Unbroken Disguise

Lucas felt a bout of nerves as he walked through Hearthome’s streets.

For most trainers, that would be understandable. He had a Gym battle today after all.

But he had an undefeated record. The Eterna Gym had been harder than the Oreburgh Gym, sure, and he fully expected that his battle against Fantina would be more difficult than Gardenia was… but he wasn’t really afraid of losing.

Right?

It was all N’s fault, he was certain.

Who did he think he was, chewing him out over “unethical practices” and “endangering his Pokemon”? The green haired jerk didn’t even know the words to yell at him properly! It had really taken the wind out of his sails when he’d had to consult with his Pokemon and a Unovan to Sinnohian dictionary in the middle of the rant.

It wasn’t like anything bad had happened!

Sure, Metronome was proving to be a… challenging move to deal with,and Togepi was turning out to be a little s- er, he was turning out to be very naughty. But Togepi would have learned Metronome regardless! The EXP Share itself hadn’t caused any problems, as would be expected of a device from a leading Pokemon Professor.

…or maybe he was nervous because of the other thing that N had said.

Apparently Fantina was only taking one more challenger before… well, N hadn’t exactly been generous with details on why Fantina was leaving, but she definitely was leaving after one last challenge.

N apparently didn’t know that challenge was his, and given their little argument, Lucas hadn’t seen fit to inform him of the fact.

Which meant he was Fantina’s last challenger for the foreseeable future. He only had one chance at this. If he somehow got his first loss here, then there was no telling how long it’d be before he got another chance to try for a rematch.

He was sure he would win!

Just… maybe a little nervous. A tiny bit.

But he was prepared, or at least he thought so. Grotle had learned Bite recently, so he could use a type advantage against Fantina, and from his partner no less. And if Grotle went down then Bibarel could…. Water Gun her Ghosts? None of his other moves would land… And if Bibarel went down…

If it came to that, his only hope was Metronome.

…he wouldn’t let it come to that.

Taking a deep breath, he let his hand rest on Grotle’s Pokeball to reassure himself.

The doors of the Hearthome City Gym opened before him, and he took a step inside.

The residents of Hearthome looked up to the sky as an ear piercing screech came down from on high. A great shadow crossed the streets, and room was quickly made as they realized someone was trying to come down for a landing.

“Ain’ that Staraptor kinda big?” Mimikyu wondered aloud.

From the name and appearance, N pieced together that this was the evolved form of Staravia, but given that this was his first time seeing one, he couldn’t answer the question himself.

“It’s very big! Rotom believes him to be in the top percentile in terms of size compared to others of his species!”

Though he had no concept of what the average Staraptor was like, N could at least confirm that the Pokemon was big compared to Unova’s Flying types. The Flying type before him was taller than a Braviary, and bulkier than a Mandibuzz, although he suspected that it was all muscle beneath those feathers. Giant orange-ish talons supported its body, most of which was covered in various shades of gray. There was some white patterning on the underbelly and around the face, and a red plume that almost looked like it was fashioned after some sort of emo hairstyle he’d seen in Virbank City.

But where the coloration of the feathers might once have been vibrant, the Pokemon before him seemed a bit muted and dull. Probably due to old age, if the number of visible scars were anything to go by. It would also make sense given the age of the rider, who he assumed was the Pokemon’s trainer.

Wearing a long beige trench coat that seemed to have extra padding to provide warmth at the high altitudes, the man was removing a pair of goggles, pulling them over his graying, almost white hair.

N was a bit surprised when the man turned around and revealed his bushy mustache.

“Professor Rowan?”

“Ah, perfect! I don’t need to hunt you down!” The man called out to them in stilted Unovan. He gave the Staraptor a pat on the back, and it took off into the air once more.

“Rotom is confused! Bzzrt! Didn’t you say you were going to Teleport in?”

The professor tucked his goggles away in a pocket and made his way over to them, ignoring the way people pointed and whispered as they started to recognize him. “That was indeed the plan, but it seems that the lab’s Psychic has come down with a nasty case of something or other, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get the old boy out and let him properly stretch his wings like the good old days.” He blocked the sun with one hand as he looked up into the sky. “Been with me for… oh, it must be something like 50 years now, that one.” He focused his gaze back on them. “But we’re not here to discuss my trusty Staraptor, now are we? Why don’t we find some place more private? I happen to know a lovely little shop that should still have private rooms…”

Rowan started to guide them down the street, though N could see the way he kept stealing glances at the two Ghost types.

“Huh. I guess it makes sense that he’d still ‘ave a team of ‘is own. Ya never think abou’ professors as trainers though…” Mimikyu idly commented.

In no time at all, the older man guided them to a quaint, traditional shop in the middle of the city, arranging a private room in the back that N assumed was typically saved for wealthy patrons or League officials. He politely accepted a cup of tea that was offered to him, even if the leaf water wasn’t quite his thing.

“Now, let’s get into it, shall we?” Rowan asked as he set his cup down. “I read through all the reports on your activity last night, but it would seem that even the outlandish things they contain don’t hold everything you’ve been up to.” He pointedly looked over to N’s possessed flip phone.

