You wake up in a panic, sunlight already flooding your apartment through the blinds as you glance at your alarm clock.

9:37 AM

You were supposed to be at Professor Sycamore’s lab by 8:00 sharp—not just for your daily assistant duties, but because today was special. Today, a promising new Trainer from Vaniville Town was scheduled to arrive....and of course you just had to be late.

You scramble into your clothes—half-buttoned shirt, mismatched socks, and a lab coat still smelling faintly of disinfectant and Oran Berry shampoo. You barely manage to brush your teeth while stuffing a Poké Puff into your mouth before bolting out the door.

The streets of Lumiose are already packed. Taxi drivers shout over each other, a Furfrou struts like royalty beside its owner, and café patrons sip their morning espressos like time doesn’t exist. You dodge a delivery guy on a bicycle and nearly collide with a rollerblader performing a trick near Rouge Plaza.

You take a shortcut through Vernal Avenue, hopping over a barricade around a street performer and rushing into the South Boulevard.

You burst through the sleek glass doors of Sycamore’s lab, panting. Looking around, the familiar organized chaos of the Professor’s lab meets your gaze: open research logs, stacks of Poké Balls, glowing screens displaying evolutionary graphs, and, most notably, Professor Sycamore himself—leaning back in a chair, arms crossed, an amused expression on his face.

“Bonjour,” he says smoothly, eyebrow raised. “Rough morning?”