The two of them sat in the cafeteria of the Pokecenter and were having an early dinner after returning. Valerie had planned to simply return to their room, but once the smells of the cafeteria made themselves known to Larry, he knew he'd already lost, so the two decided to get some food to eat.

  Only problem was, Larry felt absolutely famished. By the time Larry looked up for the first time, he was already on his third bowl of Pokechow and felt like he could go for another three.

  Valerie next to him forked at her food absentmindedly. She seemed far less enthused by the food, only taking the occasional bite, her thoughts somewhere else entirely. A few stares were thrown their way, but the center had largely grown numb to the sight of the Larvitar, with only the newer customers giving the teenager and her Pseudo-Legendary surprised double-takes.

  Tapping on her heels, Larry tried to get his trainer's attention, “Hm? What’s up, Larvitar? Do you want another bowl?”

  He was still hungry, but the concern for his trainer was far greater than the hunger he still felt. He pointed at her and mimed a frown. Valerie seemed to understand immediately, but shied away at being discovered, “Ah, don’t worry too much about me. I already got a bite to eat while you were being healed. I’m doing fine, just a bit tired after the whole mess at Mt. Silver…”

  ‘I guess I can understand that. Valerie was basically turned into a natural disaster refugee. She’s been dragged along by the rangers for around half a week by now.’ The thought made Larry pity Valerie quite a bit, ‘She’s just fourteen or so, right? It’s almost amazing that she hasn’t broken down yet…’

  In the distance, Maxie approached the girl's table, “Valerie!”

  “Maxie!” The girl straightened up at the ranger's voice, her meal entirely forgotten, “How is Larvitars' mom doing?”

  The ranger already tapped away at her phone busily, “Don’t know the whole story, but she’ll probably make a pretty good recovery. I came here to tell you the news, Nurse Joy talked about her having some permanent scars, but ultimately she’ll probably make it out alright.”

  ‘Oh-oh, thank god! She’ll be alright!’ Larry felt tears bead in his eyes at the news. He tackled the ranger's leg, hugging himself close to her in sheer relief and happiness, “Thank you so much!”

  “Woah! You’re already up, Larvitar?” The woman bent down and petted him on the head as she smiled at his happiness, “You can stop worrying...She’ll be alright…”

  “When do you think we can go see her?” Valerie asked with Larry’s agreement from down near her leg.

  Maxie rose back up, “They did have to operate on her, so she’ll probably take some time to wake up. You should go ask the nurses, they’re the pros for this stuff.”

  “We’ll go and do that. Thanks for the info.” Valerie nodded in agreement, Larry was already pulling at her pant leg for her to go to the reception desk. So she rose from her seat as well.

  The Rangers' phone vibrated in her hand, “Oops, sorry. I gotta get going. You know, no sleep for the wicked.”

  “Yup, see you around,” With a quick “Thanks” by Valerie, Maxie was gone.

  Valerie lightly smacked her cheeks to wake herself up as she went to dispose of her plate of greens, “We’re already at the end stretch, can’t fail now!”

  …

  The Nurse at the reception recognized her on sight, “Hello Miss Riston, what can I help you with?”

  She bowed at the nurse's formality, “I’m here to ask about my Larvitar’s mother, a Tyranitar. I want to know when she’ll wake up, so Larvitar can meet his mother again.”

  Tapping away at her computer, the Nurse smiled back at her, “The operation on her was a success…” She paused as she read the Pokemon's file, “She is asleep right now on a sedative, I can’t know exactly when she will wake up, unfortunately.”

  “Why?”

  “Unfortunately, the dosage for her sedation hasn’t been written into her file, so I’m unsure how long she’ll stay asleep.” The Nurse smiled back apologetically, “You’re currently living in our housing, correct? How about we contact you once she wakes up and has been looked over to be in stable condition?”

  “That would be lovely. Please do that. My number is…” Valerie rattled off her number, and the Nurse entered it with a flurry of clicks on her keyboard.

  After a quick bow and a “Thank you,” by Valerie, they went up to Valerie's room.

  …

  Valerie practically fell into the chair at the desk in her room, with Larry also stretching away the wear of the day, “Wow, what a day…”

  She was dead tired, but still felt obligated to take the call. So she placed her Pokeballs up onto the desk and set up her phone, propping it up against the wall as she muttered to herself, “Let’s hope this guy isn’t too shady…I’ve had far too many weird interviews.”

  “You come up here too, Larvitar.” She helped Larry hop up onto her chair, and he sat down in her lap, “Owowow! Off! Off!”

  ‘S-Sorry!’ Larry forced himself up onto the table and sat down there with an apologetic bow as Valerie massaged her thighs, “Argh! Don’t worry, it's my fault. I forgot how heavy you are, Larvitar.”

  As she nursed her thighs, Larry eyed Natu’s Pokeball next to him on the table.

  Valerie followed his gaze, “Oh, you think we should let Natu out as well?” She picked up and expanded the ball, “Good idea! It’s been nice so far, so let’s get it antiquated with it, why don’t we?”

  The ball opened with the signature POP! and Natu materialized on the desk, staring up at Valerie with the same stare it's seemingly held its whole life so far.

