the asterisks are links to wikipedia-like pages so you could try to understand the story. enjoy!

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Baekhyun is forced awake when the first sun rays of the day beam at him through the curtains. It’s still a bit too early for the boy’s liking, so he groans and shuffles in his small bed, shielding his eyes from the harmful rays with his enormous red blanket. He huffs in content once his face is inside the warmth of the blanket. The feeling is almost as if he’s in one of *Lavaridge Town’s hot springs, which he makes a mental note to visit soon, especially with all the stress at the lab lately.  

The knob of Baekhyun’s bedroom door is slowly turning, but Baekhyun is too busy occupied in his little daydream of being back in the hot springs to notice the small action. The warmth his blanket is emitting for him is enough for Baekhyun to slowly start to fall back into sleep, that is until he feels something trying to tug his blanket off him. Whatever or whoever is tugging doesn’t have enough strength to lift the blanket, so the doer decides to jump up onto the bed, landing at Baekhyun’s foot. The doer is so light that Baekhyun doesn’t feel the sudden weight at the bottom of his bed. He does, however, feel something tickling his feet. Baekhyun laughs and he squirms under the covers, begging for whom or whatever is ticking him to stop. 

“S-Stop it,” he laughs.

Baekhyun’s blanket falls off his face during the tickling session and the cool morning air hits his face, the scent of a sweet aroma filling his lungs. Now that the blanket no longer covers his eyes, Baekhyun lets his sight help him find the perpetrator for disturbing his sleep. Lazily, the boy sits up and aims his eyes at the foot of his bed. There, standing on her tiny four legs, big leaf atop her head, is Baekhyun’s *Chikorita.

When the small leaf creature lays her eyes on her trainer, she squeals and eagerly runs to Baekhyun. Baekhyun catches her in his arms and cradles the creature like his old child. She immediately nuzzles into Baekhyun’s chest.

“Thanks for the wake-up call, Chikorita” Baekhyun tells Chikorita lightly. The Pokémon beams up at him and gives Baekhyun a small peck on the cheek. Baekhyun smiles, then proceeds to ruffle Chikorita’s head.

Baekhyun isn’t due for work until another two hours so the boy decides to get ready beforehand. Thanks to Chikorita, Baekhyun finds himself in a rather good mood and even makes breakfast instead of eating the leftovers from dinner like he usually does. As he and Chikorita eat in a comfortable silence, Baekhyun switches the TV on the countertop on to a *Beauty Pokémon contest. Watching the program takes Baekhyun back to his childhood, when the boy dreamed of becoming *Hoenn Region’s top *Coordinator. Of course, being a Coordinator required skill and skill was definitely something the boy lacked in. Thankfully, being a Pokémon Professor’s assistant only requires nursing skills and knowledge about Pokémon, which is something Baekhyun takes great pride in.

When Baekhyun is done eating, he turns on the faucet and begins to do the dishes. Chikorita is resting comfortably on the tile floors of the kitchen and the grass creature slowly drifts off to slumber, when a change of sound from the TV erupts in the kitchen. Chikorita sees the very familiar Pokémon News logo flash on the screen and she instantly jumps to her feet. Baekhyun is quick to follow Chikorita, shutting off the faucet and wiping his hands with a worn out purple rag. He gazes at the TV and waits for the broadcast to begin. 

 “A severe thunderstorm has struck the city of *Mauville earlier this morning, leaving the entire city in a blackout. The residents of the electrifying city are currently being left without water and electricity. Folks of the town are desperately in need of power, some even using their Pokémon for the extra energy boost. No word is known yet of the sudden blackout in Mauville City, but stay posted here with Pokémon News for the latest information.”

Baekhyun decides to shut off the TV after the broadcast and he throws the rag down on the counter. His mood from earlier slowly fades after the news is told, confusion replacing the cheeriness. It’s unusual for blackouts to occur in any city in the Hoenn region, let alone in Mauville. The entire city thrived off of the electric energy. Without electricity, the city was nothing. Baekhyun wonders for a while what might have caused the incident to happen, but the beeping of his *Pokénav pulls him back into reality. With Chikorita at his heels, Baekhyun runs up the stairs, praying that Jongdae is safe.

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With one final tug of his navy cardigan (and a red scarf around Chikorita’s neck), Baekhyun closes the front door and locks it. He waves to Mrs. Kim and *Mr. Mime, who are out watering the lawn as usual, before hopping on his bike. Its nice spring days like this where Baekhyun doesn’t mind riding his bike to work. Baekhyun makes sure Chikorita is sat safely in the basket behind the bike before pedaling towards the Pokémon Lab.

