Lumiose City, Kalos Region
Jacob yawned. It was far too early in the morning for him, especially since it was a weekend. Normally, he slept in until around 11 am, but today he was wide awake and already had left his hotel room at 9. He walked alone along the road through Lumiose City. He would have called out one of his pokemon for companionship, but at the moment, he wasn’t in a mood to handle them properly. The city was already wide awake of course; Lumiose never slept. The streets were bustling with people, and the sound of cars whizzing by drowned out any of the normal sounds that morning might have brought.
Professor Sycamore’s lab was a large one, definitely the largest lab he had ever seen. Four stories high, the lab stood about equal height with the surrounding buildings; it wouldn’t have stuck out much at all if it wasn’t for the large sign adorning the top. Without a momments hesitation, Jacob entered the building. He had been sent to meet with Professor Sycamore by one of his own professors at his university in Unova. Apparently Jacob’s professor thought that it would good for him to meet the leading pokemon scientist in Kalos, and since they knew each other, Jacob would be going on some sort of assignment for him.
Jacob’s aspirations to become a professor had never really panned out, and he had abandoned them as a child. Still, he respected those who did go through all the training to devote their lives to the study of pokemon. As the elevator opened on the fourth floor, he began to get nervous. He could feel his legs shaking. He stepped out of the elevator, and turned the corner to see Professor Sycamore standing over another man in a lab coat, both staring at a computer screen. As he heard Jacob enter, the Professor straightened his back and turned around to face Jacob. Professor Sycamore had a huge smile on his face as he greeted Jacob.
“Hello there,” He began. Jacob merely nodded back. He wasn’t sure exactly what to say, but after a few moments he recieved a prompt from Sycamore. “I’m sorry; you are…?”
“Oh, right,” Jacob replied quickly, rubbing the back of his head. “My name is Jacob,; I was sent here by Professor Meechum?” he said with a rising tone, even though it wasn’t supposed to be a question.
“Aha, here you are. I was beginning to think that Meechum had backed out on me!” He said with a chuckle. Sycamore quickly turned his back and walked across the room where he opened a closet and began rummaging through it. As he did, he spoke to Jacob. “So, Jacob, tell me; have you ever been on a pokemon journey?”
“Yes of course, when I was ten, just like everyone else,” Jacob replied matter-of-factly. He was incredibly impressed with the Professor’s youth that someone so young could have accomplished so much.
“Good. And when you went on this journey,” Sycamore continued, still moving things around in the closet. “Did you receive a starter pokemon? What region are you from?”
“Well, I’m from Hoenn and I did get my starter from there… Of course, I traveled here in Kalos.”
“How interesting,” the Professor replied in a tone that made Jacob think it wasn’t really all that interesting. “So, do you know about the Kalos starter pokemon?”
“Yea, Fennekin, Froakie, and… Chespin, right?” Jacob said pulling their names out from his memory. He had some friends who had begun their travels in Kalos, and he knew more than a couple people who had received their starter pokemon from this region. He was more than a little proud that he could respond so quickly and accurately, but the Professor didn’t seem to notice.
“Right, right. So, did Meechum tell you why you’re here? I guess not. He never does. So, here’s the deal: as a provider of starter pokemon, I am required to offer each new trainer an option between all three of those pokemon, Froakie, Fennekin and Chespin. However, often I have some that don’t get chosen; either they’re from a less popular species, or I just have a few left over, since every trainer has to have their choice. If I can’t get rid of them by a certain date, they aren’t acceptable as starter pokemon anymore; they either become too old, or they grow tendencies that make them unpopular socially among other trainers etcetera. So, I’ve been asking some of my friends to send me students to help me move some of these pokemon. After all, it’s better than just releasing them into the wild.”
Jacob cringed at these comments. The Professor that he had venerated was talking like some sort of sleezy businessman. He was so cynical, the opposite of what Jacob had expected. Jacob had always assumed that the Professor actually went out and caught these pokemon him or herself, or maybe a lab assistant did it. But thinking back on it, that really didn’t make much sense; after all, these labs did provide pokemon for hundreds of children each year. He really didn’t know what to say, and so he let the Professor continue.
