Post by Ghost on Apr 2, 2017 19:49:36 GMT
Introduction
Hello there! Welcome to the world of pokémon. My name is Hemlock, and I am a professor. This world is inhabited by creatures called pokémon. For some people, pokémon are pets. Others use them for fights. Myself, I study pokémon as a profession.
What follows is a pokémon legend which was created by an entire community. It was intended to be experienced rather than read, but like many things in the world it just never came to be. Through hard efforts and reaching out to the remnants of that community, I was able to recreate this legend. It is also noteworthy to realize that this legend may not quite follow the logic you might be used to when it involves the pokémon universe. There will be discrepancies between what is and what may be expected, but then again what legend isn’t? Join me as we traverse the undiscovered Dracorra Region and follow a young woman named Yuki along her very first pokémon journey. A world of dreams and adventures with pokémon awaits! Let’s go!
Chapter 1: The Interview
As the sun crept over the mountain range to the east of Tranquil Hollow, the wild Pidove began cooing their morning song. Though the town was smaller than many in the Dracorra Region, it made up for its size with an overabundance of charm. The town was already bustling with energy as people went about their daily routines. The smell of fresh bread from the bakery meandered through the streets causing human and pokémon alike to pause and breathe deeply. Despite the morning scramble, people would regularly glance towards the gigantic building on the outskirts of the town; it was the laboratory of the region’s Pokémon Professor, Professor Hemlock. Whether this was due to the town’s tradition of cheering on any new trainer as they left the town or the general desire to avoid incidents from the Professor’s occasionally haphazard and unorthodox methods was still fairly uncertain in most people’s minds.
It was on this very morning that a sixteen year old girl was just waking up to the smell of breakfast rising from downstairs. Her name was Yuki. Though she had always been a very timid young lady, her time alone was always spent being as productive as possible. Her small but immaculately organized room showed signs of her productivity with well-read books inhabiting the shelves as well as numerous displays of hand-crafted pokémon dolls. With a stretch and a yawn, Yuki got out of bed. She tidied her pink and white bed set, quickly combed her long sandy-brown hair, straightened out the wrinkles on her pink pajamas, and headed barefoot downstairs to eat.
“Good morning, Mom!” Yuki exclaimed as she sat down at the table.
“Good morning, sweetie.” her mother, who looked very much like Yuki, said gently as she turned from the kitchen with a plate of pancakes. “I made your favorite breakfast to help make this day extra special. Are you excited to go see the Professor?”
“Oh.... y-yes… I am.” Yuki said quietly and solemnly as she began to poke at her pancakes.
In fact, Yuki had been quite dreading this day for a solid week ever since her mother had come home from town with news. Professor Hemlock had an opening at the lab for an additional assistant and somehow her mother had convinced him to interview her for the position despite her lack of knowledge or even interest in most things scientific. She had not only desired a breakfast devoid of the topic entirely but also hoped that her mother would have forgotten about the day’s interview. However, this hope now lay shattered upon the dining room floor. Yuki’s mother noticed the shift in her mood and put down her cooking utensils.
“Yuki, honey…” her Mom said sweetly as she sat down beside her daughter. “I know this is so far out of your comfort zone it might as well be in Hoenn, but you’re sixteen now. I really feel like you need to branch out a bit more and be confident in the wonderful person you are. Do you really just want to sit alone in a room sewing dolls for the rest of your life?”
“Actually I’d be...” Yuki had started to reply, but it seemed that her mother either didn’t hear her or it was a rhetorical question as she just kept on talking.
“Don’t get me wrong those dolls are wonderful and I’m so proud of your talent. I’m sure you could even make a career out of that, but you never know what else you may be good at if you don’t get out there. That’s why I want you to at least go see the Professor and keep an open mind. Give it a shot and I bet it won’t be anywhere near as bad as you fear. You might even have fun! Will you at least give it a try... for me?”
Yuki stared at her plate. The little anxiety monster inside her began to grow just thinking about what was ahead. However, the determination to please her mother overcame this feeling. It was the right thing to do and she was prepared to deal with it. Yuki swallowed the last bit of pancake before barely squeaking out an “okay… I’ll try it for you, Mom.”
After breakfast, Yuki headed back upstairs to get ready. She quickly showered then pulled one of her favorite outfits from her perfectly organized closet. It was a blush pink knee-length dress with a top that buttoned up to the collar.. She paired it with some small ankle socks, pink and white sneakers, and her rather small hand-sewn purse. She stood at the top of the stairs taking a few deep breaths before heading down. Her mother was waiting for her at the bottom.
“I was wondering if you’d choose that one, sweetie. You always look so good in that pink dress.”
“Th..thanks mom.”
“Now, just remember to keep calm. This is just an interview for a new opportunity, it’s not life or death here. It’s okay if you don’t know all the answers to the questions you’re asked. Just be courteous and do the best you can. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”
“Umm… ok then. Mom... I’m going to try my hardest for you and dad both. I know you two worry about me and Dad works so hard for the both of us. I want… I want to make you proud today, or at least I want to try.”
Yuki’s mother hugged her. “I’m already proud of you, but hearing you say that makes me even more so. I know you’ll be wonderful. Now, you better get a move on before it gets too late. Good luck Yuki, I love you.”
“I love you too Mom” Yuki said as she hugged back.
Gathering all the courage she had, Yuki took one more deep breath and walked out the front door of her house. She continued towards the street brushing her hand along the flowering bushes that lined the cobblestone walkway to her house. Turning left at the road, she continued along the row of houses towards the main part of town passing by an elderly woman sitting on her front porch and a small boy giggling as he ran around a tree with his pet Lillipup. The walk was pleasant and had almost driven any anxiety from Yuki’s mind. However, when she turned the corner at the bakery, the strange blue smoke rising from the laboratory reawakened her fear and she began to tremble slightly.
“Okay, Yuki, just relax. Relaxing is good.” she kept repeating in her mind as she forced her legs to move forward. “It’ll be over soon. He wouldn’t want you for the job anyway. It’s going to be fine just relax. Do it for mom.... for mom and dad. Just… ju… just relax.”
