Summary- Michael used the Purify Chamber to save Pokemon, just like the professor told him. How was he to know its true nature? Contains some AU and dark themes. More info inside.
Genre- Horror, Fantasy
Characters- Michael, Professor Krane, Shadow Lugia, Golbat
Pairings- None.
Rating- PG-13 (T)
Warnings- AU, technical OOC for one character, some mild language, some fantasy violence (not above that found in the game), dark themes
Disclaimer- I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is property of Nintendo. This is a fan work made for entertainment purposes and I am making no money off of it.
Author's Notes- Well, this is a creepypasta. I write lots of crappypastas, but this is one of my better stories. I decided to upload it since a- there's nothing on this account and b- there's not enough creepypasta for Orre/Orre or XD stories in general.
I never liked the Purification Chamber. It always seemed as equally cold and mechanical as creating Shadow Pokemon in the first place. The old fashioned way involved kind of helping the Pokemon recover from their trauma, while the Chamber involved just dumping them in a machine and leaving them there to rot. And who knows what happens to them there? This is my dark interpretation of the Purification Chamber. Enjoy!
The Purification Chamber was finally completed. It seemed like an impossible job, but Michael's mother really helped pull things together in Professor Krane's absence. With this device, Michael no longer had to carry Shadow Pokemon around forever and then make the long trek to Agate Village in order to purify them. He could now work on purifying up to nine, all without any effort. Michael wasn't known for being lazy, but he did want to lighten his load.
Michael was so excited to use the Chamber that he ran back to the HQ Lab as soon as possible. His mother and the professor were both happy to see him and stepped back to let him start the first purification. Michael raided his PC and dumped in a bunch of non-Shadow Pokemon he caught while trying out the PokeSpots. He then deposited a Shadow Houndour he never got around to purifying. The machine got to work immediately with a low buzzing sound. Smiling, Michael left the Chamber to do its work.
It was only later, when he was on the road to Gateon Port to go train for a bit, that he thought about it again. What was it like in the Purification Chamber, anyway? Michael pictured it as a happy place where his four Pokemon that he never used filled the Houndour with the same kindness he gave to every one of his Pokemon. A part of him wanted to take Houndour with him, but he had no room in his party right now. Besides, he had to train his other Pokemon. So Houndour would have to stay in the lab, safe and sound.
Michael wandered around Pyrite Town, his recently purified Houndour in his party. The people here were always raring to battle, a trait Michael greatly appreciated. Still, he always kept an eye on his PokeBalls and his wallet, just to be on the safe side. Approaching a Rider confidently, Michael asked, "Hey, can we battle?"
"This is the Battle Square," the Rider replied. "You don't have to ask!"
The Rider tossed two PokeBalls, releasing a Natu and Slugma. Grinning, Michael sent out his Eevee and Houndour. Eevee chirped and stretched, preparing to take down his opponents. Houndour's reaction was different. The black dog simply stood there, staring blankly. Her ears didn't twitch, nor did her legs. She was perfectly still in every way. The only way Michael could tell she was alive was by her breathing.
Michael stared at the Houndour in confusion. "Uh, if you're not gonna make the first move-" the Rider began.
Michael blinked. "Of course I will!" he cried. "Eevee, use Bite on the Natu! Houndour, use Faint Attack on Slugma!"
Eevee's attack connected as the Natu retaliated with Confusion. Houndour remained still, even when Slugma hit her with an Ember.
"Houndour!" Michael called. He knew from experience that calling a Pokemon could usually rouse it from spacing out. The Houndour did not respond to his call at all. It simply growled. Michael could swear the growl sounded like the word "pure", but that was just his imagination. After all, Pokemon couldn't talk!
Michael sighed. It was clearly a two-against-one match. He recalled his Houndour and summoned his Spheal to take her place. He knew something was wrong with Houndour, but now wasn't the time to figure it out. The canine Pokemon was quickly forgotten as the excitement of the battle grew.
