Deoxys Hunter Squad
A/N: Yeah, I've made a Sinnoh adventure story. I really hope you saw this coming at some point, because if you didn't, you don't know me at all. I know this is a FF cliché, but mine's going to be way different. Just look at the title...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sun set deep in the Hoenn region, summoning the end of the day once more. Wild Pidgey snuggled into their nests, huddling with one another. A group of Zubat sensed the darkness and flew out of their cave to search for food. Far away, a group of scientists were creating a truly amazing machine, one that could alter the DNA of a space virus to result in a clone of a Pokemon. They added a hair of a Clefairy to the base of the giant microscope-like machine and pulled a level the size of the scientist's arm. The lens-like piece started to buzz and was surrounded by a blue, bubbly and yet gas-like substance. The goop shot upward toward the night sky, causing the machine itself to quiver and glow. The scientists exchanged nervous glances: The machine was supposed to send a beam of light to the sky. This obviously wasn't right. As the machine went from quivering harmlessly to shaking violently, the scientists decided it was the time to back up to avoid injury.
Just as they started to run away, the blue substance turned red and a screeching sound filled the entire city. Before any of them could react, the entire machine erupted and the room filled with smoke. For a minute, no one stirred, until one of them rose. The red beam was gone and the machine was in pieces; a glowing being had replaced it. The being was mostly red but had one green arm. The other arm was split into two string-like sticks. There was a jewel-shaped hole in its chest. As the glowing decreased, the being was replaced with a boy. He had jet-black hair and an evil look on his face. He reached out toward every one of the scientists and, one-by-one, placed his hand on their heads and they collapsed as he did so. Grinning to himself, he turned around and walked out of the wrecked laboratory, searching for his next victim.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Renee was a ten-year-old brunette who wore a black shirt with a pink belt and hot-pink jeans. She had a hairclip above her eye that resembled three pink hearts. Her hair, due to her part that shifted half her hair to the left side, just barely hung above her view. She was wearing pink-and-white sneakers with no laces.
Walking loudly down the stairs and humming "Happy Birthday to Me", she swung her head over to her grandmother, her shoulder-length hair dropping in her face. Pushing it out, she called to her: "Good morning, grandma!" She paused and looked concerned. "Do you feel all right?"
Her grandmother, who was reaching the end of her life, looked up at her from the couch she was lying on and her wrinkles lifted upward in a smile. "Of course, Renee, I was just feeling a little dizzy," she said in a cracked voice. The happiness inside Renee dropped dramatically.
"Where's mother?" she asked, looking around. Her mother worked for a science group in the Hoenn region. Renee didn't approve of what she did, but her mother was the only family she would have once Grandma died. Her mother had left two months ago and was supposed to be back last night. Renee had tried to wait for her, but fell asleep as she imagined what would happen when she came back.
Her grandmother didn't answer.
"Can you hear me okay?" Renee asked a little louder, trying not to sound angry.
"Yes, I can hear you."
"Where's mother?"
"Honey...Your mother was in an accident."
This wasn't the response Renee expected. "She was in a what?" Not waiting for an answer, she ran up to the couch. "Is she okay? She's alive? Is she going to be back soon? She's not...dead, is she?"
"No, she's alive!" Grandma said quickly, not wanting to make her grandchild cry. "Of course she's alive! But..."
"But what?!" Renee said in a quivering voice, her tone getting higher as she panicked.
"She's lost her mind," Grandma said quietly.
"She lost her mind?!" Renee shouted in disbelief.
"The doctors think something exploded, because the lab was destroyed, but no one died. Every single one of them lost their minds and couldn't remember who they were."
"Including mother?!"
"It's all right, Renee."
"No, it's not all right! We're pretty much completely alone as it is, I don't want to lose--"
"We're not alone, Renee. You have me and I have you."
"But you're--" Renee started, but then she broke off. Grandma and Renee stared at each other for a second, Renee's face getting red and her eyes watering.
"I know," Grandma said softly. "But even so, you have a lot of friends..."
"I only have one, and he hates me!"
"No, he doesn't, you just never take the time to talk to him."
"Then what am I going to do?! I'm barely ten, I can't take care of myself!"
Grandma looked at her sternly. "Renee, have you ever considered becoming a Pokemon trainer?"
Renee's lip curled. "Not a chance. Why?"
"Because if you could become a Pokemon trainer, you could take care of yourself." Renee opened her mouth to protest, but Grandma continued. "I know you think you've made up your mind, but please consider it. I can't hang around here much longer. You can't say no now and change your mind later. Today is the only tenth birthday you'll ever have. You have one chance to say yes and a whole life ahead of you. You need to live it to its fullest extent. And don't be afraid, some Pokemon are different than others."
Renee pictured herself with a ball of slime at her foot, trying to command it to attack a great dragon. A shiver went down her spine as the slime ball multiplied ten times its size and swallowed her...
"NO!" Renee shouted. "NEVER! I will never do that, I don't care how 'different' you say Pokemon can be! We live with one already, and if I was holding my entire life on Purugly winning a battle, I'd be done for!"
"But you won't use--"
"I know how it works, Grandma, and no Pokemon will quite cut it! I'll never fall for those tricks again! I'm never going to trust a Pokemon!!" Renee screamed. The phone started to ring, making her jump. She swung around, grabbed it, and pressed the button. "What?!"
"R-Renee?" a boy's voice said on the other line, shaking with fear. "I-I-I'm sorry for disturbing you, I-I j-just...This is Renee, isn't it?"
