They reached the lab and Dawn started making small talk to Davy. "Is this your first time at such a place?"

"No, I used to go to the city with my mom when I was young."

"Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to make you remember; Let's talk about something else. Uhhh,.." Dawn tried to think of a topic that might not make Davy uncomfortable or make him remember about the past. Professor Rowan told them that Davy lost his family because of the intense blizzard, and that he's the only one who survived.

"Oh right! This will be your job to do from now on." Dawn gave Davy a list of his job along with the list of the others work. "It's going to be easy for now, but later Professor might give you more work."

"Thank you, I'll do my best." Davy thanked Dawn. Dawn then showed Davy where his first job will be, and guided him on what to do. Inside the room is documents, and papers stacked on top of each other.

"This will be your primary job for now. You have to organize the research materials, the pokemon supplies and the data that we get. Then you have to write a detailed report using the computer here, then send it to Professor Rowan. After that you can decide what to do with the rest of your time." Dawn showed Davy how to do it. "Do you know how to use a computer?"

Davy thought for a few seconds before deciding what to say. "I don't know how to use it."

"I'll show you. First you have to..." Dawn spent the rest of the hour teaching Davy how to use the computer. There are slight differences on the computer of this world and the computer of Earth. Aside from those, everything else is the same. "You can also use the computer on your free time, there are forums that you can join and there are also videos that you can watch. You just have to remember to take a good care of this computer; It's a bit old, so it isn't as fast and efficient as the newer versions. So do you think you can manage?"

"I think I'll manage."

"That's the spirit! I'll supervise you until you finish everything then I can show you everyone with their work." 2 hours later, Davy did everything Dawn said, with minor mistakes. The job itself isn't hard, but it's something that could make a mess of others work if he did it wrong.

"Good job! For now, this will be your only work, but if you're bored, you can help out the others." Dawn seems satisfied with Davy "Hmm? What's wrong?"

"I just thought that this is so... easy?"

"It's like that right now since it's off season, we usually don't have much work or none at all this time. But when march comes our work will increase three-fold."

"Why is that?" Davy asked curious.

"It's because it's on season. The amount, of applications, tests, analysis, diagnostics and experiments we have to do because new product in the market will be released. Some new energy drinks, foods, and medicine for pokemon will be produced; and we're the ones that has to check if they're not harmful."

"I guess that makes sense."

"There will also be more people recruited for the duration of the season. For now, it's just us personal assistants, but the amount of work can't be finished with just eight people, so we have to hire temporary assistants."

"Eight?" Davy asked. "Isn't there only six of us right now?"

"Oh, we forgot to tell you, there's two more assistants you haven't met yet. They work on the field to gather research materials and investigate pokemons. You'll meet them soon, after all, Professor Rowan said he wants you to join them on the field."

Davy thoughts swirled, the possible future and dangers he's got to face on the field.

"Anyway, let's go! I'll show you the others work." Dawn took Davy to where the others are working one by one.

They first arrived at research lab, where Roseanne and Josue are working. "Good morning dad! Good morning, Roseanne!" Dawn greeted.

"Good morning, Dawn! Good morning, Davy!" They both greeted back

"Good morning..."

"Davy finished his job, so I'm showing him around."

"Please don’t tell me you’re neglecting your own job, Dawn," Josue said, eyeing her with concern.

"Of course, not dad! I just finished it earlier this morning!"

"Just making sure." Josue sighted.

Davy observed the place. It's the same place where they ate last night. Now it looks like a proper lab with tools and equipment. His eyes landed on the vials with blood and flesh inside; it was the sample that Professor Rowan took from him.

"Oh? are you interested with this Davy?" Roseanne held the vials, and showed it to Davy. "Professor Rowan gave it to me this morning, he said I need to prioritize analyzing this. Do you have an idea what pokemon Professor Rowan took this from, Davy?"