“Your professor, Meechum, has been helping me through an adoption clinic he runs at your school. You probably already know that... “ Jacob hadn’t. He hadn’t been told much of anything actually. And he was starting to wish he had been told earlier so he could refuse. “Anyway, this bag here,” Sycamore continued, finally emerging from the closet. He held a rather large pack that looked as if it weighed a decent amount by the way his hand was shaking. “... has the majority of what I need transferred. Since I can’t send pokemon through the mail, I need you to deliver this to your school. Sound good?”
No. It sounded terrible. But he had already agreed to do it. So Jacob nodded, and took the bag from Professor Sycamore. It was quite heavy, and Jacob slung it over his shoulder to help take some of the weight.
“Alright, now be careful with those,” the Professor warned. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that if you drop that bag, any number of the pokeballs could open up, and then you’d have a problem. Just make sure you don’t drop it.” Jacob nodded, thanked the man, he didn’t know what for, and turned to leave, feeling a bit yucky about the entire situation.
He carried the heavy bag to the train station. He had to take the train to Coumarine City , just a few hours train ride away, before getting on a boat back to Unova. He sighed as he carefully placed the bag on bench beside him so as not to set off any of the pokeballs. Luckily for him, he was actually looking forwards to the train ride. Supposedly the train was supposed to have a food car, as well as a lounge open to everyone. The car that interested him most, however, was supposed to have a mini stadium, made for pokemon battles. It had been some time since he had engaged in a real pokemon battle with other trainers, and he was hoping his pokemon were still capable.
As a voice rang over the speakers, Jacob looked at his ticket. They were calling his train. He stood, gently lifting the heavy back, and walked over to his gate. Within a few minutes, he was on the train. He found a seat by the window in one of the middle cars, placing his things down and preparing for the departure.
Jacob yawned. It was far too early in the morning for him, especially since it was a weekend. Normally, he slept in until around 11 am, but today he was wide awake and already had left his hotel room at 9. He walked alone along the road through Lumiose City. He would have called out one of his pokemon for companionship, but at the moment, he wasn’t in a mood to handle them properly. The city was already wide awake of course; Lumiose never slept. The streets were bustling with people, and the sound of cars whizzing by drowned out any of the normal sounds that morning might have brought.
Professor Sycamore’s lab was a large one, definitely the largest lab he had ever seen. Four stories high, the lab stood about equal height with the surrounding buildings; it wouldn’t have stuck out much at all if it wasn’t for the large sign adorning the top. Without a momments hesitation, Jacob entered the building. He had been sent to meet with Professor Sycamore by one of his own professors at his university in Unova. Apparently Jacob’s professor thought that it would good for him to meet the leading pokemon scientist in Kalos, and since they knew each other, Jacob would be going on some sort of assignment for him.
Jacob’s aspirations to become a professor had never really panned out, and he had abandoned them as a child. Still, he respected those who did go through all the training to devote their lives to the study of pokemon. As the elevator opened on the fourth floor, he began to get nervous. He could feel his legs shaking. He stepped out of the elevator, and turned the corner to see Professor Sycamore standing over another man in a lab coat, both staring at a computer screen. As he heard Jacob enter, the Professor straightened his back and turned around to face Jacob. Professor Sycamore had a huge smile on his face as he greeted Jacob.
“Hello there,” He began. Jacob merely nodded back. He wasn’t sure exactly what to say, but after a few moments he recieved a prompt from Sycamore. “I’m sorry; you are…?”
“Oh, right,” Jacob replied quickly, rubbing the back of his head. “My name is Jacob,; I was sent here by Professor Meechum?” he said with a rising tone, even though it wasn’t supposed to be a question.
