Chapter 67 – Playtime Calls

  “Just do it!”

  “Birch is the Hoenn region’s most renowned professor, it’s only natural to get the jitters!”

  Me and the team were relaxing on deck of the S.S. Tidal sunbathing, when I remembered the fact that Joshua the lab assistant gave us the Professor’s number. For me personally this meant very little since I was still contracted to Professor Juniper which prevented me from seeking sponsorship from another laboratory. Still, I held hopes that the good professor could provide me with something I’ve longed for ever since I returned to the Hoenn region.

  Putting in the number on my Xtransceiver I waited with bated breath as the device rang off. Not knowing exactly what Birch’s reaction would be.

  “Hello, this is Professor Birch to whom am I speaking to?”

  ‘Here we go’

  “Hello Professor, this is Egon from Lavaridge Town. Your assistant Joshua gave me this number after I contributed that report on Vulpix having a hidden ability.”

  “Aha, yes! A riveting read to be sure. We always love to see unaffiliated trainers like yourself contributing to our scientific research. I’ve long since speculated that our research on abilities wasn’t even halfway completed. These so-called Hidden Abilities as you called them are just waiting to be discovered! As the one representing our entire region’s lab workers I give you my heartfelt thanks for reigniting Joshua’s drive for discovery. The boy started slowing down in his pursuits until you came along.”

  “Not completely unaffiliated sir, I work as a gym trainer under Mr. Moore and sometimes contribute to Professor Juniper’s work.”

  “Cedric from Unova!? Do you know me and him are rivals specializing in the same fields of study. Although he puts more emphasis on how Pokémon adapt to their environments whereas I tend to cynosure on ethology. That is…”

  “Yes, the study that focuses on Pokémon behavior. I’ve read some of your work.”

  “A burgeoning scholar aren’t we? Say, give me your honest opinion, which out of us two labmankeys do you think has the right of it when considering the specific angles of our work.”

  “I don’t think…”

  “Come on! Just be honest with me kiddo. I won’t fault you for it if you end up claiming my research is the lesser of the two.”

  “…If I had to say whose work I prefer, it would be yours Professor.”

  “I knew it! That old coot’s research has less appeal with younger minds than mine.”

  “Not that Professor Juniper’s work isn’t of great value but primarily relying on the study of the body to form hypotheses on distribution for creatures as adaptable as Pokémon would in all likelihood not stand the test of time. We’ve recorded drastic changes in Pokémon biology over the span of only a single generation. The premise of his research could grow outdated if not taking that fact into account.”

  “Exactly! A brilliant conclusion young man. If it weren’t for the strict regulation placed upon my lab, I’d offer to take you on as a lab trainer. Not that you would need the extra help of course.”

  “Sir, I’ve been using the Unovan Pokédex gifted to me by Professor Juniper, but it’s been having trouble identifying Hoenn native species. Isn’t there some sort of upgrade which would allow one to expand the database?”

  “Hmm yes indeed, but it wouldn’t do you much good. This is all hush hush at the moment but us regional professors have been collaborating to create just such a feature. You know, in case one of our lab trainers ever gets permission to travel abroad. For now, it’s just myself, Oak, Elm and Rowan who opted in on this venture. If you could somehow convince Juniper to freely share his lab’s proprietary species data with the rest of us, I believe we could include him as well.”

  ‘National Pokédex!!’

  “I am on it Professor!”

  “Don’t worry if things don’t work out. When it comes down to it I’d be willing to lend you one of my Pokédexes when you eventually find time to swing by the old lab in Littleroot.”

  “Say, Professor Birch, how would one normally be selected to become a lab trainer?”

  “Why are you asking that?”

  ‘Zinnia needs a sponsor when she sets out, and nothing is more prestigious than being a lab sponsored trainer.’

  “My little sister is two years younger than I am but even more brilliant. I am sure she could greatly contribute to your work.”

  “That makes her ten?”

  “Eight actually. Her birthday’s close to mine. She'll turn nine in two weeks’ time.”

