Welcome! This is my second ever story on this site and I'm really excited about it. The title is pretty self-explanatory, cause I suck at naming.
"Human speech"
'Thoughts'
"Pokespeech"
'Telepathy'
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
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A Hybrid's Journey
North of Aspertia Town, Unova region.
"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" came the shrill cry of an alarm clock. As it blared it's irritating and all-too familiar tone, a tired groan could be heard.
"Uhhhhhh, shut up you stupid clock," said the owner of the device. Reaching out, she attempted to blindly search for the device. Failing to find it, she blearily opened her eyes and turned over to find the elusive machine.
Facing her nightstand, she came face-to-face with a grinning, mischievous face. His skin was a pure white color, with his hair cut short and green, his head lacking a nose and ears. On top of his head were two horns to the front and back, red in color and flat with a rounded edge, each shaped like half of an oval disc. Instead of five fingers, he had three on either hand. He also had on a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt that said 'Always in control' with a picture of an Xbox controller on the front.
It took her sleep addled mind a few seconds to recognize her nine-year old brother in front of her. Narrowing her eyes in anger, she said,"What are you doing in my room, James?"
Widening his grin further, James backed out of her reach, allowing her to see his twin, John, standing next to him. Sending one another a glance, James said," We're not allowed to visit our favorite sister?"
"This is my room. And I'm your only sister."
"But don't you love us, Riley?" John said with a obviously fake quivering lip.
"No, now get out."
The boys pouted and said,"You're no fun."
Rolling over in bed, she said,"Good to know. Out."
"How can you stand being so boring, Riley?"
"Practice."
"Well, we just happen to know a way to make things more interesting," said one of the boys. Riley was immediately wary, well versed with the boys ideas of fun. Usually, the two would be at each other's throats over even the simplest of things, but there was one activity they shared a passion for, pulling pranks.
Pulling a hand mirror for specifically this purpose from beneath her pillow, Riley silently checked her appearance for hair dye or clown makeup. Her cherry red eyes drifted over her pale blue hair sticking every which way, her pure white skin, her noseless face and lack of ears, like her brothers. Her black pajamas with the faces of Pichu, Azurill, Elekid and various other cute baby pokemon. Finally, she looked at the orange, half-disc shaped horns side by side on top of her head with some distance between them.
Satisfied their wasn't any unwanted changes to her hair or skin, she turned to face the twins. Sitting up in bed, she sent a glare at the two before she asked,"What did you do?"
"Why, we didn't do anything," said one.
"We simply acquired some very interesting reading material," said the other. Pulling his until now hidden arm from behind his back, he revealed a small, locked box. Next to him, his twin revealed the key to it held in his three fingered hand.
Riley was up like a rocket, bolting across the room to recover her secrets. The boys, however, were quicker, sprinting down the hallway before she could stop them. Reaching her door, she watched as one lost his footing just before the stairs and fell, his brother stopping to help him.
Seizing the advantage, she entered the hallway, gliding swiftly towards them. Once she had reached them, she attempted to grab the one with the box. The troublemakers ducked beneath her arms, barely avoiding their sisters fury.
Laughing, they continued fleeing down the stairs, their sister hot on their heels. As they sprinted for the front door, she yelled,"I'M GONNA STRANGLE BOTH OF YOU!"
Opening the door, one turned and said,"But it won't get your diary back," before slamming door shut. Riley nearly ran into the door before she could stop herself. Throwing it open, she was about to give chase until she ran straight into her father's Charizard.
Looking up, she smiled in triumph at the twins dejected faces as they were held by the great orange reptile. Snatching her possessions from their hands, she reached up and flicked the duo on their horns. Both let out a sharp cry of pain, their horns being meant for empathic purposes and thus sensitive to pain.
"That should be a reminder why we don't go in my room and take my stuff. Don't do it again."
The twins simply glared at her from their position in the pokemon's claws. Looking up at the towering fire-type, Riley nodded for him to release them. Once the boys had landed on the ground they stalked off, grumbling to themselves.
"Thanks for your help, Blaze," Riley said, looking back. The pokemon responded by saying,"You're welcome," before he lumbered off to do whatever it was he usually did.
Heading inside, Riley said a brief hello to her father, who was sitting in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal.
