Chương 7: Consultation
"Steven?"
Seeing the person who entered, Johan was a bit surprised but quickly made sense of it.
Steven Stone wasn't just the heir of the Devon Corporation and the future Hoenn Champion, but also a passionate rock enthusiast. His biggest hobby was exploring, studying, and collecting various stones.
Considering that Professor Cozmo was an expert in meteors, rocks, and archaeology, it was only natural for him and Steven to have some kind of connection, given that they were both in Kanaz City.
"I didn't expect your office to be here, Mr. Johan," Steven said politely, though surprised.
Johan smiled and gestured toward the sign outside the door that read Pokémon Psychology Consultation Room.
Following Johan's gaze, Steven nodded in realization.
But Steven hadn't forgotten the purpose of his visit. He quickly asked, "Mr. Johan, have you seen Professor Cozmo? He told me yesterday that after the new student registration, we would meet in his office. But I've been waiting for an hour, and he hasn't shown up."
Professor Cozmo's office was right next to Johan's consultation room.
"I haven't seen him all day either," Johan said truthfully, rubbing his chin as he leaned against the desk.
"All day?" Steven was surprised.
"Actually..." Johan began, moving over to the coffee machine. While measuring the coffee beans on a scale, he seemed to remember something and asked, "Would you like a cup?"
Steven blinked, then nodded instinctively.
Seeing this, Johan smiled slightly. "How many shots?"
Realizing what was happening, Steven hesitated briefly but decided not to fuss. "Two, please. Thank you, sir."
Johan chuckled. "Seems like we have similar tastes."
As he smoothly prepared the coffee, Johan continued, "The truth is, Professor Cozmo was supposed to handle today's new student reception, but since he couldn't be found, I had to fill in."
"So..." Johan's voice remained calm as the coffee machine gurgled. "Cozmo has been missing for a day."
Hearing this, Steven furrowed his brows.
"The professor is usually very punctual."
"Maybe you should give him a call," Johan suggested, handing Steven a cup of coffee.
"Thanks," Steven said, accepting the coffee with both hands. He smiled wryly and added, "I've already tried, but his phone is still in his office."
"Ka-kah..."
From the ceiling, Gastly seemed to realize something.
So the sound it heard earlier wasn't from the computer—it came from next door.
"Seems like something might've happened to him," Johan mused, glancing subtly at the ceiling, now suspecting that Gastly had something to do with his damaged computer.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. With a serious expression, Johan sat down in his chair.
In his memory, Professor Cozmo did get involved in some strange events, but it shouldn't have happened this early.
"Something happened?" Steven's face grew tense. "Should we call the police, Mr. Johan?"
"Call the police?" Johan shook his head. "Cozmo is just missing temporarily. It's not the first time he's suddenly disappeared—he might have found something new and gone off to dig up some rocks."
"True..."
Steven sighed helplessly.
At Johan's gesture, he took a seat across the desk.
"Don't worry. Professor Cozmo is a grown man; he won't be in danger. The other teachers know he's missing too, so they might already be looking for him," Johan reassured.
This made Steven's eyes light up.
Even if calling the police wasn't necessary, sending people to search wasn't off the table.
Apologizing to Johan, Steven quickly took out his PokéNav and dialed a number.
The call was answered almost immediately.
In that instant, Steven's demeanor shifted from the polite and humble student he had been earlier to a young heir of a major corporation with an unmistakable aura of authority.
"This is Steven. Send someone to find Professor Cozmo."
Watching Steven's demeanor change so drastically, Johan was intrigued.
Click.
After hanging up decisively, Steven noticed Johan's gaze. He smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry about that, sir."
'Steven... Does he have a split personality?' Johan wondered, though he waved it off with a casual hand gesture.
The room fell into a brief silence.
Johan took a sip of his coffee and began browsing through a research paper, while Steven quietly drank his coffee, occasionally glancing at the paper.
After a while, perhaps finding the atmosphere a bit awkward, or maybe wanting to start a conversation, Steven finally spoke up.
"Mr. Johan, could I ask you to take a look at my Pokémon? It's been... a bit off lately."
"Oh?" Johan paused, raising his head slightly. "You brought it?"
"I did."
"Let's see."
Without hesitation, Steven removed a black-and-gold Luxury Ball from his waist.
With a flash of red light, a Pokémon appeared in the consultation room.
Its body was metallic gray with a brilliant sheen, shaped like a disk, and it had powerful arms ending in large steel claws. Its two red eyes and silver spikes on its cheeks and back were distinctive features.
