A/N: *Can almost hear the groans of frustration from her HP fandom readers from here*

*skittishly tries to sneak this into the midst of her fics without them noticing*

*Is the worst*

This fic has been sitting, saved on my laptop and just awaiting it's chance to see the light of day, since I was about 20. I've decided to share what I've written, so I hope you all like it. Be advised I have only played Gold, Ruby Red, X, and didn't finish Moon. I rely heavily on bulbapedia for my info about evolutions, pokemon, stats, and canon characters. The main characters are both Original, which I'm usually against, but the theme of the games encourages that, so, *shrugs*. Updates will be sporadic, but here it is. Enjoy.

xx-Kitten

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, Nintendo, Game Freak, or any of the associated characters of the fandom. I make no profits off this fanfiction.

Fusion

By Kittenshift17

Chapter 1

Maggie Cantino held her breath as she stepped inside the pokémon lab of Professor Sycamore. The day had finally arrived. She was finally going to be a pokémon trainer. For years now she'd been begging her mother to let her begin her journey studying pokémon in their different habitats. She was much older than her friends were when they'd been allowed to set off on their adventures intent on being Pokémon masters and joining the Elite Four.

Not that Maggie wanted to be a master. No, Maggie didn't want to be a Pokémon master. She wanted to be Pokéfusion professor. While Maggie's friends had all been roaming the world since age eleven, capturing, taming and battling with their new pokémon companions, Maggie had been locked up with her mother, studying tirelessly. Maggie's mother was a Pokémon doctor over at the Pokémon centre in Lumoise and she'd been teaching Maggie everything there was to know about Pokémon since the time Maggie could talk.

Much of her schooling had been spent helping out at the Day-care centre for pokémon on Route 7. Maggie and her mother lived in Camphire Town and her mother rode into Lumoise city on her work days. Maggie's interest in pokéfusion had been sparked at the day-care centre. So many young trainers would stop in to leave a pokémon or two, and before they knew it there were eggs popping up all over the place. Some of them were simply the result of two of the same pokémon being dropped off by different trainers. Others were the result of a Ditto and another pokémon being dropped off by the same trainer to breed a pre-evolution of the pokémon they'd caught in the wild.

Lots of people came hoping for Pichus, Igglybuffs and Elekids.

But then there'd been the time when Maggie was thirteen and someone had dropped off a Bulbasaur and a Gloom and something wonderful had happened. A Bulbloom had been hatched. Maggie had been the one to discover it, as it was her job to search the centre for the eggs the pokémon sometimes laid in secret. She'd found it nestled in the long grass at the back of the enclosure and had excitedly rushed it to the head carers at the hatchery, exclaiming over the beauty of the entirely exotic egg. She'd spent extensive time up until then studying pokémon breeding, so she'd instantly recognised that is was a new kind of egg.

Professor Sycamore had been called, and before she knew it, Maggie had been meeting pokémon professors from other regions as well. Professor Oak had flown over from the Kanto region. Professor Elm from the Johto region had shown up a short time later and Maggie had been allowed to sit in on their meeting while they discussed what kind of pokémon it could possibly be. She'd been sworn to secrecy on the matter as well, when Pokéfusion was first discovered. The professors were fearful trainers would begin recklessly breeding incompatible pokémon and cause terrible abuse to the environment and ecosystems already in place.

"Hello, Maggie," Professor Sycamore greeted her when he looked up from his studies, smiling at the sight of her.

"Hi, Professor," Maggie greeted him, smiling back at the man who'd been a mentor to her since she was a child.

"It's finally the day, I see," he said, and Maggie nodded excitedly. "Your mother called me last night, you know? Fretting that you'd get yourself into hot water on your pokémon journey. She's worried about you."

"I know," Maggie said, "But she needs to let me go sometime. I agree now that it was best for me to stay here until I turned sixteen. I've learned much more about pokémon and much more about the world and what I want. Back when my friends all left I was caught up in their ideals of becoming a pokémon master and taking on the champions of every league. If I'd left at eleven I'd still be chasing down the dream of besting Ash Ketchum."

