Did I say Pokémon? I meant Poke-human.
It was a worldwide phenomenon. Pokémon all over the world were suddenly turning in and out of Semi-human forms starting a year and a half ago. They all kept the powers and general appearances (yes that included tails and other various appendages) of their Pokémon forms. They just looked more human-like than animal-like. It wasn't even a disease that caused it. No one could figure out what was going on.
The victimized Pokémon, or Poke-humans, didn't change in any other manner though. They kept their personalities, principals and morals. Even so, just as it was all too common for a Pokémon to be abandoned, it soon became a million times more accepted for a Poke-human to be left on their own once they first changed. Most Poke-humans didn't even know how to change back at first. It became a common sight to see a Poke-human homeless on the street, living with stray/wild Pokémon.
At first, I didn't do anything because I didn't know what to do. However, as soon as I saw my own now-ex-BFF cast her once beloved Pichu out on the streets, I knew that I had to do something. So I opened the doors of my late Grandmother's hotel to any Poke-human that needed refuge and took care of them myself. That was last week, and now I have 12 of the 500+ room hotel filled.
A new Poke-human came through the revolving doors. I looked up at them to see a Luxray. I smiled at the shy female from the reception area and said, "Hey. I'm Lotus Yuki Noberu." I looked at her kindly, noticing that she was shaking and had a pokeball in her hands. "You need a place to stay?" She wore a navy blue mini-skirt and a black coat with black heel-boots.
"Y-yes, please." She walked up to the desk. She avoided eye contact, keeping her eyes trained on the ground.
"Alright, first, just a little info. Are you newly Changed or have you been like this?" I said. I typed up a new document for the girl, looking at her the whole time.
"I just Changed." Her voice quivered.
"I see. Do you have any living or dietary preferences? Anything I should know?" I asked.
"No. I don't care what I'm given nor do have any medical problems." She said, on the edge of tears.
I stood up and walked around the desk to her. "Alright then." I wrapped my arms around her lithe form and stroked her short black hair. She tensed up. "You're home now. You can cry when you feel like it. I know it must hurt you, so go on and cry as much as you need to. It's OK. You're safe." She sobbed her heart out as Pichu came in.
He mouthed, 'Another one?' I eyed the laptop I was previously typing on and he walked over to it to read it.
After his scowl a few minutes later, the Luxray I was holding stopped crying enough to talk again so I released her. "Thank you." She froze at seeing Pichu.
He grinned. "Hey, there!" He was about 12 and wore yellow sweats, tee and sweater. He was also blond and green eyed. He held his tail to his side and allowed some electricity to flow to show that it wasn't a costume.
"Hi." She said.
"Did you pick a name yet?" He asked.
"I-I can pick my own name?" She asked. After we both nodded, she thought for a moment. "Can I be called Luxy?" I smiled widely.
I grabbed my laptop and typed it on her document. "Sure." I said.
"Perfect!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her away. "Come on, Luxy. I'll give you a tour and introduce you to the other Poke-humans here. After that, I'll get you to your room, ok?"
I didn't hear her response because another Poke-human came in. It was a Charizard and considering the fact that she was very young, covered in only a black trench coat and accompanied by a woman, this one had just come in from a bad experience.
"Excuse me, can you take her in? I found her about to be abused by some young men." The woman said.
"Of course. Are the boys…?" I trailed off.
"They're with Officer Jenny." She said.
I nodded and the woman left. "Ok, sweetie. Let's get you into some proper clothes." I smiled at her and was delighted when she smiled back. I picked her up at her quiet insistence and set out the sign-in sheet. We went to a conference room I had set up as a dressing room and let her pick out an outfit. She chose a white blouse and a custard yellow over-all skirt with black ballet flats. I put her to nap in one of the rooms after she told me that she wanted to be called Chara. I turned in for the night after that.
I went to the lobby at noon the next day to see a pair of Poke-humans waiting for me. It was a couple of well known Poke-humans, The Abra Brothers. They were among the first to Change a year and a half ago. The youngest was called Ab and was paler than his older brother, who was called Ra.
"Hello, boys, what are doing here?" I asked. I had met them before. They were often the ones that sent me new Poke-humans.
"Lotus, the flyers said that Rayquaza just Changed and is trying to get here." Ra said. (The term 'Flyers' refers to flying Pokémon/Poke-humans.)
I blinked at them. "Here? Why here? And how does he even know about us?"
"No idea, but he's not taking the Change to well." Ra said.
"He lost a lot of energy and is on course to crash in the park." Ab said.
I bit my thumbnail and paused for a moment, thinking. "Even if he has become a Poke-human, he'll still be in the criminal organizations' cross-hairs. We'll need to get him here quickly, quietly and safely." I looked up at Ab, who kept up with the news and rumors that flew around the human world. "How many humans know about this?"
