Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. It belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak.

Hi all,

Here's the next chapter. This is the first of two chapters today. Lucas continues to investigate Red Ketchum's research.

Chapter 34

Lucas entered the bank with Meowth on his shoulder, feeling conspicuous as he approached the bank teller. After Delia told him about her husband's safe deposit box, he went straight to the bank to see what he had left behind. He only needed the name and the key for the box, which Delia provided. It would have been harder if identification was required.

"Sir, how may I be of assistance," the male teller at the counter inquired.

"I want to access my safe deposit box," Lucas said, sliding the key across the counter. "It's under the name of Michael Heron."

"One moment," the teller said, scanning the key and checking something on his computer. "Will you take it out, or do you want to look at the contents here? We provide rooms for privacy."

"I will examine it here," Lucas replied.

Lucas followed the man down a hall and into a small, furnished room. After being told to wait, the man returned a short time later with a small metal box. He left after setting the box on the table, and Lucas unlocked it. Meowth leaped from his shoulder to peer inside the box.

"There is nothing here but a floppy disc and a note, Meowth. What a letdown."

Lucas reached for the note right as Salem appeared out of thin air.

"Is there someone still following me?" Lucas asked.

"Salem."

"Salem says someone is lurking outside the bank." Meowth translated for him.

Lucas rubbed his neck. "I wonder who might be interested in following me around."

"Salem."

"He believes it is Team Rocket," Meowth said. "I also think the same."

"Does Giovanni suspect something?"

If that was the case, he was in a precarious position. Almost a decade after Red Ketchum's death, Giovanni became interested in his research. Because the man was a scientist who worked on army weapons research, there was the possibility that some dangerous information was out there. When he mentioned weapon research, he wasn't referring to traditional weapons, which had mostly become obsolete following the war. He was talking about Pokemon research that aimed to enhance them and make them even more effective tools of war. For some reason, the legendaries didn't interfere with this kind of research, so scientists pursued it with enthusiasm. Giovanni may have wanted the research because it would help him with his Mewtwo project, but he had no evidence to support this claim.

Mewtwo was an ever-present threat on the horizon. If the legendary appeared around the same time as the anime, it would be a disaster. He hadn't fully considered the implications of Mewtwo's appearance until the prime minister told him that he would be declaring war on Team Rocket in the near future.

If Giovanni could control Mewtwo, the prime minister would have no chance of winning the battle. In fact, with a legendary on his side, Team Rocket would have complete control of the United Kanto region. If that were the case, finding a way to stop Mewtwo before it appeared was critical. If Red Ketchum's research had anything to do with Mewtwo, then the information didn't get out.

Lucas took the risk of coming here because he was interested in the research. One could argue that the research would be safer with him. If he didn't destroy it, he could always keep it in his inventory, out of reach of others.

Salem had told him that someone had started following him after he left the house. His stalker was so inconspicuous that he didn't notice them, but they couldn't fool Salem's senses. Lucas had debated about turning back but decided against it. Visiting the bank was innocent enough, and Team Rocket had no way to connect it to Red Ketchum's secret research.

"Could you keep an eye on him?" Lucas asked.

"Salem?"

"He wants to know if you are going to tell Sabrina what you have discovered," Meowth said.

Bree didn't like it if he was keeping information from Sabrina.

"I will tell her," Lucas reassured her. "As soon as I find anything substantial. It might be a wild goose chase."

Salem left and Lucas opened the note to read it.

The disc contains all of the information about Project Inception. I copied the information from my office computer before the project was shut down and all of its data was confiscated. To access the data, three conditions had to be met. It requires a password, a specific encryption programme, and the disc will only work on one computer. The password is in the hands of Samuel Oak, who doesn't know anything about the project, but who I have a lot of trust in. The other two conditions lie with Bill Exley, an inventor and scientist who was the lead scientist on the project.

Be warned that information on the project is highly classified. Investigating it may bring some trouble from the government, so only do so if you feel it's absolutely necessary. I took the precaution of copying the data because I felt it was a shame that all our progress would be lost for nothing.

