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The Dark Type	By : Manifest Destiny Category: Pokemon > General Views: 36315 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is copy write by GameFreak, INC. and Nintendo. I make no money from this story, nor do I seek any.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
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Arc 2: The Assignment
Chapter 10: Important Things
—————
Spotty clouds drifted south from the mountainous part of the region and hovered over southeastern Johto. A strong breeze made its way through the area, rustling the grass and trees and turning the blades of the many small wind vanes that dotted the town. The streets of Newbark Town were as crowded as they would be in the usual noontime lunch rush. The town held little of value compared to most others in the region. The most imposing buildings being the Pokémon Center—small even in relation to the one even in Cherrygrove City—and the Pokémon research lab on the north edge of town.
The small Pokémon Center had few lodgings available at all, and Iruni considered it a lucky break that he managed to secure a room. The previous night, he had a nurse look at his newest injury—his painful, swollen side of a head, courtesy of Carter—and was relieved to have not suffered a concussion. She gave him an ice pack and some aspirin, the latter of which did little to ease the throbbing pain.
Sunlight streamed in through the closed blinds of the small room as he blindly reached to shut off his PokéGear’s alarm for the fifth consecutive time that morning. He was glad he reached it with his half-aware lunge, having knocked it off the end table the past few times. As he rolled over onto his back to once again try to escape from the waking world, he rolled into a pair of cold claws being pressed into his face.
“Stop! Doing! That!” he growled, looking to his left.
Rikalia sat on the bed next to her Houndour friend—who was awake, in contrast to his usual habits—trying to hide a smirk at her trainer’s sudden burst of anger. “Stop sleeping in and I will! It's already…” she crawled over his legs and grabbed his PokéGear. She stared at the screen, trying to remember how to read the digital clock, “Uh… Well, it’s late!”
Rikalia handed it to him, and for the first time that morning Iruni consciously looked at the time, “Hoooo… man! It’s twelve-thirty! Why didn’t you two get me up sooner? Aren’t you two hungry? I’ll go make some— Ah!” His hands flew to his head, the pounding headache returning with a new pitch of agony. He reached over to the nightstand but found that his ice pack had long since melted. Thankfully, Rikalia quickly stood up and made use of her icy paws again, holding them against his right temple.
He let the cold numb the pain away before continuing, “Much better…” he said. “Thanks.”
“No problem. You okay?” asked Rikalia.
“Not really, but there is one good thing about this,” he brought her arms down and looked at his Sneasel, “this feels different than those headaches I’ve been having.”
“How is that good?” she asked.
“I don’t know. This just feels… bad. It’s hard to say that the others feel better, because they do still hurt, but those other ones feel like something else. I can’t really put my finger on it. But I know one thing,” he pointed to his head, “I’d take more of those over this any day.”
“That’s still not helping!” she said. “Pain is pain, no matter how one feels compared to another. If I’m hurting you then I want it to stop!”
“I know Rika. I know,” he said as he stroked her head. “Those odd headaches have been getting better, but that doesn’t mean I’m going play them off as nothing. They’re still something to look into and today we’ll ask Elm about it. We’re going to get to the bottom of this, don’t worry.”
She nodded, “Alright… Oh, and I just ate some berries before you woke up. Kar almost slept as long as you, so he might want something.” She put a little pressure on his head before asking, “How is ‘this’ by the way? Any better?”
“If you could keep that up,” he said, holding her hands against his head, “I’d be better a lot quicker. But, I’ll have to manage on my own for a bit. I’m going to go take a shower and then we’ll be off to see Professor Elm, alright? We can get a good lunch in town on our way if it doesn’t take too long.”
She flicked the melting ice onto the carpet, “Alright… Hey!”
“What is it?”
“Look!” she held out her right arm, which was still covered in a sheet of ice. “I’m barely even trying right now! This used to take a lot of concentration to make it last this long.”
Iruni laughed, “So you acting as an ice pack is really a way to help train you to get better at using Ice attacks? Hilarious.”
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Nothing,” he said as he started for the bathroom, “It’s just an odd way of learning. I wouldn’t have thought about trying something so mundane.” Iruni got up out of bed and almost made it to the door to the bathroom before he turned back around, “Oh, and speaking of training… Karros?”
He walked over to his Houndour and patted his head. “I think it’s time we get a lot of training under our belts. I feel I’ve been neglecting that aspect these past few weeks, but it’s mostly been just us trying to get here in time. Now that the next step after this is our first badge, I want us to get our act together.”
Karros offered a short bark, sharing his trainer’s determination.
“But,” Iruni lowered his voice, “that means that we might have to work on your fear of ‘you-know-what’s, alright?”
Karros sat motionless for a moment, and just gave a stiff nod.
Iruni sighed, “It doesn’t have to be all at once, but yesterday…” he thought back to Carter’s Skarmory and how it easily stopped his Sneasel’s attempts. “There are just too many instances where a bird Pokémon might show up. They’re really common and you’re an important part of the team, we can’t have you out of commission if we really need you, Karros.”
“Yeah!” Rikalia chimed in. “I’ll help you too, Kar! I don’t want to have to take on the Gym by myself.”
“Don’t guilt him into it, Rika,” he chided. “Kar, you want to get over that fear of yours, right?”
Karros looked down, but eventually nodded.
“Then we’ll work at it as fast as we need to. No need to rush it, unless another flock of Fearow suddenly decides to come at us while we’re walking to the professor’s,” he laughed, but quickly stopped at the horrified look of his Pokémon. “Sorry, Kar. It was a joke, I promise.”
He tried to dodge a cross look from Rikalia as he turned and walked back towards the bathroom. Iruni took a change of clothes in with him as he shut the door behind him. The noise of the running water seemed to grind against his ears all the while he took his shower.
I’m really going to get that guy back… No misunderstanding is worth a kick to the head. But he’s already so much more experienced than we are… we’re going to have to catch up quick. Karros… The image of his Pokémon’s face stricken with fear at his casual comment flashed in his head as he scrubbed his face.
Idiot. Why’d I go and say something like that to him? I’m never mean to him about what happened. I never blame him for not being able to face his fear. I never even joke about it… He sighed, staring with closed eyes into the stream of water pouring down, I’m being selfish. Just because I lost, I’m trying to force him out of his comfort zone…
“What am I going to do? All this shit is coming out of nowhere all at once…” he said aloud.
“You’re going to apologize to Karros first, obviously. Then you can worry about all that other stuff,” a voice replied flatly. Iruni quickly shut off the water and parted the shower curtain slightly. Rikalia was standing on the sink, idly combing her fur with her claws after she would wet them under the running faucet.
I thought I locked the door! How didn’t I hear it open? How’d she get in? “Rikalia! What’re you—? I’m in the shower!”
“Clearly. And I’m doing my morning grooming too,” she said, keeping her attention to herself. Grabbing a washcloth from the towel rack to her right, she began soaking it. “You didn’t have to shut off the water you know. I could hear you just fine.”
“That’s not the point! Privacy Rika!”
“What about it?”
“You don’t just come barging into the bathroom while someone’s in here!”
“I didn’t ‘barge’ in,” she said. The blue-feathered Sneasel draped the wet cloth over her head and rubbed for a moment, “The door wasn’t locked, and I thought it’d save time if I didn’t have to wait for your slow self to get ready. We’re late enough as it is, and I want to get this over with.”
“Still though…” Iruni looked, but couldn’t see any towels within reach.
“What, are you embarrassed?” she asked, looking back at him.
“Well, yeah. Anyone would be.”
“Then don’t be. It’s not that big of a deal if I see you naked, is it? Besides, I don’t wear clothes, do I?”
“That’s— I don’t— It’s a human thing.” he pulled the curtain shut completely. “We don’t normally go without clothes if we can help it. When we do… well… it’s for… specific reasons would be a good way to put it.”
“It’d make mating a bit awkward if you didn’t, right?”