Renee blushed and lowered her voice as she stuttered from embarrassment. "Oh! B-Barry, I-I-I'm so sorry, me and my grandmother were j-just arguing...Yes, i-it's me, something I can do for you?"
"Are you alone right now?"
Renee looked at Grandma with hatred in her eyes. "Physically, no, but mentally, yes."
Barry, who did not understand this at all, didn't answer. Renee heard him breathing through the phone. Apparently he was listening for another voice.
"No, I'm not alone," Renee said patiently. "But I'll go up to my room now."
"Great. When you're up there, put me on speaker."
Renee climbed up the stairs, sat down on her bed, and hit the speaker button. "Okay."
"I was watching the news just a minute ago. It's a shame your mother lost her memory."
Renee's heart pounded. Barry had always tried his best to understand her, which was sweet, but he couldn't relate at all and usually just ended up offending her by accident. But still, Renee always reminded herself that it was the thought that counted, and Barry was trying his best to be her friend.
"Oh...I'll be all right."
"You know what? I bet the explosion had something to do with a certain Pokemon!"
And there it is, Renee told herself. He's trying to be helpful but he isn't.
"Really? You think so?" Renee humored him, staring at the ground and looking for away to cheer herself up.
"I think so. And judging by the newscast that followed that story, I bet it was a Pokemon with special powers, like...the Red Gyarados!"
"That's a myth, Barry," Renee sighed.
"I knew you'd be sad about your mom, which makes me wish I could do something, so I'm going to investigate! You and I are going to Lake Verity to find the Red Gyarados!"
Renee swallowed a lump in her throat. "I was afraid you'd do that."
"Come on...Aren't you wondering how it happened?"
"Well, yes, but even if it were a Pokemon..."
"You're scared, aren't you?" Barry teased. "It's all right, today is my tenth birthday just like yours, so I'll get my first Pokemon to defend us!"
If a Pokemon was going with them, that only made things much harder. "No, Barry, my grandma and I are going to visit my mother."
"Liar," Barry rebounded coldly. "You're always looking for an excuse not to hang out with me."
That's not true, Renee told herself as tears slowly leaked down her cheeks. You're going to be the last one I have, Barry, I couldn't ask for a better friend...
"Are you crying?" Barry asked quickly, his brusque tone leaving him. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm just lonely and wanted to play with you, just like in kindergarten. We were best friends! Don't cry, Renee..."
"I'm not crying!" Renee snapped, but the shaking of her voice gave her away. "Of course I'll go with you! B-But we're not going to find anything, so don't even bother bringing a Pokemon!"
"Fine," Barry said softly. "Meet me at the edge of the town. If you're late, you better believe I'll fine you. Happy birthday." Renee heard the click of him hanging up and hung up as well. Then she buried her face in her arms and curled up in a ball. Grandma didn't understand her, nor did Barry, her mother didn't even remember her, and she was still faced with the choice to become a Pokemon trainer or not. Of course not! She wasn't going to risk being killed again! She started to drift off to sleep...
"Mrrow."
"GET OUTTA MY ROOM, PURUGLY!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Renee, dinner!" her grandmother's voice called from downstairs. Renee woke with a start and checked the time.
"IT'S FIVE ALREADY?!" she shouted to herself, as if anyone would care to listen. She fixed her hair hopelessly and flung herself downstairs. "Grandma--I--have--to--meet--Barry--bye!!" she called before grabbing her pink shoulder bag and dashing out the door. She ran to the very edge of Twinleaf Town where she saw the blonde boy dressed in his usual orange outfit waiting with a disgusted look on his face.
"There you are. I've been waiting for five hours and counting!"
"I'm so sorry!" Renee pleaded. "I fell asleep!"
"Well, I meant what I said, so you owe me a million dollars."
"What?!"
"A million."
"Urgh, I hate you! You bring me all the way out here to look for a fairy tale, and because I'm late, you charge me a million dollars!! How many comic books have you read, anyway?! Say you're sorry!" Renee scolded.
"It's not like you to get angry, and you should be the one apologizing!" Barry snapped. "It's thanks to you I'm never going to be a Pokemon trainer! If we don't hurry, the lab in Sandgem will close up! Come on!" Barry grabbed Renee's hand and pulled her toward Lake Verity. "I want to become the greatest Pokemon trainer in the world! What do you want to do?" he asked while running, his harsh attitude gone.
"I wanna go home, that's what I want to do!" Renee shouted, trying to rip her hand out of Barry's tight grip. "Now cut it out, you're crushing my fingers--!!"
"Hey! HEY! You two lovebirds!" a voice called. "Do you two know where you're going?! Don't you know what's in Lake Verity?!"
Barry didn't even stop running or turn around before he shouted, "DON'T CALL US LOVEBIRDS!!!" and Renee tried her hardest to stop but only succeeded in falling flat on her face and just barely slowing Barry down before he skidded to a halt. "Are you okay?"
The voice laughed. Renee turned around where she was lying to see a boy with bluish hair and a red beret. He was wearing a black jacket with white sleeves and a red scarf. He was smiling, and his blue eyes twinkled. Renee blushed; he was very handsome.
"Do you know where you're going?" he asked, still smiling. "Not Lake Verity! Don't you know it's dangerous?"
"Yeah, we're going to Lake Verity, what's it to you?" Barry rebounded, seeing some sort of threat in him.
"I'm Lucas," the boy said. "And you are?"
"What's it to you?" Barry asked again.