The constant repetition gave Yuki the willpower to slowly cross the small town and walk up the pathway to the professor’s lab. She briefly leaned against the brick exterior to delay the inevitable just a bit longer. Breathing in deeply once more she pushed off the wall, and strode up to the large wooden doors. She pressed the doorbell gently, but immediately clasped her hands over her ears and fell backwards onto ground as the doorbell was not a gentle ringing but rather a vicious onslaught of volume from what could be assumed was an enormous gong. As the noise faded, Yuki could hear a commotion coming from inside the lab which included breaking glass and some very angry shouting. Standing back up, Yuki brushed the dust off her dress just in time for the front door to open. She stood straight with her knees slightly knocking together from nerves. Preparing to see the professor or an assistant greet her at the door, she was once again caught off guard by the sight of a large blue insectoid pokémon.
“Heracro?” the heracross asked as he slightly bowed towards the guest at the door.
“Ummm… hi there. M… My name is Yuki and I’m supposed to see the professor today.” Yuki said while trying not to stare at the pokémon’s large horn. “Something about a job or something.”
The pokémon smiled as it bowed once again and motioned Yuki inside. The welcoming nature emanating from Heracross seemed to calm the young lady. She smiled at the bug and walked inside completely unaware of the disaster that awaited her.
“Thank yooOOOH MY!” Yuki had blurted out before she could even stop it. Her eyes slightly bulged at the absolute Grumpigsty the foyer of the lab was. There were half-empty bottles of chemicals lying in a haphazard manner on the floor. Boxes of who only knows what were stacked along the wall. There were mountains of paperwork and junk tossed in piles which created meandering walkways to other areas of the lab. To the right she could see a room that she assumed was an office because of the high bookshelves and what looked like the feet of a desk chair barely visible behind boxes labeled “serious research.” It was to this very room that Heracross began walking and motioned Yuki into a high-back chair in the left corner of the room.
Yuki sat down and watched as Heracross waddled out of the door and headed down the hall to the right. As she sat in silence, Yuki honestly wasn’t sure what was worse, sitting alone in this absolute disaster zone which felt like it could collapse on her at any moment, or having to talk to a total stranger momentarily. Her senses sharpened as the uncertainty of her situation set in. She could now hear the sound of electronic equipment, pokémon chatter, and footsteps coming from the distance. Her nostrils filled with a strange combination of peppermint, bleach, and something incredibly foul; any of these smells could have come from one of the junk piles near her and she really didn’t want to think about it. However, the peppermint smell was getting stronger by the second. Yuki looked around to see Heracross re-entering the room with a small metal platter and a cup of peppermint tea which he offered to Yuki.
“F.. for me? Well thank you that’s very kind.” Yuki smiled as she took the cup. The tea appeared to be brewed just right and the scent of peppermint perfectly masked any additional odors coming from the lab. She blew gently across the top of the cup and was just about to take a sip when it happened.
“HAUNT HAUNT HAUNT!” shouted the ghost-type pokémon, Haunter, who suddenly emerged from a nearby pile of papers with his eyes bulging out from his body, tongue wagging, and hands flailing maniacally.
Yuki, who had always been terrified even with the idea of ghosts, reacted to this about as well as anyone could have imagined. With a blood curdling scream Yuki flailed her arms, lurched backwards into the chair and clutched her knees to her face trembling with fear. The cup that had previously occupied her hand was now airborne and falling directly towards Heracross. CRASH! The teacup broke on Heracross’ head and was now covering the bug in hot liquid. Haunter began laughing hysterically at the results of his arrival, but the incredibly angry Heracross tossed the metal platter to the ground with a loud CLANG! Lowering his giant horn at Haunter’s face, Heracross jumped forward to attack. The ghost noticed this attack and sunk backwards into the paper pile causing Heracross to slam into the bookshelf. Papers were flying into the air as books and other nicknacks crashed to the floor almost burying the bug. Haunter continued to laugh at the hilarity of the situation as he flew through the adjacent wall.
“Just what is going on in here now?!” a man’s voice shouted from the hall.
Yuki, who was still trembling violently, was barely able to open a single eye and look towards the voice. In the doorway stool a very rotund man in his 30s with a prominent black beard. Though he was wearing an open white lab coat with several stains on it, the rest of his dress wasn’t exactly what you would expect. Beneath the coat, the man wore grey house slippers, a pair of baggy black athletic shorts and a t-shirt with a Pikachu on the front. Yuki would have probably stared at him a little longer if she wasn’t still so startled. The man noticed Yuki and his expression changed from slight annoyance to concern then to astonishment as he watched Heracross emerge from the newly formed pile of books and junk.
“I am so sorry. What hap… actually I guarantee I know exactly what just happened.” the large man said as he placed his arms on his hips and began to scowl. “Haunter! You get in here this instance and apologize! How many times have I told you not to play pranks on guests and new people?”
Haunter floated back into the room through the floor this time, but upon seeing the ghost pokémon again, Yuki let out a whimper and buried her face into the side of the chair, shaking once more.
“Wow, you’re really afraid of him aren’t you, kid?” the man said in a much softer tone. “I assure you he doesn’t mean any actual harm. Haunter is just a bit of a prankster. He’s been my friend for many years, the same as Heracross over there. That doesn’t excuse him from being a pain though.” However, when Yuki didn’t move or even respond to his words, the man turned his attention towards the ghost. “Well I hope you’re satisfied with yourself. Now go bother someone else for awhile… go on. Heracross, why don’t you go clean yourself up. I’ve got it from here.”
There was silence as the man slid a pile of papers off the nearby desk and into the floor. He sat in the office chair with his feet up on the newly cleared desk and waited for Yuki to calm down on her own. As she sat with her face buried in the chair, Yuki began replaying the events of the day in her mind. She just wanted to go home. Not only was this place so incredibly disorganized, but she ended up face to face with one of her biggest fears. Her mother was wrong; this wasn’t better than she feared, it was far worse. It was a solid five minutes before Yuki stirred and began to turn around, somewhat frantically searching for the door.
“Hi there.” said the man’s voice gently. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry again for what happened. I’ve never seen someone that afraid of ghost-type pokémon before. Are you ok?”
“I… I… I just… I want to go home.” Yuki stammered barely whispering her reply. “This is...this… I can’t”
“Home? Well, yeah you are going to have to go home eventually. I mean, I didn’t think we had anyone coming this month so I don’t have any prepared. I hate being unprepared especially for something this big, ya know?”
