Up close, the building attached to the lighthouse at the peak of Cerulean Cape was deceptively big - next to the lighthouse itself, it looked small, and even when the three travelers were standing in front of the enormous doors covered in carved reliefs of several different Pokémon, Mary-Sue's head still wanted to insist it couldn't be nearly as big as it was. With no obvious way to open the gigantic doors, Mary-Sue hesitantly knocked.
"Hello?" she asked. "Is, uh, anyone in there?"
"Hello?" came a voice from a box beside the door that Mary-Sue hadn't noticed; she turned to it and realized it was an intercom. "Who's there?"
The voice sounded nervous, so Mary-Sue smiled. "Just some travelers," she answered. "Normal trainers. We were wondering if anyone in there wants to battle, maybe? It's safe now."
A slight whirring noise drew her attention upward, and she saw a camera perched at the top of the doorway panning over them.
"…Normal trainers?" came the voice after a minute.
"That's right!" Mary-Sue assured him.
"O-Okay…Please, come in."
There was a loud thunking noise, then a groaning as the massive doubled doors slowly swung open. Beyond them, what seemed to be nothing but darkness yawned ahead of the travelers.
Mary-Sue only hesitated a moment before jogging inside; behind her, her friends gave halfhearted protests, then followed when she didn't even glance back at them.
Beyond the threshold, a relatively narrow length of carpet ran across a vast floor of marble tiles, providing a path between pillars reaching up to a ceiling that was too high to be seen. Bright lights clicked on all around, revealing that this room was only a massive entryway; ahead, stairs led up and further into the building, presumably to smaller rooms.
"What is this place?" Mary-Sue asked out loud as she came to a stop in the middle of the vast space.
"Welcome!"
She did a double-take, only just realizing that there was a man at the top of the stairs, who was coming down to meet them. He had dark green hair and a purple suit that didn't suit him nearly as well as it would have Mary-Sue's mother; lines on his face spoke to his age, but he was smiling, no longer as nervous as he'd sounded over the intercom.
"Who are you?" Mary-Sue asked.
The man blinked. "I'm Bill," he answered, as though confused by the question. "You…didn't come all the way out here to meet me?"
"Uh…no," Mary-Sue answered. "The Gym Leader, Misty, said that trainers come up here to train. I have a Gyarados who needs some special training, and my friend Aaron needs to train up before he tries taking on the gym again."
"Oh." Bill's smile dimmed a little. "I…I see."
"Um, Bill, sir?" Jovi asked tentatively.
"Yes, miss?"
"Um…I realize you've been through a lot today, but please, I need to know…what did Cipher want from you?" Jovi inquired.
Bill recoiled, his eyes going wide. "Who are you?" he gasped. "I don't know anything!"
"Please calm down," Jovi said quickly, throwing her hands up. "Listen, my friends here are trainers taking the gym challenge, we didn't lie to you. I'm…My name is Jovi, and I'm from Team Spirit - the Shadow Pokémon Rescue Team. My mission is to stop Cipher whenever and however I can."
"We're not bad guys," Mary-Sue added. "We don't like Cipher or Team Rocket. Honest."
"Mmm…" Bill's mouth twisted as he looked back and forth across the three young travelers, anxious but clearly thinking. "Show me your Pokémon," he said abruptly.
"Huh?"
"All three of you, please, show me all your Pokémon," Bill repeated. "Let me examine them. Then, maybe we can talk."
Brow furrowed, Mary-Sue made a quick decision. "Come on out, guys!" she called, pulling all four of her Pokéballs from her backpack strap and tossing them into the air.
"I have Shadow Pokémon I'm working on purifying," Jovi said to Bill as Aaron followed suit and Mary-Sue told Gyarados to hold still for now. "Do I have to show you them, too?"
"N-No, only your normal ones, please," Bill told her with a weak smile.
"Alright…Pluplu, Mimi, come out here," Jovi called, tossing her two Pokéballs.
Everyone stood very still; their Pokémon settled around them likewise, clearly realizing something important was happening.
First, Bill knelt down and took a look at Plusle and Minun; he stroked their ears, much to their delight, and lightly pinched their tiny paws.