It was Metang, the second stage of Hoenn's pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
And not just any Metang—it was shiny!
This would undoubtedly become Steven's signature Pokémon in the future: his shiny Metagross.
"A shiny Metang... That's quite rare," Johan couldn't help but remark.
"Metaaaang..."
Hearing Johan's comment, Metang stiffened slightly—something Johan noticed immediately.
But he didn't say anything about it and instead asked, "What's been going on with it?"
Steven hesitated briefly before explaining, "I've noticed that recently Metang seems a bit off, like it's distracted. Both Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center and our family's equipment indicate that Metang is perfectly healthy, with no issues. So I thought maybe..."
"Metang..."
Metang moved closer to Steven, earning a comforting smile. Steven naturally placed his hand on Metang's head, showing the strong bond between them.
'Why can't I see Metang's info?' Johan thought, perplexed.
Earlier, he could see Gastly's Pokédex data and stats, but now he couldn't see anything for Steven's Metang.
'Is it because Metang isn't my Pokémon? Or is it something else...?'
"Could you have Metang demonstrate a move for me?" Johan asked.
Steven nodded. "Metang, use Confusion."
"Metang!"
Metang's eyes glowed blue, and the coffee cup on the desk was enveloped in a soft blue light, slowly floating into the air.
As Metang used its psychic powers, lines of text began to appear in front of Johan's eyes:
[Metang]
[Type: Steel, Psychic]
[Ability: Clear Body]
[Moves: Confusion, Metal Claw, Magnet Rise, Take Down, Pursuit, Bullet Punch, Miracle Eye, Zen Headbutt, Scary Face, Psychic, Iron Defense, Thunder Punch, Hone Claws, Ice Punch, Stealth Rock, Heavy Slam]
[Mood: Calm, but feeling down (It might need more confidence)]
[Condition: Excellent (Great care has kept it in peak condition; maybe it needs a good battle)]
[Friendship: 0 (It doesn't know you)]
'So... it's not because Metang isn't my Pokémon. It's just that I can only see this information when a Pokémon is actively using a move?'
Reading Metang's stats, Johan had an idea.
Feeling down?
Lacking confidence?
He quickly spotted Metang's issue and glanced at it again.
A pseudo-legendary Pokémon, and a shiny one at that, lacking confidence?
"Metang..."
Sensing Johan's gaze, Metang instinctively averted its eyes.
Combining its previous behavior with its current reactions, Johan smiled warmly.
"Mr. Johan?" Noticing Johan's expression, Steven called out cautiously.
Johan snapped out of his thoughts, picked up a folder and pen, and asked, "Your family... You don't have just one Metang, do you? Or to be more precise, you probably have... a group of them? Was Metang originally one of them?"
Steven blinked, then nodded. "Uh, yes, we have a small group of them, and Metang was one of them."
"Where?"
"At the mines outside the city."
"Have you taken Metang back there recently?"
"Three days ago."
"..."
As Johan scribbled notes on a piece of paper, Steven's expression grew more serious.
Could Metang really have a psychological issue?
Unable to suppress his curiosity and concern, Steven glanced at the folder.
To his surprise, Johan was seriously sketching a Metang... standing at a fork in the road.
The drawing, however, was... a little...
"Does it look accurate?" Johan asked, noticing Steven's gaze.
"A bit... abstract," Steven said, struggling to keep a straight face.
Johan laughed. "Abstract, huh? You're being too kind."
Scribble, scribble—
Finally, Johan wrote a line of text under the drawing:
Mild early-stage autism due to isolation from the group because of its shiny coloring.
Autism?
That was the last thing Steven had expected.
But thinking it over, it did make some sense.
Other than Steven, almost no one could get close to Metang. And when Steven first caught it as a Beldum, it had been
somewhat ostracized from the rest of the group.
This was a common issue for shiny Pokémon.
While game players in Johan's previous world would hunt for shiny Pokémon, in this world, being shiny wasn't necessarily seen as a good thing.
Shiny Pokémon were often treated differently, sometimes even facing prejudice or strange looks.
If not properly addressed, this could lead to psychological problems over time.
Beep beep!
Just as Steven was about to ask what to do next, his PokéNav rang.
After answering, Steven smiled and quickly told Johan, "Mr. Johan, they found Professor Cozmo!"
"That fast?" Johan was surprised. "You must've mobilized quite a few people."
"No," Steven shook his head, smiling casually. "I just bought a few detective agencies."
Johan: "..."
Classic Steven.
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