Deep confusion slowly began taking over the fear in Yuki’s mind as she stared blankly into the man’s face.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea!” the man said as he snapped his fingers. “To make it up to you, I’ll let you pick one out of all of them rather than just three specific ones. The whole only picking one out of three thing has always been kind of lame in my opinion, but apparently ‘that’s the way Oak does it so we should emulate his genius’ or some garbage like that. But anyway, which one would you like?”
“Which one? I… I’m sorry but who...who are you?”
“Oops I didn’t introduce myself, did I? I’m Professor Hemlock, the Pokémon Professor of the Dracorra Region. It sounds like a bigger deal than it actually is when I say that, but you only get one chance to introduce yourself so yeah. What’s your name?”
“Yuki” she replied timidly. “I’m here about the…”
“Yuki huh? That’s a pretty name.” Hemlock interrupted. “Now that introductions are over, let’s get to your choice. Judging by your outfit and demeanor I say we steer clear of things like Charmander, Totodile and Turtwig. How about a nice Chikorita or maybe a Fennekin?”
“But I’m not..”
“No?” Hemlock interrupted once again upon hearing any sort of negative response. “Shoot, I usually get this right on the first try. Maybe you’re more of a Popplio person or perhaps you’d like an Eevee so you can be a ‘choose your own flavor’ girl.” Hemlock intended to prattle on further but was distracted by another voice coming from the hallway.
What’s up, buuuuddy?!” said a short blonde woman in her mid 20s leaning against the door frame. She was wearing black rimmed glasses, and a long white lab coat which was zipped up to mostly covered the red flannel shirt and blue jeans she was wearing underneath.
“Oh, hey Jojo.” Hemlock responded as he turned towards his assistant. “Did you need something? I’m kind of in the middle of a thing here.”
She smiled but the tone in which she continued the conversation clearly gave off some degree of annoyance. “Since you so brilliantly decided to replace the doorbell with the world's loudest and most obnoxious gong, I am here to inform you that we need another box of graduated cylinders because the new ones we just bought shattered from the sound vibrations. It also freaked out Glameow who bolted from one of the rooms knocking over a burner and caused a small fire. Not to mention that everything in Experiment Room 1 is now levitating because the Psyduck in there now has a splitting headache. Oh and Stuart had to go home to change his underpants.”
“Excellent! Could you write down all the results and give it to me by the end of the week?” Hemlock then turned towards Yuki and lowered his voice a little bit. “Did you know that the only difference between screwing around and science is writing the results down?”
“I not really sure that’s how that works….sir.” Yuki responded while turning her sight back towards the floor.
“Thank you!” Jojo reacted a little louder than she meant to. “I’ve been trying to tell him that for the last three years. Maybe he’ll listen to you. Anyway, Professor, you might want to wrap this up soon or hit pause because Silvia is on the video phone for you. Something about a virtual port in the pokédex.”
“OOO Showtime!” Hemlock almost sang as he rubbed his hands together and practically lept out of his chair. “Jojo can you show Yuki around the lab so she can get a better feel of the place and see if she even wants the job or not?”
“P...Professor?” Yuki said quietly from her chair causing Hemlock to stop in his tracks. “You said you thought I was here to get a pokémon. You… you knew why I was here the whole time?”
Professor Hemlock winked and smiled at the girl. “Well I had to get your mind away from being so frightened of Haunter somehow, didn’t I? Speaking of which, Jojo please keep an eye out for Haunter. I doubt he’ll come back around her today, but we don’t want another incident. Also it goes without saying that she really doesn’t need to go in Storage Room C.” He smiled once more and began walking down the hallway with an excited “Toodles!”
“Well then...” Jojo said as she turned towards Yuki. “Why don’t we start with Aquatics Room B. The Professor likes to say this room is for research but it’s really that he just loves playing with the Corsola.”
“Do not!” shouted Hemlock from the opposite end of the hallway. “It’s research about stability of the rock type pokemon when combined with water and the regular application of friction!”
“Yeah okay!” Jojo shouted back down the hall thoroughly unconvinced before she turned back towards Yuki and almost whispered to her. “He’s so full of it sometimes… regular application of friction indeed. He goes in there to pet and play with the Corsola because he thinks they’re cute. He tries to hide this fact but fails miserably. Anyway, come on and I’ll show you around the place.”
Yuki couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the thought of this large bearded man playing with a group of bright pink pokémon. She stood up from the chair she’d practically been glued to and followed Jojo out the office door. For the first moment since meeting Heracross, she actually felt at ease. They spent some time with the Corsola who were admittedly adorable and very friendly. Jojo proceeded to lead her through the lab showcasing some of the stranger rooms such as the charred room dedicated to fire and explosions, a sleep study room which was filled with beds and a Drowzee, a home theater room, and a storage closet which was so overstuffed with junk that it caused an avalanche of garbage to fall into the hallway. There were so many rooms and hallways in the lab that the whole tour seemed a bit overwhelming. Despite the absolute mess and disorganized chaos which was driving Yuki into a bit of a panic, she had to admit that walking around with Jojo was actually kind of fun. The tour was coming to a close as the pair were walking towards the largest room along the first floor.
“Well this up here is the last room.” Jojo said as they walked side by side. “This is the main laboratory where all the fancy equipment and major research takes place. I can still hear the Professor on the call with Silvia which is why we hit this one last. Now’s as good of a time as any to ask questions before we go in there because who knows what sort of spectacle we’ll see.”
“Do you… like working for the Professor?” Yuki questioned quietly. “And… what would I be doing if I take the job?”
“No idea what you’ll be doing honestly. Sometimes he gets people in here working for really bizarre reasons; that’s just something you’ll have to ask him directly. As far as working for the Professor… he can be a royal pain in the butt sometimes especially when he decides to just start trolling everyone in sight. Ultimately he’s a good guy though. I mean, you got a decent look at his actual behaviour today. He’ll do something incredibly stupid just to annoy you but then he’ll be kind and look at you in this sort of knowing fashion. He let’s me do research on whatever I want and, I mean, where else can you walk up to your boss, call him an idiot, and not get fired? Anything else?”
“N...No I think i’m good.”
“Well in that case, let’s head on in there. You might even get to meet Silvia.”
“Is Silvia another assistant or something?”
