Act 2: Lee’s Logs 1

“That must be all the pieces, Professor,” the smartly-dressed intern standing earlier than Nigel Birch’s desk closes his binder. “We have moved Miss Jenning’s Trumbeak to aviary part 5, which is the least populated. Since then, Mister Mudahar’s Staraptor and his clique have calmed down.”

Seated behind his desk, Professor Birch sighs. “That chicken” He mumbles, pondering of the aforementioned Staraptor and his foul perspective. “I am going to have Medicham, Flygon, or another person straighten him out. Matt,” He addresses the intern earlier than him. “Make a remark on Mister Mudahar’s profile. If his pokemon cannot behave, then he’ll forfeit his place at our ranch and be compelled to buy non-public boarding. That is the second time certainly one of his pokemon has acted out.”

The younger intern nods quickly. “Sure sir,” he says, then his brows furrow. “Professor? Cannot you ask Lab Coach Birch’s or Lab Coach Henson’s pokemon to regulate issues? It looks as if your pokemon are compelled to play peacekeeper moderately usually”

Professor Birch has to suppress a grimace at Matt’s query. “I might, however Brendan and Lee are very choosy with their pokemon. Neither of them has greater than six but,” Nigel scratches his brief beard and sighs. Oh, if solely Nigel lastly bought clearance from the ever-so-finicky Pokemon Rangers to camp out and observe a pure Sitrus grove close to Verdanturf, and all this nonsense is slicing into his prep time! A pokemon educated by both Lee or Brendan would shortly rise to the spot of ranch Alpha and preserve the peace. He can already think about a Swampert’s bellow and a ground-shaking thud placing an finish to any drama.

Whereas Nigel considered the Mudfish Pokemon, provided that a lot of the lab is in a tizzy over the battle that aired in Lavaridge in the present day, he is aware of Matt’s ideas are most likely centered on a sure golden fox.

‘For a person scared to dying of drama, you certain end up combined up in it so much, Lee.’

As if cued in by his ideas, Nigel’s laptop bings, and glancing up at it, he sees a brand new Logs Replace e-mail from Lee with a variety of attachments to it. .

“Anyway, thanks for sorting all the pieces out Matt,” Nigel smiles. “Please shut the door behind you.”

Smiling extensively again, the aide bows out and shuts the workplace door as he goes.

After ready for a second, Nigel opens the e-mail which is devoid of any textual content as regular , then clicks the primary attachment and leans again. ‘I am glad my predecessor had the workplace soundproofed, Nigel thinks to himself. ‘Lee’s been throwing a number of curveballs these days.’

“Log twenty, day ninety-three.” Lee’s voice begins from the primary recording. Within the background is the sound of distant dialog, and Lee’s voice reverberates as if he is standing in a cave.

“I notice these logs are most likely going to reach a bit later than regular contemplating that we’re presently traversing the Valley of Metal. At first, the 4 of us thought-about utilizing the desert which might have been about two-and-a-half weeks to Lavaridge assuming no issues, however after we got here to the crossroads between the desert and the valley, we determined the valley was the higher possibility for a number of causes. One, Zinnia is aware of how one can get via the valley in somewhat over every week, and two, Brendan and I wish to hunt for brand spanking new pokemon.”

“Brendan is doing effective contemplating that he has three lively battlers on his staff, however Vulpix and Grovyle are having to do the entire heavy lifting as a result of Corvi’s absence. I nonetheless have not formally launched him. I wish to give him extra time. He is too advanced a pokemon to only go away for no motive, and I get the sensation deep down that I am going to see him once more sooner or later in order that I can ask why.”

“Anyway, onto what I used to be initially speaking about. The Valley of Metal is dwelling to a variety of highly effective pokemon, a lot of whom would make wonderful staff members primarily based on Sort and what function they’d fill within the staff. I am nonetheless missing a cumbersome fighter, and I hope {that a} journey via the valley will repair that. I’ve up to date my ‘needed record’ as properly and I am going to connect it to the e-mail I ship with this recording.”

