Chapter 044

"Wow! A Shiny Charmander!" exclaimed Joseph enviously.

The first thing Alex did after was show it off to Joseph. Even before he got the incubator and the nutritional fluid from the storage.

The incubator would keep the egg at the right temperature required for the proper development of the unborn Pokemon. The nutritional liquid was a specially configured solution, that would seep into the egg and be absorbed by the unborn Pokemon and increase its potential and general health.

There were several nutritional liquid formulas, each configured for a specific Pokemon, and scaling in price depending upon its effectiveness.

The one available at Oak Corall was naturally the best configuration for Charmander.

After showing off in front of Joseph, Alex went to the storage to retrieve an incubator and the nutrition fluid for Charmander.

Professor Oak told him he just had to tell the one in charge of storage, and he would be given the incubator and nutritional fluid. Alex walked through the hallway to the side of the laboratory, which was the storage section.

He walked into the room, and then froze.

"Alakazam!" he thought, rapidly developing a bad feeling.

"Hello human child" said Alakazam, in the same deep voice. "You are here for the incubator and nutritional fluid for Charmander, correct. Here you go" concluded Alakazam as an incubator and a sealed bottle filled with a reddish-brown fluid floated in front of him.

Alex was confused. Why wasn't he tossed into the air and spun around mid air?

Alex took the things sent by Alakazam cautiously. He put the egg inside the incubator, fiddled around with the incubator settings until he finally figured it out. He looked up the ideal settings for a Charmander egg on his Pokedex and set the incubator to that setting. He then fixed the egg inside the incubator, and poured the incubation liquid he had received inside the incubator.

He then carried the incubator and started walking outside. He could feel a gaze on his back, but Alakazam made no further moves. He paused at the door, looked back at Alakazam. He couldn't help but ask, "You won't make me perform a standing backflip or something?" immediately regretting it afterwards.

Alakazam looked at him calmly, and said, "No."

Alex was partly confused and partly relieved.

He then walked out confidently.

Suddenly, the incubator in his hand floated into the air, and he was lifted up from the ground and made to perform a standing backflip.

"What the hell?" shouted Alex, as he turned around and started at Alakazam resentfully. Alakazam calmly stared back at him, and said, 'LOl' and slammed the door shut. The incubator slowly descended into his hands.

"What a troll Alakazam is" thought Alex as he walked away.

"Ah Alakazam, did you give young Alex the incubation chamber and the nutritional fluid?" asked Professor Oak.

"Yes I did," said Alakazam.

"Also, I noticed you seem to be pranking him frequently. This is not like you. Can you tell me the reason?" asked Professor Oak.

"I wanted to experiment how much Psychic energy a Dark could block. If I could get some concrete results, I will be able to detect any Dark lurking around you better. We both know that there are some of them, waiting for an opportunity" said Alakazam.

"That's indeed a good idea on paper. But you forget how powerful your Psychic energy is. You won't get any results this way. When the magnitude of two energies differs by a large amount, the reaction between them is none existent. So your Psychic energy can get no results" said Professor Oak.

Alakazam paused, and asked, "What would you suggest I do?"

"First of all, cloak his energy. I don't want anyone else discovering he is Dark until I am sure that he is on my side. Second, convince a young Psychic type Pokemon to experiment with their powers around him. You can watch this in secret, and you will find out how much Psychic energy a Dark can block. I have a feeling the interaction between a young Pokemon's Psychic powers and a young Dark will provide reference won how your Psychic power will interact with an accomplished and fully grown Dark" said Professor Oak.

"I should trust a researcher's instinct. I shall do that said" Alakazam. Then, it vanished in a flash.

It reappeared somewhere in the middle of the ranch, and started sending Psychic powers all around.

Alakazam heard a banging noise. A silvery figure emerged from between the rocks.

"Hello again, young friend. I am in need of your help" said Alakazam.