"I'm Renee and this is Barry," Renee said, ignoring Barry's stubbornness. Barry tried to shut her up, but Renee stopped him with a hand to the face. "Did you say it was dangerous?"
"Surely you've heard of the Red Gyarados?" Lucas said, walking closer to them.
"HA!" Barry shouted, making both Lucas and Renee jump. "I knew it! I told you so, Renee! We may find the secret of your mother's death after all!"
"But she isn't dead, Barry..."
"Shh, don't spoil it now! This is just another everyday danger for detective Barry! And when our adventure is over, we'll find out that she isn't really dead...this is just like kinder, Renee, except more violent!"
"Your mother's dead?" Lucas asked, his smile disappearing.
"No, but Barry will be in a second," Renee said under her breath. "You're not a detective, Barry, so shut up--!!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh, I see," Lucas said, his smile returning. "Your mother was caught up in that. It's really terrible, I'd like to say I feel your pain, but I can't relate..."
At least he's honest about it, Renee thought.
"Looky here, Lucas, we're going to Lake Verity to find the Red Gyarados and there's nothing you can do about it! That's because it's none of your business!" Barry snapped, folding his arms and puffing out his chest.
"I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Renee," he said back. He turned back to Renee and smiled again. "I'll let you guys go if you really want to, but I have to warn you, there were three explosions reported in the past half hour."
Barry didn't believe a word of this, but Renee was only panicking more and more.
"Then how come I couldn't hear them? I was standing right over there and I didn't see any explosion!"
"That's because no one did. The only people who saw it were investigating Lake Verity at the time..." He lowered his voice. "...searching for the Red Gyarados."
Barry gasped, apparently starting to believe his story, but the crap about the Red Gyarados didn't scare Renee at all. For her, she would be terrified to see it, of course, but no more or less than a normal Gyarados. From her point of view, all Pokemon were bad, not depending on their color at all.
"So, I was sent to check the place out," Lucas whispered. "And to stop any people from trying to get into the area. Of course, since your friend seems so terribly eager to get there--" He made a motion with his head toward Barry, who gaped in fear. "--I guess I can let you two go, as long as you stick with me."
Barry shook his head, determined not to be humiliated. "We don't need your help!" he barked.
Lucas leaned up really close to him, so their noses we inches apart. "Do you have a Pokemon?"
"Y-Yes!" Barry lied.
"Well then," Lucas said, backing away, "I'll protect Renee, and you can try to fight the Red Gyarados off yourself!"
"Sounds good to me!" Barry said, staring toward the sky and trying to look tough. Renee didn't know what was funnier: Lucas's belief in such a stupid myth or Barry's intentions of convincing Lucas he had a Pokemon strong enough to take down a Gyarados.
As Barry worked his way through the trees to make a clear path to the lake, Lucas and Renee chatted with each other, paying no attention to how many cuts Barry was getting on his arms. When they finally reached the lake and looked at Barry, they had no idea how his hair turned so bushy and green or how it sprouted thorns.
"Here we are," Barry said between exasperated gasps for air while trying to brush twigs out of his shirt. "We finally made it, no thanks to you two."
Lucas chuckled warmly. Barry couldn't believe his eyes.
"Why are you laughing?! I just worked my tail off so you wouldn't have to and you just laugh?!"
"Why didn't you just use your super-strong Pokemon?" Lucas said softly. "It can handle the Red Gyarados but not a couple bushes?"
"I was just saving its strength," Barry said, putting his hand to his heart and puffing out his chest.
"Sure you were, buddy, sure you were," Lucas said as he patted him on the back. Barry made a growling sound.
Renee ignored them as they started to bicker. She had been to this lake only once, when she was about five, but it all seemed like a blur now. She had spotted a blue Pokemon swimming in the lake with long antennas with yellow tips that emitted tiny sparks. It's eyes were black crosses surrounded by yellow spots. Renee had loved it when she set her eyes on it, thinking it was cute enough to be trusted. The Pokemon seemed to want to swim with her, so she came ankle deep in the water and touched it. It felt cool, not slimy like she thought a fish would be. The Pokemon wanted her to come out further...Renee didn't see any harm, so she went in waist deep...shoulder deep...until finally she had to grab on to the Pokemon to keep her head above water. It was really fun...until the Pokemon called his friends to drag her under. She stayed under for only about fifteen seconds, fortunately, because Barry came by before she drowned, or else she would've been done for. That was how they met, so at least one good memory came out of it...
"Renee, are you all right?" Lucas asked, waking her from her vision. "You were spacing out. Come on, the lake is right down here--"
Lucas stopped. Barry stared down at the lake from the hill they were on and exchanged a nervous glance with Renee; he was obviously thinking just what she was.
Barry and Renee haven't been down to the lake since they were five. They couldn't remember what they would see, but they knew what to expect: A beautiful body of water splashing the shore, the remaining light of the sun rippling the amber waves. What they saw wasn't at all what they expected. People in uniform seemed to be tearing the place down. They were cutting down trees, setting up what looked to be like small bombs, and adding an odd sort of substance to the water, turning it from blue to greenish-black.
"What..." Lucas started, his face reddening. "...do--you--think--you're--doing?!"
One of the weird looking people looked up to them. They all looked the same: They had green bowl cuts and were wearing a white-and-gray uniform with Gs printed on them. Even the men and the women couldn't be told apart. The person turned, "Commander, a few kids wandered over here!"
