"Of course," Xiu agreed readily, though inwardly he felt a surge of disappointment. Access to the main labs, the basement storage… those were likely where the real secrets, the truly valuable knowledge and resources, were kept.
Being barred from them felt like being given access to the public library while knowing the restricted archives held the answers he truly needed. Still, he understood the necessity— for now, he was a stranger with a potentially dangerous Pokémon.
Trust needed to be earned.
"Right then," Professor Oak said, seemingly satisfied with Xiu's understanding. "Let's get you settled into your accommodations." He opened the main door of the Institute again, leading Xiu back outside.
'Accommodations?' Xiu frowned slightly. 'Not inside the Institute?' He followed Professor Oak back down the stone steps towards the base of the hill, a sense of unease growing. The path Professor Oak took wasn't leading back towards Pallet Town, but veering off towards the edge of the property, towards the storage shed and warehouse area near the woods where Oak had been working earlier.
'Surely not…' Xiu's unease intensified. Even he knew Professor Oak's family residence was likely within or adjacent to the main Institute building. The back mountain, the storage area…
"Professor," Xiu asked, quickening his pace slightly to catch up, "where exactly are we going?"
"To the supply warehouse," Professor Oak replied cheerfully, pointing towards the utilitarian, windowless building ahead. "That's where you'll be staying from now on."
A wry, resigned smile flickered across Xiu's face, gone in an instant. 'Of course.' He quickly adjusted his expectations and followed without further comment. A warehouse. Well, he'd certainly slept in worse conditions before – the floor of an abandoned factory, a leaky park cabin… compared to those, a dry warehouse felt like luxury.
And the location, isolated from the main house… it made sense, given Oak's likely concerns about Abra's psychic leakage.
He remembered glancing inside the warehouse earlier when Oak had retrieved the feed cart. It seemed clean enough, orderly, filled with stacked boxes of Pokémon rations, bags of minerals, various tools and materials.
A bit empty in the central space, smelling faintly of dried herbs or medicinal compounds, but otherwise unremarkable. Except… he hadn't seen a bed. Or any furniture, for that matter.
"Right here," Professor Oak announced, stopping before the warehouse's large sliding door. He produced a key and tossed it to Xiu. "Your new home."
Xiu caught the key, nodding silently.
"One thing," Professor Oak added, his tone turning slightly mischievous again. "Don't be alarmed if you hear noises at night."
"Oh?" Xiu raised an eyebrow. "Ghost-type Pokémon frequent the area?" He wasn't particularly afraid of ghosts; after facing down poachers and dealing with psychic anomalies, spectral Pokémon seemed almost mundane. He was actually curious.
"Ghosts? Heavens no!" Professor Oak chuckled, shaking his head. "Wouldn't allow those mischievous types freely roaming the grounds. No, I just meant some of the wild Pokémon from the paddock sometimes sneak over here trying to get into the rations after dark. Just shoo them away. Don't be frightened."
"Understood, Professor."
"Good. Settle yourself in, then. I'll be back later this afternoon to properly introduce you to the paddock Pokémon and outline your duties. Official work starts tomorrow morning."
"Yes, sir."
With a final nod, Professor Oak turned and headed back towards the main Institute building, leaving Xiu alone before the large warehouse door. Xiu watched him go, then looked down at the key in his hand, then up at the utilitarian building that was now apparently his residence. He let out a long sigh, the sound echoing slightly in the quiet afternoon air. "Alas~"
Thinking again about Abra's condition, about the uncertainty, the potential danger… the weight settled back onto his shoulders. He still wasn't entirely sure why Professor Oak had agreed to take him in, what his true motives were. 'Forget it,' he told himself firmly. 'Focus on the present. At least we have a place to stay.'
He slid the heavy warehouse door open and stepped inside, resolving to make the best of the situation. He released Abra, Happiny, and Scyther.
"Alright everyone," he announced to the slightly bewildered Pokémon looking around the large, dim space. "This is home for now. Let's get used to it." He waved them further inside.
— — —
"Beep… beep… beep…"
After a series of electronic tones, a flickering image resolved on the screen of a computer terminal. Static cleared, revealing the familiar face of Director Bao Ba, seated comfortably behind his large office desk back at the Light Red City park headquarters.