“If you want to put it bluntly, yes.” Today’s off to a great start… “Hey, can you hurry up and finish? I gotta dry off.”
“You humans always make things so much more complicated than they need to be,” she said. Grabbing a full-size towel, she laid it on the floor outside of the shower, “Put that on if it embarrasses you.”
Iruni sighed and grabbed the towel, wrapping the it around his waist. He avoided looking down at his Sneasel while he dried his long hair with another towel, “No more of this ‘sharing the bathroom’ business okay?”
“Fine, baby.” She touched his side with a pair of cold claws, causing him to jump, “We’re still talking, you know… Why’d you joke around with Kar like that a minute ago? I might’ve been out of line with what I said, I’ll admit, but even I know that’s something you don’t mess around with.”
He hesitated before answering, “I… I guess I’m being overly anxious to get back at that Carter guy, and I’m not thinking straight. How is he? Did you talk to him?”
“He’ll be fine. I told him you didn’t mean it, but you still gotta apologize.” She paused, “You still haven’t told him that we got floored by a Skarmory, have you?” Rikalia stared him down in the mirror. “Why not?”
“For the same reason I didn’t want you having him think that we need him for Violet Gym. I don’t want him to feel useless or that he’s holding us back. I do want to help him get over that fear of his,” he threw his second towel against the wall, “but I’m being too damn impatient. I know what it’s like to be afraid of something like he is, but I went and tried to rush him because I was being selfish.”
“But it’s true though, right? If we challenge that Gym, and we don’t get another member or you don’t help Karros enough, it’ll only be me going against it, right?”
“Yep, and he knows that. He doesn’t need us—especially not me—bringing it up all the time. I think,” he said, leaning forward on the sink, “our best bet will be to try and get a new Pokémon. We’ll work to help Kar along, and train the new guy at the same time. Either way, we’ll be ready for the Gym.”
Rikalia made a short yelp of surprise and tapped Iruni on the arm, “H—Hey, Iruni?” She was holding back a fit of laughter.
“W-What is it?” he noticed she was avoiding looking at him.
“Your… towel fell…” Despite her previous statements, she found herself a bit embarrassed. She made sure to cover her eyes as he frantically picked up the towel and covered himself back up. Rikalia jumped off the counter, “I—I’m done in here I think. Don’t take too long!”
Iruni stood perfectly still until he heard the door shut behind him. After he relaxed, he set out on drying off the rest of his body. Hopefully this awkward morning blows over fast. Too much on my plate already… He looked back to the doorknob, and saw that it didn’t have a lock at all. “Of course it didn’t.”
He looked back at his reflection, surveying his long hair. After a few minutes of arguing with himself, he decided silently that he should get it at trimmed a bit before they made their way to their appointment with Professor Elm. His hair had grown almost too long for his own tastes, and keeping in mind to make a good first impression, made a stop in a local barber shop. When he left, his brown hair fell no farther than past his ears, and his bangs just above the midpoint of his brow.
“It looks weird now. I’ve only ever seen you with long hair before.” Rikalia said as she looked over his new image.
“I’ve still got to get used to it. It’s been a while since I’ve had to work with short hair. If anything else,” Iruni said, “this’ll surprise Kate next time we call her.”
While they continued walking, he spotted a small restaurant about three blocks away from the laboratory, and took the opportunity for some lunch. He released Karros and sat in the small booth the waitress showed him to. Glad for the air conditioning the place provided, Iruni relaxed into his seat with his Houndour at his feet, and Rikalia sitting beside him. He leaned forward on the table, silently waiting on his food until Rikalia broke the silence.
“Hey,” she whispered. “What’s wrong?”
“Just thinking…” he said.
She snickered a bit, “About your little towel incident?”
“No!” he accidentally raised his voice, earning him a few odd looks from the other patrons at the eatery. “Well, maybe a bit, but no, not that…”
“I still don’t know why you’re so embarrassed. It’s not like it’s that weird, right?”
“Well, for humans, it kinda is.”
“Why thought?” Rikalia asked.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Mhm. You made such a big deal about it earlier, so it must be something.”
“Alright.” Iruni cleared his throat and set his voice to a whisper, “Well, it’s one thing to be seen naked, and it’s another if a girl sees you. It’s not decent for guys to just expose themselves to girls like that unless it’s… you know, ‘called for’. You’ve gotta… Hmm,” he wracked his mind with an idea as how to best explain the concept of his species’ customs. “Like I said, people only—show themselves—when they’re romantically close. At least that’s how some people handle it; there are a lot of different ways that people handle their ‘relationships’.”
“You mean… like they mate with people without being their mate?”
“Yeah, that’s a good way of putting it, I guess. A lot of people value the physical aspect of sex differently than others do, and I’ll bet you’ll get a different answer from everybody when you ask their opinion of it.”
“What’s yours?” she asked.
“Why do you want to know?” Iruni could feel his face starting to redden.
“I’m curious. I’ve only been with you for a few months, it’s not like I know your whole life. Kar’s told me some things, but I’d rather hear stories about you, from you.”
Iruni looked at his Sneasel, and could see genuine curiosity in her eyes. Why am I being so defensive?
“Well, I guess there’s no harm in it,” he finally relented.
The server came around to the table and gave them their meals, and Iruni barely managed a bite in his burger before Rikalia started her questioning, “So, what’s your opinion on mating?”
He swallowed hard, “That’s such a… clinical term, Rika. I normally just call it ‘sex’, or ‘sleep together’—not like that. Humans have a lot of ways to say the same thing, trust me—but I guess ‘mating’ is nicer than ‘fucking’ like most people call it. Anyway, I guess I’m pretty laid back when it comes to the subject. Some of the more uptight people say it’s only for married couples—”
“‘Married’?” she asked.
“Uh… Well, it’s like you said, we like to make things a lot more complicated. People who’re married are essentially ‘mates’ as you’d know of it. But this is bound into our laws and it’s a very formal and official arrangement; but since it’s in that legal system, it can also be broken up just as quickly.”
“Humans don’t stay mates for life?” Rikalia seemed quite enthused with this current line of conversation.
“Some do, some don’t. Some get married on a whim, some just grow tired of each other, and some that get together find out they’re a terrible match and end it mutually. People can be rather… complicated when it comes this sort of subject.”
“How complicated?”
“Why’re you so curious in this, Rika?”
“I just am. I’ve never grew up in a human populated area, so all this is new to me. And I like it when you teach me new things, even if this is a bit confusing.”
“Oh, alright.” He ate a few more bites of his burger and chased it down with his drink. “Well, divorces—when two people split up—can be complicated and pretty emotional if they have kids. One side wants custody of the child, and the other complains, and it’s hell on the kid. Anyway, there’s the people who think sex is only for married people. Then, on the other side of the spectrum, there’s the kinds of people who flaunt themselves around and only see sex as only a pastime or even just an ultimate goal to strive for in a relationship. Those people don’t really have any sort of emotional attachment to who they’re pursuing. They’re just in it for the physical pleasure of it.”
“And where are you in all that?”
“I’m somewhere in the middle, I think maybe, at least I’d like to think. I think that sex should be something that’s taken seriously, but at the same time, looked at in a casual sense. Back home, well before I met you, I had a girlfriend named—”
“A what?”
“Ugh…” Iruni rubbed the sides of his head. “You don’t make this easy, you know that?”
“Hey, you’re the one who agreed to talk. So fess up! What’s a ‘girly-friend’?”
“Just ‘girlfriend’, and I guess, in your terms, it’d be the equivalent of having a mate, but not completely mated to them at the same time? No, that’s too vague…”
“Like… temporary?”
“More like ‘preliminary’. Having a girlfriend or boyfriend is a lot less serious than being married, but it’s still a romantic sort of relationship. It can lead to something more serious, but it doesn’t have to.”
“Wait… so, you’ve mated with someone then?”