Rotom let out a strange, staticky giggle. “The League never knows as much as they think they do! Bzzrt!”

“On that we can agree,” Rowan chuckled right along with the Pokemon. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to put me ahead of them in the information race on your kind? I’m already dreadfully behind my colleagues outside of League territory…”

N wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Rowan grilling his new… friend, but he supposed if Rotom was willing…

“Hmmm… no! Not at the moment anyway.” Rotom instantly shot him down. “Maybe if you had something to trade, but Rotom has seen your recent technology experiments and Rotom doesn’t think they hold up to what Rotom has heard other regions are working on. Bzzrt! Rotom will keep it in mind though.”

The professor seemed disappointed by that, but ready to accept it for now. He must have expected such an outcome. “Fair enough. Your kind aren’t exactly integral to my research, so it’s no real harm done. Well, assuming that my Pokedex is still fully functional? I’m told that you possessed the one I gave to Lucas for some time…”

Rotom gasped. “Are you accusing Rotom of mishandling electronics?! Bzzrt?! Rotom would never!”

He held up his hands placatingly. “I am not accusing you of anything, I am only concerned for the very expensive piece of equipment full of important data. I’ve never had one get… possessed before, and was simply a bit worried. Though perhaps I’ll hunt Lucas down after this anyway, just to double check that everything is in order. You never know what will happen when you put children in charge of field research…” He turned back to N and Mimikyu. “But speaking of my research, why don’t you fill me in on what the League doesn’t know in regards to you two, lad?”

And so N talked. He talked, and talked, and talked some more, with Mimikyu helping out every once in a while, getting his points to Rowan through a combination of writing and Rotom translating.

They didn’t tell him everything, of course, but they did tell him the parts that would be relevant to him. Mainly the Fairy typing and its spread so far.

At the end of it all, Rowan frowned. “I’ll admit that I was expecting more, but I suppose research never moves as fast as you’d like it to.”

“Well, that may be changing, actually,” Mimikyu wrote out for the professor. “N mentioned Lucas, right? He has a Togepi and an Eevee. I’m not going to deliberately spread it to them, but if they choose to…”

The professor’s eyes lit up at that. “I see! An Eevee being exposed would be perfect for my research! Please, keep me up to date with any developments in that regard!”

N frowned. “Like Mimikyu said, it will be up to the Pokemon in question.” Rowan seemed to get a hold of himself at the light chastisement. “But now that we’re caught up on the limited Fairy findings, there were a few other things we were hoping to ask you about, given that you’re one of the leading minds in Sinnoh.”

Rowan took a sip of his tea. “Of course, of course, ask away, please!”

Of course, now that the man was finally in front of them, N struggled to recall all the questions they’d had for the man since their last meeting. Mimikyu saved him by writing out “Simple and Unaware.”

“Ah, right. Spending so much time around trainers, it hasn’t come up all that much, but Mimikyu and I were wondering if you knew anything about Pokemon with abilities like Simple and Unaware? We had met a Bidoof when the topic of Pokemon intelligence came up…”

“Abilities? Hmm. Not exactly my area of expertise… is anyone focused on that right now…?” The professor thought it over. “I’m afraid if there’s a leading expert, I’m not aware of them, so I can only tell you what I’ve seen in my unrelated research, but as far as I can tell, such abilities do put a damper on the intelligence of the Pokemon that have them. I’ve not researched the mechanics of it, perhaps Professor Kukui could help you more, but it seems that when Pokemon use moves that affect their abilities like Amnesia or Growl, the effectiveness is at least partially based on the perception of the Pokemon involved. For example, I once had a completely deaf Luxray I was dealing with, and when opposing Pokemon used sound based moves on her, they had no effect. The status based ones, anyway, I never got around to testing things like Hyper Voice… where was I? Ah, right, yes, you see, my current hypothesis, and granted this is only just more than baseless conjecture, is that abilities like the ones you’ve brought up act in a similar manner to the deafness. A Simple Pokemon has reduced cognitive abilities, and is more easily influenced, so the boosts to Speed or whatnot are much more radical. An Unaware Pokemon is not capable of comprehending the boost, and so they are not affected by it. It’s possible that I’m way off the mark here, but, like I said, this is only a hypothesis.”

“Bzzrt! That does seem to line up with what Rotom has observed of Lucas’ Bibarel!”

“I s’pose I could maybe see that…”

Pokemon were creatures with strange abilities at times, but N didn’t want to accept that the professor’s theory could be the case. What sense did it make for a Pokemon to develop the ability to be dumb? Was ignoring the changes of so-called “stat changing moves” really worth it? The vast majority of Pokemon that he met were able to have full conversations, to have complex relationships with those around them. But the Pokemon who were too simple minded for that…

No. The professor definitely had to be wrong about it. There was some other explanation. And on the topic of the professor being wrong…

“We met a Nurse Joy who had some interesting things to say about your Pokedex, and I happen to agree. Why do you have such awful rumors and lies in the Pokedex?”