After defeating some Trainers in Pyrite Town, Michael returned to the HQ Lab and ran to Professor Krane's office as fast as he could. "Professor? Can I talk to you?" Michael asked.
"Sure," Professor Krane said cheerfully.
Michael threw Houndour's Poke Ball, releasing her. She still stood there as if she was frozen, only now her eyes were completely white with no iris or pupil. She growled again, and this time Michael knew for sure he heard the word "pure" in a husky but still feminine voice.
"She's been like this ever since I got her out of the Purification Chamber," Michael explained. "I think she said 'pure' too just now. I know that's crazy, and that Pokemon can't really talk, but the whole thing is really weirding me out."
The Professor studied the Pokemon in front of him for a few minutes. Finally, he said, "Michael, I think you should leave Houndour here so we can figure out how to help her."
"What about the Purification Chamber?" Michael asked nervously.
"It should still work," the Professor said calmly. "Perhaps this was a one-time incident with this Houndour. We'll study her and then work on the Chamber to make sure this doesn't happen again. But it should still be safe to use in the meantime."
"I hope so," Michael said sadly. "I feel bad for Houndour."
"Don't," the Professor assured, patting Michael on the shoulder. "She'll be okay."
Michael nodded and left, feeling somewhat reassured that the people at the lab would find a solution. Yet, that voice still rung in his ears.
"Pure."
Time went on and Michael caught many, many Shadow Pokemon. He took the Professor's advice to heart and continued to use the Purification Chamber. One day, the Miror B Radar activated while Michael was headed to Phenac City to take on the Pre Gym. "Dangit," he said. "Where's he at now?"
Michael checked the radar, which had Miror B's head flashing right around the Cave Poke Spot. "Again?" Michael asked himself. "Why does he always like to hang out there?"
Michael quickly checked his team. A Jolteon, a Sealeo, a Gardevoir, Shifty and Ursaring, all around the mid-thirties in level. It was a good enough team, but Michael needed another Pokemon to fill it. Miror B had Pokemon like Ludicolo, but he was very weak. This gave Michael a way to get easy experience for his team. Now was as good a time as ever to add that sixth Pokemon, but he had to be quick.
After arriving at Phenac City, Michael checked his PC. He thought about Miror B's Ludicolo. What Pokemon would be able to beat it easily, even if it was a bit weak?
"Ah!" Michael cried. "Golbat!"
Golbat was a Pokemon Michael caught in the Cave Poke Spot and trained on and off. It recently evolved and currently resided in the Purification Chamber. Not only did it have an advantage over Ludicolo, but it would fight well in the darkness of the caves.
Michael quickly removed Golbat from the PC and raced to the Cave Poke Spot as fast as his scooter could carry him. As soon as he entered the cave, he could see the silhouette of a man with an abnormally large afro.
[Good. He didn't get away,] Michael thought.
He took a step forward. The step echoed all throughout the cave, alerting Miror B to his presence. "Ugh!" Miror B cried. "It's that despicable child who always ruins my groove. How do you always know where I am? It doesn't matter. I'll crush you this time. Let the music play!"
Miror B pulled a small radio out of his pocket and pressed play. A funky tune filled the cave and reverberated off the walls, scaring away any nearby wild Pokemon. Miror B began to dance as he released (unsurprisingly) two Ludicolos. Michael sent out his Jolteon and Golbat. Jolteon was ready for battle as always, but Golbat was frozen in a manner Michael hoped he'd never see again.
"Uh...Jolteon! Use your Thunderbolt! Golbat, Wing Attack!" Michael commanded.
Jolteon tried to blast one of the Ludicolos, but his target ran up to him and clapped its hands. The sound startled everyone except Miror B, who was still off in his own little universe. Jolteon's ears flattened to his head and he flinched, missing his opportunity to attack. Golbat didn't move at all. Meanwhile, the other Ludicolo danced to Miror B's music, missing out on its turn.
"Golbat? Golbat!" Michael called. He battled with Golbat ever since he was a Zubat and he never acted this way.
"Pure," Golbat hissed.