He sighed, “I was getting to that, but yes. I had a girlfriend in high school, her name was Amber. We dated for a while, and after a while, we took our relationship farther and farther until, as you keep bluntly putting it, ‘mated’. Getting back to my stance on the matter, I think that if both parties are agreeable to the idea, then by all means, let them do what they will. We felt strongly enough to each other, and we just fell into it all, I guess.”
“Why haven’t I seen her before? You’ve never even mentioned her before!”
Iruni laughed at that accusation, which only just confused the curious Sharp Claw Pokémon.
“I don’t get it… What’s so funny?”
“We haven’t been together for a while, Rika. Her family moved away to Sinnoh almost two years ago.”
“So you two just… quit?”
“Well… that…” Iruni seemed to drift off for a moment before coming back into the conversation. “Sorry. We… tried to keep the relationship going. Just talking over the internet and phone, but we just… we both agreed we should end it. It was becoming too much of a hassle.”
“That’s it? You just… stopped?”
“I guess that’s what you could call the ‘benefits’ of the ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’ system, if you can call it that. It’s like you said; the couples are only together ‘temporarily’, and it’s a lot less serious. It’s a way to play the field, I guess, and if the pair doesn’t work out, the consequences of splitting up aren’t as severe. Some couples get pretty serious, and a breakup can be hurtful, but the odds of finding the one you’re meant to be with right off the bat is very unlikely.”
“What about yours? Did you two ‘break up’ well?”
“She… was against it. It was my idea in the first place,” he looked out the window, watching the clouds float across the sky. “She was pretty sad about it, but… I think she’s fine with it now.”
“Hey, you okay?” she asked. “Iruni.” She pawed at his sleeve, “What’s wrong? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
“No, Rika. You’re alright. It’s just… been a while since I’ve thought about that, I guess.” He felt Karros lay his head on his lap from under the table and heard him whine sympathetically. His Houndour was there during the rough transition in his only foray into a relationship, and had been someone to listen to all he had to say. Iruni scratched his hears, “I’m alright, Kar.”
“Are you?” Rikalia asked.
“Do you think I’m not?”
“You look really sad…” she said, crawling closer to him. “Did you love this Amber girl?”
He shrugged, “I might’ve, but it’s all over now. I haven’t seen her in a long time…” He snapped himself out another lapse in thought, “I just over think things sometimes. It’s nothing to worry about anymore, Rika.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. All that stuff’s been put behind me,” he took a last bite of his burger, and a few fries. “But I think we’ve stalled enough, don’t you?”
“Yeah. It’s time to get some answers.”
—————
Karros decided to stay out and walk with Iruni and Rikalia as they made their way to their destination. Luckily the Elm Research Laboratory wasn’t far from the restaurant. Within ten minutes they spotted the building, its soft green roof easily visible from a few blocks down the road. Iruni ran his fingers through his new, shorter hair, glancing in a few windows as he passed by, trying to make himself look a bit more presentable. He gave up after the third gust of wind blew away his handiwork.
Rikalia clung to his shoulder, resting her head between her paws. “I can’t tell what you’re more nervous about,” she said playfully. “This meeting or trying to explain how ‘girlfriends’ work.”
“It’s this, trust me. Girlfriends and relationships are one thing, but this is big. Big enough to involve the Champion and apparently Gym Leaders from all over.” Iruni could feel his anticipation rising as he neared the building. Karros raised his head up, hitting one of his trainer’s palms. Iruni gave him a scratch behind his ears. “Let’s just hope it isn’t too big.”
Iruni wasn’t sure of what to expect when he arrived at the lab, but he imagined there’d be someone to meet him. When he came to the front door of the building, there wasn’t any sign that anyone was there. He looked into the windows, only finding them dark. He got no reply from knocking on them either.
Iruni tried pushing the doors open, but they were locked. “Okay… I’m confused.”
“We didn’t miss the deadline, did we?” Rikalia asked.
“No, we’re not late. It just looks like no one’s here.”
“Hey,” Rikalia said, climbing up to stand on his shoulders. “Back up a bit. I think I see something…” Her trainer walked a little farther back, letting Rikalia get a better look at the building. “Look!” she tilted his head up to the second floor. “There are lights on up there! I think I see something moving too.”
“You’re right. Someone’s home, at least.”
Walking into the side yard on the right side of the building, Iruni found a staircase going up to a door on the second floor. Rikalia hopped down to the ground with Karros, and the three ascended the small flight of steps. Iruni could hear noises coming from inside. Looks like this is it. He took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. A pair of footsteps came closer to the door, and the doorknob started to turn.
But instead of the man Iruni had seen in books and on the news countless times, the person who opened the door was a woman. “Yes, can I help you?”
“Well,” from what he could see behind the woman, the place didn’t look much like a research facility at all. “I’m hoping I don’t have the wrong address somehow. Is this the Elm Research Laboratory?”
“Oh no, you’re in the right place, dear.” She offered her hand, Iruni shook. The woman smiled kindly as she spoke, “Hi, I’m Elise Elm.”
“Mommy, who’s this?” Iruni looked down to see a small boy clinging to his mother’s leg. His attention soon shifted to Karros and Rikalia, going to each of them and petting their heads.
“Careful Daniel, those aren’t your Pokémon.” Elise knelt down and picked up her son, “Might I ask who you are?”
“Oh, sorry. I’m Bart Thomas. I’m here to see Professor Elm, but it looks like the lab’s closed. Do you know when he’ll be back? We have an appointment with him, but I guess we’re a bit early.”
“No, he’s down there. He’s just gone and buried himself in his work and worked himself to exhaustion I’ll bet. My husband’s always been like that.” Elise walked in to the house with her son in her arms, grabbing a set of keys. “Here, I’ll come and unlock the front for you.”
Iruni walked behind her as they walked down the steps. “You know, I recognize your name now; my husband’s mentioned you. He’s been waiting on you since the last one came and went.”
“‘Last one’? So you know about this Cartographer business then?” he asked.
“Only what he’s willing to tell me, which isn’t much. You’re going to know more than I do by the end of today, I’m sure.” She set her son down on the ground as she unlocked the door. Iruni and his Pokémon walked in. Elise turned the lights on in the main room, revealing large machinery and tables stacked high with papers and various instruments. “Everyone else had the day off today, so it’ll just be you two. Good luck, Bart. He should be in his office, through the door in the back.”
“So, just go and wake him?”
“Yep. He’ll probably be at his desk, sound asleep.”
“Alright,” Iruni said. “Thanks for your help.”
“No problem dear,” she said. “Come on Daniel. He’s got to go talk to daddy alone for a bit.” Elise picked up her son just as he tried climbing onto Karros’ back. “It was nice meeting you,” Elise said as she walked out with her son, closing the door behind her.
Iruni stood alone in the brightly lit lab for a few moments, taking in the various sites around him. The clutter got denser as the lab went on. Papers that couldn’t fit on the over-stacked desks were placed on the floor and chairs. None of the machinery was running, but it all looked very complicated to him.
Rikalia snapped him out of his trance by jumping onto his back. “Hey, let’s get a move on.”
“Sorry.”
Karros padded along beside his trainer as they got closer to the end of the room. Rikalia edged over to Iruni’s right shoulder to avoid weighing down on his injured one. Iruni knocked a few times, but didn’t receive an answer. When he opened the door, he was met with a little resistance, as well as the sound of crumpling paper. From the light of the main room, he could see a fraction of the office from the crack of the open door. Filing envelopes, papers, books, and notes coated the floor of the little office.
Iruni parted the door a little more, just enough to let himself and Karros slip into the room without damaging much else, and turned on the lights. Floor space in the surprisingly spacious room was almost nonexistent. The main desk—the messiest part of the room—was pushed against the left wall with a row of filing cabinets lining the remainder of that wall and the back. A single chair stood in front of the desk, but it too was currently acting as another shelf. The drawers of the filing cabinets that were open were overflowing with sheets and documents, spilling onto the floor.
