Chapter 4 Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Pokémon. I do this disclaimer to cover all of my bases and to confirm that fact every time.

Now, I'm getting some serious praise with this fic, and I've managed some fans. I'm quite glad at this news. I'm listening to several excellent songs and I'm quite amused as I write this. Anyway, I'd like to thank DragonLord Seth, the first to review. I'd also like to thank uguismode, who was kind enough to review. And uguismode, which story do you mean? Lastly, I'd like to thank this one guy, who quite likes my story. Thank you all for your reviews, I enjoy knowing that my work is appreciated.

Now, this chapter introduces some controversy and a bit of filler. In all, I wanted to keep my usual nine pages and thirty five hundred words or so, and this is why the filler content is so high. Not much character or plot development, but this is the fourth chapter.
…

I opened my eyes and looked down at Liz. She was sleeping peacefully on my chest. I then noticed something alarming. My vision was normal, which meant my sunglasses weren't on my face. I looked around quickly and couldn't see them.

"Zero, I'm sorry." Gardenia said quietly. I looked at her and saw my sunglasses in her hands and she was sitting on her bunk. "I just wanted to see what color your eyes were." I looked at Liz and nodded.

"I understand." I said. "I usually don't remove my sunglasses because people used to make fun of my bright blue eyes and hair." I looked at her with a small smile. "Now it's because of my right eye and nothing more."

"What happened?" She asked. I shrugged.

"The day I caught Liz, her father, a Gallade, put some kind of spell on me." I said calmly. "He sliced my right eye and gave me psychic powers." She looked at her hands as my sunglasses shook. She let them go and they floated over to me. I caught them in my right hand and put them on the stand next to me.

"What else did he do?" She asked. I shrugged again.

"He gave me a neat 'X' shaped scar on both sides of my right hand." I said calmly. I held up my right hand and then lowered it. "Not much else really happened. He wanted me to protect his little Ralts, and he gave me some mental powers." She nodded.

"But why did he scar your hand?" She asked. I closed my eyes. "He cut your eye and gave you one like his, but what about your hand?" I smiled and opened my eyes. I pulled off the glove on my right hand and the green had stopped at the wrist. It hadn't moved in a few days, so that meant that it was probably done. I rolled up the sleeve and she gasped. "Wow. It looks like a Gallade's arm." I nodded.

"Complete with the blade." I said. "I can even use Psycho Cut." She bit her lower lip as I rolled down the sleeve. I looked at Liz while she looked up at me with a worried look. I set my right hand on her head and rubbed her hair for a moment with a smile. "If it's okay with you Gardenia, I'd like to keep this between us and the walls." I looked at her while she nodded. "Not that I'd do anything if you did, I just think that this is part of some greater plan." I thought about my arm for a moment and chuckled. "Okay, so I'd give you the whole 'I don't really get why you did that' speech, but apart from that and a tiny guilt trip I'd let you off easy." She nodded while Liz pushed my hand away. I looked at her while she moved off of me. "Are you okay Liz?" She shook her head. "What's wrong?" She shook her head and I felt a strange emotion in the air. I recognized it as jealousy. I smiled and set my hand on her head again. I had felt jealous of other trainers with Ralts when I had searched for ten years before finding her. "Liz, are you jealous of Gardenia?" Gardenia looked at me for a moment while Liz nodded slowly. "It's okay Liz, she's a friend, but she could never replace you." She looked up at me while I rubbed her head slowly. "Come on now, you were the first real friend I've ever had. You're my best friend." She smiled as Gardenia stood up.

"Maybe I should see when breakfast starts." She said cheerily. Liz looked at her and smiled.

"Thanks Gardenia." I said. "We'll be along in a bit. I've just got to wait for Sting to come back."
…

We walked down the road and I spotted a patch of the ground that looked recently disturbed and covered. I held out my right hand and looked at it suspiciously.

"What is it Zero?" Gardenia asked. I looked at the ground.

