After edit: Okay now all Exposure chapters should follow the same format. Auraspeak is in italics as well as dreamspeak and such. Thoughts are the text due to the story being in Zack's perspective.


I shoot up awake immediately when I hear the deafening sound of the the alarm.

"Stupid...thing," I grumble as I put it on snooze. Two minutes pass and I feel something poking my face. Is Alex trying to wake me up again? I swat it out of the way and groggily mutter a no. It begins to poke me again anyway.

"Char!" Oh it's Dante. I don't want to even try to think of what he's saying.

"No Dante… I'm too tired to play," I manage to say through my half-sleep. I hope he leaves me alone now, I'm too comfortable. I hear a sharp sigh and footsteps. He might have left. I begin to snuggle deeper into the bed and try to get as relaxed as I can. It's summer, let me sleep in! I feel a scaled hand flick my forehead.

"Dante what the heck?" I say as I open my eyes to see an annoyed charmander hold a picture profile of someone. He brings it closer to my face.

"CHAR CHAR!" He scolded. What the heck is he on about. I let my eyes adjust to the sudden light and take a closer look at the picture. Professor Oak? Why is Dante showing me this?

"Oh...I forgot," I utter. Its Monday today meaning I have to go to work at Oak's Viridian Lab. "Thanks Dante for reminding me, but don't worry, I got a hour left to go." Dante leaves to go downstairs most likely to go eat breakfast and I do a quick check up on myself in the mirror. I comb and pat down my bed head into my usual short hairstyle for my dark brown hair. My hazel eyes staring back at me while I fix myself. Ugh I forgot to take a shower last night might as well do it now. I grab my towel off the towel hook on the back of my bedroom door and walk to the bathroom. As I strip down and enter and turn on the shower, I mentally plan out my day. Starting with the Professor's work which will last a couple of hours, then maybe groceries, then training with Alex? As I finish up my thought I turn off the shower and dry off. Maybe today's the day the Prof will finally let me try to improve the pokedex! Three years of trust and internship and ya think a guy will let you do things yourself. Maybe I should see if I could add channels to the pokedex to connect to the news or emergency numbers in case of getting stranded. Ah I'm overthinking this, he probably won't let me anyway. I mean what does he think I'll do? Fuse it with a rotom? I put on the clothes I set aside on top of the bathroom counter. I don my usual black tee and white hoodie, as well as my black jeans. As I walk down the steps to go the first floor, I can't help but have a sense of premonition. That something big is supposed to happen if I walk outside, kinda like a deja vu. Did someone tell me about something? Should I tell the Professor? Well, it's probably not much if I forgot.

"Hey Dante you ready to go?" I say as I put on my backpack next to the door. I hear a char call out in response and him fast walking to the door with a small plastic box. Which he offers to me. I open it to see a club sandwich in it.

"In case you get hungry, ya forgot to eat!" Alex shouts out from the other side of the house.

"How'd you know I got the box?"

"I made it and asked Dante to give it to you. Why?"

"Oh nothing." I internally groan, I hope he didn't add weird stuff in it like last time. That Tamato Berries and cucumbers mix did not agree with me.

I lock the door, stuff the plastic bin into my backpack, and begin to walk off our lawn with Dante in tow. We start walking along the pavement towards to professor's lab. Surprising as it was to see the famous Professor Oak get a whole other lab in Viridian, it's even more when he put a poster on the door hiring a lab intern three years ago. And here I am still working for him helping him manage Pokemon, files, and reports throughout both labs. I look around and notice no one is really out at this time. No cars on the road for miles. I don't even see any curtains or blinds open at the few houses on the road! Well this part of Viridian is pretty laidback and lazy anyway. After a couple of minutes of making our way to the professor's, we finally end up at his door.

"Hey Professor!" I yell as I knock on his door. Almost immediately, Prof. Oak unlocked the door and pulled me and Dante inside and slammed the door shut, locking it. Before I say anything I notice the professor's state. His hair is an even greater mess than it usually is, dark circles under his eyes, and his lab papers scattered everywhere.

"Zackary Chance and Dante," he says in a hushed but urgent voice, "Both of you need to leave immediately. Certain people are after me and you are in indirect danger. Take this bag and leave from the back entrance. I will take care of transferring the Pokemon and documents!"

