Pokémon XD: Michael's Micro Adventure
by Twilight-Prince
(Author's note: Since the game's hero never truly had an official name, at least not to my knowledge, I went with the name Michael, which was one of the set names you could choose for your hero at the beginning of the game. Just thought I'd clear that up in case of any confusion. Enjoy the story!)
The sun shone brightly yet calmly down on the Orre Region. Some various bird Pokémon flew over the Pokémon HQ Lab, chirping thier songs. Inside, we find our hero, Michael, who saved the world from a sinister group of villans known as Cipher about a month or so ago. Cipher was indeed a villanous group, for they had created what was known as Shadow Pokémon, which were Pokémon with thier hearts artificially closed, thus making them violent and reckless in nature, as well as possessing powerful moves like none other. Luckily, at the time, Professor Krane was studying this from a similar incident from about 5 years ago that involved the same organization. Thus, Krane made what was called a Snag Machine, which was able to actually "snag" Pokémon away from other Trainers. Now this may sound bad, but the machine that Professor Krane developed was only designed to snag Shadow Pokémon, and Michael took it upon himself to snag, purify, and save the Shadow Pokémon from the evil clutches of Cipher.
Many battles and locations later, Michael had finally done it; All of the Shadow Pokémon, including the one dubbed XD001, which turned out to be an insanely powerful Shadow Lugia, were rescued and saved. Cipher was no more, and eventually all of the Shadow Pokémon were purified, thus opening thier hearts and letting them be themselves again. With all of that incident said and done, Michael was now finally able to relax. He had let all of the ones that were Shadow Pokémon choose thier own ways in life, thus most disbanded from him or were given to other Trainers to work together with. Lugia especially was thankful to Michael, but it too had to leave. After all, Legendary Pokémon are free spirits, thus they shouldn't ever be captured, or at least that's what Michael and the rest of the Pokémon HQ Lab team thought.
Nowadays, with his partner Espeon, which was his Eevee a long time ago, Michael is taking a nap in his bed, his buddy Espeon curled up next to him keeping him comfortable. He was sound asleep, dreaming about all the battles he had won over Cipher that time ago.
Pretty soon, however, a knock was heard on his bedroom door. Michael fluttered open his eyes and sat up, and his Espeon stretched it's body out. "Hunh? Whuzzat...oh, the door...just a second!" called Michael, still half-asleep. He quickly got out of his bed and put on his usual attire (the same outfit from the game). He then went and answered the door, and it turned out it was none other than his little sister, Jovi, with her little Minun named Mimi.
"Hey, big brother!" said Jovi in a cheerful voice, "You ready to go play with Jovi?"
Jovi was known for speaking sort of third-person-ish, but this really didn't bother anyone in the lab. Michael smiled down at his little sister and patted her head. "Sure thing, kiddo. I just gotta talk to Professor Krane real quick, then we'll go outside and play, alright?" he said.
Jovi giggled and nodded. "Okay! Jovi and Mimi will meet big brother outside! Let's go, Mimi!"
Mimi chimed it's name happily and the two went away, supposedly heading outside. Michael smiled as he watched the two head off. He was glad that everything was back to normal, what with the Shadow Pokémon incident totally over and all. Still, despite that, him and his Espeon continued to train every so often, just like any other Pokémon Trainer would. After giving Espeon a quick brush and clean-up, Michael headed down to see Professor Krane in his office. When he got there, his mother, Lily, was there with Krane as she usually is.
"Hey, Prof! Hey, mom!" said Michael as he came in, his Espeon coming inside behind him and saying it's name in a "hello" fashion.
"Oh, Michael. Do you have an appointment with the professor?" asked Lily. Despite that she was Michael's mother, she still took her job seriously.
"Mom...didn't Prof. Krane tell you that you don't have to be that formal when I'm seeing him?" asked Michael, rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh, sorry, dear...I just get caught up in my work sometimes." replied Lily.
"So, how are you, Michael?" asked Prof. Krane.
"Doing good. Me and Espeon have been just kicking back and relaxing!" said Michael in a cheerful tone, his Espeon agreeing with him.
"That's all well and good, but you still should go out and excersise. I don't want you and Espeon to get lazy and fat, you know." said Lily.
Michael chuckled. "Don't worry, mom, I give Espeon plenty of excersise and stuff, right, buddy?" he said, looking down at his partner. Espeon nodded and said it's name in agreement.