While Karros cautiously walked a bit farther into the room, Iruni stood by the door. He couldn’t see any sign of the professor in here. “Uh, hello? Is anyone here?” He could see the mound of papers on the desk shift a little, as if in response to his calling. The place can’t really be that messy, could it?
His answer came when Karros wandered behind the desk brushing against a pair of human legs.
“Whoa!”
Rikalia laughed a bit at the sight of a man erupting from a mound of papers. He bolted up from his chair, only to go right back down as he hit his knees on the desk, causing another torrent of white to fall onto the floor. Karros ended up with a new coat of folders papers.
“Ow… What the—?” His hands scrambled through the papers on the desk. One resurfaced with a pair of half-circle glasses. He put them on and looked down at Karros, who was shaking some very important notes off his body. “A Houndour? How’d you—?”
“Excuse me, Professor Elm?” Iruni asked.
Elm looked over at the door, just now noticing the person with a Sneasel on their shoulder standing there. “Oh, goodness.” He walked around the desk, hastily trying fixing his disheveled hair with one hand and extended the other, “Excuse the mess, it’s always like this. It seems I had gotten myself buried while taking a nap. Sorry. How do you do?”
Iruni took his hand, “I’m fine. Sorry about the uh, intrusion. Your wife said you wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh, not at all. Had a breakthrough last night with a theory about— Oh, you don’t care. Have a seat— Oops, hold on a second.” Professor Elm picked up the stack of papers and notes from the chair and moved them behind his desk. “There we are.”
“Not to be rude,” said Iruni, sitting down, “but how do you even find anything in this mess?” Elm obviously didn’t care too much about stepping on his own work. He just walked back behind the desk and sat back down, clearing a space by pushing a section of paper onto the floor. Rikalia moved down and sat on his lap, gazing curiously at a paper on the floor. Karros came and sat by his side.
“I’ve got a system. The older papers are closer to the floor, you see? So if I can remember when the note I want to find was made, I can get a general idea of where it would be based on the notes’ dates above it. I make sure to date all of my work accurately.”
“Seems troublesome to me, to be honest.”
“One would think…” Elm’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if he remembered something important. “OH! OH!! You’re here for Project Cartographer, aren’t you? Mr. Thomas?”
At least he remembered. “Yes I am.”
“I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t recognize you from the picture we have on file,” he extended his hand again. “Professor William C. Elm. An authority on Pokémon breeding and evolution, at your service.”
Iruni gave him a confused look, but took his hand again anyway, “Bartholomew Iruni Thomas, but don’t call me Bart. Pokemon Trainer.”
“Yes, I know who you are— at least I should. So,” Elm stood, walking to one of the few closed cabinets behind him, “I bet you’re wondering why you’re here. The rest all did.”
“How’d you know who I was if I didn’t match my picture?” asked Iruni.
“Your Pokémon.” Elm said. He was removing folders and sorting through some loose papers. He came back with a file, and laid it out on the desk. On it, Iruni could see the words [Cartographer Candidate #39] stamped on it. “Go on, have a look.”
Iruni opened the folder, finding his own face staring back at him. It was his last school photo. Beside it were various facts and figures about him; address, contact information, family, even his current registered Pokémon roster—this field was updated by hand. He found himself wishing the space labeled [Trainer Accomplishments] wasn’t blank, but that would be filled in soon. Under [Notes/Comments] was a handwritten passage: [While no practical experience is known or recorded, #39 shows tremendous potential in the course of Type Specialization (See Attachment #1).] Iruni removed the main file on him and found a copy of his essay, stapled and labeled [Attachment #1].
“Wow, Lance wasn’t kidding when he said this got your attention,” Iruni said, holding his essay out to the professor.
“OH, you’re the one he went to see! He never said—he never does, does he?—why he wanted to go in person. But yes. I was so surprised to see hear that the essay on Dark types that a few colleagues were buzzing about was written by a seventeen year old. Very professional for your age.”
“I’ve heard. Your people have done their homework, it seems.” He looked through the other pages of the file. “You’ve even got ‘Last Recorded Pokémon Capture’. How often do you update these files? Do you track everyone like this?”
“Oh no! Not at all. This was done to help map out our prospective candidacy for our little initiative. Once we narrowed down our choices, the records of those not chosen were destroyed. We’re not spying on everyone’s movements, just taking notes of a few select people. Just in case.” Elm nodded slightly when he finished speaking, reassuring that he meant what he said.
“‘Our choices’, ‘Once we’, ‘We’re not’… I asked Lance this but never got an answer: How big is this Cartographer business? Who’s all involved? What’s my part in it?”
“Lance must’ve kept you in the dark to keep you on your toes. The others we’ve contacted for this operation knew at least how much manpower we were looking for.” He bent down and got into the side drawer of the desk. He came back up with a plain Poké Ball and a bulky handheld device that Rikalia recognized immediately.
“Hey, that’s that thing!” she pointed at it with a claw.
“What thing, Rika?”
“You know, that thing that Carter guy had. I remember the shape.”
“You’re right, they do look—” Iruni stopped as he looked back to Elm, who seemed to be frozen in place. “What is it?”
Elm’s still pose was halfway into the action of sitting back down and handing Iruni the device. He eyed them with much scrutiny. “Now, what was that?” Elm’s eyes lit up with interest. He leaned over the desk, looking up and down at the two in the chair in front of him.
“This guy reminds me of Coralis…” Rikalia whispered.
“No need to whisper, Rika. He can’t hear you. But I bet he’s wondering how I can.”
“YES! I AM! How’re you two doing that?! That’s not a Mew is it? Transformed and using telepathy? No, that’s stupid, it can’t be…”
“What’s a Mew?” Rikalia asked.
“Yes, that’s definitely a Sneasel… but that blue feather is interesting…”
Iruni found it amusing watching the researcher’s eyes dart around as his mind raced trying to find an answer. He let out a short chuckle, “To be honest, professor, I was hoping you could tell me about all this.”
“Me? I’ve never seen anything like it. Or heard of for that matter— Wait… Tell me more.” He got up and went to a different filling cabinet.
“Actually, this can wait until after we—”
“No, no, no!” Rikalia turned around in his lap, griping the fabric of his pants tightly. “You said!”
“Alright…” Iruni waited a moment for the researcher to come back to his desk.
“Go on, I’m listening,” said Elm, pulling out various papers and discarding them to the sea of disorder. “More than listening, I’m enthralled!”
“Well, this past winter, during that big snowstorm up north, I…” he paused.
“What’s the matter, son? Something troubling you?”
“No, it’s… I just remembered something. Well, during that snowstorm, I was just at my house, in Mahogany Town. During the night I was outside and I… heard something. It was a terrible scream of pain. At first, I thought I imagined it, but Karros here heard it too. So we went into the woods. I kept hearing the cry, and followed it pretty far in.”
“What made the noise?”
“She did,” Iruni said, gesturing to Rikalia.
Elm turned round, papers falling from his hand. “Your Sneasel?”
“Yes. She was in the woods, and a dead tree fell and her leg was trapped underneath it. So, like anyone would, she called for help. But I heard it all the way through those woods and back at my house, miles away. And it… the sound of it kinda hurt. Not my ears, but in my head maybe? The more I heard her calling, the more I could feel it.” Iruni looked down and met Rikalia’s worried gaze. He hadn’t exactly told her that detail. He put a hand on her shoulder and continued, “How is that possible?”
“Keep talking, I’ve got some ideas. And something that might solidify them…”
“Well, I found Rikalia in the woods that night and took her to the center. I ended up taking care of her after that, and capturing her eventually. But after a few days of me taking care of her—she was malnourished and a bit stunted, but nothing permanent—I woke up one day and I could understand her. To me, I’m actually hearing her speak our languange.”
“I see… Anything else?”
“Go on, ‘runi… Tell him.” She didn’t look up at him as she talked.
“I am. Well, not too long after I started hearing her voice, really only a few minutes after, I got this really bad headache. They’ve been pretty constant ever since, but they’ve been getting gradually less painful. It’s been going on for… about three months.”
