Storm Island: Chapter 2

An Important Decision

Andrea made her way down the street from her house to the old stone bridge that spanned the river separating the beachfront from the rest of the city. She stopped along the bridge and jumped up onto the barrier along the side of it, taking a seat and looking down the river that twisted towards the beach. She pulled Furret's Pokéball from her pocket and said, "Am I really ready for this? I'm not much of an explorer... I easily lose my way." Pondering, with thoughts racing through her head, she hopped back to the ground and continued her way towards the small building that separated the bustling city of Azure Ridge and Route 301.
She stepped into the small building. To both sides were tables with security guards behind them, sitting at computers and reading papers. A familiar red haired scientist was inside talking to one of the guards when she turned to see Andrea walking in.
"Ah, Andrea!" she called out. "It's me, Beverly!"
Andrea approached Beverly and waved.
"Dr. Spruce forgot to give you something before he sent you off." she replied. "So he interrupted my work... Thankfully!" She reached into her lab coat's pocket, pulled out a small blue device with a wrist strap and gave it to Andrea.
"What is it?" Andrea asked, looking at it.
"Dr. Spruce gives this to all of his employees. It's a touchscreen mobile research tool. It can be used to scan Pokéballs to tell you some information about the Pokémon inside. It also doubles as a watch and it even has a pedometer in there!"
Andrea strapped the device to her wrist, tapping the screen. "Cool, thanks!" She paused, then looked back at Beverly. "Employees? Was I hired without knowing it?"
"I doubt he'd do that to you. He'll likely ask to have it given back when you return." Beverly replied. "Anyways, try it out! Stick the Pokéball that the Doctor gave to you in front of it."
Andrea grabbed Furret's Pokéball and held it up to the device. A few beeps were heard before it chimed, "Furret!" The screen of the device displayed some information about Furret, including known special attacks, his favorite food and even his personality.
"I think the good Doctor mainly wanted you to have it so that you could get to know Furret a bit." Beverly replied. She led Andrea over to the northern exit of the building, looking out into Route 301. "As I'm sure he explained to you, you may run into a wild Pokémon out here. Your Pokémon will be able to act on his own, but performs best when under the command of a trainer. Knowing the names of his abilities is step one in that regard."
"I see." she said with a hint of confusion and a lack of confidence, studying the device. "I think..."
"It's pretty simple. You'll get the hang of it before you reach Blueleaf Village, most likely." She put her hand out to shake Andrea's hand. "I should get back to the lab. Good luck." With that, Beverly made her way back to the lab.
Andrea stepped out into Route 301, looking around. Tall, unkept grass filled the immediate area. A gate, presumably to Blueleaf Village, could be seen in the distant foothills, under the shadow of Storm Island's tallest mountain, Mount Hope. The sun was high in the sky, beaming down onto the area and continuing the savage heatwave that has been plaguing southern Storm Island for the past two weeks.
Andrea walked over to the tall, ragged grass, walking along the outside of it looking for a way through. She let out a frustrated grunt upon finding out that she would need to cross through the grass, taking Dr. Spruce's warnings in mind. She then took a deep breath to calm herself and stepped into the waist high grass. "Dad would kill me if I ever let the grass grow this high at home..." she joked to herself, looking from side to side scanning for movement in the grass.
Before she knew it, Andrea had reached the other side of the grass to the foot of a hill. She rubbed her forhead in relief as she made her way up the hill. A flock of Pidgey flew overhead, prompting Andrea to take out Furret's Pokéball. She held onto it so tightly her knuckles turned white. She was visibly afraid of what could happen out here. As she walked up the hill, a thick clear string shot out from the trees at her, barely missing. "What the?!" she yelled as she dived for the ground.
A large green spider came crawling out of the trees along the newly placed spider web line. It reached the middle of the line, then floated down to the ground along another line. A large pattern could be seen on the spider's back that looked like a very angry face.
"Oh crap!" Andrea yelled as she clicked the button on Furret's Pokéball, causing it to grow. In a panic, she rotated it around in her hands trying to remember how she unleashed Furret the last time. "Help me out, you!" she yelled in fear.
Furret suddenly popped out of the Pokéball in a bright white flash, down on all fours with a look of anger on his face. He tried to scare the spider away with a menacing growl without success.
