Author's Notes: It's been a while since I updated this fanfic. I've had little time to do anything constructive as I've been busy trying to finish up college (I should be done by this December), changing jobs, and just having a life. I'll try to update more in the summer though. For now, here's Chapter 3!

Chapter 3

It was a new day in Fuchsia City. Isamu awoke to the sounds of Pidgey chirping outside his window. He was alone in the queen-sized bed, leaving him to assume that Ayako had already gone to work. He was relieved to have a day off and felt that he could work on training his Pokémon in preparation for his next mission, whenever that would be.

Ayako sat on a stool inside Cubone's cage, holding Cubone like a baby in her lap while feeding him a special Pokémon formula from a bottle. Cubone sucked away at the milk-like substance contently. Ayako smiled in contentment as Cubone fell asleep in her arms. She loved being a mother, whether biological or surrogate, as it made her feel needed. As she set the sleeping Pokémon down in its nest, she then remembered the talking Hitmonlee from the previous day.

"It is humans who have done this to us!" Ayako remembered the Pokémon exclaiming. "And now you lock us in cages because you are afraid of us?! That man told me that he would rescue us! And yet you want to trap us inside cages as well! You are no better than Team Rocket!"

Ayako quietly walked out of Cubone's cage, locking the door behind her, and headed to the Fighting Pokémon portion of the Safari Zone Zoo. When she arrived at the green Hitmonlee's cage, he was lying on his back. She could not tell if he was sleeping or passed out, but he at least seemed to be breathing. She then looked at his feet and noticed that his sharp toes were red.

Was he up all night practicing his kicking? Ayako wondered. She then looked at the dummy in the cage, which was slightly tattered, but certainly not as badly beat up as most of the dummies that were kept in Fighting Pokémon's cages.

Without another thought, Ayako unlocked the cage and entered with a bag of Pokémon food. The rattling of the metal cage door woke the sleeping Hitmonlee, who sat up, his feet too sore for him to stand immediately.

"I'm sorry," said Ayako. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It is all right," the Hitmonlee replied. "I am rather hungry."

"You must be if you've been up all night kicking that dummy."

Hitmonlee clenched his fists. "I do not know what I even bothered. No matter how hard I try, my kicks never get any stronger. I was simply not meant to be strong."

"That's not true," Ayako pleaded as she poured the Pokémon food into a dish. "You can't expect results overnight. You just have to keep at it. Every Pokémon, no matter how weak, is able to become strong through sheer willpower and effort."

"Your words are inspiring, but this is reality. I am not a regular Pokémon. I have been experimented on since I was a Tyrogue. According to Team Rocket's expert scientists, I would never amount to anything. I am a failed experiment. That is my fate."

Ayako set Hitmonlee's dish in front of him so that he would not have to walk to it on his sore legs. Hitmonlee began to eat as Ayako said to him, "Well, I feel you should keep trying anyway. You have nothing to lose, right?"

Hitmonlee sighed. "I suppose you are right about that. I have nothing to live for."

"That's not quite what I meant!"

"It is all right. If I can become stronger… then maybe I will have a reason for living."

Ayako smiled. "I believe in you. You should take it easy until your legs heal though. I'll be back later to check on you. I have to go check on the Pokémon in the breeding center now."

Ayako headed for the cage door when she heard shifting behind her. Turning back around, she saw Hitmonlee standing up, his legs wobbling but managing to hold the Pokémon up through sheer determination.

"Maybe I… accompany you?" he asked.

Ayako knew she should tell him no, and yet she admired his resolve. "I'm not supposed to let you out of your cage, but—" she stopped when she saw the look of disappointment on the Pokémon's face. "You don't appear to be dangerous. I suppose you can come with me if you'd like. Just don't wander off!"

"Thank you, Miss Ayako," said Hitmonlee with a bow.

"Just call me Ayako."

Hitmonlee walked with Ayako across the zoo to the breeding center just outside of the zoo's southern entrance. This part of the Safari Zone had only recently been built and was the first public breeding center in all of Kanto. Ayako and Hitmonlee, rather than entering through the front door, walked around to the back, where Ayako entered a password into a pinpad to open the gate to the backyard, where many Pokémon couples, from Nidoran of both genders to Psyduck, Doduo, and other trainer's Pokémon frolicked in an artificial environment complete with grass, trees, caves, rugged terrain, and salt and fresh water ponds. Ayako walked around checking on all the Pokémon, refilling their food and water supplies as needed, while Hitmonlee gazed around in awe.

"This is… spectacular!" he said. "So trainers leave their Pokémon here to mate?"

"That's right," replied Ayako. "We have to make sure certain conditions are met so that the Pokémon have a healthy and happy environment for mating in."

"This is not at all like Team Rocket's breeding center. There, Pokémon were forced to mate under harsh circumstances and many Pokémon were punished simply for being infertile. Here, you allow Pokémon to mate freely and naturally."

"Like I told you before, not all humans are as bad as Team Rocket. My husband is one of many working to put a stop to Team Rocket's savagery."

"Perhaps I should not be so judgmental. Some humans, such as your husband, are risking their lives for us Pokémon."

As Ayako and Hitmonlee approached the salt water pond, Ayako gasped at what she saw. "It's happened!"

"What has happened?" asked Hitmonlee.

"I have to find Isamu! Come on, Lee! I'll show you the way to my house!" With that, Ayako dashed out the gate entrance.

Hitmonlee stood in place stunned for a few seconds. "Lee?" he pondered. He then ran off to catch up with Ayako.