"This Plusle and Minun are remarkably old for their species," he remarked. "Yet they seem to be in exceptional health. You must take very good care of them." He gave Jovi a real smile.
"They've been my best friends since I was little," Jovi nodded. "As long as I can remember."
"Hmm." The strange man stood up and walked over to Aaron's group. "Oh my, are these Galarian Pokémon?"
"That's right," Aaron confirmed; "I'm here on the foreign exchange program."
"Incredible…" Bill reached for Toxel first, and let out a little yelp and laugh as his hand touched the purple creature's skin. "Oh! It's true that Toxel's skin delivers a mild shock on contact. Amazing!"
"Tooox?" The little Pokémon blinked at him, as though amazed by the human's stupidity.
"And here…this is a Galarian Zigzagoon," Bill all but breathed, turning to Aaron's black-and-white companion. "Hello there."
"Zig-zagoon!" Zigzagoon barked happily.
"Remarkable," Bill murmured; "Galarian Zigzagoon are well-documented to be less sociable than Hoennian Zigzagoon, but this one seems perfectly tame."
"Zigzagoon and I have been friends since I was a kid," Aaron explained. "My official starter was Grookey, but my real starter has always been Zigzagoon."
"Hmm…and this Thwackey…" The man's attention turned to the light-green monkey, lightly running a finger over one of the sticks Thwackey carried. "Let me see…I think this Thwackey evolved very recently, yes?"
"Yeah, just yesterday," Aaron nodded.
"And this Oddish…you caught it nearby, didn't you?"
"Yes," Aaron said, blinking. "Just a couple of days ago."
"I can tell from its leaves," Bill explained.
"Oooddish," Oddish chirped. "Oddish dish!"
"Yes, I can see you're quite healthy," Bill laughed. He stood up and moved on to Mary-Sue's team.
As he approached, Budew squealed and hid behind Mary-Sue's leg.
"Oh?" Bill blinked. "It's okay, little one. I won't hurt you." Slowly, he crept around to look at Budew from a distance. "A Budew, hm? Those aren't common around here…"
"My mom caught it for me in Sinnoh for my tenth birthday!" Mary-Sue said proudly. "It really hates fighting, though, so I don't force it to."
"Poli poli," grumbled Poliwag.
"Hmm? You seem unhappy," Bill remarked to it. "What's wrong, little Poliwag? You seem to be local, too…"
"Poliwag and Oddish are old friends," Mary-Sue explained. "Oddish chose to go with Aaron, and Poliwag was upset about that, so I offered to let it come with me so they won't be separated. Aaron and I are going to be traveling together for a while."
"Ahh, I see. And what's this?" Zubat was hanging by its stringy legs from Mary-Sue's wrist, and Bill stood up to take a closer look at it. "This Zubat's fur is remarkably shiny."
"Zuzu?" Zubat turned its eyeless face up to the odd man; it almost sounded like it was embarrassed, as though it would blush if it could. "Zuuu…"
"Zubat really hates getting dirty, so I give it a bath when I can," Mary-Sue smiled.
"And you do a fine job," Bill said. "Your Zubat is quite lovely."
"Zuu zuu…" Zubat mumbled, tucking its head under one wing.
With a laugh, Bill turned at last to the gigantic Pokémon looming behind the young trainer. Rather than commenting, he frowned, stepping up to Gyarados with a pensive look on his face, seemingly unafraid. Gyarados stared at him, but held still as Mary-Sue had told it to, as Bill patted and rubbed several segments of its enormous length. After a minute, he whispered a soft question to the giant creature, and it bent its head down a little so Bill could hook one finger in its gaping mouth, seemingly examining its fangs.
"…Strange," Bill said at last. "This Gyarados is remarkably well-toned, but its teeth indicate that it evolved very recently."
"It evolved after I won my gym battle against Misty with it," Mary-Sue said proudly.
"You won a gym battle with a Magikarp?!" Bill exclaimed, turning to her.
Mary-Sue sighed. "I'm really sick of people being surprised by that," she grumbled. "Magikarp was the first Pokémon I caught myself, and it's always loved fighting; we trained together in Viridian Forest and won tons of battles together. I beat a Charmander with it, and yeah, I beat Misty with it. So what if it was a Magikarp?"
"I see…" Bill said pensively.
"And now, it's just as big on the outside as it always was on the inside! But…" The young redhead deflated slightly. "Now that it's a Gyarados, it's too strong. It doesn't seem to understand that it's big now, so it doesn't have to try so hard; it keeps flailing around like it's still a Magikarp. That's why we came up here, to Cerulean Cape, so it could get used to its new body in the ocean."
"I see…" Bill looked Gyarados up and down one last time, then turned to address all three travelers. "I'm sorry for doubting you all; today has been…distressing. But, in my experience, there's no better indication of someone's character than how they treat their Pokémon, and it's clear that you all care for your Pokémon very much."
"You seem to know a lot about Pokémon," Jovi said.
"I've dedicated my life to studying Pokémon," Bill explained. "People call me a Pokémaniac; it's my dream to see and learn about every single Pokémon in the world. Of course, Sam Oak is the Professor of this region, but when he retires, a lot of people expect me to take his place. Between you and me, though," he added, "I hope his grandson Gary takes the position."
"How come?" Mary-Sue asked.
"Regional Professors have a lot of responsibilities," Bill shrugged, turning and walking for some sort of contraption on a far wall. "I prefer to be able to study Pokémon at my own pace, to go where I need to as I please." He pressed some buttons, and suddenly, the whole room lit up with scrolling projections of all kinds of Pokémon from all over the world. "My studies led me to develop the Pokémon PC Storage System," Bill continued; "before that, the regional Professors had to take care of all extra Pokémon belonging to all the trainers in their region, but as the numbers kept growing, this became almost impossible. So I put all my research towards designing a sort of virtual storage space, where the Pokémon would be in suspended animation in a simulation of whatever environment would be most comforting to them. Pokéballs use similar technology, but on a much smaller scale."
"Whoa," Mary-Sue breathed, looking around at the hundreds of images of Pokémon scrolling through the air.
"Bill," Jovi spoke up, "can you please tell me what Cipher wanted with you? You don't have to give me what they wanted, just…please, tell me what they asked for."
Bill sighed heavily, turning to a large screen on the wall covered with words and icons. "I'm not sure if you know this, but the Kanto region in particular has a very long and storied history with the creation of artificial Pokémon."
"Artificial Pokémon?" Jovi repeated, her eyes widening.
"For instance, Porygon was originally synthesized here in Kanto," Bill said. "More than that, though…" His head bowed, as though something was weighing down on him, and his eyes went distant with memory. "Many years ago, there was…a Pokémon cloning project, stationed in this region. The goal was to create bigger, stronger, faster, 'better' Pokémon, and…it was a little too successful."
"Too successful?" Mary-Sue asked. "What do you mean?"
"The Pokémon created by the project were too strong," Bill answered. "Among them was Mewtwo, which revolted against the scientists out of protest to how it was being treated. In the end, the lab was destroyed, and when the aftermath died down, sweeping laws were passed against Pokémon experimentation, laws that all the other regions quickly adopted. The only artificial Pokémon to be created since then was Castform in Hoenn, but that was a project that started before the clone project went wrong, and it was given a pass so long as the created Pokémon were set free and not further experimented on. Today, any research involving the cloning or outright creation of Pokémon is banned worldwide."
"That's good," Jovi said, sighing with relief.
"Most of the research done in the cloning project was lost in the destruction wrought by Mewtwo," Bill went on, "but…some of it survived. It seems that this is what Cipher were looking for. As the famous Pokémaniac, they assumed I would have at least some of it."
"And do you?" Aaron asked.
"Not much," Bill answered, "but even though it probably wouldn't be enough for them to use anyway, I managed to keep what I did have away from them."
"You did a good thing," Jovi told him; Mary-Sue turned to her, and saw her hand clasped over her chest. "Shadow Pokémon are purified by being forced to relive their happiest memories, but if Cipher could create Pokémon and turn them into Shadow Pokémon instantly, they wouldn't have happy memories to relive. The standard method for creating Shadow Pokémon, if used on artificial Pokémon, would produce Shadow Pokémon that truly couldn't be purified."
