*Knock* *Knock*

I must commend Roxanne for having her office in the school rather than in the gym. This place is much better suited to the sheer amount of paperwork that comes with her position, as the gym leaders are the league representatives and governors of the civil committee respectively.

"Come in." Roxanne's stern voice came from behind the door.

"Excuse me."

"Marcus, are you feeling better?" The fact that her voice softened when she saw me made me even more nervous.

"Yes... I was overwhelmed, a lot happened yesterday and..." My throat closed.

"Are you all right?" Her concern was palpable.

"Yeah, I've never been this good, so I got a little emotional." I flash the best smile I can muster.

"That's a relief then, how is the little one?" She regains her composure.

"Excellent."

I release Roberto from his ball so that he can crawl up my body, stopping in my head before announcing his presence.

"Anorith."

"He really likes you." She commented, laughing quietly at the cute bugger's antics.

"Roberto here is a lively fellow." I put him down, he was a bit heavy on my head.

"Roberto?"

"His name, Roberto the Armaldo, sounds funny."

"Haa..."

*cough*

"Speaking of which, how do you get him?" Fossil Revival is currently not available to the public.

"Thanks to my friend Steven, he was resurrecting his own claw fossil, so I set up a mine. The current machines need to be set for a particular species at a particular time, so if you get another fossil, you'll have to wait for the right time."

"When?"

"Don't worry about that." I should stop this plan of hers, that smug smile of hers doesn't hide anything.

"Right, anyway, I can't thank you enough for everything." I tell her as I stroke Roberto.

"You're welcome."

"I have good news, by the way."

"Tell me." She went back to her paperwork.

"I've been sponsored by Team Magma." She scratched the paper.

"What?" Mrs Roxanne, that smile is scary.

"I met Mr Maxie at school yesterday before you gave me Roberto, and he offered to sponsor me after talking to me about my project." At the moment, Team Magma is a humanitarian group, but from her reaction, the League knows otherwise.

"What project? No, why was he at the school?"

"He was looking at the exhibit on the ancient ruins, I think."

"....." Yes, she knows. Now the question is, how much?

"Really, did he mention anything?" She asks with a sharp look.

Just curiosities, like how Groudon can create land masses and stuff."

"Mmm, anything else."

"Not really, he was interested in my investigation, so talk most." Take the bait, come on.

"Investigation?"

"Yes! The one for my project." I hope this works.

"Right, of course."

"......"

"......"

"Rith?"

"Can you tell me about the project?"

"Er er. It's about ancient evolution, or rather lost evolutionary paths. I got the idea from Professor Rowan's papers and the Myths and History book I read. Recently, I discovered the evolutionary methods of some Pokémon species, so I needed funding, and with Maxie's interest in the myths surrounding the creation of Hoenn, he made the offer."

"That's..." She went into deep thought.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"Roberto, not the couch." I stopped my Pokémon before he got me into trouble.

"Ri, rith."

"Sorry buddy, we'll play later, so come back now." I call him back just in time for Roxanne to stop thinking.

"I can see why he would be interested, new evolutions always attract a lot of attention, both from trainers and the scientific community. If what you say about discovering new evolutionary methods is true, then with the right thesis and evidence you can become a researcher, even a professor if you are willing to share the methods."

"I hope so."

"Didn't you want to be a trainer?"

"At first I wanted to become a laboratory trainer to get a good start, but with Roberto that is not necessary. To be honest, after watching you teach and the way you talk about professors, I want to become one, being a trainer is just the first step". I turn away and scratch my face. I cannot blush on command, but this will do.

"I'm flattered."

"Now that we are talking about my project, can I ask you something?" I face her again.

"What?" She is still nervous, better to strike while the iron is hot.

"It was supposed to be a surprise, but one of the Pokémon is a Rock type, so I wanted to ask if you could help me."

"I'm not going to lie, a new Rock-type will be a great boon to the gym and the school, but I can't risk resources blindly, so let's do this, if you present me with a good thesis, I'll give you my support." I grin.

“Ahead of you.”

I took a folder from inside my jacket, this inside pocket is a blessing. I approached her and laid out the papers, taking care not to make a mess on her desk.

"Here is my thesis on Kleavor, one of Hisui's noble Pokémon."

"Hisui?" She picks it up and starts to read the thesis.

"It's the old name of Sinnoh. Kleavor is an evolution of Scyther with a rock/bug type that existed 2 centuries ago. The cause of this evolution is probably the abundant volcanic minerals that were present in their habitat when the volcanoes in the region were still active, especially black augurite. As you can see in my thesis, the exposure of the TE-bearing mineral to a Scyther will cause a reaction similar to the metal coating used to evolve the species into Scyzor.

"You also know how to evolve Scyther into Scyzor." She mused." Right, I forgot those things were trade secrets.

"If I can't even do that, how can I try to discover new things?