"Wait what, what do you mean! Who is-" Oak puts a hand on my mouth to stop me from talking.

"Hush Chance! They could be in this very room and they are after vital information and most likely our lives! You need to leave, but don't stay in the open and don't stay still. Don't even go to your house until later, you will put your family in danger."

"No hold on wait." barely a minute of me in here and things are going insane. "Tell me exactly why we have to leave and who is after and why?"

"Later I can tell you more of it, but all I can say right now is that Team Plasma is after important research documents that I worked with Bill and those that might be vital to their own projects. And I do not want you or your family to get involved. Please don't worry about me I will handle it." Things aren't adding up. Team Plasma is supposed to be over in Unova.

"How did you know tha-"

"Zackary please, you're risking your family's safety." Dang it he does have a point.

"Fine I'll go, please stay safe professor." I turn to Dante, "I'm gonna have to recall you for now, you okay with that?" To which Dante nods his head. I whip out his pokeball from my belt and press the small center button, allowing a red beam of light absorb Dante into the machinery. I gotta ask Dante what's it like in there. WAIT, no time for random thoughts like that Zack. I look back at the professor who is already darting across the room grabbing poke balls and sending them into a PC in his Pallet Lab; As well as his digital documents. I begin rushing towards the back door to exit into the Professor's Viridian Pokemon reserve. I swing the door open and dash into the woods dodging startled Pokemon as I walk by them. Am I being too rash about this? Things went by too fast. But the Professor would never be this serious about this if this was a joke! I mean he was sending files back to his lab, which not only setbacks his development of this work, but it also requires bypassing his security measures to do that, which only he and I knows how to do. I bring my sprint to a stop. There's no possible way Oak can escape if Team Plasma is after him. I should help him. But what if we come when they are invading? What if he's already gone and we are the ones in trouble? Maybe I should leave some equipment in a nearby tree so I won't lose it. Dammit this too much, I'm over thinking crap again! I'll just stay in the shadows. I drop my backpack and messenger bag in a hollow of nearby tree and rip out a small chunk of weak bark from the tree. I hope I'll be able to identify the marking later. I begin racing back towards the lab, being careful not to trip over roots and uneven terrain. I slow down my run when I make it back to the backdoor of the building. No footprints in the dirt around the door, great no one followed me. I press my ears to the door's wooden surface, I can't hear a thing! The door isn't thick at all, I should be able to hear at least some noise from the machines always whirring. But Oak probably did disable them in case there was some virus this Team Plasma implanted. I crack open the door an inch to peek inside. Nothing, absolutely abandoned. No documents, no pokeballs, no Oak. Did he manage to hide and transfer all of them and escape? Was he captured? It doesn't look like there was a struggle. I open the door a little more and creep in. I search the room for any signs of intruders but it seems like there wasn't any yet. It's too quiet in here. Oak probably escaped by now and I can't make any risks of further searching. I gotta go. I turn around and begin to sneak back to the door, careful not to make any noise if someone is actually here. A slight draft from the door brushes behind my neck and my hair goes on end. As if trepidation is crawling on my back and weighing me down. I stop moving and listen. Something or someone is behind me, there is no denying. Another draft snakes across my back swiftly. I listen closely. Slight sounds of footsteps seem to be behind me. I turn around to see nothing. I need to go, I can't be caught. I resume making my way back to the door. I hear the footsteps again. I increase my movement but not enough to make a definable sound. The footsteps are still there. They are coming from behind, above and even in front of me. Someone knows I'm here. I quickly get up and sprint out the back door that I left open. So much for not getting caught, but what was that? I hear footsteps coming at me at a faster pace than I am going. Cold sweat begins to appear on my face, there is no denying, I'm caught. Unless I try to lose them. I refuse to go to the direction of my inventory so I make a sharp turn left, cutting through bushes and trees. A few twigs from the uncut path snag at my skin, as if the thing chasing me is tearing at my flesh, trying to grab me. My jeans catch thorns from bushes and slightly tear apart. I push myself to run over my own limit. My muscles already screaming for rest and my breathing increasing in rapidness. The thing's footsteps slow down. Please be over. I continue my sprint regardless. As I run between the trees, an uplifted root pulls me down back to the ground, slamming my face against the forest floor. I try listening around for my predator. Nothing. Not even the reserve's pokemon are making their usual sing song noises. I crawl into a nearby bush, making my breath non existent. Still nothing. I slow down my breath and calm down. It can only be a pokemon, it didn't seem that it was getting tired while we were running. It's like it's messing with me. I shift around in the hollow bush, moving my neck in a more comfortable position away from the branches supporting my cover. I begin to hear slow footsteps again. The snapping twigs and shifting leaves create noises every step. But then silence.