Her father was name was Robert Monroe, a rather lanky carpenter by trade. His hair was brown and short, his face clean-shaven. He was fair skinned, and had an old scar on his face, a three fingered claw mark going across his left eye, which was covered by an eyepatch. For clothing he was wearing sleepwear identical to his daughter's, black with baby pokemon faces.
Sitting next to him and setting her things to the side, she brightened considerably when he slid a box of cereal, carton of milk, and a bowl to her. Making herself breakfast, she heard him say,"I see you and your brothers are getting along."
"Yup, getting along just fine," she said,"maybe they'll even listen this time?"
Her father snorted.
"Hardly. If those two aren't trying to kill each other, they're messing with you. And their stubbornness doesn't help."
"You mean what they inherited from you?"
"They weren't the only ones to inherit it, were they Miss. Persistent. Now, what did they take this time?"
"Lockbox. With the key."
"Hm. So, how do you think your mother will punish them?"
Thinking for a second, Rhiannon said,"Three days grounding."
"Five days grounding and no desert."
"Alright, but don't be disappointed when you lose."
Rolling his eye, her father turned back to his cereal and mumbled something about cocky sixteen-year olds. Smirking, the hybrid ate her cereal with gusto, finishing the bowl before her father. Placing the empty bowl in the sink, the teen headed back up to her room. On the way up she heard her dad yell," And get that Pidgey's nest under control."
Slowing down midway to her room, she couldn't help but tap into her empathic abilities. A grin split her face as she felt the mixes of anger and frustration that were her brothers, along with the stern, commanding presence that was her mother.
Her smile fell, however, when that presence was suddenly in her head.
'You know how I feel about eavesdropping.'
Cringing at having been caught, she continued toward her room, sending a response back,'Sorry, I couldn't help myself.' 'That doesn't excuse you, though.' 'Well, it's not like I was trying to snoop on their thoughts.' 'You might as well have been. I don't want you using empathy on the boys until there at least skilled enough to sense you. That being said, you've definitely improved. It took me almost two seconds to sense you. Good job' 'Thanks.'
Tossing her dirty clothes into a corner, she telekinetically lifted her mattress and placed her lockbox key there. Lowering the mattress, she went into her closet and placed her lockbox within an old Pokegear box. Closing the closet, she headed over to her nightstand to pull out a brush and began to brush her hair.
It didn't take long to reign in her hair and put into her standard ponytail. Luckily, she wasn't interested in those insane hairstyles that defied gravity and ate hair gel. If had, her hair would have taken much longer to do. Honestly, she had never understood why people liked them, they always seemed so absurd to her.
She rarely styled her own hair outside of putting it into a ponytail. Her father never had hair longer than a few inches, and so had no interest in styling it. And her mother, well, didn't have hair, despite it's appearance. It was actually more like a kind of armor, evolved to protect her mother's delicate and powerful mind.
Satisfied with her appearance, she jumped almost a foot in the air when the alarm clock went off again. Cutting off the scream she had let out by accident, she punched the snooze button on the clock. Clutching at her chest and breathing heavily, she glared at the device while cursing her jumpy nature.
Getting up, she headed downstairs and made a beeline for one of their cabinets, dodging around an Espeon and the Piplup riding on her back. The Espeon was named Puffball, or just Puff, and had been given to her father when he was six. The Piplup on the cat-like pokemon's back was new, having been sent by a relative as an egg and given to her on her sixteenth birthday.
Upon being given the egg, her parents had promised her that once the Piplup had hatched and was strong enough, she could start her own journey. Three months later, the egg had hatched, and Riley had been raising the baby until he would be strong enough to meet her parents demands.
The Piplup was larger than the average, with darker feathers that never seemed to want to stay orderly. His name was Fin, and he was a rowdy little guy, loving to wrestle with inanimate objects, other pokemon, and Riley's brothers.
He was prideful, like most Piplups, only ever allowing Riley to feed him. He had a small temper problem, and would go off very easily when provoked. He was also a tad arrogant, and would sometimes challenge foes or attempt things beyond his abilities. He wasn't good at befriending others, but was fiercely loyal to the friends he did have. And he always jumped to the defense of others, especially when it might lead to a fight.
Rubbing the penguin-pokemon's head and chuckling at his protests, she walked up to the cabinet and opened it. Levitating out several boxes of assorted Pokefood and some bowls of various sizes, she headed towards the back door. Stepping outside, she poured it into the bowls before cupping her hands and shouting, "BREAKFAST", as loud as she could.
