Okay, so I've had this brilliant idea, I think, of making a prequel to A Deal With A God. You guys keep hearing tidbits of his past, but does anyone wonder what it actually looks like? Well, I'll be writing it out here to satiate your curiosity. I sincerely hope you'll enjoy it. Now then, let's kick this off!
In the arena, it was his Salamence against the opponent's Metagross. Michael crouched, his battle stance not fully tested in reality, but he didn't mind.
He was dressed in a tight black spandex undershirt and yellow t-shirt, goggles on his face. He also wore baggy blue pants with red lines on the outside of each leg, going down. His face was rounded and kind in appearance. His fiery red hair was held back in part by a blue hairband, but enough poked through, deliberately, to frame his face. The back of his hair came out in large spikes, and the red of his hair was strikingly contrasted by aquamarine-blue eyes behind the goggles.
Reaching forward, he commanded the Salamence
"Use Earthquake!" The dragon pokemon reared up noiselessly, then slammed down and roared, though strangely with no sound, and the arena quaked with the force, and a multitude of cracks in a circle appeared right under the Metagross, slamming it hard. The floor settled back, still cracked slightly but not raised anymore, and the Metagross stumbled back in pain. It struggled for a moment to remain standing, but it soon fell flat on its stomach, the red eyes becoming swirls. A loud ring sounded throughout the arena, and the walls appeared to shimmer, resolving into blue and red cables.
Michael removed his goggles and rested them on his collarbone just as the scene completely dissolved, revealing a small room, and standing on a large machine that took at least half the room. He looked at the two other people in the room, one a boy around his age, ten, and the other his father. The boy said
"Great job as always, Michael! There aren't a lot of people who are as proficient as you when it comes to Sim Battles." Michael just smiled and nodded, and the adult told him
"Anytime you feel like another Sim Battle, you just let us know, okay?" Michael replied affirmatively, then walked out, where he spotted the old man who had a tendency to hang around this floor, in the Pokemon Research Laboratory located northwest of Gateon Port, in the region of Orre. He turned, hearing the door slide open, and said
"Ah, Michael! Just finished another Sim Battle? And dominated?" Michael smirked and replied
"Just something you've seen since I was six, right?" The old man laughed and said
"Yep, that's for sure!" After a moment, he sobered up and looked him up and down, then said softly
"You're just like him, you know. Your father. Spittin' image of him, and even his personality." Michael's face sagged for a moment, and the old man walked up and pulled him into a rough hug.
"It was hard on all of us, but especially you and Lily. Jovi's lucky she didn't see, or understand." Michael just nodded, then said
"You'll have to excuse me, I need to see the Professor." He nodded and said
"Of course. Good luck." Michael nodded and walked back along the small hallway to the transparent elevator. Just as he hit the down button, a flash went through his mind, and for a few moments he saw a lake of blood; that's how it appeared to him. He shook his head hard, and only after a vision of a balled fist did it fade, and he stepped out from the elevator, now on the bottom floor. He walked over to the other laboratory where Professor Krane and his assistant built whatever it was they were building. They'd never told him what it was they were building but he understood it had something to do with his father. He knocked on the door, and Professor Krane's assistant poked his head out, then looked down at Michael.
"Michael? What is it? You know you're not allowed here."
"I was told the Professor wanted to speak with me." The assistant smacked his fist onto his open palm, saying
"Oh, that's right, I forgot! But he's not in here. You should probably try his office above." Michael nodded and walked back to the elevator, going back to the second floor. Then he walked down until he came to the door that was accessible to everyone. He stepped in front of it and waited for it to open, then walked inside.