"So far, no one knows. If someone does know, they don't care enough to do anything." Ab said. "We have 15 minutes before he crashes."
I thought fast and came up with a plan. "I'll get the Poke-humans in my care to go to the crash site and break his fall. You two go get some wild ground Pokémon to cover up the mess after. I'll also need you two to teleport him to one of the larger rooms here at the hotel. Go." They ran out and I pulled the emergency switch. The drill was for everyone to come to the lobby when they heard it.
Everyone got there a few minutes later. In my care were 14 Poke-humans. There were two Pidgeot's, two Luxray's, Pichu, Charizard Dragonite, Ralts, Kirlia, Gardevoir, Gallade, Lapras and Milotic. I would need all of them if my plan was to work. The last Poke-human was a secret between me, her and Drago.
I gave them a run down on what was happening. "OK, here's the problem:" I said. "Rayquaza has Changed and is on a crash course to the park near-by. None of the humans know about this and I want to keep it that way! We all know how big of a target is on his back. His weakened state so soon after Change will make it easier for him to be captured. We're going to him to break his fall. The Abra Brothers will be there to cover it up and teleport him here." I looked at the clock, ignoring the silent confusion of my Poke-humans. "Rayquaza is due to land very soon, so let's go!" We ran to the park and didn't wait long for Rayquaza to come.
It was Drago, my Dragonite, that saw him first. "Over there, I see him!" He said. I noticed that Rayquaza was unconscious.
Him, Pidge, Sky, and Chara caught him and slowed his fall, however, they couldn't hold on to him. I anticipated this and Ras and Loti were waiting with a water bubble under him with Pichu, Luxy and Electi holding the bubble together. He slowed even more but it wasn't slow enough for him to go unscathed. Ralts, Kirly, Dev and Glade slowed him even more with their psychic abilities, letting Rayquaza escape with no major injuries.
"Ra, Ab, take him back." The Abra Brothers were waiting off to the side with some local rock Pokémon. They took hold of his arms, lifted him up and teleported away.
Just then, I heard some reporter calling out for her camera crew to hurry and follow her. They were coming this way. "Vanish!" I snapped at my Poke-humans then directed my attention to the wild Pokémon. "The rest of you, cover this up and go!" They followed my commands and the only one left after a moment was Pichu, who immediately Changed to his Pokémon form and hopped onto my head.
"Hey, you there, did you see something crash around here?" The reporter asked me. I recognized her as Amelia Fairheart.
I shook my head, playing the part of an innocent by-stander. "No, ma'am, I didn't."
"Oh, come on, you had to have seen something!" Amelia grabbed my arms and shook me slightly.
Pichu sounded out his protest at the jostling and hopped off of me. He Changed and said, "Hey, watch it!" He said.
"Pichu! I thought I said not to Change so suddenly like that. You'll scare someone!" I chastised. He blinked and then smiled sheepishly, rubbing his neck.
Amelia froze for a moment. "Uh, you kept your Pokémon… Post-change?"
I gave her a blank look. "I actually took him off an ex-friend. He's no different than before, though. I think their new forms are pretty helpful, really. Since they can speak human now, we can understand them better and know more about the Pokémon world."
"I… didn't think of that." The cameraman said. It was then that I noticed that he was recording.
"We should get going, Yuki. The other Poke-humans will get worried if we don't get back soon." Pichu said.
"Others?" She asked.
"Yeah, I run the hotel that takes in Poke-humans." I said. Pichu and I turned to leave and the reporter and cameraman followed.
"Could we do a report on your work? I've been interested in your hotel for a while now." The reporter said.
"Sure." This is the first time that a human has taken an interest in my hotel. I sent Pichu ahead to warn the others while I spoke with the reporter.
"How did your Hotel start?" She asked.
"Well, it started when my ex-friend Samantha raised her hand at her Pichu, who had just gone through his Change." I said. "She was yelling at him claiming that he had ruined her life, calling him cruel names. They were in the park at the time and I was taking a walk. When I saw what was going on, I stopped her and we got into a really bad fight. At the end of it, she had thrown Pichu's pokeball at me and said 'If you think it's no different then take him! I don't need a freak on my team!' and I never saw her again. That night, I found out that my parents held Samantha's same views on Poke-humans and I disowned them. I'm the heir to the Noberu family fortune, so I can do that. I restarted the hotel in town and have lived there for the past year." I smiled at the front of the Hotel. It read 'Noble Chambers' across the top of the entrance. "Here we are."
We went inside to see Dev doing Chara's hair. I led them through the hotel, introducing the Poke-humans as I gave a tour.