  “Hmm the lab usually only sponsors trainers up to twelve years and older. Since most trainers haven’t developed that academic drive until they’re a tad more mature. Well in any case she can send her application form as soon as she turns ten. Although I get to decide who ultimately gets sponsored, she will have to go through a vetting process done by league officials before her submission gets put on my desk.”

  ‘Darn. Zinnia is smart but I am betting that they don’t teach trainer school curriculum in meteor village. She’ll be a whole year behind the others.’

  “Thank you for your time, Professor Birch. I’ll get to calling Professor Juniper right away!”

  “Well don’t let me hold you up, have a nice day and I hope to see you in person.”

  After hanging up on Professor Birch I got out of my lazy chair and attempted to find a more private area where I wouldn’t be overheard by other people or Pokémon. I scrolled down my list of contacts displayed on my wristwatch phone until I reached the Professor’s name and pushed the green button on screen. The sound notifying that my call had been accepted came through and the face of Professor Cedric Juniper appeared on screen.

  “Egon my boy! So good to hear from you again. I would have almost called you myself if it hadn’t been for that informative report you sent me about your Vulpix.”

  “Sorry Professor! It’s just that I had little left to do in Unova once I managed to catch my sixth partner.”

  “I understand, we should have made you another offer to keep an ambitious trainer like yourself busy. It’s just that with all the new research material coming in from Relic Castle me and Aurea have been too busy to do much else.”

  “That’s okay Professor, The expedition must have made all sorts of breakthrough discoveries. Did they manage to unpetrify the remaining Darmanitan?”

  “Yes! The shipments of ragecandybar came in two months ago. My assistants have been hard at work to make these time-lost Darmanitan more comfortable. We even got multiple offers to home them from interested parties.”

  “That’s great news! My own Darmanitan has managed to find a new purpose to dedicate himself to. He’s been of great help taking care of one of my youngest partners in particular.”

  “A Larvesta right? A rare sight indeed. Egon now that I’ve got you on the line I am reminded to inform you of a pressing matter.”

  “Yes?”

  “The Unovan league officials made it a point to have me let them know once your Larvesta has become mature enough to have her own offspring.”

  “Isn’t that kind of…”

  “Yes, that would be private information but seeing as you are technically under the lab’s employ, I can’t deny them. You can expect the league association to request your full cooperation once Larvesta has evolved. Still, they can’t force you to cooperate. The most they can do is send you a series of requests to have you come visit one of their hired specialist breeders.”

  “Eww…”

  The Professor seemed uncomfortable just broaching the subject, so I was relieved when he turned to other matters.

  “How are your other Unovan partners doing? I seem to recall that one of them was of great interest to my daughter.”

  Seeing the innuendo for what it was I was quick to oblige him with further information.

  “Tini is doing fine. She’s been making friends with all sorts of wild Pokémon and is even helping a colony of Kecleon start their own business venture.”

  “Excellent! It always warms my heart to hear of Pokémon who have managed to assimilate in society enough to start participating in trade with humans. Have there been any complications regarding her anonymity?”

  “Yeah uhmm, to get through airport security I’ve had to pull a few strings. A few trusted people know of her and offered their support. My boss Mr. Moore supervised our training just in case she has to fight to protect herself.”

  “This is troubling… but understandable. I would rather have the both of you back in Unova but that would be stifling your growth. The darker elements of society would salivate at the chance to acquire not just … but even stealing a Larvesta would set a poacher for life. Our association would pay any price to have your Larvesta returned safe and sound.”

  “I need just a little more time to settle my affairs in Hoenn. Once I’ve earned my final badge we can hole ourselves up in the Lavaridge gym until it’s time to compete in the Ever Grande Conference. So far Halo hasn’t been involved in any recorded gym battles. We did participate in a publicly viewed battle a few days ago but I don’t think any of the bystanders could recognize her species.”

  “Okay, just try to stay inconspicuous. The lab will book you an airplane ticket back once the Hoenn conference has passed.”

  “Oh! Professor one other thing.”

  “Yes?”