Every one of them stopped what they were doing to give a puzzled look to the three. Out of the mess, someone who only looked slightly different emerged from the crowd to stare straight at them. He was wearing the same uniform, but his expression was snake-like and his cold blue eyes sent a shiver down Renee's spine. His blue hair matched his eyes: an icy blue in the shape of a U. Renee glanced at Barry; she just now realized the he was grabbing onto her shoulder with her fingernails digging into her skin. He had a look of terror on his face and he was trembling hard.
"D-Don't worry, Renee," Barry said to her, though he was glancing at Lucas. "Th-These guys make one wrong move a-and this trainer turns into a p-powerful protecting machine..."
"Hello, children," the man said. "I think it would be best if you go home and forget this ever happened. This sort of construction is far too dangerous for kids."
Lucas finally found his chance to completely drive Barry insane. Either that, or he was even more gullible than Renee thought. "That's right! We're just kids! But Barry here has a super-strong Pokemon that can toast you to a crisp!"
All the color drained from Barry's face, making his eyes look even brighter than ever. He looked at her, as if pleading for help. Renee almost felt sorry for him. She had never seen Barry looking so desperate to get out of a situation. But this was Barry's own fault. If he could somehow get himself into this, he could get himself out. Just as long as he didn't say...
"That's right! I have a super-strong Pokemon and can battle at any moment I'm ready!"
Renee buried her face in her hands. She always rated Barry's behavior on a scale of one to stupid, but that scale didn't work, because he kept on breaking that scale.
The man stared him straight in the eye, making his face, if possible, get paler. "Very well. Are you ready now?"
"Actually, you know what? I seem to have left my super-strong Pokemon at home. I'll just go get it and come right back..." Barry tried to turn around to run, but Lucas grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
"You're not going anywhere."
Just when Renee thought they were officially doomed, Lucas tilted his backpack so it slid off his shoulder and threw it onto the floor. He kneeled and began to rummage through it.
The man, however, didn't want to wait and see what Lucas's backpack held. "Excuse me, where are my manners? My name is Commander Saturn of Team Galactic, Cyrus's right-hand man. He has given me one of the strongest Pokemon in our storage. Perhaps you would like to battle it? Toxicroak, go." Saturn threw a Pokeball. The Toxicroak that came out looked extremely angry, not to mention frightening.
Renee thought she was going to faint where she was standing, but Lucas had found what he needed and held out three Pokeballs. "Each of you take one!" he ordered. "We'll take it down together!"
Barry seemed quite eager to reach out and grab any of the three Pokeballs, but he studied them thoroughly, as if he could read what Pokemon was inside them. "I sense a powerful aura coming from this one!" he said with feeling as he grabbed a completely random Pokeball.
"Just take one, Renee," Lucas urged. Renee studied the two Pokeballs. This was the very last thing she ever wanted to do, choosing a Pokemon to fight against someone bigger and stronger than her...The vision of the slime ball and the dragon came back to her...but this time the dragon was a Toxicroak...
When Renee failed to move, Lucas muttered something and grabbed one of the Pokeballs. Renee, feeling rushed, grabbed the other, and the three of them now each held a real, living, breathing being in the palm of their hands, and were preparing to fight a giant poison frog...
Barry threw his Pokeball, trying to look as dramatic and heroic as possible. "Go, Pokeball!"
A small, blue and white penguin popped out in a red beam. Renee watched, fear rising. "All right!" Lucas shouted. "Barry got Piplup!"
Barry was too busy admiring his Piplup to answer. Piplup seemed to be enjoying the attention to his fullest extent, but also kept a close eye on the Toxicroak to make sure it wasn't attacking yet.
Lucas was next. "Go, Pokeball!" he shouted, throwing it. The Pokeball didn't go very far when he threw it, so Renee guessed it was either really heavy or Lucas was really weak.
A green turtle with a sprout on its head emerged from the Pokeball. "It's Turtwig!" Lucas shouted with glee. Turtwig had a friendly look, but Renee remained just as frightened.
Renee knew it was her turn. Her hands couldn't lift themselves up to throw the Pokeball. Her fingers started to tremble so much from fear of the unknown, she dropped the Pokeball, and it exploded in a red light. When the light subsided, a small orange monkey with a flame for a tail came out. "Chimchar!" it greeted her, smiling. Renee took one look at this Pokemon and wanted to hug it. Something about it was extremely cute...but Renee had fallen for that once before and almost got killed. She backed away from the Pokemon, her hands out so she could stop it if it tried to pounce.
"Renee!" Lucas shouted. "You got Chimchar!! Don't worry, he's friendly!" he added, spotting the look on her face.
"Toxicroak, Poison Jab on the Piplup."
"All right, Piplup, start attacking!" Barry called. Piplup turned to look at him, confused, and then took full blow of the Poison attack.
"Barry, you have to tell it what move to use!" Lucas said. "Watch this: Turtwig, use Tackle!"
Turtwig ran as fast as its stubby legs would carry him and rammed as hard as he could into Toxicroak's stomach. Toxicroak didn't take much damage, but it did look like it was out of breath thanks to the blow.
Lucas turned to Renee. "Your turn! Tell Chimchar to do something!"
Renee searched her head for an attack, desperate to find something before the Toxicroak recovered...but Chimchar was scratching his head and barely looking at Toxicroak. Renee was completely dumbfounded that Chimchar wasn't scared of that thing...and then it hit her. "Chimchar! Use Scratch!"
Chimchar stopped scratching, smiled, and then leapt high in the air, flew down toward Toxicroak, and scraped it on the arm. Toxicroak gave a yelp of pain, and Chimchar jumped and somersaulted backwards back to his normal spot and proceeded to act like he didn't care.