"Took you long enough to answer," Bao Ba's voice, slightly tinny through the connection, grumbled good-naturedly. "How's it going? Did our 'package' arrive safely at your esteemed institution?"
On the other end of the connection, Professor Oak chuckled, leaning back in his own office chair within the Institute. "You're certainly eager, Bao Ba. Why didn't you just tell me yourself? We could have had a proper chat." His tone was light, but held an undercurrent of long-standing familiarity.
"You and I? Chatting? About what?" Bao Ba retorted dismissively. "You're the world-renowned Professor Oak. I'm just a humble park director, a businessman."
Professor Oak ignored the false modesty. "The 'package' arrived," he confirmed, his tone turning slightly more serious. "Intriguing case. Quite a bundle of trouble you've sent my way, old friend. Though," he added, a smile returning to his voice, "I must thank you. Finding competent assistants these days is surprisingly difficult. This 'Xiu' you recommended… seems promising."
Bao Ba scoffed. "Recommended? Please. If I could have kept him myself, do you think I'd have sent him your way? You know my situation here. But the boy was insistent on seeking your expertise for that Abra. So I said you were the only one who could help, what could I do?"
"Ah, playing on my reputation," Professor Oak chuckled again. "Clever boy." He paused. "But honestly, Bao Ba… are you certain I'll actually accept him? Keep him here long-term?"
Bao Ba leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly on the screen. "What do you think?" he countered softly. "Knowing you? After seeing that Abra anomaly yourself? A psychic mutation potentially shedding light on the very foundations of psychic power development? You wouldn't be able to resist. And," he added significantly, "I checked the park's security logs before he left. That Scyther he 'captured'? Its energy signature… also highly unusual. Deviations in growth pattern, accelerated recovery… problematic, from a standard breeding perspective."
"Hahaha! You know me too well, old friend," Professor Oak laughed heartily this time.
Bao Ba ignored the laughter, his expression turning serious again. "Just be careful, Samuel. That Abra… its instability is genuinely dangerous."
"Relax," Professor Oak replied casually. "I know how to handle delicate specimens. I even threw him in the warehouse for now."
Bao Ba raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on the accommodations. Instead, he offered another piece of information. "By the way… speaking of interesting cases. That Dragonair we were discussing? The one from the Conservation Association? Turns out Xiu encountered it during the invasion. He had a clear opportunity to capture it after the Gyarados was defeated— a pseudo-legendary, right there for the taking." He paused for effect. "However, he refused and walked away without a second thought. I found it… incredibly decisive. Unexpected, for someone seemingly so pragmatic."
"Oh?" That clearly caught Professor Oak's attention. He leaned forward again, genuinely surprised. "Rejected a Dragonair? Are you certain?" He knew Bao Ba wouldn't fabricate such a detail. "Why?"
"His reasoning," Bao Ba admitted, "was even more surprising. Said he couldn't afford the responsibility, the resources required to raise it properly, and that he already had his own Pokémon to focus on." He shook his head slightly. "People are different, Samuel, though some still stand out."
A thoughtful, almost nostalgic expression crossed Professor Oak's face. "Still adhering to those ideals, are you?" he murmured, not really refuting Bao Ba's assessment, nor asking for Xiu's specific reasoning.
"Don't start that again," Bao Ba cut him off quickly, clearly wanting to avoid old debates. "We never could agree on that philosophical point back in the day. No point dredging it up now."
"True enough," Professor Oak conceded, the smile fading slightly. He fell silent for a moment, then added wistfully, "You could have joined the League R&D division, you know. Back then. Taken an official post. But you refused. Went off to start that… Safari Zone." He chuckled softly. "Otherwise… the entire field… maybe even the world…"
"You know I don't care about titles, about official positions," Bao Ba interrupted firmly. "I climbed up from nothing, Samuel. No inherited wealth, no family connections like some. I do what I believe is right. Helping Pokémon directly. That's my path."
"Ah~" Professor Oak sighed softly, a hint of regret in his voice. "And that, my old friend, is precisely why I've always admired you. You actually did the things I only ever talked about, the things I perhaps lacked the courage to pursue myself…"