Joe tapped his feet as he waited. Should've known he'd need an appointment. Professors are busy people. If he'd known, he could've bought a book on his way to the lab. Minutes passed. He shifted in his seat. He was restless. Joe was about to start playing with Sprigatito, but if someone walked in on him playing tag with a Pokemon he'd be further embarrassed.
Movement caught Joe's attention. Absol bent down. Watched something. Joe felt a light tugging on his jeans. He leaned forward. Saw a Pokemon. It was a little bigger than Sprigatito. After pulling his clothes it decided to poke Joe's leg to get his attention. The Pokemon looked up. Long snout. Beige underbelly. Dark blue fur on its back. Four red pads on its back. Closed eyes. Cyndaquil. One of the three Johto Partners. It'd gotten into the room via a hatch built into the door.
Joe leaned down and picked Cyndaquil up. "Well aren't you just the cutest."
Cyndaquil squirmed a little and let out a cry of joy. It sounded happy. Sprigatito on Joe's shoulder was startled. She started rubbing against his face with her body. She wanted attention too. He laughed. Placed Cyndaquil on his lap. Wrapped an arm around it. Reached up with his other hand. Scratched at the cat.
"You're cute too, Sprigatito." Joe felt her rumble from purring.
The door burst open. A man carrying a large stack of papers hurried into the room. The papers hid him. "I'm sorry, it's been a hectic morning. I'll be with you in a moment." He moved to place the papers upon the nearest surface. One of the wooden tables along the edge of the room. He failed. He placed them at an angle. The top third of the pile fell. Scattered and flew about all over the floor. He yelped and moved forward. His arm hit the rest of the papers and those crashed down too.
The man, Joe presumed he was Professor Elm, wore thick glasses to help with poor eyesight. He was scrawny. Had short brown hair that hadn't been cared for today.
Joe rose. Elm took a step back. Joe had that effect on people. Elm recovered and saw Cyndaquil in the giant's arms. "There you are! I've told you, you can't just disappear like that."
Cyndaquil didn't seem to care about the warning. It squirmed and squealed, happy to see the Professor.
"Let me help." Joe approached. Put the fire Pokemon down. Started collecting papers. Elm did the same thing. Cyndaquil ran around, scrunching sheets together with its short arms. Sprigatito was tepid. Watched but didn't have the courage to interact with others.
"My apologies for causing trouble. I was away on a trip when I heard about an incident on Mt. Silver. I'm getting calls from a million people right now."
It sounded chaotic. Joe felt bad for the guy. He didn't seem cut out for such fast-paced work. "Are you talking about Ho-oh?"
"So you've heard the rumours? It's just my luck. I have a bit of downtime and Johto's most famous Pokemon decides to make an appearance. Ah, but enough whining. Thank you for the help."
They had collected most of the paper at this point. Joe accepted some from Cyndaquil and flattened them as best he could. "I don't know anything about rumours, but I was there."
Elm stopped shuffling sheets. Looked at Joe with wide eyes. Tried to figure out what question to ask first. Joe handed Elm the papers. "Ah, thank you."
Elm snapped out of his stunned state. Rushed to place the papers on a table as Cyndaquil started poking Joe again. Joe picked up the Pokemon and stood. Cradled it in an arm. Elm grabbed a digital tablet. Tapped furiously with one hand. The tablet had been at the top of the pile when it fell but wasn't damaged. It had a rugged case on it. Elm was what some called butter fingers.
"So you were there?" He looked at Joe with a new brightness in his eyes.
Joe nodded. "Raikou attacked us and Ho-oh chased it off."
"Raikou was there too?" Elm typed. Frowned. "It attacked you? Do you recall anything else?"
"It's rare for Pokemon to attack people, right? But it happened. Absol saved me. We were running away when Ho-oh showed up and attacked Raikou. They both went around Mt. Silver, deeper into the mountains."
Joe gave more details, but there wasn't much more to it. He wasn't going to bring up the dream. He had a strange feeling that it was legitimate. That he viewed reality. But he couldn't admit to someone that he saw the people responsible for controlling Raikou in a dream. He'd sound crazy.
