Chapter 2—Apricorn technology—
The next day, I awoke and got up before I looked at a clock on the wall… and saw it was 6 in the morning. I didn't feel tired, so I chose to get ready for the day before heading out. I stored my armor away properly and straightened my clothes a little… as they were the only ones I owned right now, they would have to do; I had a white, short sleeve shirt on and brown pants, as well as study brown, lace-up boots, a black belt and black fingerless gloves. I made sure to comb my short blonde hair before I headed out.
As I had signed up for multiple duties, I wasn't sure which role George would want me to perform first, so I decided to go to his office. When I arrived, I knocked and I heard him say: "Come in." And I entered and saw him working on some paperwork before he looked up and I said: "I'm reporting in, sir." "Ah, Lucas! Good of you to come, and so early nonetheless! Well done." He said before I said: "Thank you, sir. Now if I may, I'd like to ask how I may help you first, sir? Since I have already identified multiple things I can do, which do you want done first?" "Yes… I seem to recall you saying you're an experienced bodyguard, chef, tailor and you can help with heavy lifting, Lucas?" George asked before I said: "Yes, sir." "In that case, why don't you get your work as a chef started and make breakfast for everyone? Once you're done, you can help set up the sets in performing room 2-C and try designing some costumes for an upcoming show from there, making meals as they come up during the day. Besides the breakfast meal—which is at 7:30—lunch is at noon and dinner is at 8 at night. The kitchen is located near storage room 4-B. Look at the maps on the walls if you're having trouble." George said. "Understood, sir. Then I'll get started immediately, since time is now of the essence." I said and I saluted out of habit before George laughed and said: "There's no need to salute, Lucas—this isn't the military!" "Er… right. Then anyway, I'll go. Goodbye, sir." I said before I left.
Thankfully, I managed to find the kitchen in due time, but I had to work fast to get the crew's breakfast ready on time. Thankfully, there were three other chefs assisting me, so we got everything done. After that, I started working on the tasks that George had assigned me to for a few days—there were other lifters too, but I was on my own at designing clothes for Miku, Rin, Len, Luka, Meiko and Kaito; no other tailors had been hired, as they normally bought or ordered the clothes they used. It made me feel a great deal of pressure, knowing that my skills weren't perfect and every garment I made successfully would save them money, while every garment I failed at would cost them money, but I did my best.
Not too long thereafter, I got my first day off, which I used to explore the area around the city where we were now. I liked getting to look around and see all the exotic flora I had never seen, as well as the strange, outdated architecture. Soon I came to a park, but when I walked by some trees, I noticed something that took my breath away… there were apricorns on these trees!
Apricorns were circular nuts that could be used as primitive Poke balls. Though they weren't as high tech as a Poke ball, they could serve the same purpose—all you had to do was cut the apricorn horizontally almost to the back, scoop out the core in the center and install a beam chip (which combined the technologies of a laser and a vacuum, resulting in a primitive, low tech Poke ball that could call the Pokemon in it in and out just like the ones I had). It was astonishing to think that these people had the tools they needed to make Poke balls right here in their world, all along… still, these were an amazing find—with these, I could catch more Pokemon… or even give Miku, Rin, Len, Luka, Meiko and Kaito their own Pokemon! As they literally were growing on trees, I doubted anyone would think of me picking them as stealing. I picked eight apricorns and put them away before I continued exploring.
From there, I had to wait until I was paid by George before I could proceed any further with my plan. I continued working for everyone's benefit until I was paid. With the money I had obtained, I bought the materials to make six beam chips and built them before I cut the apricorns almost in half and scooped out the cores and put them together. When I had the six apricorn balls, I headed out on my next day off and found six different Pokemon that I thought were suitable for them to use and caught them before I headed back—even if they didn't want them, I could always use them myself. After dinnertime that night, I started cleaning up the dining room before I heard a: "Lucas!" It was Kaito. I turned and saw him coming in before I said: "Hello, Kaito. What brought you back here? Seconds?" "Ha ha, no, not that. I wanted to give my regards to you for the delicious meal you made earlier. That fried chicken really hit the spot—it was a lot better than the kind of stuff a restaurant would sell. The others liked it too!" He replied before I smiled and said: "Good. I'm happy to hear that." And then I went on: "How are things going in preparation for the next show?" "Fine. We've almost completely got our lines down. Now it's just a matter of putting the finishing touches on our ability to act the scenes out." Kaito said before I said: "Great! Just what I'd expect of my new buddies."