“HAH!” Jojo had laughed loudly but quickly coughed to adjust her tone. “No, Silvia is the head of the Hoshikawa Corporation. You’ve probably heard of them or at least one of the products they put out. It’s thanks to her and her late parents that Dracorra is one of the more technologically advanced regions in the world. You won’t really notice it that much out here in Tranquil Hollow but if you ever head out towards Paradise City it’s a whole other game. Some of the stuff they have in Paradise City seem like they’re from a sci-fi novel. Professor Hemlock and Silvia worked together on the prototype Rotom Pokédex together and developed it into the machine it is now. Believe it or not, the Professor does have a kind of proficiency for… umm… pokémon augmentation I guess you’d call it. He just sort of intuitively knew how to get Rotom to work with the machine. He’s working on a helmet for Psyducks that will initiate the psychic receptors in their brain without causing them a painful headache… it’s not going very well but he’s trying.”
Yuki was honestly impressed. She had to admit that her mother was right. Despite the horror at the beginning of the visit and the mess that seemed to multiply by the minute, this actually wasn’t that bad. The pair stepped through the double doors into the large room ahead. Yuki wasn’t quite sure where to look first. There were wild looking machines, expensive equipment and bottles of various liquids everywhere. There were two more lab assistants working on something that seemed important as well as a few random pokémon including an Ursaring wearing a lab coat. Yuki had never seen anything like it; it was like suddenly stepping ten years into the future. Straight ahead was Professor Hemlock who was speaking towards a large screen with a woman in her mid-twenties on it; Yuki assumed this to be Silvia. The woman was wearing a lab coat and a pair of strange glasses that seemed to be displaying small bits of information to the wearer. The very stern look on her face clashed brilliantly with the deep purple shade of her long hair.
“So that’s the high level overview of what I’m doing.” Silvia spoke to Hemlock. “You should have the prototypes there tomorrow or next day and I’d really appreciate it if you could make this a top priority. It could revolutionize pokémon battles or at least make them more interesting. Oh, hello there Jojo, nice to see you back there.”
“Hey Silvia” Jojo responded as she waved towards the screen. “It’s always nice to see you on that big old screen up there.”
“Hey thanks for taking care of that documentation for me. I’d have one of my guys do it but we’re so busy with this new VR project and half the staff is working on system upgrades for The Creedance Foundation. We’re just run too thin at the moment. Who’s that back there with you?”
“That’s Yuki.” Professor Hemlock answered. “She’s taking a tour of the place and may start working here if she decides she wants the job.”
“Nice to meet you Yuki, I hope that this....” Silvia paused and stared towards the back of the room squinting her eyes. “Hemlock is that an Ursaring in a lab coat working back there?”
“Who Grizz?” Hemlock said with a rather large grin. This was the moment he was waiting for. “Yeah Grizz back there is our newest employee… well unless Yuki accepts that is.”
Silvia groaned and placed her face in her hands. “I swear Hemlock sometimes I honestly don’t know what goes through your brain. Last time it was the corporate pie eating contest. The time before that you thought it would be a great idea to send interviewees to my home address. Sometimes it makes me wonder what you’d actually be doing with your life if either I or Elven had accepted your job. I mean, I’ve done so much with the company and Elven is making headlines with the great programs she’s got going on at the University so we both made the right decision... but I wonder how much more peaceful my life would be if you were doing anything else. Okay I’ll bite. Why have you ‘employed’ an Ursaring to work for you of all things?”
“Oh he’s our new head of chemical research.” Hemlock turned around in his chair not only to stop himself from laughing but also to point towards Ursaring who was barely able to balance a platter of open bottle chemicals on his left paw. “I have him working on a solution to increase brainpower by simply drinking a liquid substance. So far we’ve only had to send one volunteer to the hospital.”
“ARE YOU KID..” Silvia shouted then paused briefly. “I’m done. I’m done here.” With that parting phrase she promptly hung up as the screen faded to black.
The Professor laughed hard; He hadn’t been able to annoy Silvia in quite awhile. Admittedly this was one of his weaker attempts but it still gave the anticipated result. He slid his rolling chair over towards Yuki and Jojo.
“You know...” Jojo said as she stepped to the side avoiding the Professor’s chair wheel. “One of these days she’s going to come all the way down here and punch you in the face, Professor.”
“Yeah probably.” Hemlock replied with a wide grin. “So Yuki, what do you say. Would you like to come work for me?”
Yuki looked at the floor once more. She knew that she needed to bring up his lack of an interview but didn’t want to upset him. “B..but” she barely squeaked out. “You...you haven’t even asked me any interview questions. Isn’t that how...how this works?”
“BAH” he spat out. “That’s just a formality, but if you really want a question. Ummm….” He sat tapping his finger to his head. “OH! Here we go. Now I want you to answer this question as brutally honest as you possibly can. What do you think of the lab?”
“It’s” she paused for quite awhile. She wanted to tell him that his place needed some serious care and organization, but she also didn’t want to offend him. “It’s nice. You have interesting things here.”
“Nice?” He questioned. “Let me repeat myself and allow you to change your answer… but only if you want to. I want you to be completely and brutally honest. I want your true thoughts on the matter. When it comes to certain experiments and procedures, not being completely honest can cause someone to get hurt. So again, what do you think of the place?”
“Well… it…” She began staring at a tile on the floor and attempting to burrow a hole straight through another with the front of her shoe. She began to shake slightly, but he wanted the truth so she was going to give it to him. “This place is nice but it could… use some work. There’s just… so much clutter everywhere it’s hard to breathe. I don’t think I could live or work in a place like that.” She took a deep but shaky breath. A dozen scenarios flashed through her mind as soon as she had finished responding to him and none of them appeared to be positive. After a few seconds, she began to look up from the floor towards the Professor expecting to see indignation or anger. Instead she was met with a face which was beaming with happiness.
“That, my dear, is exactly what I wanted to hear.” the Professor said gleefully as he sat back in his chair. “Your mother tells me that you are quite the organizer and that your room is so immaculate it could be in a magazine. If you’ll accept my offer, your first job will be to take a few days or even weeks to clean up the lab and organize it the way it should be. We all tend to be too busy with actual work or goofing around to do anything about any of this mess. Honestly, it’s gotten so out of hand I don’t even know where to start. If you say yes, we’ll have a gigantic breakfast feast tomorrow morning, discuss your wages, and make you an integral part of our little world of madness and wonder. What do you say?”
Yuki was able to relax and smiled back at Hemlock. She was amazed that her love of tidiness and organization, which just came naturally to her, could actually be of help to someone else. After a few seconds, she nodded and said “yes, I accept.”
“Excellent!” shouted Hemlock as he put out his hand for her to shake. “Welcome to the team!”
