Chapter Text
"You have everything? Compactable Tent? Sleeping bag? Pajamas? Underpants?!"
Allen sighed, running a hand through his hair as Barba fussed over him. He slung his bag over his shoulder, adjusting the strap so it sat more comfortably across his chest.
"I'm just going to Professor Oak's laboratory!"
"And then leaving home for the next two years?!"
"Leave it alone, Barba." An old woman steps out from the house, walking up to the gate that Allen stood outside of, her Blissey following closely behind her. "He is old enough to embark on a journey. And he wants to, doesn't he?" She looks pointedly to the snow-haired boy, who nods feverently.
"Children in Kanto are considered adults at the age of ten, so they can embark on a Pokémon journey with a starter from the laboratory of the regional professor." He quotes a line from the Kantonian children's textbook. He stayed up all night studying that thing for final. Besides, he was fourteen! Four years older than ten.
"And besides, he has Eevee with him."
The brown, fox-like Pokémon hopped onto Allen's shoulders, her fur tickling his cheek causing him to laugh as she chirped in agreement.
"Young adults! You're still classified as children! And Eevee is just a baby, too!" Barba's voice was becoming shrill now, and all Allen could do was chuckle awkwardly as he adjusted his scarf in a way Eevee could settle on his shoulder more comfortably.
"I'll be back?"
"When?"
"Uh..."
"When you get old? When I get old and can barely walk?!"
Allen wants to comfort Barba more, but it looks like their little Mime Jr. got to it before he did, patting the big man gently on the cheek in a soothing manner.
"Are you sure you won't be bringing Mimey witj you?" He asked, picking up the baby mime Pokémon and holding it out towards Allen. His heart squeezed somewhat as he watched it blink it's sparkling bead-like little eyes at him.
"No," The boy shook his head, reaching over to pat Mime Jr. on it's head and smiled. His heart squeezed a little as he looked over the Pokémon one last time. "Who's going to console you when you start crying over soap operas?"
Mime Jr. giggled, holding onto Allen's hand to give it a nuzzle. Allen's chest tightened even more. "Take care of him, Mimey."
"Get going." Mother makes a shooing motion with her hand, shaking her head, watching as the boy took his hand away from the little pink Pokémon. Barba hugs the tiny Pokémon to his chest while it imitated Mother's hand motion, something it's species was famous for doing. "The professor is waiting for you."
"I'll see you soon." He waved as he set off down the road, Eevee perching herself onto his shoulders, calling out her own goodbye. Allen can see Barba burst into tears again, and Blissey gently patting him on the back, presumably to soothe him as much as it can alongside Mime Jr.
"Geez. Not gonna miss all that fussing, are we, Eevee?" He joked to the Pokémon on his shoulder, who seemed to agree, giggling.
(That was a lie. He'd be missing Barba's nagging in the future. Allen smacks himself in regret for not hugging Barba more.)
It wasn't too long of a walk to the professor's research center, just a few blocks into town. He'd been here plenty, helping Barba sell vegetables with Tauros.
"Allen! Finally going to start your journey, huh?" An old man who ran the fruit stall called out to him, and Allen took a moment to stop by to chat.
"Yes sir!" He answered, Eevee chirping alongside.
"Barba finally let you go, eh?"
"Oh, trust me, he cried a lot when I was leaving."
The old man laughs. Clearly, everyone in town was familiar with Barba's tearfulness. He leans down to pick up a brown paper bag, and reaching over the counter, hands it over to him, shaking it somewhat to get his attention. "That's got some Pecha," He points inside the bag, "Leppa and Mago berries. Oh, and Liechi. Think of it as a parting gift." He winked.
"Wow.." The boy and his Eevee look into the bag to see the colourful berries, practically bursting out the bag, there were so many. "Thank you so much!"
"Don't mention it. Those berries will help you out. Now get going, the professor is waiting."
"Right, I'll see you around!"
He waves goodbye to the old man and continues on his way to the professor's lab, taking some time to greet the other citizens in Pallet Town. He remembered hearing how it used to be a smaller town, but once others came in for business, the town grew. It was mostly for agriculture, since the soil in Pallet Town tended to be very fertile, so planting berries and vegetables was basically the most sustainable. At least that's what Barba said.