And Kaito chuckled before he said: "Well now that I've said that, I'd better get back to practicing. See you tomorr—" and I said: "Hold on, Kaito. Before you go, can I ask a favor of you?" And he turned around and said: "A favor? What kind of favor?" "I have something very special I want to give you, Miku, Rin, Len, Luka and Meiko, but trying to find you all can be difficult. Since you work with them, could you tell them all to come and meet me at my room in the tent at 9 at night tomorrow?" I asked before Kaito said: "I'm not sure what this is… but sure, I'll do it." "Thank you, Kaito. Then I'll see you tomorrow!" I said before he nodded and left the dining room.
The next day, I worked a normal day until I was off a little after dinner and hurried back to my room before I got the apricorn balls ready and waited, but I was certainly cutting it close—it was almost no time at all before Kaito and the others arrived!
"Ah, thank you for coming, everyone. I appreciate you being willing to come here after a long day." I said. "It's no trouble, Lucas—you're our friend, after all. Now what's this about?" Miku asked before I said: "Before I answer that… has Kaito told you why I called you all here?" "He said you had a gift for us. An amazing one, it sounded like." Len said before I said: "That's right, Len. I have something very special for all of you… something that I believe will change your lives."
And everyone looked unsure before I went by the desk I was using and said: "These all contain something very special… I think it will be easier just to show you at this point." And then I called the Pokemon out in them one by one… a Growlithe, a Frillish, a Budew, an Elekid, a Machop and a Cutiefly. Growlithe were dog-like Pokemon that walked on four legs. They had orange legs, backs and heads (with black stripes here and there) and had manila-colored fur on their chests, tails and jaw—they also had a tuft of manila-colored hair like a mohawk on their heads. They had orange ears with pale brown interiors, black noses and white toenails. They had white eyes with black irises and white pupils and were short. Frillish were ghostly apparitions that floated over the ground. The Frillish I had caught had a pink body that was mostly like a robe with pale pink frills at the bottom and at the end of its sleeves. It had a pale pink ruff around its neck and had a pink head with red eyes, blue irises and white pupils. The top of its head was pale pink and the interior of its mouth was red. It was short. Budew were little plant Pokemon like a little green sprout that had two yellow feet that connected directly to the bottom of their torsos and no arms. Their faces were yellow in the center, with two black dots for eyes and had a dark green colored pattern on their chins. They had a bud on top of their heads that was pale green at the top and they looked very short. Elekid were little Pokemon that were humanoid and had yellow bodies with black stripes around their forearms and torsos with a black thunderbolt pattern in the middle of their torsos. They had three white claws at the end of their arms (with no hands attached) and had two prongs on top of their heads with holes near the center of the top of each. It had white eyes with little black dots for pupils and was very short. Machop were Pokemon with slate-colored bodies that were very humanoid. Their arms were smaller, but still muscular and they had three pale brown crests on top of their heads. They had a tail, red eyes with black pupils and were short. And Cutiefly were very cute insect Pokemon that had rounded yellow and pink bodies with a pointy nose and black eyes with white pupils. They had two wings that were pink and bronze and four black feeler legs too. They were very minute in size for a Pokemon—they were very, very short, about a third of a foot tall.
When everyone saw them, their faces lit up and Len said: "Wow! These things are so cool!" And then Rin said: "They're not cool, they're cute! What adorable little creatures they are!" And Miku said: "They're really amazing, but Lucas…" And I looked at her as she went on: "Aren't these things the same kind of creatures as the monster you used? The one you called Girafarig?" "That's right, Miku! They're Pokemon, just like my Girafarig is." I replied before Luka said: "So these are what you intend to give us, Lucas?" "Exactly, Luka! Pokemon are creatures that have the potential to change lives—just like they did with mine. I want each of you to walk away with a new companion to accompany you today. Though they can be used for protection, they should also be your friends. Pokemon are living creatures with feelings and must be treated with the same kindness you'd give anyone else. That's what my parents taught me, and I believe it." I said before Len said: "Wahoo! Lucas, you're the best!"
