Hey guys, it's Manuel. I know it's been awhile since I last uploaded. I promised to reupload my chapters to fix some mistakes and improve the story for the readers! I hope you like the story and I apologize for the long, long wait.
Disclaimer: 1st of all, I don't own the rights to Delta Evolution; it was a concept originally invented by my new friend, ghostlyTrickster. I was allowed with his permission to use Delta Evolution in my story. Check out his latest work, Boundless Love: The Tale of Athena.
Chapter 0: Bursts of Emotion
It's been only ten years since Prof. Rowan in the Sinnoh region first published his findings on Delta Evolution, a rare and unique process whereas Pokémon get older, they take a more human form. Little is still know about this subject apart from the fact that it was first discovered in the Sinnoh region. And now... it was about to be discovered in the Unova region.
\Pinwheel Forest...\
Thunder roared across the sky as water constantly poured. The landscape was filled with tall, thick trees. And the shouts of at least a dozen people could be heard.
"You can run, but you can't hide!"
"Has you anyone caught it yet?!"
"I can't wait add this one to my collection!"
A Riolu emerged from the bushes, but this one was different. For starters, she was almost a foot taller than the others, her paws were more like stubby fingers and toes. And her eyes weren't their normal red color, they were yellow. She was running as fast as her legs could carry her, stumbling every now and then. The tired pokémon hardly had the energy to stand. She arrived at a clearing. On one end was a rocky cliffside.
(Another dead end...) She thought. (I need to find another way out of here, otherwise I'll never shake them loose...)
"Where are you hiding, you little bitch?" A feminine voice called out with frustration. One of her pursuers! By the sound of it, she was close.
(Too late!) The pokémon looked around for anything she could use to hide, but there was nothing. Just a steep, rocky cliff. Going around would just waste more time, as well as energy she didn't have.
(Guess I have no other choice...) Without any further hesitation, she grabbed a rock and started climbing. Once the Riolu was about halfway up, she could hear rustling from the bushes. A women came out from the bushes. She wore a black trench coat and was equipped strange-looking bionic arm, probably designed for catching Pokémon. This was no ordinary woman; she was a Pokémon Hunter. The Riolu froze when she saw the woman. The only sound made was that of the constant downpour.
"Fine then..." The woman sighed in frustration. In this weather tracking was almost impossible. She couldn't tell the tracks from the puddles. Her equipment wasn't any help, either.
"There's plenty of other Pokémon I could sell, anyways." The pokemon's eyes were glued to the women as she continued to disappear back into the forest. The coast was clear...
(She's gone now...) With that over, she took this opportunity to look out into the forest. Lights could be seen scattered across the entire area. Other trainers trying to search for her. One of which, was actually moving away from where the Riolu was.
(Probably just the Hunter...) Seven more could be seen faintly off in the distance. They weren't even close to finding her. Two were fairly close, but were going the wrong way. One was even closer.
(Eight, nine, ten, eleven lights...) She made a mental note of it then returned to her climbing, blissfully unaware that one more of her pursuers was already at the clearing. A teen with a red shirt and green camo shorts arrived from the bushes, followed by a Garchomp. They both look around, only to see the clearing was empty.
"She's a tricky one, huh boy?"
"Gar-Gar. Garchomp garchomp, garchomp garchomp garchomp!" [No, she really isn't. I could've had her by now, if I didn't have to slow down for you!]
"Man, I wish I'd brought the flashlight..."
(Almost there… Just a little further…) As she kept climbing, she failed to notice the loose rock she was standing on. The rock gave way and fell to the ground, getting the trainer's attention. He looked up at her with a satisfied smirk.
"There she is! Garchomp, use Rock Slide!" He commanded. The entire cliffside started to rumble and the rocks above were now glowing.
(They just don't quit...!)
The Riolu had nowhere to go, and no choice but to brace herself for the assault. The rocks finally gave away. Her stomach was pelted with a few rocks and another few cut deeply into her arms and legs. The pain was enough to weaken her grip. But the worst of the damage was yet to come. Her entire face was battered with an even larger set of rocks. Her face was bleeding and her eye forced shut. Despite the crippling pain, she held on.
(Not yet... I'm so close...) With weak arms, the pokémon kept climbing. She arrived at the top and pulled herself over.
"I'm...free..." The pokémon took a pause for breath. All her hard work, and the abuse she endured from that woman just to achieve this. One of her irises turned a dull, lifeless grey. She lied there on her back, tired and exhausted.