Lily smiled and patted Espeon caringly, in which Espeon nuzzled her hand in return. "You do take good care of your friends, indeed, my son." she said.
"Yeah, I sure do...oh, wait...um, Professor?" asked Michael, remembering what he came here for.
"Yes, Michael? Is something the matter?" asked Krane.
"Well, nothing's wrong and all, but...I was just curious if we still actually need that Snag Machine anymore...I mean, Cipher's totally gone, all the Shadow Pokémon are purified...what need is there of it?" asked Michael.
Krane pondered on this for a moment, but smiled and answered. "You're probably right there, Michael...you certainly did dismantle Cipher right from it's core, so there just may not be any need of the Snag Machine again...tell you what, I'll discuss it with the other scientists and we'll reach a decision tommorow, alright?"
Michael nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Prof. I think it would be better off if it was dismantled before it falls into the wrong hands."
"You've grown quite responsible, Michael." said Krane.
Michael chuckled somewhat nervously and blushed a bit. "Aww...geez..."
Espeon laughed a bit at Michael's reaction, followed by some chuckles and giggles from the rest.
"Well, I gotta go...sis's probably waiting for me outside." said Michael, pointing out the door.
"Alright, but you two be careful." said Lily.
"Don't worry, mom...if anything happens, Espeon and Mimi can handle it!" said Michael. Espeon also agreed to this.
All of them smiling at each other, Micheal left the room with Espeon, heading outside to play with Jovi. When he got out there, he saw Jovi and Mimi looking closely at a bush. Michael smiled and walked over to Jovi, admiring how she was always a curious little girl. "Hey, sis...what'cha looking at there?" asked Michael as he approached Jovi.
Jovi stood up and turned to see her big brother and smiled. "Oh! Big brother! Jovi and Mimi were looking at some small bugs in the bush!"
"Really, now? Why's that?" asked Michael.
"Well...it's a secret only Jovi knows!" she replied, giggling.
Michael chuckled a bit and bent down on one knee to look at Jovi at her eye level. "C'mon...you can tell your big brother...I won't tell mom or anyone else."
Jovi giggled again and notioned Michael to look in the bush. Michael edged closer to the bush and looked in it, seeing some small insects marching around. No bug-type Pokémon, but rather just normal everyday insects like ants and ladybugs. Michael turned from the bush and smiled at Jovi. "So...what, you made some little friends?" he said, not removing his smile.
Jovi nodded a bit. "Kinda. Jovi does like those bugs, but...Jovi also wonders what it look like from where bugs are."
"Huh? You mean like if you were as small as one?" asked Michael, just to be sure he heard right.
"Uh-huh!" replied Jovi cheerfully, nodding her head, "Jovi sometimes wonder what everything look like from being bug-size!"
Michael smiled at his little sister and got up to pat her on her head. "That's an interesting thought, sis...now you got me wondering what it could look like!" he said with a slight laugh at the end.
Jovi giggled, as did Mimi. "Jovi got big brother curious!"
Michael chuckled and hoisted his sister onto his back for a piggy-back ride, then began running around playfully around the lab's courtyard, Jovi giggling and going "Wheeeeeee!" the entire way. Along with them, Mimi and Espeon followed suit, with Mimi riding on Espeon's back for a ride, both seeming to enjoy having fun together. It was the perfect example of how a big brother and a little sister should act together, and it was clear that the two loved each other very much as family members should.
The two continued some other daily activities, from sneaking over to Dr. Kaminko's Lab to see what crazy, if not pointless, invention was being concocted this time around, to going to Gateon Port to visit Jovi's friend, Emili, and Emili's mother Acri. As always, Acri had quite a collection of stories that she had written, though most of them seemed to have no end, which she was kinda known for. Soon, the day was coming near it's end, and by the time the two had gotten back to the Pokémon HQ Lab, the sun had already set over the horizon. Michael sat there on his idle hover scooter and looked behind him only to see that Jovi had fallen asleep holding onto his back, as had Mimi holding onto Jovi's. Michael smiled, and with some effort, he carried his sister back inside the Pokémon HQ Lab, with Espeon carrying the sleeping Mimi on it's own back, feeling some tiredness itself.