“I see…” Elm had sat down in his chair again, looking over a paper before swapping it with another. “Anything else?”
“Well, it might be irrelevant, but I’ve got a ‘real’ headache now, and it doesn’t feel like the ones I’ve been getting since January.”
Elm smiled, “There it is. Here.”
Iruni took the paper that was handed to him. Rikalia craned her neck up to see it as well, disregarding her lacking an ability to read. “‘The Aura of Darks’? What’s this?”
“That, my friend, is could be your answer. It’s a theory written up by our very own Karen, of the current Elite Four. It hasn’t gotten much backing in the community yet, but there’s been little hard facts to go on.”
Iruni looked over the first few paragraphs of the paper. It opened with a general overview of the ‘Aura’ theory; the life force inside all living things. It connected that theory to a few examples: […A Fire Pokémon’s Aura is what the Pokémon unconsciously and instinctively utilizes to generate its fire based skills and abilities. This same principle applies to all other types, even the physically centric Ground, Fighting, and Rock types. The Aura of a being shifts into the type of element the Pokémon has an affinity to, tapping into some inherent knowledge we have yet to fully understand. Dark Aura (as well as Fighting) is usually only seen in physical medium. One of the few exceptions are what this theory focuses on: the technique known as “Dark Pulse”.]
“What? Really, Dark Pulse?” Iruni repeated as he read. “That’s an attack though.”
“Quite right. Read on.”
Iruni continued reading: [Dark Pulse is—at its core—the entire basis of the theory. It was once the only Dark type attack classified as “Special”, until the discovery of the technique Night Daze, found to be utilized by the elusive Zoroark family, or Snarl. It is one of few techniques to utilize pure Dark Aura and utilize it as the attack. (Night Daze can be seen as an altered Dark Pulse, swapping some effective range for more power and a blinding attribute, while Snarl sacrifices power for intimidation purposes). This idea is backed with the evidence that every Dark type Pokémon is compatible with the Technical Machine for the move (Technical Machines could be viewed at as a ‘Map of Aura’, and the Pokémon receiving the move is merely receiving the knowledge on how to manipulate and convert its natural Aura to conjure the attack). All Dark Pokémon carry the ‘Pulse’; they all have that brand of Aura, meaning that with the proper training or heritage, any Dark Pokémon can use Dark Pulse.
With the concept of this ‘Pulse’ existing within all Dark Pokémon, another quality of the pulse can be explored, and idea called “Dark type telepathy”.]
“Telepathy? But I don’t hear her in my head. I know how Psychic type telepathy feels, maybe a little too well…”
“Read on. She explains it. At least some of it,” said Elm.
[We’ve already observed telepathic abilities in other types of Pokémon. For this thesis, I will focus on Lucario (A major subject of Aura in general). Lucario, after evolving from Riolu, become masters at manipulating Aura. They can even tune into the brainwaves of other life forms, using this tactic to ‘Read the Aura’ of their opponents in battle. They can also establish a similar telepathic bond with a human that has been observed in Psychic types (Humans have also been able to gain a modicum of control over our own Aura. A common modern day explanation of humans that exhibit any Psychic ability: such individuals have learned how to tap into that inherent power, and have it match the kind in Psychic types, usually brought on by exposure to Psychic type Pokémon in close proximity and relation to said persons).
Upon evolution, all Lucario have access to a wide array of Aura abilities. One of them is the knowledge to generate a Dark Pulse, identical to ones observed coming from Dark type Pokémon who have learned the technique naturally.
With this knowledge, we can apply the same manner of techniques to Dark Aura, as we’ve observed in Fighting (Lucario, Meinshao), Psychic (Alakazam, Gardevoir/Gallade, Espeon), and other Aura-capable Pokémon (Togekiss). Dark Telepathy is possible if we use the same understanding of Aura. However—as seen in my personal research—it can differ greatly from the conventional style of telepathy one might come to know.
Dark Pulse is an exertion of Dark Aura, focused and imbued with angry, frustrated, or mischievous thoughts (A common misconception is that they are ‘Evil’ thoughts. This has been disproven many times by Psychic types who can utilize the technique and describing its mechanics). This means that, unlike Psychics who have the ability to create links with their minds directly to the minds of others, Dark type Pokémon have to carefully control the Dark Pulse to have to tune and convert it into the brainwaves of another life form without damaging them. To put it simply, they can kill with words if untrained.
This Aura Conversion (or Dampening) is a complicated task. Untrained, the Pokémon would simply be aiming a Dark Pulse at their target’s brain, carrying along with it all of the destructive properties of Dark Aura. Even fully trained, the ‘Dark Telepathy’ would not be truly thought transfer (This is as far as my personal research has found. It is still possible that a Dark type may, with some external teaching or talent on how to control its mind or Aura, reach the same level of communication a Psychic type may have), but a transfer of complex emotions or intent. The Dark Pulse itself is no more than that: a blast of ‘dark’ thoughts and feelings that bring out the Dark Aura and focuses it into an attack.]
“Okay, I’ve gotta stop,” said Iruni.
“What is it?”
“I get where she’s coming from, and it makes sense, I guess, but this doesn’t really relate to our situation, does it? Rika doesn’t even know Dark Pulse, so how could she be able to use her Dark Aura that well? Especially to go beyond what Karen’s even thought to be possible?”
“I understand your reluctance to accept this theory, it’s fairly untested and mostly conjecture, but it has been some time since she has posted any findings on this. Karen may have found some more information.”
“Alright, but how does this explain how I heard her from miles away?” Iruni asked.
“Well,” said Elm. “This is just me working off her work here, so bear with me. I think that you were able to hear her call from so far away because of your close proximity to your Houndour. You’ve been around a living source of Dark Aura for years, so you’re at least aware of it on some minor level. The fact that the calls even began to tax you physically links back to Karen’s line about how an untrained Pokémon can inadvertently harm someone with the ‘Dark Telepathy’.”
“Still though, like I said, Rikalia doesn’t know Dark Pulse,” Iruni repeated.
“How do you know? Has she said she hasn’t? Have you asked? Maybe she just hasn’t done it before.”
“Well—” Iruni paused. The idea that he just hadn’t asked Rikalia to try a Dark Pulse before only to have her known it all this time seemed too unbelievable to him. “No, I haven’t asked. She’s never tried to use it in battle before, so why would I have cause to think she knew it?”
“Good point. Very good point. But…” Elm picked up the device from the desk and pointed the camera-like node at Rikalia. “Let’s find out.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Hey,” said Rikalia. “What’s going on? What’s a ‘Pulse’ and why might I have one?”
“Hold on, Rika. Professor, just what is that anyway?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. We got a bit distracted, didn’t we?” Elm held the device like a salesmen would a new product, making sure they all could get a good look. “This, my friend, is your new livelihood.”
Elm handed the device to Iruni. Rikalia moved his arms down to her level as he examined it. “Wait… This is a Pokédex, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is! Not one of the consumer models either. Custom made for our purpose. Take a look.” Professor Elm gave Iruni a short walkthrough of what separated this Pokédex model from the other’s he’d seen. “This is one made explicitly for researching purposes, and it’s designed for work in the field. It’s got the complete International Database at your disposal. With that, you could look up virtually any information you want, about any kind of Pokémon in the world!”
The outside of the Pokédex was a tough, waterproof material. It had a touchscreen, which seemed fairly smudge resistant as far as Iruni could test at the moment. It had a few buttons below the screen, as well as a few on the sides. The backside wasn’t completely flat, as it supported the same style of scanner diode he had seen on the device Carter had. I guess he’s one of the other’s Elm mentioned. Great, now I’ve gotta work with the guy who says hello with his foot.
“But as I was saying before,” Elm continued, “Point the Pokédex’s eye at Rikalia.” He gave Iruni step by step instructions on how to navigate the various menus and applications the device yielded. “Now, under ‘My Pokémon Team’, look at Rikalia’s page, and hit ‘Update’. It needs to get a real ‘look’ at her first before it tells us anything.”