"Something doesn't feel right about that spot." I said. I knelt down and brushed some of the dirt aside. There were thin branches laid out in a pattern, covering a hole. "It's a pit trap."

"Darn, how did you see through that?" A female voice asked.

"Who said that?" Gardenia asked.

"Prepare for trouble." The female voice called. The three from Mount Moon jumped out from the bushes.

"And make it double." The male said.

"To protect the world from devastation." The female called, striking an odd pose.

"To unite all peoples within our nation." The male called, pointing a rose at Gardenia.

"Denouncing the evils of truth and love." The woman said, crossing her arms.

"To extend our reach to the stars above." The male said calmly, sniffing the rose.

"Jesse!" The woman said dramatically, pointing at me.

"James." The man said seductively, pointing at Gardenia.

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light." Jesse said.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight." James said.

"Meowth, that's right." The talking Meowth said. I looked up at Liz while Gardenia stared at the Meowth. I looked back at them and clapped.

"Well done." I said. "You three must have spent a lot of time working on that." Gardenia looked at me as Liz started clapping.

"What are you clapping at?" Jesse asked loudly. I stopped and smiled.

"Well, you did have a good presentation, and the jumping out of the bush was well timed." I said calmly. "I think such a good presentation should have some praise." They looked at each other while I pulled out Sting's Pokéball. "So, you want to try to steal our Pokémon." I smiled as they nodded and pulled out their own Pokéball. "Then let's skip the dialogue and get to the introductions." I lobbed the ball and Sting appeared. "Sting, let's teach them how strong you've gotten." He buzzed and his eyes flashed. Gardenia tossed a Pokéball and a Tangela appeared. "Okay, two on two?" They threw their Pokéball and growled.

"Koffing, use sludge on that Beedrill!" James called.

"Ekans, use poison sting on Tangela." Jesse added.

"Tangela, block it with Energy Ball." Gardenia said. The Koffing inhaled as the Ekans spat dozens of tiny needles at Tangela.

"Sting, take to the air and do a flyby String Shot." I said quickly. Sting buzzed loudly and flew into the air as the Koffing spat a giant ball of sludge at the spot he had been seconds earlier. Sting flew along and began spitting string at the Koffing.

"Koffing, use Smokescreen!" James called. Koffing belched out a black cloud and the white string went in. "Now use tackle." I had blocked out Jesse's and Gardenia's battle while Koffing flew into the air, a great deal of string covering it.

"Sting, use Signal Beam." I called. Sting put the tips of his arm stingers together and a bright green beam hit Koffing when it was two feet away. Koffing was stopped short and slowly began moving back. "Okay, finish with another String Shot." Koffing shook in the air as Sting began firing string all over it.

"Koffing, do something!" James yelled.

"Okay Tangela, finish with Solar Beam!" Gardenia yelled happily. Koffing hit the ground next to James, and I smiled as Sting flew down next to me. Ekans was next to Meowth as Tangela fired a golden beam at them. They screamed as the beam crashed into the ground in front of them and exploded. Somehow they were thrown into the air.

"It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" They screamed as one. I smiled and held out my right hand to Sting.

"Good work Sting." I said. He buzzed and put his right stinger against my palm. "I knew you'd handle those clowns." Liz nodded while Sting stretched. I smiled again and pulled out his Pokéball. He tapped it and went back in. "He sleeps a lot during the day. I guess he's a night Pokémon." Gardenia giggled as Tangela walked up to me. "How are you holding up there?" It walked up closer and began rubbing against my leg. I set my right hand on top of it and rubbed the vines. "Well, you're a friendly little guy aren't you?" Gardenia walked over and pulled out the Pokéball.
…

I sat against the base of a tall tree while Gardenia zipped up her sleeping bag. I tilted my hat down over my eyes as Liz climbed onto my lap again. She yawned and set her head against my chest while I smiled. I set my right hand on top of her head as she closed her eyes.