  “Hey Natu!” She pet the bird on its head as she greeted it, “Thank you for joining my team again! My name's Valerie, by the way! Oh, and this is Larvitar!”

  “Hello again! Just call me Larry.” He corrected, “Can’t really tell her my name, unfortunately.”

  “We’re back in the Pokecenter, it's where trainers go to keep their Pokemon healthy.” Valerie explained, “I'm going to be taking a video call. You wanna hang around with us while we do?”

  It swapped its gaze from her to Larry and gave off a short, “Na-Tu-Tu.” Meaning, “Explain to me, what is this ‘video call’?”

  “It’s a long distance way to communicate where humans see and talk to other humans.” Larry explained to the Pokemon’s confusion. Waving off any concerns it might have, Larry continued, “Don't worry, you just watch and listen along. I don’t think we’re going to be talking in any way.”

  Natu bowed in response, “That is acceptable.”

  Valerie pulled the piece of paper with the researcher's number out of her pocket and began dialing, “Alright…Let’s just call this dude up. You both be on your best behavior, alright?” They gave a nod before Valerie quickly corrected herself, “Not that you haven’t been up to now, Larvitar. You’re been so great up until now, you know? I’m really proud!” Larry felt himself flush slightly at the praise.

  The call started, and a simple little tune started pinging along as the phone on the other side rang. The three of them watched the spinning loading icon with anticipation. Before long, the call connected, but with the other side's facecam disabled.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  “Oh, hello? Is the call connected?” The researcher sounded old and clueless about technology.

  Larry quirked his head to the side at the voice, ‘Wow, this sounds familiar. Where have I heard this voice before?’

  Valerie spoke up, “Yes, it is! This is Valerie Riston. My da- father told me to contact you, but he didn’t give me any more information.”

  “Oh, yes!” The old researcher sounded happy, “Miss Riston, so nice to finally be able to talk to you!”

  “I tried to reach you beforehand, but your father mentioned that you weren't present. Something along the lines of helping the rangers with the cleanup?” The man's tone sounded amused, “Guess they're hiring younger these days?”

  Valerie smirked at the jab, “Yes, they needed some help from my Pokemon in navigating the insides of Mt. Silver.” She conveniently left the complete story unsaid as she pulled Larry a bit closer into frame, “It went as good as it could,” her hand fell on her injured shoulder, “but not perfect.”

  “I see, I see…” The man talked to himself, “A Larvitar, a hardy line of Pokémon indeed…”

  “Sorry to break your concentration,” Valerie butted into the man's thoughts, “but my da- father hasn't told me your name, he simply handed me your number and told me to call you back.” His Trainer explained, “Would you mind introducing yourself?”

  “My! Where are my manners!” The old researcher exclaimed before suddenly a facecam with a loading icon activated, “My name is Samuel.”

  Larry’s thoughts froze for a moment, ‘Wait…’

  “Samuel Oak, or you might've heard of me in the local media, referred to simply as Professor Oak.” The camera finally loaded, and Larry got to see the very familiar face for the first time in his second life.

  “OHHH!” Larry froze in shock before hopping up and down in excitement, his eyes as big as saucers as he pointed at the screen, “That’s him! The Pokemon Professor!”

  “Who?” Natu quirked its head to the side in incomprehension as it stared into the phone screen.

  “The Pokemon professor, Samuel Oak!” Larry repeated as he raved, “He’s one of the most influential people in the world!”

  The Psychic-Type didn’t seem to completely understand, but kept quiet instead as Valerie behind them fought to catch her bearings. She seemed to have most definitely heard of the Professor before by how shocked she looked, “U-Uh…Uhm…”

  Trying her best to smile, Valerie once again greeted the professor, fumbling in her shock, “W-Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mister-Professor Oak.”

  Professor Oak didn’t seem surprised by the girl's sudden panic, probably already used to the phenomenon. “Haha, it is nice to meet you as well, Miss Riston!”

  Valerie swallowed audibly before she continued, “W-What did you want to call me for, then?”

  “Well,” Oak began, “as a researcher, I received reports from the rangers about notable events that happened in the region. From increases and decreases of Pokemon populations on certain routes, to sightings of rare Pokemon and other events like migrations.”

  A silence descended on the room as the Professor paused, “I think you should know what kind of report I received about the events which transpired at Mt. Silver, right? I don’t think everything that transpired can be written down in a single report made by some ranger or league worker. You were there right at the scene and saw it all happen.”

  “Y-Yes!” Valerie answered with a nod, “A lot happened…”

  “Will you tell me what transpired then?” Samuel Oak asked as he rustled through the papers on his desk, “The reports say a whole lot of things, but I'd like to hear what happened from someone who was right there instead of a piece of paper.”

  “W-Well…” Larry saw Valerie's enthusiasm Fight against her tiredness as she debated with herself internally how in-depth she should go.

  Steeling herself, Valerie began, “It all started on my da- father's ‘Bring-Your-Kid-To-Work’ Day…”

  …

  “We were looking up at Mt. Silver from its cave entrance while getting out of the truck when my dad's Sandslash suddenly panicked. Not a second later, an earthquake shook the area.”