“Wait, it already knows her?”
“Of course,” said Elm. “This Pokédex has already been registered to your Trainer ID. It’s yours. It doesn’t have their individual names, I’m afraid. That’s a manual option you can enter on your own.”
“Really? This must be some pretty expensive technology, right?”
“Why do you think I was only given three to hand out?”
“Good point. But still,” Iruni turned the device over in his hand, admiring the look of it. Rikalia put a clawed hand on his arm, and he remembered the instructions the professor gave him. He found his Pokémon roster, but the data on each page was blank. He aimed the diode at Rikalia, and tapped the [Update] button on her summary page. The image on the screen refreshed itself and gave a new readout:
[No. 215: Sneasel (♀)]
[Nickname: “[Input Name?]”]
[Level: 14]
[Nature: Serious]
[Ability: Keen Eye]
[Moves: Bite, Scratch, Taunt, Icy Wind, Ice Punch(!), Dark Pulse(!)]
[Notes:]
“She does?” Iruni said, surprised.
“I what? What?” Rikalia asked.
“Sorry, but—” Iruni looked up. “She does know Dark Pulse, Professor!”
“There, you see? A Pokédex can look and determine a Pokémon’s moves and a plethora of other information about them. And this is the newest model; its firmware probably won’t be made public for a long time. It’s state of the art.” Professor Elm seemed proud of the gadget.
“But, how can she know that? I’ve never seen her use it. I don’t think she even knows how to.”
“Will you stop talking about me like I’m not even here?” Rikalia asked, standing in her trainer’s lap to get his attention. “What’s going on, Iruni? Explain.”
“Okay, sorry. I’m just trying to grasp all of this. So Rikalia, the way you’re talking to me, or the way we think you are anyway, is because you know the move Dark Pulse.”
“I do?”
“That’s what I asked.” He looked back to Elm. “How can she know a move she doesn’t remember learning?”
“Well, I am an expert on Pokémon breeding, and I think the answer is a simple one: Rikalia’s parents—one of them at least, probably the father—must have passed down the knowledge hereditarily. Newborn Pokémon take after their parents in terms of move retention. She’s always had Dark Pulse in her repertoire, but neither of you knew. It’s as simple as that.”
The answer was too simple for Iruni to take seriously. “Really? That’s it?”
“Why make things more complicated than they have to be? Weavile learn Dark Pulse naturally, so—provided at least one of her parents were fully evolved—it’s the most obvious solution to how she knows the move,” explained Elm.
“But what are these little icons?” Next to two of Rikalia’s moves were a flashing orange symbol of some sort.
“Tap the move, and it’ll bring up a notation, if there is one. The Pokédex’s newest software can also gauge a Pokémon’s personal level of skill with a given move.”
“‘runi…” Rikalia spoke up, “Please tell me what’s going on.”
“Rika, we’re finding out just what might be allowing you to talk to me. I’ve got an idea…” Iruni turned his attention back to Rikalia’s summary screen. Next to the entry for Dark Pulse, he tapped the tiny annotation: [Dark Pulse: (7% Proficiency). Subject has little to no skill in handling the technique. However, substantial potential in SPECIAL ATTACK skill has been measured.]
Iruni held out the device, “Professor, what do you think of this?”
Elm took the handheld and thought about how to interpret the comment. “Well, going by my breeding expertise again, Rikalia here’s got some pretty impressive lineage behind her. Her mother must’ve been exceptional at special oriented techniques and passed that skill to her. Even though she might not know how to handle Dark Pulse yet—”
“So she’s subconsciously or inherently able to control what little she does have, right?”
“Why’d you ask my opinion even if you knew the answer?”
“I didn’t think about that bit about her mother, but,” Iruni leaned back in his chair, letting out a deep breath, “I thought it might be something she was doing on reflex.”
Rikalia snagged her claws into Iruni’s shirt. She pulled him back upright, “Stop ignoring me! What’re you so happy about now? What about my parents? What about anything?!”
“I’m sorry Rika. But, it’s good news.” He stroked her head, trying to calm her down. His Sneasel eventually let his shirt fall free. “Look,” he held up his new Pokédex. “Your father knew Dark Pulse, and he passed that down to you. Your mother passed down her skill with special moves—that’s why your Icy Wind is as stronger than your Ice Punch right now. Karen’s theory says that a Dark type Pokémon who can control its Aura—one who can use special moves really well like you can, are able to mimic a sort of telepathy. But it’s different than Psychics, or a Lucario talking directly through raw Aura. At least that’s what she thinks.”
“You said you can ‘hear’ me, not like how you hear Ruby in your head though.”
“Yeah. Karen said that it’s mostly a signal of emotions. As far as her research in that paper said, she said that she hadn’t been accomplish pure ‘telepathy’ yet. And I don’t think what you’re doing is ‘telepathy’ either. Maybe it is, and you’re just fooling my mind into hearing what you’re saying.”
“That is possible.” Elm chimed in. “It could be similar to the ‘Illusion’ ability, akin to the kinds Zoroark and Zorua are known to create; though that may be pushing it too far. It could stem from the Dark type’s basic trait of ‘fooling the mind’, and how Psychic types are largely powerless against them.”
“So, Rikalia,” Iruni continued. “All you’re doing is subconsciously aiming a very weak Dark Pulse at my head when you talk. Since you want me to hear you talk, I do. But I’m really hearing your thoughts go to my head, and your Dark Aura tricks my mind into ‘hearing’ it all. That about right?”
“Sounds good to me,” said the Professor.
“So… I am what’s been giving you those headaches…” Rikalia sat back in his lap, defeated. “How is that good news…?”
“Hey, don’t be like that. This is—”
Rikalia looked over to the professor, “You… is this… really hurting him?”
“Uhh, Iruni? Translation?” The professor seemed completely lost after having a Pokémon speak to him.
“Sorry. She wants to know if this ‘Dark Telepathy’ is seriously damaging in any way. To be honest, I’m wondering that myself. But it’s probably noth–”
“Shut up and let him talk!” Rikalia snapped. She kept her eyes on the man who seemed to have the answers.
Elm relaxed in his chair, “Oh, I don’t think it’s any more dangerous than a regular headache would be; just take some aspirin and make sure to get your rest. Mind you, it’s fine right now. That is to say, if Rikalia gains more control over Dark Pulse, but doesn’t keep it under control when she talks to you, it could potentially be damaging. She is sending thoughts and emotions along a pulse of Dark Aura, so she could literally “talk you to death”, as Karen put it, I believe.” He tried to ease the tension in the room by laughing at the humorous line. It didn’t work.
“But I’ve been gradually getting used to them though,” said Iruni. “Does that help at all?”
“That’s likely you building up a tolerance to the Dark Aura, I’ll bet. That’ll save you some discomfort in the long run, but to avoid any serious injury in the future,” he leaned forward towards Rikalia, “you’re just going to have to learn to control your power better. That shouldn’t be too hard if you can already talk to your friend there.”
Rikalia looked back at the man’s smiling face with a look of surprise, “That’s it? Just practice?”
“That’s right, Rika.” Iruni comfortingly rubbed her back. “You’re not hurting me to the point of really damaging me yet.”
“I’m sorry.” She buried her head into his shirt, gripping the fabric to the point of tearing. She started sobbing, “It was me… I’m so sorry… I promise I’ll get better. I’ll stop hurting you. I promise… I promise… I promise!”
“Hey…” Iruni looked around at Elm’s surprised face, and Karros’ concerned one. He ignored the slightly more painful pounding in his head and looked down to his Sneasel again. “Rika, it’s alright.”
“I promise I’ll get better… I promise.”
“I know you will. It’s okay.” Iruni wrapped his arms around her, holding her head to his chest. “We know what we’re working with now. It’ll be easier from here on in. I’ll help you learn to control yourself.”
