Chapter 9: Back again!

Ark strolled back to his cabin in a cheerful mood, his steps were light as he thought about the minor success he had achieved. He was honestly shocked. He assumed Cynthia would not be too opposed to the idea of polygamy but, he was truly surprised when Serena was more open about it than she seemed to be in the anime. She was often shown to be jealous of girls approaching Ash, it proved that Ark's presence was having an impact on the worlds fate. Then again it's not a sure thing that they will accept, all Ark could do was wait.

By the time he reached his cabin, the moon was slowly rising. Ark and the girls had decided to eat at the Professor's lounge with his permission. He was deeply thankful for the subtle favoritism the Professor has shown him these past few days. It made Ark notice that there really is a lot of perks to being born in Pallet town.

While thinking this, Ark opened his door and went inside. He climbed onto the top bunch and laid down.

"Ash hasn't come back from the dining hall it seems"

Ark decided to just sit and read some of the books he had memorised with the Sage Mind ability. As he was flipping through the pages mentally, he came across an interesting page in the book. A large image took up a third of the page, the Pokemon in the image was Ralts. This page seemed to be dedicated to facts about Ralts. Judging that it may help him find some clues as to the black stuff he found on the injured Ralts, Ark started to digest the information. One big fact stood out after a while. It seemed that Ralts were very uncommon in the Johto and Kanto regions with it first being discovered in the Hoenn region.

"Why was a supposedly rare pokemon like Ralts doing in a region like Kanto? It's not impossible but it is weird, especially since it seemed to be wild"

Ark thought back to the injured Ralts, at the time he did not question it but now that his mind was clear he could see how strange the situation truly was. Not only was a Ralts in the Kanto region, it was afflicted by a strange injury that the system labeled miasma. Not only that, but the system asked him to absorb it from the Ralts. This likely mean't that it had something to do with the experiment that entity spoke about.

"Judging by how painful that was, this experiment is not something as simple as a light test"

Feelings of anxiety started to blossom in Ark's chest.

As Ark was reviewing the recent events, a loud crash resounded in the room. Ark instantly jumped up and looked around only to find himself falling face first onto the floor. His startled state made him forget he was on the top bunk, so he quick movement threw him over the railings. Another crash sounded in the room, this time heavier.

"Ow ow! What was that?"

Ark rubbed his red forehead and slowly stood up. He observed the room and noticed the window was now open slightly, it was not opened enough for a person though. This confused Ark as he could not think of what opened the window. Getting closer, he peeked out the window but did see anyone. Shrugging his shoulders, Ark closed the window and decided to just forget about it.

"That was so weird, maybe the wind is getting stronger. That's odd at this time of the year though considering its early summer"

Choosing not to overthink it, Ark climbed back onto the top bunch and went to lay back down. However as he went to lean back, he spotted a small bump under the covers. Ark is not the type to keep stuffed animals or toys, so this new lump intrigued him.

"What's this? Did Ash leave something on my bed? If he seriously has been up here then maybe I need to remind him of our house rules"

Ark murmured while cracking his knuckles. He gripped the edge of the covers and gently moved them back, despite his theory about Ash, he maintained a small amount of vigilance.

A small white lump appeared when the covers were removed, it had a green head with two red protrusions on the front and back. Arks eyes were wide-open and his mouth agape, he could not suppress the surprise he was feeling. How could he forget this visitor, in fact it hadn't even been 30 minutes since he had been thinking about them. Before his eyes lay a curled up Ralts, it's expression and posture was comfortable and the slight breathing noises pointed towards it already being asleep.

"Was this the reason for that loud crash earlier? Wait no, that's no important! What is it doing here, did it seriously follow me?"

Ark was bewildered by this strange turn of events, never did he think that the Ralts from the forest would follow him. Especially considering it was a wild Pokemon. While Ark was overcoming his stupor, the Ralts stirred awake. It sat up and stared directly into Arks eyes. Silence ensued, neither made a noise as they watched the other. Finally over the silence, Ark decided to speak.

"Hello again Ralts, are you here to see me?"

Ralts nodded to Ark before walking up to Arks knees and laying on top of them with its face looking up at him. Never in his wildest dreams did Ark think that the first lap pillow he gave would be to a wild Pokemon.

"It's nice to see you again Ralts, but is it okay for you to come out here? Do you not have a home to go back to?"

Ralts shook its head lightly at Arks. Though Ark could not read it's facial expressions yet, he could feel the aura of sadness that had surrounded Ralts.

"I see, then if you want, you can stay here with me until you decide what you want to do"

Ark smiled at the Ralts on his lap. It seems that it had grown fond of him after he had helped it. This made him think of how desperate the poor little Pokemons situation actually is. It's likely that this Ralts is young and does not have much in the way of survival instincts, otherwise there is no way Ralts would be so attached to Ark.

*Knock**Knock*

"Come in!"

Ark shouted to the door. It seems someone other than Ash is here as that boy never knocks. The door opened to reveal a man with grey hair and a friendly smile. Professor Oak stepped into the room but froze not a second later. His eyes were glued to one spot. Ralts. A look of surprise and intrigue filled his face. Ark chuckled at the reaction of the usually smiling Professor.

"Ark, please explain"

The Professor looked to Ark for an explanation to such an inexplicable situation.

"Ah, you see, I met and saved Ralts on the day I went to the forest"

Ark proceeded to explain how he met Ark but made sure not to mention the miasma, instead choosing to say it was hungry and dehydrated. The Professor nodded before asking Ark to follow him back to his lounge.

So for the second time today, ark found himself sat in the Professors lounge but this time with small companion in the form of Ralts.