"Gengar, whose briefcase do you think this is?"
"Gengar-"
Dunno.
Weedle: ...shook its head.
"If we can't find the owner, we'll have to go to Sandgem Town and ask Officer Jenny for help."
"Gengar-"
I wanna eat!
"I know. Let's find the owner of this briefcase first, then go eat, okay?"
"Gengar."
Okay.
Weedle: ...nodded.
Chen Yan chatted with Gengar and Weedle as they searched the surrounding area for the owner of the lost briefcase.
After widening their search a little farther, Chen Yan spotted an elderly man looking around for something. He wore a gray coat over a blue fleece vest and a tie, with slicked-back gray hair and a mustache.
Clear anxiety showed on his otherwise stern face.
Chen Yan recognized the elderly man at once. He was Professor Rowan, the professor who studied Pokémon evolution in the Sinnoh Region.
He was also the professor who distributed starter Pokémon in the Sinnoh Region.
Chen Yan looked at the briefcase in his hand, vaguely recalling that Professor Rowan seemed to carry one whenever he appeared.
"Gengar, I think we've found the person who lost it."
Gengar followed Chen Yan's gaze and spotted Professor Rowan too.
"Gengar?"
Is it him?
Chen Yan nodded and approached with the briefcase, bringing Gengar and Weedle along.
Professor Rowan heard them approaching and walked over as well.
When Professor Rowan reached Chen Yan, he looked at the briefcase in his hand with some surprise. Hadn't an Ambipom snatched his briefcase? How had it ended up in this young man's hands?
Still, Professor Rowan greeted Chen Yan politely.
"Hello. I'm Professor Rowan from Sandgem Town. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Chen Yan hurriedly returned his greeting. "Hello, Professor Rowan. I'm from a little village near Twinleaf Town. Gengar and Weedle are my companions."
Seeing Professor Rowan looking at the briefcase in his hand, Chen Yan quickly offered it to him. "Professor Rowan, was this what you were looking for?"
"When Gengar and I passed beneath a tree earlier, we found papers scattered all over the ground. We looked up and saw an Ambipom pulling papers out of this briefcase and tossing them away."
"I thought someone might have had an accident and it had picked this up, or perhaps it had snatched it from someone who wasn't paying attention. So I had a little chat with it. Once it realized its mistake, it handed the briefcase to me."
"After I got the briefcase back, Gengar, Weedle, and I gathered all the papers nearby and put them back inside."
After hearing Chen Yan's explanation, Professor Rowan finally relaxed his tightly furrowed brow.
"Yes, this is the briefcase that Ambipom snatched from me when I wasn't paying attention. It's full of my research on starter Pokémon."
Professor Rowan took the briefcase. "Thank goodness for you, Gengar, and Weedle. Otherwise, I might have had to start all that painstaking research over from scratch."
"Please check whether anything's missing. If it is, I can take you back to look for it. We might still be able to find it."
Professor Rowan nodded, opened the briefcase, and began checking the papers inside.
He quickly leafed through the papers in his hands. After a while, he closed the briefcase and stood up.
"Everything is here. The only problem is that the pages are out of order, but that's all right. I can rearrange them when I get back." Professor Rowan breathed another sigh of relief and thanked Chen Yan again.
"I truly appreciate your help. You've saved me from quite a loss."
"Thank you."
Professor Rowan bowed.
Chen Yan hurriedly bowed back. Finding the atmosphere a little awkward, he spoke up.
"Actually, this is quite a coincidence."
"Oh? What is?" Professor Rowan asked.
Chen Yan gave him a bashful smile. "We were actually planning to visit you at the lab after getting settled in Sandgem Town, but I kept worrying that you wouldn't have time. The closer we got to town, the more nervous I became. I never expected to meet you ahead of time."
"Visit me? Hahaha, are you here to receive a starter Pokémon too?"
Professor Rowan laughed as he asked.
Chen Yan hesitated before asking tentatively, "Could I get one too?"
"You probably won't have a chance this year, but you can sign up for next year."
"That really is a shame." Chen Yan shook his head regretfully.
"You don't want a starter Pokémon?" Professor Rowan asked, puzzled.
"It's not that I don't want one. I just believe more in fate. When it comes to Pokémon, I lean more toward 'Will you come with me?' rather than 'I caught you.'"
Professor Rowan studied the black-haired young man before him. A camera hung around his neck, and although he looked rather scruffy, there was a warmth about him.
The Gengar and Weedle beside him trusted him deeply too.
He's raised them very well. They're full of energy, especially Gengar. Those bright eyes are brimming with spirit.
And Weedle... I've never seen one this large before.
"I see." Professor Rowan nodded with a smile. "No wonder they're so attached to you. Chen Yan, they're grateful to you for raising them so well."
Chen Yan glanced at Gengar, who stood beside him holding a thin bamboo staff and listening to their conversation, then at Weedle, who kept its little face stiff in an attempt to look aloof. His lips curved into a smile without his noticing. His gaze softened as he spoke quietly.
"Rather than saying they're grateful to me, I'd say I'm the one who should be grateful to them."
"Hmm?" Professor Rowan was intrigued.
"Why?"
"Because having them with me along the way has made my journey fun and spared me from loneliness." Chen Yan reached out and pinched Gengar's big, chubby cheeks, stretching them out to either side.
"Thanks, you two. Gengar, and you too, Weedle."
"Gengar~"
Same here~
"Weedle."
Heehee.
Hearing Chen Yan's words and watching him interact with Gengar and Weedle, Professor Rowan couldn't help laughing heartily.
"You really are a kindhearted young man. Come along. Didn't you say you wanted to visit my lab? Let's head there now."
"Would that be all right? Wouldn't we interrupt your work?"
Chen Yan was a little worried about interfering with the professor's work.
"Not at all. I've finished everything that's been keeping me busy lately. All that's left is for the trainers to come collect their starter Pokémon." Professor Rowan shook his head, then turned and led the way with his briefcase.
Chen Yan followed with Gengar and Weedle.
"Besides, you recovered my briefcase for me. The least I can do is invite you to the lab for a cup of tea."
"That's a relief." Chen Yan let out a breath. Perhaps because he had finally met the professor he'd been hoping to see and discovered how approachable he was, Chen Yan's knack for striking up a conversation began to shine.
"Professor, let me tell you, these five days traveling from Twinleaf Town to Sandgem Town nearly drove me crazy. We ate all the food we brought in just two days."
"Your first time traveling, then?"
"How did you know?"
"That's perfectly normal. The wilderness is hardly as comfortable as a town. Still, even though this is your first journey, you've paid more attention to your personal hygiene than other trainers."
"That's all thanks to Gengar."
"Gengar!"
That's right! All thanks to me!
"So Gengar deserves the credit. Thank you for all your hard work, Gengar."
"Gengar-"
Heehee.
With Professor Rowan leading the way, the group entered Sandgem Town.
As a town near Twinleaf Town and the location of Professor Rowan's lab, Sandgem Town was considerably larger and more populous than Twinleaf Town.
Many trainers arrived in the Sinnoh Region by boat from other regions each year to travel. Those who chose to begin their journeys in Twinleaf Town inevitably passed through Sandgem Town, which had also helped its businesses flourish.
Inns, restaurants, street stalls-it had everything.
"Let's find some time to take a good look around Sandgem Town."
Chen Yan spoke quietly to Gengar and Weedle.
Gengar nodded like a woodpecker.
Weedle gave an aloof nod.
"We're here."
Professor Rowan looked back and spoke. Chen Yan stopped and gazed at the building before him.
"So this is your lab, Professor..."
Before you continue