  POV – Zinnia

  “Zinnia! Don’t go into the water without a swim tube.”

  “No way! Horsea can catch me if I sink!”

  “Sea!”

  My days following the coming-of-age ceremony have become more colorful. With three Pokémon by my side, I stopped feeling as lonely. Sometimes I still miss grandpa, grandma and big brother when alone in bed but then Bagon decides to come out of his sleeping basket and crawls under the bedsheets to comfort me. Goomy tried that as well, but it made the bed all slimy and we got scolded by mom afterwards, so now she just watches over me while I sleep.

  At first daddy didn’t want to build a pond in the garden for Horsea to swim in but then big sis Aster took him apart from the rest of the adults after our first battle and when they came back, he told us that Aster and I could do as we liked. Aster asked a kind lady Garchomp really nicely to dig out the hole and afterwards had Dragonair fill it up with Rain Dance.

  Now with the addition of the pond Horsea could stay home and didn’t need to spend half the days’ time at the local river. We played all the time, and I even got practice in swimming. Mommy even comes to watch us when she’s done doing chores.

  “Goom!”

  Goomy was watching us from the rubber kiddy pool which I used to use to carry Horsea in. Goomy could join us in the pond whenever she wanted but my little dragon couldn’t stay afloat and would quickly sink to the bottom of the pond whenever she tried getting in. Aster says Goomy can hold their breath indefinitely while underwater but that they preferred shallow water levels where only parts of their body was left underwater.

  Bagon was my only partner who couldn’t safely traverse water. Bagon was actually really heavy, like so heavy that even mom couldn’t lift him up. Big sis Aster made it a point to teach me all about raising bagons since out of all my Pokémon he was the most dangerous one to have around. With most dangerous she meant the fact that if left to his own devices, he would look for ways to climb on rooftops and plunge downwards headfirst. This was natural behavior that needed to be curbed so they wouldn’t injure themselves or others.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “No!”

  “Gon?!”

  “Stay away from that ladder! Big sis says you aren’t allowed!”

  “Gooooon!”

  Silently apologizing to Horsea in my mind I came out of the pond to keep watch over Bagon, who had gone ahead and grabbed daddy’s ladder out of the shed anyway. Rushing up to him I rubbed his snoot before taking the ladder back where it belonged much to Bagon’s dismay.

  “Bag…”

  “We can go out after lunch, big sis already let me know which rocks are safe for jumping. So just stay patient, okay?”

  It was at that moment I spotted the familiar sight of Dragonair descending down from the sky with Aster riding on top. Bagon noticing the new arrivals gave Dragonair an envious glare. A rivalry had started between the two born out of Dragonair’s ability to fly while my own Pokémon was still earthbound. Big sister jumped off her dragon’s back just before Dragonair dipped into the pond’s waters.

  “Heya little sis, look what I brought!”

  She held aloft a gray colored nondescript bag.

  “A bag?”

  “Iron powder ninety-nine percent pure!”

  “You want to test my big brother’s theory?!”

  “Yep! The merchants who visit our village were willing to put in the extra order on my request. Together we’ll figure out if your cooky brother’s claims hold up.”

  “My brother’s not cooky! He’s a nerd that’s different! My brother taught me everything there is to know about Pokémon!”

  Not minding my retort, she walked up to Goomy’s kiddy pool, unzipped the bag and deposited some of the contents into the water. Goomy was startled by Aster and quickly got out of the pool to join up with me and Bagon.

  “This should be enough, now for this experiment to succeed we need Goomy to spend a good amount of his time in this water. Do you think you can do that Goomy?”

  “Goom…?”

  “I thought you wouldn’t believe me…”

  “Of course I do! You’re my little sister, besides the last time a Hisuian Goodra was seen was one hundred and fifty years ago. Our clan holds records way older than that, it’s just that our people hadn’t made it to Sinnoh at that time, so we didn’t have a chance to preserve that branch of the species. A few thousand pokédollars worth of iron powder is nothing compared to the chance of getting to see Hisuian variants.”

