Chapter 1 Prologue

A group of people could be seen, breaking through the foliage in what appeared to be a rather lush rainforest. The group consisted of people of different ages and gender, however, they all seemed to be looking for something. Except for that, the only thing that was shared by everyone was the big,bold letter R painted in red in the middle of their chests. Suddenly, a man in the lead paused, his gaze concentrating on a spot about three feet to his right, where, somehow, few drops of blood were floating in between two small bushes.

Grinning, the man brought what appeared to be a walkie-talkie to his face and said: „Boss, we've found it. We've found the sample!"

It was the dead of night in the small town known as Pallet Town. Pallet Town is a small town in the western reaches of the Kanto region. It had first garnered attention when Masara Ookido ranked 921 st on Kanto's Top 10 000 trainers list. At the time, Masara became so famous that there are still maps today which have Pallet Town marked as Masara Town.

However, Pallet Town's true rise to fame happened when Samuel Oak became the Indigo League Champion. Samuel Oak is actually the grandson of Masara Okido and he went on to become a world-renowned Pokémon Researcher.

But that was all in the past and what matters right now is the present. For you see, a shape could be made out in the darkness of the night, approaching a giant, observatorium like building, Professor Oak's lab.

Once it came close enough, the light from the windows revealed that the shape was in fact a young woman. She seemed to be wounded and a slight limp could be seen in her step.

Approaching the door, the woman paused for a bit, trying to regain her breath. Once she was suitably recovered, the woman rose up from the crouch she was in and gently rang the doorbell.

Professor Samuel Oak was called many things during his life. A talented Trainer, a Champion, a genius Pokémon Researcher. What many people didn't know though, was that Professor Oak was at times wildly overenthusiastic.

Take the current situation for example. Professor Oak was snoring, with his head in his arms, sorrounded by a veritable mountain of research papers and notes. His sleep, however, was disturbed by the piercing, shrill sound of his doorbell.

Jumping up, his body alert even if his eyes were still clouded by sleep, Professor Oak turned around, taking in his sorroundings and relaxed, not having found any danger to his person. Once he relaxed, he realised that what woke him up was his doorbell. Now, who woud be up at this time of day and why were they at his door?

Opening the door, Professor Oak was momentarily stunned by the sight of the shivering, wounded woman before he rushed to her side. „Delia!Oh my Arceus!What happened to you?Who did this?"

The woman, Delia, smiled weakly at the worry and concern in the old Professor's voice before she whispered : „T... Team Rocket."

„There she is! Get her!"

The sounds of a chase. An impact. Darkness.

A light, stabbing her brain through her eyes.

Noise. Voices, speaking one over the other.

„-ot ready, the operation -"

„-ccess, she is preg-"

„-ld is part Poké-"

„-gendary -"

And then silence. No sound.

A sensation. Something... something thick and sticky covering her hands.

Red. Blood red.

Delia Ketchum awoke with a gasp, a scream of horror dying in her throat. Jerking her body into a sitting position, Delia scanned her sorroundings, trying to figure out where she was.

Relaxing once she realised she was currently safe inside Professor Oak's lab, Delia tried to calm her racing heart, still quite clearly affected by her nightmares.

Having finally completely relaxed, Delia turned her attention to her physical condition. She still felt sore, her feet felt seconds from falling off but it seemed that she was most definitely in a better condition than she remembered. Her wounds seemed to have been bandaged whilst she was unconscious and a bruise cream was obviously applied to her now missing bruises. All in all, Delia concluded that she was in a much better state than she was just a few hours ago.

Once done examinig her body, she turned her attetion to the slumped figure sleeping in a chair in the corner of the room. It was clear he had spent a large part of the night by her side waiting for her to wake up, eventually falling asleep himself. While it may seem strange to some people for the kind, old Professor to be so concerned about a Trainer he had no relation to, it was not so surprising to Delia. Ever since the death of her mother a few months back, he had done everything in his power to both comfort her and make sure she is safe, wherever she may be at the time.

„Delia! You are awake! Finally! Are you alright? By Arceus Delia, what happened to you? I know you said Team Rocket, but what exactly have they done? While you had some injuries from fighting, it seems as though most of them came from some kind of a surgery?! By Arceus Delia, what happened?"