"Professor?" Two people were inside the room; one of them was a tall, thin, adult male with a mess of light brown hair, closed eyes behind wire-rim glasses, dressed in a light green shirt and tan khakis, covered mostly by a long white lab coat. The other was a petite woman dressed in a pink overcoat. She had a rounded face, though differently shaped than Michael's, but their eyes were exact shades of aquamarine. Her hair was a soft brunette, and in the back it came out to a very large bun, and Michael often wondered how she managed to make it stay up. They both turned to him and the woman said
"Oh, hello Michael!" Michael smiled and replied
"Hey, Mom." Then the Professor spoke, saying
"Glad you made it, Michael! But I'm guessing you were at the Sim Room first, huh?" Michael smirked and said
"Well, that's my home away from home, after all." Krane laughed and said
"Very true, and you certainly do an excellent job in there!" Lily frowned for a moment, then told the Professor
"I don't like it when people praise him too much; it might go to his head one day." The Professor waved her down and said
"Oh, you don't have to worry about it. Jovi and Michael are fine children, and they'll grow up magnificently." Lily thought for a second, then remarked
"You know, I haven't seen Jovi in a while." Then she turned to Michael and asked
"Can you look for her for me? She just runs off whenever it pleases her, and we've already paid for that once." Michael smirked at the memory, then replied
"Sure, I'll look for her. Want me to bring her back here with me?" Lily sighed, then said
"Please. That girl worries me sometimes." Michael nodded and exited the room, taking the elevator back down, then going outside. He passed by the accountant who was sort of a ditz, but everyone couldn't help loving her anyway. Once outside, he looked around for a bit before calling out
"Jovi! Where are you this time?!" One of the inhabitants of the research lab looked at him, asking
"Jovi escape again?" Michael rolled his eyes and replied
"Yeah, and Mom's worried. You seen her?" He shook his head and replied
"No, not me. But I haven't been out here long, so…" Michael nodded and thanked him, then used the other entrance and elevator. He walked into the cafeteria and looked around, but didn't find his sister there, either. Finally he checked in the room where Adon, who tended to play with her, inhabited. He found the man, in his yellow long-sleeve and overalls, under the raised bookshelf. He squatted by it and asked sardonically
"What are you doing?" Adon looked at him very suddenly, then scrambled to get out. Michael stood and stepped back, allowing him the space he needed. After he got out and cracked his back, he said
"I was playing hide-and-seek with Jovi. She's it, but she hasn't found me yet, and we started a half hour ago!" Michael sweatdropped, then said
"You do know who we're talking about, right?" He slumped and replied
"Yeah, I know. That girl has more energy than a Vigoroth and shorter attention span than a Spinda." Michael snorted in laughter, then said
"So, you got any idea where she'd have gone?" Adon smirked and retorted mockingly
"You do know who we're talking about, right?" Michael rolled his eyes and said
"Right… well then, I'm going to check out Kaminko's place. Maybe he's seen her." He walked right out and went back to tell his mother what he was going to do. She simply sighed and told him to bring her back if she really was over there. He nodded and went back outside, the sun shining against his face. He went to the shed out back and took his motor scooter, his most recent birthday present. He hopped on and started it, then took off down the trail.
After ten minutes, he came upon a high stone wall that was crumbling in several places, with many bent spires on top. The place seemed to be covered with a perpetual dark cloud. He shook his head and dismounted, then walked through the fence/prison gates. There was a massively empty courtyard with a dry fountain in the middle. Toward the back was a run-down house, if it could be called that. He approached the house and was going to climb the stairs, but a sudden voice stopped him.
"Halt!" Michael turned to see a small blue-haired, lab-coated, swirly eye-glassed child walking briskly up to him. Then he veritably shouted
"You must be a common burglar! Chobin won't allow anyone past to steal any of the Brilliant Dr. Kaminko's ideas!" Michael tried to explain, but Chobin shouted
"Silence! Chobin cannot stand to deal with petty criminals like yourself, but Dr. Kaminko must not be disturbed!" Then he tossed out a pokeball and released a Sunkern. Michael sighed, then unclipped his own pokeball and threw out his Eevee. He had been a gift from his father the day before his death. The Evolution Pokemon looked back at him, and Michael flashed a grin, which Eevee returned, then focused on his opponent.
"Sunkern, Tackle!" Michael slashed his hand through the air, saying
"Eevee, dodge and Bite!" Eevee nimbly sidestepped the kernel pokemon, then his jaws became cloaked in black power. He lunged forward and bit down on Sunkern, hard. The Sunkern shouted in pain briefly, then wiggled out of Eevee's bite.
"Sunkern, Absorb!" It shot several glowing green seeds at Eevee, too fast to dodge, and stuck on. They glowed more brightly, and Eevee's energy was drained and sent to Sunkern. Eevee panted for a moment, then braced itself and shouted in a challenge.
"Eevee, you alright?" Eevee looked back and flashed a wide grin. Michael grinned himself, then pointed forward and shouted
"Alright, then use Bite again!" The black power cloaked Eevee's mouth again, and he ran forward.
"Sunkern, Tackle!" The Sunkern floated off the ground, then rushed at Eevee.
"Eevee, jump and lunge!" Eevee jumped at the last second, Sunkern's Tackle missing him. He flipped and landed, then lunged forward, biting down on Sunkern again. After a brief shout, Sunkern sank to the ground, its eyes becoming swirls. Chobin shouted with surprise, then quickly returned his pokemon. Michael did the same, and Chobin looked at him again, then said
"Upon closer inspection, the culprit is only a child! You cannot be a burglar!" Michael rolled his eyes, but the sound of opening doors caught both their attentions. They looked back, and another blue-haired child with a white, long-sleeve dress and blue stockings and shoes came out and shouted
"Big brother!" She hopped down the stairs, then ran up to him and asked
"What are you doing here, big brother?" Michael opened his mouth to explain, but Jovi interrupted him before he could even start.
