"Bleep Bleep Bleep" sounded the small yet low voice in the dark room.
A boy reached out and shut the alarm and sleepily rubbed his eyes. He got up and was stretching to get rid of his sleepiness.
A voice sounded above him "What are you doing?"
Startled, he not looked above him to see another boy climbing down the bunk bed groggily.
"Hey, Alex. The alarm woke you huh? You are usually such a heavy sleeper that I expected you to not wake up" said Joseph.
"What time is it? And why did you sent the alarm so early?" questioned Alex.
"It's 3 30. I set the alarm so early because I want to catch the Zubat returning. I wasn't sure when they would be coming back so I decided to wake up earlier?" replied Joseph.
"Why the sudden interest in the Zubat? Is it because of the very very intelligent-looking Crobat? Why do you want to look at it again? And why 3 30? The Zubat are braver with the Crobat joining them Hence they would logically come later than their usual 5 30, and pass back at 6 or 7 when the sun has risen. Couldn't you wait until then?" questioned Alex.
"I don't know. I just want to see it again for some reason. And also we can't sneak out later. Granny wakes up at 4 every day and sits near the hall. I can't sneak out after she is awake" replied Joseph.
"Hey man, if you really like Crobat so much you can just capture a decent Zubat and train it up when you become a trainer. There is no need to wake up in the middle of the night and risk seeing attacked by Pokemon when we aren't even trainers" said Alex.
"We?" asked Joseph.
"Of course. If you are going out then I'm coming with you. It not that I don't think this is a stupid idea, it's just that I want to see the Crobat as I missed it before. So if you are going to see it I might as well accompany you" said Alex. He figured he could take the opportunity to scan the Crobat and some other Zubat at the same time.
"Thanks, man. I know this sounds crazy but I feel like I must see the Crobat for some reason" said Jospeh, turning on the lamp.
Alex started wearing thicker clothes and tying his shoes. He picked up a bottle of water and a packet of biscuits just in case. Joseph did the same.
Alex started walking out of the room. At this time Joseph spotted something on the table. He picked it up looked at it for a while.
"Mom! Dad" muttered staring at the sky blue and white Pokeball in his hands.
The Pokeball was Joseph's prized possession. Alex knew that he carried it everywhere.
It was a regular Pokeball by design, but it was sky blue and white instead of the classical red and white. Pokeballs were made with a special material that was impossible to be painted. Hence all Pokeballs came in the classic red and white colours. These were painted by Silph Co while manufacturing the Pokeballs with special paint. They never deviated from the red and white colours for branding purposes. But every year, some people would propose some new colour schemes, and every year they would be rejected. A large number of samples made for the proposed colour schemes would usually just flow out. This particular Pokeball was one such sample Pokeball.
Roger had told them the story of how Joseph's patents obtained it. Back when Hurik town was still a rest station, Joseph's parents were rangers assigned to it. They were strangers to each other back then.
One day, when morale was low, their captain decided to hold a Pokemon tournament to cheer everyone up. He took out a unique Pokeball he somehow obtained and put it up as a prize. Apparently, Joseph's mother liked the Pokeball a lot and was determined to get it. Joseph's father was competitive, and just wanted to win. All other participants were eliminated leaving Joseph's father and mother in the end. They fiercely battled, and Joseph's father won in the end. When he was being presented the Pokeball as a prize, he felt bad looking at Joseph's mother's heartbroken and tearful eyes, so he gave it to her. From there, their relationship blossomed and they married and gave birth to Joseph.
When they both died in an incident later, Roger took Joseph into Cherry Grove. He gave the Pokeball to the young Joseph back then.
Alex stayed silent. Joseph composed himself and pocketed the Pokeball. He then turned around and said "Let's go" and took the lead in heading out.
Alex followed him out.