Elm nodded along the entire time as he noted every word down, as well as what it could mean. "One might get territorial every now and then, but Mt. Silver isn't home to a Legendary Pokemon as far as I know." Elm started speaking aloud, mainly for himself. He didn't expect an answer. "I don't understand. What was it doing? Where was it going? There had to be a destination in mind… Instead of reaching its goal, Raikou encountered you. You were good enough."
Joe was curious too. He wanted to know what the end goal was. It was safe to assume Joe wasn't the target, which meant the objective shifted. But why? Joe couldn't think of a reasonable answer to any questions floating through his head. "Sorry I couldn't be more helpful."
"No, no! Thanks to you, I have more information than before. There were reports of electricity, but we didn't know the source."
"Oh, there was something else. How do I describe it…? It was like Raikou was on autopilot. It was just reacting to the newest thing, you know? Or like a baby had a new toy placed in front of it and it disregarded everything to go for the new toy."
Elm had good instincts about Pokemon. Something was prodding the back of his mind. He didn't like the idea, but he thought it could be true, somehow. Elm pulled up a picture of Raikou. Showed it to Joe. Didn't say much. Didn't want to influence Joe's opinion. "What do you see?"
Joe looked at the picture. Pinpointed it immediately. The eyes. He couldn't forget them. "The one that came after us had pink eyes, and they were glowing."
Elm noted it down. "But what could do that…?" He decided to explain himself. "Sorry. It's just, I'm at a loss now. The Raikou species has red eyes. For it to have glowing pink eyes means it's being controlled. It would take a powerful Psychic-type Pokemon to put reins on a legend. Maybe a Metagross could handle it…"
Someone with a brain had reached the conclusion of Raikou being controlled. Now Joe didn't need to confess he saw it in a dream or had a feeling.
Joe hadn't been shown just a picture of Raikou. There were categories next to the image. Things like height and weight. It was bugging Joe. He pointed at the tablet. "How accurate are those numbers for height?"
Elm looked up. Tilted his head. "That would be the average size of an adult within the species, although we don't have much data on Legendary Pokemon. Why?"
"What would it mean if Raikou was noticeably smaller than that?"
Elm considered it. Briefly looked beyond Joe, to Absol. "That's a hard question to answer. Just eyeballing your Absol, I can tell you it's bigger than average. I couldn't tell you why, though. It could be age. It could be the generation of excess energy. Oh, come to think of it…" Elm found a news article after the idea of age had come up. Showed it to Joe. The article detailed a treacherous storm up North in Sinnoh. Strong enough to take out multiple towns along the coast. "The Beasts are born through extreme weather events. Raikou in particular is born from storms."
"And this storm was strong enough to birth a Raikou?"
Elm shrugged. "We don't know for sure, but equal storms have birthed the species before."
Joe was annoyed now. The article was from just a few months ago. If this theory was true, then whoever was controlling Raikou had dragged a child into this. Joe couldn't wait to make these villains pay. He wasn't just going to save Raikou. He was going to dish out some righteous justice to the people ruining Raikou's life.
Elm turned the tablet off. Placed it next to the stack of paper. Took in a deep breath to center himself. He had a guest. Sometimes he failed to separate the segments of his job. "My apologises. I get caught up in my work too much. And thank you for all the information. I'm confident in the mind control theory so I understand how this problem occurred. I'll look into why this happened, but I doubt I'll find much."
"Don't worry about it. I'm glad to be of service."
Elm clapped his hands together. "Down to business. What can I help you with today? Wait, this isn't a misunderstanding, is it? Were you here to deliver this information?"
"No, actually…" Joe scratched his cheek. Gave a wry smile. "I know I'm old but I'm here to start my Pokemon journey."
Elm lit up. "Nonsense! You're never too old to start an adventure! I need to collect a few things. I'll be right back." He gestured at where Joe had risen from. "Please take a seat."
Elm vanished into the corridor. Joe sat down. Joe thought about Raikou's eyes. The last time it looked at him suddenly got him to consider it. Ho-oh's embers had reinvigorated Joe and Absol. Had it temporarily broken the control on Raikou? He couldn't forget their last contact. Raikou seemed sad. Apologetic. He was too tired to think about it at the time, but Ho-oh's ember may have briefly freed Raikou.
