My Best Friend

                                    

                                          


                          
She hefted her backpack up the stairs on her way up to the Cerise Laboratory. This was her ordinary after school ritual, and even on a Friday, rituals would remain unbroken.
                          
But there was something uneasy in the air. Yamper was missing, not rushing out to meet her, to start. He always did that...
                          
She stepped up to the door and cracked it open. "I'm ho-"
                          
"AACHOO!"
                          
Chloe closed the door.
                          
A few moments later, Ren opened the door, wearing a face mask. "Here you go, Chloe," he said, handing her a mask of her own.
                          
Without saying anything else, she put the mask on her face. "What's going on, Ren?"
                          
Her father's assistant motioned her inside. "Ash caught an awful cold, so he's upstairs resting."
                          
She raised an eyebrow. "That sneeze was his? I heard him all the way downstairs!"
                          
As she entered the Cerise Laboratory, she quickly saw that Chrysa, her father, even Goh and Cinderace were wearing face masks. Yamper sat at her father's feet, whining and pawing at the mask itself.
                          
A mask floated in the air just above Cinderace's shoulder, showing that Sobble was hiding there. Chloe reconsidered letting Eevee out in this environment. "Dad?" she asked, turning towards Professor Cerise. "Is Ash really this sick?"
                          
"Unfortunately," he said with a wry but sad smile.
                          
"I kept trying to tell him..." Goh sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "He really wanted to go swimming on the lay day of summer despite us being in freezing cold Sinnoh..."
                          
"Cin..." his partner Pokémon nodded.
                          
"So that's why we're all covered up today," Professor Cerise finished explaining. "And unfortunately we're also a little behind."
                          
Chloe rolled her eyes. "That makes sense. I don't see how you could get anything done with this noise going on..."
                          
"We might have fallen a little behind, but thanks to everyone's hard work, we're pretty close to finishing up. It might just be a little bit longer before we can go home."
                          
Chloe sighed. "Alright, Dad. I'll be upstairs if you-"
                          
Before the maroon-haired girl could finish her thought, a loud ringing began to sound over the computer systems in the lab that made her hold her ears. Cinderace flinched as well and the mask that indicated Sobble's position moved into the larger Pokémon's arms. Thankfully, the ringing subsided as quickly as it started.
                          
Chrysa began furiously typing at her computer. "Professor! It seems like we're getting a direct call from the Vermilion City Police Department... it's Officer Jenny."
                          
Professor Cerise nodded. "Patch it through, please."
                          
Everyone standing in the laboratory turned to the holographic display that opened a window to show the face of the blue-haired, hazel*-eyed law enforcement officer.
                          
"Officer Jenny!" Professor Cerise spoke, the smile evident in his voice, even if it was covered up in a face mask.
                          
The look on the officer's face was immediately conflicted. "Professor Cerise...? Is everything alright?"
                          
"Don't worry about it," he said, cheerfully waving her concerns away. "What seems to be the trouble? It's not every day you reach out to my laboratory."
                          
At that, she nodded. "Today we've been getting a lot of reports about strangely aggressive Pokémon in the forests around the city," she explained. "People think this is a job for the police, but we catch human criminals, not wild Pokémon. Do you think you could send some researchers to investigate?"