"And now?" Professor Sycamore asked, smiling at the mention of Ash. As big a fool as the man could be, all the Professors respected his ability to befriend and train pokémon.

"Now, I know I want to study pokémon from every region in their natural environments and discover if there are any pokéfusions taking place in the wild that we might be unaware of. Now, I understand how to update a pokedex, coding it with information for any new species that I might discover or breed on my own. Now, I have my priorities sorted out," Maggie grinned at him.

"I don't want you getting your hopes too high about Pokéfusion, Maggie," the professor frowned for a moment. "Not a great deal of these new species' are occurring naturally in the wild. Much of the pokéfusion we've seen in recent years has been a result of terrible people like Team Flare and Team Rocket and all those other terrible groups forcing pokémon together to breed new hybrid species. Many of them have been unsuccessful, as you know. I'd hate to see you lose hope for pokéfusion as a result of the terrible creatures these people are forcing into existence."

"I won't lose hope, Professor," Maggie assured him, "Pokéfusion is really just the beginning of a new evolutionary adaption within the Pokémon world. These people forcing fusions are usually unsuccessful. I'll stop any of them I come across. And I'll see what I can do about fostering pokéfusion between particular types of pokémon from different regions to see whether they are compatible."

The professor nodded. "Make sure you keep in touch with me, Maggie. I must admit that I'm excited to see what discoveries you will make in the future."

"You know I'll be calling you all the time excitedly over some new discovery I've made," Maggie laughed, rolling her eyes. She already did so often even just when she was at the Day-care centre and she observed a new trait from a particular pokémon type.

"Well, good," the Professor said and Maggie grinned when he got that awkward expression on his face where he was feeling emotional about something and didn't know what to do with it.

"I want you to take this," he told her, handing her a Pokedex of her own. "That one's a bit different to that of a regular trainer. You'll still be allowed to enter the leagues if you choose, and you'll be able to access the labs of the other Professors throughout the regions. I've listed all their contact numbers inside there for you, just in case. I've also tampered with this one to allow you to update and include new information on any new pokémon you discover. When you enter a new species or new information about an existing species you uncover, it will alert myself and the other Professors in charge of each region."

"Thanks," Maggie said, accepting the Pokedex excitedly.

"It's also your Holoclip, so don't be surprised if some new species is discovered and you receive calls from myself or the others professors. Most of us are getting on a bit in years, and if I'm honest it's been a long time since a level headed and mature student as dedicated to the study of pokémon as you has been out there in the field, uncovering new species. Most of the time we deal with meathead trainers more interested in the league than the pokémon, beyond catching as many as they can, of course."

"Can I conference call all of you at once?" Maggie asked, examining the new machine carefully.

"Yes. If you dial through with this button here," he moved closer, showing her. "It will dial every pokémon lab throughout all nine regions. Keep in mind that we're all on different time-zones."

"You worried I'll call you from Unova at three in the morning?" Maggie grinned.

"Yes," Professor Sycamore admitted. "And then I'll be up every night excitedly looking at the new discoveries you've made and conferencing with the other professors about all the new data. I'll be losing enough sleep as it is while you're on this journey."

He looked away uncomfortably as he muttered that last sentence.

"You worry too much, Dad," she told him quietly.

They didn't often acknowledge that they were father and daughter and Maggie didn't carry his surname. Maggie's mother and Professor Sycamore had been divorced many long years now, since she'd been just a baby.

"I know," he admitted, glancing back at her uncomfortably. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. I don't like the idea of you being out there in the wilderness all by yourself."

"When have I ever put myself in a dangerous situation?" Maggie asked him reasonably.

"I'm not worried you'll do something stupid," he shook his head at her. "But I was a teenage trainer once, you know? I know how cocky and arrogant some of the league stars can be. I know how horrible some Team Flare folks are. What if you run across someone who beats your pokémon to a pulp out in the middle of nowhere and leaves you stranded? What if you get lost in the wandering woods and die of starvation? What if some smarmy boy talks you into bed with him and you come home pregnant?"