"I'll read it and let you know my decision tomorrow, for now I have to make some calls."

"I understand, thank you again." I bow.

"My pleasure, by the way, what exactly did you tell Maxie?"

"Myths about the creation of Hoenn, the draconid tribe's cult of Rayquaza, and the events between Groudon and Kyogre. He was most interested in Groudon and how humans dealt with it."

"Deal with them?"

"Apparently there is a method of controlling them, but I am no wiser." Her eyes widen in realisation.

"I see, let me know if you find anything, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

I left her office and couldn't help but feel relieved that the hours I'd spent in the library preparing my dissertation had been worth it. I just hope I can chalk up the stuff coming out of my ass to inexperience when I write the damn thing.

Now it's time to feed Maxie some juicy information and get a much-needed PokéNav. With that in mind, I make my way to the Pokémon Center.

-------

Ah, the cornerstone of many places, the Pokémon Centre, especially here in Rustboro, where we have two, one for the northern part of the city and one for the southern.

In my opinion, the Pokémon Centres are a bit outdated, because as time goes on, the services they provide will branch out and become a big part of both trainers' and civilians' lives. As well as serving as communication centres, they are also equipped with Pokédexes and act as inns and eateries, not to mention offering regular courses in first aid and Pokémon care. The Joy Clan has really outdone themselves, and with their monopoly on Chansey, few dare to cross them and cause trouble in a centre.

It bothers me that I am still unable to solve the genetic mystery of the Joy and Jenny clans.

With this in mind, I approach the ever-beautiful Nurse.

“Excuse me.”

"Hello, how can I help you?" She notices me and asks with her ever-present smile. The public service guidelines make this area a tedious affair.

"Hi. I want to check my Pokémon, I got them yesterday." I introduce Roberto Pokéball.

"Sure, sweetie, can I see your ID?" I do as she asks. She scans it and sees my information on the reception PC.

"Everything's fine." She pauses for a moment and her eyes widen a little. What the hell is this, the Faller thing or the gym internship?

"I'll call you when it's done, please wait here."

"I'd like to check the phones too, if it's no trouble."

"Of course, I'll use the loudspeaker when the little one is ready." How did she know Roberto was so small? He could be an onyx, for all she knows.

“Thanks.”

Aaah, Roxanne must have entered Roberto into the league database, that's why she reacted like that. A teenager with a fossil and the backing of the local gym is bound to raise a few eyebrows.

Enjoying my luck with the centre's free services for student trainers, I sit in the phone booth and pull Maxie's card from my pocket.

"555-9886-3963 and *ring*" Perfect.

"Hello." His dry voice greets me.

"Hello, Mr Maxie, this is Marcus."

"Young Marcus, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It's about our conversation yesterday, I found something about the Guardian family." I heard the sound of a chair moving.

"Please tell me."

"After our talks, I reread the books and found that the family branches out, and one of those branches guards the Cave of Origin in Sootopolis. There may be knowledge about the orbs there."

"Wonderful!" That was more emotion than I expected.

"Mr Maxie?"

"Sorry, my passion for human history sometimes gets the best of me." I imagine him putting down his glasses.

"I understand, I have the same problem."

"Really? It's good to see that the new generation has an appreciation for history."

"I blame Champion Cynthia, her love for the subject is well known."

"True, was that all young Marcus?"

"No, I was wondering if I could take advantage of the offer, for a PokéNav. I'm about to start my project on Ancient Evolution, so I won't be able to communicate as I uncover information about the myths, so I think it would be nice to keep in touch." Let's hope he buys my bullshit.

"I can do better than that, young Marcus, you are staying at the League orphanage in Rustboro, correct?"

"Yes, sir." There is no point in trying to hide this fact.

"I have a member of my team in Rustboro at the moment, I will call her to look for you there and give you the details of our cooperation."

Not sponsorship, but cooperation, I bet he plans to move soon.

"Thank you, Mr Maxie!"

"Don't worry, it's only natural. Goodbye, young Marcus. I expect great things from you."

*Clap*

That was not ominous at all, in any case she will come to see me. I bet it's Courtney, she was here yesterday, so it's logical that she will come. I cannot rule out that the reason she is still here is because of my presence and she is probably digging up everything there is to know about me for Maxie.

The other admin, the fat one, I think used to work in Devon, so I won't see him around here, or maybe he still does, I don't have it clear.

The thing is, if my connection with Roxanne makes him think I'm some kind of spy or something, nah, the second he checks out the info on the orbs and the Draconid people, he'll trust me, or at least my research.

"Marcus Poplar, your Pokémon is ready."

I better get going. I need to eat, play with Roberto, and then start writing my big thesis, in case my plan with Kleavor works out. Noble Pokémon and Where to Find Them, yeah, that should do it. Sorry JK, that title is just too catchy.

But for now, I need to buy other things instead of just Magikarps for Roberto.