Hello there! Welcome to the world of pokémon. My name is Hemlock, and I am a professor. This world is inhabited by creatures called pokémon. For some people, pokémon are pets. Others use them for fights. Myself, I study pokémon as a profession.
What follows is a pokémon legend which was created by an entire community. It was intended to be experienced rather than read, but like many things in the world it just never came to be. Through hard efforts and reaching out to the remnants of that community, I was able to recreate this legend. It is also noteworthy to realize that this legend may not quite follow the logic you might be used to when it involves the pokémon universe. There will be discrepancies between what is and what may be expected, but then again what legend isn’t? Join me as we traverse the undiscovered Dracorra Region and follow a young woman named Yuki along her very first pokémon journey. A world of dreams and adventures with pokémon awaits! Let’s go!
Chapter 1: The Interview
As the sun crept over the mountain range to the east of Tranquil Hollow, the wild Pidove began cooing their morning song. Though the town was smaller than many in the Dracorra Region, it made up for its size with an overabundance of charm. The town was already bustling with energy as people went about their daily routines. The smell of fresh bread from the bakery meandered through the streets causing human and pokémon alike to pause and breathe deeply. Despite the morning scramble, people would regularly glance towards the gigantic building on the outskirts of the town; it was the laboratory of the region’s Pokémon Professor, Professor Hemlock. Whether this was due to the town’s tradition of cheering on any new trainer as they left the town or the general desire to avoid incidents from the Professor’s occasionally haphazard and unorthodox methods was still fairly uncertain in most people’s minds.
It was on this very morning that a sixteen year old girl was just waking up to the smell of breakfast rising from downstairs. Her name was Yuki. Though she had always been a very timid young lady, her time alone was always spent being as productive as possible. Her small but immaculately organized room showed signs of her productivity with well-read books inhabiting the shelves as well as numerous displays of hand-crafted pokémon dolls. With a stretch and a yawn, Yuki got out of bed. She tidied her pink and white bed set, quickly combed her long sandy-brown hair, straightened out the wrinkles on her pink pajamas, and headed barefoot downstairs to eat.
“Good morning, Mom!” Yuki exclaimed as she sat down at the table.
“Good morning, sweetie.” her mother, who looked very much like Yuki, said gently as she turned from the kitchen with a plate of pancakes. “I made your favorite breakfast to help make this day extra special. Are you excited to go see the Professor?”
“Oh.... y-yes… I am.” Yuki said quietly and solemnly as she began to poke at her pancakes.
In fact, Yuki had been quite dreading this day for a solid week ever since her mother had come home from town with news. Professor Hemlock had an opening at the lab for an additional assistant and somehow her mother had convinced him to interview her for the position despite her lack of knowledge or even interest in most things scientific. She had not only desired a breakfast devoid of the topic entirely but also hoped that her mother would have forgotten about the day’s interview. However, this hope now lay shattered upon the dining room floor. Yuki’s mother noticed the shift in her mood and put down her cooking utensils.
“Yuki, honey…” her Mom said sweetly as she sat down beside her daughter. “I know this is so far out of your comfort zone it might as well be in Hoenn, but you’re sixteen now. I really feel like you need to branch out a bit more and be confident in the wonderful person you are. Do you really just want to sit alone in a room sewing dolls for the rest of your life?”
“Actually I’d be...” Yuki had started to reply, but it seemed that her mother either didn’t hear her or it was a rhetorical question as she just kept on talking.
“Don’t get me wrong those dolls are wonderful and I’m so proud of your talent. I’m sure you could even make a career out of that, but you never know what else you may be good at if you don’t get out there. That’s why I want you to at least go see the Professor and keep an open mind. Give it a shot and I bet it won’t be anywhere near as bad as you fear. You might even have fun! Will you at least give it a try... for me?”
Yuki stared at her plate. The little anxiety monster inside her began to grow just thinking about what was ahead. However, the determination to please her mother overcame this feeling. It was the right thing to do and she was prepared to deal with it. Yuki swallowed the last bit of pancake before barely squeaking out an “okay… I’ll try it for you, Mom.”
After breakfast, Yuki headed back upstairs to get ready. She quickly showered then pulled one of her favorite outfits from her perfectly organized closet. It was a blush pink knee-length dress with a top that buttoned up to the collar.. She paired it with some small ankle socks, pink and white sneakers, and her rather small hand-sewn purse. She stood at the top of the stairs taking a few deep breaths before heading down. Her mother was waiting for her at the bottom.
“I was wondering if you’d choose that one, sweetie. You always look so good in that pink dress.”
“Th..thanks mom.”
“Now, just remember to keep calm. This is just an interview for a new opportunity, it’s not life or death here. It’s okay if you don’t know all the answers to the questions you’re asked. Just be courteous and do the best you can. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”
“Umm… ok then. Mom... I’m going to try my hardest for you and dad both. I know you two worry about me and Dad works so hard for the both of us. I want… I want to make you proud today, or at least I want to try.”
Yuki’s mother hugged her. “I’m already proud of you, but hearing you say that makes me even more so. I know you’ll be wonderful. Now, you better get a move on before it gets too late. Good luck Yuki, I love you.”
“I love you too Mom” Yuki said as she hugged back.
Gathering all the courage she had, Yuki took one more deep breath and walked out the front door of her house. She continued towards the street brushing her hand along the flowering bushes that lined the cobblestone walkway to her house. Turning left at the road, she continued along the row of houses towards the main part of town passing by an elderly woman sitting on her front porch and a small boy giggling as he ran around a tree with his pet Lillipup. The walk was pleasant and had almost driven any anxiety from Yuki’s mind. However, when she turned the corner at the bakery, the strange blue smoke rising from the laboratory reawakened her fear and she began to tremble slightly.
“Okay, Yuki, just relax. Relaxing is good.” she kept repeating in her mind as she forced her legs to move forward. “It’ll be over soon. He wouldn’t want you for the job anyway. It’s going to be fine just relax. Do it for mom.... for mom and dad. Just… ju… just relax.”