"Lord Ghetsis and Colress both require your presence." A hand reaches into the my bush and stabs a needle into my side. Cold numbness washes over my body. Darkness creeps around my vision and I lose consciousness.

-line break-

I feel sore. Sore and raw. Like a touch itself can hurt me. My eyelids heavy and tired, refusing to open. It hurts to even breathe. I hear muffled voices away from me. Either something is blocking their voices or my ears are messed up. I try to move which only results in struggles due to my hands and feet being bound on whatever I'm on. I open my eyes. I'm in a rather large unfamiliar laboratory. Bright pristine white walls and ceiling, but a gray floor. Strange 6 feet tall tubes filled with liquid are placed along the walls except around and entrance. Desks filled with certain notes and chemicals practically cram every inch of each surface, but all items are still organized. One scientist, back towards me, is hunched over his desk, enthralled in whatever he's doing. I look at what I am on. A large vertical table that is holding me in placed. The table is stained with not just red, but also a green. Pain spikes in my side where I was injected. I look over to my afflicted side and see a tube penetrating my right side and also connecting to a tube filled with a gray liquid is over on my right. Is it, putting that in me?! I hear the muffled mumbling again. It's coming from the scientist over at one of the desks. He glances to me and mumbles another phrase, noticing that I'm awake. In a very impatient manner, he jabs a button near him with his thumb. A machine whirs to the left of me and an identical tube appears, snaking toward my other side. It pauses for a second, making me hope that it'll stay there. As if. The tube suddenly thrusts itself into my left side, piercing my clothes, and injecting a fluid that causes me to pass out.

-line break-

"Do you think this one will survive this time?" A dulled voice appears to be across from me.

"It survived this long and it's even more stable than any other one." Another voice appears. Ugh, I'm obviously a guy, get it right.

"Well speak of the devil, he's still stirring." The first voice says. Crap, I didn't know I moved.

"He does appear to have a strong will… or not." Second voice says. The heck does that mean?

"He might proved vital for them," first voice says, "He might be conscious, inject him again." Crap. The same tube on my left side administers the same narcotic drug which makes me blackout again.

-line break-

I regain consciousness. But something's different, I'm still sore but less. And also I'm on something soft. I feel…grass? I'm outside? I open my eyes easily this time. Although it's night I can tell where I am. I'm outside! I'm just outside the backdoor of the Professor's lab. What the heck happened? Was that all fake?! I check both of my sides and notice the holes in my hoodie and large bandages covering both areas of my skin. Nope, it's all real. I exhale a puff of frustration. Why the heck me? Wait, what day is it? I should try calling someone. I reach into my pocket only to find it empty. Oh yeah, it's in my backpack. Why the heck did I do that? I groan. Stop feeling bad for yourself, just go get the things you put in that tree. I retrace the same path I went when I had the bags. I run for several minutes until I found the marked tree. At least something good is happening. I thought it would be stolen. I grab both bags and put them on. DANTE! I reach for his pokeball and grasp a familiar metal ball. I sigh relief, thank goodness. I summon Dante from his ball. The red light escapes from the ball and forms my charmander. Once he appears, he stretches a little, but oblivious to what happened. His tail illuminates the area around him.

"Char Char?" Did he say 'what happened'? I hesitate a little, wondering if I should tell him. But he did see Oak warning us so he already is involved.

"Dante we might need to leave town." Dante gives me a confused look and replies with a char.

"After I left the lab, I was ambushed by, most likely, Team Plasma and they did," I shudder at what a happened, "...something... to me. They said certain things that made me believe that they will follow me. And the Professor said that Team Plasma will try to get me no matter what, which will endanger our family. So we shouldn't stay with them, especially mom. Do you agree?" Dante hesitates on his answer. Probably freaked out by the situation. My breathing becomes more rapid as panic settles. They definitely will hurt our family and the residents here. I need to leave. I try to steady my breath and hide my fright. I don't want to scare Dante anymore than now. Dante slowly and reluctantly nods, and most likely saddened by leaving our family behind.