The spider slowly closed in towards Andrea and Furret, arching its long black and yellow striped legs. The large horn on its head began to let off a purple glow as it jumped towards Furret. Furret dodge to the side, countering with a large smack to the head with his tail.
"Uh... uh..." Andrea said, trying to remember the list she saw on her wrist device earlier. "Furret, use your Headbutt attack!"
Furret hopped backwards and knelt down on all four of his stumpy legs. Growling, it charged at the spider with incredible speed, knocking it down the hill. It gave chase after the stunned spider as it tumbled down the hill, pouncing on top of it. The large spider lay motionless on the ground Furret jumped off of it and began to celebrate.
Andrea picked herself off of the ground and dusted herself off. "Good grief..." she said. She ran down the hill towards Furret as it poked the motionless spider. "What a rush!" she said as she knelt down next to Furret. She looked at the large spider then shivered. "Let's get moving before this thing wakes up... if it's even still alive..." She held out Furret's Pokéball. "Furret, come back."
Furret faded into a red ball of light and flowed into his Pokéball, which Andrea placed back into her pocket.
Andrea again continued on her trek through Route 301, trudging slowly as the heat sapped her energy. She reached into her purse, taking out the water bottle and quenching her thirst with nearly half of it. She removed her bandana and bunched her hair up into a pony tail, tying it in place with the bandana. She looked at the sun as it poured its blistering heat down into the hillside. She looked around nervously, attempting to anticipate her next run in with a wild Pokémon. "Jeeze, it's awful lonely around here... You'd think there'd at least be people walking by!" she muttered to herself.
Andrea found herself overheated and took cover under a tree. She grabbed her water bottle again, drinking the rest of it. She took the empty bottle and began to fan herself as she looked at her watch. "14:32?!" she gasped. "I... I can't be that slow, can I?"
Suddenly, a noise could be heard in the tree above her. Flapping wings joined in with the strange noise. Two Pidgey were in the tree fighting over a large yellow berry. Andrea, quickly getting up to avoid the feathery brawl, startled the two tiny birds who turned their attention to her. As if uniting against a common enemy, the two birds dived out of the tree, homing in on Andrea.
"Not again!" she yelled as she bolted off in a random direction. Not watching where she was going, she swatted away at the two Pidgey to try to scare them off. Sensing that swinging wildly at them alone would not scare the attacking Pidgey away, she reached into her pocket and pulled out Furret's Pokéball once more. She tossed the Pokéball up into the air and dived for cover into some bushes.
Furret popped out of the ball, looking around for Andrea. He saw the two Pidgey hovering around a bush, chirping loudly and excitedly. With a sense of duty, he charged towards the bush then skidded to a stop to assess the situation. He hopped up into the air towards the two birds, swinging his tail at one and knocking it out of the air. The other Pidgey quickly flew away rather than staying to fight. Furret approached the remaining Pidgey which was standing its ground on the dirt pathway. As Furret charged to tackle it, the Pidgey kicked up some dirt, creating a large cloud of dust and obscuring Furret's vision. It then took off and flew a circle around Furret, crashing into the back of his head.
"Uh oh..." Andrea said as she peaked through the bushes. "You can do it, Furret!" she called out to boost his confidence.
Alas, it appeared as if Furret was not winning the fight. The cloud of dust lingered as Furret was struck again and again by the rampaging Pidgey. Eventually the dust cloud settled allowing Furret to see again. With a quick jump into the air and a flick of the tail, Furret knocked the Pidgey down once again. Not wanting a fight that it couldn't win, the Pidgey flew off into the horizon.
Andrea emerged from the shrubs. "These trainers are insane if they deal with this all day..." she said, dusting herself off once again. She knelt down next to Furret. "I may just have to keep you out of this ball. You can be my body guard!"
Furret looked at Andrea and let out a chirp with limited enthusiasm. He put his paw on his head and rubbed at a small cut hidden beneath his fluffy fur.
"Uh oh... Are you okay?" Andrea asked, inspecting the wound. She recalled the spray bottles that Dr. Spruce gave her and rummaged through her purse in pursuit of one. She shook it and looked at it. "Alright, how do I use this thing..." She aimed the bottle and pulled the trigger, spraying a silver mist onto Furret's wound. "It'll be alright, little guy." she said, comforting him. She smiled as Furret nuzzled up against her in appreciation. "Well, let's get moving, aye?" She looked around and realized that she had backtracked quite a bit when trying to escape from the attacking Pidgey. "Oooh..." she groaned.