She looked up at him. “How do we do that? When can we start?”
“I’m not too sure. Professor?”
“Hmm?”
“Any tips?” Iruni asked.
“Oh! I’m sorry. Well,” he paused to think for a moment. He looked over a few of the papers still on the desk, shaking his head at them. “I think a good first step would be to try and train her to use Dark Pulse in combat. The more familiarity she has with it, the better idea she’ll have in controlling its mechanics.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” said Iruni.
“And while I can’t guarantee she’ll be available, I can also give you a number you can use to reach Karen. She might have discovered a bit more info on this topic since she published it, but she is a busy woman.”
“Easy. See, Rika?” he said. “We got it sorted out. And a lot easier than I thought we would.”
Rikalia laid back into his chest, wiping her face with her paws. “It’s still a problem. It’s not done till I’m not hurting you anymore… I’m not forgetting about it, alright?”
“That’s fine.” He looked down to his right. Karros was looking up at him with a relieved expression. Iruni got an idea. “Professor… Could Karros talk to me the same way that Rika does if I were to get a TM for Dark Pulse?”
“If he has the capability, I wouldn’t doubt it. He’d have to learn from scratch though, but I’m sure little Rikalia there could tutor him once she gets a better handle of herself.” Elm sat upright in his chair, “I’m sorry if all this talk may have removed any sort of ‘magic’ from your situation. But this is what we scientists do; Find the mysterious and the unexplained and put facts in their place.”
“Oh, it’s no problem. We came here for an explanation,” he patted Rikalia on the head, “and I think we gotten a good one.”
“That’s good to hear,” said Professor Elm. “Now, with that topic settled for now, perhaps we can get on with our business.” Elm straightened his glasses and leaned back in his chair, “So, as you can see, I’ve given you a Pokédex. That special field model has been carefully designed for our purposes and distributed to our operatives. Its features are essential to Cartographer’s success. Have you had any guesses as to what those are?”
“Well, I do know what the word ‘cartographer’ means. It’s a map maker,” said Iruni.
“Precisely. Why don’t you take a look at the info on a few Pokémon? Let me know if you see anything that sticks out.”
Iruni looked through the interface for a moment. Unsure of how to navigate the new piece of technology apart from what Elm had shown him earlier, he decided to look at the information on the Pokémon he had on hand; starting with Karros. A lot of the facts were what Iruni already knew: Houndour evolutionary line and the average level of evolution, compatible Technical Machines, scientific observations about the kinds of moves they could use.
“Wait a second,” said Iruni, noticing something. “There’s no location data. It’s blank.”
“Correct! That’s the whole point of Project Cartographer!”
Iruni couldn’t tell if the professor was a bit too enthused about his work for his own good. “So… We’re just mapping locations of Pokémon? Is that it?”
“Yes.”
“But that’s all been done. There’s information on wild Pokémon locations available to the public already. That’s all we’re doing?”
“What do you mean, ‘that’s all’?” Elm stood up from his desk. “How can you not see how significant this is?”
“I mean, yeah I'd say it’s pretty important, but you’re making it out to be some sort of catastrophe or something. A few Sentret out of place can’t be—”
“How can you be so ignorant!? There are so many more important things at stake here!”
Iruni sat still, staring back into the suddenly intense eyes of the professor who seemed so carefree moments earlier.
“Do you want me to show you? Maybe that’ll help you see.” Elm pulled open a drawer of his desk without looking, and pulled out a manila envelope. He pulled the papers out and looked over them. “Here: January 1st, this year. Reports of Wailmer showing up offshore of Cianwood City. The same time, populations of Wailmer were seeing record lows in the Hoenn region. Ten days later, Professor Oak receives a call from Cerulean City. A school of Feebas and Milotic have taken up residence on Route 25.” Elm paused for a moment and looked at Iruni. “Feebas are extremely rare. They’re found in remote parts of Hoenn and inside Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh.”
“And they found a whole group of them all the way in Kanto,” Iruni said.
“Yes. Pokémon populations are shifting and we don’t know why. We’ve seen outbreaks and swarms of non-indigenous Pokémon in various regions before, but those were just small and often fleeting groups passing through. These are entire populaces moving across continents!”
“I think I get it now.”
“Do you?” asked Elm. “Do you really though?”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. You’re clever enough I think to see how dangerous shifting populations can be. And our focus isn’t primarily on poaching, though it’s likely to be a big issue.”
Dangerous… Iruni’s mind flashed back to the Lake of Rage. Those Gyarados were local, but they weren’t natural. And they sure as hell were dangerous… People have to be prepared. Otherwise… “I understand. If these population shifts are happening all over, what’s to stop a deadly species from moving to places humans aren’t expecting, or are prepared to handle them?”
“There it is. That’s exactly the point. Feebas are harmless, and Wailmer can be dealt with, but what were to happen if the Grimer known to plague Celadon City were to suddenly move east to Saffron? What would happen if Beedrill swarmed out of Viridian Forest and took over the forests surrounding Pallet Town? We don’t know! There’s a plethora of concerns on our minds, and Cartographer’s what’s going to help us understand how to deal with them. That’s why this project was enacted. To be prepared, to get a handle on things before they get out of our control.”
“And if an unprepared trainer came across a species they didn’t expect for that level of terrain…”
“The consequences could cost lives.” Elm finished. “Yes, I think you understand it now.”
“I do. Professor, do you know why these sort of migrations are happening?” Iruni asked.
“No. That’s something we would like to find out though. It could just be the natural order of things, but these cases are too close together for us to just attribute it to Mother Nature and let it sit.”
“How long have these been going on?” Iruni asked. “Would you say they go back a year?”
Elm looked carefully over the questioning trainer before him. “You’re asking a lot of questions. You’ve got something on you mind then?”
“Yeah.” Iruni gripped one of Rikalia’s paws, “What do you know about a large population of Sneasel and Weavile migrating out of Ice Path towards Mt. Silver?”
Rikalia gasped and exchanged looks between Iruni and the professor.
“I can’t see why that’s relevant,” he scanned his list. “That was recorded almost a year ago. Long before we started drawing these plans together, but we started looking back to see if any patterns were forming. It’s funny actually, it turns out—” Elm looked up to see a very serious look on Iruni’s face, and his Sneasel gripping her trainer’s hand tightly. “What? Why the long faces? Oh. Your Sneasel was…?”
“Abandoned.”
“So she’s one of those unfortunate little ones…” Elm sunk in his chair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… be insensitive. The reports from that area… I’m so sorry.”
Iruni let go of Rikalia’s hand and made sure she was alright. “You okay?”
“Y-Yeah. I just wasn’t expecting to get answers on this,” said Rikalia. She shook herself, gathering her composure.
“Professor,” Iruni said. “The population that migrated. You tracked them, right?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. It’s like you heard; they moved into the Mt. Silver area and surrounding forests. Whenever a big move happens, we people in the know like to keep a few tabs.”
“Is there any chance there might’ve been a group that split off from the rest of the pack?” Iruni asked.
“No, I don’t think so. The numbers matched—well, barring, you know—what we were had for Ice Path, so I think it’s safe to assume that… her family?”
Rikalia nodded.
Elm smiled and leaned down to her, “Well then Rikalia, I’m sure your family is in that area. I bet they’ll be surprised when they see you again.”
“Heh,” Rikalia seemed to cheer up a bit. “I like this guy.”
“So,” Iruni said, bringing the topic to a lighter tine, “we Cartographers have these new Pokédexes, and we go out into the wilderness and…”
“Oh, right!” The professor settled back to his cheery, enthused mood. “These little puppies have a lot more tech packed into them than they let on. Their ‘eyes’ can take in very valuable data on Pokémon ecology based on images taken in the field. It’s all very technical, so I won’t bore you. What we want you to do is travel the region and record all wild Pokémon populations you happen across; familiar or otherwise. Then we’ll take that data, and begin to map the new populations. We’ll also be able to alert trainers to potentially dangerous communities that they might be unprepared for.