This time, everyone clearly heard the Pokemon talk. Miror B walked onto the battlefield. "Oh? What kind of Pokemon is this? A talking Pokemon? Never saw one of those before," he proclaimed in wonder. He suddenly got a wicked grin.
And for the first time in his life, Miror B did something smart.
"Use Fake Out, Ludicolo!" Miror B commanded, calling out two Ludicolo. One clapped its hands in front of Jolteon, but the other clapped in front of Michael.
Michael's ears buzzed as all sound around him distorted. His skin tingled, like he was on pins and needles all over his body. He couldn't move. All he could do was watch Trudly and Folly jump out of the shadows and grab his Golbat. The Pokemon didn't fight back, but he was apparently very heavy as the two goons were struggling to carry him. Michael tried to move his hand down to grab Golbat's PokeBall and recall him but, as he did so, sound began to return.
"Wha...Jolteo...take him too?" asked one of the goons. Michael couldn't tell which one.
"Jo...rare in thes...arts...might as well take him too," replied the other goon.
By this point, Jolteon recovered use of his body, and Michael quickly followed. "Thunderbolt!" Michael screamed, his voice hoarse and raw.
The whole cave filled with electricity as Jolteon began to zap everything in sight. He zapped the Ludicolo, the goons, Miror B. He even hit the radio, breaking it into a million pieces and cutting off the song abruptly. Michael lost track of what was going on, as all he could do was scream Golbat's name at the top of his lungs. Even though he was freed from the Fake Out attack, his body just didn't seem to work.
When the dust finally settled, Miror B and his goons were gone, but so was Golbat. Michael fell to his knees and let out an inhuman scream. Tears began to blur his vision, quickly turning into a torrent. Jolteon came over and nuzzled him carefully, but it didn't help. Michael blindly reached out and grabbed Jolteon, hugging him close. The Zubat in the cave finally dared to get close, softly humming their cries. They blended together, sounding a lot like "pure, pure, pure...".
Michael changed the day his Golbat was stolen. He became far more protective of his Pokemon, avoiding places like Pyrite Town unless he absolutely had to visit them. He slept with his PokeBalls inside his pillowcase. No longer did Jolteon sleep in his bed beside him, where he could be taken. Instead, he slept in his PokeBall with the others. Jolteon protested at first, but he eventually got used to it.
Whenever Michael thought of that day, he remembered how Golbat spoke. It said "pure" in such a clear, mature tone. It was not like the gravely voice of Houndour, but the incidents were far too similar to call them mere coincidences. Michael thought Houndour's condition was an accident, but it was clearly no accident, for it happened to Golbat, too.
Michael went home the day after Golbat was taken and told Professor Krane everything that happened. The professor found it unusual, but said he couldn't really do anything about it until Golbat was returned. Unfortunately, the Miror B radar hadn't made a peep since the incident. Until it did, Michael had no way of knowing Golbat's location.
The more he thought, the more Michael realized it was probably the Purification Chamber. There was something wrong with the machine, something that was messing with his Pokemon. Michael went to the Pokemon Center in Phenac City, determined to remove all the Pokemon inside, Shadow or not.
The Purification Chamber was open to the first set. A Zangoose, Spearow, Delcatty and Meowth surrounded a Lunatone in the middle. The Lunatone was nearly purified. Michael attempted to remove the Lunatone and add it to his party, but a message appeared on the screen that Michael never saw before.
"This Pokemon is almost pure. Please don't remove it," Michael read aloud.
Confused, Michael tried a few more times, but only received the message. He tried to take out the Meowth and was rewarded with a slightly different message- "This Pokemon is pure. Please don't remove it." He tried the other Pokemon in the set and got the exact same message he did with Meowth.
Michael shifted through the other sets to see if they were working. As he got to Set 9, he found only one Pokemon in it. "Houndour?" Michael gasped. He was so loud that a few people waiting for their Pokemon to be healed turned their heads towards him. "No, that doesn't make any sense. I thought Professor Krane-"
At that moment, Michael's PDA began to ring. He answered it to find a single email from Professor Krane. Nervously, he opened it.