Davy lied, saying that it's his own blood and flesh would not be good. "I don't know, I didn't see where Professor Rowan take it from." Roseanne looked disappointed.

"How are you now Davy? Feeling better?" Josue asked me with a worried look.

"I'm fine now uhhh, Uncle Josue?"

"You can just call me Josue, no need to call me uncle." Josue smiled before asking. "How old are you again, Davy?"

"I'm 20 years old."

“Oh, you’re the same age as Enya,” Dawn remarked. After chatting a bit more, we headed to Enya's workplace. “Davy, if you need anything or have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask,” Josue reassured.

"I will, thank you." Dawn then took me to a the pokemon storage.

Enya was there tending to the egg that Professor Rowan gave. The place is now full of equipment and supplies, some of which are the ones that we bought back at Jubilife City. The egg is on an incubator like container. The place looks like a nursery without the usual toys.

"Hi Enya, did you talk to Professor?" Dawn asked.

“I did! Professor Rowan just gave me the incubator for the egg. So, how was it? Did Davy do a good job?” Enya asked with a teasing tone.

"He did better than you did when you first arrived," Dawn replied with a touch of sass.

“Oh, come on! I just let the Magby escape—it’s no big deal,” Enya said, shrugging it off as if it were nothing.

"No big deal! It's because of you that we have to spend the whole night trying to find it!" Dawn angrily hissed at Enya.

“Ahaha, did we really spend the whole night? I don’t remember,” Enya replied with a low, amused laugh.

"Ahhh! You!"

Davy felt the need to step in before things got out of hand. Before he could say anything, Glaceon accidentally knocked down one of the empty shelves. Everyone turned to look at her. Embarrassed, Glaceon quickly retreated into her pokeball.

"I'm sorry on behalf of Glaceon." Davy apologized. Enya just smiled while Dawn sighted.

"Good thing there's nothing in the shelf." Dawn said while helping them put back the shelves.

"I'm really sorry, I'll scold her when we get back."

"Anyway, we forgot to put rules on the house. Let's decide it now if you're not busy?" Enya said while putting back one of the empty boxes on the shelf.

"Yes, that'd be great." Davy replied. Enya and Dawn's phone rang, it seems like Professor Rowan was calling them both.

"It's a call from Professor Rowan, it seems like he wants everyone to gather in 30 minutes." Dawn puts her phone back and then asked Davy.

"Oh! right Davy you're not part of the Group chat yet right? Do you have an account? I'll add you there."

"Thank you, Dawn... I don't know how to make an account." Davy said while scratching the back of his head.

"I'll teach you how." Enya leaned closer to Davy and guided him on how to make an account. Dawn then pulled he back before scolding her.

"You're so close! You can just tell him how without leaning that close!"

"Oh my, is Dawn jealous? Is that how it is?" Enya teased with her hand on her mouth.

"That's not it!" Dawn then proceeds to bicker with Enya for some time.

"Uhh guys? What do I do next?"

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

They both stopped and taught Davy what to do.

Davy's POV

Everyone seems nice. They all seem to believe that I'm from the mountains. Professor Rowan gathered us earlier to tell us that we're having a research project at wayward cave. Professor Rowan seems to want to observe some Bronzor that's living there. He also said that it's a place where not much strong pokemon is around, so we should be fine. It seems the two other assistants can't be the ones to record and send it to Professor Rowan for some personal reasons.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Are you ready princess, this will be our first ever expedition." Glaceon seem to be exited, she seems eager to fight more and win. Before going to bed, I looked at the list of rules that Enya and I decided.

Rules:

No peeking

No going inside each other’s rooms

Always do their assigned jobs

Always feed the pokemons in time

No pokemon fights inside the house

Always give food budget

Don't go over the line (You know what I mean)

If you want something added to the house, always consult each other and Professor Rowan first. If it's something the two of us can benefit from, always split the money.