“Throughout our time right here, I’ve gone out and approached a variety of wild pokemon whereas attempting to be apparent with my intent to broaden my roster. I made certain to maintain a respectful distance away with both Vulpix or Grovyle at my aspect, together with an empty pokeball in my hand. To date, although There’ve been no takers. I did briefly take into account attempting to seize a monstrous Magnezone that tried to assault us, however thought higher of it after the accidents he inflicted on Brendan.”

Nigel sharply inhales and pauses the recording. “What?” He hisses to himself. The date on the recording is weeks in the past, and he was by no means knowledgeable of this? Neither Lee nor Brendan ever stated something about being injured! Taking a deep breath and preserving his instantly brief mood in examine, Nigel resumes the voice recording and crosses his arms.

“Brendan is ok, fortunately. He pulled fairly a number of muscle tissues in his legs and again lifting himself out of Magnezone’s Gravity assault to drag Zinnia to security, and he’ll be spending the rest of the journey being carried on poke-back. From what I can inform, he’ll make a full restoration. He stated he’ll be supplying you with a name in regards to the mess as soon as we’re in Lavaridge.”

The Professor exhales slowly, letting his mood ease. Brendan did certainly name dwelling as he often does a couple of times every week to recount their adventures, however evidently, his son overlooked some very crucial particulars. “What am I going to do with that boy”

“Throughout the entire fiasco, we did run into a well-recognized face. Do you recall the large Manectric in my earlier logs? Her egg hatched, and apparently, she felt it prudent to trace us down all the best way within the valley to present her son to me.” There is a brief pause within the recording. “I am sure Brendan provides you with a name about this, so I will not bore you with particulars. Like his mama, Electrike is sort of giant, and whereas I might love to lift him… I’ve already bought Shinx to take care of. Taking good care of two cubs, elevating a battling staff, touring, and performing impartial analysis suddenly is numerous work, so I’ve taken the freedom of giving Electrike to Brendan. I feel it’s going to be a superb take a look at for him, as I’ve not too long ago begun instructing Brendan the finer factors of zoology, diet, and… I suppose not animal psychology, however non-human psychology to assist in elevating his pokemon. Naturally, he is taken to it like a Goldeen to water, and a hardy child to lift would be the good alternative to use what he is studying in a sensible means. After all, I will be on standby in case something occurs, however I doubt that Brendan will want something greater than a finger pointed in the suitable course now and again.”

“As for my staff, issues are progressing as regular. Because of the volatility of the valley’s pokemon, we have not been capable of get way more than primary coaching in, as something greater than delicate noise and lights irritates the locals. I’ve to say, the Valley of Metal is an exceptionally hostile place, each in terrain and wildlife. By no means earlier than have I seen pokemon so aggressive and raring to battle. Greater than as soon as whereas out looking for a potential new staff member, we have needed to bow out and reduce our losses when a pokemon clearly too highly effective for any of us stepped ahead, spoiling for a combat.”

There’s one other brief pause within the audio. “Throughout these nights the place there’s little happening, most of our time has been spent meditating on the place we would like our future coaching to take us and how one can finest get there. Grovyle already has an excellent mastery of Leaf Blade and X-Scissor, and each strikes make the most of the leaves located on his wrists. He also can channel each strikes into the claws on his fingers if wanted, but it surely’s not terribly sensible until his leaves have been sheared or burnt off mid-battle. He is most acquainted molding Grass TE, and with a little bit of artistic software, may even alter the dimensions and form of his wrist-blades. He cannot do that with X-Scissor fairly but, however he is getting there. I thought-about having him try to channel his assaults via the lengthy leaf on his head, however discarded the concept later as Sceptile lacks that leaf, and Grovyle is so closely reliant on kinesthetic studying that he shortly builds habits and muscle reminiscence. I do not need him to get into the behavior of utilizing a function of his physique that he will not at all times have. With that in thoughts, our focus going ahead will most likely be on increasing his out there repertoire with new slicing assaults like Night time Slash.”