The constant repetition gave Yuki the willpower to slowly cross the small town and walk up the pathway to the professor’s lab. She briefly leaned against the brick exterior to delay the inevitable just a bit longer. Breathing in deeply once more she pushed off the wall, and strode up to the large wooden doors. She pressed the doorbell gently, but immediately clasped her hands over her ears and fell backwards onto ground as the doorbell was not a gentle ringing but rather a vicious onslaught of volume from what could be assumed was an enormous gong. As the noise faded, Yuki could hear a commotion coming from inside the lab which included breaking glass and some very angry shouting. Standing back up, Yuki brushed the dust off her dress just in time for the front door to open. She stood straight with her knees slightly knocking together from nerves. Preparing to see the professor or an assistant greet her at the door, she was once again caught off guard by the sight of a large blue insectoid pokémon.
“Heracro?” the heracross asked as he slightly bowed towards the guest at the door.
“Ummm… hi there. M… My name is Yuki and I’m supposed to see the professor today.” Yuki said while trying not to stare at the pokémon’s large horn. “Something about a job or something.”
The pokémon smiled as it bowed once again and motioned Yuki inside. The welcoming nature emanating from Heracross seemed to calm the young lady. She smiled at the bug and walked inside completely unaware of the disaster that awaited her.
“Thank yooOOOH MY!” Yuki had blurted out before she could even stop it. Her eyes slightly bulged at the absolute Grumpigsty the foyer of the lab was. There were half-empty bottles of chemicals lying in a haphazard manner on the floor. Boxes of who only knows what were stacked along the wall. There were mountains of paperwork and junk tossed in piles which created meandering walkways to other areas of the lab. To the right she could see a room that she assumed was an office because of the high bookshelves and what looked like the feet of a desk chair barely visible behind boxes labeled “serious research.” It was to this very room that Heracross began walking and motioned Yuki into a high-back chair in the left corner of the room.
Yuki sat down and watched as Heracross waddled out of the door and headed down the hall to the right. As she sat in silence, Yuki honestly wasn’t sure what was worse, sitting alone in this absolute disaster zone which felt like it could collapse on her at any moment, or having to talk to a total stranger momentarily. Her senses sharpened as the uncertainty of her situation set in. She could now hear the sound of electronic equipment, pokémon chatter, and footsteps coming from the distance. Her nostrils filled with a strange combination of peppermint, bleach, and something incredibly foul; any of these smells could have come from one of the junk piles near her and she really didn’t want to think about it. However, the peppermint smell was getting stronger by the second. Yuki looked around to see Heracross re-entering the room with a small metal platter and a cup of peppermint tea which he offered to Yuki.
“F.. for me? Well thank you that’s very kind.” Yuki smiled as she took the cup. The tea appeared to be brewed just right and the scent of peppermint perfectly masked any additional odors coming from the lab. She blew gently across the top of the cup and was just about to take a sip when it happened.
“HAUNT HAUNT HAUNT!” shouted the ghost-type pokémon, Haunter, who suddenly emerged from a nearby pile of papers with his eyes bulging out from his body, tongue wagging, and hands flailing maniacally.
Yuki, who had always been terrified even with the idea of ghosts, reacted to this about as well as anyone could have imagined. With a blood curdling scream Yuki flailed her arms, lurched backwards into the chair and clutched her knees to her face trembling with fear. The cup that had previously occupied her hand was now airborne and falling directly towards Heracross. CRASH! The teacup broke on Heracross’ head and was now covering the bug in hot liquid. Haunter began laughing hysterically at the results of his arrival, but the incredibly angry Heracross tossed the metal platter to the ground with a loud CLANG! Lowering his giant horn at Haunter’s face, Heracross jumped forward to attack. The ghost noticed this attack and sunk backwards into the paper pile causing Heracross to slam into the bookshelf. Papers were flying into the air as books and other nicknacks crashed to the floor almost burying the bug. Haunter continued to laugh at the hilarity of the situation as he flew through the adjacent wall.
“Just what is going on in here now?!” a man’s voice shouted from the hall.
Yuki, who was still trembling violently, was barely able to open a single eye and look towards the voice. In the doorway stool a very rotund man in his 30s with a prominent black beard. Though he was wearing an open white lab coat with several stains on it, the rest of his dress wasn’t exactly what you would expect. Beneath the coat, the man wore grey house slippers, a pair of baggy black athletic shorts and a t-shirt with a Pikachu on the front. Yuki would have probably stared at him a little longer if she wasn’t still so startled. The man noticed Yuki and his expression changed from slight annoyance to concern then to astonishment as he watched Heracross emerge from the newly formed pile of books and junk.
“I am so sorry. What hap… actually I guarantee I know exactly what just happened.” the large man said as he placed his arms on his hips and began to scowl. “Haunter! You get in here this instance and apologize! How many times have I told you not to play pranks on guests and new people?”
Haunter floated back into the room through the floor this time, but upon seeing the ghost pokémon again, Yuki let out a whimper and buried her face into the side of the chair, shaking once more.
“Wow, you’re really afraid of him aren’t you, kid?” the man said in a much softer tone. “I assure you he doesn’t mean any actual harm. Haunter is just a bit of a prankster. He’s been my friend for many years, the same as Heracross over there. That doesn’t excuse him from being a pain though.” However, when Yuki didn’t move or even respond to his words, the man turned his attention towards the ghost. “Well I hope you’re satisfied with yourself. Now go bother someone else for awhile… go on. Heracross, why don’t you go clean yourself up. I’ve got it from here.”
There was silence as the man slid a pile of papers off the nearby desk and into the floor. He sat in the office chair with his feet up on the newly cleared desk and waited for Yuki to calm down on her own. As she sat with her face buried in the chair, Yuki began replaying the events of the day in her mind. She just wanted to go home. Not only was this place so incredibly disorganized, but she ended up face to face with one of her biggest fears. Her mother was wrong; this wasn’t better than she feared, it was far worse. It was a solid five minutes before Yuki stirred and began to turn around, somewhat frantically searching for the door.
“Hi there.” said the man’s voice gently. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry again for what happened. I’ve never seen someone that afraid of ghost-type pokémon before. Are you ok?”
“I… I… I just… I want to go home.” Yuki stammered barely whispering her reply. “This is...this… I can’t”
“Home? Well, yeah you are going to have to go home eventually. I mean, I didn’t think we had anyone coming this month so I don’t have any prepared. I hate being unprepared especially for something this big, ya know?”
Deep confusion slowly began taking over the fear in Yuki’s mind as she stared blankly into the man’s face.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea!” the man said as he snapped his fingers. “To make it up to you, I’ll let you pick one out of all of them rather than just three specific ones. The whole only picking one out of three thing has always been kind of lame in my opinion, but apparently ‘that’s the way Oak does it so we should emulate his genius’ or some garbage like that. But anyway, which one would you like?”