*Professor Birch is feeding a *Torchic once Baekhyun and Chikorita arrive at the laboratory. Baekhyun greets the Professor before setting his book bag down on his desk. Chikorita waits patiently for her trainer to remove the scarf wrapped around her neck before running enthusiastically towards Torchic. The two have somewhat become friends with each other since Torchic was brought in a few weeks back. Baekhyun finds their friendship rather endearing; a grass type Pokémon and a fire type Pokémon being friends. Their friendship has led Baekhyun to conduct a Pokémon study on how opposite types of Pokémon may be attracted to one another. Today, he will test a water type and a fire type.

Baekhyun bids the Professor goodbye before heading out to the garden located in the back of the Lab. Chikorita and Torchic follow after him, chasing each other as the head towards the garden’s playground. There, Torchic hops on a swing while Chikorita pushes the fire type with the vines that come out from the beads of buds of her neck. Baekhyun warns them to be careful before heading off to the pool in the middle of the garden. Upon arrival, Baekhyun marvels at the array of water Pokémon. Sometimes, the young Professor’s assistant forgets about the variety of the Pokémon located in the garden, being busy researching about Pokémon outside the Lab.

An *Azurill bounces up to Baekhyun squealing, excited to see the human in front of her. The young man fondly remembers how he rescued the little blue mouse from an abandoned shrine on Route 104 near the *Oldale Ruins. It was raining terribly hard that day and he found refuge in the shrine. Before heading inside the shrine, he spotted the Azurill crying. Baekhyun promised to himself to take care of the blue rodent since that very day and he’s still kept that promise intact. Smiling from the little memory, Baekhyun bends down to ruffle the tiny blue Pokémon’s ears. The Pokémon kindly thanks the man and leaves him to join the rest of the Pokémon in the pool.

Baekhyun really isn’t picky when it comes to finding a Pokémon to study, but for this experiment, he needs to find the perfect one. He wants to find a Pokémon who ostracizes themselves from the rest of the Pokémon, after all, this whole experiment is how a possible friendship could be built between opposite types of Pokémon. Baekhyun eventually settles with a lone *Poliwag, satisfied yet frowning at the realization of the tadpole Pokémon’s loneliness. With a gentle voice, he calls the Poliwag over, who hesitates at first, before slowly walking over to the assistant. Baekhyun squats down to the Pokémon’s level before explaining to the Pokémon the experiment. The Poliwag is doubtful, as it wants to retreat back to the pool, but Baekhyun offers one of his dazzling smiles to the tadpole, who seems to fall for the pink lips pulled into a curve.

Before heading back inside the laboratory, Baekhyun calls for Chikorita and within a few seconds, the leaf creature comes running towards her trainer, Torchic following closely by. Baekhyun notices the way Poliwag shuffles closer to him as the two other Pokémon approach them, and he no longer feels himself guilty for choosing the blue Pokémon.

Back inside the lab, Baekhyun leads Poliwag to a playroom. The room isn’t small, but it’s big enough to fit a small jungle gym and slide. Upon seeing the play equipment, Chikorita and Torchic are back to playing with each other while Poliwag stands back, eyeing the Pokémon nervously. Baekhyun encourages the tadpole to play with them, but the tadpole refuses. Instead, the water creature buries its face inside the bottom of Baekhyun’s calve. Baekhyun sighs and slowly squats down to the Pokémon, letting words of comfort leave his lips as he soothingly rubs Poliwag’s head.

“Looks like someone has gotten better at comforting," a voice compliments Baekhyun. Even though he knows who the voice belongs to, Baekhyun peeks his head up to the Professor. The Professor is dressed in his usual white lab coat, navy blue tank top, cargo shorts and sandals. Baekhyun sometimes questions the Professor’s unprofessional like fashion, but remembers that the Professor usually studies wild Pokémon’s behaviors. That little reminder reminds him that for once, the Professor isn’t in his usual office of the garden. Baekhyun raises his body up into a standing position.

“Professor, what are you still doing inside?” the assistant asks. The Professor’s lips are in a thin line and Baekhyun can only imagine what’s on the Professor’s mind.

“I’d like you to see this,” the Professor says, walking off to the huge monitor which hangs on the wall. The Professor usually shows Baekhyun his research on the monitor, so the young assistant reassures himself that he is not losing his job. He unconsciously leaves behind Poliwag and trots behind the Professor.