Lastly keep the house clean

Everything seems normal, I have no problems with any of the rules we've put. Leaving that aside, I'm interested in what Dawn said earlier about videos and forums. We don't have a computer here, I guess we could talk about it and buy a computer. I then closed my eyes and slept.

The next morning, everything seems to go fine. I finished my job and had way too much free time. I checked the time and it seems to be a little early for lunch, so I looked up at the computer and opened Poketube. It seems that's the equivalent of Youtube here. I searched up "Pokemon battles" I was then showed some pokemon battle videos. One of them caught my eye, it was titled "Leon VS Allain Champion Cup Finals! Full Battle." It was posted a year ago and it seems popular with 589M views. Glaceon jumped on my lap; she looks interested in watching it.

.

.

.

We watched the video from start to finish. I can't form words at how amazing it was, It wasn't just pokemon's throwing moves at each other, for a lack of words, all I'll say is more of an anime fight. Each and every single move is calculated and thought of. Throughout the whole fight, you can't tell who would win. They use the terrain very well. Their pokemon's depict mastery in their moves to the highest level, each and every move that hits is packed with power. If I were to jump in front of them while fighting, I'll be blown to smithereens before I could feel any pain.

I felt different emotions after watching it. Excitement, hope, and worry. I wonder if Glaceon and I could reach those heights. I stayed there for half an hour, just staring at the screen thinking. Glaceon seems to sit by the window deep in thought. Even without me asking her I know she felt the way I did.

I didn't notice, but Dawn was calling me. "Davy?" She looked at me then looked at the computer where the video keeps replaying. "Ah! I see how it is." She said before tapping my shoulder. "Want to go out and get some air?" I didn't notice her until she tapped me.

"Oh! Dawn, I didn't notice you."

"Yeah, you seem deep in thought. Is it because of this video?" She asked me, but she seems to already know the answer.

"Ahaha, yeah, I was just amazed at how strong they are."

"It is amazing. Come let's go out and get some air, the others is also there."

I followed her out at the garden in the backyard. It looks like everyone aside from Professor Rowan was having barbeque together.

"I bought Davy!"

“Davy, come eat with us,” Josue said as he cooked the barbecue.

"Thank you, I'll gladly accept your offer."

"No need to be so formal Davy, just talk to us normally." Roseanne said.

Enya came after while holding the egg inside the miniature incubator. "Sorry I was late! Dawn don't eat all the food!" They bickered again. The barbeque proceeded without much happening, just some small talk and questions they asked me. I also asked where the meat came from.

"Oh this? It came from animals that was captured and bred for consumption."

It seems like there are animals in this world but since pokemon's become dominant, most of them became extinct and only a few remained inside protected enclosure and bred for human and pokemon consumption. The price for a few pieces of meat is also high; some reaching up to 50,000.

"Hey Davy, what do you think about battling?" Dawn asked. I don't really know what to answer. After seeing the video, I felt doubt on myself. Would I be able to do it?

"I don't really know anything about battling." I answered honestly. Glaceon also seems to listen at the conversation.

"Are you interested in battling then?" This time around Enya asked.

"I am, but I doubt I'll make it far." I answered while scratching the back of my head.

"Why not try it? Sign up for the next season this march, you won't know unless you try." Josue suggested. I stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

"If you need help, you can ask Lucas and Barry, they both are finalist of the juniors league after all." Roseanne added. I was shocked to hear that. The two people named Lucas and Barry seems to be the assistants who's not here; the ones that gather materials outside. I didn't though we have people that strong here.

“Also, Lucas won it all, right? I remember Barry and Lucas meeting in the finals—it was like watching a movie,” Josue reminisced.

"So, what do you think Davy? Up for the challenge?" Enya encouraged.

"I still don't know. I have to think about this some more."

"Just remember, you will have to learn to fight pokemon soon, after all, Professor Plans to put you out on the field when season starts." Enya added.