But I fear that was a mistake because I am certain that someone was out to get that information, and I may have put myself and my family in danger. Only Samuel, Bill, and my wife know about the disc's existence, but not its contents. If something happens to me, then it's best to be forgotten about and never to be opened again.

"The note implies that the fellow got whacked for the information he had," Meowth said. "It's probably not worth the trouble."

Lucas nodded. "Probably. But I would like to know what this project is about because I believe it will be important."

"Who's this Bill fellow?" Meowth asked.

"He is an inventor primarily," Lucas answered. "He is heavily involved in scientific projects with the government and the Silph Company."

In the games, he was simply known as Bill, and he invented the Pokemon storage system. Although there was nothing like that in the world, it appeared that his interests hadn't changed. He wouldn't be surprised if the man had a hand in the creation of Porygon, which he heard about in the Silph Company building, since it had to do with computer technology.

"Let's go ask Oak about the password," Meowth said, waving the disc around.

"Alright," Lucas said, taking the note and the disc and storing them in his inventory. "I don't know how I will convince him, but it's worth a try, at least."

When Lucas arrived at Professor Oak's lab, he discovered that Delia, Ash, and Misty had just arrived. Curious, he disembarked from the carriage and followed them inside, where Daisy Oak was standing with a boy Lucas had only seen in passing, Gary Oak. He was holding a Pokemon egg in his arm and speaking to Ash.

"It's about time you got here, Ash," Gary said. "My Charmander is about to hatch from his egg, and I know you would have been disappointed not to see such a rare sight. Who knows when you will ever see it again?"

Gary Oak was just as spoiled and arrogant as he was in the anime. Given Ash's reaction to Gary's provocation, he would make an excellent rival. He stood at the entrance, hoping for a good show.

"What are you talking about?" Misty asked, folding her arms. "We saw an egg hatch not long ago. It's not that special."

"Did I ask for your opinion? Gary waved a dismissive hand at her.

"I don't need your permission," Misty snorted. "You're acting as if you are something special. What a spoiled little twerp!"

"Do you want to repeat that?" Gary stepped into Misty's personal space, but his sister pulled him back.

"Stop it, Gary," Daisy warned. "Behave, or I will have you clean out the Muk enclosure."

Before he could respond, Ash took off his backpack and pulled out his Pidgey egg. "Take a look, Gary. You are not the only one who has a Pokemon now. Just wait for Pidgey to hatch, and I will wipe the floor with your Charmander."

"So you have a common Pidgey," Gary said, rolling his eyes. "I feel sorry for you."

"This will be the best Pidgey in the entire world," Ash exclaimed. "This is Lucas' first Pokemon egg as a breeder, which he gave to me."

"Thanks for the support, kiddo," Lucas said, stepping forward and placing a hand on his head. "I don't doubt that the Pidgey will be really strong as long as you raise him right."

"That's for sure," Ash said, caressing the egg. "He will be standing right beside me in the arena when I win my first Pokemon League championship."

Gary squinted at Lucas. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lucas," he replied, getting down on his knees. "May I ask the same question?"

"You know who I am!" Gary raised his head proudly.

"That's right," Lucas said, snapping his fingers. "It's Larry, right?"

"No!"

"Barry?"

"Nonsense!"

"Harry?"

Gary stomped his foot, unable to articulate his anger with words.

"Don't tell me you're Mary!" Lucas exclaimed with an exaggerated expression.

Ash and Misty both laughed at Gary. Lucas took pleasure in seeing Gary's face turn red but winced when Delia stepped forward and slapped his shoulder.

"Stop teasing him," Delia said.

"I remember you," Gary yelled, pointing his finger at him. "You're nothing but the hired help. Wait until grandfather hears about this!"

Where had he heard that expression before?

"I'm no longer an employee here," Lucas said, reaching out and ruffling the boy's hair. "It's nice to meet you, Gary. Don't take my teasing too seriously."

"Why don't we head up to your room and wait for Charmander to hatch?" Delia spoke, and the three children followed her out of the reception area.

