The tapes of Carl Takahashi

01: Inspection

It's just another day in the Kanto Region. Another day, another inspection. The Indigo League instructed me to do an inspection of Silph Co. I've never done an inspection in Silph Co before, so I don't know what I will find. Ah Silph Co; the prime manufacturer of Pokémon technologies. No wonder why I was told to come here.

The League told me to just take notes of the physical features of the building, observing all scientists and staff, and the research that goes on around here.

I drove towards the towering building and parked my car in the parking lot. Unfortunately, the only parking spaces were all the way in the back, so I had to walk what appears to be a quarter mile in Kanto's summer heat.

When I arrived at the main entrance, the automatic sliding doors opened and I was greeted by a pleasant cool air. At least the AC was fully functional, so thank god for that. The lobby was quiet but nice. Beige painted walls, brown leather furniture, a flat screen television giving viewers the region's news, the lobby seemed like a welcoming environment. I went up to the woman who was working at the lobby's counter to introduce myself.

"Hello sir, welcome to Silph Co! What brings you here?" The woman asked.

I simply just showed my badge at her and her eyes shot up. "My name is Johnathon Nakamura. I have come to Silph Co to do an inspection as ordered by the Indigo League."

"Oh yes, Mr. Nakamura! We were expecting you! Please, take as much time as you need! Would you like anything to drink?"

"No ma'am, I'm fine." I say and began to take notes on the building.

For my final report, the building seems to be in top condition. Bathrooms are well cleaned, the cafeteria's food was prepared well, the labs had up to date equipment, and whatever was broken was easily replaced. The scientists and staff were well focused on their research, and Pokémon involved in any experiments were not harmed whatsoever. However, the scientists refused to go into detail with me on research. I was alright with that.

When I was making my way back to the lobby, I couldn't help but eavesdrop on a conversation between a scientist and janitor.

"Steve, could you be so kind and fetch me a pack of bolts from the basement?" The scientists asked.

"How would I have forgotten?" I said to myself. "I need to see the basement real quick."

I manage to reach the elevator with the janitor and our destination was the basement. The janitor looked at me, and noticed the badge on my chest, seeing that I was the inspector.

"I hope Silph Co is above your standards." The janitor said.

"Seems like it, but I gotta check everywhere just to be sure." I said.

We arrived in the basement floor and the janitor got the box of bolts he needed and went back to the upper levels of the building. Meanwhile for me, I had to do my job.

I looked around the area. There were rooms mostly filled with old machinery and storage boxes, a generator room, a heater, and a water system. All systems are functioning and safe.

I put my paper on the wall to use it as a hard surface to write down my report, but when I was writing, I noticed that the area of the wall was less thicker than other parts of the wall. I backed out a little and saw there was a rectangular outline of what appears to be a door, or at least used to be one.

Curious, I banged my fist against it a little bit and I felt how it was hollow on the other side. I knew that there was a hidden room behind this wall, so I kicked the door open and I was right. There was a room. I turned on the dim light and saw it was a small room filled with machinery and equipment that was decades old. There were many old drawings of what appears to be the Pokémon Voltorb and Electrode.

"What is all this stuff? And why were they hiding this room?" I asked myself.

I looked around the room. There were shelves of spare parts and old electronics like monitors, remotes, and even a small television. There was an old desk with a larger monitor, and there was a name tag that says "Carl Takahashi" on the desk.

"Who the hell is this guy anyway? Was this his room or something?"

In the corner of the room, there was a locker with a big round dent on it. I opened the locker, and to my surprise, a Voltorb rolled right out. The second I saw the Voltorb, I knew what would exactly happen if a Pokémon like this was startled, so I panicked and I hopped right behind the desk, hoping I don't get killed from the explosion. Strangely enough, the Voltorb did not move or make a single noise. I got up and inspected the Voltorb, and saw that it was deactivated, or in other words, dead.

"What kind of sick people run this company?" I said looking at the Voltorb. "The League is definitely going to know about this."

I got out a new piece of paper and began to write down what I have seen in this room. Something then caught my eye. On a shelf there was a small metal box that slightly glistened in the dim light. I couldn't help but pick it up to see it. There was a thin layer of dust coating the top. I blew off the dust and saw an old label that said "Experiment No. 100/101".

I remembered Voltorb's Pokédex number was 100 and Electrode's number was right after that. Seeing the Voltorb on the ground, and the sealed off room, whatever happened in this room wanted to be forgotten. This had to have some answers, so I opened the box, and I found these little old tapes placed neatly inside. I was dying to know what was in these tapes, but the device to play them is heavily outdated and they don't even sell them anymore. I mean, I could buy a vintage video tape player, but it would be a fortune in these days. But due to the varieties of old electronics, there was bound to be something I could play the tapes on.

I checked the shelves until I found a little video tape player. It was a bit dusty, not being used for decades, but it was still functional. Knowing that I was possibly trespassing, I decided to leave the basement with the tapes and video player. I put the door back to make it look like it wasn't opened, and I placed the tapes and video player in my bag and zipped it tight. I wanted to watch these tapes before giving the report back to the League so I understand what happened back there in the room.

I made my way to the lobby, and before I walked out of the doors, a man with a deep voice called my name.

"Mr. Nakamura!"

I could only turn around and see an older man dressed in a suit. I recognized him as Silph Co's CEO, Mr. Soma. He walked up to me and put out his hand, expecting me to shake it.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Nakamura! I hope your inspection was going very well! Tell me about your report."

I shook Mr. Soma's hand, as it was a professional thing to do. I was also very cautious, and tempted to mention that hidden room. I knew that I violated the rules because I damaged property, so I tried to act normal. "Well, Mr. Soma, I am still working on the report and I'll try telling you about it as soon as I'm done."

"Of course. Take your time, but don't take too much time, haha!" Mr. Soma chuckled and walked away.

As for me, I walked out of the doors and made it to my car as I drove home to view the tapes.

To be continued