Part 1 How It Happened “But Spenser,” Professor Mangrove leaned forward to inspect the young trainer on the computer screen, “You’ve been working so hard for six years, why would you give up now?” Spenser laughed weakly, the speaker system crackling. A glance at the corner of the screen told Professor Mangrove that the teen was in Citrin City, where the mountain range made it hard for signals to get through. “Well, see sir, that’s just it,” Spenser began after a moment, “It’s been six years, and I’ve failed in the league every time. I haven’t even made it to the Elite Four yet. Something tells me that… well; I’m just not cut out for this.” Professor Mangrove ran a hand over his face. “…What about your Pokemon?” “Well, some of my team are staying with me, of course… I faxed you a list of all my Pokemon at your lab that my friends wanted. I was hoping you’d just switch their ownership from me to the ones on the list.” Professor Mangrove turned in his swivel chair, spotting the lone sheet of paper sitting in the fax tray. Sliding his reading glasses on, he picked up the sheet and read it. “Well, that’s most of them,” he said slowly, leaning back in his chair, “There’s still your Bulbasaur and Squirtle.” Spenser ran his fingers through his mousy hair, sighing. “Yeah, nobody really wanted them—too difficult to train now, since all my friends don’t have time outside of the team they’ve already arranged for the league. To be honest, I think they’re better off trying to get experience with somebody rather than just staying with me.” Mangrove frowned, edges of his lips wrinkling as he did. “Well, I certainly can’t keep them,” he muttered, “They won’t serve me any research purposes, and I don’t have the time myself to take care of them as pets,” he paused, then rapped a hand on his desk, “Unless…” Spenser leaned closer to the computer screen to hear him. “Well?” Mangrove shrugged. “If you really don’t want to keep them, I know a few kids that are of age in Peridot Village and might be in want of starter Pokemon. I might have a few more basic Pokemon here in the research building that we don’t need anymore, so I can get two Pidgeys with one Pokeball.” Spenser raised his eyebrows and considered this. After a hesitant moment, he nodded. “Alright… but if they’re going to beginner trainers, just make sure to check in on them once in a while, okay?” Mangrove nodded in affirmation. He slid the list of Pokemon onto the table, pulling his reading glasses off. “Well,” he began, trying to keep the note of disappointment out of his voice, “since you’re, ah, retiring from training, what do you plan on doing now?” Spenser laughed, shaking his head at the word “retiring”. “Well,” he began, still chuckling, “Officer Jenny here in Citrin City offered me a job as her… well, student, I guess. I’ve gotten pretty interested in using Pokemon in law enforcement lately—that’s also why I didn’t really need to keep all my Pokemon.” The balding professor whistled approvingly, and the two chatted for another fifteen minutes or so before they finally disconnected. Mangrove rubbed his salt-and- pepper beard thoughtfully, frowning. He hated having to take time from his own research to do things for other people, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped in this case. He stood from his desk and left the room, returning a few minutes later with several pokeballs. Mangrove reopened the connection on his computer and typed in the number to his lab in Peridot Village. After what seemed like forever, his assistant, Acacia Scrub, picked up the phone. She looked completely disheveled, violet hair all in a mess and large glasses askew on her face. Her lab jacket was covered with dirt. “What on earth is going on over there?” Mangrove demanded, raising his eyebrows as a Dugtrio popped up, the screen shaking wildly from the tremor of the floor beneath it. “Marcus exchanged his Dugtrio for his Sandslash,” Acacia gasped, pushing against the Dugtrio to keep it from rampaging over her, “And I think I understand why— DUGTRIO! GO OUTSIDE!” The Dugtrio let out its nasal cry of “Trio!” then vanished, burrowing under the ground and out of the lab. Acacia stared down at what Mangrove could only assume was a huge hole in his laboratory floor. The young woman looked back up with a trembling grin. “I’ll, uh… get that fixed before you get back, professor,” she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. She put her glasses on straight as she leaned in to look into the screen. “So, how’s it going in Diamond City?” “Eventful,” Mangrove responded dryly, turning to put the list into the fax machine, “I need you to allot Spenser’s Pokemon out to the people on this list I’m sending you. And can you tell me how many kids are of age in the village that would want a starter pokemon?” Acacia paused, then turned, letting her fax machine print the list. She picked it up, frowning. “Well…I can think of about five right now, depending on whether or not Nina is old enough. Damien was supposed to leave last year, but he broke his leg and had to wait. So that’s six.” Mangrove counted the pokeballs and pulled a few out, slipping them into his pocket. He put them into the transporter connected to the computer. “Put these up for starter Pokemon,” he said, crossing his arms and leaning back. He saw the flash of the transporter on Acacia’s side in the corner of the screen, indicating the arrival of the pokeballs, “They’re what’s left of Spenser’s pokemon and a few more around here that we don’t use.” Acacia took the pokeballs, examining them. “Alright, professor. I’ll send the word out and have them come by. So, how’s research going?” Mangrove shrugged again. “Slowly. We’re still going over the software in Porygon-Z. Nothing indicates a glitch, but it’s still acting… psychotic.” The thought of the overly cheerful cyber pokemon zipping around a room full of computers made Mangrove cringe. Acacia laughed. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon, Professor Mangrove. You shouldn’t worry too much--!” The computer screen suddenly shook—hard. Acacia yelped loudly as Dugtrio reappeared from the bottom of the screen, its three bodies moving up and down as it tried to bulldoze her into the ground. “Have fun, Miss Scrub!” Mangrove called, reaching over and disconnecting his computer with a chuckle. The last thing on the screen was Acacia shrieking for the Dugtrio to get out of the lab, pointing rapidly towards the hole in the floor. Mangrove leaned back with a smirk, shaking his head before he heard a crash in the other room, a cybernetic voice giggling madly. He closed his eyes, sighing. “Porygon-Z!”