"So, it's like this. I hope he wakes up."
Said Birkang bitterly. Pearl's story was really heartbreaking and painful.
'Dream… this thing is really dangerous.'
Through Birkang, he stood up from the ground and looked at the basement.
There were broken test tube pieces which should be thousands of years old.
"Let's play!"
Mew immediately flared up and jumped on Birkang.
"What do you want to play?"
Asked Birkang, Mew stopped and took on a thinking posture.
"Hide and seek! I used to play it with Pearl and Hoopa!"
Said Mew, she vanished from the air right before Birkang' eyes.
"Damn! How did we decide that I am the one who has to find you?"
Shouted Birkang, he glanced one last time at Pearl before going out of the basement.
* * *
Back in present___
"Why don't you share the story with me? How did Arceus seal Pearl in that crystal?"
Asked Kota, he really wanted to know. But the old man Birkang won't give a word.
"That's something I can't say. Why don't you ask the story directly from Mew?"
Said Birkang while picking up a cookie from the plate and stuffing it in his mouth.
On his other hand was a glass of black tea, which he sipped in a loud sound.
"Mm. If it's this way, then what can I do?"
Kota sighed and ate cookies. They were in the living room underground.
Yes, the entire lab was built underground with the help of Mew.
But why can't Birkang leave the island?
That had something to do with the story which Kota couldn't hear.
"Guard, have some."
Birkang pushed the plate full of cookies towards the side of the table where Guard sat.
"Gwra"
With his thumb and index finger, Guard picked up two cookies and ate.
Well, the cookies and the black tea were really good in such a mood.
"So what if you can't get out of her. That doesn't mean it applies to me as well."
Kota stood up and went to the treatment room, where his pokemons were.
"Guard, you also feel it right. He is different, maybe he can escape from this place."
After Kota left, Birkang ate the last cookie and said to Guard on the side.
"Gwrraa!"
* * *
"Are you guys okay?"
Asked Kota, he looked at his pokemons. There was the worried look on his face which made his pokemons feel weird.
"Chaa!"
Charizard nodded his head and clenched his fists. His eyes focused on the Guard near the door.
Walking up to it, Charizard tried to intimidate Guard but the latter didn't even flick.
"Scizor!"
Pushing Charizard away, Scizor stared at Guard with some anger.
"Gengar!"
Unlike others, Gengar was looking around the room and grinning.
There were various equipment and machines made with different materials.
"Guys, you all should know this."
Kota sat on a chair and looked at his pokemons with a little sad face.
"It seems… it will be difficult for us to get out of here."
At first they didn't understand, but as Kota explained further.
They finally got it.
* * *
Unknown to Kota, it's already been three days since he went missing.
The world outside, in the Kanto Region was somewhat in grief.
Ash, Misty, Brock and the few trainers invited by Mewtwo were in sadness.
"Was it because of us that he is… it can't be right?"
Ash looked at Misty and asked, they were currently in the port city, Old Shore Wharf.
Inside the Pokemon Center, he sat in the waiting area together with other trainers.
"Ash, we must believe that Kota is fine! Do you really think someone can harm him? Isn't he super strong?"
Misty placed Togepi beside Pikachu on the other seat while squatting before Ash.
"Ash, it's not your fault. Kota did it on his own and if you really want to blame. Then all of us are equal."
Misty smiled bitterly at Ash and petted him on his head.
"Pikachu"
Pikachu nodded his head, why would Ash let all the blame on him.
"Ash, your pokemons are healed."
With the footsteps, Brock came with a tray containing five pokeballs.
"Thank you, Brock."
Ash held the tray and looked at them blankly. Seeing this, Misty, Brock and Pikachu were very worried.
* * *
"How many times did you ever try to escape this island?"
Asked Kota looking at Birkang, who held his cane and stood in front of a huge monitor.
Yesterday, Kota learned the things and all the features of this underground lab.
He also went to visit the crystal where the first human to successfully become a pokemon was.
It looked alot like a mummy from the ancient era, many body parts in white clothes.
It is as big as Charizard, with the humanoid body shape.
Pearl is his name given by his human parents, as told by Birkang.
"You can see that right?"
Said Birkang pointing his finger towards the right wall that had thousands of marks.
Tally marks, also called hash marks, are a unary numeral system. They are a form of numeral used for counting.
They are most useful in counting or tallying ongoing results, such as the score in a game or sport, as no intermediate results need to be erased or discarded.
"... Isn't the number of days count?"
Confused, Kota frowned and stared at the old man. While the latter let out a light laugh.
"This is the answer to your question."
He said making Kota frozen to his seat. His body stiff while turning to see the wall again.
'It is unbelievable!"
Kota didn't exactly count the total number but his guess was more than three thousand.
"More than three thousand attempts to escape this island. But none was successful."
Said the old man Birkang, Kota had to take a deep breath and calm himself and his mind.
"There should be a way right? A path you never chose to take?"
Kota asked, he was still in daze because of the mind blowing number of attempts that Birkang tried.
"There should be. At least one. But now, I don't think I can even try them unless I want to face death early."
Birkang laughed and continued with his work to keep feeds on Pearl.
'Damn Mew!'
Cursed Kota, he got up and left the monitor room guarded by three huge pokemons.
'Guard. They are not in the pokedex data.'
Kota let the pokedex scan Guard but the results were within his expectations.
"Old man, I will escape this place. Just watch."
Kota clenched his fists and came out of the cave that was the entrance to the underground lab.
*Grm*
The weather, like a few days ago, was the same. Strong wind with the heavy rain.
"Sometimes it feels like I have come to the end of the world."
Said Kota while he stood in the middle of the ruins and looked up at the black clouds.
With a plan already ready in his mind, Kota pulled out a pokeball from his waist belt.
"Alakazam, take me above those black clouds!"
Ordered Kota, Alakazam nodded his head and floated in the air.
"Alakazamm!"
Unlike other Alakazams, Kota' Alakazam was a little different as he didn't need any spoons.
'I have yet to complete my dreams! To become a real pokemon trainer! Known throughout the entire world!'