Some investigation had been done primarily because Trevenants were hard to find in Sinnoh.

  Turns out the Trevenant used to belong to a Trainer who went to multiple regions but that Trainer had traded him away after failing to defeat the Snowpoint Gym in his third year on the Gym Circuit. The Trainer realized that his Phantump had something special but already had enough of the journey so he handed the Pokemon over to a more capable and more promising Trainer.

  The evolved Trevenant did not want this and upon evolving, it thought it could return because it proved its might through immediate evolution. But his Trainer already settled for a non-competitive life and the resentment in the newly evolved Trevenant grew once it found out that their lives were no longer compatible.

  The Trevenant then left the new Trainer and settled reluctantly for a passive life where it cared for young Phantump and the woods. The Trevenant and the Phantumps then stayed hidden for many years with the Phantumps occasionally checking out other trainers while incognito. It seems many years of remaining hidden made the younger Phantumps dissatisfied but more importantly, they did not share the disdain that the Trevenant had towards Trainers and eventually, they started interacting with other Trainers which led to the incident during camp. The fire was just one of many catalysts as all Trevenants seem to hate fire along with anything that threatens the woods they reside in.

  “You sure you don’t want to reconsider the Trevenant being a member of your team?”, Harold asked while grasping the Ultra Ball in his hand.

  Harrison shook his head.

  “Nah, I’d rather not repeat the mistake his previous trainer made. Besides, you beat it with Luxray. I just stalled for time with the help of everyone else”, he said with his hands raised.

  He then stopped the conversation to look around at all the books on the shelves.

  The History of Canala Avenue

  The Expensive Pockets of the Galaxy Team

  On Bonds and Battle

  Pokemon with Gears and Pokemon that are Made

  The Ubiquity of Magikarp

  Folklore and Myths of the Three Lakes

  The Dimensions of Space and Time

  The Types of Eevee

  Hundreds of books on history, philosophy, unique Pokemon, ecology, other regions and maybe even the confidential stuff like other dimensions and space. There were piles and piles of research papers which attempted to tackle new or ambiguous theories like Ultra Wormholes, myths on the truly powerful legendaries, and even those just whimsically theorizing that perhaps Eevee still had undiscovered Eeveelutions while pointing to the lack of a Dragon type, Fighting type, Rock type, and all the other ones.

  A collection of knowledge with the depth of Canalave Library although perhaps a bit lacking in quantity as everything here was just kept in one room in the lab.

  Stepping away from the computer, Professor Rowan spoke to Harold.

  “I have looked into the matter and it seems that there have been no recent reports of lost children in the woods on this side of Sinnoh for at least 7 years. This of course excludes fugitives and Trainers of other regions which neglect to register but they have always eluded records and can’t be accounted for”, the Professor began, referring to the assumption that Phantumps were the spirits of children lost in the woods.

  Harold nodded as the data reinforced his understanding. As an Ace Trainer, he could substitute as a higher-ranking ranger and assist or even escalate incidents when necessary. Due to this, he had a good understanding of how safe Jubilife City is and something like a lost child would have been noticeable in a peaceful city like theirs. Despite being the largest city in Sinnoh, they were separated from the Gym Circuit and were usually peaceful with the exception of possible issues caused by Pokemon ecology and some trouble initiated by mischievous children. There was a bit of turmoil in the corporate and media sectors such as Poketch but they were not his jurisdiction as scandals or corporate sabotage usually did not require the presence of powerful Pokemon.

  “This implies that these Phantumps could originate from other places or that lost children is not a strict requirement for Phantumps to exist”, Professor Rowan concluded.

  “Are you saying lost children can actually become Phantumps?”, Harrison asked slightly curious as he had always considered the information presented by the Pokedex to be somewhat dubious. Specifically, Magcargo being 18,000 degrees F and somehow not annihilating everything around it or anything it touched just by being there and emanating heat greater than the surface temperature of the Sun.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  “There is some precedent and situations which help explain Phantump’s existence in other regions. It is mostly correlation as there is a connection between Phantump and disappearances but the phenomenon has not been directly observed”, Professor Rowan answered.

  “I mean Ghost type situations are difficult to test in a lab. You can’t just abandon a child in the middle of the woods… though I suppose you could abandon a doll but how genuine your actions actually are probably matter since ghosts are seemingly spiritual”, Harrison muttered.

  “Indeed. Ghosts are enigmatic but there are famous occurrences which cause an association such as Banette and abandoned dolls, Froslass and women lost in the snow,Yamask and past lives… and even the famous story of Kadabra being a young psychic boy”, he added while referring to Harrison’s starter.

  “I remember watching the Mystery Dungeon series and spending days deciding what Pokemon I would become and which one would’ve been cooler. I originally considered Lucario but then I realized humans probably didn’t exist in the Mystery Dungeon world so understanding human speech probably wouldn’t be too useful”, Harold added with a slight tone of wistful nostalgia.