"You're just children," Saturn said, completely confident he would win. "Toxicroak, use Poison sting on the girl."
Renee stood up straighter in surprise. Barry gasped hard, and Lucas shouted, "That's against the rules! You have to attack her Pokemon!"
"Do as I say, Toxicroak. Ignore that boy," he commanded. A hundred purple shards shot out of Toxicroak's mouth and hurled toward Renee. Renee dropped to the ground, threw her hands over her head, and shrieked at the top of her lungs. Chimchar's boredom left him completely as he leapt in front of the attack and took every bit of the blow.
"CHIMCHAR!" Barry, Lucas, and Renee shouted together.
Chimchar dropped to the ground, unconscious, as a purple color appeared slowly right under Chimchar's eyes.
"I think I've shown you what I can do, so you can just leave now. Don't bother calling the police, we can beat them just as badly as we beat you." Saturn called Toxicroak back into his Pokeball and ordered the rest of Team Galactic to get back to work. Lucas ran over to Chimchar, scooped him up in his arms, and ran back from the direction they came.
"Come on, you two!" he shouted. "We don't stand a chance! Let's go!"
Renee didn't hesitate to agree and ran after Lucas. "But I didn't get to--" Barry started, but he broke off as Renee grabbed his arm and kept running.
When they were far enough away, Lucas kneeled down as Renee and Barry caught up. He set Chimchar down gingerly on the grass. The purple had gotten darker and spread farther. His eyes were barely open and he looked sick.
"He's poisoned," Lucas said, rummaging through his backpack. "I know I have something in here to get rid of it...Aha!" He pulled out a long, ridiculously thick needle with a 'P' on it. Renee guessed that it stood for poison. As Chimchar spotted it, his eyes widened and he tried to raise his head. However, Lucas grabbed his shoulder and pinned him down as he yelped and struggled. Chimchar opened his mouth wide and small sparks of fire flew onto Lucas who jerked his head backwards, his face covered in ashes. Piplup used Bubble on Lucas, whose head looked deformed through the bubbles. Barry chuckled and praised Piplup.
"All right, all right!" Lucas snapped when the bubbled popped. "Renee, you hold Chimchar down, I'll give him the shot."
"No!" Renee said without thinking. Stopping herself, Lucas stared straight at her and she stared back.
"What?"
"I'm sorry," she said weakly. "But I can't...I don't want..."
"You don't want to?"
"Being burned by a monkey is a bad way to die. I'm sorry!" she said again. She squeezed her eyes tight.
"Chimchar's not going to kill you," Lucas said softly. Renee opened her eyes. She had expected to be made fun of or laughed at. If not, Lucas should've at least had disappointment in his voice, but he didn't sound like that at all.
Renee sighed, reached slowly toward Chimchar, and held him down. Chimchar had an extremely frightened look in his eye resembling the kind of look a child gives its mother when he had to get a tooth removed. A pleading look as if begging silently to run away but knew he couldn't. Even so, unlike Lucas's attempt, Chimchar didn't dare move at all as Lucas got the needle ready.
"Is that the only way to treat poison?" Renee asked, feeling sympathetic toward Chimchar.
"It's the only one I have," Lucas sighed. Renee expected it to be slow and painful and Chimchar would make at least some sort of noise, but Chimchar remained silent as if he couldn't feel anything at all. The purple lifted from his face. "It's painless," he went on, "It just doesn't look too appealing."
"I can see what you mean," Barry said. "Your Turtwig is freaking out. Poor guy."
"Girl," Lucas corrected. "Turtwig is a girl."
"What?!" Barry said. "They have girl Pokemon?!"
"Of course they do. How do you think they mate?" Lucas said, bored.
"Pokemon can mate?!" Barry said, apparently finding this surprising.
"How do you think they're born?"
"The same way humans are, right? The hospital donates--"
"Okay, Barry, no one hear wants to hear your theory on how babies are born. You're old enough to know the truth."
"What is it? What's the truth?" Barry asked, suddenly very interested in the conversation.
Lucas smiled. Renee guessed he was happy to find another way to mess with Barry's head. "Well, Barry, when a vampire dies, its fangs--"
"Shut up, Lucas," Renee said.
"Who's that guy?" Barry said, pointing. Renee and Lucas turned around, and with the same speed they did so, they fell backwards in surprise.
A boy with black hair who looked a year or two older than them was standing above them, way too close for comfort.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"H-Hello..." Lucas said, staring straight up at the boy. He wasn't even looking at them-- He was staring dead at something invisible that only he could see. Lucas stood up and waved his hands in front of the boy, but the boy's eyes didn't move in the slightest. "Are you blind?" he said a little more loudly.
"No," the boy responded. "I'm deaf."
Everyone froze. "Deaf?" Barry repeated.
"Can't hear a word you're saying. But I can see it just fine," he assured. Chimchar whimpered. Renee picked him up off the ground and continued to stare at the boy.
"I don't buy it," Barry said, looking away and shutting his eyes. "If you're deaf, how can you hear us?"
"I can't," the boy said again, finally moving his eyes and staring from the blank space to Renee's shoes. Renee stood frozen. "I read lips."
"What's your name?" Lucas said.
No answer.
Lucas tapped him on the shoulder. "What's your name?"
He mumbled something.
"What?"
"Deo...isu."
"What?" Lucas said. "Speak louder."
"Deokishisu."