The professor's lab wasn't a large affair, around the same size as the children's Pokémon school in the same town. He had been told there were some renovations, since the old research center was beginning to fall apart (definitely not because of his numerous times scaring some of the Pokémon into destroying part of the lab, no way!). There was now a very large, and honestly unnecessary, Allen thinks, clock above the main gates of the front of the lab, which would lead to the main research floor, with a smaller one next to it. Both clocks were gold, and ran at different paces, with a few different coloured circles orbiting around the big one. Apparently it was for cosmic research or whatever, that's what the professor claimed. Behind the lab, there was a gigantic field that held numerous different types of Pokémon, who help around, allegedly, and are part of professor Oak's research studies. Each area of the field had different habitats, suited to each type of Pokémon, allowing them to live as naturally as possible.
(Allen wonders why so many of them are foreign Pokémon, but decides it's not his business to question it any further.)
He reaches over to ring the doorbell...
... Before one of the research assistants swings it open. Had Allen not jumped backwards out of reflex, he would have been hit in the face. Eevee yelps as she slips off his shoulders, Allen scrambling to catch her so she didn't roll down the white concrete stairs.
"O- Oh! Allen!" A man with black hair and an orange bandana was startled to see him standing there, in his hand a brown package that he seemed to be in a hurry to deliver. It was Tracey! But he looked so frazzled... "I'm so sorry, I know you're here to see the professor, but he's actually not in right now!"
"W- what? Then..." Allen and Eevee exchange worried glances. What was he supposed to do? Wait? He couldn't do anything without the professor here, and he knew Tracey couldn't either. And Tracey seemed to figure out what he was thinking, because he took a moment to take in a deep breath to calm down, and his Azumarill popped out after him, patting him gently on the leg. Allen had been so wrapped up in the panicked Tracey that he hadn't seen it trailing behind him.
"Actually, you know what?" Tracey holds up the box. "Since you're needing to see the professor, why don't you bring this to him?"
"Um... Huh?"
"It's something he forgot to bring. I guess he was looking all over his office in Viridian City and that's why he was late to come back." Tracey sighed, shaking his head. Allen swears he hears him say something like 'He wasn't like this when he was younger.' What's that supposed to mean?
"He's in Viridian City?"
"Yeah. He was supposed to teach a seminar on evolution at the Pokémon's Trainer School."
"Ah. Then that means..." Allen looks at the box as Tracey hands it over to him.
"That's right, there's evolution stones in here. Mind getting them to him?"
The white haired boy and his Eevee looked at the box curiously, before the former opens his bag to tuck it safely away inside. "Will do." He says, turning around to get ready to leave for Viridian.
"Oh, wait! You'll need these since the professor was supposed to give them to you," Tracey shoves a number of Pokéballs into his arms, "and this," at least five potions, "And don't forget to get your Pokédex from Professor Oak!"
"R- right, thanks Tracey..." Allen tries not to drop anything while trying to stuff them into his bag. He is almost sure his bag is going to rip at the seams. "Then I'm off!" The boy nearly trips down the steps in an effort to get started on his journey before the sun sets, since while Route 1 wasn't too big of a walk to Viridian, the day would be over by the time he arrived there if he got held up any longer. He looked back to see Tracey waving goodbye to him before he disappeared from view, hidden behind the rest of the houses in Pallet Town. The clock on the research center was still visible between everything else, ticking away, following the cosmic timeline or whatever it was supposed to do.
After a while, Allen stopped at the edge of the town, looking back one last time before leaving. He's probably not gonna come back - not any time soon, anyway. Might as well take one last hard look at his beloved hometown - the town that welcomed him in, an orphan with a troubled past.
A small bark comes from his feet, and Allen looks down to see Eevee rubbing her head against his leg. He bends down to pick her up, gently petting her fur and smoothing out the messes she'd gotten from when she was playing with Mime Jr. earlier this morning. He sighed, thinking about how he was gonna miss the little pink Pokémon, and by extension the townspeople. He was especially going to miss Mother and Barba, the former having raised him as her own grandchild while the latter's delicious meals and kind hands kept him from falling into a depressive pit. He'll also miss that nice couple that runs the little café downtown. They always gave him so many croquettes.
Eevee chirps again, and Allen just chuckles before patting her gently again, readjusting the star-shaped clip on her head.