The reaction was immediate, as her father's Pokemon quickly gathered. The first to arrive was Blaze from earlier, followed by a Weavile named Razor. Puff and Fin were the next ones to show up, as was a Vileplume by the name of Sunny. Next came the imposing form of Chip, the Steelix.
As the various Pokemon began to eat, Riley couldn't help but grab a small handful from the one of the boxes and pop it into her mouth. While she was eating, she placed the box next to her and sat down in a nearby chair. It was barely a moment later that Chip spoke up in his rumbling voice.
"So, little halfling, how are you doing today?"
"Good, good," she answered, "though the brats broke into my room again."
"So, same as usual?" voiced Razor.
"Yep."
"If you want, I can hypnotize them for you."
"No, Puff, I don't want you to hypnotize them for me, you know how Mom gets about that."
"Not to mention it would probably wouldn't do much, anyway," said Blaze.
"Though it would be funny to see how mad they'd be," Puff said.
"Funny until they decide to dye your petals the color of the rainbow," added Sunny.
"For you, maybe, but for us? Hilarious," said Razor.
"Oh yeah? We'll see how funny it is when they decide put some clown makeup on you while your sleeping," Sunny shot back.
The Weavile was about to respond when the back door opened and Riley's father stepped outside. Stepping over to his daughter,he eyed the still open box of Pokefood next to her and said,"Riley, were you eating your mother's Pokefood again?"
"Umm, no?" she said, with her mouth full of said Pokefood.
Her father simply rolled his eyes before saying,"Get inside, your mother and I want to talk to you. And bring Fin with you," he said as he turned to head back inside. Just before he opened the door, he turned and waved to his Pokemon, getting a chorus of greetings in return.
Sighing dejectedly, Riley got up and levitated the boxes of food, prepared for a lecture and punishment. She wasn't sure what she had done yet, but if both her parents wanted to talk to her, it must've been bad. Reaching down and picking up her Pokemon, who looked just as down as she did, she headed inside, prepared for the worst.
Once she was inside, her brothers ran over and grabbed the boxes she still had in her telekinetic grip. Snickering to one another, they quickly put them back up and hurried past her, likely eager to see whatever punishment she got. Steeling herself, she levitated to their couch and sat down, placing Fin, who looked angry now, next to her.
Her parents shot a look at one another before her father said,"Riley, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here right now."
Her mother said said nothing, instead opting to pin Riley with a stern glare. Behind her parents, her brothers were peeking out, looking at her and snickering. Continuing, her father said,"Over the past few days, your mother and I have been discussing what to do with you, and we've finally come to a decision."
'Welp,' Riley thought,'I'm either screwed or I'm about to get an early birthday.'
This time, her mother was the one 'speak','And we think it's past time for you to start your own journey.'
'Curtain number two it is, then.'
Their faces breaking into smiles, her parents stepped aside to reveal a traveling bag, five Pokeballs, and three potions.
Riley was up in a second, pulling both her parents into a back-breaking hug, grinning from ear-to-ear. Quickly pulling back, she grabbed the bag and opened. Inside she found a small journal, a folded up tent and camping supplies, an Extransciever, and various Antidotes, Paralyze Heals, and Awakenings.
Quickly putting away everything and strapping on the Extransceiver, she got up, slipped on the bag, and fist-pumped. Turning to her partner, who had amusingly copied her actions, she grabbed him up and hugged him tightly while she began to twirl in place.
"Let go! Let go! Put me down!," he protested, squirming around in her grip. She only released him when he began threatening to peck her in the face. Turning back to her parents, she blushed as she saw her father and brothers doubled over laughing. Turning to her mother, she said," So you really think that I'm ready?"
Her mother simply nodded her head, her father calming himself down before saying,"Yes, honey, we think you're ready."
Fighting back the urge to twirl in place again, she asked,"So, Dad, are you going to be driving me into town?"
"Of course, I just need to gather up my Pokemon and we'll head out, after all it has been some time since they've been in town."
As her turned to head outside, Riley couldn't help but think of the real reason he was taking them. While it was true they hadn't seen the town in some time, the actual reason was also related to why they lived almost an hour away from Aspertia.
It was, simply put, for his family's safety.
While it was expected for trainers to form bonds with their Pokemon on journey's, it was never expected for them to form romantic ones. Though most people didn't really see it as wrong, due to the human-like intelligence of Pokemon, things changed when hybrids, like her, started popping up.
