Chương 3: Ch 3. Dream
Having arrived at the Pokémon lab and sitting down on the leather couch, Ares looked around in curiosity. Everything looked so different than from where he had come from. The buildings weren't made of wood but of stone. There was some kind of see through stone called a window that allowed others to see the outside. it would fog up whenever he blew on it or when his hands made contact. Even the furniture was different, as there was some kind of soft fabric tied to it that made if very, very soft. It would sink down a bit when he put weight on it, giving of a very comfortable sensation.
The inside the Pokémon lab was intriguing as well. There were all kinds of things that shined with light, blinking and beeping. There was a cylindrical window with liquid inside, bubbles rising to the surface every now and then. At the front was another couch with a long table in front of it, with at the side a white board covered in black markings.
Ares gawks at the sight as it was even more incredible on the inside than that it was on the outside. Mew, having accompanied Ares all the way, had remained invisible to the others. Ares could feel her relaxing on his shoulder as her tail wrapped around his neck in an assuring manner. The strange man in a white lab coat was at this moment taking his pulse and looking over the many injuries on his body. Having never gotten this much attention, Ares couldn't help but fidget a little, while in the meantime the Old man in a white lab coat began to speak to the others.
"Now then, why don't you tell me where you found your little friend, Ash?"
The old man said with a smile as he didn't think he could get a clear overview of the situation from Ares. Even now Ares was looking around in wonder at the marvel of all of the machines around him, yet held back from moving as much as possible to make it easier for the doctor.
"Of course professor Oak, leave it to me." Ash pridefully said, the same big smile as before on his face.
"You see professor, I was trying to find a present for mom, cause dad is leaving in a day or two so I wanted something to cheer her up. When I found it, it was already going dark and I was trying to find my way back. I found Ares not long after." Ash slowly recounted what happened, being careful not to forget anything.
"I see." Professor Oak said as he turned his eyes towards the cautious yet curious child in front of him. Ares, as Ash called him, was severely malnourished. From beneath the worn clothes, only bones were visible, the ribs sticking out rather far. On the arms he could see old and new scars.
The child had obviously suffered from abuse, more than one would think.
The doctor had finished his work at this point, having treated the more serious wounds for the time being, having cleaned and bandaged them up. A prescription was written, as well as advice being given. The doctor was only a bit surprised, as the most serious of injuries seemed to have been healed some time prior to them finding the child, as signs of the wounds had still been left behind, though they were still slowly but surely being healed.
Excusing himself from the conversation, the doctor notified he would return not much later with painkillers and a treatment plan, leaving the others to converse amongst themselves. The door slammed shut, making the following silence more prevalent than before.
At this point, Ares turned his attention back to the others, only to see them staring at him.
"Everything...fine?" Ares said, the words still a bit strained.
"Everything is fine. We were only wondering where you came from." Professor Oak said.
"Agris Town." Ares replied, though his expression wasn't all that good as bad memories came back to him when he thought about it.
"I see. I don't know any Agris town, and I've been to a lot of places. What about you, Blue?" Professor Oak said, turning his attention to his companion.
"Not as far as I know. I don't think Red has either."
Red shook his head even before Blue asked him.
"Then do you want to stay with us? I could use an extra pair of hands to help around here. You could learn a lot about Pokémon if you do."
Ares was surprised at the generosity of professor Oak. He didn't uderstand a lot what was being said, but he got the general meaning. Professor Oak was offering to let him stay here. If it was him, he wouldn't trust people that quickly. Not that he trusted them that much right now.
Still, it was better to have a place where he could stay. Somewhere that wasn't as violent as Agris town.
Ares accepted the offer, hoping he could stay here for as long as he could, at least till he was healed up enough to survive on his own. Who knows what the future had in store for him.
.
.
.
A few weeks had passed. Red left Ash and Delia and moved on with his journey. Blue went back to his journey as well, said he had to look into some interesting people.