"I don't know much about these 'Shadow Pokémon'," Bill admitted. "My contacts in Team Rocket have told me one or two things, though - enough that I know it's a horrible innovation."
"Wait," Mary-Sue yelped, "you have contacts in Team Rocket?! Why?!"
"Maybe 'contacts' isn't the right word," Bill said, though he shifted uncomfortably. "I have an…agreement, with them, really. They have first access to any new discoveries I make, and I pay them monthly for, erm, protection; in return, when I need something that might be a bit difficult to get, I can ask them for assistance."
"Protection…?" Aaron muttered.
"It's coercion," Bill admitted with a nervous laugh. "I basically pay them to not rob me."
"Why put up with that?!" Mary-Sue demanded. "Why not go to the police?!"
At this, Bill gave a long, heavy sigh. "Young lady," he said sadly, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but…Team Rocket have negotiated a complicated arrangement with the government. The police can protect victims of Team Rocket in the moment, but anything more would get shut down."
"But that can't be!" Mary-Sue protested. "Team Rocket are criminals!"
"They are," Bill conceded, "but they have a code of ethics and honor, and rules they've agreed to obey. Like me, the government stands to gain from an alliance with them, enough that they're worth allowing to continue."
"But…But…!" Mary-Sue spluttered, raising her fists. "But…but that's wrong!"
"It's not so bad," Bill said. "For as long as humans and Pokémon have coexisted, there have always been people who have tried to use Pokémon for selfish or wicked ends. Team Rocket is actually fairly tame compared to what some other regions have seen - there have been multiple groups that have tried to use godly Pokémon of legend to conquer the world, or remake it in their image."
Aaron made a small noise, and Mary-Sue remembered how much he revered the Pokémon that Ardos had turned into the new XD model Shadow Pokémon. But still… "Just because there are worse people doesn't make what Team Rocket does okay!" she snarled.
Bill just smiled at her. "You're not wrong," he said, "but the world is a lot more complicated than you think. And it's not as if Team Rocket are given completely free rein to do whatever they want." His mouth twisted, and then he said, "Though, just between you and me…I think the threat of evil organizations is one of the reasons why every region has a Trainer Program."
"Huh?" Mary-Sue blinked.
"It's just a theory of mine," Bill elaborated. "Of course, many studies done over the course of generations have proven consistently and definitively that spending time with Pokémon does wonders for a child's growth, and that's reason enough. But…I can't shake the feeling that another, unspoken reason for the Trainer Program is so that civilians will be able to protect themselves, and each other, from whatever unscrupulous criminals might appear, as so many have and continue to do. If the populace can fight for themselves, that takes pressure off the government, see?"
"Budew?"
Everyone started as the tiny bud cowering behind Mary-Sue's leg poked its little head out to look at Bill.
"Dewew?" it asked. "Bud…Budew?"
"Hmm?" Bill blinked at the baby Pokémon.
"Dew, dewew dew," Budew said, edging out from its hiding place. "Dew dew, Budew dew."
"Oh," Mary-Sue said, and when everyone turned to her, she explained, "Budew hates fighting because it thinks fighting is mean, that it's the same as bullying. But…" She smiled and knelt down to get closer to her partner's level. "Sometimes, you have to fight to protect the people you care about. Like you did for us in Mt. Moon."
"Dew…"
"Pokémon battles between trainers aren't meant to cause harm," Bill added, walking over and joining Mary-Sue in front of the timid creature. "They're meant in respect and good will, so people can learn about themselves and each other…and, so they can help each other grow stronger, so that if something bad happens, they'll be able to protect themselves and their loved ones."
"Deeeeew…" Budew blinked up at the two humans. "Dew dew, dewewew. Bud Budew…"
"Zigza!"
A sudden bark from beside Aaron cut into the conversation, as Zigzagoon weaved its way over to stand beside Budew.
"Zig zig," it said eagerly. "Zigza, zig Zigzagoon!"