Hello Michael,
I upgraded the Purification Chamber. Now it will purify Pokemon twice as fast as before! We also determined that it's best to place Houndour back in the Purification Chamber. She can no longer respond to any stimuli, but she can still purify other Pokemon. Sadly, that's all we can do with her. You've snagged a lot of Shadow Pokemon back from Cipher. There's many more left, but we're confident you can save them all. Keep up the good work!
Prof. Krane
Michael logged out of the PC and slowly walked away from it. "Never again," he whispered, taking one long look back at the machine. "I'm never using the Purification Chamber again."
Michael stayed true to his vow, purifying all the Pokemon he snagged manually. He defeated Cipher, snagged Shadow Lugia and set out to purify the huge amount of Shadow Pokemon he rescued. Michael was happy with his choice. It was hard work to save them all by himself, but he made many unusual Pokemon friends.
One of his favorites was Togepi. A Pokemon he received from a man in the Outskirt Stand, Togepi was a cheerful, sweet Pokemon after his purification. Michael heard that Togepi who loved their Trainers deeply would eventually evolve, so he prepared to evolve the little Pokemon on and off.
Michael always kept his main team with him, and the last slot routinely switched between a random Shadow Pokemon, Togepi or Lugia. No matter what Michael did, he could not seem to purify Lugia. He was as kind to the Legendary Pokemon as he could possibly be, but she (Michael assumed it was a she) kept her heart tightly sealed. He could only wonder what kind of hell that poor Pokemon went through.
Michael had Lugia with him today, but wanted to switch over to Togepi. He popped open the PC in Agate Village's Pokemon Center, then looked for Togepi. To his surprise, Togepi was nowhere to be found.
In fact, none of his Pokemon were anywhere to be found.
Michael began to panic as he scrolled through box after box innumerable times. They were all as empty as they were when his journey began. Michael began to sweat, his hand shaking as he exited the PC. His PDA then rang with an email. Trembling, Michael picked it up.
Hello Michael,
Come to the Pokemon HQ Lab immediately. I have something I want to talk to you about in person.
Prof. Krane
Michael's mouth hung open as he read the email. He didn't even need to look at the Purification Chamber to know what happened to his Pokemon.
Swallowing nervously, Michael sent back a hasty confirmation and went to go find his scooter. As he did so, he reached in his pocket and felt six PokeBalls inside, all safe and sound. He ran his fingers over the bumpy surface of Lugia's Master Ball, lingering there the longest.
As Michael jumped on his scooter and went back home, Pokemon flooded his brain. Jolteon, Lugia, Walrein, Gardevoir, Togepi, Ursaring, Shifty, Houndour, Ludicolo, Golbat, Golbat, Lugia, Togepi, Golbat...
Of all rooms to meet in, the Professor chose the room that held the Purification Chamber.
The room where that infernal machine was housed looked innocent enough. It was clean and sterile. A PC and healing machine were along the far wall. Usually, there were many lab technicians running about and a cheerful Blissey was always hanging out near the PC. Today, they were absent. It was only Professor Krane and Michael in the room.
"I have great news, Michael," the professor said.
"I know what you did with my Pokemon! Give them back!" Michael demanded.
"Ah, yes. Them," the professor said, adjusting his glasses. "I apologize, Michael, but we had to borrow the Pokemon on your PC for a bit. We'll give them back to you when we're finished."
"You'll give them back now!" Michael roared. He stuffed his hand into his pocket and grabbed a PokeBall, ready to throw it if needed.
"Michael, we figured out how to purify Shadow Lugia," the professor said. "We need to make it Pure. Using the Purification Chamber, we can make Shadow Lugia into a Pure Lugia."
You mean turn her back to normal?" Michael asked.
"No," the professor said. "I mean make it Pure. There is a difference. This machine does not make 'normal' Pokemon. It makes them Pure. You see, Michael, me and your father discovered that the Relic Stone opens the door to a Pokemon's heart. However, its power couldn't be truly replicated. We figured out that life-giving energy like that of the Relic Stone exists in all Pokemon, albeit to a weaker degree, but we just couldn't make anything work.