‘She's right; I need to learn how to train Pokémon quickly. There's no point in hesitating. Why are you discouraged now, Davy? Stop thinking and just do it!’ I scolded myself internally. I glanced at Glaceon, seeking her confirmation. Glaceon looked back at me seemingly trying to do the same thing.

Enya's POV

Davy is... interesting. I can’t really say anything negative about him, but he does seem rather meek and easily loses confidence. Professor Rowan seems to really like him, though I’m not sure why. I suspect he has a secret that only a few people know—perhaps something about his origins or his parents. Without that knowledge, he would probably seem quite ordinary to me. He also seems to know more than he lets on. Aside from that, I can’t really point out anything else odd about him. If I had to mention something, it would be his low self-esteem; he seems to view himself as inferior to others. He also gets nervous about the smallest things and tends to be quite closed off.

"What to do?" I said to myself quietly.

"Hmm? Did you say something, Enya?" Roseanne seems to notice.

"Oh, it's nothing, just thinking about the egg. Say, Roseanne, how would you get close to a pokemon that easily gets scared and gets nervous on the smallest things.?" I asked not expecting any answer.

"Are you perhaps talking about a Psyduck?"

"Yes, yes a Psyduck, how do you think I could get close to one?"

"Hmm, from my knowledge, people generally just show’s genuine affection towards them; just show them that you care and they easily open’s up to you." I then replied internally. 'As if it's that easy.'

"Hahhhh" I let out a sigh.

"Why? are you planning to catch a Psyduck?"

"No, It just passed my mind, that's all." I then stood up and left. "See you tomorrow, Roseanne."

Before going back at the house, I dropped by the beach. It's sundown so the scenery is very beautiful. Vivilion's ball seems to wiggle, she probably wants to go out.

"Hi Vivilion." She perched on top of my head, her multiple eyes stared directly at mine. "You seem to get along we'll with Glaceon, how was your impression of her?" Vivilion then starts to circle around me, spraying her powder at me. I know it isn't toxic one so I let her be.

"You seem to like her very much. Found yourself a friend?" She happily continues to fly around me. We stayed there until night falls.

Coming back from the beach, I saw Davy and Glaceon at the garden, they both seem to be deep in thought. I observed them for a while before deciding to approach. "Davy... Davyyy....Davyyyyy?" I called out to him many times but he doesn't seem to realize I was there. Glaceon on the other hand, instantly notices me when I opened the door. Davy looks so vulnerable, so I played a prank on him.

"Wahhh!" I tickled his sides and shouted. He seems shocked at first but later calmed down.

"You gave me a shock, why didn't you call out to me?"

"?. I called out to you many times, but you couldn’t hear me. I thought you we're a monk trying to reach nirvana."

He looks shocked. With a sense of resignation, he slumped back into the chair. ‘I wonder if he’s still thinking about the conversation earlier.’

“What’re you thinking? You seem down.” I asked

“It’s nothing. I’m just reminiscing about the past.”

Did he really lose his family? Professor, said himself that it was all a lie. I wonder if I tell him that I know his story is fake, would he tell me everything? No, he doesn’t seem like the kind of person that would entrust his secrets to people he just met.

I decided to engage in some small talk to lighten the mood. “So, when was your first love?” I began, choosing an embarrassingly personal topic to start with.

“Why do ask?!” He panicked.

“Just curious! Come on, tell me. I’ll share mine in exchange.” I nudged him playfully with my elbow.

He seemed to ponder the question before answering. Davy always takes his time to think things through, and I can’t help but wonder why he’s like that. It must be exhausting trying to control every situation.

“Come on! Tell me, tell me!” I urged him to give me an answer fast.

“F-fine. It was when I was 10, I feel in love with my teacher.”

“Pff”

“Hey! Don’t laugh!”

“Alright, alright, I won’t laugh. You’re not the only one who fell in love with their teacher.”