"Hi, Lucas," Daisy said, smiling at him. "What can I do for you?"

"Is your grandfather here?" Lucas asked.

"What? No small talk?" Daisy asked, nudging him. "No gossip? Aren't you going to share the juicy details with me about your relationship with Sabrina?"

"Not a chance. Why don't you get your own boyfriend," Lucas suggested. "Then you wouldn't have time to be so nosy about my relationship."

"No time for that," Daisy sighed. "My grandfather keeps me too busy. You can find him in his office."

"Let's catch up later," Lucas told her before he left to find Professor Oak.

"Does she hand out free salmon, too?" Meowth asked. "Maybe you should take her as a mate as well. If you have a harem of girls, I will be set for life."

"Stop speaking nonsense," Lucas said, annoyed. "Having one girlfriend already requires a lot of commitment. I would be completely exhausted if I had to commit to several. Plus, Bree would probably do some terrible things to me if I treated Sabrina that way."

"Salem." Banette appeared beside him and nodded at his words.

"Did the man follow me here as well?" Lucas asked.

"He turned back when he saw that you were heading here," Meowth said, speaking for Salem.

"What an annoyance," Lucas grumbled. "Still, my stalker can't suspect me of anything just because I came here after visiting the bank. Since I used to work here, it's only natural that I would return here occasionally."

Lucas knocked on the door and entered Professor Oak's office. The old man was behind his desk, arguing with someone on the phone. He gestured for Lucas to take a seat and continued to argue with the person before slamming it down.

"Is everything alright?" Lucas asked when the professor groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

"I was speaking with the new mayor," Professor Oak said. "We were arguing about what to do with the Pokemon that were experimented on. I'm afraid that he has decided to put them down in two week's time."

Lucas nodded. He had been keeping track of the news concerning the Pokemon that had been discovered in the Fearow Gang's hideout. There had been a lot of arguments over what to do with them, which involved the mayor's office, the church, and some protesters who didn't want the Pokemon to be put down.

He wasn't surprised that the mayor and the church were on the same side. The former did not want to pay for the expense, while the latter saw them as abominations for how they had been changed because of the drug. Although they preached about caring for Pokemon, that care didn't extend to things that they saw as unnatural. It was becoming clear to him that the public had not yet realised the repetitive and lazy nature of their argument.

"Can't you take them yourself?" Lucas asked.

"I don't have the room or the resources," Professor Oak sighed. "The majority of the lab's expenses are covered by research grants. I cannot afford to house and feed dozens of Pokemon that hold no research value. No one wants to research a cure for the Pokemon's afflictions, since the drug has already been removed from the market."

Lucas' brow furrowed as he considered the dilemma. He wanted to help them but he didn't know if getting involved would be of any benefit to him. While he sympathised with their situation, he lacked the time and resources to address it. He was struck by an idea, which he initially dismissed as absurd, but the more he thought about it, the more interested he became.

"What if someone discovered a cure for them? What would happen to the Pokemon? Could the individual claim ownership over them?"

Professor Oak raised his eyebrows at him. "I suppose you could claim them as your own, but given the treatment they received, the Pokemon would need convincing. Otherwise, they would be released into the wild or transferred to a Pokemon Reserve. Why are you interested?"

"There are a lot of paired Pokemon among them that can produce eggs, right?"

"That is correct. The Fearow Gang was also testing whether the drug affected eggs. Are you saying you want Pokemon so you can start your own store?"

"It's only an idea at the moment," Lucas admitted. "I need to see the Pokemon first to determine whether or not I can help them."

Professor Oak leaned back in his seat. "Either you are joking, or you are hiding something from me. Forget about the cost of taking on such a large number of Pokemon; what makes you believe you can help them in the first place?"

Lucas just shrugged and smiled. "Forget about it. I came here for another reason."

"What is it?"

"I need the password that Red Ketchum gave you before he passed away."

"What?! How do you know about that?" Oak demanded.