“Which one? I… I’m sorry but who...who are you?”
“Oops I didn’t introduce myself, did I? I’m Professor Hemlock, the Pokémon Professor of the Dracorra Region. It sounds like a bigger deal than it actually is when I say that, but you only get one chance to introduce yourself so yeah. What’s your name?”
“Yuki” she replied timidly. “I’m here about the…”
“Yuki huh? That’s a pretty name.” Hemlock interrupted. “Now that introductions are over, let’s get to your choice. Judging by your outfit and demeanor I say we steer clear of things like Charmander, Totodile and Turtwig. How about a nice Chikorita or maybe a Fennekin?”
“But I’m not..”
“No?” Hemlock interrupted once again upon hearing any sort of negative response. “Shoot, I usually get this right on the first try. Maybe you’re more of a Popplio person or perhaps you’d like an Eevee so you can be a ‘choose your own flavor’ girl.” Hemlock intended to prattle on further but was distracted by another voice coming from the hallway.
What’s up, buuuuddy?!” said a short blonde woman in her mid 20s leaning against the door frame. She was wearing black rimmed glasses, and a long white lab coat which was zipped up to mostly covered the red flannel shirt and blue jeans she was wearing underneath.
“Oh, hey Jojo.” Hemlock responded as he turned towards his assistant. “Did you need something? I’m kind of in the middle of a thing here.”
She smiled but the tone in which she continued the conversation clearly gave off some degree of annoyance. “Since you so brilliantly decided to replace the doorbell with the world's loudest and most obnoxious gong, I am here to inform you that we need another box of graduated cylinders because the new ones we just bought shattered from the sound vibrations. It also freaked out Glameow who bolted from one of the rooms knocking over a burner and caused a small fire. Not to mention that everything in Experiment Room 1 is now levitating because the Psyduck in there now has a splitting headache. Oh and Stuart had to go home to change his underpants.”
“Excellent! Could you write down all the results and give it to me by the end of the week?” Hemlock then turned towards Yuki and lowered his voice a little bit. “Did you know that the only difference between screwing around and science is writing the results down?”
“I not really sure that’s how that works….sir.” Yuki responded while turning her sight back towards the floor.
“Thank you!” Jojo reacted a little louder than she meant to. “I’ve been trying to tell him that for the last three years. Maybe he’ll listen to you. Anyway, Professor, you might want to wrap this up soon or hit pause because Silvia is on the video phone for you. Something about a virtual port in the pokédex.”
“OOO Showtime!” Hemlock almost sang as he rubbed his hands together and practically lept out of his chair. “Jojo can you show Yuki around the lab so she can get a better feel of the place and see if she even wants the job or not?”
“P...Professor?” Yuki said quietly from her chair causing Hemlock to stop in his tracks. “You said you thought I was here to get a pokémon. You… you knew why I was here the whole time?”
Professor Hemlock winked and smiled at the girl. “Well I had to get your mind away from being so frightened of Haunter somehow, didn’t I? Speaking of which, Jojo please keep an eye out for Haunter. I doubt he’ll come back around her today, but we don’t want another incident. Also it goes without saying that she really doesn’t need to go in Storage Room C.” He smiled once more and began walking down the hallway with an excited “Toodles!”
“Well then...” Jojo said as she turned towards Yuki. “Why don’t we start with Aquatics Room B. The Professor likes to say this room is for research but it’s really that he just loves playing with the Corsola.”
“Do not!” shouted Hemlock from the opposite end of the hallway. “It’s research about stability of the rock type pokemon when combined with water and the regular application of friction!”
“Yeah okay!” Jojo shouted back down the hall thoroughly unconvinced before she turned back towards Yuki and almost whispered to her. “He’s so full of it sometimes… regular application of friction indeed. He goes in there to pet and play with the Corsola because he thinks they’re cute. He tries to hide this fact but fails miserably. Anyway, come on and I’ll show you around the place.”
Yuki couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the thought of this large bearded man playing with a group of bright pink pokémon. She stood up from the chair she’d practically been glued to and followed Jojo out the office door. For the first moment since meeting Heracross, she actually felt at ease. They spent some time with the Corsola who were admittedly adorable and very friendly. Jojo proceeded to lead her through the lab showcasing some of the stranger rooms such as the charred room dedicated to fire and explosions, a sleep study room which was filled with beds and a Drowzee, a home theater room, and a storage closet which was so overstuffed with junk that it caused an avalanche of garbage to fall into the hallway. There were so many rooms and hallways in the lab that the whole tour seemed a bit overwhelming. Despite the absolute mess and disorganized chaos which was driving Yuki into a bit of a panic, she had to admit that walking around with Jojo was actually kind of fun. The tour was coming to a close as the pair were walking towards the largest room along the first floor.
“Well this up here is the last room.” Jojo said as they walked side by side. “This is the main laboratory where all the fancy equipment and major research takes place. I can still hear the Professor on the call with Silvia which is why we hit this one last. Now’s as good of a time as any to ask questions before we go in there because who knows what sort of spectacle we’ll see.”
“Do you… like working for the Professor?” Yuki questioned quietly. “And… what would I be doing if I take the job?”
“No idea what you’ll be doing honestly. Sometimes he gets people in here working for really bizarre reasons; that’s just something you’ll have to ask him directly. As far as working for the Professor… he can be a royal pain in the butt sometimes especially when he decides to just start trolling everyone in sight. Ultimately he’s a good guy though. I mean, you got a decent look at his actual behaviour today. He’ll do something incredibly stupid just to annoy you but then he’ll be kind and look at you in this sort of knowing fashion. He let’s me do research on whatever I want and, I mean, where else can you walk up to your boss, call him an idiot, and not get fired? Anything else?”
“N...No I think i’m good.”
“Well in that case, let’s head on in there. You might even get to meet Silvia.”
“Is Silvia another assistant or something?”