"Lets at least try to tell them about this…" Dante nods again.

-line break-

We trek up to our doorway. Please, please let this go well. How do I even say this to them? I open the door with the spare keys I had in my backpack. Across the entryway, I see mom pacing back and forth in the living room. She glances up towards me. With tears in her eyes, she runs towards us and embraces me in a hug.

"I was worried sick about you! It's been over a day and you didn't return!" her breath becomes ragged and uneven. I'm sorry for this. If I just run without telling her I'm alive, she might think I died, I can't have her think that.

"Mom, get Alex and Koda, please." Tears started to well up in my eyes before I finished the sentence. Without question, she goes upstairs to get them. I walk over to the sofa and sit down. Dante trudges over to the floor next to me and collapses, seemingly trying to hold in his own emotions. Mom comes back down with Alex and Koda in tow, both with frightened look on their faces, wondering what happened.

Mom begins to speak with a slight shake in her throat, "Zackary, please tell us...what happened." I recite why I told Dante but in a more descriptive manner. I tell them about the Professor's situation, the messenger bag, the chase, the abduction, the lab, the words the scientists said, the drugging, everything. Dante gets even more shocked than before due to the new information. Alex and Koda both displaying shock on their faces. And mom silently crying until she burst into tears when I told her I need to leave.

"NO! Not you! I can't...please…" She collapses onto me, hugging me tightly. Koda looks down at the floor. Alex looks at me with strong determination.

"If you're going, then I'm going with you!" He shouts, pissed, "I'm not going to standby and let this Team Plasma use you, I'm going to teach them what for!" Koda puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Rose, let's talk about this upstairs please." she says solemnly. Mom gets up, more composed than before and walks upstairs with Koda. I put a hand to my head. I can't believe I made her cry. I'm so sorry for this.

"Zack, before you say anything else, I'm definitely going with you." Alex says.

"No please, I can't endanger you! You're defeating the whole purpose of this decision!"

"No I'm not, the purpose of this is to protect mom. And besides, I'll need to protect you as well out there. If they're keeping tabs on you, then you need to be protected," He brings up a valid point. But no I can't let him get hurt!He continues, "Mom is more worried for you or me getting hurt than herself. She would be devastated to find out that your were taken again and or even killed. She can't handle another loss! Please, I'm not just choosing to join for your sake, but also for mom's." I bite my lip. He's right. He knows he's right. Even if I decline he's gonna come anyway. I look down to Dante for an answer. Dante nods his head in full agreement. I sigh.

"Okay then, but that means you can't get hurt as well! And mom has to agree to this!" Alex grins.

"You should be worrying more about yourself during this trip than me."

"Yeah true, I'm probably going to fall somewhere considering my luck." Alex becomes serious again.

"No seriously, whatever they put in you, well, it could be anything." The liquid they put in me… is it supposed to kill me? Am I going to die a horrific and slow death? Is it going to make me brain dead?!I shiver at the thought.

Mom and Koda both come down from upstairs and walk in front of me. Mom looking more composed than before and Koda has barely visible tear marks in her fur around her eyes.

"I talked it over with Koda and…" Mom pauses but then hesitantly continues, "We both agree with your decision...just please be safe. You are right that this Team Plasma may attack this area of Viridian, as well as the other people here…and-" I walk up to her and hug her. She immediately hugs back.

"I'm sorry for doing this too you, I'm sorry I'm getting you involved in this." I say between tears.

"No...no…you are making the wise decision. As much as it pains me to say this, you are right. They will attack the other people and not just me to get to you. It's selfish of me to keep you here." She quietly sobs.

Alex interjects, "Mom, I should be there to protect him." His words are all forced out, making it painful for him to say them, we can't bear to see her like this again. Mom released me from the hug and takes a deep breath.

"I suppose that is the right choice, too." I can tell she still is holding back anymore tears.

"Don't worry, we will always try to contact you, we won't be gone forever."