---

"Okay, I'll be leaving now!" A young boy in his early teens said, speaking to his mother. He stepped outside of his ranch style home, adjusting his black and red baseball cap to shade his eyes from the sun which was now setting in the western sky behind Mount Hope. He readjusted the yellow backpack that hung off his right shoulder and placed his hands in his shorts pockets and walked through the dirt paths of Blueleaf Village. He stopped along the road to inspect one of the Blueleaf trees, grabbing a small red berry from one of the flowers blooming off of it. He popped it into his mouth and continued south reaching the rickety wooden archway that marked the village limits. Fraught with boredom, he pulled a Great Ball out of his pocket and began to toss it up and down.
The young boy walked down the slopes of Route 301, whistling a tune. He peered into the distance and saw a girl walking up the pathway. "A trainer?" he asked to himself. "I could go for a battle!" He hurried down the path towards the girl, skidding to a stop before her. "Excuse me, miss!"
"Yeah?" the girl, Andrea, replied.
"I was wondering, are you a Pokémon Trainer?!" he asked with enthusiasm.
"Umm... Not really, no." she said. She pulled out Furret's Pokéball, saying, "I'm just delivering this to Professor Ansen."
"You have a Pokémon though! Now we have to battle, those are the rules!" the boy said energetically.
Andrea looked at the young boy, bewildered. "Rules? What rules? Who's rules?"
"They're just the rules. I dunno who wrote them!" he replied.
"Look, kid, I really can't--"
"You can't ignore the rules!" he interrupted. "Are you a coward, afraid you'll be beaten by me?" He tipped his hat back, revealing his bright blue eyes. "I don't blame you, though... I'm the greatest trainer on Storm Island!"
Andrea looked to the sides in confusion. "You?"
"That's right!" He jumped up and spun in the air, turning his hat backwards. "Randy Fletcher's the name, being the best is my game!" As if suddenly turning serious again, he turned his hat back around. "Now, are you going to battle, chicken!?"
Andrea looked at Randy as he strutted around her doing a chicken dance. In a moment of anger, she grabbed Randy's shirt by the collar and pulled him closer. "If it will shut you up!" she yelled, pushing him back.
"Jeeze lady..." he said quietly and innocently, rubbing his neck.
"Alright, Furret... Let's humour this punk." she said, grabbing Furret's Pokéball and calling him out. Furret appeared in a bright flash of light, ready to battle.
Randy studied Furret, then grabbed a Great Ball from his pocket. "You'll see why I'm the greatest!" he said. He took a few steps back and turn his hat backwards once again. "Gastly! Show this girl what you can do!" he called out, tossing the Great Ball into the makeshift arena.
Gastly appeared from the Great Ball with a burst of eerie wind. A dark purple cloud emanated from it as the ghost floated into the sky.
"What the hell is that thing..." Andrea said to herself. She held up her wrist device trying to identify it, but it didn't seem to do anything. "Uh... Alright, Furret! Use your Headbutt attack!"
Furret nodded and charged towards the Gastly. It lept up towards ghost, who faded from existence, reappearing off to the side. Furret attempted to compensate for missing, but crashed into the ground. Undaunted, he got back up and attempted another Headbutt, once more failing to make contact.
Randy laughed obnoxiously as he watched the scene. "This is rich!" he said. He turned to Andrea. "Let me give you a pointer, miss! Gastly is a ghost. Your Furret has no hope of touching him, because you can't touch what's not there..."
"No way..." she said, unsure of the situation. "Alright, Furret! Back off and keep your guard up!"
Furret nodded and put some distance between himself and Gastly. It growled in an attempt to intimidate the ghost, but Gastly just responded with a blood chilling laugh.
"Is this all you've got, miss? No other Pokémon?" Randy asked.
Andrea shook her head. "Nope..."
Randy turned to Gastly. "Let's finish this, Gastly! Use Shadow Ball!"
Gastly summoned a ball of shadowy purple energy. With a ghostly shriek it flung the ball of energy at Furret, who was cowering in fear. However, the ball of energy dissipated into nothingness when it touched Furret.
"No way!" Andrea said in disbelief. "Furret, continue keeping your guard up!"