Rowan rolled his eyes at that one. “How many times do I-” He sighed. “She’s just bitter about… no, I shouldn’t get into that with you. Let me answer your question with a question. What do you think the purpose of the Pokedex is?”

That caught N off guard, if only because of how simple the answer was. “To collect scientific data on Pokemon for research?”

It was one of the few League funded initiatives that he could support to some extent. Knowing more about the Pokemon all around them could lead to new ways that they could help when the creatures were in trouble, even if he would rather that there was no interaction at all. The research done with the Pokedex initiative could help to offset some of the harm done to Pokemon, though it would never be enough.

Rowan nodded. “That is not incorrect, but it is also an incomplete explanation. If the Pokedex was only to collect data for later, then why would we bother including screens and speakers and whatnot? We could simply have all the data uploaded when field researchers came back to the lab and view it there.”

“It’s also ta help the trainer when they’re out meetin’ new Pokemon…” Mimikyu mused.

“Immediate information on unfamiliar Pokemon could be useful to ensure no problems arise! Bzzrt!” Rotom added on, and clued Rowan into what Mimikyu said in one go.

“Correct. You see, part of it is in regard to stipulation on my League funding. It would be a bad look for them if ten year olds ran into a particularly dangerous Pokemon and the encounter ended… poorly, let’s say. So they require that the Pokedex gives information to the trainer immediately upon a scan. Now, you’ve met a handful of trainers who work with the Pokedex initiative, have you not? Tell me, if I met this requirement by having the Pokedex list out all the known details about the target Pokemon, or even just everything that might be considered a noteworthy bullet point, how much attention do you think these trainers would pay to it?”

The trio looked at each other. Rotom hadn’t met Ash or Dawn, but…

“You see what I mean, then. So, if I must give the trainer some information, but detailed and accurate information is too dry for them to pay attention, adrenaline junkies that they tend to be, what middle ground might we take?”

The question was rhetorical.

“We take half truths and folk tales that contain important information. Yes, Professor Birch is aware that Absol do not cause disasters. But if a trainer stumbles upon one, what’s more important for their safety? That they have a proper understanding of causation and correlation? Or that they are warned, and get out of the area, because if an Absol is present, it’s very likely there’s a disaster in the area.”

“Huh. That’s a lot more reasonable than Brock ‘n’ Joy made it out ta be, ain’ it?”

N would be borrowing Lucas’ Pokedex to look for entries that contradicted Rowan’s explanation.

“I see… maybe this one will be more up your alley. When looking at the Azumarill line and the type changes as they evolve….”

Ash kept his eyes peeled as they made their way through Mount Coronet.

You never know when you might stumble upon a Pokemon in need, after all, and a dark cavern like this might mean he’d walk right past them if he didn’t give his surroundings all of his attention.

“Pika-chu?” His best friend asked.

“I’m fine, Pikachu.”

And he was! He definitely was. Why wouldn’t he be?

Sure, they’d lost half their group only a quarter of the way through the region. It happens! People do different things. It didn’t mean he’d never see them again! If anything, it just meant a chance to make new friends! When Brock went to work for Professor Ivy for a bit, he had met Tracey! When Misty went back to Cerulean, he’d met May and Max! He’d just need to be aware of potential travelling partners!

And sure, maybe he was still torn up about Hunter J escaping for a second time. But he’d managed to rescue the Shieldon she was after! That was the important part, wasn’t it?

It’s not like her getting away was getting to him. Team Rocket got away like… every few days or something! And he’d come to accept that, hadn’t he? Plus Officer Jenny said she’d look into it! The Jenny family was super reliable, they’d solve the case and get that no good crook locked up!

Plus it had given him an opportunity to see Gary again! Rivals from the start, reunited to take on crime and help some Pokemon! A bit odd that his research had brought him out to Sinnoh, apparently doing something with trying to recreate the habitats of fossil Pokemon, but it just reinforced the idea that it was a small world! Even if he was regions away, he could run into old friends by chance!

And N and Dawn and all their Pokemon were probably less than a day away.

Neither of them were doing the Gym challenge, but maybe if he and Brock visited the Contest Hall…

“Ash?” A voice echoed from behind him.

“Yeah, Brock?”

“Are you…” Brock trailed off. Weird. Normally the only thing that could get him to stop mid sentence was one of his Pokemon dragging him away when he started to flirt with random women. “Are you doing okay?”

Ash focused on their surroundings, looking for Pokemon that needed help.

“Of course I’m okay! We’re close to the next Gym, which means a battle!”

“If you’re sure… just, I’m here for you, if you need to talk.”

Pikachu nudged against his cheek, and he almost tripped over a rock.

“Talk? What’s there to talk about? Oh! Did you want to talk about those Shieldon we saw? I thought you had moved past the whole Rock type thing, you know. When was the last time you even caught one? Plus I don’t think Gary would be okay with…”

Just keep talking. Everything is fine if he can just talk like normal, right?

He was fine.

He’d been through worse.