"Free...!" The Riolu cried out before fainting on the cold, wet ground.
"You useless dragon! can't you do anything right?!" The trainer scolded his pokémon.
"Gar-garchomp, garchomp garchomp garchomp!" [Oh, I'm sorry. How about you capture the pokemon, and I'll sit around scratching my ass all day and barking orders?!]
"...?"
"Garchomp..." [Thought so...]
"Alright, get back in the Poké Ball..."And with a flash of a red light, the Garchomp was gone. The trainer gave up, returning the way he came.
\Inside The House…\
It was a peaceful, stormy night. Both parents were upstairs asleep, leaving their only son alone to watch TV in the living room. He wasn't by any means normal. He was always void of any expression, and his eyes were a dull grey. People just simply avoided him. You can't blame them though, His blank stare could easily rival Prof. Rowan's serious face any day.
"In recent news, a strange and rare pokémon was spotted heading towar—"
The boy turned off the TV. The news wasn't very interesting to him. Suddenly, the floor started to rumble. The pictures hanging from the wall rattled. He rolled off the couch and fell to the floor. When it was all over, he stood back up. It ended as fast as it started.
(A rockslide, maybe?) The boy thought to himself. He was about to head outside to check when he heard someone rushing downstairs.
"Hey, is everything alright? Nothing fall?" A man in light blue pajamas turned the corner. The boy's father had woken up. The child nodded in reply.
"Mm-hmm." The father sighed.
"Alright then. I'm gonna check out—" He was already at the door when he heard a cry from outside.
"Riii...!" The boy was the first to act, shoving his father aside. He was taken back by this, but decided to let it slide. He followed right behind his son. When he caught up, his son remained still.
"What's wro—" He went silent at what he saw, reacting the same way his son did. There, a few feet from the house, was a pokémon. A Riolu to be exact. It laid there motionless, the blood washing away from the rain. His father looked over at his son, who was still silent. Something changed in him. His naturally expressionless face turned to one of worry and compassion. His eyes became turquoise and his face pale.
"Is it..." He didn't want to finish his sentence. Instead, he kneeled towards the Riolu. His father took a closer look and assured him.
"Still breathing... Come on, let's get it inside." He was one step ahead of his father. The boy flipped it over to its side. That was when he got a better look at the pokémon. Its legs were coated in black fur while its arms were blue. This black mask similar to a blindfold. Even through all the damage, there was no mistaking its slender figure.
(It's a girl...) He scooped her up and carried her inside bridal style. As he brought her up the stairs, his eyes began to water. It felt like there was a lump in his throat.
(What did this to her...?)
His father was at a loss of words. His son was on the verge of tears. The same boy that was thought to be emotionless, was now crying over a pokémon he just found outside. And his irises were a different color. This has never happened before.
"...Take it to the guest room. I'll get the first-aid kit." The boy just looked back at his father.
"Go!" His son mumbled something under his breath.
"Her. She's a her..." His father didn't hear. As the two made it to the room, his father came back with the kit.
"Just set it on the bed." His son did as he was told, gently setting her down. His eyes never wandered. It was like he was in a trance. He had to snap his son out of it.
"I need you to head into town and bring back a revival herb."
"B-But I..." He had a look of disappointment. It was only around a twenty-minute trip there and back, but he wanted to stay by her side.
"Look, it's not going to—"
"Will you stop calling her an it?! She's a girl for crying out loud!" The boy's voice cracked. His irises instantly flashed a muddy red, and his fists were clenched in anger. He was shooting an intense glare. The room became silent as the father tried to register what just happened.
"S-Sorry..." He said in an apologetic tone. His eyes turned yellow as he was realized who he was talking to. He left the doorway and bolt down the hall, waking his mother up in the process.
(What was that about?) His father thought. (I swear, that kid's possessed...)
"...Don't you have any idea what time it is?" His wife asked entering the room. She let out a tired yawn. It took her a minute to register that her son was missing. She was still completely oblivious to injured Riolu. "Wait... where's Manny?"
"I just sent him to pick up some medicine. He'll be back soon, tho—"
"What?!" She cut him off, screaming frantically at the top of her voice. "You sent our twelve-year-old son out in the middle of the night to get medicine?!"
(Come to think if it, that was stupid...)
"Of all the stupid things!" She was just about to beat him senseless when she noticed their little house guest.
"...A pokémon?" She took a step closer to the bed. "And she's hurt pretty bad."
"Yeah, a Riolu. I found it outside."
"You mean her." She corrected.