"Oh, Jovi knows! You're lost, aren't you big brother?" Michael frowned for a moment, then opened his mouth again, but again Jovi interrupted.
"Well, don't worry, big brother! Jovi will be happy to show the way home! But first you should come and speak with Dr. Kaminko first!" Without even waiting for an answer, she ran back inside, leaving Michael's mouth hanging open, prepared to talk but never having gotten the chance. Chobin stomped the ground weakly and fumed
"Oh, that girl! She always distracts Dr. Kaminko!" Then he turned to Michael and asked
"So she's your sister?" Michael simply nodded, and Chobin told him
"Very well, then Chobin won't chase you out. Chobin would appreciate it, though, if you kept that infuriating girl away from the brilliant Doctor!" Michael frowned slightly, and Chobin walked up the steps, telling him to follow. After a moment, he did, and he was led down a simple hall, which opened into a large room that sported two entrances/exits. On the wall was a very large television, at least three to five times his own size. Chobin pointed at it and said
"Dr. Kaminko has made many brilliant inventions, and Chobin has recorded his thoughts on these videos. Please, watch this one!" Chobin slipped one in, and the screen came to life, showing Chobin's face way too close to the camera, at a bad angle, and he described with fervor about sandals that had nubs specialized to apply pressure to certain points that would deteriorate one's health. Michael stood there in utter shock, wondering what dimwits would actually buy those sandals. He certainly wouldn't. After it was done, Chobin pulled the tape out and told Michael
"You are free to watch all of Chobin's videos! For now, though I must separate that girl from the Doctor before she distracts him further." He walked off to the door on the left, and Michael stared at the giant tv for a moment.
"Geez, I hope all these brilliant 'inventions' aren't designed to make the consumer miserable." Then he walked in the same direction Chobin had, coming into a medium-sized room, where a large desk was taking up a lot of the room. Sitting at it was an old-looking man with towering white hair. It was almost as tall as himself, and Michael decided it wasn't a feat for his mother to keep her hair up; that would now be reserved for this guy. Jovi was standing next to him, talking too fast to keep track of, while Chobin was bouncing around, trying to get her to leave already, but the Doctor was apparently listening to her, nodding with many of the things she was saying.
Then Jovi noticed the presence of her brother, and she said
"Oh, big brother! Are you ready to go home?" Michael opened his mouth to explain that she was the one wanted home, but he didn't get a word out before she replied
"Okay!" She turned back to Kaminko and told him
"Sorry, Mr. Kaminko, but big brother needs me to take him back home. He's so sad right now!" Kaminko looked at him, and Michael facepalmed, frustrated with his sister for not allowing him to speak whatsoever this entire time. Kaminko smirked and replied
"I understand my dear. But please, come back soon. I rather enjoy your repertoire of ideas." Jovi nodded with an overlarge smile on her face, then ran up to Michael. Then she turned around and called out
"Come on, Mimi!" A pokemon's cry was heard, and Michael looked over Jovi to see a Minun bouncing toward her. It jumped up higher and Jovi caught it, then turned around and said
"Okay, big brother, let's get you home before you burst into tears!" Jovi ran out of the room, and Michael took a few moments to head-bang against the wall. Then he walked out and joined her, and in no time at all they made it home, though Jovi had been trying to direct him the entire way. Lily was waiting for them at the top of the steps, and she sighed in relief when Michael pulled up, then killed the engine. Jovi, who had been riding sidesaddle, hopped down and ran up to their mother, while Michael simply walked coolly.
"Jovi, how many times have I told you not to run off without telling me first?"
"Aww, mommy, Jovi was only with Dr. Kaminko! But she had to lead big brother back home because he became lost, and he was nearly going to cry." Lily looked back to see her son facepalming several times, then smirked and replied
"Is that so? Well, that's very brave of you. But I think you forgot about somebody, Jovi." Jovi thought hard for a moment, a rare occurrence in truth, then her eyes widened and she shouted
"Oh no, Jovi was playing hide-and-seek! Jovi has to go now, big brother, but you're home now!" Then she ran off, and Michael groaned loudly and sat against the nearby fence. Lily giggled, and Michael told her
"I can never get one word in edge-wise, literally. She interrupted me before I could even start!" Lily giggled again, then replied
"You know she doesn't mean to. Thank you, Michael; I know how difficult she can be." After a moment, Michael smiled and said
"You're welcome." Lily nodded, then told him
"By the way, Professor Krane wanted to see you in the lab." Michael smirked and asked
"Which one?"
