Those of you who have seen my first Pokemon story: The Feelings of Champions, are probably thinking, "Hey, I thought you weren't going to be doing another Pokemon story until after The Fates of S.T.E.A.M. so what gives?" Well here's the thing. Just recently a friend of mine and I picked up two games we haven't played in years. Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness. And we had a blast going through them. And doing so gave me a hype that somehow made me come across a bit of trivia that gave me a idea for a story that I just had to get out. So here we are. A Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness fic. This will be my second highest priority aside from the Fates of S.T.E.A.M. So, if I need a brake from Fire Emblem writing, this is what I'll be working on. With that said, let us begin! Pokemon and the characters are property of Game Freak and Nintendo, I own nothing aside from this fanfic.
Michael laid on his bed looking at the Pokeball in his hand. His very first Pokemon. A Eevee. All he knew was that one day someone left the Pokeball in his room, and he kept it ever since. Her sister's Plusle, Pluplu, as she called it, was the same. However, that didn't matter to him. He and Eevee had become irreplaceable.
And he knew Eevee would help him make his dream come true. His dream to be just like him.
"Big brother!"
Jovi rushed into his room. Michael was so startled that he fell off the bed.
"Agh! Jeez, Jovi! Ever heard of knocking?!"
"Heh, heh! The Professor wants to see you! Make sure you tell him that Jovi gave you his message!"
Michael sighed as he got up.
"Alright, alright."
He sighed as he walked out of the room. "I just got back from getting Jovi out of that creepy house. Can't a guy catch a break?"
Michael walked over to the research lab and knocked on the door.
"Professor? It's me, Michael. Jovi said you were looking for me?"
"Ah, come in."
The automatic door opened, and he saw the Professor with one of his fellow researcher, Aidan.
"Has Aidan said anything to you about the Snag Machine?"
"Uh, yeah…"
"Oh, I see, yes. Well, we've named the special machine for catching Pokemon the Snag Machine. The two of us, Aidan and I, were developing it. And now, it's finally finished. I'd like to begin testing it immediately. Michael, will you help us?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Okay, please step inside."
Michael walked into the room. Inside near the wall was a cylinder like container on a circular platform.
"So, what does it do?" Michael asked.
"I should tell you, the Snag Machine is an outrageous piece of work." Krane warned. "After all, it's used for stealing Pokemon from another trainer in battle."
"Wait, WHAT?! You made a machine for robbing Pokemon from people?! Why?!"
"No worries. We didn't make it to steal Pokemon indiscriminately from trainers." Krane replied with a reassuring smile. "Michael, you've heard of Shadow Pokemon, haven't you?"
The words hit the boy's mind like a hot needle.
"Of course! Shadow Pokemon were made by Cipher, right? The team the hero of Orre took down five years ago!"
Kane laughed at the sudden enthusiasm. "That is correct. They're Pokemon turned into fighting machines after having their hearts closed by artificial means. They're to be pitied. We developed the Snag Machine to take back such modified Shadow Pokemon."
"Just like the hero did…"
"Indeed. Truth be told he did so with a Snag Machine of his own."
Michael was at a loss for words. "Wow…wait…but Cipher was disbanded. Why would we need a Snag Machine now?"
"Ah, yes…I can explain later. But for now, I'd like you to test our Snag Machine. After all, you're the best trainer at this lab."
Krane then turned to the cylinder. "The snag Machine is in this case. Try equipping it right away please."
Michael slowly walked to the cylinder and opened the top. He reached inside and lifted out a machine that had two silver parts. One that looked like a glove and another that resembled a shoulder pad. They were connected by a black tube. There was also a ear piece inside.
He fitted the hand of the machine into his left hand. He attached the other piece onto his shoulder. As soon as he did a blue light ran down the cord and the Pokeball symbol on the hand lite up. He took the last part and put it over his left ear.
"Wow…this thing is so rad!"
"Wow, it fits perfectly." Aidan smirked. "It looks cool too, Michael."
"Yeah…and it's lighter than it looks."
"May I see your P*DA? I'll add a new feature."
Michael took out the handheld device and gave it to the scientist. The man stuck a chip inside.
"It's called the Shadow Monitor. It lets you check data on the Shadow Pokemon you've encountered."
"Thank you, Aiden." Professor Krane said. "That's it Michael! That's spot-on!"
"Thanks…so…what now?" the boy asked.
"From this point on, it will be a lot easier to just show you how it works in practice rather than trying to describe it. Let's go upstairs to the Battle Sim System room."
"Okay."
Krane and Aiden started to walk out of the room. But just as Krane stepped out Aiden stopped.
"Whoops! How silly of me! I almost forgot to give you these. In order to use the Snag Machine, you need at least one Pokeball. So, I'll give you these."
He reached into his pocket and gave Michael five Pokeballs.
"Pokeballs aren't used in the Orre region, so we import them from another region."
"Thanks." Michael said, inserting them to the pouch around his waist.
"Okay, now we're set! Let's hurry over to the director."
Just then they heard noises from outside of the room.
"Aiyeeh! Aiyeeh!"
