Lucas grimaced. This was one of the days when his mind was in a rut and refused to function, and he just wanted to bang it against a cavern wall until it either begun working again, or until some mineral that he could study the origin of came out. Somehow, he'd had both happen at different points of his life, and he was proud of both and neither at the same time.
Sighing, he stared longingly at his life's work and what got him accepted as the Pokémon Professor of the Sinnoh Region; the compiled tablets of Arceus. The ancient texts lay neatly organized in their display case, each plate thrumming with seemingly infinite power, each for a Pokémon type, and they read words that all evidence seemed to suggest were from a civilization that knew about Arceus itself.
When the universe was created, its shards became this Plate. The being poured the remains of its power into stone and buried it deep. The powers of Plates are shared among Pokémon. The rightful bearer of a Plate draws from the Plate it holds. The power of defeated giants infuses this Plate. It gathers power from the Plates, listening for the flute's song.
The Original One breathed alone before the universe came. Then,Two beings of time and space set free from the Original One. Two make matter, and three make spirit, shaping the world. The other side of this world was taken by the raging third, the Original One.
The third being raged, raining down bolts of anger. Where all creation was born, that is the being's place of origin. The rift is born of disorder on the other side of this world. The rules of time and space change within the opposite world. That which fills the other side of the world can shape the rage and mold it.
He groaned. Moments like these, he felt like a hack. Something in the back of his mind niggled that there was one or more elements missing, despite all his colleagues being amazed at what he found already. He knew there had to be more. The whispers of the ancients, the legends of Arceus, they didn't just stop at what he had in his possession. It was like reading half a story... or, more realistically, 90% of a story, but that last 10% was the climax.
The arrangement of words was readable and held wisdom, but it didn't feel right. It was like watching someone hold a discourse and fail to mention the thing that they actually needed to say. That one piece of information that made everything make sense. Lucas knew he was missing something, and he'd be damned if he didn't find it.
Especially since there were whispers of new, undiscovered Pokèmon types- It was what had him depart for Kalos for more than a year. Sure, on paper, he had moved on from the plates, a research that everyone believed completed, in favor of studying the phenomenon of Mega Evolution. But the acceptance of a subdivision of Normal type in the form of the Fairy type had him salivating at the idea of another plate, another piece of the puzzle... or maybe even more.
If he could just find the damned Fairy Plate, maybe then-
rrrrrrrrring
...of course, unfortunately, life took precedence. The shrill sound of a phone cut through the noise of his mind, the reports in front of him momentarily put aside. A moment later, Mr. Akagi's head peeked out. "Koki, it's for you, about one of the trainers you're sponsoring." Lucas opened his mouth, an accusation ready on his lips, and the man narrowed his eyes. "It's not Cyrus."
Lucas sighed. He'd been a bit too much on the man's case lately, he supposed. "Fine, interrupt my work, will you?"
Thoughts began filtering in through Lucas' mind about other things. The mysterious sightings of a pair of Latios and Latias more and more around the Sinnoh region, the Riolu that Cynthia was training, and Maylene's actions were just a few of those. As he sat down in front of the computer and accepted the video call, he was met with a face that most people were familiar with nowadays- that of a Nurse Jenny. "Greetings, Jenny, what can I do you for?"
The green-haired woman was busy leaning over to the side a bit of fuzz from a lowered pink ear. Her eyes flicked to the side before her head snapped over to look at her own monitor "Dr. Koki! This is Nurse Jenny. I was hoping to contact you regarding one of your registered Pokémon accompanying another trainer. He has been in my care for some time, and if you are willing, I have some compiled data ready to send regarding its injuries and some comments on its- his physiology."
"Please call me, Lucas, Ms. Jenny. Having people call me Dr. Koki makes me feel old," he chuckled uneasily. "Which one of the kiddies is it?" he asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.
"Cynthia and Nasir." The woman gave a quick nod, already her fingers were tapping over a keyboard, readying whatever files she was eager to pass on.
"...Nasir?" Lucas' eyebrows furrowed. After a moment's awkwardness, he saw the pink shape move, too close to the camera to make out much detail, but he saw a cream colored finger point to a chart.
"Yes, I will ask about him to examine this, too. Y-yes. I know. Dr. Koki, I am sending over the files now." A quick clicking overheard from the video feed, and already notifications behind the video display were going off in rapid order. Images and likely a few official medical documents.
Lucas hummed. Riolu, as he'd figured. The naming choice was... unusual, to say the least, not to mention the fact that Cynthia had not yet named her Pokémon, to his knowledge. It was a good step, provided they wished for one- it represented affection beyond the normal training bond one created.
He flicked over the reports, skimming over the things he already knew, though a frown was left on his face as he did so. Yet another thing that annoyed him. Something felt off about the reports, but he could not tell what, consciously. Was today destined to be spent looking and things like everyone had moved everything an inch to the left?
He paused at the latest one. "Bone fracture?" he murmured aloud.
