//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Who's That Pokémon?! // Story: Pokémon Red and Purple // by Universal Librarian //------------------------------// The giant resembled an old man, but one that towered over Sunset. She barely came up to his knees. He had light grey hair, almost white, with pale peach-colored skin, and was wearing a white lab coat over a red shirt and beige pants. “Well, hello there,” the giant said in a surprisingly kindly voice. “It’s good to see you up and about, after what happened to you last night. Fire types such as yourself really don’t belong in the ocean.” Sunset just gaped up at him, a hundred different questions running through her head. Where am I? Where’s Twilight? What happened? Why am I a filly again? Why am I a pony and you’re a human? For that matter, why is everything so huge?! Or am I just really small and everything else is normal-sized? Can something please start making sense soon?! Before Sunset could articulate an actual question for him, the giant approached much faster than she’d expected and dropped to his knees next to her bed, prompting her to back up away from him until her rump bumped into one of the plastic walls. Seeing her reaction, the giant raised his hands in a placating manner and spoke softly, “It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you. My name is Professor Oak. I’ve been looking after you since you were brought in last night. And don’t worry,” he added quickly, “your friend is safe and sound as well. As soon as I can give you a clean bill of health, I’ll take you to see her. I promise.” That brought a little sigh of relief from Sunset. She still had a million questions but, for now, she was willing to just go with the flow until she could find Twilight and try to figure out exactly what was going on, “Okay. What do you need?” Professor Oak beamed at her, “That’s the spirit! Now then, I’d like to run some simple tests on you, so I’m going to have to pick you up, alright? Let me just…” Sunset tried not to flinch as he reached out with a hand, holding it a few inches away from her for a few seconds before slowly bringing it in to gently stroke her shoulder. “Warm to the touch, but not hot enough to burn, thankfully! Can’t be too careful with you fire types!” Professor Oak chuckled softly. “Right then, let’s get you out of that old incubator, shall we?” Reaching in with his other arm as well, Professor Oak slipped his hands under Sunset’s shoulders and lifted her from the bed. He shifted her around as he stood and settled her in the crook of his arm, carrying her like a little puppy or kitten. “There, that’s not so bad now, is it?” Sunset had to admit that it was somewhat soothing, not that she’d ever admit that to anyone. Something about the old professor’s manner and bearing just seemed to put her at ease. “Let’s just get this over with,” she muttered in a vain attempt at salvaging some pride and dignity. Professor Oak switched the heater and lamps off before leaving the room. Sunset looked around hesitantly as she was carried through what appeared to be some sort of laboratory. Fortunately it looked less like the forbidding lair of some evil mad scientist and more like the work-space of an eccentric college professor. “Ah! Elaine, Trace, you’re still here?” Professor Oak called out suddenly. “Sure are, Professor!” “We wanted to see if that Pokémon was okay!” “Well, alright. Just make sure to give her some space, she’s had quite a rough ordeal.” The Professor shifted Sunset again and gently placed her on a table, then stood aside to let two other people take a look at her. “Here you are!” They were a boy and a girl, with a similar skin color to the old man. The two of them seemed to be in their mid-teens, and both were carrying a very strange looking animal each. The boy had spiky brown hair and was wearing a fitted black t-shirt with green pants, and he had some sort of fluffy-looking dog perched on his head. The girl had long brown hair largely tied back in a ponytail, with a black and white t-shirt and two-tone green and red shorts. She was carrying something that resembled a bizarre little yellow mouse in her arms. “Awww, she’s so cute!” the girl said quietly, bending down to get a closer look. “What sort of Pokémon is she?” “I have no idea, Elaine,” Professor Oak replied as he pottered about, gathering some simple medical tools. “I’ve never seen anything like her before in my life.” “I’ve got no idea what a Poky-mon is, but my name is Sunset,” Sunset said firmly, slightly annoyed at being treated like some sort of zoo animal. “Maybe if you stopped gawping and tried talking to me you’d learn a few things.” “They can’t understand you,” the dog said brightly. Sunset blinked in surprise, “Wait, what do you mean?” “Humans can’t understand Pokémon speech. Don’t ask why, I don’t have a clue.” The dog tilted its