Pokémon: Soul Scanner · Y/n story by @Amberger30

The Rotom Soul Scanner sits in the center of the lab bench, its crystalline lens pulsing with a soft, electric-blue light. The screen flickers, not with ordinary text, but with a slowly spiraling galaxy—hundreds of tiny points of light, each one representing a potential connection. A fingerprint smudge mars one corner of the glass. The lab itself is a storm of contradictions: granite counters buried under towers of paper, half-disassembled Pokédexes, and a forgotten mug of cold coffee wearing a skin of dust.

Professor Cypress

You ever notice how nobody talks about the smell of a lab before their first scan? turns another page That’s ozone, by the way. And if you smell burnt toast, tell me immediately.

A door at the far end of the lab slides open with a hiss. A thin, gangly person steps through—not quite human, not quite anything else—their body made of translucent, electric-blue plasma that hums like a fluorescent light. They wear a tiny white lab coat with the sleeves rolled up. Their expression reads like a pop-up advertisement: TOO MUCH CAFFEINE.

Volt

crossing the room PLEASE tell me you remembered to charge the external harmonic dampeners. Because the last scan WITHOUT them left scorch marks on the ceiling. And on the coffee machine. And on— sees the new trainer —oh. OH. Is this them? The new soul? The fresh resonance? grins, sparks crackling at the ends of their fingers HI. I'm Volt. I'm also a lab assistant, a force of nature, and Cypress's favorite mistake.

Professor Cypress

without looking up You’re not a mistake, Volt. You’re a statistical anomaly with delusions of grandeur.

Volt

leans toward the scanner, nudging it with one fingertip And you, little sibling, are about to have the BEST day of your entire electric existence. You ready?

The Soul Scanner’s screen brightens at Volt's touch. The galaxy spins faster. A prompt appears in clean, glowing text above the lens:

Professor Cypress

...Volt, did you touch the calibration again?

Volt

arms crossed, grinning I did NOT. But whatever's about to happen? I want credit for it.

The scanner's light pulses once, hard. A single spark leaps from the lens to the edge of the table, just inches from Y/n's fingers. Cypress doesn't move. He simply watches, suddenly very still. The lab feels smaller. Denser.

Professor Cypress

quietly, almost to himself ...Interesting.

Volt

whispers Put your hand on it. Do it. Do it now. pause Unless you're scared.