The Theory of Grey | Pokémon X

Twelve | The People In Red Suits

Believe it or not, I was in no way interested in going to the stupid laboratory that Professor Sycamore asked us to visit so we could gather information regarding Mega Evolution. Much to my disappointment, I didn't have much of a choice in the matter, especially since Calem made it blatantly obvious that there really was no choice. Me being the impatient person I was, I dragged Calem with me to the laboratory, which brought us to our current location.

As I walked in, I was suddenly taken aback at how fancy this place looked. I couldn't help but let out a "woah" as I took in every single detail. Ancient fossils were put on display with their respective labels plastered underneath for identification. I walked up to one in the shape of what resembled a Feraligatr's skull, only this one was different; perhaps this one was one during their evolutionary stages of natural selection.

Next, I moved on to an old Rhyhorn skull. According to the information placed on its plaque, this particular skull was the oldest among their collection. Damn, how they managed to preserve it so well was beyond me, but I found it a little intriguing. I knew how some artists preserved their artwork using some weird shit like vegetables and chocolate, but this was something else.

I was about to take a look at another fossil, but I felt someone grab my hand. Annoyed, I narrowed my eyes at the culprit. Calem was unfazed by my warning look. Shouldn't he be glad I wasn't complaining and actually taking interest in this shit?

"The fuck dude?" I questioned.

Without answering, the black-haired boy dragged me over to who knew where. He was probably the one out of both of us who took Professor Sycamore's work seriously. If I had it my way, I would be challenging the next gym leader for my next badge. As fascinating as these fossils were, I had this feeling we were wasting time looking for answers here.

When Calem finally let go of my hand, I felt this obscure coldness that I hadn't felt before. Shrugging, I rubbed my hands together before crossing my arms over my chest as I pouted at him. He straight out ignored me, which kind of rubbed me the wrong way. This dude was getting brave on me and I didn't like it. Calem proceeded to tap the scientist on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir?"

The middle-aged man jumped slightly at the sound of Calem's voice. The poor man was too focused in his work that he didn't realize there were people in here. He stopped inspecting a seemingly new fossil and looked over at Calem, adjusted his glasses that had slid down from the bridge of his nose, and then peered at us for a moment. His face relaxed a little as a friendly smile replaced the thin line shape of his lips.

"Ah, are you two Professor Sycamore's students?" he asked us.

"Yes," Calem answered before I could. He stole a glance at me before continuing. "We were wondering if you knew anything about Mega Evolution."

I had doubts, which I expressed before even coming here. The scientist tapped his chin with the pen in this hand as he stared off in wonder. My gut feeling was correct when the scientist's face scrunched up in confusion.

"My apologies, young lad. I'm afraid I don't know anything other than it involves a rare kind of stone," he admitted.

Of course, what else was I expecting? My disappointment couldn't be hidden when a frown instantly made its way onto my face. Professor Sycamore struck me as the kind of researcher that doesn't release his work until he was certain of it. That should've given us some clue that it wasn't going to be easy.

"It's fine." Calem sighed. "Well then, I guess--"

"However, I do have an assistant that may know more than I do," he added, which immediately caught Calem's interest.