Michael stepped inside and headed to Jovi's room and lied her in her bed, covering her up and making sure she was comfortable. As him and Espeon were about to leave for his own room, he turned his head to look at his sleeping sister with Mimi cuddled up next to her and smiled. "Sleep well, little sis." he whispered, "You're so lucky to have such a caring family like us...just how I'm lucky to have you." With having said that, he nodded slightly and closed the door to his sister's room and headed to his own.
When he got there, he quickly changed into some night clothes and lied down on his bed, his Espeon hopping up there with him. He smiled and patted his partner's head gently. "Y'know, something Espeon?" he asked.
Espeon replied with a slightly questionable tone.
"I was kinda thinking about what Jovi said earlier...about looking at the world from a bug's point of view...I kinda wonder what it would look like..." he said.
Espeon chattered it's name a bit in response.
"What, you think it'd be different?" asked Michael.
Espeon nodded.
"Well...you'd be right about that for sure...everything sure would look bigger...the grass, the trees...my sister..." he said, chuckling a bit at that last part.
Espeon laughed slightly at that remark as well.
"Ah, well...it's an interesting thought, but...then again, it's not really possible to get that small unless you were naturally that way, I guess..." said Michael.
Espeon nodded at that and then yawned and stretched itself out.
"Yeah, I'm tired too, buddy...let's get some rest." said Michael, and with two claps of his hands, the lights in his room shut off, and he and Espeon turned in for the night.
That night, at some unknown location, four mysterious figures were standing outside a fortified building in a small forest clearing. It was hard to make out who they were, but two characters looked female, around in thier 20's, one looked like a young teenage boy in a trenchcoat, and the last one looked like a really buffed-up character. They were all waiting outside as if something told them to be there, and thier answer was soon given when the buff one spoke up.
"Now look here all 'yas...Cipher may be dead, but we won't allow that, right? There may only be four of us, but we cannot let the Shadow Pokémon project die, ya hear me?" said the buff man in a gruff voice.
"Geez, don't get your hair in a knot, Master Rickardo." said one of the girls, who was wearing a rather interesting outfit...it was red in color and shone brightly in the faint light given by the moon hanging in the night sky. The outfit wasn't revealing in any fashion, but it looked quite dazzling.
"I mean, yeah...it's not like anyone KNOWS we're secretly starting up this Shadow Pokémon Lab, okay?" said the other girl, who wore a similar outfit to the other girl, only blue in color.
The buff one, whom one of the girls called by Rickardo, stepped into the light and revealed himself. "Look, that much I know, but that doesn't mean that we can rest easy, alright?"
"You really are getting overworked over nothing...didn't that kid that stopped Cipher the last time already dismantle the Snag Machine?" asked the other boy in the trenchcoat. He also had a cap and sunglasses on.
"That may be, according to the information you gave me, kid." said Rickardo, "But I don't want this to mess up this time! We have acquired three super-powerful Shadow Pokémon already, and more are scheduled on the way, but that won't be until a few more days."
"Is that right? So, what do we do until then?" asked the boy.
"We just lay low and wait for the time to strike, what else?!" said Rickardo sternly.
"Geez...alright already, I get it. We just lay low." said the boy.
"Tch, I swear...Master always is too high-strung, May-Lin." said the girl in the red, obviously referring to the other girl in blue.
"I agree, Mai-Lin." said May-Lin, who was also obviously referring to the girl in red, "Master is WAAAAAY to high-strung."
"Clamp it, girls, and get back to your posts inside. Just be glad that I'm paying you good." snapped Rickardo.
The two girls huffed at that and headed back inside the complex.
"So, what about me?" asked the boy.
"You just go on to anywhere you want. You keep quiet about all this and you'll get your own Shadow Pokémon when we get another one." said Rickardo, "Now do me a favor and go back to wherever you go to at night."
Having said that, Rickardo snorted a bit and headed back inside with the girls. The boy in the trenchcoat then turned and walked away into the forest. Once he was far out enough, though, he removed his sunglasses and looked around. "Man...that's the last time I try spying..." he said to himself and pulled out his P-DA, typing in a message for an e-mail. When he was finished, he put his P-DA away and ran like his life depended on it through the shrubbery.
"I just hope Michael gets this message soon...this is vitally important!" said the boy as he ran through the darkness.