"Oh! My mistake." Randy said with a cheerful look on his face and his finger in the air. "Gastly, now let's finish it off. Dark Pulse, now!"
Gastly cackled as it summoned an orb of black fire, then tossed it at Furret. Furret attempted to dodge the ball of black but was too slow, being blasted back into a tree. He attempted to get back up but stumbled back to the ground, defeated.
"Another victory!" Randy chimed. He waved for his Gastly to come over to him. "Me and Gastly are undefeatable because we have a true bond!"
"Yeah, isn't that great..." Andrea said, looking at Furret.
"Alright, Gastly!" Randy started. "Let's blow this popsicle stand!" He snapped his fingers.
Gastly turned its attention to Andrea, staring deep into her. Suddenly, Andrea's vision faded to black, and only herself, Furret, Gastly and Randy were visible. Gastly faded from view. What appeared to be the large Spinarak from earlier in the day emerged from the black abyss in front of her, only much larger. It towered over her as it rose to strike at her.
Andrea closed her eyes in fear as the spider's horn flew towards her. After a pause, she opened her eyes wondering why she hadn't been attacked yet. Her vision had been restored and Randy was nowhere to be found. She looked around and saw Furret laying on the ground under a tree. "Oh no..." she muttered as she ran over to him.
Furret looked up at Andrea and let out a groan. I picked itself off of the ground then chirped with joy.
"You... You took a dive?" she asked in astonishment. "Oooh, whatever." she said, looking at her watch. "We need to hurry to Professor Ansen's lab!" Andrea led Furret into Blueleaf Village and looked around. She saw a large single story building with two windmills towering above it on the other side of a pond. "That must be it, follow me!" She ran through the dusty dirt paths of the town with Furret in tow towards the large laboratory. She noticed that the lights were off. "Oh no... no, no!" she said as she pounded on the door. "Come on..."
She looked up into the sky to see the moon rising to the south. The sky was darkening. The ambient sounds of chirping birds and other wildlife faded and only cricket sounds could be heard. "Come on, Furret. Follow me." she said, guiding Furret back into the center of town. She approached a house and knocked on the door.
A large man with a grizzle beard answered the door. He put his hands under his suspenders that covered his plaid shirt. "Can I help ya?" he said with a grim, rural drawl.
"Um, I'm from the city and I ne--" she said, being interrupted by the door closing in her face. "No, I guess y'all can't help me, ya hick." she said, trying to mockingly imitate the man's voice. She moved onto the next house, knocked on the door and met similar treatment. She continued trying house to house, but gave up after being rejected for a fourth time. "Well now what am I going to do? Sleep outside like a bum?"
Furret rubbed up against her leg and nodded.
"Aww..." she said, scratching behind Furret's ear. "You're a cutie, you know that?" Leading Furret back to the lab, she searched for a place to lay down. She eventually decided to sit and lean against the building. "Just like camping, I guess..." she said. She reached into her pocket, grabbed her phone and dialed her parents' number. The phone rang three times before being answered.
"H-yello? You've reached the Dennison residence!" a voice replied.
"Hi dad..."
"Andrea! Where are you, the sun just set over the ocean a few minutes ago!" he asked energetically.
"I got into town a little later than I expected... I was attacked by this giant green spider, and these two birds, the some kid came up and..." she paused. "Well, it's nothing interesting."
"Sounds interesting! You okay?"
"Yeah... I'm fine. I guess I'll have to camp out here in Blueleaf." she said, yawning. "Walking here wore me out..."
"Good! Err, good that you'll be camping out. It's good to get away from it all sometimes."
"Mhmm. My mind's been taken off of what happened earlier today, at least." Furret jumped on top of her. "Oof! Easy there, you."
"It sounds like you've got someone who plans to use you as a pillow!" he said. "Well, I'll tell Meredith that you won't be coming home tonight. I can't say she'll be happy, but I'll try to keep her from flipping into anger mode. That sound alright?"
"Yep. Good night."
"See you tomorrow!"
Andrea clicked the 'end call' button and closed her phone. "So, Furret, do you wanna sleep out here under the stars, or in your little ball?"
Furret yipped and licked Andrea's cheek.
"Uh... I'll guess you want to stay out here then." She took her purse and shoved it against the wall, laying her head on it. Furret readjusted himself next to her and started to snore lightly. She smiled, then fell asleep.