"You see, that is the problem. Look at the rest of his bones. The current forearm, his other ribs, and shins. Just focus on any slight curves that signify mounds." X-rays of the other limbs begin to show numerous details. Specifically, mounds of bone at various points, some heavily in the rib cage and others around the wrist and forearm, some more. Even a femur had one of these oddities, though it didn't seem to require medical attention. Additionally, most of the nerve endings in the tail are completely shot.
"I am aware Nasir appears to have been in an underground fighting ring... however, based on his health, he has had premium care even for bones that were completely snapped, if you check the left side, seventh true rib, you can see what I mean. Once you've viewed it enough, I think you should examine the second file packet I sent... the case file, I mean." Jenny informed him curtly as he glanced around to see if any of the researchers were listening in. Thankfully, all of them were dutifully engrossed in their work- how he longed to also be that way.
"That seem to check out with what Rowan and Cynthia have reported of where they found the Riolu..." And the x-rays he took as well, wrist fracture aside. As he opened the second packet, his eyes widened. "This Buizel's care looks worse off than one of J's underlings' Pokémon..." he murmured in horror. Several bones were misaligned, muscle groups had swollen to the point of inhibiting its movement, and it had suffered enough fractures and healing to its head to the point where its brain was being squished inside its skull. And this was just the x-ray- he couldn't imagine how unsettling the actual imagery would have been.
"That is what I am concerned about. There are signs Nasir has been through similar trauma, as the example Pokémon I provided, but the tricky detail is that the Buizel I provided is after years of care after recovery." Those words in the background of the computer processes were left to hang over Lucas' head for a moment.
"If Nasir was not hazy over its past and its reactions I recorded in previous reports were not to the contrary... I would believe he was part of one of those alpha programs that were used in the Unovan war. I assume you've seen the released documents from that period?"
Slowly, he nodded. He kept scanning the documents regarding the injuries, the trauma, the theorized types of attacks that Buizel took to reduce it to such a stage... and then he decided to check another section, and he took a sharp breath. His eyes narrowed as he minimized the call window, turning to the side. "Herman, can you print out the bloodworks we took for Riolu when he first came in?"
"I'm not one of the juniors, Koki!" Mr. Akagi shouted back.
"You're literally next to the fax, old man!" he shouted back. "Sorry about that, give me a moment." Eventually, the older researcher came around and slapped the document onto his desk with a huff. Slowly, his mind worked through the data, and he bit his thumb as he cross-referenced it with the Buizel's. "...I'm a moron." he groaned.
"Dr- Lucas. What is it? Ah, wait, give me a moment, I can start pulling up the records on my end as well- yes, I know we already discussed it in detail, Livvy. His skeletal structure is fine but there is minor damage in his cells-" Whatever was happening with the Jenny and her colleague they were rambling as Lucas was processing this sudden realization.
"Ms. Jenny, I presume I can trust you with confidential patient information?" he asked. "Pory, fetch me Estus' latest bloodworks." With an affirmative trill, the cyber duck left to go send the information over to this PC.
"Of course, Lucas. I would not have contacted you if you were not registered as Nasir's trainer. I have yet to speak of this with Cynthia as well." "Ino! Audino!" squeak squeak squeak. More of those odd noises could be heard as something dragged over a surface. "Livvy, I know you think Nasir deserves his own privacy, but think of it like... a parent required to know the child's health."
After a bit more grumbling from her Pokémon, Lucas continued. "It's mostly that... well, I could be wrong, and the values could be skewed because of the fire type of my Pokémon, but if you look at the analysis I took, and then the analysis you took two weeks later, while the reduction in cortisol levels can only be a good thing, I'm also noticing a number of other values that have been decreasing. And if we look at the charts for Estus, my Infernape, then it's clear to see that beyond what can be expected to be altered... they actually look more similar to Day 1 Riolu-" Another squeak from Audino. "I mean, Nasir... than Day 16 Nasir." Though Jenny could not see it, he was gesticulating wildly with the mouse cursor over each of the sheets.
"Doctor... I must inform you that unless recreational or state-approved drugs are used, I must report any tampering with a Pokémon's state of being that can not be found in the wild. I am not quite familiar with fire-type diets, however, I am certain that any comparison with patient Nasir would not look well upon you."
"I cannot put enough emphasis on the words 'what can be expected to be altered'," Lucas chuckled, before coughing and returning serious. "No, what I mean to say is that as someone who has in years past made a run at the Champion circuit- and came second to only the current Champion, if I do say so myself-" the woman, somehow, failed to seem impressed at his achievement. He'd refused the spot of Elite Four, but he could still thrash them, dang it! He coughed again. "Anyways, I have not made significant alterations to my roster's diet and training regime since then. And what it looks like to me is that with the fact that at the time, I chose the most reasonable cost and effectiveness ratios of nutritional values, this Riolu has been better cared for than my own team... horrible abuse aside, obviously. And with your previous observation on how his wounds seemed to have been treated in a state-of-the-art facility..."
"Along with all genetic tests revealing Nasir is above the standard of internal values in biology." Jenny accepted his serve and struck back with her own addition to his revelation.
He blinked. Lucario and Riolu averages were hard to locate, both in Sinnoh and in general. This woman had done her digging. "...hm. Well, that only adds to my confusion. By all accounts, this Riolu has been an enormous money sink... and considering that he was found trainerless in the battling pen, it leaves us with a mystery of who might have the resources to sink into what ended up being a Pokémon that got effectively thrown away."