"Delia told me. She wanted to absolve herself of all responsibility for the secret. I am curious what the man was hiding, and I need the password to get access to it."

"I have always suspected it was related to his research," Oak mused. "But there must be something dangerous about it if Red went to such lengths to conceal it. Why should I give the password to you?"

"Scientific curiosity?" Lucas suggested. "Perhaps he was sitting on some research that would shake the scientific community."

"Nice try," Oak snorted. He tapped his fingers against the desk for a moment before responding to his request. "I cannot give away the password so easily because it feels like a betrayal to Red. How about this? You cure the affected Pokemon of their illnesses, and I will give it to you."

Lucas quickly agreed to the deal and rose to his feet. Judging from the professor's expression, he appeared to be humouring him, and didn't really believe that Lucas could help the Pokemon. He couldn't blame him for his scepticism, because how could Lucas expect to cure the Pokemon's illness when actual scientists and doctors couldn't do so?

Professor Oak scribbled something on a piece of paper in a notepad before tearing the page and handing it to him.

"What is this?"

"These are the contact details for a woman named Melanie," Professor Oak said. "She is leading the protests against the Pokemon being put down, and is also responsible for funding for some of the Pokemon's care. If you want to gain access to the farm where the Pokemon are staying, then you need to speak to her."

Lucas paused before he was about to leave the office. "Do you know where I can find Bill Exley? I need to speak to him as well."

"He is usually found in his home to the north of Cerulean City. But he dislikes phones, so I don't have a number for you."

He would need to travel to Cerulean City. Since he needed to drop Misty off with her sisters for the Christmas holidays, he could do it then. For now, he would focus on getting the password from Professor Oak.

Lucas left the office and took out his phone. He dialled the number on the paper, and a woman answered a moment later.

"Hello?" He could tell from one word that the woman was stressed out just from her greeting.

"Melanie? This is Lucas Walker. I used to work in Professor Oak's lab. He told me that you are the person to speak to about meeting the sick Pokemon."

"Why do you want to meet them?"

"Call it curiosity."

"I suppose you must be alright, since Professor Oak gave you my number. But I can't just let anyone in to see them, and I am very busy at the moment."

"How about I come tomorrow and volunteer to care for the Pokemon for a day. I know someone else would be interested as well. I could offer a donation as well."

He didn't think Brock would mind since he was aspiring to be a Pokemon doctor one day, and he had to be curious about the Pokemon and their predicament.

"All right," Melanie replied. "Meet me at the entrance to town at seven in the morning."

The following morning, Lucas hired a carriage and he and Brock made their way to the entrance to town. At this time of the morning, it was still bitterly cold, and Lucas had Ashe draped over his shoulders to provide warmth.

"Why did I agree to come with you again?" Brock shivered.

Brock was dressed in two layers of clothing and a coat, as well as a scarf and a wool hat. The temperature was below zero, and it appeared that it wouldn't rise any higher for the remainder of the day.

"Because I said that Melanie sounded like a cute girl over the phone and you didn't want to miss the chance to meet her," Lucas replied.

"That's not true," Brock said. "I'm really interested in the plight of those poor Pokemon. If there is a cute girl, that is a bonus."

The carriage stopped at the entrance and they disembarked from it. They spotted the woman immediately, as she was the only one besides them to be sane enough to be out in this weather. Already, it looked like the weather was turning into a blizzard, and the forecast supported that outcome.

"Lucas Walker?" The woman lowered her hood when they approached her. There was a Bulbasaur standing beside her, who was keeping a wary eye on them.

Brock stepped forward to introduce himself before Lucas could respond. It appeared that his guess that she was a pretty woman was correct, though he had only said that to persuade Brock to accompany him. She had a small pixie face, short blue hair, and appeared to be his age.

"Hello," Lucas greeted her after she escaped from Brock's enthusiastic greeting. "Sorry about my friend here. He is still going through puberty."

"Oi!" Brock protested.

"It's fine," Melanie said, laughing. "I have a carriage waiting outside the town that will take us to the farm. Follow me."