---

"My child..." a voice whispered. "My child, wake up!" the voice whispered again.
Andrea opened her eyes. A faint and ghostly outline that she could not identify hovered in front of her. She realized that she was still dreaming, as she was in a field of flowers at the top of a mountain peak.
The figure moved through the field of flowers towards a circle of stones at the end of the field. Inside the circle of stones was a pristine well of water that twinkled in the starlight. "An important decision... Choose wisely..."
Andrea stood up in the field of flowers. "Important? What?" she muttered, her vision blurry.
The figure submerged into the water, fading from view. "The time will come..."
Andrea opened her eyes again. She was on the ground in front of the laboratory. She looked around and saw Furret curled up against her, asleep. She put her head back down on her purse and thought, before quickly falling back asleep.

---

It was bright and early in the morning when a cheerful woman with blonde hair walked down the road whistling a tune. She had her hands in her pockets, carrying a white totebag with blue trim over her shoulder. Her bright pink toenails gleamed in the sun through her ruby red flip flops. Her shirt had a quote on it that read, "Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing."
She approached the laboratory, grabbing a key ring from her pocket. Jamming one of the keys into the keyhole of the door, she twisted it when a noise caught her attention. "Hunh?" she said, walking to the side of the building. At her feet, Andrea was stirring in her sleep with Furret by her side. "A girl? And a Furret?" She reached into her pocket and grabbed a small device and placed it next to Furret, moving it left and right as it scanned. "Yep, this is the one..." she said. She tapped on Andrea's shoulder to wake her up. "Excuse me, miss?"
Andrea opened her eyes to see Professor Ansen standing there. She raised her head and looked around, then at her watch. "Yeah?" she finally responded.
"Greetings, I'm Professor Ansen. What's your name?" she introduced herself.
"Andrea Dennison." she said, stretching.
"Ah, Spruce's errand girl..." She turned her attention to Furret. "And this is the Furret you're delivering, yes?"
Andrea nodded, patting him on the head. "Yeah. This is the one." she said, sleepily.
She studied Andrea as she patted the Furret and smiled. "It's good to see that." she said. "I can see a bond between you already, even if it's small." She stood up, motioning towards the door of the laboratory. "Dr. Spruce said that you were very reluctant to do this, but it looks like you had fun on your way here."
"Fun?" Andrea said, recalling her run in with the Spinarak and the two Pidgey. "Perhaps." She then recalled her battle with Randy. "I can say though that I was wrong about these creatures all these years..." She tapped on Furret to wake him up. "Come on, Furret. It's time to head inside." She raised Furret's Pokéball and called him into it, then followed Professor Ansen into the lab.
Inside, the laboratory was very much the same as Dr. Spruce's lab. The same machines lined the walls, the same mechanical hum. Tables with papers and Pokéballs lined the room in neat rows. The only difference was that it was dead in the room. No scientists had arrived for a day of work.
Professor Ansen walked over to a window and opened it, letting in a crisp breeze. "Welcome to my humble laboratory, where science, research and human intuition meet." she said as she picked a lab coat off of a rack and put it on. "If you'd step into my office, please..."
Andrea followed Professor Ansen into a small room similar to Dr. Spruce's office, then placed Furret's Pokéball on a desk. "Well, here he is..." Andrea said.
Professor Ansen swiped the Pokéball from the desk. "Thank you, I'll take that off your hands..." She noticed Andrea had a look of sadness in her eyes and chuckled. She then scanned the Pokéball with the same device as earlier. "Oh?" she said as the device beeped. "Now this is interesting!"
"What is it?" Andrea asked.
"Over the past year or so, me and my colleagues have made extensive progress on Pokémon genetics. There's some stuff we still don't have a clue about." She placed the Pokéball on the desk. "There's an anomaly in this Furret's genetic make up."
"An anomaly? Is that bad?" Andrea asked.
"To be honest, I'm not sure." She took a seat at the desk and rummaged through some papers. "I believe a good friend of mine, Professor Oak, may have given me some information about it... somewhere..." she said, continuing to go through the papers. "Well, I can't find it, this place is such a mess... But if I remember, there are no obvious negative effects known yet. There's only been three documented cases of this anomaly so far."
"Hmm, interesting." Andrea replied, somewhat uninterested.