The last couple of days, professor Oak or his full name Samuel Oak, had tasked him with brushing the small Pokémon that were staying in the greenhouse, as well as learning the language of this place. The former was easier, as he was more comfortable with pokemon than with humans. The latter was harder, as he didn't know the written language here at all. Speaking helped, as he could get a general meaning of what the words meant, making him now capable to hold small conversations. The greenhouse where he was now tasked to work was rather close by to the lab. It had been newly made and was especially for the little Pokémon that were unable to adjust to people. They were in the same situation as him, so he felt a little connection to them as soon as he met them.
Though they had been as scared of Ares as he was of them, they slowly became used to the others company and Ares was allowed to touch them. From time to time he would brush their fur or feathers. Especially Eevee and Pichu seemed to like it as they kept coming back to get another brushing session.
Every now and then, Ash and his mom would come by to look how he was doing. Ash and Ares would look after the little pokémon while Delia and professor Oak would look at them from a distance, sitting at a small table with a cup of hot tea.
Today too Ash had come with Delia, so when Delia and professor Oak went inside, Ash and Ares went outside. On his back Ares had a small bag with the Pokémon egg inside. The previous things that had been inside, the gifts he had gotten from Mew, the diary, the box he had stolen from his grandfather and the medicine had been stored away. Now it was simply easier to carry the egg around him with it. The egg would shine once in a while and calm down soon after, but Ares felt the need to keep the egg close by, so the bag was helpful.
Mew would keep close as well, though every time Ash came Mew would pull a prank or two, like tying his shoe laces together, dropping cold water over his head, mostly harmless pranks. Ares would laugh every time it happened, while Ash took the brunt of it. Yet he didn't cry or anything. He laughed as well as he too thought some of the pranks were pretty fun, even if he didn't know who was pranking him. His guess had been a ghost pokemon, since they loved to trick people.
"So...What do we...do today?" Ares said, as he had already brushed the Pokémon.
"We could still feed them. I bet they're very hungry. We should ask the professor if that's alright." Ash hurried towards the professor and came back within a minute.
"He said it's fine. One of the assistants is going with us to make sure everything is alright."
Ares and Ash were soon joined by one of the assistants who was pushing a big food trolley. Inside it were multiple big cans all labelled with the picture of the species it was for.
"Well then, let's go kids." The assistant said as he led the way towards the prairie behind the lab. Running around there were a group of Oddish and Gloom, Doduo and Dodrio, Ponyta and Rapidash, and a few others. Most of the Pokémon were those from Kanto. Only a few were from other regions, but they were taken care of by other assistants.
As the pokemon here were those of trainers, they were used to people, making it easier to take care of them. If it was a wild pokemon, who knew when it would attack. While a lot of wild pokemon were docile, more than a few were aggressive as well. The adults were daily warning the kids not to stray to far, for a good reason.
When the Pokémon saw the food trolley, they all gathered together, each with their own group. Under the instruction of the assistant, Ash and Ares distributed all the Pokémon food in the trolley. While the Pokémon were happily eating, Ash and Ares watched as it was the biggest amount of Pokémon they had ever seen before, not counting large groups of Kakuna and Beedrill.
"Pokémon are really awesome. There are so many of them."
Ares nodded at Ash's words. Even the Pokémon before them were only a small fraction of the species they could find all over the world.
"You know, I really want to become a Pokémon master. That has been my dream since I can remember. What about you Ares? What do you want to become?"
Ash said, a sparkle in his eyes as he continued to look at the Pokémon.
"I...I...I want to become...an Aura Guardian, a ... really strong one. I also ... want to meet a lot of ... Pokémon who'll become my family. Travelling also seems ... fun."
Ares responded, his sentences becoming a lot more smoother the more he said.
"Wow, that sounds cool. Let's become the strongest. By the way, what's an Aura Guardian?"
Ash said, first full of conviction yet ending with a face full of confusion.
Ares just laughed at Ash as he really ruined the mood that was going on. Even if he wanted to explain what an Aura Guardian was, he really didn't know where to begin.
Ares really looked forward to the future, something he hadn't done before. It was such a nice thing to have a dream. It was pleasant to have something to look forward to, something to work for. To make a lot of friends.
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