“Then, was your first love—”

I cut him off. “No, I didn’t fall in love with my teacher.”

“You!” He said, clearly annoyed by my teasing.

“Hey! You’re the one that assumed it.”

“But you said! Arghh whatever.” For some reason, he seems used to banters like this. I decided to continue teasing him and making jokes for a while.

“Feel better now?” I asked

“Uh-yeah, thank you.”

“It’s nothing. No need to thank me for anything.” I paused before asking him seriously. “What’re your plans for the future?” He seems to think about it seriously.

“To be honest, I don’t know.”

“It’s fine, that’s normal. You haven’t heard your calling yet. I myself don’t know what I want to do even after graduating college.”

“Wait. You already graduated?”

“Yeah, I graduated just two years after I go to college. The Professors said that there’s nothing more for me to learn and sent me outside. I’m amazing, aren’t I?”

“Y-yeah.” He seems to look down again.

“What do you think about being a coordinator? Glaceon is a popular pokemon among coordinators, I’m sure you’ll do well in there.” Glaceon doesn’t seem to like what I said.

“No, I feel like being one is not my calling. I’m shy.”

“I heard from Dawn that Josue was also like that when he started.”

“Huh? Josue was a coordinator?”

“Yeah, he retired already though, and just helps Professor Rowan in the lab now. Actually, even Dawn and her mom is also coordinators.”

“I-I see.” For some reason he seems more down, I can’t seem to know why. Silence passed for a few minutes before he asked me a question.

“What do you think about being a Professor?” He asked

“I don’t really know, I never planned to be one, but if you plan on going on that route, better ask Roseanne. She’s Professor Rowan’s apprentice, and will continue his research when he retires.”

“I see.” An awkward silence passed again.

“It’s getting cold, I’ll go to bed now.” Davy said.

“Okay! Sleep well.” Looking at his leaving figure I finally realized what he feels. ‘I messed up’ He has an inferiority complex.

Davy’s POV

Everyone seems to be good at something. I seem so small in front of them. They have bright futures, but what do I have? Just this body that heals fast. I forgot this feeling when I came to this world, the amount of stress has been distracting me from it. Everyone around me are geniuses, I know they worked hard to get to that point. But just working hard isn’t enough for me. Even if I work extra hard, nothing seems to go well. Am I cursed to be like this? What deity did I anger to give me such a curse? I don’t want to go out anymore. I wish, I could just disappear.

Glaceon jumped on the bed and layed beside me. She looked at me with worry in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Glaceon, I think you should find a better trainer than me. I-I can’t meet your expectations.”

She got angry when I said that. She bit my arm and started growling at me. I looked at her with tears in my eyes. She didn’t give me the comforting look that Josh used to give me when I was upset. Instead, she looked angry and protective, her eyes blazing with a fierce determination. She kept growling and howling at me. I couldn’t understand her words, but her motive was clear. I remembered an old memory that I thought I forgot a long time ago.

It was when I was in middle school. I was crying on the back of the school because my grades were low. A girl approached me. She was someone I don’t know, though I remember her being on the class next door.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” She asked.

“Kewk… I-I have low grades. Mom and Dad will be mad.”

“Hey! It’s not that bad right? Let me take a look!” She snatched my exam papers from me.

“Oh.”

“It’s bad. I’m not good at anything.” I said as I continued to cry.

“Hey! Don’t say that! You might be bad at studying, but I’m sure you’re good at something else right?!”

“I’m not. I always fail, I can’t do anything properly.” She got close to me and held my hands.

“That means you haven’t found it yet! My mom and dad always say. “If you’re not good at many things, that means you haven’t found the right thing yet!” So don’t cry, I’m sure you can find something you’re good at!”

That memory replayed in my mind over and over. “You’re right, Glaceon,” I said. “I don’t have time to be down. I need to find what I’m good at. I can’t stop.” I wiped the tears from my eyes as a new determination swelled up inside me.