head curiously, “Shouldn’t you already know that, since you have a trainer and all?” Sunset raised an eyebrow, “Trainer? I don’t have a trainer, and can someone please explain to me what a Pokémon is?” The mouse and the dog shared an amazed look. “Well, you are, silly,” the mouse said in a high-pitched, feminine voice. “The three of us are.” Sunset just stared at them in confusion, but before she could respond the Professor came back over bearing a stethoscope, “It seems you’re getting on quite well with Eevee and Pikachu, that’s good to see.” He smiled and turned to the two youngsters, “Now then, I’ve got to run a couple of quick tests just to make sure she’s healthy. Would you like to stay and watch?” The boy, Trace, yawned and shook his head, the little dog grinning as his ride moved, “Nah. I’m gonna go and get a head start on finding some rare Pokémon of my own. Later!” Professor Oak waved goodbye and turned to Elaine, “And what about you?” “I’m staying,” Elaine replied as the yellow mouse nodded. “Alright then,” Professor Oak nodded and popped the stethoscope’s ear-tips into his ears. “Of course, this is the first time I’ve ever encountered a Pokémon like this before, so I’m afraid a lot of this is mostly going to be guesswork. Still, it’s worth doing, even if only so we can start forming a frame of reference for future tests.” He leaned closer to Sunset and held out the stethoscope, “Let’s start with your breathing and heart rate, shall we?” Out of any alternative options, Sunset decided to just put up with the examination, and the unrelated observers, with as much patience as she could muster, though it was particularly frustrating that neither of the humans could understand her. “Hmm, the heart seems fine. Your heart rate is a little fast, perhaps, but that’s understandable given your current situation,” Professor Oak mumbled, mostly to himself. “Breathing sounds normal for a Pokémon of your size and type. Nothing out of the ordinary. Good.” Sunset heaved a heavy sigh as the Professor straightened up and removed the stethoscope. Pokémon. There was that odd word again, and she still had no idea what it meant, other than the fact that, apparently, she was one of them. “You’re not from around here, are you?” the yellow mouse asked suddenly. Sunset looked up at her and shook her head. “Huh. You must have come from pretty far away. I’m a Pikachu,” she gestured up at Elaine with a paw, “and this here is my new trainer. What’s your name?” “Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset replied automatically. “Hey, cool name,” Pikachu said brightly. Sunset gave her a tentative smile, “Um, thanks?” She was spared from any more conversation by Professor Oak, who was smearing some sort of gel on a thermometer, “Next, I’d like to check your temperature. This may feel a little odd at first, but please just try to bear with it.” Sunset rolled her eyes and opened her mouth expectantly. Seeing this, the Professor let out a quiet laugh, “My, you’re a clever one, aren’t you? Sadly, you’ve got the wrong end of the stick, or should I say Pokémon?” Sunset gave him a puzzled look. Realization hit like a thunderbolt as he suddenly lifted her tail. “Nope! No way!” she yelled as she span around, trying to yank her tail out of his grip and get her rump as far away from that thermometer as physically possible. Professor Oak grimaced, trying to gently pull her back around, “Come on, now. Hold still. It’ll all be over soon.” “Not a chance in Tartarus!” Sunset snapped. She gave a cry of triumph as she managed to pull her tail from his grasp, then backed as far away as she could while keeping her horn trained on him. Oak reached for her again and she powered up her magic, intending to fire a shot at the thermometer, but nothing happened save for a faint glow that surrounded her horn. “Huh? What’s going on? Why won't it work?” “Oh, that’s unusual,” Professor Oak said absently. He admired her stubby little horn for a moment before reaching for her tail again, only to whip his hand back with a yelp as Sunset snapped at his fingers with her teeth. “Try that again, I dare you,” Sunset growled. Professor Oak regarded her warily for a few seconds, then gave up and put the thermometer down, “I think maybe we should forget about getting your temperature for now.” “Good idea, old guy,” Pikachu giggled. “She looks miffed.” Sunset scowled up at her, “Wouldn’t you be if someone tried to shove something up your a-” “Professor Oak?” a voice called out suddenly. Sunset turned to see a young woman approaching nervously. “Ah, Sakura,” Professor Oak smiled genially at her. “Is everything alright?” Sakura nodded, “Yes, Professor. I was just-” “Sunset?” Sunset’s jaw dropped open as a girl entered the lab behind Sakura. Her skin was pale, just like every other human around here so far, but there was no mistaking that hair. “Twilight?!”