  “I see, the reports mention a 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake hitting the area surrounding Mt. Silver…” Professor Oak agreed.

  “Yep, Dad and Sandslash immediately went into action and protected us from the landslide which followed.” Valerie explained proudly, “We hid behind the truck but with it not stopping we had to flee, so we ran for the trees and I almost got crushed by a boulder, but luckily Buddy redirected it.”

  “My! The Professor explained, “I wouldn't have thought the situation to be so dangerous! Buddy, I presume to be your father's Sandslash?”

  “Me neither, and yes,” Valerie nodded as she smiled with slight exhaustion, “I was so stunned, I thought we were in a movie or something.”

  Oak nodded along, “You better wish you were. It's quite amazing that you survived all that.”

  “There is still more, though.” Valerie chuckled, “Once we were by the treeline, we heard the extremely loud cry of a bird from inside the cave. My dad immediately used some move that pulled us into the ground and covered us in sand.”

  “And then?” The Pokemon Professor was at the edge of his seat listening to Valerie's story.

  “Well, I didn't see it because my dad was protecting me, but apparently Moltres emerged from Mt. Silver and flew off into the sky, leaving the entire area and my dad's back burnt beyond recognition.”

  Leafing through his papers, the Professor searched for something with a stern glare, “It was written down somewhere in here, but Moltres was only mentioned to be in the area when the earthquake occurred. So you're saying it was directly involved?”

  “Yes,” She nodded, “from my knowledge me and my dad were dangerously close to it.”

  “I see…” The Professor had a conflicted expression on his face, “Well, what else happened after that?”

  …

  With the call over, Valerie dropped backwards into her bed, dead tired from a day of adventuring. Her call with Professor Oak was finally behind her, “Whew, what a day. Right Larvitar? First, I get to see a Tyranitar, then I meet Professor Oak?”

  “Laarv-!” The Rock-Type nodded along from the ground next to the bed. Her Natu still stared at her from its position on the table. If it had blinked once since she released it from its Pokeball, then she hadn't noticed.

  ‘It's a bit weird, but also kind of cute…’ Valerie thought to herself as she stared back at the Pokemon. She patted her bed. “Anyway, it's time for bed. You guys wanna come up here?”

  “Naat!” The bird bowed once in agreement before hopping onto the bed in two quick hops, one from the table onto the floor and the other up onto the bed, “Woah, you're quick!”

  “Tu.” The bird bowed once on the bed and then settled down into a seated position.

  Larvitar meanwhile hopped up onto the edge of the bed and fought to pull its lower body upwards, the blanket of the bed slowly slipping down and erasing its progress until Valerie offered a helping hand, “Here, heave-ho!”

  ‘It's so much more nimble when it uses moves, but so slow without them. Adorable.’ She gushed to herself.

  Finally, up on the bed, Larvitar gave her a nod of appreciation, “Lar!”

  The little Rock-Type acted so human sometimes, Valerie wondered where it had gotten those mannerisms from. Larvitar was quite the mysterious Pokemon anyway. She had done a ton of research in the hopes of giving her Pokemon the best care possible, but something didn't mesh up.

  ‘Every resource online talks about Larvitar being exceedingly rare, not just because they're powerful Pokemon only found in dangerous places, but also because they're usually underground and eating their fill of soil to grow into a Pupitar.’ She eyed her first Pokemon as it took its spot on the comfortable head pillows.

  ‘They're not very mobile, relying on their ability to eat soil to dig themselves through the ground. Yet, when they're above ground, they hang around their mother to an obsessive degree, relying on her for almost anything and everything that isn't soil itself.’

  Larvitar pulled the blanket over itself adorably, covering up its entire body and leaving only its head peeking out under the covers, ‘Aww…Wait, no focus!’

  Valerie quickly stood up and switched off the lights in the room before returning to the bed. She scooted over, pulled open the blankets, and slipped in next to her Larvitar, “Let's get some sleep then. Good Night Larvitar, Natu…”

  “Taar-Larvi!”

  “Tuu-Nat.”

  Closing her eyes, Valerie couldn't help thinking to herself again as she pulled Larvitar in for a hug like a rocky plush animal, ‘All the sources online warned against freshly caught Larvitar, because they were supposed to be terrible first Pokemon. Supposedly not listening to their trainers, showing no respect towards other team members, and throwing tantrums at pretty much everything.’

  ‘Considering they're supposed to evolve into Dark-Types in their final evolution and extensively use Dark-Type moves, it's pretty much a given that they're not the nicest Pokémon.’

  She pulled her Larvitar in closer, and he reciprocated with a whine, burying itself deep into her hug.

  ‘Then why is this one so attached to me?’ Valerie questioned herself.

  She released a sigh, ‘Professor Oak told me I could write or call him if anything else came up that I needed help with. Maybe this is one of those things?’

  …

  Professor Oak sat in his office, looking over the report once again with a stern glare, ‘These damn league cronies…’

  ‘‘No discernible reason for Moltres' presence in the area,’ My foot!’ He huffed at nobody in particular as he read through the report again.

  With a final decision, he threw the paper down and sat back up, “Something smells fishy here. I need more information…”