"It's okay. We'll try to call frequently."
Eevee squeaks in agreement before hopping out of his arms and onto the ground, excitedly running in circles as if to tell him to hurry and go.
"You're right, we should get going or else we won't make it in time." He takes a step towards the grassy path in front of him, towards the small forest that was Route 1. He'd hardly ever walked into this area before, other than the time he came from out of region with his Master. Allen had always been somewhat afraid of leaving the town as a child, much less his own house, but somehow he'd been coached out by the kind, yet eccentric, Professor Oak. He was then enrolled late into Pokémon classes, graduating only a year ago.
Normally, children in Kanto would enroll at the age of six, then take a final research exam at nine before becoming legal adults at the age of ten. The ones who graduate on time get to choose one of three starters from their professor, which are unique depending on the region they're from. The ones who excelled on their final exam get the opportunity to do field research for the professor, and sometimes would get the option to become researchers and study under them.
Allen himself had only enrolled late because he was a foreigner, and because he was locked in his room due to... Stuff that he didn't feel like getting into right now. It was Professor Oak that managed to get him out of his depression by giving him his beloved Eevee, who'd just hatched from an egg.
"Listen, Allen," he'd said, "I just hatched this Eevee from an egg. I want you and Mime Jr. to watch over her and make sure she grows up healthy. That will be your first assignment for classes."
He didn't even know he'd been enrolled in classes since his Master just opened the door to his room and told him he was now going to school, but watching the Eevee grow with Mime Jr.... It really helped him get out of his funk. Sure, fine, his grades weren't the best afterwards, but he studied hard to graduate! His research essay was about Eevee's evolutions anyway. And he got a ninety-five! In Professor Oak's own words, his essay was "phenomenal"!!
And then finally... He could finally start his own Pokémon journey! Allen could feel himself starting to get excited, and took off running into the forest, with Eevee happily bounding past him, stopping every so often to sniff at flowers or looking at pretty coloured butterflies. Sometimes, they'd both stop to admire the Pidgey and Pidgeotto that occasionally flew by, or watch the bug pokemon that skittered away when they stepped too close. There was a moment when a Butterfree with a unique wing pattern fluttered past them, and Eevee took off after it, barking excitedly.
"Ah, wait, Eevee! Don't run off on your ow- whoa!"
In an effort to catch up to his Eevee, Allen had tripped over a terribly inconveniently grown tree root, landing face first into the dirt. Eevee, hearing her Trainer's cry of pain, turned around to run back and check if he was okay.
"Ow... Ow... I'm okay, Eevee..." He grimaced, propping himself up on his elbows and flipping over so he could sit up, investigating his knees to make sure he was actually okay, and after a little while, Allen concluded that he was fine. His knees were just a little bit scratched up.
"It's alright, just a little bit of a scratch." He smiles, albeit with a bit stiffly, reaching over to pat her on the head as if to tell her not to worry. "Let's g...."
But hold on.
There's some strange, indignant squawking coming from just behind the bushes. That's weird... Sounds like birds? The boy and his Eevee both crawl closer to the bushes, pushing aside the leaves carefully to take a look at what was going on.
"Is that... A flock of Spearow? What are they doing?"
Allen squints, trying to get a closer look at the flock, all piled on the ground and surrounding something. They seemed angry - but that's what was common for Spearow, they were hostile and rather violent when they feel like their territory was being invaded. Eevee sticks her head under his arm to try to see what was going on, and was just as perplexed at the confusing behaviour. Then, Allen saw something poking out from beneath the pile of Spearow. It was triangular, yellow, with black fur on the edges, and to Allen's horror, he realised it was another Pokémon, and it was being drilled by Spearow!
"Hey!" He called out, and without thinking, sprinted out from the bushes towards them. "Get out of here! Leave it alone!"
The Spearow are startled, quickly turning around and flying at him to drill their beaks into his arms and hands as he swats at them, throwing himself over the black and yellow Pokémon to cover it with his body. Eevee leaped out of the bushes behind him, barking at the Spearow and attempting to chase them away, biting and scratching each time they pecked her Trainer.
"Ouch- Eevee! Use Swift on the Spearow!" Allen commands, flinching each time he was pecked at. Eevee barked in response and swung her tail a few times to shoot flying golden stars at the Spearow, and after some difficulty, managed to chase them all away.
