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The door to the professor’s lab swung open as the sound of a cheerful young girl called out to the woman inside.
“Professor Sage!”
Raine Sage, the current Pokémon professor of the Aselia region, was so startled by the noise that she nearly fell out of her chair but caught herself just before she hit the floor. She was posed there for a few moments as the girl who called out to her finally came into her vision.
Her name was Colette Brunel. A young girl who was given the assignment of completing the Aselia Pokédex, along with her childhood friend, Lloyd Irving. The two had set off about a month ago.
Raine tried to finesse herself back to a position that was more…presentable towards the young girl. But ultimately failed as she fell straight on the ground. The sudden impact caused Colette to flinch; feeling the slightest bit of empathy towards the professor at the same time she attempted to stifle a snicker at the slapstick before her.
“Ugh…” Raine rubbed her back as she stood up and walked over to Colette. “It’s good to see you, Colette. Are you here to get your Pokédex progress examined?” Colette nodded enthusiastically. “Though I am a bit curious, didn’t you say that Lloyd was coming with you? Where is he?”
Colette paused as she looked back at the professor. “Hm? Oh yeah! Lloyd forgot to charge his Pokédex overnight before we came here so he’s at his house at the moment charging it up. Raine sighed at the other Pokédex user’s forgetfulness and simply shook her head. “But Lloyd’s been doing really well! He’s doing the Pokémon League challenge.”
Raine raised her head to address Colette’s news towards her and simply shrugged. “Well, that doesn’t surprise me. Considering his father’s a member of the Elite Four in this region.”
Colette had now taken off her bag and put it on the floor to rummage around in it to find her ‘dex. “Yeah. He’s already gotten five badges!”
“Really?” Raine said in a shocked tone. “Five badges in a month? Hope he’s not pushing his Pokémon too hard…”
“Don’t worry. They’re doing just fine.” Colette said to ease the professor’s worries, as she stood up and handed Raine her Pokédex. Raine gratefully took the device from the young trainer and turned it on. She then began to scroll through the list to see which Pokemon Colette had scene and/or caught.
All seemed normal at first, the list starting out with both Colette and Lloyd’s respective starters, including their evolutions. Colette’s seemed to still be at the second stage while Lloyd’s was possibly at its third evolution. But as she scrolled further, she noticed a pattern of Colette’s caught Pokémon.
Houndour, Growlith, Poochyena, Vulpix. These were only a few of the Pokémon she decided to catch. As the pattern continued Raine needed to ask Colette about her ‘dex.
“Colette…” She asked in a confused and a slightly worried tone. Colette tilted her head as the Professor looked from the device to the young trainer.
“Did you only catch canine Pokémon?”
“Yep!” Colette said with a smile. “Why is something wrong?”
Raine sighed as she placed the Pokédex down and put her fingers to her temples in slight irritation. “Is there a reason…why you only chose to catch canine Pokemon?” Raine asked hoping for some sort of normal reasoning for her prioritizing that specific Pokémon type.
Colette’s smile only grew larger as she began her tangent on her reasoning. “I just couldn’t help myself! Whenever I saw one of them in the wild, they were just so cute! With the little ears and the fluffy tails!”
Of course, that was her reasoning…
Before Raine could talk to Colette about her choices in Pokémon data collecting, the door to the lab burst open once again.
“I’m here!” This time the voice was of a boy who eventually rushed into view. It seems like Lloyd finally managed to charge his Pokédex to show Raine.
The professor sighed as she began to address Lloyd. “Good to see you Lloyd. Colette tells me that you’re taking the Pokémon League challenge.”
It took a while for Lloyd to respond due to his lack of breath. “Y-yeah…I’ve been making good progress.” He gasped as he handed Raine his Pokédex, who happily took it from him.
“Just make sure you take breaks every now and then. It’s bad to over exhaust your Pokémon.”
“Don’t worry.” Lloyd said as he finally caught his breath. “We take breaks at least once a day. Plus, I prepare all the food for both my Pokémon and Colette’s!”
Raine gave a smile and nod of approval before opening and turning on his Pokédex. This one seemed more normal. Though looking at the seen-to-catch ratio was quite unbalanced. But that was to be expected. Trainers who do the Pokémon League challenge didn’t go out of their way to catch every new Pokémon they saw. Only the ones that would help them in their team.
Raine slowly got a feel for Lloyd’s team. Good type coverage, good composition, ‘He’ll definitely go far in the league.’ She thought optimistically.
“I’ve filled out the ‘dex quite a bit. Haven’t I professor?” Lloyd said with the upmost confidence. A confidence that confused Raine.
“Well yes, you have seen quite a sizeable amount of different Pokémon in this region…” Raine began as she handed the Pokédex back to Lloyd. “But the only Pokémon that you’ve actually caught are the ones that you’re using on your team.”
Lloyd was confused at Raine’s words. “What does catching them have to do with the Pokédex?”
Raine was immediately awestruck at Lloyd’s response, and at first, she thought he was joking. Then as the realization settled in that he was dead serious; she began to stammer.
“Y-you have to catch the Pokémon to get their full data in the Pokédex.”
Lloyd raised an eyebrow. “Really?” He spoke. “I just thought as long as I saw them then the Pokédex would register them automatically.”
Raine could’ve sworn that she was starting to split hairs. These were the two trainers that she entrusted the completion of the Pokédex to. This was going to be a long and frustrating process.