And, of course, Barry made the first response, and it was "HEY!!! That's a funny name!!" and then he started to laugh.
"Stop being so immature, Barry," Renee said.
"No, really, try saying that five times fast! Heck, try remembering it onetime slow!!"
"Barry--"
"Deokisho-- Ack!" he laughed. "I'm going to give you a nickname. How about Deo?"
"Deo," Deokishisu repeated.
"That's even stupider, Barry!" Renee said.
"Well, you try thinking of anything better!" Barry laughed, wiping a tear out of his eye.
"How about Kishisu?" Lucas offered.
"Kishisu."
"I know!" Renee said. "How about Disu?"
"That's twice as stupid as--!!"
"Disu," Deokishisu echoed. "Disu. Disu. I like that one. Disu. Disu--"
"Are you sure this freak isn't mentally challenged?" Barry whispered in Renee's ear as Deokishisu kept repeating his new nickname.
"Shh!"
"He can't hear us, stop freaking out!"
"It doesn't matter how quiet you are, he can read your lips!"
"No he can't," Barry snapped. "There's no way he's deaf. He can hear every word we're saying."
"It doesn't matter, but either way, just stop pretending he can't hear you!!"
"Disu. Disu. Disu."
"Are you positive we can trust this guy?" Lucas said. "He seems a bit weird."
"Lucas!" Renee whispered.
"Disu. Disu."
"Come on, if we leave, he won't notice."
"Yes he will!!"
"He's coo coo," Barry snapped. "Come on."
"No," Renee said defiantly. "Don't walk away, Barry...Barry-- Stop! Freeze right where you are, Barry--!!!"
Barry took a single step back to Twinleaf Town and Disu shifted his eyes from Renee's shoes to Barry's eyes. "DISU! DISU! No one tells my master what to do. DISU!" Barry froze where he was. Suddenly, Barry started mumble quietly to himself. Renee took a step forward to hear what he was saying.
"It's cold...so cold..." he was mumbling. His eyes shut tight and he folded his arms over his chest. He started to breath harder...and harder...harder still...
Renee looked down at Barry's shoes. They were sealed in ice! Barry's breath got shallower and his mumbling got louder.
"It's freezing...S-So cold...take me away from the cold..."
The ice crept up Barry's legs, over his belt, up to his waist...
"Can't move...too cold...my fingers are numb..."
Disu's voice had gone down. "Disu Freeze. Disu Freeze."
Barry's breathing turned to gasps. Lucas and Renee started to panic. They both grabbed onto Barry and tried to pry the ice off his body, but it was stuck tight. The ice curled around his elbows and up his arm...his chest was frozen...his mumbling turned to yells of pain.
"IT'S COLD! I CAN'T MOVE! HE'S A MONSTER, A MONSTER!"
"Disu Freeze. Disu Freeze." Disu's brown eyes turned an eerie red. "Disu Freeze. DISU OBEY."
"OBEY WHAT?!" Lucas shouted.
Renee gave up and was now holding onto Barry to support her weak legs, as she thought she was going to faint. The ice clung onto his neck, his chin...
"LET ME GO, YOU BIG MONSTER, LET ME G--" Barry was cut off as the ice froze his mouth right as it opened wide.
"Disu Freeze. Disu Freeze. Disu Obey. Disu Freeze..."
The tip of Barry's hair turned a solid silver as he was completely engulfed in the ice. Terrified, Renee turned toward Disu.
"STOP!" she shrieked.
"Dis--" Disu cut himself off. Renee turned from watching Disu's eyes change back slowly but surely to its regular brown to watching Lucas's face regain color, again, slowly but surely. Barry remained frozen in the thin ice that made a perfect layer around his body.
"He's gonna die," Lucas said, his voice shaking. "Oh my God, he's gonna die..."
Chimchar made a tiny squeak like something was stuck in his throat. Renee held him tighter, staring at Barry, standing completely still in front of her with a look of terror on his face. Barry was dying, and none of them had any idea how, why, or what happened.
"Disu," Disu whispered. "Disu...Sorry."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ding-dong.
"Hello?" a voice came from the door. It opened and Barry's mother looked down on Lucas, Renee, and Disu. She had a worried expression. "Oh...Renee. Who're your friends?"
"This is Lucas and Disu."
"Disu?"
"Disu, Disu," Disu greeted.
"Y-Yes, Disu to you too. Are you three here to see Barry?"
"Yeah," Lucas said softly.
"I'm afraid he's in no condition to speak to anyone, not even me," Barry's mother said with a sigh.
"Is he conscious?" Renee asked eagerly. "Will he be all right?"
"Yes, he's conscious, and he'll be just fine after some rest, but he keeps screaming to himself things like "Disu Freeze" and "he's a monster" whenever I try to speak to him." She gave Disu a look, as if she didn't trust him.
Disu didn't notice. He made a clicking sound with his tongue and followed a flying Pidgey with his eyes.
"I can let you try and talk to him, but if he freaks out, try not to stay up there for too long," she said in a hushed voice. Then she added, "I'm not saying he doesn't miss you, he's just in a bad state."
"All right," Lucas said. He turned to Renee. "Come on, it's worth a try." He turned to Disu. "Maybe you and I should stay behind, Disu. Disu?"
Disu snapped to attention. "What?"
"Maybe...you and I...should stay here...while Renee...that's the girl with the funny hair...tries to talk to Barry...the blonde one...Okay?" he said slowly.
Disu gave Renee a nervous glance. Renee didn't know why, so she smiled and nodded at him. Disu smiled back and looked back to Lucas. "'Kay," he said.