  “Ahem. That is only tangentially relevant… These are all unverified anecdotes and legends which have been passed down to such a degree that the association with the Pokemon stuck. And despite how outlandish, some of these conjectures may seem, they do glean a bit of truth into the nature of the Pokemon. Even if Phantumps are not created from the spirits of lost children, they probably are familiar with being lost and being abandoned is a sensitive subject as the experience is similar and perhaps, worse than just being lost. Ironic then that their evolution requires Trade just like your Abra soon will”

  “Are you trying to ask me how I will handle my Abra?”, Harrison questioned when the topic was brought up again.

  The Professor nodded.

  “I have already thought about this since who would be willing to trade their first Pokemon so readily? I consulted with my mom and came to realize that Trade Evolution is false and at best, a shortcut which wastes one’s bonds”, Harrison answered.

  “That’s a bold statement, young man. Care to elaborate?”

  “Although the Pokedex is well-researched and informative, not everything in it is correct or considered absolute truth. My most glaring example being Magcargo and the temperature of-”, Harrison began.

  “That’s a persistent jest which Blaine refuses to correct”, Rowan interjected, slightly annoyed on the topic.

  “Assuming the Pokedex is not definitively correct, the concept of Trade Evolution can be considered dubious as those Pokemon can still be found in the wild in certain places and more importantly, all the Trainers with Pokemon like Gengar and Machamp with powerful bonds which suggest not having been traded and raised by other people. A lot of Trade Evolutions even involve evolution items which suggest that Trading is the least important part of the process as those items are usually hard to get and very relevant to the Pokemon that is about to undergo Trade Evolution. This leads me to the conclusion that the only Pokemon that require Trade Evolution is Escavalier and Accelgor as they tangibly benefit from an exchange of their …body parts”, Harrison stated while omitting the fact that Trade Evolution was just a gimmick to boost interactions between players.

  Rowan listened attentively and actively considered the supporting arguments. One of his lab assistants with bright green hair and red glasses by the name of Roseanne even came by and began taking notes.

  “Seems he might be taking your specialization in Pokemon Evolution, Professor”, Roseanne said as she began to write potential connections to the theories of the young trainer.

  “Indeed. These are astute observations especially regarding Escavalier and Accelgor. Then how do you intend to evolve Kadabra later on?”, Rowan asked with greater interest showing.

  “Uhhh.. it’s probably not the same for every Trade evolving Pokemon but Kadabra probably needs perspective. Alakazam said it only felt change once it experienced many things which took a long time. One Trainer, even if competent, can only show a certain perspective and other perspectives and ideas can be better understood with many different people”, Harrison stated.

  “The Alakazam is my wife’s Pokemon”, Harold clarified right after.

  From all the way over in Jubilife, Alakazam shifted as if it had sensed somebody talking about him. Alakazam then stared at its Trainer who was stuck in workaholic mode and sighed as she went ahead of schedule and began working on projects that were planned for the next two weeks in advance. She had always been a workaholic but whenever her family wasn’t around, it would increase to the point that Alakazam had to learn how to do chores or the house would be a mess.

  “A change… in perspective. Trading creates a permanent change and might hasten digestion of an item’s energy. The cost of Trading…”, Professor Rowan ruminated on the findings and walked in a circular path.

  He then turned to Harrison.

  “Our discourse has been very insightful, young Trainer. I will conduct more research on your findings. The trainers with Gengars in Hearthome should be able to help”, he said before taking a familiar red device with circles on the side.

  “I can’t provide a Starter Pokemon as you already have many but I want to entrust you with this Pokedex. Will you use it to record data on all the Pokemon you discover on your journey for me?”, the Professor said, offering the device.

  Harrison had been expecting it but was slightly surprised as he was not the game’s player character.

  “I’m honored but I don’t intend on catching that many Pokemon”, he stated as he didn’t want his focus to be divided by even the Pokemon he disliked such as Muk or Gumshoos.

  “Haha! Unlike my colleagues, I don’t insist on catching every Pokemon discovered. I am familiar with the issue and it often leads to neglected Pokemon that were caught for the sake of rarity rather than interest or companionship. Besides, I am certain someone with your capacity will meet all sorts of Pokemon and discover more than meets the eye”

  “Then I will do my best and see the world”, Harrison earnestly stated and accepted the Pokedex.

  Although his journey was yet to begin, he was now an official Trainer with the Pokedex having expedited the process.

  He opened the device and scrolled through to see his Pokemon. Abra, Shinx, Starly, and Staravia. There was even Seedot, Phantump, and Trevenant as additional pages under the regular entries for the Sinnoh Pokedex.