“HAH!” Jojo had laughed loudly but quickly coughed to adjust her tone. “No, Silvia is the head of the Hoshikawa Corporation. You’ve probably heard of them or at least one of the products they put out. It’s thanks to her and her late parents that Dracorra is one of the more technologically advanced regions in the world. You won’t really notice it that much out here in Tranquil Hollow but if you ever head out towards Paradise City it’s a whole other game. Some of the stuff they have in Paradise City seem like they’re from a sci-fi novel. Professor Hemlock and Silvia worked together on the prototype Rotom Pokédex together and developed it into the machine it is now. Believe it or not, the Professor does have a kind of proficiency for… umm… pokémon augmentation I guess you’d call it. He just sort of intuitively knew how to get Rotom to work with the machine. He’s working on a helmet for Psyducks that will initiate the psychic receptors in their brain without causing them a painful headache… it’s not going very well but he’s trying.”
Yuki was honestly impressed. She had to admit that her mother was right. Despite the horror at the beginning of the visit and the mess that seemed to multiply by the minute, this actually wasn’t that bad. The pair stepped through the double doors into the large room ahead. Yuki wasn’t quite sure where to look first. There were wild looking machines, expensive equipment and bottles of various liquids everywhere. There were two more lab assistants working on something that seemed important as well as a few random pokémon including an Ursaring wearing a lab coat. Yuki had never seen anything like it; it was like suddenly stepping ten years into the future. Straight ahead was Professor Hemlock who was speaking towards a large screen with a woman in her mid-twenties on it; Yuki assumed this to be Silvia. The woman was wearing a lab coat and a pair of strange glasses that seemed to be displaying small bits of information to the wearer. The very stern look on her face clashed brilliantly with the deep purple shade of her long hair.
“So that’s the high level overview of what I’m doing.” Silvia spoke to Hemlock. “You should have the prototypes there tomorrow or next day and I’d really appreciate it if you could make this a top priority. It could revolutionize pokémon battles or at least make them more interesting. Oh, hello there Jojo, nice to see you back there.”
“Hey Silvia” Jojo responded as she waved towards the screen. “It’s always nice to see you on that big old screen up there.”
“Hey thanks for taking care of that documentation for me. I’d have one of my guys do it but we’re so busy with this new VR project and half the staff is working on system upgrades for The Creedance Foundation. We’re just run too thin at the moment. Who’s that back there with you?”
“That’s Yuki.” Professor Hemlock answered. “She’s taking a tour of the place and may start working here if she decides she wants the job.”
“Nice to meet you Yuki, I hope that this....” Silvia paused and stared towards the back of the room squinting her eyes. “Hemlock is that an Ursaring in a lab coat working back there?”
“Who Grizz?” Hemlock said with a rather large grin. This was the moment he was waiting for. “Yeah Grizz back there is our newest employee… well unless Yuki accepts that is.”
Silvia groaned and placed her face in her hands. “I swear Hemlock sometimes I honestly don’t know what goes through your brain. Last time it was the corporate pie eating contest. The time before that you thought it would be a great idea to send interviewees to my home address. Sometimes it makes me wonder what you’d actually be doing with your life if either I or Elven had accepted your job. I mean, I’ve done so much with the company and Elven is making headlines with the great programs she’s got going on at the University so we both made the right decision... but I wonder how much more peaceful my life would be if you were doing anything else. Okay I’ll bite. Why have you ‘employed’ an Ursaring to work for you of all things?”
“Oh he’s our new head of chemical research.” Hemlock turned around in his chair not only to stop himself from laughing but also to point towards Ursaring who was barely able to balance a platter of open bottle chemicals on his left paw. “I have him working on a solution to increase brainpower by simply drinking a liquid substance. So far we’ve only had to send one volunteer to the hospital.”
“ARE YOU KID..” Silvia shouted then paused briefly. “I’m done. I’m done here.” With that parting phrase she promptly hung up as the screen faded to black.
The Professor laughed hard; He hadn’t been able to annoy Silvia in quite awhile. Admittedly this was one of his weaker attempts but it still gave the anticipated result. He slid his rolling chair over towards Yuki and Jojo.
“You know...” Jojo said as she stepped to the side avoiding the Professor’s chair wheel. “One of these days she’s going to come all the way down here and punch you in the face, Professor.”
“Yeah probably.” Hemlock replied with a wide grin. “So Yuki, what do you say. Would you like to come work for me?”
Yuki looked at the floor once more. She knew that she needed to bring up his lack of an interview but didn’t want to upset him. “B..but” she barely squeaked out. “You...you haven’t even asked me any interview questions. Isn’t that how...how this works?”
“BAH” he spat out. “That’s just a formality, but if you really want a question. Ummm….” He sat tapping his finger to his head. “OH! Here we go. Now I want you to answer this question as brutally honest as you possibly can. What do you think of the lab?”
“It’s” she paused for quite awhile. She wanted to tell him that his place needed some serious care and organization, but she also didn’t want to offend him. “It’s nice. You have interesting things here.”
“Nice?” He questioned. “Let me repeat myself and allow you to change your answer… but only if you want to. I want you to be completely and brutally honest. I want your true thoughts on the matter. When it comes to certain experiments and procedures, not being completely honest can cause someone to get hurt. So again, what do you think of the place?”
“Well… it…” She began staring at a tile on the floor and attempting to burrow a hole straight through another with the front of her shoe. She began to shake slightly, but he wanted the truth so she was going to give it to him. “This place is nice but it could… use some work. There’s just… so much clutter everywhere it’s hard to breathe. I don’t think I could live or work in a place like that.” She took a deep but shaky breath. A dozen scenarios flashed through her mind as soon as she had finished responding to him and none of them appeared to be positive. After a few seconds, she began to look up from the floor towards the Professor expecting to see indignation or anger. Instead she was met with a face which was beaming with happiness.
“That, my dear, is exactly what I wanted to hear.” the Professor said gleefully as he sat back in his chair. “Your mother tells me that you are quite the organizer and that your room is so immaculate it could be in a magazine. If you’ll accept my offer, your first job will be to take a few days or even weeks to clean up the lab and organize it the way it should be. We all tend to be too busy with actual work or goofing around to do anything about any of this mess. Honestly, it’s gotten so out of hand I don’t even know where to start. If you say yes, we’ll have a gigantic breakfast feast tomorrow morning, discuss your wages, and make you an integral part of our little world of madness and wonder. What do you say?”
Yuki was able to relax and smiled back at Hemlock. She was amazed that her love of tidiness and organization, which just came naturally to her, could actually be of help to someone else. After a few seconds, she nodded and said “yes, I accept.”
“Excellent!” shouted Hemlock as he put out his hand for her to shake. “Welcome to the team!”