It seems that while she was off reminiscing, the wizened Professor had woken up and, in his usual style, started firing off questions a mile a minute.

„Calm down, Professor! I'm alright now, just a bit tired and as to what happened... I... I may have a clue as to what happened, but that is just guess." Delia said, turning a bit sad and melancholic towards the end.

„I... Alright. Of course, you're alright. I saw to that myself. But, Delia, what exactly happened? I mean, I know you said Team Rocket, but what did they do?" The wise Professor seemed to have finally calmed down, his body visibly relaxing, his muscles no longer as tense as before. He was lookig at her with a look that she knew very well. It was a look that said he was on a hunt. For answers, culprits and blood. Right now, Professor Oak was showing a side of himself that he hadn't brought to the surface in years now. It was a side of him that was the reason behind the silence and relative passivenes of the notorious crime syndicate for the past few years. It was also this side of him that made Pallet Town nearly untouchable in their eyes. A Rocket grunt wouldn't dare steal a Rattatta in a territory under his supervision. It made Delia feel safe, it made her feel like she was home.

„I can't remember much, most probably because I was drugged during most of my time in their oh so tender care. What I can remember is being ambushed during my trip home from grocery shopping in Viridian. I was able to escape the initial ambush and evade them for a time, but I was eventually caught. After that, my memories are fragmented and disjointed, this was most probably caused by the drugs they had pumped into me. I can only remember flashes, and only very short ones at that.

However, what I can remember gives me a pretty good idea of what happened to me and what they did, even if I can not tell exactly how. Professor, I believe that I am pregnant." Delia concluded, voice trembling at the last sentence, making it sound shaky and weak.

Professor Oak immediately jumped to his feet, grief, rage and sorrow warring on his face.

„NO! Please tell me you weren't... that they haven't..." he trailed off, unable to bear the thought.

Delia understood almost instantly what he wanted to say. „No! No, I haven't been... you know. I think that the surgery those bastards performed on me resulted in me being pregnant." Delia explained, unable to speak about the very real possibility of that happening if she was caught ever again.

Professor Oak collapsed back into his chair, his body shaking, bathed in sweat, a huge gasp of relief leaving his lungs. „Thank Arceus. But, why did they do this? What was the purpose of getting you pregnant? Team Rocket only ever does something if it helps them. I don't see what possible use could they have of your child."

Delia nodded, eyes downcast, racking her brain for words with which to express her doubts and fears. „You are right. They did have a purpose. You see, I believe that this child, my child, will not be completely human. From what I was capable of recalling, they used Pokémon DNA to impregnate me. Legedary Pokémon DNA at that."

Now, one thing needs to be said about Professor Samuel Oak. He has not experienced true shock in decades. While he may have been startled and even surprised by some things over the years, he has not been shocked since he was a relatively young man. And yet here he was, gaping at the woman he saw as a surrogate daughter, his mind blanked by shock and disbelief.

„Part... Part Pokémon?Part Legendary Pokémon as well? How... How is that even possible? There has never been a recorded case in all of history of a human-Pokémon offspring. And not to mention, it's supposed to have a Legendary Pokémon as a father! Do you know which one is it?"

It seems that no matter what kind of information he recieved, Samuel Oak was a Researcher first and foremost.

Delia smiled slightly at the enthusiasm of the old Professor, shaking her head.

„Unfortunately I don't know, I only know that the DNA used belonged to a Legedary Pokémon. Heck, I don't even know if the DNA came from a male Legendary. For all I know it could have as easily come from a female." Letting out a sigh of disappointment, Professor Oak nodded and took hold of Delia's hand, his eyes locking onto hers. „I guess that doesn't matter now. All we can do right now is be careful and patient. Team Rocket is going to be looking for either you or your child later. We are only lucky that they don't seem to know who you are, just what you look like. Our main priority right now is protecting you both."

Delia smiled, laying back down, exhausted both mentally and physically. „Professor... Samuel, can I ask you something?" she inquired.

Professor Oak nodded, smiling „Anything."

Delia smiled, happy to know she could count on her surrogate father figure no matter what. „I want you to help me make sure my child, be it a boy or a girl, can defend himself. Would you be willing to take him or her on as an apprentice when he or she is old enough?"

The old Professor just simply smiled back „Do you even have to ask?"