“Contemplating the Lavaridge fitness center makes use of Hearth pokemon, I am additionally fascinated with utilizing a TM to spherical out Grovyle’s arsenal. We nonetheless have not used the Rock Tomb, Bulk Up, or Shockwave TMs given to us from our fitness center battles, and Grovyle would profit drastically from a projectile like Rock Tomb to close down Ice, Flying, and Hearth Sorts. It’d additionally introduce him to Rock TE, opening additional doorways down the road.”

“Shinx continues to be rising like a weed, as I’ve stated in previous updates. Not a lot has modified together with her. Within the subsequent few weeks, I will be weaning her off of her bottle and introducing her to strong meals. Her introductory coaching is shifting together with minimal hiccups, although we have not been capable of do a lot together with her right here within the Valley as a result of how delicate the native Magnemite are to atmospheric electrical cost. She is getting squirmy and annoyed with being stifled, however she’s stored her performing out and mischief to a minimal.”

“Vulpix’s skills are undoubtedly starting to plateau on the bodily aspect. I do not know the place she stands compared to different examples of her species, however she’s been capable of reliably combat center and infrequently last evolutions on the lookout for bother out right here. Granted, she’s preventing most of those battles with a kind benefit, contemplating lots of the wild pokemon round listed here are Metal-type, however I’ve watched her stumble pokemon that should weigh a ton at minimal together with her Fast Assault.”

“On the non-physical aspect, we’re starting to hit roadblocks there as properly. Vulpix’ pyrokinetic skills proceed to enhance at a gentle fee, and though her firepower is excellent, we’re operating into points together with her focus and stamina. These two crucial elements are being outpaced by her energy, and though I might help out on each fronts through telepathy, the quantity of stamina and psychological computing energy {that a} human can contribute to a superpowered fox is a drop within the bucket. In our efforts to mitigate the main target challenge, we have been attempting to deconstruct strikes that include inbuilt ‘programming.’ As issues stand, Vulpix should manually direct each a part of an assault that’s functioning exterior of the traditional parameters of a longtime transfer. Redirecting Embers does not take a lot, however redirecting Embers and having them chase two completely different targets requires a noticeable enhance in focus. We have stored this to ourselves so far, however one thing as intensive as charging Convergence leaves Vulpix virtually paralyzed. The extra advanced the transfer turns into, the extra psychological assets it takes to make sure it really fires off and not using a hitch. We have to work out what’s lacking from these customized methods, and how one can combine that innate programming that different strikes appear to have. Or possibly we’re overthinking it? Is it simply repetition till it turns into muscle reminiscence? That is what we’ll be specializing in for some time.”

“Additionally… concerning the examine you talked about? The one concerning the telepathy between Vulpix and I? As soon as our group will get to a superb resting level in our journey, which I think about can be after this fitness center, I will be reaching out to you concerning your trusted contact. Over the previous few weeks, I have been digging deep into the extant theories about telepathy and the varied nuances in how a relationship develops between people who regularly make the most of telepathy. I can not say that my search has been significantly fruitful, as telepathy is a fully indispensable device in pokemon battles for those able to utilizing it, and I believe that a lot of the data that exists will not be being shared so as to preserve a tactical benefit over different trainers. A part of me understands it, and the opposite is annoyed that vital research like this are being stored non-public. Vulpix and I’ve been collectively mulling over our dynamic, significantly regarding the recommendation that Zinnia gave me in Slateport.”