The girl and the Pokémon did not have far to run as Ayako and Isamu's house was merely down the block from the breeding center. When they arrived, Ayako prepared to enter the front door when she heard noise coming from the backyard. Isamu must be training his Pokémon, she thought. She then guided Hitmonlee to the backyard and opened the gate, where they indeed found Isamu along with six Pokémon: Blastoise, Electabuzz, Golem, Pidgeot, Rapidash, and Exeggutor. Not noticing his visitors, Isamu continued giving orders to his Pokémon.

"Electabuzz, use Thunder Punch! Blastoise, avoid the attack by going underground!"

Electabuzz growled as it charged at Blastoise, electricity sizzling around its fist. Blastoise quickly spun around rapidly and managed to dig a hole, narrowly avoiding Electabuzz's attack.

"Now, Blastoise, use a Dig attack! Pidgeot, save Electabuzz by lifting it into the air!"

"Pidgeoh!" Pidgeot swooped down rapidly and grabbed Electabuzz in its talons, then soared into the air, narrowly avoiding Blastoise's uppercut attack as it emerged from the ground. Pidgeot then released Electabuzz onto the ground below as it prepared to swoop at Blastoise.

"Fly attack now, Pidgeot! Blastoise, guard yourself with Withdraw!"

"Blastoise!" the turtle cried as its limbs, head, and tail retreated into its shell, shielding it from Pidgeot's high-speed aerial attack.

The entire time, Hitmonlee watched Isamu's Pokémon in fascination. "The way you train your Pokémon… it is incredible! They are all very strong and skilled!"

At that moment, Isamu turned around and saw Ayako with the talking Hitmonlee.

"Hey, what are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Safari Zone Zoo?"

"We were," replied Ayako, "but there's something we need to show you! Come with us!"

"All right," said Isamu as he pulled out six Poké Balls. "You guys can take a breather for right now. Return!" Red beams emerged from all six of the red and white balls, capturing the six Pokémon and sucking them into their spherical containments.

Isamu then followed Ayako and the shiny Hitmonlee back to the breeding center. Ayako then guided her husband and the Pokémon to the salt water pond, where a female Blastoise lay holding an egg.

"An egg!" Isamu gasped. "My… my Blastoise is going to be a father soon!"

"So that Blastoise is your Blastoise's mate?" asked Hitmonlee.

"If you must know, that's not actually a Blastoise," replied Isamu. The Blastoise began to glow as it reverted into a pink blob.

"Ditto!" the Pokémon exclaimed.

"Oh, I see. It is a Ditto."

Isamu nodded as he tossed a Poké Ball, releasing his Blastoise, whom Ditto again transformed into. The two Pokémon then lay down together next to their egg.

"Due to its ability to shapeshift," Isamu continued, "Ditto can breed with any Pokémon."

"Breeders call it the wild card of Pokémon breeding," Ayako added. "Blastoise is a very rare Pokémon as is and female Blastoise are exceptionally rare. Ditto is very helpful for trainers who want to breed rare Pokémon."

"Your species," Isamu said to Hitmonlee, "only comes in a male variety. When two Pokémon breed, the offspring tends to be the same species as the mother. Therefore, it's extremely difficult to breed a Tyrogue without a Ditto."

"I do not know what kinds of Pokémon my parents were," said Hitmonlee, looking to the ground sadly.

Isamu and Ayako were silent, feeling the vibe that this was not a topic which Hitmonlee wished to discuss.

"You know, Isamu," Ayako said, finally breaking the silence, "Hina's tenth birthday is coming up."

Isamu nodded. "I still can't believe it's been almost a decade since we became parents."

"Hina? Is that your offspring?" asked Hitmonlee.

Ayako nodded. "Hina is our daughter. She's at school today. She loves Pokémon and has been looking forward to the day when she can become a Pokémon trainer for a long time."

"And now," added Isamu, "she will soon have her very own Pokémon. I want her to use the Squirtle that hatches from this egg."

"That is so beautiful!" Hitmonlee exclaimed as tears streamed from his eyes. "The trainer's offspring teaming up with the offspring of her father's first Pokémon! It is like destiny can be beautiful sometimes!"

Ayako and Isamu were surprised by how emotional Hitmonlee had suddenly gotten. Isamu then laughed.

"I guess you could call it destiny in a way," he said, "but to be perfectly honest, this was all planned. In preparation for Hina's birthday, I bred my Blastoise with my Ditto so that Hina could have the same starter Pokémon that I had."

"I see," said Hitmonlee. "It is as if… you are in control of your own destinies!"

"Of course we are!" replied Isamu. "That's not to say that we've always gotten everything we ever wanted out of life, but with enough determination, I'd say just about anything is possible. For example, I'm married to the woman of my dreams, but winning her heart wasn't easy!" Ayako cracked a smile. "Even now, I still have a goal that I'm working towards. With the right amount of effort, I believe I can stop Team Rocket's plans."

Hitmonlee's bushy eyebrows half covered his large, round eyes. He had a more determined look than anything Ayako or Isamu had ever seen from him before.

"It is decided then!" he exclaimed. "Ayako-sensei!"

"Sensei?" Ayako was confused.

"I hereby request that you take me on as your pupil! Your words and everything you have shown me today have inspired me to not give up! I believe that with enough hard work, a failed experiment such as myself can still be a strong Pokémon! I want to make you proud, Ayako-sensei!"

Ayako was stunned. "I'm speechless, Lee. But… all right then! I accept your request. From this day forward, I am your trainer!"

"Woo hoo!" the Hitmonlee, now apparently called Lee, cheered as he began leaping in the air. "I shall do my happy dance!" Lee began to dance around, much to the bewilderment of Isamu, Blastoise, and Ditto. Ayako, however, disregarded the strangeness of Lee's behavior and smiled. She was happy to know that she had brought hope to a depressed Pokémon's life.