And I chuckled before I went on: "As there are six of them and six of you, that means everyone gets one—you'll have to work out amongst yourselves who gets what. Please remember that these Pokemon live here and likely in other parts of this world, so even if you have to compromise, there will still be other opportunities to get other Pokemon like these. So get to it, friends!" And then they started talking amongst themselves. In the end, they decided that Miku would take Budew, Rin would take Cutiefly, Len would take Growlithe, Luka would take Frillish, Meiko would take Elekid, and Kaito would take Machop. After they had it all worked out, I said: "Great! You've all worked it out! I'm impressed at how quickly and smoothly you all agreed on who got what." Before I went to Budew and said: "Alright, Budew, let me show you to your new trainer!" And I took her to Miku before I said: "Here she is: your new trainer! Give it your all for her, okay?" And Miku got down as Budew approached her and said: "Hi, Budew! I'm Miku. We're going to have lots of fun together!" And Budew said: "Dew!" Before Miku hugged her and I grinned before I went to Cutiefly and said: "Now it's your turn, Cutiefly! Let me show you to who your trainer is…" And I took her to Rin before I said: "This is your trainer! Do your best, now!" And then Rin said: "You're such a little cutie, Cutiefly! My name's Rin—I may look young, but I'm smart enough to be someone you can rely on! Let's have fun together!" "Cutie!" Cutiefly said as she flew around Rin and Rin held out her finger before Cutiefly perched on it and she giggled.
And then I went back to Growlithe and said: "And now you're up, Growlithe! Let me introduce you…" And I took him to Len before I said: "This is your trainer. Don't let him down and have fun!" And then Len knelt down before he said: "Hi, Growlithe! You're such an awesome Pokemon! I'm Len and we'll be working together from now on!" "Growl!" Growlithe said before he came up to Len and he pet him. Then I went to Frillish and said: "And now for you, Frillish! I'll show you to your trainer." And I took her to Luka before I said: "Here's your trainer, Frillish. Enjoy your time with her!" And Luka said: "Hi, Frillish. My name is Luka. It's really nice to meet you. I look forward to what we'll do together." "Frillish!" Frillish said before Luka hugged her.
And then I went to Elekid and said: "And the time has come for you to meet your trainer, Elekid! Come on over!" And I took him to Meiko before I said: "This is your trainer. Show her what you can do!" And Meiko giggled and said: "Hi, sweetie. My name is Meiko. You're really a neat-looking Pokemon, you know that? I look forward to what we'll accomplish together." "Elekid!" He said before I went to Machop and said: "And that leaves you, Machop! Without further ado, I'll show you your trainer!" And I took him to Kaito before I said: "As you can see, this man will be your trainer. Give it your all for him." "Hi there, Machop! You're a strong one! I'm Kaito. Let's do our best!" Kaito said. "Machop!" He said before I chuckled.
And then they all turned to me and Miku said: "Thank you, Lucas. This is such a wonderful gift you gave us. We'll take good care of them, we promise." "Good, because that's just what you should do for them. As long as you both can lean on each other, anything will be possible." I said before Len said: "We will. But Lucas…" And I turned to him and he said: "You said we could use Pokemon for protection? How?" "In addition to being wonderful companions, Pokemon also can fight too. Pokemon can fight on their own, but as their trainers, you can also tell them what move to use against their opponent. If you use a move that's strong against your opponent or that will help you in that situation, you might help your Pokemon do better than it could on its own. And your Pokemon will trust you more because of it." I said. "Moves can be strong against your opponents? How do you pick a strong one?" Luka asked. "It depends on your opponent's type or types. Pokemon have up to two of 18 types and they match up differently against each other. For example, if you use a water move on a fire Pokemon, it will be strong against them. But it's also possible to use a move that is weak against your opponent. As another example, if you use an ice move against a fire Pokemon, it would do less damage. Some types are immune to others too—if you were to attack a flying Pokemon with a ground move, it would do nothing, for example." I said before Meiko said: "Hold on… how are we supposed to learn all this?" "I'll write you up some simplified notes about your Pokemon and types. They should be enough to get you off to a fast start." I said before Miku said: "Wow… there's all this stuff to learn… it's almost like school." And I laughed before I said: "There's no pressure, Miku. It may look like a lot, but it's really just studying for an exam that has no due date. And you can have fun with Pokemon without having battles. They could even accompany you onstage!" "That's true… they could be great actors too…" Luka said before Len said: "Well I think it's awesome! This is the kind of thing I can get behind studying for and I'm just happy to be with Pokemon!"