"The lab, Michael." Michael blinked for a moment, then said
"Wait a minute… I thought I wasn't allowed in there except under dire circumstances." Lily shrugged and replied
"Well, that's what he told me. You'd better get to it." Michael nodded excitedly and ran all the way to the secret laboratory which was about to become less secret to him. He knocked on the door again, and this time the Professor answered, then said
"Ah, Michael! Come in, come in!" The door opened fully, allowing him access for the first time. He looked around, seeing whiteboards, large sheets of paper, and a massive piece of machinery. Michael drank his fill, but still wasn't fully satisfied. He looked at the Professor and his assistant, asking
"So, why have I been barred from this room for as long as I can remember, then all of a sudden let in today?" Krane smiled and turned around, grabbing a case of some kind. He set it on a nearby table, then answered
"We wanted to keep this a secret until the time to reveal it was right, and that time has come." He flipped some clasps and opened the case up, then gently took out a strange piece of machinery. It had the look of a strange arm; where the hand was, there was a leather glove, attached to which was a large, circular piece of metal. It was fairly thick, and at the very top an image in the shape of a spinning pokeball that shone brightly. This was connected to a thick wire that ascended to a much smaller piece, which had the same shining pokeball. At a regular rate, a white light traveled down the wire from the smaller portion to the glove, and Michael looked up at the Professor and said
"I give up; what is it?" The Professor smiled kindly and explained
"This, Michael, is a Snag Machine." Michael frowned and asked
"I thought there was only one Snag Machine, and it belonged to Wes." Krane smirked and said
"Ah, you do remember, then." Michael rolled his eyes and said
"Well, duh. You don't forget your heroes, and Wes is mine." The Professor nodded in understanding, then said
"Indeed, his was the only Snag Machine in existence, but he gave it up to us when we asked for it. We felt it couldn't fall into the wrong hands."
"And who's we?"
"Your father and I." Michael froze for a moment, and the Professor sighed sadly and started to explain.
"You see, after the Shadow Incident, your father and I were in this business of finding the correlations and traits of shadow pokemon. Unfortunately, we came too close, and Cipher tracked us down. It was at that point we had this research lab built, so we could continue our studies safely, and because your father feared his curse would bring trouble down on his children, which he didn't want." Michael stiffened at the mention of the curse.
It was a family curse that extended back how far they didn't know, but they knew this much; the Ryuto family at some point had been cursed for one reason or another. Whether it was a pokemon curse or not had yet to be identified, but it was a descended curse. It was passed on from generation to generation via the first-born child, with only one distinctive mark; fiery red hair, such as his. He had the curse, too, he knew it. What his curse was, however, he didn't know. But his father's curse had been to pick fights any and everywhere. He had even caused trouble one day with an old lady who remarked how cute he and Jovi were at the time. His mother had not been happy about it.
As a result of picking fights, no matter where, how, or why, his father had made many enemies, especially out of Cipher, the organization who had pioneered the shadow pokemon, pokemon victims whose hearts were closed off to the world. They could never grow, in power or friendship, and felt only the worst of emotions; hatred, anger, and a desire to kill and maim. They weren't the ones going out and doing the real dirty work, however; they had enlisted another evil team, Team Snagem, to go out and swipe people's innocent pokemon. Cipher would then alter them to shadow pokemon, and hand them back as weapons of mass destruction. One member of Team Snagem, however, had defected and swiped the only portable Snag Machine, designed to be able to swipe any pokemon, owned or not.
However, Wes only intended to use it to take back the shadow pokemon. Problem was, he had no way to recognize which were shadow pokemon and which weren't. That all changed when he found Rui, however, who had the ability to "see" shadow pokemon, which she defined as having a demonic purple aura. They went around, taking down Team Snagem and supposedly destroyed Cipher from the inside. Without any recent activity to report, there were no bases to refute this. Eventually the leaders of Cipher went to prison, but evidently Snagem had gotten away.
Now, in the presence of the "new" Snag Machine, Michael couldn't help but feel curious.