Then they heard Professors Krane's voice. "W-what going on?! Who are you people?!"
"Professor!"
Michael ran out of the room. The receptionist was out of her seat with a horrified expression.
"It's terrible, Michael! Some strange men came barging in and took off with the director!"
"What?!"
Without hesitation he ran outside to see all the nearby staff and residents knocked out. There was a strange truck parked nearby and three odd men in white uniforms and scarfs. One of them had a different helmet and yellow scarf. The bigger one of them was dragging the professor away.
"Will you let go of me! Where do you think you're taking me!?"
"Fufufu…I'm taking you to your new lab professor." The man with the yellow scarf smirked.
"What…my new lab?"
"Move it; we don't have any time. If you don't want to get hurt, hustle yourself into the car."
"You people…what are you?"
"HEY!"
Michael ran up to the intruders.
The man with the yellow scarf turned to him "Hah? What is it, punk? You're going to play hero and try to stop us? I don't show mercy to anyone, not even kids."
"Bring it on, creep! Get, em' Eevee!"
Michael threw a Pokeball and his partner came out.
"Go, Teddiursa!"
The man threw a Pokeball and the small bear Pokemon emerged.
"Alright, Eeveee, let's-
Suddenly a screen extended from Michael's headpiece, over his eye and he saw a purple aura glowing from his opponent's Pokemon.
"!? What is that?"
"Michael! The Aura Reeder is responding!" Krane yelled as he was pushed closer to the truck. "That's a Shadow Pokemon!"
"What?! What do I do?!"
"Hurry Michael, Hurry! Put a Pokeball into the shoulder pad!"
Michael lifted the plate, showing a hatchet big enough for a Pokeball. His opponent eyed him strangely as he inserted one inside.
"What are you doing, kid?"
Once Michael closed the hatch a blue light came through the tube.
Suddenly the Pokeball came out of the palm of the machine. But now it was glowing red.
"Whoa! What's happening?!"
"Now Michael! Throw it at the Pokemon!" the professor yelled as he was loaded into the trunk.
Without hesitation Michael threw the Pokeball at the Teddiursa. As the ball opened up the image of a hand insured the Pokemon and dragged it into the ball.
The Pokeball rolled to the floor. It shacked three times before it clicked. Then it flew into Michael's hand.
"Whoa…"
The man was in disbelief.
"What was that…? My Shadow Pokemon! Was that…was it a snag?"
Michael looked at the Pokeball in his hand. "Man…no wonder the Professor called this thing outrageous…"
"Kid! What is that machine on your arm?"
The second man looked at the device.
"Could it be… A Snag Machine?! What the heck is that doing here?"
"That's big news! Come on, move! I need to report this to headquarters, like now!"
The man hurried towards the truck. The bigger man and the professor were already inside.
"Get back here!"Michael ran after them, but them men got in quick and the car speed off. "Professor Krane!"
Michael stopped as he was left in the dust.
"No…"
Michael stood in the lab with Jovi, Aidan and Lily.
"Waaah! They took the Professor away!" the girl sobbed.
"I'm sorry…" Michael said hanging his head in shame. "I couldn't stop them…"
"Don't feel bad Michael." Lily replied. "I'm sure Professor Krane will be okay."
"We've contacted the police and the proper authorities about Professor Krane. They should let us know it they discover anything." Aidan said. "I still can't believe this is happening…"
Lily looked down at the table. "Professor Krane predicted that someone will again try making shadow Pokemon. His prediction was on the mark."
"Who were those people anyway?"
Aidan turned to Michael. "I don't know, Michael. But I do know that the Teddiursa you snagged probably isn't the only Shadow Pokemon that was made…When the Purify Chamber is completed, we will be able to save many Shadow Pokemon at the same time, but…Professor Krane is crucial to this project. Without him, there's nothing we can do!"
Lily closed her eyes as she sighed. Then opened them with a new form of determination. "Let's complete it! We'll finish the Purify Chamber ourselves."
Everyone turned to her in surprise.
"Lily? The director's not here!" Aidan said. "It's hopeless. There isn't any possible way to get it done."
"You're on the verge of finishing! This isn't the time to feel sorry for yourself. The Purify Chamber project got this far not just because Professor Krane was here. We got here because we all worked as a team. Having come this far, it would be wrong to stop now. Our pride as scientists is on the line. Let's finish the project as one!"
Everyone watched her leave the room. "Things will get very busy around here! I'll go upstairs and see how the data processing is progressing."
Once she left Michael smiled.
"Mom's right. The professor wouldn't want us to give up! And if people are going to make Shadow Pokemon, then someone needs to stop them just like the hero did! Guess that someone will have to be me!"
Michael looked at the Snag Machine on his arm.
"I'll do it Professor…I'll snag and save every last Shadow Pokemon!"
You're probably thinking: Where does this trivia of yours come into play? We will find out...two chapters from now. But like I said, The Fates of S.T.E.A.M. is my top priority. Speaking of which the first chapter of that will be out sometime this weekend. I hope you enjoy it, this and the other two stories I put up this week. Thank you for reading! See ya all next time!
