got no shortage of volunteers. The green haired scientist choose a girl with long maroon hair tied on a long braid, which was holding a female Eevee. Said girl introduced herself as Chloe Cerise, and Ash guessed she was Professor Cerise's daughter.
"Ev! Evui!" her Eevee cried. [Look Chloe! I'm talking like you!]
"Oh wow! This is… I never thought I could understand Eevee!" Chloe said in awe.
"Vui, ev, evui!" Eevee said. [I know! I'll copy that machine's ability so I can talk with you all the time!]
That elicited a wave of laughs and "awwwws" in equal measure, before Chloe returned to her seat and Cypress chose another volunteer.
…
Several hours later, the demonstration had already reached its end, as everybody got up from their seats and began to slowly vacate the auditorium. The event would have ended much earlier, but everybody had a Pokemon in hand and they didn't want to miss the chance to hear them speak in a language they could understand.
(Bonnie was rather disappointed that, when it was her turn, Dedenne had fallen asleep. And when he woke up after much prodding, all he said was that he was hungry).
When the group left the laboratory, the sun was almost completely gone, so they decided to head back to the Pokemon Center and have some dinner, before turning in for the night.
And an hour after the last person had vacated the laboratory, a figure clad in green, using the cover of the night, got close to Professor Cypress' workplace. The figure narrowed its eyes in anger, clenched its fist, and sneaked into the building.
Author's Note: After several chapters with intense fights, I think we needed a calmer chapter with no fights, don't you think? Well, technically, there was a fight, but it was a friendly spar between Ash and Serena, but those don't count.
Speaking of our power couple, we finally get another step in their direction. You see, Ash is very dense, so before she can make a move, Serena needs to plant the idea of romantic love in Ash's head, to pave the ground for her eventual confession. And trust me, said confession will come sooner than most of you expect ;)
Given that we spent a few chapters with Theo, it was only fair that Vitor and Natalie had their turn in the spotlight as well! Especially Natalie, since she has been absent since Passage Cave. And yeah, as you can imagine, Vitor will compete against Serena again the contest to come.
For those who haven't played the game, yes, the Pokemon Speech Translator, or PST, it's an actual item in the game that can be used to understand what Pokemon are saying. Sadly, it's tragically underutilized, only seeing use on a few cutscenes. But rest assured that it won't be the case here.
And if you played the game, you should know who that green clad figure who sneaked inside the laboratory is, which yes, it's what Greninja sensed before (and no, it's not Team Omega, since Team Omega doesn't exist in the game). If you haven't played the game... sorry, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out ;D
And look at that, with Larkspur, we have the third East Tandorian that makes an appearance much earlier than in the game! I bet you weren't expecting him to show up this early. Well, that's because I plan to give him a much greater role than in the actual game, so I need to introduce him now.
Also, speaking of unexpected cameos, there's Chloe. Given that I had featured Goh in a previous chapter, I felt that Chloe was due a little appearance as well, and felt that Cypress' announcement was a good place for that, given that Chloe's dad is a Pokemon Professor.
Thanks a lot to cricketlaxwolvesbandy, Fox McCloude, 61394, hirowriter, DryBonesKing and Viroro-kun for reviewing last chapter, and special thanks to Viroro-kun for his super job betareading this chapter and all the suggestions he made to improve it.
See you next chapter, and make sure to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter! If you review, you'll make me happy and more eager to write!