"Oh, come on! How can you guys even tell it's a girl?!"
"That's because were not as clueless as you are with women." Her husband sighed.
"Really? You went there?" He asked in a defeated tone.
"Yup." She replied with a smug grin. "Now, how about you start from the beginning?"
\5 Minutes Later...\
"Really? You expect me to believe that our boy—the one who's been as dense as stone since birth—was sobbing like a baby over a pokémon?" The mother asked in tone that was almost insulting.
"Who's Expecting?" He replied with the same smug look as his wife. He finished wrapping the last of the bandages. "It'll take him a while to come back with the plant. That's when you'll see."
\Just Outside Nacrene City...\
(Fasterfasterfasterfaster!) His mind was practically screaming. His eyes were now orange, and his entire body was working overtime! He had left the house just two minutes ago and was almost at the city. He was going so fast; he didn't notice someone was calling out to him for at least a minute
"...Hey! I said slow down!" He turned around to see who was calling out for him. It was a teen at least two feet taller than him, dressed with a red shirt and green camo shorts. By the looks of him, he was at least 16.
"I'm kinda in a hurry, what is it?"
"You haven't seen a weird looking Riolu around the forest, have you?" Something about this Trainer felt off.
"No, why? Are you her Trainer?" The teen was now grinning ear to ear. He never said what gender she was."
"You could say that..." It was obvious now that the teen was lying. He started walking closer to the boy, pulling a Poké Ball out from behind him.
"Now how about you tell me where you saw her? Ya dig?" Every step forward was another step back for the boy. Behind him was the gate to town.
"Wait a minute... I bet you're the one who did that to her!" His eyes turned murky red again.
"So what if I am, kid?" He shoved the boy to the pavement. "What are you gonna do about it?" His hands were clenched to the point where his nails drew blood. He immediately stood back up and had the Trainer by the throat. A few people in the town were staring. A mere child was holding up a teenager by the neck just inches from the ground. He now had a look of fear.
"You'll pay..." His once weak voice, was now raspy and slightly deeper. The Poké Ball left Trainer's hand. He was staring into the boy's eyes. The boy was actually growling in frustration.
"I'm sorry...p-please, I won't go anywhere near her again." His eyes were losing that menacing murky red glow, but he wasn't too sure he was telling the truth.
"Promise me...PROMISE ME RIGHT NOW!" He yelled. Not letting him look away from his eyes, he slammed him into a tree.
"A-Ack! Please...!" The trainer was now begging. Just as he was crying, the boy released his grip.
"Go, NOW!" He growled for the last time. The trainer dropped to the floor and slipped trying to pick up his Poké Ball, then darted back into the forest. The boy looked around coming to his senses. A large crowd of people had gathered around him in just a short amount of time. They were all staring at him... His eyes flashed pale yellow. A sense of fear came over him.
"I-I'm just here to buy something important..." He said quietly. "It's my friend, she's really hurt bad." The crowd slowly parted, but they continued to stare. He could only imagine what these people might be thinking. As he made it into the Poké Mart, he couldn't help but notice that the clerk was staring at him, too.
"U-Uh... I'm looking for a reviv—!
"Here just take it." Soon enough a bag was thrown with at least three revival herbs.
"U-um thank you... I'm really sorry..." with that he put the money he brought to the floor and darted off once again.
(Are they scared, mad?) He thought for a second they were gonna start throwing rocks. He passed through crowd after crowd before he finally made it out of town.
\Back at The House: 2 Minutes Later…\
"Dad, I'm—" He was cut off when he saw his mother on the couch waiting for him. His eyes turned turquoise. It was safe to assume he was in trouble.
"Aaaaaawwww, my baby's finally showing his colors!" She instantly ran up and smothered him in a hug. His face was blushing as he was struggled to get out of his mother's death grip.
"M-Mom, please..." His eyes went from turquoise to a dark pink. She put him back down.
"I'm sorry. I'm just so happy for you!" She was as happy as can be. But her son seemed serious.
"...Did you get to see her?" His eyes flashed turquoise again "Is she ok?" His mother's eyes were twitching with joy again.
"Oh, she's all patched up now. see for yourself." She said with a reassuring tone. With that, he went upstairs with the bag in hand.
^_^ (I thought Michael was just joking about him showing his colors...)
Author's Notes: I'll be reuploading the next chapter next Friday. Right now, I'm working on a side project. ;) Don't forget to read Boundless Love: The Tale of Athena by ghostlyTrickster.