"In the lobby was my Gardevoir, Dev, and my new Charizard, Chara. I let them name themselves when they arrive so they can have a sense of independence while they're here." We came to the kitchen and looked inside to see Loti, Pidge and Sky. "This is Loti, Pidge and Sky, my resident Pidgeots and Milotic. Their often the ones to make all our meals but I try to help out when I can."
"Dinner is in 25 minutes." Sky said.
"You're welcome to join us." Loti added. I smiled at her as she spoke to the reporter and cameraman.
We moved on to some of the rooms on the first floor and introduced the Poke-humans that were resting. "That's Ralts, Glade, Luxy and Electi, my Ralts, Gallade and Luxrays. Luxy just joined our mixed bunch of a family yesterday, as did Chara." I said. "Glad to see you settling in so well, Luxy."
"It's really thanks to Glade. He helped me a lot." She hopped up to me and whispered. "He's so nice to me and super cute too." I looked at her with a sly smirk, seeing her blush.
"We'll talk about this with the other girls later." I said. Her blush deepened before I left with the Reporter and Cameraman in tow.
At the Gym, we ran into Kirly, Pichu, Ras and Drago. They were on the treadmills. "These are my Kirlia, Pichu, Lapras and Dragonite. They go by Kirly, Pichu, Ras and Drago, respectively." I turned to Drago. "Drago, do 5 miles by dinner. It's in 25."
He nodded, saying, "Thanks." He started.
Pichu hopped off his treadmill and followed as we went to the dining room to set up for dinner. "So what do you think?" He asked Amelia.
"This place is wonderful! It's like one big happy family." She said. We got to the dining room to see Dev and Chara setting the table cloth. Pichu and I got the dishes out and put them out. I made sure extra settings were out for Amelia and her cameraman.
"It really is." I said. "I try to take in as many Poke-humans in as are willing to come and make them welcome." Amelia called her boss and set up an air time for half an hour later.
20 minutes later, we finished the table and Sky, Loti and Pidge brought in the food.
I went to the paging system and called to the other rooms. "Dinner's ready." They were all here in five minutes. "Glade, do the prayer."
They sat down and Glade said the prayer. "O Arceus, we thank you for the land beneath our feet, the water in the sea and the sky over our heads. We thank you for the life in our bodies, the shelter we have and the food on our plates. We thank you most for our friends and family that surround us. Amen."
"Amen." We all echoed him and dug in and chatted as the reporter spoke in the background.
"I am Amelia Fairheart and I'm here at the Noble Chambers Hotel where the heir to the Noberu family fortune, 17 year old Lotus Yuki Noberu, has set up a home for Poke-humans who have been cast out on the streets. Earlier this afternoon, I happened to run into her taking a walk with her Pichu. I was honored and lucky to be given enough of her time for her to give me a personal tour. I was also allowed to meet the residents here at her hotel." They played the recording of the tour and, following the sign off, joined us.
After dinner, Amelia and her cameraman left and I finally got the chance to go see Rayquaza. I walked into his room with Dev and Glade. Pichu wanted to come, but I made him stay behind and put the younger Poke-humans to bed.
"Ra, Ab, how is he?" I asked. Ra and Ab were still there, watching over the sleeping legendary.
"He was unconscious from energy loss when he landed." Ra said, standing with his brother and taking the plates of food that Glade brought with him.
"He'll be asleep until tomorrow morning. I'd have someone stay here for the night. He may panic." Ab said. The brothers finished eating and left.
I sat in at desk. "Dev, go get Drago to come and stay with me. Glade will stay here until he comes." They nodded and Dev left for Drago's room.
"You know, Yuki, you're an idiot for staying here. Rayquaza isn't known for his love for humans." Glade said a bit later.
I pulled out the copy of my old diary that I kept in all the rooms and started reading it. "I know."
"Why do you have that in all the rooms, anyway? Aren't those your personal thoughts from your childhood?" He asked.
"Yes, they are. That's exactly why I have a copy in every room. I want the ones who get the rooms to trust me. If they read it, they'll know that I mean no harm and trust me more. After all, friends who understand each other last longer." I said, sadly. Drago came in the room then.
"I wouldn't know about that, but as long as you know what you're getting into." Glade left.
Drago sat against the wall behind me. "Getting on your case about the diaries again, is he?" I nodded and he scoffed. "They'd get it if they would just read it like you want them to."
"It's fine. They know that I don't mind if they read it and they'll open their copies in time." I said.
The sun set minutes later, and I put the diary away and sat in Drago's lap so I could sleep in peace.
"You still have those nightmares?" He held me close to him.
"Yeah, you and Mew seem to be the only ones that can keep them from coming." I said with a yawn.
I heard him chuckle. "Goodnight, Sis. I'll wake you when Rayquaza comes to." With that, I faded into a dreamless sleep.