Pokémon: Leah's Journey {Rewrite}

Chapter 4: A Bonjour from The Professor

Leah, Zayn and Mildred returned to Lumiose City so they could get to the next town, but something was rather off. Lumiose City was known for being a city that is illuminated at a near constant at night. Its lights were the city's trademark in a way and it was odd that the town has plummet in such darkness. They had to use their phone's flashlight to find their way through the darkened city to get to their apartment. The moment Mildred unlocked the door, their Pokemon raced inside without an ounce of hesitation. They have been away for about two weeks and their Pokemon are already showing signs of being happy to be in this apartment despite how temporary it is. Zayn and Leah made their way to their shared room, Mrs. Cuddletails and Níðhöggr followed their trainers closely, while Mildred bid the couple a good night and made her way towards her own room.

When morning came, they had come to the realization that the power went out. None of their electronics were functional lest they used a generator, but what was the point of that if they weren't intending to stay for long? The power outage explained why the city was plunged in such darkness last night and Leah wasn't sure if she was reassured that the darkness was due to a power outage or be worried due to said power outage. She went downstairs to an isolated room in the lobby to check their mailbox just in case they've received letters from their family or other people. She used her key to open up the mailbox and found a few letters, most were from their families, but one stood out, it was from the professor.

Leah returned upstairs to the apartment and placed the letters on the counter for her friends to go through. She grabbed the letters directed to her and started reading. None were from her parents, they could just text her to get news from her. She almost regretted opening up those letters, most of what her grandpa had to say to her was criticism about the fact that she doesn't have a Growlithe and how she's a disgrace to her family for it. Leah simply ripped the letter apart, normally she'd put it through the paper shredder like all of her other letters from her grandpa, but there's a blackout so she can't exactly do that.

"Gramps is still bitter about Mrs. Cuddletails?" Zayn asked.

Leah sighed as she placed the paper in the recycling bin, "You know it. I honestly don't care anymore, he's been like this since I was a child." She picked up the professor's letter, "Putting my tragic backstory aside, Professor Sycamore sent us a letter."

Mildred appeared in the doorway, her curiosity was in full bloom this morning. It seemed, "Professor Sycamore sent us a letter?"

"Yeah, he wants us to meet him at his lab."

"What's the occasion?" Zayn piped in.

"He wants to give us Pokedexes and he wants to have a battle with us." Leah explained, "Normally he'd give us a starter Pokemon, but he states in the letter that he won't do that since we already started the journey and it's a bit counter productive to give a starter Pokemon to trainers who already have a Pokemon."

Mildred nodded, she wasn't a big fan of battles, but she could hold her own pretty well. She had given Leah a run for her money a few times before. It was more Zayn and Leah that were looking forward to battling Professor Sycamore. The couple got dressed rather quickly and wolfed down their breakfast while Mildred only watched in horror while eating her breakfast with some level of dignity. Leah doesn't eat a lot to begin with and would rather stuff her face in sweets and Zayn actually eats a balanced breakfast. Mildred has seen Leah eat brioches, chocolatines, toasts, and dry cereal; these all were consumed with a glass of milk. Needless to say, Leah was odd and her limited diet often sparked worry within Zayn and Mildred. Mildred turned to look at the Pokemon, Leah's duo of Pokemon had already emptied their bowls while Lady Lemeow and Níðhöggr were at least somewhat dignified.

It didn't exactly take long for them to be completely out of the apartment and wandering the streets of Lumiose City to get to the Pokemon research lab. They found their way to the lab due to the simple fact that the entrance of the lab had two statues of Pokeballs. The place was the biggest building in the city just in terms of length. It was not that hard to miss. They walked inside the building to find it... vacant. They could hear the Pokemon further in the lab so Sycamore must not be very far. He was probably tending to the Pokemon in his lab before greeting them because when he came to greet Leah and her friends, his lab coat was covered in soot. Leah laughed, "The fire types aren't giving you too much trouble aren't they, Professor?"

"The newly hatched Littens seemed to have quite the opinion on my general physique it seems." Professor Sycamore quipped, "Now before I transfer Rotom into your phones, shall we have a battle?"

"You want all three of us to battle you at once, Professor?" Mildred asked, her voice was laced with confusion.

"Of course, see this as a triple battle and as long as we don't make a mess of the lobby, I believe it is safe to battle indoors."