"I'm not worried about you leaving on a journey, I was perfectly fine with that. I'm worried about both of your lives now. Zack may have been injected with something deadly or dangerous and people might be tracking him! You both will be put into very dangerous situations…I can't bear you or Zack getting hurt," she pauses, "I don't want anyone to die, not again…"

Alex puts a hand on her shoulder, "I swear that I will protect the both of us," he gently smiles, "Not only will we both be safe, but we might be able to discover and possibly cure whatever is afflicting Zack." I look away. There might not be a cure, these people looked as if they had all the resources in the world, they probably didn't allow any cures or antibiotics to be able to affect...this, whatever this is.

"At least stay till next morning, it is night and I'll pack your bags, after you both eat, you should go to bed. You both will have a long day tomorrow." She smiles a little, at least she is feeling better.

I pull her into another hug, "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie."

-line break-

I open my eyes, darkness and weightless. I feel nothing. Is this a dream? I try to look around and see nothing but black. But then a quick flash of light appears in front of me then disappears. In its wake is some sort of mist.

"Zackary? Hello? Can you hear me?" a joyful and carefree sounding voice says, "Is anyone in here?" It giggles.

"Who's there!" I yell. The cloud of mist gains a hue of pink and forms into a small, yet feline like !

"It's me silly!" Mew beams.

"Wha-What! Why?" I say still shocked that Mew is in my dreams.

The Mew tilts its head, "What do you mean why?"

"I mean why are you in my dreams! You're the legendary Mew!" This response only makes it laugh.

"Haha someone's heard about me! But don't you remember? Didn't Darkrai tell you?"

"What?" What is Mew on about?

"Didn't Darkrai warn you about you getting taken and etc etc.."

"WHAT WHAT DO YOU MEAN ETC!" This is the first time I've heard this! And I'm supposed to believe that Darkrai is helping me this time?

Mew laughs again, "You mean you forgot! Well basically what he told you is that something that's threatening humanity is gonna happen, or something like that. But I wouldn't say it like that. Just something big and bad will happen, that's all. Oh and that you'll be captured by a new group and tested on but that's all." I'm speechless. I can't believe I could have forgotten something like this. This would have been so easy to avoid. Frick me for being such a scatterbrained idiot. Wait, did it say a new group?

"Um, did you say a new group? But Team Plasma's been around for a couple years or so; Who's this new group?" Mew considers this for a moment.

"We still don't know, but it's not Team Plasma."

"B-but." I stop talking knowing it would be pointless to question further.

"But Celebi did find another clue!" Mew says excitingly, "I think she said something about that substance put into you!" My heartbeat quickens, I better not forget this. "She said that it may not kill you! You should survive, whatever it is!"

I exhale, Thank Arceus, wait, did he say may?

"What do you mean by may?"

"Like I said, we still don't know…" DANG IT ALL TO DISTORTION! I thought I would have to worry about that!

"Wait so is that why you came into my dream? To tell about that?"

"Yes of cour-" Mew pauses and its eyes widen, "You need to wake up, NOW!" Mew shouts.

"What, what is it!" Mew's sudden mood change startles me.

"They're in your house!" Before I can respond, A white light radiates in front of me, preventing me from opening my eyes. But as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.

-line break-

I open my eyes and see the bottom of the top bunk again. Did that just happen? Oh well at least I remembered it this time. WAIT MEW'S WARNING! I jump out of bed, careful not to hit my head again, put on the two bags I have, and look at the top bunk. Alex is peacefully sleeping. I shake him a little. Which he only responds with a growl. I shake him again. He growls again. Agh, Alex! Why do you have to be so lazy in the mornings! I don't have time for this. I punch him right in the back, finally waking him up.

"Zack what the heck man!" He groggily yells at me. Oh geez how am I gonna tell him without sounding crazy.

"I think there's people in here, get up so we can deal with them if there are."

"This better not be a joke!" Alex says as he reluctantly gets out of bed and grabs Hydro's pokeball off of the nightstand. I go over to Dante who drowsily gets up. Probably overheard us. He nods to me, showing me he understands the situation. At least someone knows I'm not joking. We and Alex begin to walk into the hallway but we halt when we hear a scratching sound from downstairs.

Alex begins to whisper, "Well I guess you're not lying…" We continue into the hallway and reach Mom's room. I open the door and see her and Koda safe and asleep. When I step in the room, Koda jerks up immediately from her sleep with aura sensors primed and ready in the air.

