Tia and Aidan waited nervously as Professor Oak examined the completed pages of the Kanto Pokedex, including those of the Legendary Pokemon they had captured thus far.
“Interesting…” Professor Oak murmured, tapping through the pages of information. He was silent for a moment, then nodded, handing the Pokedex over to Mira, his assistant and granddaughter.
Mira silently looked over the pages of the Pokedex, flipping from one section to another, nodding to herself, then looked up.
“Everything looks good from a technical standpoint,” she said, “Nesting locations, footprints, typical coloring, and the other features look like they’re working fine!”
“Wonderful!” Professor Oak said, excitedly. “With this, the first 150 Pokemon of the Kanto Pokedex have been fully recorded!”
Tia smiled faintly. “Except Mew.”
Professor Oak nodded. “Except Mew. But I’ve heard you’ve been having an exceptionally difficult time tracking Mew.”
Tia and Aidan looked at each other. “It’s… very elusive,” Tia answered, “It comes and goes as it pleases, and leaves little to no trace of where it’s been. So far, we’ve seen it both in Kanto and in Hoenn.”
Mira blinked. “Kanto and Hoenn? Its range must be gigantic, then. The Pokedex only accounts for nesting locations in Kanto and Johto.” She shook her head. “No wonder you’ve been getting ‘Area Unknown’ messages!”
Tia held up her hands. “Don’t worry, it’s not a reflection on you! Your work on the technical aspects of the Pokedex is impeccable!”
Mira shook her head. “No, no, this won’t do! I’ll work on increasing the Pokedex’s nesting range, ASAP!” She smiled. “I’ll let you guys know when the update is ready!”
“Thanks,” Tia said, smiling back.
“Now,” Professor Oak spoke up, “Aside from Mew, the next phase of the project is capturing the Legendary Beasts of Johto?”
“That’s the plan,” Aidan said. “It’ll be different from tracking down the Birds, since the Beasts apparently roam the whole of Johto and have been spotted in so many different places.”
“It sounds like a challenge,” Professor Oak said, “But a worthy one, considering it’s you two.” He looked at them for a moment, staring at them shrewdly. “You two look exceptionally well. No signs of this project wearing you out?”
Tia and Aidan looked at each other again and smiled. “We’re perfectly fine,” Tia answered.
Mira scoffed. “Come on, Granddad,” she said, “They’ve got each other. No matter how hard the challenge, their love will see them through!”
She smiled as she watched the two Trainers turned beet-red. “You know what the researcher grapevine is saying about you two?”
“What?” Tia asked faintly.
“That you’re the quintessential love story of the Pokemon research world,” Mira said excitedly, “You’re every researcher’s relationship goal!”
“Uh…” Aidan murmured, “Thanks? I guess?”
Professor Oak laughed. “Don’t mind my granddaughter,” he said, “She’s very much a hopeless romantic. But seriously,” he continued, addressing both of them, “Thank you for your hard work thus far, and good luck on your future endeavors.”
Tia and Aidan nodded. “Thanks,” Aidan said.
“We’ll do our best,” Tia added.