"Good job, Eevee."
Eevee squealed happily from the praise. Allen looked back onto the ground where the Spearow had been pecking, and saw that it was a Pichu, battered and bruised, weakened from multiple hooked beaks. It was awful, it's normally fluffy yellow fur missing in some spots, leaving pink skin apparent from where some fur had been ripped off, it's tiny tail frayed near the ends from being bit and pecked at. It's pink cheeks were crackling gently with electricity, but it wasn't enough to shock any of the Spearow.
"We need to get it somewhere safe-" Allen gently picks up the Pichu, flinching a bit as static electricity shocked his fingers. But this was fine, Pichu was probably in more pain than that. He hugged the tiny mouse Pokémon against his chest and looked back at Eevee, ignoring his own wounds. "There should be a Pokémon Center in Viridian City, let's go, Eevee!"
The Eevee returns with a bark of agreement, before the both of them took off down the dirt path they'd been on prior, sprinting past any and all Pokémon that he would have stopped to watch had he not been in a rush. After passing a rather large tree, the path started going uphill, and Allen had to be careful he didn't trip over any bumps, rocks or roots.
"Um, excuse me, do you know what direction -" Oh. Was that another Trainer?
"I'm sorry! I can't answer your question right now!" Allen blurts out as he rushed passed them, sprinting down towards the town, of which he could now see clearly from his location. The red roof of the Viridian City Pokémon Center was like a beacon from heaven, shining under the afternoon sun. There it was!
"Pichu, you're going to be okay!" He muttered softly, running down the hill with the small mouse Pokémon cradled to his chest. Had he looked down, he would have noticed the Pichu's eyes open briefly to look at it's saviour, and he would have noticed Eevee's determined eyes matching his own. Allen stumbles through the sliding glass doors of the Pokémon Center, rushing right up to the counter. Thank God there was no line, Nurse Joy's normally gentle smile turning to horror as her eyes laid upon the battered Pichu in his arms.
"Nurse Joy! Please help this Pichu!" Allen exclaims, holding the small creature towards her.
"Of course, we'll take care of it right away." The pink haired woman turns to the Chansey next to her with a serious face. "Chansey, one stretcher for a tiny Pokémon! Quickly!"
And quick they were, because not even a second later the Pichu was being carted into emergency surgery, the light above the big white double doors bright and red. Finally, Allen let out a deep sigh, leaning against the counter of the Pokémon Center to finally let his nerves drop. With his legs wobbling like jelly, almost giving out underneath him, Allen realised that he had really gone over his limit today, sprinting down the path and up over a hill to get the Pichu to the Pokémon Center without stopping. He slowly wobbled over to the cushioned couches in the lobby and flopped down, laying sideways with his feet still on the ground. Normally, he'd be too embarrassed to lay down like this, but there wasn't anyone else in the Center right now, so who was gonna see him like this? It was just him and Eevee while they wait for Pichu to get out of surgery.
"Pichu's gonna be fine, right Eevee?" He asks the little brown Pokémon, who hops up next to his head to nuzzle his face in an effort to assure him, and herself, that the tiny mouse Pokémon would be okay.
"Oh? Allen? Is that you? Geez, what happened to you?"
Allen looks toward the voice, who's owner was standing right behind the seats he was laying down on. His eyes widened as he shot up, suddenly embarrassed at how he was using said seats. Auburn hair, dark coloured eyes...
"P- Professor Oak! You're here! I- I mean of course you're here that's why I... I mean that's why Tracey told me to-"
"Stop, stop!" The Pokémon Professor holds a hand up to stop Allen from rambling even more, sighing, but seeming more amused than upset. "One at a time. And quit calling me Professor Oak, will ya? That was my Gramps. Just call me Gary. The only reason why I'm even the Professor is because Gramps ran off to study some mythical readings without telling anyone."
"Um... Right. Sorry, Gary."
"So? Why are you here instead of Pallet Town? Tracey probably told you that I'd be back soon, right?" Gary took a seat next to him and folded his arms, waiting for his answer.
"Oh, yeah," Allen unzips his bag and pulls out the brown, rectangular package from inside, where it had been squashed to the side. "Tracey told me you forgot these."
Gary's eyebrows shot up the moment he saw Allen hold it towards him, almost as if he hadn't expected that to be the reason for the boy to be here.