"So, does this mean there are two Snag Machines around?" Krane shook his head and replied
"No, the first one was destroyed. Wes agreed it would be best, but he didn't know we were creating an updated version." Michael eyed the machine and asked
"What's updated about it?" The Professor seemed to swell with pride, and he said
"It's designed to only catch shadow pokemon; it won't let you swipe anybody else's pokemon. Further, unlike the previous model, this runs on a nuclear battery." Michael immediately stepped back, saying
"Wait a second, are you telling me this thing could explode and take out a city?!" The professor shook his head and replied calmly
"No. The battery in encased in a treated lead casing. It would take an extraordinary amount of power to detonate it." Michael calmed down and came back up to the table, then scrutinized it closely. He observed
"It seems pretty small for someone like you, Professor." The Professor frowned momentarily and asked
"What do you mean?" Michael reached over and grabbed it, then held it up to Krane's arm, explaining
"It's way too small for you." The Professor smiled at him and said
"Very good, Michael. But can you think of someone it might fit?" Michael frowned for a bit, then experimentally held it up to his left arm. His eyebrows rose and he said
"It looks like it might fit me." Krane nodded, then asked
"Would you like to try it on?" A wide grin spread across his face and he nodded, and they quickly started. First Michael had to slip his hand into the leather glove, and once that was done, Krane showed him how to adjust it. As it turned out, the smaller portion was to attach to his shoulder. He pressed the shining pokeball on the shoulder portion inward, revealing another surprise. Then he pulled slightly, demonstrating that the wire could be extended. He pressed and held the button for five seconds, and rubber clamps opened out, taking Michael by surprise.
Krane fit the piece right onto his shoulder and pressed again, and the clamps came down until they were snug but not uncomfortable. When they finished, Michael experimented by moving the machine around, finding it was actually very comfortable. After another second, Krane came up to him with a strange headpiece and told him
"Don't forget this. It's the Aura Reader, which allows you to perceive the aura of pokemon to help determine whether or not you're in the presence of shadow pokemon. When you find one, it'll slide out and reveal the aura to you. It also connects to your P*DA." He fit the piece on his head, and Michael pressed the power button. Immediately the screen slid out, taking him by surprise with how close to his eye it was. Then words began to appear and he flailed further. Krane grabbed him and told him
"It's okay, Michael, calm down. It's just the startup screen. It's telling you what it's doing, connecting to the Snag Machine and your P*DA. It'll slide back in a minute." True to his word, once it finished it slid back into its compartment, and Krane smiled down at him, saying
"Looks like the future of Snaggers is at hand. But of course, you can't snag anything without pokeballs." He handed some over, and Michael stuck them to his belt to join Eevee. Then he smirked and said
"Look at me, I'm like Wes!" Krane and his assistant laughed loudly at his proclamation, and Krane said
"Except you'd be far more sociable, I think, than Wes. Wait here, I want your mother to see this." He left, and after five minutes Krane, Lily and Jovi entered the lab, and Lily stared at Michael with the Snag Machine on. He smirked and posed with it, bringing the gloved portion up to his chest, bending his arm. Lily smirked, though she had a small film of tears in her eyes as well, and she said in a choked voice
"You look just like him, Michael. You really do. You're ready to start out on your adventure and everything." Michael just grinned and lowered his arm. Then Krane said
"Alright, then, why don't we go and run a simulated test? Michael, I think you'll be very good at this." Everyone present chuckled and the Professor left. The assistant then turned to him and said
"Oh, we forgot this attachment, actually, but don't worry, it goes right into the Aura Reader." He pulled out a chip and carefully inserted it into a slot, and the screen popped out again and recorded the new mode, called the Shadow Monitor.
"We've recently gotten news that the new cruise ship, the S.S. Libra, vanished. Only the Captain and first mate got out, and they're raving about this giant purple bird that apparently carried it off. We don't wanna take our chances." At that moment, there was a loud scuffling sound, and Professor Krane's shouts reached them.
"Who are you people?! Let me go at once!" Michael and the assistant jolted simultaneously, and Michael bolted out the door. The accountant was standing away from her desk, and she turned, a hand on her chest as she tried to catch her breath, and said
"Oh, Michael, it's horrible! These weird masked men came in and abducted Professor Krane!" Michael paled for a moment, then dashed outside and saw the Professor fighting against a very large, burly man who was dressed in an odd suit, fully white, with a red scarf and even a helmet with a visor. Another man, walking alongside him, was dressed very similarly, but with a yellow scarf instead, and he wasn't as muscled. The yellow-scarfed man turned and looked at him, then appeared to sneer, since his mouth was visible, and said
"Get out of here, kid. This matter don't concern you." Michael scowled and moved forward, his hand reaching down for his Eevee.
