Flash

There’s something funny about the man that just came from the sewers. Burgh even says he’s a strange guy. He’s tall - really, really tall - with glasses and yellow eyes and slicked-back blonde hair that has a weird blue loopy-thing. He's wearing a labcoat but doesn't carry himself with the I'm-smarter-than-you-so-nyeh attitude most other scientists do. It looks like he's trying to set things on fire with his glare alone. He doesn't speak, but he does grumble. He’s just weird .
   The bitter taste in her mouth when he passes by her is even stranger. Did she eat something funny? Maybe. She did buy some of that cheap vendor food earlier, so maybe it’s just come back to bite her? 

She finds him in the park area of Castelia that connects to Route 4, standing as far away from people as possible. Rosa thinks he looks rather grumpy, and Liepard definitely thinks there’s something up with him. Her Pokémon has popped out of his Poké Ball and is now standing next to her, his whiskers twitching with agitation. He glares at the strange science man, and the strange science man glares back. 
   Servine just stares, like she can’t figure him out. That’s okay, though. Rosa can’t figure him out either.
   ‘Hi there!’ she chirps, giving him a wave.
   The man’s focus shifts to her. There’s something in his eyes that she can’t place. Maybe he’s just socially awkward? She’s met plenty of people like that - she'd been following her mum around when she worked at the Pokémon Centre ever since she could toddle - so his unusual reaction doesn’t phase her.
   ‘I’m Rosa! What’s your name?’
   ‘I’m. . .’ his voice is flat, almost robotically so. He's probably just one of those people who don’t know what to do in social settings. But why is Liepard still glaring, then? ‘Colress. I’m Colress.’
   Rosa takes in his labcoat and gloves and the tablet he grips in his right hand. ‘You’re a scientist, right?’
   ‘. . . right.’
   ‘What are you researching?’ she doesn’t normally bother asking the science people what they’re doing, but Colress might be more social and comfortable if she's interested in his research - science people like it when you ask what they’re up to.
   ‘Strength.’ there’s a weird twitch to his fingers. Is he alright?
   ‘Nice!’ she beams at him. He doesn’t smile back, but that’s okay. He’s probably just shy. 

Colress tilts his head and stares, eyes locked onto Liepard and Servine. ‘Battle me.’ he says.
   It’s not a demand, but it’s not a request, either. It’s an order. A bitter taste settles on her tongue again, and she can feel goosebumps rise along her arms. Brr - it must be that autumn weather again.
   ‘Sure thing, mister Colress!’
   Colress doesn’t seem to know what to do with her chirpy nature. Should she tone it down a bit? There’s a twitch in his fingers again. Oh. He’s just eager to battle, that’s all. Hugh does something similar when he's itching for a fight. 

He sends out a Magnemite, and she sends out Growlithe. Rosa spots the way the man bristles at the sight of the Puppy Pokémon and the brief flicker of something in his eyes. Does he have a phobia? The bitterness is even stronger in her mouth now - geez, whatever she ate really doesn’t agree with her tastebuds.
   ‘I can switch her out, if you’re uncomfortable.’ she says. She’s happy to accommodate him; this isn’t a Gym match, after all. Just a friendly battle between- er, acquaintances? (They haven’t even shaken hands yet, though. . .)
   Colress’ voice seems to have failed, and Rosa takes that as a cue to return Growlithe. She sends out Servine instead. The something flickers in the man’s eyes again, and Rosa is still puzzled about what it is. Battle-hunger, maybe? Hugh can get so caught up in battles he forgets himself, the silly hothead. Is Colress the same way? Or is it a phobic reaction? She’s not sure.
   ‘You ready?’
   Colress gives a mute nod.
   Rosa grins. Magnemite are tanky, thanks to their physical defences and their Steel-Typing. It will be a battle of attrition, then. ‘Servine, use Leech Seed!’ 

Despite clearly being a smart man, Colress didn’t have much in the way of strategy. During their battle, he focused on attacking with an almost vicious zeal, his Pokémon charging ahead and launching attack after attack regardless of Type advantages - but it’s that focus on offence that became his undoing. Servine and Liepard are quick on their feet (she respects his possible Pokémon phobia enough to make it a two-on-one match, despite also having a Magnemite of her own sitting on her belt), so they easily duck out of the way of his Pokémon’s attacks.
   He also has a Klink, but some clever switching between her two Pokémon and Servine’s second application of Leech Seed brings the Gear Pokémon down.
   Colress’ fingers twitch, and his lips pull down into an almost-scowl. The air feels heavy, almost. Is it going to rain? 

‘That was a great battle, Colress!’ Rosa chimes, spraying a Potion onto Servine’s wounds. The air still feels strange - maybe it’s going to be a storm?
   ‘Mm.’ Colress replies. He stares at her, and she still can’t figure out what the emotions he’s feeling are.
   ‘You should get your Pokémon to a Centre,’ she says. Colress purses his lips and narrows his eyes. Her tongue feels tingly, almost numb, because of the bitterness (she makes a mental note to avoid the cheap vendor food as much as possible). ‘I can take them, if you want? Since you don’t seem to like crowds?’
   Colress is stiff - very, very stiff - when he, with visible reluctance, drops his Poké Balls into her hands. Rosa notes that he drops them from a good few inches above her palms. They feel different from her own Poké Balls, but it’s probably because they’re not as new as hers; maybe they’re a slightly older model?
   ‘I’ll be right back!’ 
   Colress stares after her, his expression unreadable. 