And I smiled and said: "That's exactly the attitude you should take, Len. Make sure you never change it." And they looked happy before Kaito said: "This will be very exciting… but Lucas… what were those things you brought the Pokemon out of?" And I took the apricorn balls and said: "These are apricorns. You can make them into primitive versions of Poke balls by cutting them nearly in half, scooping out the core and installing a chip inside made from certain mechanical parts. That's what these apricorn balls are made of." "So they work just like your Poke ball, but are made of different material? Wow… although I can't help but wonder… where did you get them?" Rin asked. "I made them myself. I found the apricorns growing in a park, so I picked them, prepared them and then installed the chips in them." I said before Luka said: "So we had the materials to make those all along, but no one ever knew how to use them… that's amazing." And Miku said: "That is amazing. But Lucas… how did you get the parts for the chips?" "I bought them." I said before Miku said: "What? Where did you get the money?" "I financed it myself. It's one of the greater pleasures of receiving a salary." I said before Meiko said: "Oh, Lucas…" And Miku said: "And all so you could surprise us with this… thank you so much, Lucas. We owe you something special."
And I laughed before I said: "You're welcome. That said, here are the apricorn balls I made for each Pokemon." And I gave each of them the matching apricorn ball for their Pokemon before I said: "You can call them back by pointing it at them and opening the ball—it can sense them and bring them back into it lickety-split." "Thank you, Lucas… I really like Cutiefly, though! I want to keep her out as much as I can!" Rin said before I said: "That's a fine idea, Rin. I would encourage you to do so, asking for Mr. Victor's permission if necessary." "Ooh, good point. Even though she's so small, he might not want her flying around the tent…" Rin said before Miku giggled and I smiled and said: "Anyway, that's my gift to you. Raise them well, everyone." And then Kaito said: "Thank you, Lucas. That meant so much." And everyone thanked me before I said: "You're welcome. Anyway, now that you have them, I'd better write up those notes for you. Is there a place and time when I can deliver them?" "You really never give yourself a break, do you? Well luckily, there's an office with mailboxes for each employee almost on the opposite end of the tent. If you drop them off in those, you can do it whenever." Meiko said before I said: "Perfect! Thank you, Meiko. And I'd say that's enough from me! It's time to go on and enjoy some time with your Pokemon! See you tomorrow, everyone!" "You've got it! Bye, Lucas!" Len said before they all went out and I wrote up the notes for them—studying Pokemon extensively was required for any soldier in my army and I was much more serious about it than the average soldier, so I was well-suited to teach them. I wrote up the notes—remembering to keep them simple—before I was out of time and went to sleep for the night.
The next day, I put the notes into Miku's, Rin's, Len's, Luka's, Meiko's and Kaito's mailboxes and immediately got to work. I still enjoyed working and I saw Miku, Rin, Len, Luka, Meiko and Kaito with their Pokemon every now and again, which made me happy. At the end of the week, I was working extra after dinner that day on making clothes before I heard a: "Ah! There you are, Lucas!" It was George! I turned around and said: "Hello, Mr. Victor. Did you need me for something?" "Not so much a need, no. I was only wondering something…" He said before I said: "What can I help you with?" "Miku, Rin, Len, Luka, Meiko and Kaito all have these strange monsters with them now… I think Len called it a Pokemon? Was this your doing?" He asked.
"Yes, sir. Is that a problem?" I asked before he said: "No, not at all. I merely wanted to understand how they got here. Given your enigmatic persona, I thought you might be the cause. I see I was right." And then he went on: "But those creatures are completely tame, right? They aren't going to turn on our staff or audience, will they?" "No, not at all. They're not like the other monsters—Pokemon are our friends. They live alongside us and work with us to make our lives better. You can count on them, sir. They're not a threat to us." I said before George said: "In that case, I won't worry. Thank you for clarifying that."
And then he went on: "Also, there was a piece of recent news that I thought I should share with you, if you haven't heard it already. Tell me, Lucas… have you heard of what's going on in the south of Yamato?" Another term I didn't recognize… I didn't even know what Yamato was, but I suppose I shouldn't ask for clarification about that from my boss… "…No, sir. What's happening?" I asked before George said: "There apparently have been reports of strange violence going on down there." "What?! What kind of violence?!" I asked before George said: "The source has yet to ascertain the details, but apparently there are attacks going on down there. It sounds like it's not entirely safe there…" And then he went on: "Thankfully, that doesn't affect us up here in the north and now that I know that, we'll steer clear of the south for a while. But I just thought you should know." North… perhaps the very landmass we're standing on is called Yamato. "I see. Thank you for letting me know, sir." I said before he said: "Certainly. Anyway, I like seeing that you're working late, Lucas! Keep up the good work!" And then he left… that news was certainly unsettling, but I still was feeling happy for all I had done for my friends… I couldn't help but feel Mom and Dad felt proud from where they were watching.