"You don't sound too enthusiastic." she said. "Well, interest comes with time, I suppose. And on that note!" she said, standing up energetically. "I have a question for you! Dr. Spruce called me yesterday as you made your way here and he said that you'd recently been let off from your old job."
"Mhmm..." Andrea replied quietly.
"He also told me that you've got a few emotional issues to work on, but I don't see that in you. However, I do see potential!" She picked up Furret's Pokéball and placed it in Andrea's hands. "How would you like to help me with some research?"
"Research?" Andrea said, looking at Furret's Pokéball, then back at Professor Ansen.
"Yeah. I've got a small time staff of scientists and workers here and can't spare any for the most interesting parts of science, working out in the field and being on the forefront of discovery!"
"I don't know..." she said, unsure.
"Well, think of this. Furret's already started to enjoy your company, and he'll continue to have your company if you're one of my researchers. He'd be awfully sad without you around..."
"But wouldn't you want to keep him here to study his... 'anolamy'?" Andrea replied, stumbling on the scientific word.
"You are as impossible as Dr. Spruce said..." she said quietly. "It's not every day an opportunity like this falls into someone's hands! You never know, it could be a very important decision..."
Andrea thought on those words, recalling her dream from the night before. "Important decision..?" she started. "Hey, sure. Why not, it's not like I have a future otherwise... no friends, no job, no..." she stopped herself from rambling on and on.
"You've got a friend, that Furret. As well as me! Aaaaand now you've got a job as well!"
"Heh... I guess you're right."
"I hope your parents will be okay with it, but you're old enough to start making your own decisions. If they don't, 'oh well' I guess is all I can say. You've gotta get out into the world eventually, ya know?" She said, walking over to a file cabinet. She opened it and pulled out a journal, a compact electronic device as well as a few empty Pokéballs, then brought them over to her desk and placed them on it. "I see you've already got one of those things on your wrist."
Andrea raised her hand and looked at the device strapped around her wrist. "Yes, one of Dr. Spruce's assistants gave it to me."
"That's called a Researcher Kit, or an R-Kit for short. It borrows the technology and ideas behind the Pokétch that's all the rage over in the Sinnoh region, but it also improves it. You can link it up wirelessly with a Pokédex, Pokéballs, even the PC system that Poké Centers use. The best part about it is that it has a fully featured touch screen interface in bright, vibrant colors."
"Neat-o." Andrea responded, looking at her R-Kit.
Professor Ansen picked up the compact device and flipped it open. "This is a Pokédex. A lot of progress has been made in the designs of these, too. Seven years ago, they were plastic hunks of worthless crap. Nowadays, they're sophisticated pieces of technology that hold all kinds of information." She pointed to several buttons on the touch activated screen. "You've got info about Pokémon, info about berries, contest theories, trainer tips, all of that." She handed the Pokédex to Andrea. "It's even got a camera on it, so if you come across anything very bizarre or confusing, don't be afraid to send me some neat pictures!"
Andrea grabbed the Pokédex, opening it and studying it. She then stuffed it in her shirt pocket and said, "Thanks."
"I also include a journal for my researchers to use. You could probably keep all of that information down in the 'personal' section of the Pokédex, but I find it much more convenient and quicker to just write it by hand. It's also got my number written on the inside cover." she said, passing the journal along to Andrea. She picked each of the small, empty Pokéballs up and offered them to Andrea. "Here, have these as well. If you find anything I might be interested in studying closer, feel free to catch it and send it to me... Or you can catch some of your own, I guess. It doesn't matter to me that much."
Andrea reached out and Professor Ansen dropped six Pokéballs into her hand. "Thank you, ma'am."
"Don't mention it." she said. "I have a feeling you'll make a fine researcher. You could even surpass me in knowledge some day, kid..."
"I doubt it." Andrea coldly replied.
"You're impossible..." the professor muttered. "Anyways! My first task for you will be delivering some notes of mine to my friend, Reginald Kerk. He's a bit of an... eccentric fellow who doesn't seem to value technology too much. Nevertheless he's quite a bright bulb in the world of science and research."
"Reginald Kerk? Where have I heard that name before?" Andrea asked.
"Remember the news a few months back, that guy who had supposedly awoken the legendary Kyogre off the shores of Crystal Bay? That's him. Ever since that day, he's been studying the ocean and all about it in search of new kinds of Pokémon, he even set up a small shack out there." She said, handing some papers to Andrea.