“Aha, here you are. I was beginning to think that Meechum had backed out on me!” He said with a chuckle. Sycamore quickly turned his back and walked across the room where he opened a closet and began rummaging through it. As he did, he spoke to Jacob. “So, Jacob, tell me; have you ever been on a pokemon journey?”
“Yes of course, when I was ten, just like everyone else,” Jacob replied matter-of-factly. He was incredibly impressed with the Professor’s youth that someone so young could have accomplished so much.
“Good. And when you went on this journey,” Sycamore continued, still moving things around in the closet. “Did you receive a starter pokemon? What region are you from?”
“Well, I’m from Hoenn and I did get my starter from there… Of course, I traveled here in Kalos.”
“How interesting,” the Professor replied in a tone that made Jacob think it wasn’t really all that interesting. “So, do you know about the Kalos starter pokemon?”
“Yea, Fennekin, Froakie, and… Chespin, right?” Jacob said pulling their names out from his memory. He had some friends who had begun their travels in Kalos, and he knew more than a couple people who had received their starter pokemon from this region. He was more than a little proud that he could respond so quickly and accurately, but the Professor didn’t seem to notice.
“Right, right. So, did Meechum tell you why you’re here? I guess not. He never does. So, here’s the deal: as a provider of starter pokemon, I am required to offer each new trainer an option between all three of those pokemon, Froakie, Fennekin and Chespin. However, often I have some that don’t get chosen; either they’re from a less popular species, or I just have a few left over, since every trainer has to have their choice. If I can’t get rid of them by a certain date, they aren’t acceptable as starter pokemon anymore; they either become too old, or they grow tendencies that make them unpopular socially among other trainers etcetera. So, I’ve been asking some of my friends to send me students to help me move some of these pokemon. After all, it’s better than just releasing them into the wild.”
Jacob cringed at these comments. The Professor that he had venerated was talking like some sort of sleezy businessman. He was so cynical, the opposite of what Jacob had expected. Jacob had always assumed that the Professor actually went out and caught these pokemon him or herself, or maybe a lab assistant did it. But thinking back on it, that really didn’t make much sense; after all, these labs did provide pokemon for hundreds of children each year. He really didn’t know what to say, and so he let the Professor continue.
“Your professor, Meechum, has been helping me through an adoption clinic he runs at your school. You probably already know that... “ Jacob hadn’t. He hadn’t been told much of anything actually. And he was starting to wish he had been told earlier so he could refuse. “Anyway, this bag here,” Sycamore continued, finally emerging from the closet. He held a rather large pack that looked as if it weighed a decent amount by the way his hand was shaking. “... has the majority of what I need transferred. Since I can’t send pokemon through the mail, I need you to deliver this to your school. Sound good?”
No. It sounded terrible. But he had already agreed to do it. So Jacob nodded, and took the bag from Professor Sycamore. It was quite heavy, and Jacob slung it over his shoulder to help take some of the weight.
“Alright, now be careful with those,” the Professor warned. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that if you drop that bag, any number of the pokeballs could open up, and then you’d have a problem. Just make sure you don’t drop it.” Jacob nodded, thanked the man, he didn’t know what for, and turned to leave, feeling a bit yucky about the entire situation.
He carried the heavy bag to the train station. He had to take the train to Coumarine City , just a few hours train ride away, before getting on a boat back to Unova. He sighed as he carefully placed the bag on bench beside him so as not to set off any of the pokeballs. Luckily for him, he was actually looking forwards to the train ride. Supposedly the train was supposed to have a food car, as well as a lounge open to everyone. The car that interested him most, however, was supposed to have a mini stadium, made for pokemon battles. It had been some time since he had engaged in a real pokemon battle with other trainers, and he was hoping his pokemon were still capable.
As a voice rang over the speakers, Jacob looked at his ticket. They were calling his train. He stood, gently lifting the heavy back, and walked over to his gate. Within a few minutes, he was on the train. He found a seat by the window in one of the middle cars, placing his things down and preparing for the departure.