"Ugh, right... Thank you for bringing them over. I totally forgot to bring it." The professor takes the box - almost sheepishly, Allen noticed - and rips off the paper packaging, revealing a smooth, mahogany coloured box with a shiny smooth finish. It had a gold coloured metal latch at the front, which Gary unlatched and lifted the lid to take a look at the items inside. Five beautiful stones rested on the dark purple velvet cloth inside, each shining with a different colour. Allen and Eevee both took a quick peek, marveling at the different stones.
"You know what these are, right?"
Allen looks up at the professor and nods, hugging his Eevee, the latter of which was still staring at the stones.
"They're evolution stones. Tracey mentioned you were doing a seminar on evolution."
"That's right." Gary reaches into the box and picks up the orange stone, holding it up in front of Allen. "Which one is this?"
He felt like Gary is trying to recreate their lessons again. "It's a Fire Stone. It helps certain fire type Pokémon evolve into their final evolutionary stage."
Gary points at Eevee, the Fire Stone still in his hand. "If Eevee was exposed to this Fire Stone, what would happen?"
"She would evolve into Flareon." Allen looks down at the Eevee, who looked back at him. He never really considered what he wanted Eevee to evolve into, and he was pretty sure he knew what the professor was implying. Did he want Eevee to evolve? Did Eevee want to evolve?
"Pretty good." Gary nods and puts the stone back into the box, shutting the lid and closing the latch. "You've remembered most of your studies."
"Of course. Tracey drilled it into me." The boy remembers the countless hours of his personal tutoring in which Tracey practically hammered all his knowledge as a research assistant and Pokémon Watcher into his head, and even though most of it didn't help him with his studies, it did allow him to retain a lot of random information. Like how the Fire Stone helps Vulpix, Pansear and Growlithe evolve specifically.
"Alright, final question. Let's test how well you've been studying your Kantonese. Exeggcute?"
"Tamatama."
"Dratini?"
"Miniryuu."
"It's evolved form?"
"Hakuryuu."
"Can you give me the names of Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon and Glaceon for me, in that order?"
The boy raised an eyebrow, watching the professor carefully. "... Booster, Thunders, Showers and Glacia."
"Good." Gary seemed satisfied, and Allen is starting to wonder if the man is doing this on purpose.
"Are you going senile? Why are you asking me all these questions?"
Gary furrowed his brows and glared at his student. "I am twenty-six! I am nowhere near old enough to be going senile! Hey! Quit it!"
Unfortunately for him, Allen and Eevee just continued to giggle over his frustration at being called old. Then, before he could be teased any more, the red light to the emergency room turned off, and Nurse Joy stepped out from behind the white double doors. Allen immediately jumped up and ran over to her, wanting to know about Pichu's condition.
"Nurse Joy! How's Pichu?" He asked, back to his previously frantic attitude. He was so panicked in fact, that Joy took a step back. Allen felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Gary had walked over as well, and was attempting to get him to calm down. He felt embarrassed - and a little ashamed - stepping back and looking down.
"S- Sorry." He mumbles.
"Pichu is fine." Joy responded with a kind and warm smile, "But those injuries were severe. How did it sustain those injuries?"
"It was being attacked by a flock of Spearow." Allen recalls the horrific scene of the birds pecking and biting away at the poor thing. "I think it may have accidentally wandered into their territory... It could have shocked them, but I think it was having trouble storing energy."
Now that Allen thinks about it, from what he remembered reading in textbooks, Pichus were inept at storing energy, but when startled, they could release their little stored energy to shock whatever it was in contact with. But for Pichu to barely have enough... Especially when it was a pretty dry day...
Joy had an incredulous look on her face.
"It's the truth! Please believe me!" Allen exclaims, Eevee hopping onto his shoulder and also attempting to convince her.
"Ah... I'm sorry. I believe you completely." The nurse gives him a reassuring smile, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's just that Pichu aren't normally seen alone."
"Huh?" Now it was Allen's turn to be confused, and seeing this, Gary took over to give him an answer.
"Pichu and it's evolutionary line are largely social creatures, you see." He explained. "They're normally found in groups, and Pichus hardly ever stray too far away from eachother. Plus, it's more common to see a Pikachu or Raichu than a Pichu..."
