It was cold and dark in the Pokemon Center hostel that morning, a certain chill in the air as the air conditioning ran in overdrive. It was almost for certain that the manager of this particular Pokemon Center in the Northern section of Olivine City was having a hot flash for them to think this was an appropriate temperature. The large room which housed a dozen bunk beds was quiet as a faint light and murmur of activity in the hallway outside began to signal the breaking of a new day. There were no windows in this particular room, the northern section of the coastal city being not the most affluent, and the Pokemon Center followed suit. The plain scraped-up walls and rickety bunk beds left little to be desired as the creaking and scratching of the canvas beds continued through the night.
As Gaius awoke from his cold slumber under a thin wool blanket provided by the center, he would recall that he had been visiting Olivine City to be tested for fertility and whether the Orange Flu had taken affect in him. It had been months since the world first learned of the horrendous and frightening virus. At first, the government warned that thousands could die from the blight that ran like wildfire through the population. But as scientists had time to study it and doctors observed many of the patients, they discovered the peculiar nature of the disease. Only about 10% of those infected died, and of those 10%, 95% were male. Of the 90% who survived, the female population had the mildest symptoms with no long-term effects from the disease. However, the true tragedy of the virus was realized all too late as 99% of males infected with Orange Flu saw a loss of fertility and sexual desire.
The news of this spread like wildfire through the world, the possibility of the virus's long-term impact being the extinction of humanity and/or devastation to the economy should the birthrate drop too low. Months after the last few cases of the disease were reported, males from across the country were brought to Pokemon Centers to be tested for the long-term affects. The lucky less than 1% being deemed as breeders, given express mandates to spread their seed in the female population as much as they could. It was done so discreetly, the identities of these breeders kept a close secret to avoid reprisals by envious men who now found themselves inept.
Gaius himself had just taken the test the day before. He had heard the doctor announce that this Pokemon Center had not gotten a positive test yet for a breeder. The test itself took twelve hours to process and thus all subjects were invited to stay in the Pokemon Center for the night in the usual trainer housing.
As morning crept on, Gaius would soon have his life changed, a text arriving on his phone.
Gaius, please proceed to Dr. Betters' office at your earliest convenience, please do so with discretion.
He would know from yesterday that the doctor's office was just down the hall in the Pokemon Center.<|im_end|>
Gaius was used to the searing summer sun beating down on him as he worked the fields at his family Ranch, his skin darkly toned from the long hours hoeing fields, watering plants, fertilizing and harvesting, and that was all before dealing with the Pokemon. It was primarily a stud ranch, giving Gaius an acute understanding of breeding, how to pair pokemon together, get them in the mood for romance, and maximize potential pregnancy. This air-conditioned hostel he was in, attached to the PokeCenter, was... brisk, in a word. He wore his jacket and still shivered occasionally even under the covers of the thin duvet that he had found on the top bunk. It wasn't the first time he had been jealous of pokemon and how they lived in their perfectly climate-controlled pokeballs.
Out on the ranch, so removed from the world, the Orange Flu had read like a drama, some overly dramatic TV show. The infectious disease had a high mortality rate, something unusual for the Johto region and newsworthy in itself, but as time had worn on, the news took an even more dramatic turn, not only were the male population down around 8-9% (and the Johto region was already favoring the female population some 52-48%) but on top of this, most men infected had been found to be infertile and almost as many unresponsive to sexual arousal. The weight of the situation had been lost on Gaius until the Orange flu finally made its way to their little Ranch. All of them caught it. No one died of course, but the struggle had been real, trying to clean barns with cold sweats and chills had been harrowing. Several times the miltanks had been unmilked, their udders swollen and crops unharvested.
On Government orders he had made his way to Olivine city, though money was tight and he couldn't afford much. He had taken up rooms in the Poke-center. Hearing the buzz from his phone, he picked it up to read the text, it was neutral, giving no hints as to which way the test had gone. His heart sunk... The nerves were getting to him, he was a young, strapping man, this would crush him.
Stretching, he rose, fondling the pokeballs in his messenger bag, wondering if he should let his lifelong companion, Riley out to stretch his legs. But no... This was no time to be distracted, there would be a long walk home too, at least a week, maybe two, plenty of time to stretch his legs. Instead he got dressed quickly, skin puckered like gooseflesh at the chill in the air and muttered under his breath about the AC before he made his way down the hall to knock on the door of Dr. Better. It was quiet and he met no one on his way, removing the need to be too discrete, but his stomach was a ball of nerves as he opened the door and slipped inside, taking his seat "So Doctor... What's the verdict? Stud or Sterile?" He inquired, trying to make light of the situation despite the butterfrees in his stomach.<|im_end|>