  ‘Discovering a new species sounds fun! But…’

  “Goomy, do you want to try? If you just want to be a regular Sliggoo or Goodra like your mommy, that's fine too.”

  “Goom!”

  Giving me a nod filled with determination, Goomy proceeded to hop back into her kiddy pool. Once she did her mucin got all wibbly wobbly but eventually she settled down getting used to the feeling of iron infused water on her skin.

  “Big sis how long does it take for Goomy to reach her next evolutionary stage?”

  “Years.”

  “Whaaa?!”

  “Don’t worry, a cute little girl like you is too young to go out adventuring anyways. By the time you reach an appropriate age Goomy will have most likely evolved. The same goes for your other Pokémon although seeing as your Horsea is wild caught I’d give him the better odds of being first to do so. Now to make sure everything goes as planned I’ll need you to change out Goomy’s water every so often. The species is known for being perfectly comfortable in swamp water but as her trainer it’s your job to drain out and refill her pool once a week or so. Can you do that?”

  “I can!”

  “Don’t forget to add in some iron powder each time, about two cups worth should do the trick. Now come along, I’ve scheduled a playdate for you with one of the village’s boys. Sitting at home all day and only interacting with your Pokémon isn’t healthy. One also needs to socialize with other people or else the world will slip them by.”

  “Someone asked to play with me…?”

  “We are going to Dray’s house. You know the boy who bonded with that Noibat? You got along so well with him the last time.”

  “But… he lost against me and Goomy during the festival. Wouldn’t he dislike seeing us around?”

  “No way! In fact, beating him in a battle did the exact opposite! No doubt he’s been training hard preparing for his eventual rematch with you.”

  Crouching down I met my Pokémon’s gazes.

  “What do you guys think?”

  “Goom!”

  “Gon!”

  “Sea…”

  “That’s… maybe. Big sis, do Dray's parents have a pool?”

  “Yep, a big one. I hope Horsea doesn’t mind sharing a living space with their other water types. I know for a fact that Dray’s mother dug out a small canal just so her Gyarados can come visit from the nearby river.”

  “Sea?!”

  “Gyarados are bad?!”

  “Sea!”

  My cute little friend adamantly let me know that Gyarados are bad news. So, I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to be near or sharing a living space with one. Big sis Aster tried to assuage his worries the best she could.

  “The Gyarados that have been raised by the villagers are total sweethearts! You don’t have to worry about a thing, Horsea. Now come along, Dragonair can give us a ride. Of course that means your Pokémon will have to stay in their poké balls during the flight over. Little sister, do you still keep all three of them on you?”

  “Uhmm they’re a bit weird with the cranks, it’s not like the poké balls they make us practice with at my old trainer’s school.”

  “Figures… I’ll have you know that these poké balls are way more precious than those mass-produced factory ones that they make you use outside. Best of all they’re completely free of tracking software so the league association can’t snoop to see what kind of Pokémon you currently have on you.”

  “Really? The office lady that made me take my shots and our garbage man want to know what friends I am traveling with?”

  “No… those are just civil servants. I meant to say the shady higher ups who rarely come out in public.”

  “Mr. Moore? He gave my brother his very first job! Flannery even says he’s really nice and a good grandpa.”

  “Hmm maybe not him specifically, I see this explanation is going to take a while. Why don’t you hurry back to your room and retrieve those poké balls and we can talk about it on the way over.”

  “So uhmm… the tribe likes to use their own poké balls so the league won’t find out about some of the rarer Pokémon that live here?”

  “Yes, Champion Drake has made a lot of positive changes over the years of his reign. Granting our tribe special status and officially recognizing our claim on the Meteor Falls mountain range. Still, despite the tribe greatly respecting his strength and wisdom most of us still cannot bring ourselves to forget the rampant egg poaching that the previous administration let happen under its watch. Some of whom managed to keep their jobs despite their failures and or unproven complicity.”

  “Oh okay, but I still prefer the outside poké balls. Horsea’s can shrink to fit in my pocket.”

