Xander and Cynthia were brought into the lab along with the injured Pokemon. While the 6 of them were getting checked over and treated, everyone could hear Carolina yelling.
"Damnit! Where are the Pokemon that hurt my two babies? Chingling, we are going hunting."
"You two dumb brats! Why didn't you tell an adult? You both are covered in injuries! You could have been killed!"
"Where are your fathers? They were supposed to clear out the woods today! If they were slacking off again, see if I don't handle them once and for all."
"Why are you tying the bandage so tight?! Are you trying to make her lose her arm?!"
By the time the kids had been bandaged up and the Pokemon were done in the treatment room, Carolina had tired herself out and needed to rest. She had been working nonstop so this extra stress really put a burden on her mentally.
The children were going to be brought back to Cynthia's home, but they both insisted on staying in the lab. They didn't want to leave the Pokemon they saved behind.
With Carolina asleep, the staff at the lab couldn't force the pair to do anything. They were the little prince and princess of the town.
Although they were usually well-behaved, the two were very stubborn. And this matter, they were truly not moving an inch on.
Thinking that they could let them sleep in the lab until Carolina did something about it later, the researchers gave up on trying to convince the two before bringing a bed into the Pokemon recovery room.
When Carolina woke up later, the researchers informed her about the two kids not being willing to leave the Pokemon's side. When Carolina heard this, she waved her hand dismissively.
"Just let them sleep there, then. It will be easier to keep an eye on those brats if they are staying here," Carolina said after looking at the two figures that were sleeping underneath the sheets
Once she walked out of the room, Xander and Cynthia took the sheets off their heads before turning to each other, giving the other a smile
"Nice plan, Cynthia. Grandma Carolina seemed really angry. We better let her deal with our parents first," Xander said
"Hmm. If they were working as hard as they were supposed to, these Pokemon would not have been in trouble," Cynthia scolded their parents
"That's right. At least we kept both of them safe. Do you recognize them? One of them looks familiar, but I'm not sure about it since the colors are off," Xander asked
"I thought that too. That white one looks like a Vulpix but the colors are definitely off. They are supposed to be red and orange but this one looks white and blue. It might be sick. The other one is a Riolu though. One of the trainers that came to visit Grandma had one with him before."
While the pair were talking, Fenrus and Gabby climbed into the bed and began to snuggle up to the two children. Seeing their Pokemon were safe, the pair hugged each of them.
"Great job, you two! You helped keep us and those Pokemon safe!" Xander praised the pair
If not for their support, not only the other Pokemon but Cynthia and Xander would not have made it out of that situation alive.
The pair had to stay in the lab for over a month before their injuries had fully healed. The Mightyena bit into them deeply and scratched them quite a few times.
While they were inside the lab/temporary hospital, Cynthia and Xander took that as a chance to bond with their Pokemon more. They also learned about the two Pokemon they saved.
The blue Pokemon was indeed a Riolu. These Pokemon were kind of rare since they usually didn't like to interact with humans. They preferred being isolated in nature or being protectors of animals.
The white Pokemon was actually a version of Vulpix that was from the Alola Region. Carolina had heard about it before but thought they were only legends since they rarely left their mountains. But after checking out the typing of the Pokemon and running various tests, she finally confirmed that it was indeed a member of the elusive version of this Pokemon.
On the day of Xander and Cynthia's release from the temporary hospital, Carolina brought them to her personal office in the building.
The pair of children and 4 Pokemon walked into the room before standing in front of Carolina's desk. Between them were 4 pokeballs.
"I think you two have bonded with these Pokemon enough and they have proven themselves loyal enough to enter these pokeballs and become your Pokemon."
Cynthia and Xander nervously took the balls. Although they loved the Pokemon and were sure they were friends, the duo was unsure if they would actually be able to make them their partners.
Cynthia threw one of her balls at Gible while Xander threw both of his balls at the same time to Fenris and Vulpix.
The balls made contact with the pokemon before covering them in red light and bringing the pokemon inside the ball.
Carolina and the two kids looked at the 3 pokeballs nervously as the balls began to shake.
After shaking a few times, a beep could be heard from the pokeballs.
Hearing this sound, Carolina smiled at the two children.
"Congratulations. You just caught your first pokemon," she told the pair as she patted their heads
The two children had goofy smiles on their faces with the new realization that they were officially trainers now.
Xander was about to say something when his vision went blurry and he fell to the ground.
He could see Cynthia, Carolina, and Riolu all around him and moving their mouths but he could not hear what they were saying.
As he was losing consciousness, Xander felt a flood of memories entering his mind. From a different.
'No. A different life.'
Xander's memories and personality began to blend with Archer's. It was hard to tell if Xander was being taken over by Archer or if Xander was just inheriting what Archer had left behind.
No matter which, when he woke up the next day, Xander's entire perspective had changed.