...Wait. Freed it from control? Joe thought about his own problem. His presumed brainwashing. Something deep down felt… different. He thought about it. And thought. And thought. There was no pushback. He marvelled at it for a moment. Really soaked it in. Tempered expectations. Thought about it again. Joe sank deep into the chair. Let out a heavy exhale. He could think more freely. The chains had loosened. The problem wasn't solved, he couldn't remember certain points in his life. He didn't know what the brainwashing was trying to stop him from finding. But thanks to Ho-oh he could investigate it now.
Elm returned. Joe sat up. If he was free to think then there'd be no harm coming back to it later. He had to focus. Closest problem first. He needed to learn as much as he could so he was ready to assist Amelia tonight.
A bright orange Pokemon buzzed around Elm's head. Rotom. Darting around Elm's feet were the other two Johtonian Partners. They ran around the room. Ducked and weaved between table legs. Hopped onto the coffee table.
There was Chikorita. A green quadruped with a leaf coming from its head and plant bulbs like a necklace. It seemed calm and collected as it stood and eyed Joe, patiently awaiting the man's decision. Then there was Totodile. Basically just a small version of Feraligatr. A small blue crocodile. Big jaw. Red fins down its back. It continued to hop on the spot from a hyperactive mind.
Elm sat opposite Joe. "First, do you mind bringing your phone out? Rotom here will go with you and act as an assistant."
Joe obeyed. Rotom flew into his phone and vanished, narrowly escaping Totodile's jump to grab it. Joe felt static run through his hand. Big white eyes appeared on the screen. The phone appeared to morph, an orange bolt-shaped feature appearing on the top and bottom. While Rotom was a ghost, it still had a body that needed to go somewhere. Rotom's body functioned as a phone case.
Rotom, now a RotoPhone, flew out of Joe's hand. Hovered in front if the new Trainer. Joe saw it install an app. It was labelled PokeDex. Joe really was old. Last he heard of a PokeDex was in school. Back then it was its own device. Professors came around to teach children and to entice them to pick up the sciences with cool gadgets. But now the PokeDex was just another app available on any phone.
Joe didn't need to come to Elm's, but he was glad he did. He managed to help Elm, and he got an assistant out of it. In a way, Jasmine was his assistant. All the knowledge she'd imparted to Joe over the years was in there somewhere. He just needed help digging it out.
"By now it should've installed the PokeDex app. Rotom, scan Absol as an example."
RotoPhone flew in front of Absol. Pointed the back camera at the wolf. Began a read out. Rotom's voice wasn't quite human, but wasn't robotic either. It was synthesised from a real person's voice. "Absol. The Disaster Pokemon. While many believe it to be a doom bringer, in actuality Absol is a foreteller. It senses natural disasters and warns people of danger."
Absol growled at the first part. Wanted to swat Rotom away like a bug. Joe put a hand on its head. Comforted it.
This was what Joe had expected given how Absol had acted. "It's all right. I know you're good. Don't worry what other people think."
To Absol's surprise, this calmed it. It barely knew Joe, but his opinion meant something. This must be what it was like to have friends. The feeling Absol had felt on Mt. Silver had returned. Absol grumbled and turned away as Rotom continued to list facts about this particular Absol.
#0359Absol (Shiny)
Gender: Female
Height: 4' 09" (Above Average)
Weight: 59.8kg (Above Average)
Moves: Psycho Cut / Shadow Ball / Night Slash / Quick Attack / Ice Beam / Rock Slide / Stone Edge /
Ability: ???
Shiny. That was the label for Pokemon with different pigmentation. The term was rattling around in Joe's head for a while but he couldn't grasp it. And his Absol was a female. Noted.
The phone's screen flashed red. Bold 'ERROR' text visible to Elm. "Hm, what's that for? The Ability?"
"Yes." Rotom confirmed. Elm told Rotom to scan again, so it did. An error message appeared again.