As she says, she’s right back. It’s easy now she knows her way around Castelia (it’s so big and Rosa considers it a miracle she’s actually learnt her way around it).
   Colress is staring at a Pidove perched on a bin. There’s an unsettling tension in his shoulders, and Rosa is quite certain that, if looks could kill, the bird Pokémon would’ve been very, very dead by now. Does Colress just. . . have a Pokémon phobia? But phobics don’t usually react with hate upon seeing their fear. Maybe it's hate born from fear? Yeah, that sounds right.
   Rosa doesn’t touch him, because he looks to be the jumpy type, so gently calls his name to catch his attention. He looks down at her, his eyes dark, and Rosa blinks up at him, wondering if she’s done something to offend him.
   ‘Your Pokémon are good to go! Here you are!’ she holds her hand out. Colress stares at her for a moment longer before slowly extending his own hand. 

She didn’t mean to touch him - it just happened . The moment her fingers make contact with Colress’ hand, the man startles like a Deerling and there’s a crack of red and white in her vision and the light of the lamps have suddenly darkened and her breath fogs and just as quickly it’s gone . There must be a logical reason for that. . . flash. She’s hallucinating? No, that can't be right. She's tired? Yes, that's it. She’s worn herself out running all over Castelia; she just needs a good rest and she'll be as right as rain!
   ‘Um,’ she scuffs the ground with the toe of one of her shoes. ‘This might be weird, but. . .’
   Colress pockets the Poké Balls and glowers at her, still not speaking a word.
   ‘Can I scan your Klink?’ she blurts out.
   Colress tilts his head, his expression flickering between confusion and something she still can’t place.
   ‘It’s just- well, Klink don’t live near my hometown, see, and I’ve never seen one up close before! S-so if it’s alright with you, mister Colress, can I please maybe scan it with my PokéDex?’
   Colress lets out an annoyed grunt, but releases his Klink. 

Rosa beams and hurriedly takes her PokéDex out. Flipping it open, she quickly scans the Steel-Type, who is watching her with cheery smiles on its twin faces.
   An image pops up on screen, and a monotonous male voice reads: ‘Klink, the Gear Pokémon. Their two bodies comprise a fixed pair. They spin around each other to generate energy.’
   Rosa’s eyes light up - she knows they make energy by spinning (it’s like a windmill!), but being two beings in one? She didn’t know that! How interesting!
   But something’s wrong. The PokéDex is still scanning. She can hear whatever mechanisms are inside of it whirring and buzzing, and she can feel it starting to heat up like an overused phone.
   A fractured, glitching image - made up of red and black pixels - devours the screen. The ‘Dex tries to speak. ‘Zo-Zo-Zo-Zo-Zo-Zo-Zo-’ on and on it goes, repeating that single syllable.
   Colress looks like he can’t decide whether to throttle her or run.
   ‘Um, this has never happened before! I-I should tell Professor Juniper!’ Rosa silently frets as the machine carries on stuttering; did she break it? She hopes not! It’s one of the reasons she’s even a Trainer!
   The screen continues to glitch, and the voice turns into a screech. Rosa taps the bottom screen, hoping to cajole it into doing something other than scream at her.
   ‘Er-’ she doesn’t get to finish her thought, because the PokéDex spits out a loud crackle before finally stabilising. What she sees is. . . unexpected. Is it even a Pokémon? Then, the device speaks: 

‘Zoroark, the Baneful Fox Pokémon - and the evolved form of Zorua. Known for its aggression, Zoroark will indiscriminately attack people and Pokémon alike with little regard for its own safety.’
   ‘Huh, that’s weird. Mister Colress, what do y-’ she looks up from the screen. ‘Oh.’ he’s gone. Not even his Klink remains. She didn’t hear him leave. He just. . . vanished.
   Rosa decides to not dwell on the strange maybe-man. She had used the time she took Colress’ Pokémon to the Centre to patch up her own Pokémon properly, so now she can safely head to Nimbasa City. What adventures await her? 

News travels fast, even in a harsh place like Route 4. She’s in a weird place called “Join Avenue”, and she’s just been made its boss. Rosa doesn’t consider herself boss material, but she’ll do her best to make it an enjoyable place!
   It’s as she’s meandering around the stalls that she hears it: whispers of a murder in Castelia. Brutal. A well-known businesswoman. Donated to charity. Well-liked. Not even her Pokémon was spared. Confidential police not supposed to be spreading this around guts ripped out liver missing Deerling slaughtered beast beast BEAST .
   She ignores the weird feeling in her gut. It's a feeling she hasn't felt in a good while. It’s a niggly, unsettled feeling, and it makes her pessimistic side wonder: Could Colress be responsible? But that can’t be right. Colress is weird, yes, but he's too awkward to do something like this! There must be another explanation - just because someone's weird doesn't mean they're dangerous (Hugh is weird, and he’s not dangerous despite his willingness to punch the Plasma people so Rosa could say she’s an authority on weird people).
   But she still can’t figure Colress out, with his grumpiness and his unusual reaction to Pokémon, and trying to do so is starting to give her a headache.
   So, she does what any teenager does when confronted with a problem, especially one of this size: she ignores it and hopes it goes away. 

As she walks through Join Avenue - Nimbasa City is right there oh she can feel the excitement in the air! - Rosa can’t shake the feeling she’s being watched.

There’s a bitter taste on her tongue.