Renee couldn't help but smile. Disu was weird, but whatever happened to Barry couldn't possibly have been his fault. He was really nice, Renee worried that Barry would never trust Disu after he recovered...if he recovered.
"Barry?" she called quietly. His room was dark.
"Renee...?" his voice said.
"Yeah, it's me, it's Renee...Can I turn the light on?"
"Yeah," Barry said. Renee flipped the switch and saw Barry lying under a thick blanket, staring at the ceiling as if thinking hard. He still had ice in his hair, but Renee was happy to see that he looked just fine.
"Barry, are you--?"
"Renee, you weren't hurt, were you?" he snapped.
"No! Nothing happened to me!" she said softly, walking up to his bed. "Do you feel all right?"
"Disu's gonna kill me," he croaked. "Disu's after me, did you hear what he was saying? "Disu Freeze"...And I was freezing! He was obeying someone...I think he was obeying you! You gave him the nickname, so he started chanting it...You told me to freeze, too!"
Renee gulped. "Y-You might be right, B-Barry, and if you are, it-it's all my f-f-fault..." Renee started to weep. "I-I didn't mean t-to do that to you, Barry, I-I'm s-so sorry..."
Barry sighed. "That's not what I meant. Renee, don't cry, I hate making you cry."
"B-But D-Disu was listening t-to me..." she whimpered. "C-C-Can I do anything t-to make that up f-f-for you?"
"Here's something you can do," Barry said. "You can come to Jubilife City with me."
"J-Jubilife...?"
"I'm going to become the greatest Pokemon trainer ever. You can become the second greatest...or my right-hand girl, either way. But I want you to become a Pokemon trainer as well. And we have to ditch Disu."
"Come on, Barry..."
"DON'T "come on, Barry" me! Don't you DARE try to get me to calm down either! JUST SHUT UP!"
"Okay, maybe he is mentally challenged, but don't hold--"
"Mentally challenged?! He's an alien!"
"Barry--"
"STOP IT!" he shouted. "I'm not speaking to you EVER again if you try and bring--"
"Renee! RENEE!" Lucas's voice called from downstairs. "Renee, GET DOWN HERE!"
"What is it now?!" Barry snapped. Renee sighed.
"I'll come back up in a second..." she muttered.
"But I wanted to talk to you," Barry pleaded with a very sudden change of heart.
"I'll be back in a second!" she snapped, and ran back downstairs. When she reached them, she barked "What is it?!" and looked around to notice that Disu was no longer in the room.
"Disu was chasing a bird..." Lucas panted, out of breath. "He wandered away, then some freaky alien thing came down and...it grabbed him..."
"Where is he?" Renee demanded.
"Dunno," Lucas gasped. "I tried running after him, but he was too fast..."
"Oh no, this is terrible!" Renee whispered to herself. "Lucas, do you think it was the same thing that did that to Barry?"
"Maybe..."
"IT WAS DEOXYS! IT WAS DEOXYS!" Barry's voice screamed from upstairs.
"Honestly," Barry's mother said breathlessly. "There is something wrong with that boy..."
"Deoxys?" Lucas echoed thoughtfully. "What's that?"
"Who knows?" Renee said, scanning the sky from the window, hoping to find any sign of him. "He's probably just had a nightmare."
"Deoxys..." Lucas mumbled. "What was Deoxys?"
"Ignore him!" Renee snapped. "He thinks Disu is an alien. His head isn't right...We have to find Disu!"
"Where do we look?"
"Everywhere," Renee barked brusquely. "Judging by the way he acts, he won't last very long on his own. Urgh! I don't see anything..."
"Renee, why are you so concerned about Disu?" Lucas asked softly.
"I don't know," Renee said stupidly. To say that made her feel like an idiot, but it was true...Something about Disu seemed as if he didn't deserve to be kidnapped...Something about him she cared about...
Renee felt a stroke of terror. She looked out the window to the door. On the ground was a dead Pidgey...The very same Pidgey Disu had been staring at.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm telling you, it was Deoxys!" Barry said determinedly.
"Stop talking nonsense. You just had a bad dream," Renee barked.
"But I'm totally fine now, and I still know it's Deoxys!"
"In that case..." Lucas said, smiling slightly. "...you're just insane."
"Shut up!"
"Where are we supposed to start...?" Renee wondered out loud, ignoring the boys.
"Sandgem Town," Lucas answered. "Because that's where we need to go anyway."
"Why?" Barry asked.
"Because those Pokemon aren't yours. They're Professor Rowan's. And it's been a few weeks since your tenth birthday, Renee."
"It was mine, too!" Barry argued. Then he paused. "So we can't become Pokemon trainers?" he asked sadly.
"Nope."
"But I was injured!"
"Renee could've gone for you and she decided not to."
Barry looked at Renee. "I hate you!"
"It's not my fault!" Renee rebounded. "And it's not Disu's fault either! So stop--"
"No one talks until we get there," Lucas told them sternly.
All three of them were quiet when they arrived at Sandgem Town. It looked a little more formal then Twinleaf, but there wasn't very much of a difference besides the research lab, Pokemon Center, and PokeMart. They walked into the research lab, Barry looking very hurt. Renee took out Chimchar's Pokeball and stared at it. It was just a Pokemon, nothing more, just a stupid animal...They didn't have feelings...They only felt hunger and anger and violence...
"Lucas!" a gruff yet friendly voice said. Renee looked up to see a man with white hair and a lab coat. Barry had hatred in his eye. "Lucas, where have you been? And who are these two?"