"Dad!" Maggie exclaimed, shocked at his words.

"What? It's not as though I'm deluding myself into thinking you're not a teenager. It is in the nature of every species to act to procreate the species. You're not a kid, Maggie. You're a young lady."

"I can't believe you want to have this conversation right now," Maggie told him. "You're starting to sound like Mum."

"I know, I know," he sighed, running a hand over his face tiredly. "I was fine about all this mess until she called me last night in a flap and now all the worst case scenarios won't stop playing in my head."

"I'll be careful. I'm too focused on my research to bother with boys, you know that. And besides, if I meet a boy then I meet a boy. If I don't, all the better. This journey is about me learning everything I can about pokémon and pokéfusion. I can't stay cooped up in Camphire town forever."

"I know. Just promise me you'll be safe. If something looks shifty or dodgy, you steer clear, you hear me? And don't go getting too close to pokémon to study particular breeding rituals or mating battles."

"Dad, I'll be fine, and if I'm not, you're only a click of a button away," Maggie assured him.

He sighed heavily again, still looking worried before he returned to being her Pokémon Professor instead over her overprotective father.

"Alright. Now, I've uploaded your Pokedex with all the information you'll need if you're stopped for identification throughout the different regions. I've made sure you're licenced as a breeder and a pokémon researcher affiliated with my lab so you shouldn't be pulled up on carrying more pokémon than trainers are allowed. I know you won't go crazy like all the young kids do and catch every species of pokémon you see. If you see something extraordinary in a particular species and want to study it in depth, send it to me and I'll study it and make sure it's cared for until you return or until you send for it."

"Are there any particular pokémon you need me to send to you for your research?" Maggie asked him, knowing he was always grumbling about unreliable trainers sending him pokémon of the same common types.

"If you can catch me a Goomy, that would be ideal," he nodded. "I'd like to compare Goomy's anatomical make-up to that of the other invertebrate pokémon like Grimer, Muk, Slugmar, and the others. If you could send me one of each from each region you come across, that would be ideal."

"You couldn't pick something exciting and fun to catch, could you?" Maggie rolled her eyes, not at all liking to imagine just where she might have to go to get her hands on a Grimer and a Goomy.

"All the easy to catch pokémon are plentiful in labs like mine. Every trainer catches one. It's the harder to catch and less frequently encountered pokémon I want to study," he grinned at her innocently as though he hadn't given her a frustrating task.

"I'll see what I can do. Goomy should be easy enough, but the others might be a while coming," she admitted.

"I know. I don't expect you to hop from region to region chasing pokémon for me, Maggie. This journey is about you and what you want to do. Now, I know you love puppy pokémon the best, but I couldn't get my hands on one that would be easy to train as your first pokémon like a Lillipup, so I've got a little surprise for you," he told her, squaring his shoulders. "Wait here just a minute."

He held up a finger indicatively, and Maggie grinned while he dashed towards the back of the lab where he kept the starter pokémon for all the new trainers who came to him for their registration, pokedex and their very first pokémon companion. Maggie had been back there thousands of times over the years, so she didn't need to follow him, no matter how she liked to see the pokémon. Instead, she turned her attention to the research he'd been working on when she came in, noting idly that he was currently studying the anatomical structure of Goomy, Sliggoo and Goodra.

Maggie wasn't surprised. She knew her father had been intrigued for years now about how evolution effected the anatomical structure of a pokémon. And an evolutionary cycle like that of Goomy to Goodra was a fascinating one since the pokémon literally developed more and more bones throughout each evolution. She made a note on his work when she spotted that he'd forgotten to include Sliggoo's shell as one of the bones it developed, knowing it later became the foundation for Goodra's spine.

"Are you correcting my work again?" he asked quietly, making Maggie jump guiltily.

"Just a little," Maggie admitted, smiling when she noticed he had his hands behind his back, hiding something from her.

"What was it this time?" he asked, leaning over to read the note she'd written before chuckling.

"Can I have my pokémon now?" she asked, a flush of excitement filling her.

