As the others introduced themselves, Rudy kept quiet, regretting his outburst a little. The Professor didn’t seem to mind that much, but still, why was he so nervous? It wasn’t like he was the farthest he’s ever been from his parents or anything alone...oh wait, it was. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he took a calming breath, which seemed to help a bit. It wasn’t like things were focused on him, and as long as things stayed that way, it’d be alright.

After introductions were completed, Professor Michael led the tour group into the cooler air of the lab proper. As they stopped, Rudy got a look around, seeing all the machines and such before turning his attention back to the Professor as he began speaking. As he mentioned Professors, Rudy couldn’t help but remember the Professor of his home region, Kalos, whom he’d probably heard about on TV or something to that effect. As he went on about befriending Pokémon, Rudy couldn’t help but frown a little bit: it felt like something easier said than done, yet Michael said it like it was so easy. However, as he began to talk about the Shadow Pokémon Epidemics and Cipher, the mood in the room seemed to tense a bit. Rudy had heard rumors of them, but to hear it from the person who had actually dealt with it was something else. And he was twelve when he did it, the same age that Rudy was now.

A question burning on his mind, Rudy began, “How...” Stopping, he cleared his throat, before raising his hand, finally asking, “How do you tell what a Shadow Pokémon looks like?”