"They're also much more commonly found in Viridian Forest, so you finding this Pichu on Route 1 is strange." Joy puts a hand to her cheek as she thinks about the potential reason it was separated from it's group.
"Hmm. There is a possibility."
Both Joy and Allen looked up towards Gary, waiting to hear what he was thinking.
"Sometimes, Pokémon abandon weaker members of their group to die, especially if they're moving somewhere... Or even simply that they just don't like them."
Ahh. Allen knew that feeling too well... He looked down at his left hand, which was hidden beneath his white gloves. This accursed hand, which had led to his birth parents abandoning him. The strange mark on his face that caused other children to hide from him... Gary continued asking Joy further questions.
"Nurse Joy, was there anything wrong with the Pichu? Anything about that electricity deficiency?"
Allen held in a breath, but Joy just shook her head in response.
"There wasn't anything else that was unusual. It *is* very weak at retaining electricity, but that's... Usually common for Pichu. Perhaps it used up all it had." She sighs, but then suddenly seems to remember something. "Ah! I did notice scorch marks around it's neck. It was like a ring."
Allen felt his blood run cold, and Gary stiffened beside him. The professor's expression darkened, and he scowled angrily, clenching his fists tightly.
"Poachers!" He hissed through gritted teeth - Allen almost flinched from the pure vitrol that dripped from his voice. He's never seen this man this angry before. Eevee doesn't seem to have either, considering how she actually flinched. It seemed that Gary noticed that he was scaring them, because he closed his eyes and took in a long, deep breath, and unclenched his fists.
"I'm sorry. I've dealt with poachers - and hunters - before. I've seen what they do to the Pokémon they capture. It's... Awful." Allen doesn't want to imagine it. He can tell, from the reaction Gary had, how bad it must be.
"If it was a shock collar... It could have messed with how it stored electricity." He continued, and Joy nods.
"Of course! It's possible the poacher may have even used it deliberately to avoid getting shocked by Pichu!" She exclaims, throwing her hands in the air. Allen shudders, thinking about how painful the shock collar must have been for a tiny body like that, and for it to possibly have escaped from that...
"Um... Nurse Joy? Could I see Pichu?" He asks, and she smiles at him kindly.
"Of course. It's asleep now, and I believe it would be best to keep it overnight, but you can go see it behind a viewing window. Come, I'll show you."
Joy showed them through the emergency doors, leading them into a long hallway with a room to the left, a large glass window separating them from the surgery room. Inside, Allen could see Pichu asleep, all cleaned and wrapped up with bandages. The tiny mouse Pokémon had a breathing mask and other medical equipment attached to it's body, and Allen realised they were there to monitor it's heart rate and blood pressure. There were some attached to it's cheeks too, which must be to measure the amount of electricity Pichu could store inside it's cheek pouches.
"It was in critical condition, but now it's safe. Thanks to our Pokémon cell regeneration medical equipment, Pichu will be good to go tomorrow." Joy says, and Allen sighs in relief. He pressed a hand against the glass window as he looked in, watching as Pichu's chest rose and fell in it's sleep.
"Isn't this great, Eevee?" He asks the evolution Pokémon on his shoulder. She chirped in agreement, her eyes never leaving the sleeping form of Pichu.
"Allen, why don't you stay the night at the Pokémon Center? I'm sure you'll want to see Pichu in the morning. Then you guys can come see me afterwards so I can get you that Pokédex." Allen looked up at Gary, who'd been standing behind him with a soft smile.
"Will you still be in Viridian?"
"Of course. I have some stuff to work on here. There's a lab space that a friend lets me use near the back of the city."
Wait, seriously?
"Since when?"
"Since before you were born."
Wow, rude. But, well it was convenient.
"Okay. Let's get some sleep then, Eevee." He pats Eevee on the head, and almost as if on cue, she let out a big yawn.
"I'll get you a key to a room you can have for the night. And we'll get your wounds taken care of, too." Joy gestures for him to follow her, and Allen turns to take one last look at Pichu.
"Good night, Pichu. We'll see you in the morning." He whispers, although he knew Pichu probably couldn't hear him. Eevee says her own goodbye, barking and waving alongside her Trainer before he picked up the pace to catch up to Nurse Joy and the professor. It was time to turn in for the night.
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