The night passed and morning soon dawned again on the Pokémon HQ Lab. Through a window in his room, some light filtered onto a sleeping Michael, making his eyes flutter open. Michael sat up and rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling rejuvinated. "Man...that was a great sleep..." he said, stretching his arms into the air. Espeon stretched itself out too, gave a yawn, then said it's name in a "good morning" fashion.
Michael smiled and patted Espeon on the head. "Morning, buddy! Ready for another day of training and stuff?" he said, smiling at his partner.
Espeon cheerfully chimed it's name and hopped out of the bed. Michael soon followed and got his clothes on, and just as he grabbed his P-DA and turned it on, he heard a tone chime on it. "Huh? Oh, I got E-mail..." said Michael, opening up his P-DA and reading the mail. Here's what was on the screen:
To: Michael
From: Secc
Topic: URGENT!
"Michael, it's me, your buddy Secc from ONBS. I have urgent news! Some loyal followers of Cipher still exist! They got 3 new Shadow Pokémon and are planning on continuing where Cipher left off! I sent the location of their base to Professor Krane, so go and see him ASAP! Please, save those Pokémon!"
Michael's eyes nearly shot out of his head upon reading this. He looked down at his Espeon. "Looks like we still got a few Pokémon to save, buddy...You up for it?"
Espeon nodded and answered with it's usual cry in an adamant agreement.
Michael ran out of his room, Espeon staying close to him the whole way. Little did they realize that Jovi and her Minun, Mimi, heard everything since thier door was open. Jovi looked at Mimi. "We should help big brother, right Mimi?" asked Jovi. Mimi nodded and answered in agreement.
As Michael got to Professor Krane's room, he was panting for air. "Professor! There are..." started Michael.
"Yes, I got the message from Secc a little bit ago." said Krane, anticipating Michael's words, "Seems that he's right, because according to recent reports, two Pokémon have gone missing from a far-off place called Southern Island."
"Southern Island?" wondered Michael.
"Yes, Southern Island." continued Krane, "It is said to be the home of two special Legendary Pokémon, and that they go there to roost everytime this year. However, no one's seen them over recent days, even though they should be there already."
"Darn it...and I thought we had seen the last of the Shadow Pokémon already...wait...that's only two...Secc's E-mail said there were three!" replied Michael.
"He's right...but the last one is one that no one's ever seen around here before...it must be from a very exotic place." said Krane.
"Well, regardless, I guess it's up to me and Espeon to rescue them, right buddy?" said Michael, looking down at his partner. Espeon said it's name in agreement.
Krane smiled at Michael's enthusiasm. "Alright then..." he said, handing Michael the Snag Machine, "We're counting on you, Michael."
Michael nodded and took the Snag Machine and attached it to his left arm. He then put on the device on his head that identified Shadow Pokémon. He was ready to go.
"Alright, Secc told me that the base is hidden up about 20 miles or so north from here." said Krane, pointing to a map on a table. On it was a mark a little north of the lab. "This is where Secc said it was hidden, so you need to go there and investigate, alright?"
"You got it, Prof." said Michael, "It's a good thing I saved a couple of various Poké Balls from the last adventure."
"Be careful, Michael...since you let all the others go, Espeon here is your only Pokémon." said Krane.
"No worries, Prof. Me and Espeon have been training quite a lot, so we'll be ready for anything!" said Michael confidentialy. Espeon agreed as well.
With saying that, Michael went to his room, got his backpack, packed what various Poké Balls and medicines he could, then headed out to his hover scooter...although he was surprised to see Jovi and her Minun, Mimi, sitting on it! "You ready to go, big brother?" asked Jovi.
"Jovi! What are you thinking? This is going to be dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt!" said Michael getting his sister off the hover scooter.
"Aww...but Jovi wants to help. Besides, Jovi has big brother, Espeon, and Mimi to protect Jovi! Please, big brother...please?" asked Jovi, her blue eyes shining in the morning sun.
Michael knew that bringing his sister along would put her in danger, but he also knew there was no resisting that look she was giving him, so he shrugged his shoulders and gave in. "Alright, but you have to promise me that you'll stay very close, and if you see anything dangerous, run and hide, alright?" said Michael.
"Okay, big brother! Jovi will be careful!" she said cheerfully.