  “Our poké balls are handcrafted! They’re worth ten times as much on the black market compared to the regular ones. Besides, a trainer partnering up with a Horsea wouldn’t be of much interest to the league association even if they happen to be underaged. However, letting them know that you managed to catch both a bagon and goomy could possibly lead to dire consequences. No doubt the bureaucrats would be trying to “rehome” your Pokémon using your age as an excuse.”

  “No! I am not letting them take away my friends!”

  “Exactly, this is one of the reasons why our people live secluded like this. Living anywhere else means that we would be subject to the rules and regulations of the league. There are other more important reasons which I can’t talk to you about, only elders are allowed to know every secret.”

  “Is that why Daddy listens to you?”

  “I don’t know… that man’s ambitions are only known to himself.”

  “Preee!”

  Dragonair kindly let us know that she had reached our destination. We descended downwards in a controlled spiral until Aster’s Pokémon finally made landfall in the other family’s backyard. This place was way prettier than my own family’s household. A miniature lake graced the property, and all the plants were well kept and in full bloom which I had come to know was very hard to do while living in an open cave system like ours.

  Our sudden appearance hadn’t gone unnoticed when a tall lady holding the hand of an embarrassed looking boy came out from the house’s backdoor. The woman’s attention was focused on Aster while Dray, who was struggling to hide behind her, was acting strangely embarrassed for some reason.

  “Lorekeeper, it's an honor having you visit our home. We’ve heard you’ve taken on an apprentice. I take it this must be the same girl who defeated my son during his first battle.”

  ‘That name again… is it important?’

  “Now Dray, come and give your respects to the Lorekeeper and her student.”

  “Hello…”

  “Hello little one, why don’t you and Zinnia go out and have some fun while me and your mother discuss grown up stuff?”

  It really seemed like Dray wanted to do anything else but that. However, while under the auspices of his mother’s forceful gaze the boy eventually gave in. Forcefully grabbing me by the hand and leading me closer to the lake.

  “Uhmm… it’s nice seeing you again.”

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  “How is little Noibat doing? The two of you must have grown a lot stronger since then!”

  “Indeed, it won’t even be a question of who is going to win next year. Me and Noibat have been trained personally by my dad. He is the strongest trainer living inside the tribe and when I get old enough the two of us will prove our strength on the international stage!”

  ‘Boys… so predictable.’

  The two of us reached the edge of the lake but I couldn’t see much activity even though I know the river itself held lots of cool water type Pokémon.

  “Your mother has a Gyarados , right? Does it play well with other Pokémon?”

  “Not at all, Gyarados only likes mom. Me, dad and the other Pokémon living here get some leeway of course but I’ve seen what she does with wild Pokémon who unwittingly make their way out of the river and into our garden lake. Why ask though?”

  “Umm I brought my friend Horsea with me. He can’t play with us on dry land.”

  “You have three Pokémon?! Your parents must be really cool to allow you to raise so many of them at the same time. Whatever, as long as your Horsea sticks to the shallower edges of the lake it should be fine.”

  I struggled for a bit to remove all the poké balls stored inside my trapinch themed school bag a present grandma bought for me when I became old enough to attend trainer’s school. The two “vintage” looking poké balls containing Goomy and Bagon got laid down on the soft grass while I de-minitiurized my only modern poké ball and released Horsea onto the water’s edge. Horsea proceeded to blow bubbles onto my face to show his excitement.

  “Sea!”

  “This is Horsea. My big brother Egon caught him for me to have as my first partner! Horsea don’t eat much, just some standard water-type chow from the pokémart that we grind into bits is enough and mommy doesn’t mind getting an extra bag of feed from the merchants every month. Daddy says if I do good raising three Pokémon that it betters the odds of him becoming an elder.”

  “Why would anyone want to become one of those stuffy elders? All they do is hold secret meetings with the Lorekeeper and tell the villagers what to do. I am much more interested in this big brother of yours! How come I haven’t seen him around?”

  “He’s not allowed to come here… Egon has a different daddy.”

  “So, he’s an outsider then?”

  “You’re an outsider!”