"Close your eyes," he instructed, and Maggie did as she was told, a smile crawling across her face. She heard the sounds of rustling paper and some muttering before she felt him take her hands and lift them to touch something soft and furry in front of her.

"Open them," he whispered, and Maggie opened her eyes wide, her face aching with the size of her smile when she spotted the adorable little Fennekin looking up at her curiously.

"Fennekin?" she asked, unable to believe her eyes. Fennekin was one of the Kalos starter pokémon and one of Maggie's favourites. She'd always been especially fond of puppy pokémon and any belonging to the canine family. She'd been begging her mother to let her have a Houndour since she'd been five.

"Do you like her?" Professor Sycamore asked hopefully.

"She's beautiful," Maggie said softly, stroking the fox pokémon's soft fur.

"I wanted to give you a traditional starter pokémon, but I knew Fennekin was your favourite of the Kalos starters. Knowing your love for the canine Pokémon, I thought a Fennekin would be the best fit for you. I had Ash catch one for me last week and send her over."

"Thank you," Maggie whispered solemnly, feeling slightly overwhelmed with the amount of thought he'd put into letting her have her first pokémon.

"Now, ordinarily new trainers start out with a single pokémon before going out and catching whatever else they can, but I know you too well to think you'll go out and throw pokeballs at a Pidgey or a Bunnelby, so I have something else for you today," Professor Sycamore told her, smiling fondly when the Fennekin jumped up to lick Maggie's chin excitedly.

Maggie looked over at him suspiciously when he handed her a pokeball with a pokémon inside it.

"What's this?" she asked, pushing the button to release the pokémon.

Maggie gasped when Bulbloom came out, blinking sleepily at her.

"I want you to take Bulbloom with you. She adores you and it will do her good to travel. Otherwise she stays locked up here in my lab listening to my mumbling. She began imitating me yesterday evening when she was playing. I was comparing DNA structures, muttering to myself and she started following me, muttering to herself as well."

"She was imitating you?" Maggie asked excitedly, lifting the dozy nocturnal pokémon and pressing a kiss to her nose.

She was the perfect combination of Bulbasaur and Gloom. She had a round little body and walked on two legs, her little arms sticking out either side. On top of her head were some fleshy, brilliantly red petals with their white spots, and in the middle of the flower was a miniature version of Bulbasaur's bulb. Her face, like Gloom's, was on the front of her round body, though it was made up of Bulbasaur's features and she never drooled. Her body was purple but her arms and legs were green, as was the bulb on top of her head. She was three feet tall and often curled into a cute ball when she slept. More than once she'd been confused for being a plant when she slept outside her pokeball.

Fennekin sniffed at Bulbloom with interest, before licking the end out her nose and barking at the pokémon. Bulbloom waved her arms in alarm for a moment before sneezing Sweet Scent all over the little fox pokémon.

"They're making friends," Maggie grinned, "You really want me to take her with me?"

"You know she adores you. She'd be lonely here without you stopping in every day. Take her with you. She'll protect you and two pokémon is always better than one. Fennekin might do a fine job on her own, and when she evolves she'll wipe out anything that threatens you, but I want you to be safe, and I want both pokémon to be happy."

"Won't this be giving me an unfair advantage?" Maggie asked.

"No," he shook his head, "You're not going on your journey to fight in the leagues; you're doing it to study pokémon and pokéfusion. It wouldn't be right to send you off with one and not the other. If she's with you, you'll be able to record every new ability and trait she expresses, and out there, who knows? She might get up the nerve and the experience to want to evolve into something entirely new."

"And she won't be here mocking you in the lab," Maggie grinned knowingly, returning Bulbloom to her pokeball to allow her to sleep some more.

"There's also that," Professor Sycamore grinned, "Go on now, you've got your Pokedex and your starting pokémon. It's time for you to begin your journey."

Maggie's grin grew impossibly wider and she threw herself into her father's arms for a hug, brushing a kiss to his cheek before she set off for home to retrieve her bag, so she could be on her way.