"Oh, you wanna turn this into a fight, now? Fine, then, I'll accommodate ya! For future reference, though, my name is Naps!" Michael didn't answer, simply tossing Eevee's pokeball into the air. Eevee came out, growling angrily, his hackles raised. Naps smirked and tossed his own pokeball, releasing a Teddiursa. Immediately, the Aura Reader beeped and the screen slid out in front of his eye again, but this time it started showing him the stats of the pokemon, as well as its being surrounded by an eerie purple aura. Krane, who was turned around to watch this, gasped and said
"Michael, that's a shadow pokemon! You have to snag it! Take one of your pokeballs and stick it in the shoulder piece, then open up your palm and grasp the Snag Ball! Finally, toss it!" Naps looked back at Krane and told him
"Would you just shut your yap, already?! Nobody likes hearing you talk!" Michael was confused but decided now was not the time to argue. He took an empty pokeball from his belt and pressed it up against the shoulder portion of the Snag Machine. To his surprise, it sank in, and a red line ran down the wire connecting the two pieces. The symbol on the back of the gloved portion flashed brightly, and Michael opened his hand up. The pokeball, enlarged now, and slightly darker in appearance, spun around in his hand until it stopped and threatened to fall until Michael took hold of it. Emboldened, he threw it in a high arc, and suddenly a large purple shape, somewhat like a hand, swooped out and passed over the Teddiursa. The ball fell down and bounced a couple times, then began to rock. After three times, it clicked, and the Aura Reader beeped again, then an image of a pokeball appeared on the mini-screen, though purple in color, and moved to the top left, where it settled.
Naps looked at him differently now, and said
"Kid, what's that on your arm? Is that… the Snag Machine?!" Then he cursed and waved at his cohort, who resumed dragging Krane until they reached the back of a large transport vehicle. Michael ran down to try and stop them, but they were faster than he, and soon had taken off faster than he could hope to follow on foot. Michael scowled after them, the most he could do at the moment. Then he turned around and started walk back to the lab, but he paused long enough to kick the fence in his anger.
Back in the invention lab, the assistant and Lily were trying to console a crying Jovi, who couldn't believe her friend, the Professor, had been kidnapped. None of them could believe it. The assistant was in a state of near hysteria, practically shouting
"We were so close to completing it, but now we can't anymore! Professor Krane was too important to this operation!" Michael looked at his mother, who seemed to be thinking hard. It was a look he hadn't seen since that day… the day his father died. After a moment. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, he saw a determination he remembered better in his father than his mother. She turned to the assistant and told him firmly
"Yes, we can finish it." He looked beyond shocked and tried to argue.
"But-but, we don't have all the components yet, we're not as handy with them as he is, and-"
"All that can be taken care of." Without giving him time to do anything more than splutter, Lily turned to Michael and told him
"We're talking about finishing a project called the Purification Chamber. It's designed to be able to purify shadow pokemon as easily as the original purifying relic, which you'll probably learn about later. But we need one last component to get it running, and Professor Krane ordered it from Mr. Makan, who operates in Gateon Port. I need you to go and get the part, and we'll be that much closer to succeeding." Finally Michael couldn't stand the tension, and he demanded
"But what about the Professor?! Aren't we going to save him?!"
"Of course. But we have to multitask, Michael. Cipher is back, I can tell. And we're going to see a massive influx of shadow pokemon." She pointed at his waist, where the Shadow Teddiursa resided at the moment.
"That was the first among dozens of shadow pokemon, Michael, and while I hate to say it, you have to deal with them." Michael blinked in shock, then said incredulously
"Me?!" Lily then started to cry, taking him by surprise, as these weren't happy or proud tears, but sad and fearful ones.
"I said I hated to say it, but we need to face facts; you're the strongest trainer here at the lab, and only one of us can handle it. And besides," She approached him and hugged him tightly, and after a minute she told him
"You're your father's son. I know this is going to be hard on you, especially because you have your own curse. We don't know what it is yet, but there have been curses that were helpful to a point." Michael paused for a moment, then choked out
"But they all killed, Mom. One way or another, whether or not they were helpful at one point, they still killed. I'm scared." Her grip around him tightened, and she whispered
"I know, son. I know. I'm scared, too; I'm scared you'll never come home, or come home so broken you're unrecognizable. But remember what your father said?" Michael didn't even have to consider as he replied in a low voice
"In order to get the things you want, you sometimes have to sacrifice yourself."
"Hopefully it never comes to that. But what do you want, right now?" Michael stepped back a moment to think; what was it he really wanted? At first, he thought it was to go on his journey and possibly become master of the coliseums in Orre. That was a prestigious honor few attained, and fewer still kept. The thought still appealed to him, though not as much as something else; revenge.