“In accordance with Zinnia’s phrases, each those she stated aloud and those she did not, the coach must be the undisputed chief within the relationship between people and pokemon. Now, I feel that is coloured a bit by her specialty in Dragons, as I’ve observed that her staff has a really particular pecking order to it, however a part of me wonders how legitimate that’s in relation to the dynamic shared on my own and Vulpix. Vulpix herself is insistent that Zinnia does not know what she’s speaking about, and makes some legitimate factors, although I am fearful bias may be influencing her opinions. Regardless of that, Vulpix has actually stepped again and held my hand much less when making crucial choices. In case your contact can supply any perception, then we’ll be glad to take part on this examine.”

“That is all for this one. Lee, out.”

Nigel rubs his chin as he digests the person’s phrases. “Huh. Guess we’re shifting that examine again up” He hesitates. “I do not suppose I’ve ever actually thought-about that telepathy can be greater than talking brain-to-brain…”

He begins the following recording.

“Log twenty-one, day one-hundred-one” Lee’s voice comes via with a troubled sigh. “Please excuse any brevity, Nigel. I’ve bought so much on my thoughts.”

“We arrived within the city of Lavaridge yesterday after an all-night march. The day earlier than that, we occurred throughout an Octillery in a watering gap that I suspected was contaminated. Octillery was displaying a variety of signs per heavy metallic poisoning, and after sporting him down, I captured him and everybody agreed to shorten our remaining two day journey to Lavaridge with a hellish tempo so Octillery might obtain correct therapy. I am blissful to report that Octillery is within the care of the Pokemon Middle and is predicted to make a full restoration. As soon as he is lucid, I will be extending a suggestion for him to hitch my staff. Octillery is not a pokemon on my needed record, however I very a lot would love a Hearth kind counter readily available that is not Vulpix.”

Lee sighs as soon as extra, and within the background of the recording is the faint sound of furry paws sliding over denim.

“All day in the present day, and I believe for most likely some time longer, my research have taken a detour into the psychology behind evolution anxiousness and analysis into Ninetales.” Lee hesitates once more. “Yesterday, I had an impromptu assembly with Mura Moore, the Gymnasium Chief right here in Lavaridge. To make an extended story brief, he desires a customized Hearth method for his granddaughter’s pokemon in return for a grade one, purity one Hearth Stone.”

“I by no means even thought-about the potential of Vulpix evolving this early, not to mention with the perfect stone doable. I’ve solely finished some primary looking out to get an concept on evolution stones, their costs, and the way a lot the standard really impacts the ensuing pokemon. Hearth stones are a few of the most costly stones as a result of hazard related to their mining and the way they’re in big demand for Growlithe house owners. A gee-one, pee-one calls for… A whole bunch of hundreds of credit at a minimal. In truth, I feel the one stones dearer are Daybreak Stones, which solely type naturally through the nightless summers of the north pole, and solely on the very tops of particular mountains at that.”

“The advantages would clearly be simple as Vulpix is starting to hit limitations that we have been struggling to beat, however on the similar time, she’s anxious in regards to the concept. She… does not wish to outlive me. A lot of what I discovered in my preliminary analysis about Ninetales is generally mythological lore, because the sheer rarity of Ninetales, mixed with a seemingly species-wide introversion, makes getting concrete details a nightmare. The one widespread report is that the common Ninetales lives for a number of centuries. I do not know if the thousand-year lifespan is actual or not, however I would not be shocked whether it is. It is not solely me that Vulpix has to fret about outliving, both; she’s fearful about everybody else as properly. I do know for a proven fact that Vulpix has develop into a fixture in my life, and dropping her can be like dropping… all the pieces another time. I believe which may go each methods. In an effort to assist her take advantage of knowledgeable determination doable, I am diverting as a lot of my free time as I can to researching the Vulpix and Ninetales species.”

“Between that, we’ll be preserving to routine coaching and visiting Octillery as he recovers. I’ve no updates or breakthroughs to tell you of on that entrance presently.”

“That is all for this one. Lee, out.”