When they were seated in the lavishly decorated carriage, they chatted to get to know one another. Lucas had a feeling she knew the woman from the anime, especially with the Bulbasaur by her side, and his suspicions were confirmed. Melanie explained that she and her family lived in a hidden village that cared for Pokemon with medical issues.

Ash had met Melanie in the first season of the anime, and the Bulbasaur next to her joined his team. He didn't know if that scenario was going to happen again in this world, but he checked the Pokemon out just in case. Bulbasaur was level ten, so he wouldn't be too much to handle if Ash encountered him later. His parameters were decent as well, so he would be a great addition to any team.

Melanie explained that when she learned about the Pokemon who had been experimented on, she left the village to see what she could do to help them. Her family appeared to be wealthy, based on the carriage.

"Have you made any breakthroughs with the Pokemon's illness?" Lucas asked.

Melanie shook her head. "The best we can figure out is that the Pokemon's energy has been disrupted as a result of the drugs. This causes a slew of medical problems that are hard to get a handle on."

Lucas remembered meeting Officer Jenny's Growlithe, who was one of the afflicted Pokemon. After examining the Pokemon, he saw several negative traits that it had been suffering from. The worst of these was that it was permanently in critical condition, implying that it would spend its entire life in the most miserable of circumstances. However, this was only one example, and the rest of the Pokemon could be suffering from worse conditions.

"Have you tried every healing product on them?" Brock asked.

"Everything," Melanie sighed. "Nothing seems to work. I even tried a full restore on one of them, but he made no difference."

Lucas whistled. A full restore was a pill that could not only improve a Pokemon's condition and heal any status ailment, but it could also bring them back from the brink of death and regenerate lost limbs. It sold for nearly a hundred thousand pokedollars because it was so difficult to produce. Melanie was certainly not lacking in pokedollars.

He wasn't surprised that the full restore didn't work. Because the drug added negative traits, they became permanent afflictions rather than something like a temporary status condition. If he was going to help them, then he needed something that could remove traits.

Melanie led the carriage to the farm's front gate, where a pair of Rangers and their Pokemon stood guard. When they arrived on the property, he noticed that the farm was expansive and primarily dedicated to crop production, though there was nothing growing during the winter. Several new buildings had been constructed to house the Pokemon, which was where they were headed.

"Are the Rangers cooperating with you?" Lucas asked.

"Not particularly," Melanie answered. "They were supportive at first, but the mayor quickly pulled them out. My family produces a lot of Rangers, so if you see any here, they are related to me in some way."

When they entered the first building, he noticed the interior was set up like a stable, with separate stalls for each Pokemon. They removed their coats and outer layers once inside, and Melanie guided them around. Lucas examined each Pokemon and realised that the situation was worse than he had fought. Some of the Pokemon were comatose and required life support to stay alive.

There were twenty Pokemon in the first building, but there were several more, so he assumed the total number was over a hundred. At least half of them were paired Pokemon who frequented the same stalls as their companions. Maybe he was projecting, but it looked like their hearts were broken by the situation they found themselves in.

The depressing atmosphere inspired Lucas to help the Pokemon. Even if he did not get anything out of it, he needed to help them recover so they could live normal lives again. But how could he help them?

Melanie showed them the other buildings, and while they were looking through the second to last, Lucas heard his Itemfinder alert ping.

"Continue the tour without me," Lucas said, pausing. "I would like to look around some more."

Brock gave Lucas a thumbs up behind Melanie's back as if to thank him for allowing him some alone time with the lovely girl. Lucas didn't try to correct him. So far, Brock and Melanie have been getting along quite well. It was probably because they had a common interest in becoming Pokemon doctors, which gave them something to talk about.

He followed the noise to one of the stalls, which housed a pair of Rhydons. They watched him intently as he entered the stall in search of the hidden item.

"Easy there," Lucas said, raising his arms. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to get a closer look at you."

He spotted the shimmer indicating the hidden item in the back of the stall, and he edged over to it with caution. As soon as he obtained the item, he exited the stall and opened his inventory to see what he had obtained.

