Pokémon : Play at home

The Alliance Quarter stood like a fortress in the heart of Shillong—its high steel-reinforced gates polished to a mirror sheen, its tall walls engraved with the emblems of every regional branch of the Alliance. It was a symbol of authority, power, and global coordination, handling everything from inter-regional Pokémon migration to trainer licensing. 

"You sure you transferred the originals into the secure folder?" Neil asked for the third time that morning.

"Yes," Elicia replied, not even looking up. "And backed them up twice. Seriously, Neil, breathe."

"It's just… this is huge. We're going to be famous. Front-page-of-the-Journal famous. Syndicated-documentary famous."

"You are flying too high right now. They will check to see if what we have taken as legit or not." Elicia reminded him. 

"What a way to put cold water on our aspirations. Those pictures we took are legit. By the way you haven't told anyone about this right?"

"Of course not." Elicia said. "Have you?" 

"Nooo." Neil replied instantly. They were young for sure, but not so naive. The children of this world were always forced to grow strong and weary of the people around because murder for riches were common outside the cities. And they were just children. 

They both laughed a bit. The reality of what they were about to do was setting in. They had photographic evidence of a Pokémon that nobody knew anything about and now they were about to stamp their name in history by presenting the world with this new Pokémon.

"Ayan really didn't want his name in this?" Neil said.

"I believe he has own reasons." Elicia said. She had already put Ayan as someone of interest, and though she didn't know how Ayan could stay away from the fame that they would soon receive, she couldn't just force anyone to take credits. 

By now they had reached the main security gate. A stern-looking guard scanned their IDs and gestured them toward a processing desk just inside the atrium. They walked through the grand entryway—its high ceilings etched with a rotating display of historical Pokémon discoveries—and followed a hallway lined with glass cases of ancient Poké Balls, fossils, and digital archives.

Soon, they found themselves inside the Alliance Department of Research and Discovery, a place that always felt a little surreal. A receptionist at the Mythical & Unclassified Pokémon Division ushered them to a side wing with reinforced doors and dimmed lighting. The stamp of Mythical was just for show as none of Legendary Pokémon had ever shown up in this small region ever. 

"Wait here," she said.

Five minutes later, a tall woman in a navy-blue blazer arrived with a clipboard. She had sharp cheekbones, violet spectacles, and an air of polite impatience.

"I'm Dr. Parnika Bose, Lead Classifications Officer. You're here to submit a discovery?"

"Yes," Neil said, holding out the drive. "It's… well, it's something we've never seen before. We've cross-referenced the global database, including the Unclassified Archive. Nothing came up."

 "It looked like a small, green fairy or sprite. Wings like glass." Elicia chimed in. 

Dr. Bose raised an eyebrow, taking the drive and slotting it into a nearby terminal. The first photo appeared on a wall-mounted screen: a glowing, green creature hovering above a patch of moss, eyes round and glimmering with curiosity. Another showed it midair, vanishing into a golden blur. A final image captured it up close—sitting on a backpack, fingers curled gently over the strap.

The room fell silent.

"That's… I've never seen anything like that." Dr. Bose said. This wasn't the first time she was looking at a picture of an unknown Pokémon before, but sadly the ones she had seen before turned out to be scams, and thus she was always skeptical. But the pictures seemed too real to be scams this time. 

"That's because no one has," Neil said. He was way too excited now. "Not in any region, any database, we have checked."

"Run a multi-tier verification scan. Image authenticity, metadata, geo-coordinates." Dr. Bose stared at the image for a long moment, then turned to her assistant. "Where was this taken?"

"Near Dawki Lake. We went for an excursion." Elicia said as she gave a general description of how they took the pictures. Dr. Bose nodded as she read the reports submitted by her assistant. 

"No known energy signature. Did it speak? Emit sound? Display any aggression?"

"No aggression. It felt… curious. A little skittish," Neil said. "But also… intentional. Like it knew we were watching."

"It vanished just as quickly. And it left no trace behind—no energy trail, no residue." Elicia said. Dr. Bose nodded. 

"Hmm.. If this Pokémon truly doesn't match any registered taxonomy… it would mean you've encountered a completely unknown species." 

"So…" Neil asked cautiously. "What happens now?"

"We begin investigation," Dr. Bose replied. "Environmental scans. A field team will be dispatched to the coordinates. If your report holds up, and we find supporting anomalies… the photos will be escalated to the Primary Global Council for Discovery Verification."

"And publishing?" Elicia asked.

"If confirmed, you will be credited with the first-ever documentation of an unclassified entity. You'll be listed as primary observers in all public and academic records. But until then—this remains strictly classified."

 "We're actually going to be in textbooks." Neil was really reaching high for the heavens while Elicia just rolled her eyes. 

"Possibly," Dr. Bose said. "Or you'll start a decade-long debate that ends with a new class of Pokémon being theorized." She handed them both printed verification receipts. "You'll be contacted once validation is complete. And… thank you, both."

As Neil and Elicia stepped out into the sunlight again, the tension finally cracked.

"We did it," Neil said, punching the air.

"And no one's going to believe how quiet Ayan wants to be about this." Elicia said. 

"You have no idea. I couldn't even say that the Pokémon seemed to have taken interest with Ayan." Neil said. 

"Well he wanted none of it so we can't do anything. What do you think they will name this Pokémon after the verification."