“Shinx is pawing at my leg and beginning to use her claws, so I higher reduce this brief. My child right here is unquestionably beginning to develop out of her toddler part, as I observed that she’s been increasingly more within the meals the remainder of the staff is consuming as time goes on. Her grasp on human speech is getting higher and higher by the day, and to my chagrin, her emergent persona is Ugh. She’s turning right into a troublemaker together with her finest buddies Electrike and Goomy. Oh, child lady Keep a cute kitten for some time longer, please?”

“Merow?”

“Ah…That is all for this one. Lee, out.”

With the final recording over and his aspirin lastly kicking in, Nigel grumbles and opens the primary doc on the e-mail: Lee’s notes on Ninetales.

After a quick second to load, the professor is proven seven scanned pages crammed to the brim with notes and anatomical sketches. Ninetales’ weight, peak, the measurements of all her limbstails includedand numerous different particulars are written in small, excited lettering. Lee will need to have burned via half a pen of ink in his haste to place each single thought in his head on these pages. He even went so far as to sketch the fox’s tough skeletal construction, noting that all the pieces was finished by hand and should not be thought-about correct… then he wrote down that every of Ninetales’ tails has precisely sixty vertebrae and that he counted the bones in every tail by contact alone.

There may be virtually nobody else on the face of the earth that would get away with touching each single certainly one of a Ninetales’ tails and stay. The Educational Board goes to have an absolute heyday with this.

Transferring on down, Nigel opens up the up to date ‘needed record’.

No specific order. Needed for battle/analysis/each

Vaporeon

Eevee

Sylveon?

Flygon

Audino/Chansey/Blissey

Persian

Kecleon

Kangaskhan

Ursaring

Mienshao

Latias/Latios – Wishful pondering

Ditto?

Hippowdon (Possibly)

Alolan Vulpix/Ninetales (Clear with Ninetales first)

Zorua/Zoroark

Miltank?

Chatot

Purrloin/Liepard

Braviary

Galvantula/Ariados

Some had been eliminated, some added, which was all fairly properly in step with what Nigel was anticipating. However on the similar time “Actually capturing for the celebs there, Lee,” Nigel clicks his tongue, specializing in the title ‘Zoroark’. “I do not suppose a Zoroark has been publicly seen in a long time. Discovering a Latios can be simpler.”

Nigel glances over at his desk telephone with a grimace. Reluctantly, he reaches over, picks up the receiver, and slowly dials a quantity he is aware of by coronary heart, however sorely needs he did not. Holding the telephone as much as his ear, it rings as soon as, twice then

“Yo! If it is not Nigel boy himself!” A chipper voice, one compelled to talk loudly via the din of what’s clearly a celebration within the background, addresses him by title. “You by no means name! What is the event? I am right here on the LaGoodra, somewhat place I had constructed only a stone’s throw away from the Battle Tower! Would you like in? I can organize for an air taxi to be in Littleroot in twenty minutes! Finest Salamence-sized hangover of your life!”

“Scott, can you chop the crap for 5 minutes?” The professor grumbles. “I’ve bought a examine I must be getting ready for, I can not goof off to hang around at a sports activities bar you constructed on a whim.”

“The LaGoodra is a classy institution that occurs to serve a superb drink to enthusiastic clientele. It is not a sports activities bar,” Scott scoffs.

‘Proper. Certain’

“Anyway, what can I do for the esteemed Regional Pokemon Professor?” Scott asks. “You by no means name me for something enjoyable,” he whines, “so what might or not it’s?”

Nigel grunts. “You recall that examine on telepathy that I used to be speaking about a number of weeks again? The one involving Lee Henson?”

“Certain do!” Nigel can undoubtedly hear Scott’s grin. “What a battle he had in the present day, eh? We performed it on the large display in right here, and I wager you might hear the cheers from the opposite aspect of the Battle Frontier!”

Ignoring Scott’s try to strike up an extended dialog, Nigel troopers on. “In mild of some new data I have been offered, I do not suppose the specialists you needed to mortgage me can be adequate anymore. Can I borrow Anabel?”