  “That doesn’t even make any sense! Besides, my family doesn’t look down on outsiders. Dad was an outsider before mom married him!”

  “Oh, Okay! Can my brother become an insider too?”

  “I’m not sure… You are either married or born into the clan. I have heard that certain individuals are trusted enough by the council of elders to come for visits.”

  “Like who?”

  “The Champion for one, anyone from our sister clan in Johto or other distant blood relations and I think sometimes exceptions are made for trainers who have shown proper dedication to training dragon type Pokémon.”

  “…but my brother trains fire types.”

  “Well then, he has to get married to someone that lives here. Have you tried asking Aster? Dad says she’s the most eligible bachelorette in the entire village.”

  “Pervert!! My brother’s too young to get married! Water Gun!”

  “Sea!”

  Horsea gave the hothead boy a hosing down, an appropriate response to any boys trying to steer a serious conversation into one of debauchery.

  “Pfeh! Pfeh! What are you doing!”

  “Serves you right!”

  “That’s it! Let’s battle!”

  “Bring it on, me and Horsea make for a perfect team!”

  “Gyashaaaaaa!”

  A large torrent of water erupted from the deeper parts of the lake. When the curtain of water stopped blocking our field of view I came to find a large serpentine Pokémon was gazing down on us. Its face, a stony expression of rage, not giving away an iota of its innermost thoughts.

  “Hooorsea…!!”

  Horsea got so spooked that for the first time ever he jumped out of the water and straight back onto dry land. Luckily, I was not so distracted by Gyarados that I didn’t manage to pick him up after the fact. Dray, who seemed to be as surprised as Horsea barely managed to stutter out a handful of words.

  “Hi…G-g-gyarados. N-n-nice weather w-were h-h-having t-t-today.”

  “Hey you! Stop bullying Dray and Horsea. Can’t you see they’re scared?!”

  Dray gave me a pleading look probably to let me know I was doing a good job connecting with his mom’s Gyarados.

  “Gyaaaa!”

  “This river water belongs to every Pokémon, not just you! So let me and Horsea play in it. If you are good, we’ll let you in on our fun fun water time.”

  POV - Aster

  Lydia and I kept busy discussing the clan’s annual fishing quota. As the woman responsible for providing just enough water Pokémon for the clan’s dragons dietary requirements she had an important role to fill. Healthy dragons oft required at least some form of meat in their diets so Lydia and her Gyarados made it their job to roam the river and catch the excess goldeen, barboach and magikarp that made the Meteor Falls River their home. Many people didn’t have the stomach to perform such bloody work, and the clan paid Lydia well for her troubles.

  “Lydia what am I looking at?”

  Looking out the window I could spot the towering form of Lydia’s Gyarados. I didn’t fear for my apprentice’s safety but an encounter with a twenty-five feet tall sea monster could still negatively impact my successor.

  Stepping out of Lydia’s home I came upon a most wondrous sight. Somehow Zinnia managed to cow Gyarados into playing beach ball with her and Horsea. The giant sea serpent awkwardly passing along the inflatable ball by use of its whiskers to the next individual in the circle. Even Lydia’s kid seemed to have mustered up enough courage to be on the verge of sliding into the water and join in on the merrymaking.

  “Well, I’ll be… Remind me to thank little Zinnia for encouraging Dray to overcome his fears. He’s always been too afraid to get near Gyarados.”

  “Zinnia is too precious, that’s why I made her my disciple.”

  ‘Among other reasons.’

  Lydia and I made our way to the lake’s shore to get a closer look at the two children getting along but kept enough distance to avoid spoiling their playdate. A wild caught water type Pokémon like Horsea would usually be deathly afraid of Gyarados but just like Dray the little one seemed to be attempting to overcome his fear seemingly inspired by its trainer. Lacking arms, Horsea's attempts at passing the ball were realized through short bursts of Water Gun.

  “Good job Horsea! Now it’s your turn Gyarados!”

  “Gyaaaa!”

  “How nostalgic it reminds me of the first time I played catch with a giant destructive monster.”

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