Chapitre 9: Chapter 9: Professor Noah Laboratory
After exiting the cave and hitting the road, everyone was in a good mood and walked happily. Even Mindy was friendlier and kept looking at the pokeball that contained the Charmander Dave had given her. Smiles were on everyone's faces and they walked at a brisk pace, always talking and laughing.
According to Mindy, the exit Dave found was even closer to Cardo. They'd saved themselves a few hours of walking. So, a little after lunch they had arrived at their destination.
"We're here!" Mindy said, pointing ahead. "That's my grandfather's house. This is also his lab."
"Woah, so big!" Dave said, seeing a building that was growing bigger with each step they took.
The building, which was four stories tall, was not the only thing that caught his attention. Behind it stretched a wide lawn with some scattered trees, where various Pokemon could be seen roaming about.
Dave could see that the lawn went on forever, almost to the horizon, and that there was a lake in the middle. Mindy also told him that a little further back, there was an artificial cave, built by the professor himself, so that the ground and rock-type Pokemon could live comfortably.
"I used to love playing around here when I was little…" Dave listened as Mindy described her time spent with her grandfather.
As they got closer, Dave saw that they even had parking. He was impressed by it all. However, Mindy's expression dropped upon seeing one of the parked cars.
"Great, my cousin is here."
"What's the problem with your cousin?" Dave asked.
"You'll see," Mindy said, ringing the bell. Soon a female voice came through the intercom.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Mindy," Mindy replied. "Open the door, please."
"You're late, you know? You should have arrived yesterday. Are you okay?" the voice asked in a stern tone.
"I know, mother," Mindy said with a sigh. "Can you please open the door for me? I'm tired."
'Mother?' Dave thought on the side.
The voice didn't speak anymore and in the next moment, they heard a noise indicating that the gate was unlocked.
"That's my mother. She is a researcher too. She works here with my grandfather, helping with his research." Mindy didn't seem excited at all when talking about it.
"Cool! Your mother and grandfather are Pokemon researchers! I guess you must have seen a lot of Pokemon, right?" Dave asked, thinking how exciting it would be to have parents as Pokemon researchers.
"No, I have only seen a couple or few. My mother doesn't allow me to come near them."
"But it must be great to have a parent as a Pokemon researcher."
"No it's not. My grandfather is getting older, and he does little work. My mother is the one who does most of the work. This means that she hardly ever goes home," Mindy told him.
"And on top of that, she says she works with Pokemon every day and knows how dangerous they can be, so she doesn't let me go out to explore."
"Oh... But now you can, right? You just spend two months outside alone," Dave said.
However, Mindy didn't answer and continued on walking. Dave had a feeling that thing wasn't that simple.
They came to a set of stairs and began to climb them, but before they had gone more than a few steps up, a woman with black hair in a white lab coat appeared at the top of the stairs and started running down toward them. Meeting Mindy halfway there, she stopped and gave her a big hug.
"I miss you, Mindy! Why did you take so long? I was getting worried that something might happen to you. Oh and by the way, your grandfather needs the Charmander, dear. Your cousin, Rusty, is already here to choose his pokemon."
The woman spoke fast and it was barely possible to understand everything she said. Mindy didn't look too thrilled to see her mother again as she just nod to everything she said without replying.
Then, the woman put her arms around Mindy's shoulders and started to lead her up the stairs, still talking incessantly. Dave and Eevee just followed. After reaching the top, she finally seemed to take notice of them.
"Oh, did you bring friends? I thought you were only supposed to be at the cabin by yourself Mindy. That doesn't count," the woman said.
"I met him on the road mother, and we only travelled here together. He came to meet Grandpa," Mindy explained.
"Hello, I'm Dave Mick from Grene City," Dave said, taking a step forward to introduce himself. "This is my partner, Eevee. It's an honour to meet you, Professor Noah."
"The pleasure is mine," the woman said, accepting his handshake. "And please call me, Susan. Thank you for taking care of my daughter."
Mindy immediately glared at her mother after she said that.
Dave blushed slightly as he let out an embarrassed smile. "Actually, it was your daughter who took care of me the entire time. I doubt I would have arrived here today without her."
When Dave glanced at Mindy, he thought he saw a slight smile at the corner of her mouth before it quickly disappeared.
"Really? Oh, okay then." Susan didn't seem to believe that her daughter was that capable and continued on walking. She didn't say anything after that.
They walked up another flight of stairs, and came to a glass door with a keycard lock on the wall next to it.
"This is the professor's main lab," Susan said, swiping her access card.
The door slid open, showing a spacious room with a table in the centre upon which were arrayed a great number of computers. Some of them were hooked up to scanning devices, microscopes, and other things that Dave had no idea what they were for.
A boy slightly taller than Dave who had red hair was sitting at a small table across from them, along with a man who was clearly much older despite his little stature.
He had a big belly and was completely bald. There was a bowl filled with all kinds of candies and snacks, and the short man was currently unwrapping a few of them with an expression akin to a child getting their hands on a candy. The man had a sweet tooth, no doubt about it.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone