Ch 01
“Okay, bring her in.”
The words traveled from her mouth, through the sealed chamber that she stood in, into the microphones and out of the speakers at the other end of the circuit. The tech outside the chamber nodded his head, and Dr. Katherine Montalban shifted her stance toward the closed doors at the far end. They were bringing out another one today, newly evolved and, hopefully, ready to integrate with the others.
This part was always the toughest. Exposure to the radiation of the element stones caused some of the subjects to suffer acute memory loss, often causing a reversion in behavior. Sometimes they would be quite submissive and docile, but other times...she didn’t like to think about those other times.
A buzzer sounded and the doors slowly opened, vertically, with a hiss. From within the darkness, two bright yellow specks of light appeared. They flickered, as the creature blinked its eyelids. Then, slowly, the beast stepped into the light: it’s red, fur covered basketball sized head sporting two pointy ears each over a foot long; it’s yellow mane, seated just above its red paws; then, finally, the rest of its body, ending in a huge, bushy yellow tail. The tail stood straight up, as the Pokemon went on full alert, watching the doctor cautiously.
Katherine had worked with Flareons for years now, and she went over the list of body language signs in her head.
“Tail is up, but ears are back; alert but relaxed. Poised with head equal height to rump; observant.”
Katherine crouched down, making herself smaller and less intimidating. She had raised this Eevee for months and they were always on friendly terms. She just needed her to remember.
“Cinders,” she said in a low voice, almost like a coo. “It’s me, Cinders, you remember me, don’t you?”
The pokemon raised its head and looked at her inquisitively. Slowly, it took a step forward.
“That’s right Cinders...come here.”
The Flareon took one more cautious step forward. The position of its tail didn’t change, but its ears rotated directly forward. Katherine swallowed and, deciding to take a chance, got down on her knees.
“Cinders, it’s me. Look,” she said, producing a small rice cake covered in pink icing. “You remember how much you liked your rosa-cakes, yes?”
The Pokemon straightened out, turning its eyes directly on the woman. Step by step she came closer and closer, until she was only mere feet away. Cinders extended her neck, giving the cake a sniff, and then, after a moment’s contemplation, a small lick.
Katherine held her breath. The pokemon looked at her again with its dark eyes...and suddenly, within them was the glow of recollection. Cinders’ ears laid back immediately and her tail relaxed. With a happy sounding, “Flar!” she snatched up the rest of the rice cake, swallowing it in a single gulp, and leapt upon her human, knocking her to the ground.
“Okay, Okay Cinders!” Katherine laughed as the Flareon covered her in wet kisses and leftover rice cake. “HAHA Okay!”
Cinders leapt off and Katherine was able to sit up. The Flareon returned, lying on the floor and placing its large head on her knee.
“We’re going to have to run some tests,” Katherine explained, “Just like old times. Some blood work. Will you let the nice men take it?”
“Flarrrr…” Cinders said. She didn’t like it, but she would allow it.
Thirty minutes later, Dr. Katherine Montalban was out of the chamber and in the shower in the ladies locker room, trying to wash off the excessive amount of Flareon hair from...well, everywhere.