The Professor brings the monitor to life as soon as he sees Baekhyun nearing. As the image comes to, Baekhyun notices the familiar logo of Pokémon News. He wants to question the Professor why they’re watching the news, but he recalls the Mauville blackout newscast from earlier and wonders if the mystery behind the blackout has been solved.

“Breaking news out of the towns of Lavaridge and *Pacifidlog and *Fortree City; a massive monsoon has swept *Pacifidlog Town just a few minutes ago as a typhoon hits Fortree City. Pokémon experts are astounded at the numerous of deadly disasters taking place throughout the region and are not only trying to find a logical explanation for these disasters, but also this morning’s blackout in Mauville.”

“To make matters worse, a sudden heatwave has engulfed the fiery town of Lavaridge. It is a very rare occurrence to have this amount of weather calamities all at once, so we’ve brought in Professor Lu Han, who is the lead scientist at the *Weather Institute. Professor, can you explain what’s going on in our region?”

“Of course. The answer is rather simple. *Kyogre and *Groudon are simply angry with us.”

“Kyogre and Groudon? You mean the legendary beasts that have created this very region we inhabit?”

“Yes. With the current conditions in the region, it seems the two beasts have awoken.”

“But it isn’t possible, right Professor? The legendary Pokémon have been asleep for more than three centuries since *Rayquaza has quelled them. If you believe the legendary Pokémon are awake, something or someone must have disturbed their resting. What or who could’ve caused such a thing?”

“That, I am unsure of. Whoever or whatever stumbled upon the caverns that hold the beasts must be experts in such navigation, as the *Magma and *Seafloor Caverns are both unreachable.  Whoever or whatever has caused this mess, I am begging you to please seal the caverns back up again. The region will be destroyed if such isn’t done soon…”

Professor Birch switches the TV off and glances at Baekhyun to see his reaction towards the newscast. Baekhyun’s eyebrows are knitted together and he seems perplexed. The Professor gives the young assistant some time to let the horrifying news soak into the assistant. After a few minutes, Baekhyun finally speaks.

“Professor, why are these things happening to Hoenn?” Baekhyun asks, voice soft with worry. The Professor exhales a deep sigh.

“Well, I have an assumption but it’s absolutely absurd,” Professor Birch replies, sitting down on his office chair. He opens up his laptop and Baekhyun could hear the clicking of a mouse. He patiently waits for the Professor to show him what he has. Baekhyun deems the Professor has found what he’s wanting when the slicking stops and he swivels out of his chair and onto his feet. He shows his laptop screen to the young assistant who examines the information in front of his eyes.

“For the past few weeks, I’ve been studying the behaviors of the Pokémon in different areas of Hoenn. It seems most of them have bundled up together and have found shelter in the trees or small caves,” the Professor explains. As he says the words, Baekhyun eyes the photos of various *Swablu and *Altaria huddled together in a hollow tree. In another photo, a mix of *Wurmple, *Zigzagoon, *Poocheyena, *Linoone and *Mightyena are shown. The Pokémon seemed to be frightened by something.

“Are these Pokémon scared of something, Professor?” Baekhyun questions. He scans through most of the photos which are all the same: Pokémon gathered together with frightened expressions.

“They are.” Professor Birch then proceeds to run over to his desk and grab his composition book. He opens the book a little over the mid section before handing the book to Baekhyun. Baekhyun places the laptop down on a nearby desk and reads the Professor’s work.

“I believe the Pokémon are scared of the weather. I tested out this theory using Torchic, *Mudkip, *Swellow, and *Snorunt. When Torchic used *Ember to create a small fire in a pile of sticks, the Pokémon began to start feeling uncomfortable. I had Mudkip burn out the fire with *Water Gun and some of the water drops pelted on some of the nearby Pokémon. They immediately backed away.” Baekhyun nods his head as the Professor recalls the rest of his experiment.

“With some of the Pokémon wet, Swellow used its *Gust lightly and most of the Pokémon began to act up, hollering and the older Pokémon became defensive and started to protect the younger Pokémon.”

“But Professor, don’t you think the Pokémon were just riled up a little because you disturbed them?” Baekhyun interrupts.

“Yes, but like I said earlier, the Pokémon were formed in large groups. Something inside them triggered that made them huddle together for protection and after I had Snorunt do *Powder Snow, it became evident the Pokémon were frightened by the weather.” With his analysis finished, Baekhyun hands back the composition book back to Professor Birch. 