Naturally different people had different reactions to the news. Those who saw Pokemon as equals, saw them as the ultimate symbol of love between trainer and Pokemon. But those that saw Pokemon as nothing were than animals to be manipulated, considered them unnatural. Luckily though, most people fell to neither side, instead opting for indifference towards them.
The second group, though, had a tendency to become violent, and it was that reason that they currently lived in Unova. Her father had originally lived in Kanto, but his family had disowned him when they had discovered his feelings toward her mother.
At first he had moved to Sinnoh, were an understanding cousin of his had lived. Eventually, however, he had decided that his best option would be to move to Unova. Moving to the smaller town of Aspertia and buying a house an hours drive away, he had settled down, starting a small carpentry business.
Raising their child, however, proved to be uniquely difficult, with the first challenge being to teach her English. While it wasn't as difficult as teaching a Pokemon English, it was definitely much harder than teaching a human child. Pokespeach, however, she took to immediately, just like a regular Pokemon.
After that, her development quickly became the main focus, with her parents wondering how she would grow. Would she be more like a human, with very little powers that would be barely a match for even weaker Pokemon? Or would she be more like a Pokemon, and grow in strength through combat, maybe even changing her form once she had become powerful enough?
Luckily, it had been the latter, and she, through many, many, many fights with other Pokemon, had reached where she was today. She had even evolved, becoming the Kirlia look-alike she now was. Though her parents still weren't sure if it had been some kind of a growth spurt or not.
As she was remembering the day of her evolution, her attention was drawn by the high-pitched voice of her partner trying to get her attention. Realizing she had been standing there and staring into space the entire time, she shook her head before scooping up the protesting Piplup.
Turning around, she headed up the stairs to pack the rest of her essentials, palming her face for losing focus. Opening her door, she began shoving various changes of clothes into her bag, making sure to stuff them in as far as possible, before she then went into the bathroom to grab various hygiene products.
Coming back to her room, she walked over to her nightstand and opened the drawer, setting down Fin before reaching inside and pulling out two objects. The first was a small, light gray stone, with various scratches and minor chips missing from. It was an Everstone, one she had come across half a year ago and had carried around ever since. She kept it around for whenever she got into fights so that she wouldn't evolve unexpectedly.
She did this for three reasons, the first reason was because it caused Pokemon to underestimate her, giving her an edge. The second reason was that last time she had evolved, she had had to get knew clothes afterwards, as her new, larger size meant larger clothes, too. The third, extremely embarrassing one was that, during the process, while her body increased in size, her clothes did not. That, coupled with the raw energy her body would let off that could and would burn through clothes, would leave her buck-naked.
Slipping the Everstone into her jeans pocket, she turned and regarded the second item in her hand. It was a silver chain, threaded through two small pieces of eggshell, the first a light purple and pink color, the other a silver and blue. They were both pieces of a Pokemon egg, one being Fin's, the other being her own. Lightly rubbing the surface of her what was once a part of her egg, she slipped it on around her neck.
Picking Fin back up again, she headed back downstairs, threw a passing goodbye to her mother, and stuck her tongue out at her brothers, who promptly returned it. Closing the front door behind her, she glided over to her father's truck and got in the back. Buckling herself and Fin in, she waved to Razor sitting in the front seat, who waved back. Starting up his truck, her father steered onto the dirt road in front of their house.
It was a quiet drive, only marked by the occasional bored grumble from Fin or the feather-related mumbling from Razor. The trip passed in no time, and soon they were driving past small buildings, people and Pokemon going to and fro. As they drove deeper into the town, she decided to speak up.
"So," Riley said,"how are we gonna get things started."
"Well," her father responded,"I talked with professor Juniper a few weeks ago to see if I could get her to come out here to help get your journey started. I figured she would considering your, well, nature."
"And, what did she say?" Riley asked, her voice giddy with excitement at the thought of the Professor Juniper coming to see her.
"She said she would love too, and told me to meet her in a local cafe today."
Riley couldn't stop the gasp that escaped from her at that. Even the very thought of meeting the Professor herself made her want to dance and twirl in place. The only thing better would be to meet Professor Oak, though the likelihood of that happening was extremely low.
Shaking head to clear it, she quickly steeled her expression as her father pulled over in a parking lot. Opening the car door, she allowed Fin to get outside before closing it, then walked over to join her dad and Razor. Fin ran as fast as his small feet could move to keep up with her until she scooped him up in her arms.