"Ok, and... Where's Crystal Bay again? I'm terrible with directions." Andrea said quietly.
"Your R-Kit should have a map function on it. That is if Dr. Spruce has cared to keep it up to date. I'd be surprised if he did..."
Andrea looked at her R-Kit. She noticed a button on the side and pressed it. A mechanical buzz could be heard as the R-Kit rumbled and split into two screens. It chimed, signaling it was bringing up the map, graphically displaying Andrea's head as it floated over Blueleaf Village. "Wow, this thing is impressive! It even knows what I look like..." She pressed another button and studied the map as it began to trace a route of travel between her current location and Crystal Bay.
"Yeah, they're pretty neat bits of gadgetry." She said, sitting back down. She leaned back in the chair, placing her hands behind her golden blonde hair and looked around in thought. "I guess that's it, for now. I can't think of anything else you'd need."
Andrea saluted. "I won't let you down, Professor."
"It's supposed to be another scorcher out there today... If you need, feel free to grab a bottle of lemonade out of the ice box just outside my office here." she replied. "And, please be wary of my Cyndaquil, she likes to hop in their from time to time and cool off."
Andrea nodded in thanks and took her exit. "Cyndaquil?" she muttered to herself as she made her way to the ice box. She opened it to see a small echidna like creature, curled up and asleep next to a bowl of cherries. She let it be as she reached for a bottle of lemonade that was sitting in a tray of ice. Smiling at the sleeping Cyndaquil, Andrea closed the door and made her way outside. She pulled her phone out and dialed her parents' number, then started walking south along the path. The phone rang twice before being answered.
"Hello? Meredith speaking." a voice responded.
"Hi, mom!" she replied.
"Andrea! I've been so worried!" Meredith replied. "When Marvin said you weren't coming home last night I was worried something happened."
"No, I'm fine..." she said. "If I'm not so slow this time I should be home in about two hours."
"Wonderful, dear!" she said happily. "How was your little trip?"
"It's been good so far. It got a little scary at parts, but very relaxing. And exciting!"
"Exciting? How so?"
"Well, I've got a job working with Professor Ansen of Blueleaf Village, for starters..."
The other end of the phone was silent. After a pause, Meredith continued, "A... a job? In Blueleaf?"
"Yeah..." Andrea said. "I hope you don't get too upset, but I'll be travelling a bit."
Another pause permeated the atmosphere. "Travelling? I don't know about that."
"I had a feeling you'd disagree, mom. But I've already made my commitments."
Meredith sighed. "Maybe Marv was right... After you left yesterday, he told me that I've been keeping you at home too much, even unfairly."
"Truth be told, I do want to get out a bit. Maybe follow in Larson's footsteps."
"That boy Larson... I always knew he was a bad influence!" she joked. "We'll discuss it further when you get home, alright? I have to run, I've got a thing to finish up before you return."
"Alright, I'll be back soon. Bye!" She closed her phone and placed it in her pocket, then started to inspect the R-Kit. She pressed several buttons to familiarize herself with the features. Satisfied for now, she reached into her pocket and pulled out Furret's Pokéball, then tossed it up into the air. It exploded in a flash of white light, unleashing Furret. "So that's how these things work... How would you like to escort me home, little guy?"
Furret followed Andrea back through the south gate of town into the rolling foothills of Route 301. He chirped at her cheerfully.
"What's that? I'm afraid I don't understand..." Andrea said, scratching him behind his left ear. She opened her shirt pocket and pulled out the Pokédex, then scanned Furret with it.
"Furret, the Long Body Pokémon!" the Pokédex said in a vaguely mechanical voice. "Furret is a very slim Pokémon, making use of this trait to squirm through tight areas to escape danger."
Andrea continued to read the data on the screen as she walked along the path with Furret in tow. "That's not right..." she said, studying Furret. "You're too short!"
"Height and weight data for all Pokémon within this index are averages. Furret is known for a wide range of heights. This specific Furret is 4'10'' tall." the Pokédex said.
"Oh, uh... Thanks." Andrea said, surprised.
"You're welcome, ma'am."
"Okaaaaay..." Andrea started. "That's enough out of you." she said, placing it back into her shirt pocket. "So Furret, let's get going. You'll get to meet my good friend, Larson!" She smiled, continuing down the path.