"Upon further investigation on records of the Shadow Pokemon, we found that, although the doors to their hearts were closed, they still had feelings, deep down inside. These feelings come to the surface when the Pokemon enters Reverse Mode. Sure, all that was there was anger and hatred, but they were there. So we tried to erase the Pokemon's negative feelings using normal Pokemon. And it worked.
"The Purification Chamber drains all of the emotions of normal Pokemon, which suck away the negative emotions of the Shadow Pokemon, just like sponges. It then deletes these emotions in the normal Pokemon so they can begin the cycle anew.
"All that remains is a single word- Pure. All Pure Pokemon can only say 'Pure', because that's all they are. But they aren't Shadow Pokemon anymore. They don't suffer any more. We were able to save them. It took years to actually implement what we learned, but it worked incredibly well.
"We realized you were catching on with your reports of Houndour and Golbat. It's a shame we couldn't retrieve Golbat, but that couldn't be helped. When we strengthened the Purification Chamber, we also made it impossible to remove Pokemon from it. You weren't ready to know yet, Michael. But now that we're at the end, you are."
Michael digested the terrible information he just learned. Rage boiled in his heart, yet something stopped him from attacking the man. Professor Krane was like a second father to him. He couldn't "let loose" on him like he did with Miror B. Love and hatred burned together in his heart. He wanted to forgive the professor. And yet, he couldn't. "Ma-" Michael babbled.
"Your mother was in on it the whole time," the professor said, as calm and cool as a serpent. "She was a bit skeptical at first, but your father convinced her. She didn't want to tell you because she knew how much you love Pokemon. You might've taken it the wrong way."
"I asked before," Michael said in a shaky voice. "And I'm asking again. Give me back my Pokemon!"
"We can't. Now now," the professor said. "As I previously mentioned, we hacked into your PC account. Your mother knows your password, you know. Just in case there's ever an emergency. She gave it to me and I removed all the Pokemon in your PC. It was slow at first- a Rapidash here, a Marowak there- but last night we removed everything on the PC.
"See, the process of becoming Pure goes faster if the tempo is higher. And we found out that if all nine sets have the maximum tempo, Shadow Lugia can become Pure. Which is why I need you, Michael. We couldn't find Shadow Lugia in the PC, so we assumed it was with you. Give me Shadow Lugia so we can make it Pure."
"No!" Michael sobbed, turning and running out the door. Tears didn't fall from his cheeks, but his throat had a huge lump in it. He thought of his poor Togepi. If only he kept the little Pokemon with him. He could have been saved.
The sound of steady footsteps snapped Michael awake. Michael managed to get out the front door, Professor Krane hot on his heels. The door slid shut behind the professor. Michael growled, still finding his heart was too big to attack an unarmed man, especially one who was like his father. All he could do was run and hide, like the scared little boy he was.
The footsteps grew fainter and fainter behind him. While the professor was bigger and had longer legs, he was nowhere near as athletic and quick as Michael. Michael thrust himself into the bushes and lay there, an emotional mess. His breathing escaped in burning, ragged gasps. He finally allowed himself to cry, but did so as quietly as possible. Tears leaked from his eyes silently as he tried to run over his options.
He couldn't release Shadow Lugia in her current state, but he couldn't box her. In fact, he couldn't use the PC ever again. Could he even stay in Orre? Michael thought about it carefully. The more he thought, the more he realized that he couldn't. Professor Krane was a highly respected man. If he said that Michael stole Shadow Lugia or something like that, there was nowhere in the region he could hide.
He had to leave. But where would he go? The Unova region was closest, and he could get there on foot if he was patient. But maybe it was safer to hop on Shadow Lugia and go somewhere across the ocean. Would she carry him that far? Or would she suddenly become overwhelmed by her emotions and toss him into the sea?