A silence was accompanied by the static buzz inside the office and the clicking of rapid typing from the nurse in her frenetic researching.
"Dino!" Lucas really had to see what was going on another time. There was much information for him to pore over, and he was actively receiving highlighted information from Jenny via mail. Mostly outlining parts of the blood test with the topic of the mail mentioning possible consumed nuts, meats, vegetables, and fruit.
"What if it was a trial?"
"...as in, Riolu being a prototype for something else? That could be... but it feels weird for such a rare and, from what I've seen, well-trained Pokémon to have been tossed to the side." Lucas leaned on his fist. "Though... I guess that they may have grown frustrated with Riolu's lack of evolution. If they failed to account for the fact that Riolu requires peace of mind in order to evolve into Lucario, then they may have grown frustrated once it got to a certain point."
"Bare in mind, if they are capable of affording a high protein diet and balancing any vitamins and minerals it needs for daily life AND proper recovery times, they could likely afford Pokémon breeding. It only takes two, after all." A drawn-out sigh moved through the speakers. "There are... so many factors involved. Many leads yet no clue where to start."
"Indeed... while I had been aware that something was off, I just considered the possibility of Riolu being a lucky find for Cynthia, both because of his rarity and his relatively undamaged conditions. But if Team Might can throw around this level of wealth... that makes for a worrying situation. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Jenny." He closed his eyes. "I will be speaking to Cynthia about this, when next I can." And putting out feelers of his own. He had not taken Team Might as seriously as he ought to, perhaps, due to the lack of incidents... but, perhaps, he'd been a fool not to. J had besieged the region and then he and his friends had been called to step up to the plate... perhaps it was time to be more proactive. "Is there anything else?"
"Well... yes. I was wondering if you could review some of the images from the MRI later? Just maybe sending it off to the other doctors to see what they think?" The brain scans were initially assumed to be for concussions, odd it was for something else. "I am just curious about how Nasir... thinks."
"...ah." Lucas hummed. "I assume that this is about the... higher than average level of intelligence displayed, for what by all accounts should be a Pokèmon suffering from some degree of feral regression and mental retardation." That was to put it mildly, he thought with a slight huff. "The trainer he is with has been making note of it. I will be reviewing the MRIs, for certain, but without access to genealogical information, it will be difficult to tell if it is caused by outside factors, one of his parents being a psychic type, or being a simple genetic wonder." He typed himself a note to review the amount of information that he'd just been provided later. "I must say, Jenny, you've taken a shine to this specific case." he said offhandedly as he typed.
"Oh, you know us nurses. Always taking a liking to odd cases. Like my uppity Audino! hah."
"AUD AUDINO! NO!" A chirpy burst of rage came from the background image, followed by a flurry of apologies from Jenny.
"I see. Would you be willing to consider having his care specialized in your centre, as opposed to the standard procedure?" he tilted his head as his eyes scanned the X-ray. "I know that normally it's a procedure done with high-profile Pokémon to see them delivered to private healthcare providers, but given recent findings... well, I reckon anyone else would not be quite happy to see so much black tape pasted over his medical file," he snorted, unhappy with the situation. Becoming a government official and knowing what goes on behind the curtains sometimes could be a real curse.
"Would I- I mean, of course I would. I have quite a bit of experience with Nasir now, and Livvy gets along so well with him! I often tease her over- hngh," A muted thud was transmitted and the camera knocked over while he peered over the curves of Nasir's brain, certain bulges and heavily lit zones go over this particular doctor's head.
Scanning over the MRI while Nurse and Assistant Nurse fought in the background, he could see a few key factors. The parietal lobe seemed to see an unusual amount of activity, though it was within parameters observed for a particularly smart Pokémon. The temporal lobe was bursting with activity, and it seemed to be mostly owed to a hyperactive amygdala, though the hippocampus seemed to also be working overdrive. The most important thing to note, however, was that the two additional stems that connected to a Riolu's tassels seemed to see next to no activity, which seemed highly unusual to him. Unfortunately, while his hunches were often right, he wasn't an expert in Fighting-type and Riolu biology. "I have a number of concerns, but being mostly conjecture, I will get back to you after checking in with a friend of mine who has more experience with the species." he declared.
"Thank you Lucas. may I ask who the friend is? Although who you share your Pokémon's medical information with is none of my business, I do find myself curious."
"Well, as a very skilled trainer," he said smugly, no matter the droll looks he received. "I have a number of contacts in the League... though this is more of a personal one, and I'll actually be meeting her in a few days, and I can't think of anyone more qualified on Lucario biology, as she is the foremost expert on fighting types in the Sinnoh region." he hummed. He'd also finally be able to weasel some answers out of her, at the party. "I think you may be familiar with her, as she recently came back into the scene as one of the Elite Four?" he smiled, though it was a bittersweet one. It was nice to see her finally get back into the groove... it was just a shame that it came from life getting to Cheryl. "Her name is Maylene."
Nobody tell Lucas about the Legend Plate he'll cry
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