Cipher had murdered his father in cold blood, leaving him to die in front of his family. That was inexcusable. And now they had infiltrated their home and kidnapped the Professor, a lifelong friend to their family, destroying their peace of mind, and placing the remainder of his family, for which he was the man now, in danger. That, too, was inexcusable. He looked back up to his mother, a fire in his eyes reminiscent of his father, he stood tall and straight, and he said
"I want to take them down. How do we start?" Lily nodded once, then told him
"We need that part. I want you to go down to Makan's Parts shop and get it for us. Then you can go down your own path. Chances are you'll find more Cipher PEONS." Michael nodded and was about to leave, when Jovi shouted
"Jovi wants to help, too!" Everyone looked back toward her, and while her eyes were red, she was no longer crying. Instead, she stood as straight as Michael had, her own fire burning bright in her eyes. Now Lily appeared apprehensive, and she said
"Jovi, it's bad enough that Michael's going; can't you stay here and help?" Jovi shook her head vehemently and replied
"No, Jovi can't! Big brother doesn't know the way to Gateon Port; Jovi does." Lily stood back up, seemingly torn. She looked at Michael, who caught her eye and nodded once. Jovi walked out with Michael, and the two hopped onto his scooter, immediately taking off while Jovi gave him the directions. After a couple hours' ride, the smell of salty air and water came to their noses, and Jovi said excitedly
"We're almost there, big brother!" Michael smirked, still wearing the Snag Machine because it was rather tedious to remove it, and this part was of the utmost importance. Then the long white walkway entering Gateon became visible. Michael stopped his scooter and he and Jovi got off, then walked up to the sign welcoming them. Jovi suddenly darted forward. She turned and told him
"Big brother, this way!" She hopped down the stairs but wasn't really watching where she was going. Michael raised his voice to warn her, but he was too late. She crashed into the side of a muscle-bound, evil-faced, differently dressed blonde guy. He didn't budge, but Jovi fell flat to her butt.
"Owie! Jovi fell down." She shook her head to clear it, then looked up to see the man's evil face contorted with anger.
"Hey brat, watch where you're going! How dare you try to mess up the good looks of the mighty Zook!" He stomped his foot and growled
"Now I'm mad! You're gonna pay, brat!" Jovi started to tremble, but Michael arrived and shouted
"Hey, meathead! Leave my sister alone!" Jovi scrambled up and darted behind Michael, her usual confident demeanor stripped away to reveal a timid little girl. Michael felt the blood rush to his head, and it was almost as if his father was back. Zook then demanded
"So, you're that brat's big brother, eh? Fine! I'll make you both pay, with my shadow pokemon!" Michael's blood froze, and he thought
"Wait… did he say shadow pokemon?!" Zook threw a pokeball into the air, and a Zangoose popped out, Instantly, his Aura Reader slid out from its compartment and analyzed the Zangoose. Its stats started popping up, and a strange, eerie purple glow surrounded the pokemon. Michael started to feel his eyes strain from trying to see two things at once, and he closed the eye not covered by the Aura Reader's screen. He reached back for a pokeball, to snag the shadow pokemon, but was interrupted by a voice.
"Hold it!" the old voice called, and everybody present paused and looked for the source. An old, short man in purple robes and carrying and using a cane walked up, followed by two similar-looking men. They had the same style of dress and wore sunglasses, but one wore red robes and had short red hair, while the other wore blue robes and had long blue hair. The old man stepped up and said, with a smile on his face
"Don't be so reckless! Pokemon are our friends, not slaves to human whims, more than weapons." The blue man stepped up and said
"I'll handle this, Master Verich." He tossed up a pokeball, and not wanting to miss the action, Michael quickly took off the Aura Reader and watched as the blue man's Alakazam knocked out the Shadow Zangoose in one hit. He stared in awe, wishing to gain this kind of power along his own journey. With the battle over, Michael fit the Aura Reader back on his head, and Jovi rushed out from behind him, saying to the old man
"Um… thank you, sir!" The man turned around, with the grin still on his face, and said
"My dear, it is nothing! We only did what we had to, and nothing more." Then he turned back and continued to walk away. Michael and Jovi looked at each other in confusion for a moment, but another voice interrupted them.