"There are people down at Lake Verity," Lucas said. Renee thought this was sounding more and more like a bad police movie. "They attacked us...I had to let these two use the Pokemon."
"Well...I don't suppose there could be any harm done. What did these people look like?"
"They were called Team Galactic," Lucas told him. "They were ruining the lake. We tried to stop them, but they had a very strong Pokemon..."
"Hm," Professor Rowan mumbled. "May I please see the three Pokemon?"
Lucas handed Turtwig's Pokeball to Rowan. Renee hesitated and handed hers to him as well. Barry stood there, staring at Rowan's outstretched hand, made a sound, and dropped Piplup's Pokeball in his hand. To Lucas's surprise, Rowan called all three of the Pokemon out.
Piplup and Chimchar, who had no idea why they were being left by who they thought had been their trainers, stared at Barry and Renee thoughtfully. Chimchar looked as though he was about to cry, and Piplup just looked angry. Turtwig seemed to have been through this a dozen times and just gave Lucas a parting nod.
"They seem to be just fine," Rowan said to himself, studying Piplup. "Not hurt too much..." He looked at Turtwig up and down. Then he got to Chimchar, who had been poisoned earlier. "This one is a bit bumped up, but I can fix that...They seem happy," he concluded. "All right, I can let you keep them."
"What?" Lucas said. "But, Professor Rowan, sir, these are your..."
"You can have Turtwig as a gift, Lucas." He bent down to Chimchar and scratched his chin. Chimchar "Char"ed with pleasure. "These Pokemon didn't seem to like being caged up in the lab. A good friend in a trainer ought to open them up a bit."
"Oh, Professor, thank you," Lucas said breathlessly.
"YEAH!" Barry cheered, bending down to give Piplup his speech about being the greatest Pokemon trainer in the world.
"Pip Piplup!" Piplup said, waving a flipper. It sounded suspiciously like a "No problem!"
"You can have these Pokemon on one condition," Rowan said to Barry and Renee. "You have to help me complete these Pokedexes." He handed both of them a closed Pokedex. Barry's was orange and Renee's was pink. "Every time you see a new Pokemon, gather the data in the Pokedex."
"Easy peasy!" Barry shouted.
"Now, may I suggest heading to Jubilife City first?"
"Professor," Renee said quietly.
Rowan looked down on her. "Yes, dear?"
"One of our friends--"
"ENEMIES!" Barry corrected angrily.
"One of our neighbors has been kidnapped by something," she whispered. "Can you maybe keep an eye out here in the lab?"
Rowan raised his eyebrow. "And what does this neighbor look like?"
"He has black hair and brown eyes--" Renee started, but she was cut off.
"He thinks he's deaf and says he reads lips. He responds to the names 'Disu' or 'Deokishisu' and he keeps chanting his name over and over again. He's also an alien and has magical powers," Barry interrupted, completely serious.
"Um...Well, the first two sentences were correct..." Renee muttered.
"I see. I'll keep an eye out for him. Now, off you go! You should make it in time for the Jubilife contest if you hurry."
"Thank you, Professor!"
The threesome head outside and started toward the Pokemon Center. "I have to call my grandmother first," Renee explained. She sat down and dialed her home phone number. It rang once, twice, three times, four times, five times, six times...no answer. She tried again: One, two, three, four, five, six...nothing. She tried one last time: One, two, three...Her grandmother answered and her face appeared on the screen.
"Renee, where in the world are you?" she said weakly.
"Are you feeling all right?" Renee asked softly, looking at her pale face.
"Yes, I'm just fine. Where have you been?"
"I'm at Sandgem...I met someone named Deokishisu..."
"Deo-what?"
"Deokishisu." Noticing her confused look, she added, "We call him Disu."
"I see. But that doesn't explain why you've been gone for two weeks."
"He's been kidnapped..." Renee stood up. "Grandma, I'm going to look for him! And to do that I need to become a Pokemon trainer! So I did!"
Grandma smiled. "That's wonderful."
"No, it's not, I'm terrified!!"
"It'll be all right. Honey, you take care of Barry. He always charges into things and doesn't think."
"I will. Goodbye."
"Goodbye. Good luck. I love you."
Renee hung up and sighed. Was her grandmother finally dying? What if she died while Renee was battling someone, and she never figured it out? She noticed that Barry and Lucas were sitting down with their heads close together, mumbling something. She walked over to them.
"What're you two talking about?"
"Our new name," Barry said, excited.
"The Disu Hunter Squad!" Lucas cheerfully.
"NO! I thought we agreed we weren't going to do that!" Barry smiled again. "We're the Deoxys Hunter Squad!"
"Deoxys isn't real! You just had a bad dream!"
"Shut up, Lucas!"
"Ugh, do we need a name?" Renee muttered. "Can't we just look for him?"
"Hey, Renee, why don't you enter the Jubilife Contest? All you have to do is look your best, and that shouldn't be too hard," Lucas offered. Barry pouted, and Renee blushed.
"All right...Sure."
"To Jubilife!" Barry cheered.
"To Jubilife!" Lucas echoed.
"To Jubilife!" Renee agreed, wondering how in the world she could get stuck with a bigger group of weirdos. But that didn't matter. They were her friends, and maybe she could get past her fear with their help...On the bright side, there wasn't a Purugly in sight, so maybe she could finally sleep in peace...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This story is almost as hard to follow as the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban video game! Except it has more aliens and less zombies! ~Furyfur