"This is different," Lucas murmured.

He obtained an item known as a Skill Capsule, which allowed him to learn skills outside of his profession. The skill was called Divination. Curious, he took out his guidebook and searched for information on the new skill. His eyes widened as he read the description.

Skill: Divination Level: Max Next: - Type: Active Charges: -

Description:

The skill allows the player to look into the future and see what skills he will unlock as he advances in his different professions. He can only see potential skills five levels below his current profession level. Furthermore, he can use the skill to see the advantages of maxing out a skill to its full potential. The information will be recorded in the player's guidebook, and every time he uses the skill, it will cost him twenty thousand pokedollars.

There were so many potential benefits to this skill, but Lucas was confused about why it was appearing in this place. It sounded like too much of a coincidence to be here, where the Pokemon were in great need. Could it be possible that Arceus had deliberately placed the item here so he could find it.

"Are you looking out for these Pokemon in your own way?" Lucas looked up at the ceiling as if he were speaking to the God Pokemon.

The skill's application suggested only one thing. There was a solution to the Pokemon's problems hidden in one of his current skills, or one that he had yet to learn. He needed to think about it more, because each time he used the skill, he would spend twenty thousand pokedollars. Even though he would learn a lot about his skills, it would be a waste of pokedollars if he didn't find a solution right away.

"It has to be related to my alchemy profession," Lucas murmured.

The skill was automatically learned as soon as he took out the skill capsule from his inventory, He opened his menu to browse through his skills, to see which one he should use Divination on. He spoke out aloud, to get Ashe's opinion on the matter.

"Vulpix," Ashe responded the most positively to Green Thumb.

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked, and she nodded her head. "Well, it doesn't matter if I waste some pokedollars anyway."

He used the Divination skill on Green Thumb and searched through his guidebook for the new information.

Skill: Green Thumb Level: Max Next: - Type: Active/Passive Charges: -

Description: The player is an expert at gathering ingredients. Each ingredient they pick has a 100% chance of being of the highest quality. There is a 50% chance that they will be able to harvest two ingredients from a single plant. In addition, the player can evaluate the ingredient and learn about any potential effects it may have on a salve, potions, or pills.

Total skill points needed to upgrade: 3

"This is what I'm looking for." Lucas gripped the book in excitement. "If I can find ingredients with the effects of removing traits, then I might be able to produce a potion that can cure the Pokemon."

The skill was completely broken, as it would make it easier for him to experiment and create his own potions in the future, without having to rely on recipes. It would only cost him three skill points, which was the current amount he happened to have at the moment. Without hesitation, he spent the points and upgraded the skill to the maximum.

He took out a plant that he had in his inventory, and saw that there was some text hovering above the plant, displaying information on it, identical to what the Insight sight did with Pokemon.

Lucas hurried to catch up with Melanie and Brock, who had already entered the last building housing the Pokemon.

"I have an idea for a potion to cure the Pokemon," Lucas said, in a rush. "But it requires some research. I'm going back to Pallet Town to search for some ingredients."

"Are you speaking the truth?" Melanie asked, grabbing his hands.

"Lucas wouldn't lie about such a thing," Brock said, slapping Lucas' shoulder. "He is already an amazing alchemist."

"You don't need to return to Pallet Town," Melanie said. "I have a lot of ingredients stored in a building here that the doctors and alchemists used to search for a cure. You are free to use them however you like. There is a separate alcove with an alchemy station there."

Melanie led them to another building, which was smaller than the others. Lucas was hit with an intense medicinal odour as soon as he stepped inside. There were rows of shelves, each holding hundreds of different ingredients.

Lucas rubbed his eyes as he was bombarded with text containing information on all of the different plants. He would need to learn how to focus the skill; otherwise, he may go blind from all the visual stimuli.

"Time to start researching," Lucas said, smiling.

So, what do you think? In the next chapter, Lucas researches a potion to cure the Pokemon and travels to Cerulean City.

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Thanks for reading.