Pokémon: The Rule of Six

The Man in the Mask

The sputtering candle that illuminated the cramped workspace did little to combat the twilight that had crept in through the window. Professor Archimedes Spigot did not notice the dwindling light. The torch that was fastened to the side of his head provided enough light by which to see that upon which he worked. He sat alone, hunched over his desk in a way that he knew was bad for his arthritis but was his default position whenever he got to work. The table in front of him was a mess of cables. The soft glow of computer screens added to the ambient light of the room as they provided elaborate information on the professor's current work. His eyes periodically scanned the screens, absorbing the information without giving it much attention. Things were running smoothly. That was all he needed to know.

Running a hand through the wisps of hair that lingered on his head, Professor Spigot reached for his empty coffee mug. He drank the air from it, not noticing that its liquid contents had run dry hours ago. He placed it back on the table, missing the coaster for the fourth time that day. He picked up a small metal rod and went back to tampering with the thing ion front of him.

The metallic mass was the thing from which all the cables poured out. It was a metal orb with two magnets attached to its side, one large screw protruding from the top and two smaller ones poking out below a circle of white. An electric current periodically crackled over the Magnemite's body, but never with enough force to give Professor Spigot more than a slight tingle in his fingers. After a few more minutes of poking at the creature before him, the professor threw down the tool in his hand and stared at the screen. He read that which was displayed there, his mouth silently forming the words that he read. He scratched his head and looked despairingly at the Magnemite as though it would reveal unto him all of its secrets. The creature did not stir. The break in focus that this shift of attention caused allowed the professor to finally notice the darkness that had consumed the room. Pushing back from his desk, Professor Spigot manoeuvred his wheelchair towards the light switch and turned on the light. His laboratory was thrown into stark relief with the shadows being driven to the furthest corners of the room. Rows of machinery and technical equipment, hidden before by the darkness, now stood perfectly illuminated. The professor cast an eye over them as though one of them may yield the answers he sought. They stared blankly back at him, lifeless in the vast space of the laboratory.

A knock at the door was enough to distract Professor Spigot from the questions that plagued his mind. He moved over to the door and opened it. The light from within spilled out to illuminate the two figures who stood on his doorstep. The first he recognised as his assistant, Mariah. She was wearing the lab coat that she always wore whenever she was out conducting research for him. Her dark red hair was not contained within the usual ponytail and instead flowed freely down her back. This was odd in itself but stranger still was the figure at her side. A strange man, his face obscured by a bronze mask, hung limply at her side. Mariah was supporting the man's body weight and clearly struggling with the endeavour. Professor Spigot rolled back to permit his assistant passage into the laboratory. She dragged the man inside and threw him onto the worn leather sofa that occupied the domestic part of the lab. Following behind the strange pair, with a look of great concern on its face, a small orange monkey entered the lab. It wrung its hands together anxiously, the flame on its back fluttering wildly. With the man deposited on the sofa, Mariah knelt beside her Chimchar and gave it a reassuring pat on the back. This seemed to help calm it slightly, but it was evidently still on edge.

Professor Spigot looked at his assistant. Neither spoke for a moment. Instead, he leaned forward in his wheelchair, getting as close to the newcomer as his aching spine would allow him. There was something familiar about the expressionless mask that covered the man's face. The professor attempted to remove it yet was not surprised when it remained in place. It was as though the metal had been fused to the man's flesh and was now a permanent part of his body. Muttering to himself, Professor Spigot headed for one of the many bookcases that were slotted in alongside the machinery. Mariah smiled at her Chimchar.