"Budew?" Budew asked it.
The two Pokémon chattered to each other for a bit, and Mary-Sue watched them carefully, trying to get a sense of what the conversation was about. "I think…Zigzagoon is offering to help Budew learn to be strong?" she suggested after a minute. "Is that what you guys are saying?"
"Zigza!" the black-and-white Pokémon smiled up at her.
"Does that mean you'll…let me train you, Budew?" Mary-Sue asked her Pokémon.
"Dew…" Budew frowned, curling in on itself slightly. "Dewew…"
"How about we don't fight any wild Pokémon?" Mary-Sue offered it. "Only trainer battles, so that anyone who gets hurt in the fight will be taken good care of. Would that be better?"
"Dew…" The tiny bud was practically radiating with uncertainty.
"Zigza," Zigzagoon urged it. "Zig zig, zig-goon goon. Zigzagoon."
"Dewew…Bud bud, Budew," it said in response, still so quiet, so hesitant.
"You don't have to make up your mind right now," Mary-Sue said. "We're going to train up here for a little bit, you can just watch and see how you feel. Okay?"
"Dew…Dew," Budew nodded.
"You have a strong bond with your Pokémon, young lady, and a tremendous amount of respect for them," Bill observed. "It's people like you who keep the world in balance, no matter what villainous plots might be devised."
"People like me, huh…?" Mary-Sue turned back to her other Pokémon; even Poliwag seemed thoughtful, less hostile than it had been so far.
"You said you're going to be training your Gyarados here for a while?" Bill asked, standing up again. "You're all welcome to stay with me, I have several guest rooms for anyone who finds themselves all the way out here, so far from a town or Pokémon Center."
"No, that's okay," Jovi said quickly, and Aaron nodded with her. "We can camp out on the cape."
Mary-Sue pouted. "Can we at least use your bathroom?" she asked.
"Of course!" Bill laughed. "I'm sorry we met under such grave circumstances, but I'm always happy to have trainers over as guests. And I would love to observe this remarkable Gyarados further, if I may."
"We're here to train it," Mary-Sue shrugged. "Maybe you can help. To be honest, I…I'm not sure what I'm supposed to teach it."
"Well…you said it's throwing its weight around with the same force it would need to use if it was still a Magikarp," Bill mused, striding over to the massive creature. "For it to have been as strong of a Magikarp as you say it was, it probably spent a lot of time learning to use the absolute most of its power. Now, it needs to learn to restrain itself, and moderate how much of its power it uses at a time."
"Gyara," the huge serpent rumbled, speaking up for the first time. "Gyaar…dos dos, Gyarados."
"You are an impressive specimen," Bill smiled at it. "Most newly-evolved Gyarados have to learn to use their new power to its fullest potential, but you seem to have the opposite problem. It's important to learn not to overdo things, to conserve your energy for when it matters."
"Gyar," it growled. "Gyarara."
"How long do you think it'll take?" Aaron asked. "I…I'd like to head back to Cerulean City before too long - I really do think I'm ready to try the gym again. And Masie and I have to travel together, for now at least."
"Hard to say," Bill said thoughtfully, still gazing up at the blue giant. "Although…" Abruptly, he turned to Mary-Sue. "I assume you have a Pokédex, young lady?"
"Yeah, of course," Mary-Sue said, pulling the scarlet device out of her pocket.
"If it's all right with you…would you be willing to let me redirect your Pokémon storage?" Bill asked her. "I can reprogram your Pokédex to send any spare Pokémon you have right here to me, instead of to the virtual storage system; that way, you can leave Gyarados with me, and get it back any time."
"You can do that?" Mary-Sue blinked.
"Of course I can," Bill chuckled. "I told you, I invented the system."
"Well…" Mary-Sue tilted her head, eyeing her Pokédex. "It…did feel kinda weird to me, to think that any Pokémon I can't carry on me will just kinda be stuck in a computer. I'd rather they be looked after by a person."
"Didn't you say you didn't want the responsibilities of a regional Professor?" Jovi asked Bill.