Her sensors fall back down when she notices me, "Oh my bad Zack, you startled me." She can't sense an intruder?

"Koda wake Mom up and protect her there's someone in the house." I whisper. She gives me a quizzical look.

"There's no one else in the house, if there was I would be sensing them right now."

"I'm serious about this!" I say in a hushed voice, "I literally swear to Mew there is! It told me!" This only receives an even greater judging look from Koda.

"How?" She says it more as an order than a question.

"It appeared in my dreams telling me about an intruder in this house." Koda shakes Mom a little bit as I leave the room. I motion to Alex and Dante to both go down the stairs with me, they follow. The scratching sound appears again, but now a more of a shuffling noise, as if people are walking around in the living room. We walk to down the stairs, the shuffling noise becoming more prominent. Alex readies Hydro's pokeball for a quicker release and Dante assumes a more battle-ready position. We all turn the corner, only to find the living room empty. The shuffling noise continues but stops immediately when we walk in the center of the room. I clear my throat as my muscles tighten. Alex releases Hydro and points at Dante, quietly motioning him to 'get ready.' I look around and the only thing out of place is that the backyard door is slightly ajar. I point to it directing everyone to it. We all walk in unison until I open the door. Across the backyard, a figure dressed in white and black, with his back facing us, stands holding a pokeball. Obviously a trap. He releases the pokemon from the ball, with his back still turned towards us, and the energy morphs into a Bisharp. Hydro and Alex go towards the challenging opponent. No one says a word. The battle doesn't even start. And his back doesn't turn.

A voice from behind appears from me and Dante, as if the voice is a creeping fog snaking across my shoulder, "We require that research." We both run into the field, and turn around to face another identical man garbed in black and white.

"Last time you lacked his research, but now the fruits are ripe for harvest." He brandishes a pokeball and releases another Bisharp. The man and Bisharp both walk over to the first enemy and his Bisharp. The other man turns around. A third identical man appears from nowhere next to them and unleashes his own Bisharp. I hear shuffling from the house again. I turn back and see both Mom and Koda at the door. Koda walks next to both Dante and Hydro. One of the opposers motions his hand the the three Bisharp nod.

The Bisharp begin running towards us with their claws obtaining a dark, shadowy glow. Without direction, Dante begins to spew his Smokescreen while Koda scrapes her spikes against each other emanating a loud and pain noise, Metal Sound. It seems like they already know what to due. I can already tell Dante's trying out another one of our combo moves, I guess he has it under control. The Bisharp flinch but then charge at them again.

"Alright Koda! They're weakened! Now Hydro, use Bubble as a shield for all of you!" On Alex's command, Hydro begins to spew out bubbles that move in front of the smoke which covers him, Koda and Dante. The Bisharp stop their second assault to avoid being hurt, "Now Water Gun!"

"Koda Aura Sphere!" Mom yells. Hydro shoots out a jet of water at two of the Bisharp and Koda fires a blue glowing ball of energy at the other one. They are blasted back to the trainers, although not knocked out, one is severely damaged. Now is the perfect time.

"Dante! Release it NOW!" Dante, who was charging a certain combo attack breathes a devastating breath attack that we have been working on for quite a while. The fire contacts all three Bisharp and knock them out immediately.

"WHAT THE HECK! Another combo!" Alex shouts in surprise.

I grin, "Dante proposed mixing Dragon Rage and Ember at our last training session to create what we call 'Dragon Fire.' And it works so that's something you have to watch out for if we battle." I look back at the enemies, they are unfazed and uncaring for the result of the battle.

"Sadly we can't take you when you have protection like that. We will wait." After saying this, all three of them disappear, leaving no trace at all.

"Well it's no use to call police now, is it?" Alex says.


As you can tell, the updates to the stories is sorta slow on this so don't hold your breath! I got other work to do. I'm also trying to figure out the other stories I have planned. And also I picked up my Pkmn White and I am redoing it for kicks.

After Edit: How are ya feeling about the story? I do have a plan for it but it will be loosely edited. So kinda it's formed as I go. Tell me if there are any inconsistencies or mess ups in these chapters, I want to make something decent enough for people enjoy a little.