“Professor, if you really think the Pokémon are disturbed by the weather, what do you suggest is causing the weather’s abnormalities?” Baekhyun watches the Professor’s lips curve into a small smile. The small gesture makes goosebumps form on the assistant’s arms.

“I’m not so sure, but since you’ve brought it up, I have something to show you,” the Professor says. He turns towards his desk and Baekhyun, who is questioning the Professor’s words, follows behind. Baekhyun watches as Professor Birch rummages through his rather large camping backpack. After a few moments, the Professor brings out what looks like a poster rolled into a cylinder shape. Pushing all the other things on his desk aside, Professor Birch proceeds to open up the poster, which reveals a map of the Hoenn region. Baekhyun frowns at this.

“Professor Birch, what are we doing looking at a map of Hoenn?” Baekhyun asks annoyed. It’s obviously not Baekhyun’s first time seeing a map of Hoenn and he wonders why the Professor is making a big deal out of the whole thing.

“This isn’t just any map, Baekhyun,” the Professors says in a serious tone. Baekhyun quirks an eyebrow at the map before glancing at the map to see if it’s any different from other maps of the region. With the exception of some phrases written in the Professor’s poor handwriting and a few routes circled in red, it looks like a regular map. Baekhyun looks up at the Professor with confusion and Professor Birch rolls his eyes before explaining the map to his doubtful assistant.

“As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been doing research on wild Pokémon and their responses to unusual weather changes. I’ve noticed that in the areas circled in red, those routes had the most Pokémon reacting to the Pokémon moves done by Torchic, Mudkip, Swellow and Snorunt.” Baekhyun eyes follow the red ink that surrounds routes 120, 112, 110 and 118. His eyes widen when the realization hits him.

“The routes near Lavaridge, Mauville and Fortree,” Baekhyun whispers. He feels the goosebumps forming on his arms again.

“Exactly.” Professor then brings out a black marker and opens the cap. He ends up circling the four cities attacked with devastating weather then somewhere along Route 119, he makes a small circle, which he traces over a few times.

“This is where the Weather Institute is at. The Weather Institute is aware of the current situation in Hoenn and I think that it is best if you can pay them a visit and bring forth my theory about the weather changes.” Baekhyun nods at the Professor’s word, but at the mentioning about him going to the Weather Institute, he is taken aback and glances at the Professor with shock.

“Excuse me. Could you repeat what you said again, Professor?” Baekhyun asks. The young assistant is in doubt mainly because the Professor is always the one to travel. Baekhyun always stays behind and keeps the Lab intact.

“I need you to go to the Weather Institute and present my theory to Professor Lu Han. Maybe if he agrees with my theory, he’ll know why the region is acting the way it is.” Baekhyun stops being a confused mess and nods. He’s not one to argue with the Professor.

“Is there a certain time you want me to leave, sir?” Baekhyun asks. The Professor is now fumbling about in the lab, searching for something. Baekhyun hears ‘ah ha!’ before Professor Birch comes back to him, a tattered notebook in hand.

“Yes. With the disasters so new, I actually need you to leave by tomorrow.” Baekhyun’s mouth hangs open in an ‘o’ shape.

“Tomorrow?”

“Mm Hm. I’m actually giving you the rest of the day off as well. You must be prepared for the long journey ahead.”

“Professor Birch, I just can’t leave like this! I still have an important experiment to run. Can’t someone else do it?” Baekhyun whines.

“Baekhyun, you’re my only assistant available for this job. Taemin’s studying with *Professor Oak in *Kanto, Chohee is already doing something else for me, and Jinki is out doing his own research in *Dewford.” He flips a few pages in the notebook before adding, “Plus, you could use a little vacation.”

Baekhyun groans. He is not giving up on getting out of the Professor’s request.

“And what about Kibum and Jonghyun? Are they not back from their honeymoon in *Sinnoh?”

“They are scheduled to return in a week.” Baekhyun face palms himself.

“Can’t you find anyone else to do it?”

“You’re my only hope.” An exasperated sigh leaves Baekhyun’s lips.

“Fine. I’ll go.” Professor Birch’s face lights up.

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Baekhyun finds himself awake at 5 o’clock the next morning. After rechecking his necessities and eating a quick breakfast, he and Chikorita are out the door.  Baekhyun makes sure to tell Mrs. Kim and her teenage daughter to watch over his small house while he and Chikorita are off before he hops on his bike and sets off on his journey.

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i rlly like this fic and where it's going. idk. i'm really excited to write this. it brings out the inner nerd in me.