"Well, I can't take care of every trainer's Pokémon," Bill said, "but honestly, I'm willing to take on a bit of responsibility if it means I can study this Gyarados in detail. Tame Gyarados are hard to come by, and such an unusual specimen…I must admit, I'm rather captivated."
It wasn't lost on Mary-Sue that this was a little creepy, but that feeling was far outweighed by her relief at the idea of a professional being able to help Gyarados for as long as it needed without her having to stay here and hold her companions back. "Sure," she said, holding out her Pokédex to the strange man. "I'd be really grateful if you looked after any Pokémon I can't carry. I promise I'll only catch interesting ones."
Bill laughed and took the device. "Thank you very much, miss," he said. "By the way, I don't believe I caught your name?"
"My name's Mary-Sue Jones, and I'm from Celadon City," Mary-Sue declared proudly. "My friends call me Masie."
"Masie," he nodded, walking back to the big screen on the far wall. "I'll just be a moment. Oh, and of course, I'll give you my phone number, so you can check in on any Pokémon you decide to send me at any time. Hm? What's this?" He'd opened the device, and was frowning at the inside. "This Pokédex is damaged…"
"Oh, that's just the distress call button," Mary-Sue dismissed. "I don't need that."
"Are you sure?" Bill asked. "I could fix it quite easily."
"Nah, it's fine," she said.
"Alright then…" He gave her one last frown, then turned and inserted her Pokédex into a slot in his computer.
All was quiet for a minute, while Bill tapped away at a panel of buttons. It was impossible to tell exactly what was going on, but eventually, he removed the Pokédex and held it back out to Mary-Sue.
"All done," he smiled. "Any Pokémon you send to storage will be sent right here."
"Thanks!" Mary-Sue smiled. "Gyarados, return."
"Gyara?" Gyarados barely had time to blink before it dissolved in a cloud of red light and returned to its Pokéball.
"Now, let's see," Mary-Sue muttered, tapping through the options on her device. "Send…Gyarados…to storage…"
A little nervous, she entered the command, and jumped as the Pokéball in her hand vanished in a burst of white light. But sure enough, a moment later, a glow appeared by Bill's giant computer, the Pokéball materializing inside a contraption meant for the sending and receiving of Pokémon. Bill took out the ball and tossed it, and Gyarados emerged, no worse for the wear.
"Of course, this Pokémon will always be yours," Bill assured Mary-Sue. "Though…I would ask that you please let me keep it for a little while."
"Sure," Mary-Sue said. "If you can help it learn to control its strength, take your time. I was worried about having to rush it."
"I will do my best," Bill promised. "And here, let me give you my phone number…"
He produced a pen for her, and after some discussion, Mary-Sue decided to write the number on her map.
"Feel free to call any time," Bill told her. "If you come across any interesting Pokémon, please let me know."
"I will!" Mary-Sue grinned. "Thanks, mister Bill!"
"Are you sure you don't want to sleep in a bed tonight?" Bill offered.
"Nah, we're fine camping," Mary-Sue told him. "Hey, did any trainers take shelter here when Cipher and Team Rocket attacked?"
"I'm afraid not," Bill answered, shaking his had. "Trainers do come up here quite often, though; I'm sure you'll meet at least one within a day's time if you stay nearby."
"Alright!" Mary-Sue grinned and turned to her friends. "Let's stay up here for a few days at least, okay? Aaron can train Oddish, and I can train Gyarados and Poliwag."
"Yeah, alright," Aaron conceded. "I guess I do need to get to know Oddish better."
"Oddish dish!" the Pokémon in question inserted happily.
"Um, mister Bill, sir…may I use your phone, please?" Jovi asked. "I'd like to call my team and tell them what you said about Cipher trying to create artificial Pokémon."
"Of course!" Bill smiled. "My phone is always free for trainers to use."
"Come on, Gyarados!" Mary-Sue said to the biggest creature in the room. "Let's get you in the ocean and start training!"
"Gyara," it nodded. "Gyara gyar."
Mary-Sue laughed, setting aside thoughts of Team Rocket and criminal organizations for now. Right now, she had Pokémon to train.