"Hey Zero?" Gardenia asked. I looked up at her while she shifted in her sleeping bag. "She really trusts you." I nodded. "How long have you had her?" I thought about it for a moment.

"I caught Liz about two or three weeks ago." I said.

"Wow, three weeks and she trusts you so much." Gardenia said quietly. I nodded as I stroked Liz's hair softly. "And you treat all of your Pokémon so kindly." I smiled and looked at Liz as she started breathing quietly.

"I treat my Pokémon as my friends." I said. "Pokémon deserve nothing less than the respect of their trainers." I looked up at Gardenia as she half closed her eyes. "I lost my parents eleven years ago, and I was pretty much raised by the men and women of their companies." She nodded. "I'm the last of my bloodline at the moment, and I want to try my hand at the Pokémon League before I try to find someone to settle down with."

"Sounds like you have a plan." She said. I nodded and continued petting Liz. "I feel like I know you from somewhere. I know I've never met you before, but I feel like I might have seen you before." I nodded again.

"I'm the rich guy from the news." I said. "I'm the last of an ancient bloodline of a great and powerful king. I'm also unable to put a dent in the money I make each day. I'm Gene 'Zero' Alastor." She nodded.

"I thought I recognized you." She said. "Wow, it must be nice having so much money." I shook my head.

"I have so much money I could probably have had someone else catch a Ralts." I said. "But money is like power; it corrupts you if you aren't careful." She nodded.
…

We walked into the main area of Vermillion City, Liz on my shoulders and Gardenia to my right. Liz patted the top of my head and I looked up at her. She had taken my hat and was wearing it while she smiled at me. She pointed to the left and I spotted the Pokémon Center. She had a few scratches and some bruises, and we had used the very last of our potions a few hours back.

"Zero, I'm going to go check on Lieutenant Surge." Gardenia said. I looked at her and nodded. "I'll see you later." I nodded and held out my right hand.

"Let him know I'm coming." I said. "Hopefully sometime this afternoon." She nodded as she shook my hand. She let go and walked away. I walked over to the center as the door slid open. A ship horn blew in the distance as I walked in. Except for Nurse Joy and the occasional Chansey walking around, the entire place was empty. Joy was facing away from me as I walked up. I set Liz on the ground beside me as Joy typed on her computer.

"I can't believe there aren't any trainers coming in this week." She said quietly. "I thought for sure I'd get at least one trainer by today." She sighed. "I guess I could even risk using my terminal for personal use for a while." She turned and saw me and quickly blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in." I smiled and waved my right hand twice.

"It's not a big deal." I said. "I figured you had something important going on with your computer." She blushed deeper. "We can wait for a little while if you're busy." I looked down at Liz as she climbed up to see Nurse Joy.

"Oh my, did you battle Lieutenant Surge?" She asked. I shook my head.

"We got in a bit of a tough battle a ways out of town." I explained. "It wasn't too bad, just a few scratches." Liz nodded as I helped her up onto the desk. She sat down as I pulled out the rest of the Pokéballs. Joy stood up and walked over and looked at Liz. "I would have used some potions, but I ran out in an earlier battle." She nodded as she examined Liz.

"Is she from a different region?" She asked.

"Yes, we're from Hoenn." I replied. She nodded while Liz put her hands in her lap. "I've also got a Gyarados, a Beedrill, and a Mawile." She looked at me. "Mawile was actually caught about twelve or so miles north of here." She nodded.

"I'd heard a few Pokémon were coming in from other regions." She said. "Well, I'll take care of your Pokémon, but I think I should give them all a complete checkup." I nodded as I set the Pokéball on the small tray. "Where is her ball?" I pulled out the Masterball and tapped the button.

"I don't put her in it." I said. I put the ball on my belt as Joy nodded. "The others seem to enjoy sleeping in them at night, but Liz doesn't like being confined." Liz nodded. "On the flight over here, she actually freed herself just so she could sit on my lap." Joy giggled while Liz blushed. "I figure I'll just get it set on my Pokétch one day." She smiled while Liz stood up and hopped down beside Joy. "Well, I need to head to the Pokémart to get some supplies. I should be back in an hour." Joy nodded.