"Okay. Your Absol's Ability has not appeared on the species before. At least, not in recorded history. There are ways to learn what Ability your Absol has, but it takes time. Maybe a couple of weeks as we go through the list. I assume you don't want to be kept here for that long?" Elm watched as Joe gave a shake of his head. "Then the best you can do is pay close attention. Think changes in combat. Maybe her claws grow. That would be a sign of the Sharpness Ability. Or her fangs grow. That would be the Strong Jaw Ability. Rotom will be watching too. It'll keep track of the information and eventually come to an evidence-based conclusion."
As a proper example, Elm got Rotom to scan Sprigatito too since the cat was clearly owned by Joe.
#0906Sprigatito
Gender: Female
Height: 1' 02" (Below Average)
Weight: 3.8kg (Below Average)
Moves: Scratch / Leafage /
Ability: Overgrow
A vibrant green aura creates leaves made of energy that float on the wind.
Sprigatito was smaller than average. Joe expected that. Sprigatito was a fearful glutton. She only had scraps until now. Hadn't grown properly. Joe would fix that. She could have all the food she wanted.
"I brought the Johtonian Partners, but do you think you need a starter Pokemon?" Elm asked. Held up a hand before Joe could answer. "Better yet, did you know your Sprigatito is a Partner Pokemon? She's from Paldea."
Joe didn't known that. Just yesterday he finally learned one of her moves. He assumed Leafage. Joe wasn't surprised his cat was from another country. People loved cats as pets. Easily domesticated. All breeds were exported around the world. Same as dogs. "Sprigatito is a pet, not a fighter. But I have Absol."
"And that's why you're a beginner. If Absol is your only combatant then I highly recommend taking another Pokemon with you. Absol seems experienced. You are not."
A fair point. Joe didn't think about the situation correctly. Absol's an expert. They may have teamed up, but Joe should only take control of Absol when he had no other options. He needed to experience and understand what it was like to raise a Pokemon from the beginning. He looked at the bundle of joy in his lap. Cyndaquil looked up. It squirmed in excitement.
"Then I'll take this Cyndaquil if you don't mind."
"Good choice. It's already taken a liking to you."
Joe understood that as another test. One he passed. Bonding is part of the Trainer experience. If he had aimed for Chikorita or Totodile then he would've proven how beginner he really was. He had enjoyed his little interactions with Cyndaquil and it liked him. He'd already bonded with it. Nurturing the bond that had already started would benefit them both.
Elm stood. Joe mimicked him. Elm held out a bundle of six Pokeballs. Pointed to one. "This is Cyndaquil's. The other five are for personal use."
"Thanks." Joe took them. He knew that teams consisted of six Pokemon, although that was only a rule for the Gym Challenge and the League. He could have as many Pokemon on hand as he wanted. He went to pocket the orbs when Rotom dove into his jeans. It would be there whenever Joe needed assistance. It would take Joe some time to get used to having a flying phone. Joe put the balls in the other pocket.
Elm held a hand out. "You're all set for your journey now. It was nice meeting you…"
Joe shook. Realised he had a weird tendency of not introducing himself. "Joe. Thanks for the help, Professor. Good luck with your work."
Joe left the building, but not before catching a stray comment from Nia. 'Bye, Flex.' He was never going to live that down. Hopefully he never ran into Nia again.
But onto brighter pastures. Joe's Pokemon Journey. Sprigatito on his shoulder, Absol by his side, Cyndaquil in his arms. Joe had heard of the Pokemon Journey. Usually it was for late teens. A cross-country adventure. A journey of self-discovery. Some people approaching adulthood didn't know what to do with themselves, so they went on an adventure to figure it out. Maybe someone would find they really like the sport of battling and aimed to master it. Or perhaps they helped a Pokemon groomer by chance and decided they wanted to assist in fashion. Researcher, carer, explorer, even firefighter. A chance encounter changed people's lives. Helped them find their role in life.
Even if someone steered away from battling, they typically earned the right to enter the League by collecting eight Badges. So the League was like a final send off for those people. One last series of battles before retiring from combat. Go out with a bang.
Everyone's Pokemon Journey was unique. Joe wondered where he'd find himself in a year, long after he'd saved Raikou. He was excited to find out.