Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 39: Boy in Black

Abbey joined Yan in leading Team Magma to complete a geological survey that would hopefully reveal the size and location of Obsidian City. People whispered when Aiko left holding Yan's hand. She was absolutely certain no-one was jealous – as Yan said, they were probably wondering why she was yet to die of boredom – but she enjoyed wondering if they were regardless. She also knew, however, that if Courtney could still feel anything, she was cackling even more enthusiastically than she did when she thought her apocalypse-triggering plan was about to succeed.

Teams at the University of Orre's Desert Lab and GOSS were also working on surveys to detect any other underground settlements. When both Abbey and Lyndon asked, Alfie reluctantly flew to the Phenac City campus to help Drama students prepare to infiltrate Cipher. After producing recruitment posters themselves, they knew which mining job adverts were actually Cipher job adverts, but the faces of anyone in their circles were too obvious. Only strangers to them could apply.

As much as Alfie complained about anything that took him out of his comfort zone, he secretly glowed inside when he saw the students flourishing. Back when he was celebrated as an Orrean hero, just for his acting, he felt like an utterly useless fraud even before he secretly became a Cipher Admin. He played heroes because he couldn't be one. Now he was teaching starry-eyed aspiring actors that they could be real heroes, not because they were Trainers, but because they were actors.

'I cannot believe,' he told Abbey one night, 'That I'm actually going to die acknowledging that everyone does have a unique talent that's useful to the world in its own way.'

'That's nowhere near as shocking as you being besties with Leon.'

'Pfft. I only tolerate him because he's your husband.'

Abbey smirked. Even Alfie smiled to himself. They both knew that wasn't true. It was natural that the only two men Abbey had ever loved would get on so well.

Alfie was still prolonging Leon's 'headache.' He couldn't resist asking how Drifloon was, or even returning with a Drifloon plush, when he got home. Leon threw the plush at him. He still smiled, thinking neither of them were looking, when they danced around the kitchen to their old favourite songs; but Alfie did notice and smiled back.

If their lives had taken even a slightly different path, if Alfie had never knocked over Ardos' paint can 60 years ago, Abbey might never have spoken to Leon again. She undoubtedly would have married Alfie. Their relationship would never have disintegrated when Lovrina and Gretchen kidnapped Chalcedony, because they wouldn't have cared about a random actor enough to kidnap his daughter. As bittersweet as it was, Alfie had long accepted he did not live in that alternate universe. Leon was what Abbey needed when she needed it most. They both forgave Alfie and, eventually, they even found Chalcedony, who wanted to know her parents. They were all alive to know their grandchildren. That was enough.

Jovi studied the results of the surveys so far. She hoped her data on the decreasing numbers of wild Pokémon would marry up with the suspected entrances to Obsidian City, but it did not. Cipher gathered Pokémon from all over Orre.

'Morning.'

Lumir's voice woke Jovi. She fell asleep at her desk, accidentally crushing her bag of blueberries.

'Oh... morning, Lumir.'

'You must rest if you need to, Professor.'

'Don't worry about me. You'll be late!'

When Lumir wasn't busy at the lab, he taught his specialty, Paleontology, at the Desert Lab and GOSS. It was hardly possible for him to be late. The flights took no longer than 30 minutes on his Mega Salamence, but he always rose two hours early.

That never impressed his ex-wife, Hattie. She said tiny things like that built up until she had to leave, but everyone knew it was really Lumir's refusal to consider children, because he didn't want to produce direct descendants of Ardos. It was clear kids weren't an option when they got married. Hattie thought she didn't want any. She changed her mind.

'Good luck. I guess everyone's on edge out there...'

'Well... yes. The foreign students especially. But most are still determined to complete their studies, which is positive.'

Other Pokémon, mostly Crobat, Altaria and Pelipper, landed in the GOSS parking lot as Lumir arrived. Cars began to line up. They were behind-the-scenes staff like cleaners and technicians. None of them understood why Lumir didn't sleep longer when he had the chance. Truthfully, his brain woke him at the exact same time every day. It never allowed him to doze off again. He had nothing else to do and never got bored of planning new ways to teach about fossils, or cramming in extra research before the library and labs got busy.

Usually, two other lecturers arrived as early as Lumir. An old friend from the Gym Challenge, Bianka, taught Psychiatric Nursing. The course could be hard going. She liked to clear her mind in advance of her classes. The other arriving staff hung around to see if she would challenge Lumir to a battle in the parking lot, but she wasn't there. She called in sick.

The other early riser, who sometimes battled Bianka, was Natalya. She wasn't there, either. It seemed something in her life indeed took a darker turn. For the past three days, she hardly spoke. To many of her students, she was a second mother for being so caring and attentive, often working late to accomodate them; so they were startled when she cancelled all her one-on-one tutorials with no explanation. Her Charizard landed only minutes before her first class began.

Lumir's morning lectures were open to all science and history students. Some found him boring, but others were inspired by his passion and infectious enthusiasm for fossils. They also knew he would eventually become Orre's Pokémon Professor and Director of the Pokémon HQ Lab, specialising in the evolution of Pokémon over time. Everyone wanted to be his assistant so they could be the Pokémon Professor after him. It was a myth, but a commonly believed one, that it was easier to land science jobs in troubled Orre. Since Cipher's old facilities, like the Key Lair that became GOSS, were taken over by the University of Orre, the region produced some of the world's most talented and passionate scientists; with many choosing to remain there.

'Now, I'll end today's recording to take questions...'

That was also the cue for anyone without questions to leave. Hungover students filed out. A chill shot suddenly down Lumir's spine. Like an ominous effigy, there he was: the boy in the baggy black hoodie, exactly as Jovi described him.

It had to be him. Lumir had never seen him before. The way he shoved past his bewildered classmates, who clearly hadn't seen him before either, gave away that he wasn't supposed to be there. It was at least five years ago that Jovi remembered seeing him. He had been there far too long. He was no student. What in the world did he want from a middle-aged man's gushing about fossils?