Michael smiled and hoisted his sister up to the hover scooter, then got on himself, followed by Espeon and Mimi in the back. He revved up the engine and the small group headed up to the location that Professor Krane pointed out. As they went on up, Michael looked back at his sister, holding onto his back as they sped forward. He began to have second thoughts about bringing his sister along on such a dangerous journey, but even though sh was younger than him, she turned out to be just as reliable, sometimes if not moreso than he was. He smiled and kept going. About 30 minutes later, the two arrived at a forest thick with trees. Michael, Jovi, Espeon, and Mimi all got off the hover scooter.
"Looks like we'll have to go on foot from here." said Michael.
"Um...forest looks kinda scary..." said Jovi, hiding behind her brother. Indeed, the forest's trees looked somewhat intimidating.
"Don't worry, sis...just stay close to me and Espeon and you'll be fine. You said you wanted to help me, right?" said Michael, putting a reassuring hand on Jovi's right shoulder.
Jovi nodded and hung onto Michael's shirt, tagging along behind him. Mimi brought up the rear while Espeon stayed a bit ahead of Michael. The group went through a thicket of trees that seemed to go on forever, but they soon came to a clearing that had a large gray building there. "I think...this may be it." said Michael.
Jovi peered out from behind Michael and saw the building. It looked kinda run-down, but not too frightening in appearence. "Big brother's going in there, right?" she asked, pointing to the building.
"Yep." Michael nodded, "Can you stay here in the bushes while I look for an entrance?"
"Uh-huh. Jovi and Mimi stay and keep watch!" said Jovi. Mimi nodded as well.
"Atta' girl." said Michael, patting her head, "Come on, Espeon."
Espeon agreed and went with Michael tot he building. Michael stayed cautious, as there didn't seem to be any guards around, but Secc had told him in the e-mail that there were only a few survivors of Cipher around, so he wasn't expecting much retaliation. Even then, he remained cautious and soon came to a door. He reached for the handle and grabbed hold of it to open the door, but just as he did, he heard a noise that sounded like machinery. He looked to his left and right and saw two nozzles of some kind aiming right at him! Michael was about to tell Espeon to attack them, but it was too late as the nozzles sprayed some type of gas onto him. It looked blue in color and quickly enveloped Michael. He gasped suddenly, breathingin some of the gas on accident. Just as he did, he began to feel faint and his vision was blurry.
Jovi saw all of this from the bushes and gasped in some fright. "Big brother in trouble! We gotta help, Mimi!" said Jovi to her Minun. Mimi chirped it's name in agreement and the two ran over to Michael, who was coughing and on his knees. By now, the rest of the gas had evaporated into the air.
"Is big brother okay?" asked Jovi as she came to him.
Michael could barely speak, let alone move. He soon fell to his back on the ground and slowly closed his eyes, fainting. Jovi gasped and listened for Michael's life signs...
"Jovi still hear big brother's heart...he probably just sleeping." said Jovi. Espeon nudged it's partner, trying to wake him up, but no luck.
Just then, a faint blue glow surrounded Michael's body. Jovi saw this and quicky got about a foot back from him. She then saw the last thing she thought she'd ever see in her life...Michael's body, for some reason, began getting smaller! Jovi, Espeon, and Mimi all were speechless as Michael's body shrunk smaller and smaller. Somehow, his outfit, Snag Machine included, shrunk with him, so that wasn't a concern, but the sight of Michael's body just getting smaller was an unbelieveable sight to Jovi and the two Pokémon. When it was all done, the blue glow subsided, and Micheal, still fainted, was a mere 5 inches tall, but kept perfect proportion to his new size.
Jovi bent down and looked at her now-diminuative brother. "Wh...what happened to...big brother?" she said quietly.
Espeon looked at it's tiny trainer, who was now even smaller than a Diglett. Even Mimi's 1' 4" size was pretty big compared to him. Everyone just looked at him for a short time, but Jovi soon spoke up. "We have to get my big...er...little brother back to the Lab!"
Espeon nodded and Mimi helped the sleeping Michael onto Espeon's back, who then carried him back to the hover scooter, with Mimi and Jovi following behind. They soon arrived, and though the scooter was a bit big for Jovi, she sat in the seat and started it up. "I have seen big brother drive this, so Jovi can do it!" she said bravely.
Mimi held Micheal down to make sure he wouldn't fall off as the hover scooter carried the four back to the Pokémon HQ Lab. With Michael that size, will he be able to stop Cipher in time before it's remade?