Michael was so lost in his thoughts and his tears that he didn't hear a creature silently land in the trees. He did hear someone shout, "Hey! Get back here, you dumb Pokemon!"
Michael turned in the direction of the shout to see two men, both wearing black uniforms with the letter R emblazoned on them. "Crap! We lost it!" shouted one of the men. "And I doubt it could talk anyway. There's no way that thing was worth two hundred thousand PokeDollars!"
"Giovanni's gonna kill us," growled his buddy.
"Not if we kill that afro-sporting bastard fist," the first man said.
"Right!" his buddy agreed. "I can't wait to let my Raticate chomp on him!"
The two strange men ran away, leaving Michael alone. "Pure," hissed a calm voice from the tree above Michael. He looked up and saw a Pokemon he thought he'd never see again.
"Golbat?" Michael asked quietly.
"Pure! Pure! Pure!" Golbat howled. It leapt out of the trees and fired two crescents of razor-like wind at the bushes, cleaving them in two. Michael was fully exposed. His old friend- now a traitor- chirped "Pure! Pure pure!" as two lab technicians and an Oddish came running over.
Michael jumped to his feet and tried to run away, but the Oddish let loose an explosion of green powder. Michael's vision grew foggy as the world went black.
Michael woke up bolted to a table in a dark room he'd never seen before. There were machines lining all of the walls, flashing in many colors. Michael didn't know what any of them did, and he didn't want to find out. He looked up as best he could to find that the ceiling was a dark grey concrete. There was a crack down the middle, which moonlight shone through. There was a door at the far end of the room, which Professor Krane entered.
"Professor!" Michael cried. "What's going on?"
"Don't be mad, Michael," the professor said, his voice still as calm as ever. "It's over. It's finally over. Shadow Lugia is now Pure. You saved the Orre region, Michael. Don't you want to see?"
The professor hit a button on one of the machines. The crack of moonlight grew bigger as the concrete parted, revealing a glass ceiling. It was nighttime outside, and a strange creature was leering down at him.
It looked like a Lugia with a black stomach but white feathers covering the rest of her body. The colors of the spikes along her eyes, back and tail were purple, but remained sharp. Her claws were sharp as well. A string of drool hung out of the monster's mouth, covering her long fangs. But the worst part were her eyes- white, glowing and soulless. She spread her wings, revealing black patterns underneath. The creature roared so loudly that she nearly shattered the glass.
"Lugia!" Michael howled. "Turn her back now!"
"You'd rather have it be a Shadow Pokemon and in pain than Pure?" the professor asked. "That's shameful, Michael. I expected better than you. So did your mother. In fact, she didn't want me to do what I'm about to do to you. She begged me not to. But you've seen too much. We can't just let you go. Please understand."
The beast's eyes began to glow brighter, staring straight into Michael's soul. He began to feel foggy as the beast glared at him, growling. "Wha-" he began, but could say no more.
"You're becoming Pure, just like Lugia and all your other Pokemon," the professor said. "The Purification Chamber doesn't work on humans, but Lugia seems to have to power to turn people Pure, just like the Pokemon used in it. Don't you want to be Pure, Michael?"
"No! No!" Michael wailed. "I don't wanna be Pure! I want my Pokemon!"
"Can you even remember their names?" the professor asked.
"Jolteon...um...Jolteon..." Michael panted.
To his horror, he could not remember. He couldn't even remember who this man was, or how he got here. All he could remember was Lugia's eyes, and how pretty they looked in the moonlight. His fear slipped away as he stared at them. He thought he should feel bliss, but he didn't. He felt nothing. No emotions. No worries. No memories. Nothing. And it wasn't that bad. It wasn't bad at all. He was like Lugia. He was...
"Pure."
Author's Notes: Well, there you have it! Yes, I know Prof. Krane was the OOC character. I tried to keep him IC somewhat by having him think that making the Pokemon "pure" was equivalent to saving them. And I also know you need the Purification Chamber to purify Lugia in the game, which is why this was labeled AU.
If you review, constructive criticism is great, compliments are good and flames are crap! Thi
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Pure.