"Jovi, is that you?" They turned again to see a small girl about Jovi's age running up to them, and Jovi leapt forward and shouted
"Sarah! It's good to see you again! How long has it been since Jovi and Sarah played together?" Sarah, a small girl dressed in a white and dark green dress, with brunette hair that had one part sticking out of the back, like a backwards horn, said
"Way too long, Jovi. Can you play today?" Jovi looked at Michael with big, blue eyes, pleading with him. Michael sighed and told her
"Just long enough for me to get the part. Then we've gotta go, understand?" She nodded excitedly, and they quickly pointed out the house they'd be going to so he could find Jovi. He nodded and they rushed off, and Michael shook his head again. Then he let his Eevee out, who looked up at him in confusion. Michael smiled down and said
"Hey, Eevee, we don't spend much quality time together, do we?" Eevee considered the question, then shook his head. Michael sighed, then told him
"Well, that's going to change once we set out on our journey. But you know, something's kinda bothering me." Eevee looked up at him in confusion, wondering what was wrong.
"What exactly are we going to evolve you into? I mean, there are so many choices, and it's hard to pick just one!" Eevee nodded his agreement, and Michael soon said
"But I guess we'll just have to worry about that when the time comes, huh, buddy?" Eevee called out happily, and Michael chuckled, then bent down and placed him on his shoulder. Soon, though, Eevee wasn't satisfied there and instead moved to the top of his head instead. He called out happily again, and Michael decided to just let him be.
Not long after, Michael found the parts shop owned by an apparent friend of Krane's, and he walked inside to find a boy not looking much older than him. He approached and asked
"Mr. Makan?" The boy shook his head and replied
"Nah, that's my granddad, and he's not here right now. I'm his grandson, Perr." They shook hands, and Perr asked
"So, what can I do for you?" The fire returned to Michael's eye and he said
"A certain Professor Krane ordered a part a while ago, and I was told it should have arrived by now. I'm here to pick it up." Perr thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers and said
"Right, I know it! And you're in luck; it is here, in our safe. Someone called ahead and told me you'd be coming for it, though she also said you'd have a blue-haired squirt with you. You lose her or something?"
"No, she's in a safe place, or as safe as can be at any rate." Perr rolled his eyes and said as he went to the safe located behind him
"Tell me about it. I mean, you can't really even feel safe in your own home anymore." Michael sighed and nodded, replying
"I know how that feels."
"Well, I won't pry. Anyway, here's your part. Don't drop it; it looks pretty important." Michael nodded and placed the package, very small, actually, into the fanny pack he kept on his person, at his left hip. He nodded to Perr and said
"Thanks." He nodded back and replied
"Don't mention it. Anything else you need?" Michael shook his head and replied
"No, that's all. Thanks again." Perr simply nodded and Michael left the building. He inhaled the salty air, something he'd never really tried before. Moreover, he couldn't exactly place why, but something felt wrong. As if there were more than he could see. He looked around but didn't see anything unusual, but still couldn't shake the feeling off. It was bugging him, and he decided to check around with the people and try to find out what it might have been. After speaking to a lady muscle builder, however, he found the problem; there were shadow pokemon here.
The lady's pokemon consisted of a couple normal one, but most notably she had a Shadow Ledyba and Shadow Poochyena. He managed to catch them, but only after several close calls and a depletion of his stash of pokeballs, which wasn't high to begin with, something he needed to change.
After he had gathered the two shadow pokemon, then made sure no others were around, and stashed up on his pokeball supply, he went to the building where Jovi and Sarah were playing, and when Jovi caught sight of him she gasped and asked
"Big brother, what happened to you?!" He looked down at himself, seeing his torn, tattered clothes. Then he told her
"I'll tell you when we get back. But we need to go now." Jovi nodded and explained to her friend that she had to go. Soon they were back on the scooter, and a while after that back at the lab. Inside, Michael took out the last component that was necessary and handed it over, and Lily sighed in relief.
"Good job, both of you. Michael, did anything happen to you while in Gateon?" Michael nodded and explained
"I found a couple more shadow pokemon." Lily nodded; it was something she expected, if not so soon. Then she set the component on the table and brought out a map of the region, which was for the most part barren wasteland. She pointed to an area, however, that appeared particularly verdant, and she told him
"Here, in Agate Village, there are rumors about a stone, called the Relic Stone, which has the ability to purify a shadow pokemon. Until we get the Purification Chamber up and running, you'll have to make do with that." Michael nodded and folded the map, then placed it within the fanny pack. He went to his room and brought out a sturdy pack he originally planned to use on his journey, but would now use for this. He packed several days' worth of supplies, including food, water, and clothing, not to mention camping gear. Once he finished, he shouldered the pack and checked his PC account, which was still running. He bid the group goodbye, then set out. He started up his scooter and mounted it, placing his goggles over his eyes. He glared out in front of him and muttered
"Look out, Cipher. I'm coming for you." Then he sped off down the trail toward Agate Village.
Okay, that's the first chapter to this prequel! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! And I hope you'll look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!