“As for how drastic any sort of changes we’ll have to make, we’re not sure. But that’s why we need Cartographers to go and see, firsthand, how things are changing out there. We’ll also be pooling in various rumors and news reports on the issue as well, so this is a very wide net we’re casting.”
“The Gym Circuit would have to change if it gets bad enough, won’t it?”
“Funny you should say…”
“What?” Iruni asked.
“Oh, nothing,” said Elm. “Just agreeing with you. Oh! I almost forgot!” The professor walked around the desk, “I have to show you; may I see the Pokédex?”
“Sure.” Iruni handed the device over.
“This is a crucial part of Project Cartographer. Each operative must conduct an audio journal of their experiences. Every day, you must make an entry. Each of these messages are logged, date stamped, and sent back to my computer for perusal. It uses the PokéGear network, so signal should rarely be a problem. What data and pictures can’t tell us, gut human opinions and instinct can. That’s one of the reasons we’re making this mandatory.
“The other, is a little bit grimmer. These are potentially dangerous circumstances. Not only will we look over these messages for data purposes, but these could also be used as a call for help. And if we stop getting messages within a three day span, I’ll personally send a reminder to your device. If we don’t get a response, we’ll send someone looking. These devices are equipped with a GPS for logging the populations, but could also be your lifeline.”
“Wow… You’ve thought this through.”
“It pays to, believe me. Here,” Elm brought up an application on the device, “this is where you start your entry. No need to do one until you actually hit the road, though.”
“Thank you. I’ll try keep up schedule. How, ah, personal should the entries be? Is it strictly for business, or is this like an audio diary?”
Elm walked back to his seat, “Oh, nothing too personal I wouldn’t think; at most, just a brief update about yourself and your Pokémon. I’d especially like to know how— Oh, I almost forgot!” Elm tapped the plain Poké Ball he had placed there earlier. He rolled it over to Iruni’s side of the desk, “It’s a bit out of tradition, but I think you’ll appreciate it.”
Iruni caught the sphere before it rolled off the desk. He expanded it to its full size and examined it. Nothing stood out apparent on the clean red and white Poké Ball. “May I?”
“By all means,” Elm said, gesturing to open desk space.
Iruni’s index finger instinctively drifted to the button again and tapped it before tossing it into the air. The Poké Ball flew into the air a few feet, and opened with a flash. The light poured out onto the desk in front of him, and began to coalesce into a coherent shape. At almost three feet tall, the creature stood on short, stubby legs. Its hide, pale green almost throughout its entire body, save for a ring of dark green growths around its neck. On its head, a large green leaf stood tall. As it opened its eyes, it extended its leaf into the air and took a deep breath.
“There you are,” said Elm.
The Chikorita turned at the sound of his voice and greeted the professor cheerily.
“Yes, it’s good to see you too, Chikorita. Now,” he pointed to Iruni, “why don’t you turn around?”
It let its leaf fall limp over its body and turned around, immediately showing its interest in the three new individuals it had never seen before. It leaned carefully over the edge of the desk, taking in the features of the two Pokémon and the boy in front of it.
“You’re giving me a Chikorita?” asked Iruni. “I thought people normally got a choice of a Pokémon they get from you.”
“Oh please, this isn’t nearly that mundane, believe me,” said Elm. “Going over the files and based on the data we had on the three of our Cartographer finalists, I decided which of Johto’s signature Starter families best suited you. It was the same for the others. Besides, this Chikorita isn’t one bred to be given to a novice trainer.”
“Really?” Iruni offered his hand out to the green Leaf Pokémon. Chikorita raised its leaf again and waved it over his hand. “How so? And what’s it doing?”
“She’s taking a good look at you. Their species can learn a lot from taking in air through their leaves. As for how she’s special, and believe me, she is, she’s got a few techniques already down pat that some of her kind wouldn’t be able to at this stage. And she’s a bit older than the ones we give out to starting trainers, so I’d guess she’s on par with your other Pokémon at this stage.” Elm leaned forward and rubbed Chikorita’s back, “Go on, girl. He’s alright; he’s your trainer.”
The Chikorita back up to the man who had raised her until now, asking something lost between languages.
“Yes. Meet Iruni Thomas, the third Cartographer.”
Chikorita’s demeanor changed almost instantly. She turned back to Iruni with a sunny look and extended her leaf again, like a person would for a handshake. Iruni chuckled a bit and gently grasped her leaf. She cheerily shook her head and pulled back with a smile. Chikorita readied herself and jumped down to the floor to get acquainted with the fire-dog on the floor.
Rikalia hopped off Iruni’s lap to meet her new teammate. “So, you say she was chosen for me? Why’s that?” Iruni asked.
“She’ll help fill out your team. As you are now, with just Fire, Dark, and Ice types covered, her talents will come as a refreshing change to how you’re used to training and battling with Pokémon. It does well to venture outside of your comfort zone every once and a while, you know.”
“Oh, I know that,” said Iruni. “I was never planning on training only Dark type Pokémon this early. I’ve had an interest in a few other types and Grass is one of them. With this talk about all these new Pokémon coming to live in Johto, there’ll be plenty of options.”
“Indeed.” Elm looked out the window, noticing the slowly reddening clouds of the early evening. “Oh where does the time go? I think I’ve kept you long enough for today. And I have work of my own to attend to at some point.”
“So, are we done here? Am I good to go?” Iruni asked as he stood up.
“There’s a few more things I should bring you up to speed on,” said Elm, “but those can wait. Just stop by again any time before you leave town. You’re not staying long, are you?”
“I don’t plan to, no. I’ll probably head out sometime tomorrow.”
“Alright then. Well Mr. Thomas, it’s been a pleasure. It’s great to have you aboard as a Cartographer.”
“Thanks Professor,” said Iruni. He knelt down to the small crowd of Pokémon, “Kar, you feel like walking back, or you want to take it easy?” Iruni could see the answer in the tired look on his friend’s face. He patted his Houndour’s head and recalled him. After Rikalia took her spot on his shoulder, Iruni looked to his newest Pokémon. “How about you, Chikorita? Want to walk with us?”
She replied eager and cheerily, clearly wanting to stay outside with her new friends.
“That’s settled then.” He stood back up and pocketed his new Pokédex. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Professor,” he said as he started for the door to the laboratory.
“Of course!”
—————
[Cartographer Log: 4/4/00]
[Cartographer ID: C. M. Altswalder (31598)]
[“Figured I’d get my entry in early today, Prof., hope you don’t mind, but I’m done walking for today. I logged ‘em yesterday, but I haven’t really had a chance to get a close look at how many there are until today. Those Wurmple are all over the place. So far, that’s all I can see as far as where I am. Let’s see… I’m about halfway to Cherrygrove now. So far, I’ve seen mostly Silcoon and Beautifly coming out of these bugs, but there are a few Dustox flying around. Better make sure these new Poison types don’t cause a panic if they start flourishing.
“Craster’s doin’ fine. He’s a little antsy about all the changing scenery, but he’s adapting well. It’s kinda funny; my old team’s not intimidated by him at all. Kinda the other way around, but Panzer’s always had that attitude of his. I just wish Wallace would take after him just a bit…
“Oh, and I probably should’a mentioned this in yesterday’s note, but you know the third? That Thomas guy who’s our last leg? I ran into him coming into town yesterday, so if you didn’t see him, he’s coming.
“A misunderstanding might’ve occurred when we crossed paths. Whatever he tells you, not my fault. I was being cautious, that’s all. We ended up bumping heads enough to start up a contest, I guess. He’s going to be trying to surpass my badge count— my bad, get in range of me caring, and we’ll have a friendly battle. See if he’s anything more than talk. Anyway, I hope he’s what you’re expecting though. The guy’s got a lot of nerve and drive, but drive isn’t everything.
“Ahhh, I’m rambling. I’m gone.”]
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To Be Continued…
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The Dark Type