Leah sent out Actias Luna, Mildred sent out Lady Lemeow and Zayn sent out Níðhöggr. Professor Sycamore sent out Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur. They're very much in trouble, that Charmander will decimate both Venipede and Scatterbug, but if Leah managed to win a battle against Viola with just a Vulpix and a Scatterbug, she should be able to hold her own against the professor. With her strategy in mind, Leah smiled, "Alright Actias Luna use Bug Bite on Bulbasaur!"

"Lady Lemeow use Assist on Squirtle!"

"Níðhöggr use Venoshock on Charmander!"

The three Pokémon did not hesitate, Actias Luna lunged for Bulbasaur, biting it in the process, Lady Lemeow's Assist allowed her to use Razor Leaf. The feline summoned a bunch of leaves that were as sharp as razors and glowed a pale green colour. They flew towards Squirtle as though a breeze had pushed them. Níðhöggr started firing globs of purple, poisonous liquid towards Charmander.

Charmander avoided the move, and used Ember on Actias Luna. Not even Leah's attempt at a protective cocoon with string shot could salvage the Scatterbug, but while Leah convinced that the little bug was done for, it stood up. Actias Luna started glowing in a blinding, pale blue light. The moment the light dissipated, it wasn't a Scatterbug that stood in Actias Luna's place, but rather a Spewpa. Leah smiled proudly before her smile contorted to a determined grin, "Let's finish this! Actias Luna use String Shot on Squirtle and then use Bug Bite!"

Mildred and Zayn quickly realized the strategy Leah was going for and called out their own commands. Assist allowed Lady Lemeow to use Flame Charge. Flames engulfed the Skitty as it began running in zigzags and using Venipede as a platform, her tail shook and her shoulders were hunched, soon enough Lady Lemeow pounced on Bulbasaur with her claws unsheathed. Bulbasaur tried to dodge it on Professor Sycamore's command and it did, but Lady Lemeow regained her footing and veered towards the grass type, the impact made Bulbasaur fly towards Charmander like a bowling ball.

Charmander tumbled and fell on the silky cocoon Squirtle resides in. Bulbasaur has been defeated now only Charmander and the cocoon otherwise known as Squirtle. The fire lizard growled at Bulbasaur in response, not liking being treated like a bowling pin. With an impressed grin on his face, Professor Sycamore withdrew Bulbasaur. These trainers were smart, seeing Squirtle's trap. He didn't need to ask who preferred battles in the trio, he could already pinpoint that it was Zayn and Leah who were strong battlers, Mildred was good, but she has some kind of reticence towards Pokemon battles. "Charmander use Scratch to free Squirtle and then use Ember!"

"Níðhöggr use Poison Tail!"

"Actias Luna use Tackle and Stun Spore!"

"Lady Lemeow use Disarming Voice!"

Lady Lemeow's charming little mew caused Squirtle and Charmander enough emotional damage that they didn't notice Actias Luna tackling them towards Níðhöggr's purple, poisonous tail. The Venipede angled itself to receive its opponents and quickly jumped to hit them with its tail to make their plummet towards the ground faster like a volleyball. Squirtle and Charmander were defeated. Professor Sycamore withdrew the two starters and walked up to Leah and her friends the moment the former had withdrawn Actias Luna, "Now that's what I call a battle!"

Leah chuckled, "I'm glad you enjoyed battling us, Professor."

The lab's lobby wasn't in shambles, but anyone who walked in could see that there has been a battle. Leah was the first to hand the professor her phone when he had asked and he had given it to her nearly as quickly as she had handed it to him. Rotom now lived within her phone working as a Pokedex. Her friends followed suit and with their Pokedexes acquired, normally that would mean that they could return to their journey, but Professor Sycamore wanted to talk to Leah before they left, "The scientists at the Ambrette Town Fossil Lab found a way to bring back an ancient Growlithe, would it be too much of me to ask you to catch it and observe its behaviors and diet?"

"Normally I'd say that yes it's too much to ask for, however this Growlithe was probably created due to genetically engineering a regular Growlithe." Leah sighed before adding, "I might not like it, but for the sake of the Pokemon, I'll do it."

With that Leah bid the Professor farewell and made her way to the gate of Route 5 alongside Zayn and Mildred.