Once her father had locked the truck, the four of them walked toward the cafe, Razor grumbling about the shape of human carseats on the way. Once they stepped inside, Riley singled out the professor immediately, and the group began making their way towards her.
The Professor was dressed almost exactly as Riley had expected her to be, wearing a white lab coat, white blouse and a green skirt. She was currently feeding a Watchog and Cinccino, but looked up when she noticed them approaching. Standing up from the table she had been sitting at, she waved them over.
As the four of them walked over, Riley attempted to ignore the fact that every single set of eyes in the building was directed at her, Pokemon included. As she glided, she turned to look at the many faces looking at her, most turning away. Those didn't received a death glare that promised great pain if they continued.
When they had reached her, Juniper offered her hand, which Riley's father took, and said,"Mr. Monroe, it's a pleasure to meet you in person." Turning to Razor, she continued,"And this handsome Weavile must be your's, correct?"
Razor merely blushed and looked away bashfully. Finally, she turned to Riley and said,"And let's not forget the young woman of the hour. I'm Professor Aurea Juniper, and I've been very excited to meet you,"while extending her hand.
Staying calm, Riley said,"Riley Monroe, and it's a pleasure."
Taking the offered hand, Riley watched as the Professor eyed it with interest before saying,"Hmm, it's not often that come so far from my lab, but so far this is already shaping up to be very much worth it. Now, let's get started on why I came here," she said, taking a seat at her table.
As everyone took their seat, Juniper said,"I understand that you want to begin your Pokemon journey. And from what I can see, you already have a starter, which is good. Now tell me, is there anything you feel you need to ask about your the journey you are about to take?"
Shaking her head, Riley said,"Nope. I've been waiting for this moment for a while now, so I did all the research I could."
"Good, rarely do young trainers actually seem to research these things, so it's refreshing to see a change in pace every once in a while. Now then, in order to start your journey, you'll need this Pokedex," the Professor said, extracting the red device from her pocket. Handing it over, she said,"With this, you'll be able to analyze and research any Pokemon you meet, and catching new Pokemon will provide additional information as well. Why don't you try it out?"
Taking her advice, Riley activated the device before pointing it at her partner. The Pokedex then began scanning Piplup, finishing in only a few seconds. Once it had, a male robotic voice sounded out.
"Piplup. The Penguin Pokemon. Piplup has a strong sense of self-pride. Because of its pride, it has a hard time accepting food from humans and bonding with its caretakers. It will even puff out its chest after it falls down, which it often does do to its poor walking abilities. However, it is a skilled swimmer that can dive for over ten minutes in order to hunt. It has also been shown to fly short distances. It lives along the seashore in colder climates."
Closing the Pokedex, Riley said,"Seems about right, though I didn't know about the flying part."
Nodding, Professor Juniper said,"That is why it's important to meet as many Pokemon as possible and fill up the Pokedex, so that you can not only understand the needs of your Pokemon, but also learn more about Pokemon in general. And that Pokedex isn't just good for scanning Pokemon, it also has another function as well," she said, reaching out her hand for the device.
Giving it back to her, Riley asked,"And that would be?"
"Well, do to the very little information on hybrids and how they develop, I had this Pokedex specially modified to monitor you during your journey. In order to do this, it is able to connect to your Extransciever and utilize its built in vital monitoring systems so we can better understand how hybrids develop."
Riley nodded in understanding at this. Not much was known about hybrids, mostly due to the fact that the very few cases were usually kept secret until they reached adulthood. The ones that were made public were so few and far between that data on them was too sparse to be used reliably.
Her journey would be yet another chance to study and better understand those like her. Using her Extransceiver made sense, as the device's in-built systems monitored her vitals constantly, in case the wearer was ever in serious or life-threatening danger. In which case it would alert nearby rangers or law enforcement to come to the person's aid immediately.
"Now that you know everything you need to," said the Professor,"are you ready to travel across the Unova region, meeting new and exotic Pokemon along the way, to battle with fellow trainers and strengthen the bonds between you and your Pokemon, befriending and catching Pokemon to join you on your journey and help you take on Pokemon gyms, The Elite Four and the Champion?"
It took every ounce of willpower she had to not squeal at the Professor's words. Struggling to keep her face neutral, she simply said,"Yes."
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Really hope you guys like this story, and I look forward to any and all feedback.