"I should be finished with Liz's checkup by then." She said. I nodded as she bowed.

"Don't let the others cause any trouble Liz." I said. Liz held her right hand up and waved. "Okay, keep them in line." I looked at Joy with a smile. "I should tell you that the Beedrill answers only to Sting and Gyarados likes being called Garth." She nodded. "And Sting likes to spend his nights outside. I guess he likes flying about in his free time."

"I'll let Sting out at night then." She said. I shook my head.

"I'm actually going to check into a hotel later." I said. I began turning when I remembered something important. "Oh, and Garth is a rare Red Gyarados." She looked at the three Pokéball. "He's also a lot calmer than most Gyarados. He's basically just a big red Teddiursa with scales." She giggled as she turned to walk away. "Thanks Nurse Joy. Without you and your family, a lot of Pokémon wouldn't get the care they deserve." I turned away and felt a small amount of happiness, but it wasn't Liz. 'I can feel other people's emotions now?' I put my hands in my duster pockets and smiled. 'Looks like her dad messed with more than just my mind, my eye, and my arm.'
…

I walked into the Pokémart and looked around. Like the Pokémon Center, it was empty besides the staff.

"Oh goody, a customer." The cashier girl said happily. "It's been a while since we've had anyone by." I smiled and walked up to the counter. "Did you just get into town?" I nodded.

"A few minutes ago to be honest." I said kindly. "I just dropped off my Pokémon at the Center and now I need some supplies." She nodded and her eyes flicked down quickly. I felt a small amount of fear from her and I looked at the window and reached my right hand into my pocket. I felt another source of emotion, one of anxiety, stemming from below the girl with a now obviously forced smile. "I'll be back in a second." I winked at the girl and she nodded.

"Okay, take your time." She said. I walked into the back and opened my cell phone in my pocket and dialed the police for the city. I looked at the mirrors and saw no other people and I felt no other emotions but the two. The door had a bell so the robber couldn't get out without my noticing. I pulled the phone out of my pocket as I walked behind one of the shelves and put it to my right ear.

"Hello, this is the Vermillion City police." Officer Jenny said kindly. "What is the nature of your call?"

"I'm at the Pokémart." I whispered. "There is a robber behind the cashier who thinks he's stealthy, and he may be armed." I looked over at her with my phone hidden from view. She looked scared. "He doesn't have any accomplices, but we need some help right away."

"I'll be right over." Jenny said. "Please stall for as long as you can. I may be a few minutes."

"Thank you Officer Jenny." I said. "I'll do what I can." I picked out a few bags of trail mix and some cans of condensed milk after putting the phone in my pocket. I looked up at her and then at the shelf in front of me. "Do you have any non Teriyaki jerky?" She looked at me.

"There's some regular in the back." She said. "And there's some up here if you don't like the kind back there." I nodded and looked over a bag of Pokémon food. I put it back, deciding to have one of my assistants deliver some in the morning. Liz liked the special formula I had come up with, and I wanted to try some new mixes for the others. I walked out and set the items in a basket and walked back. "Too much for one go?" I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I always forget the basket." I replied. I felt annoyance from the thief and more fear from the girl. "So the regular jerky is in the back?" She nodded and I shrugged. "Well, to each their own." She smiled as I walked back and grabbed a bag of regular jerky and a bag of 'Mesquite' barbecue flavor. I grabbed ten more of those and one peppered and set them in the basket. I walked over to the back and spotted a large thermos. It was on sale and it looked fairly reliable. I grabbed it and put it away. I walked up to the counter as Jenny arrived on her motorcycle. She looked in and I nodded to the girl. "I also need some potions and a couple of antidotes." She nodded and turned to grab the healing items as Jenny walked in. I used my psychic power to silence the little bell. She crouched and walked behind me and around the counter while silently drawing her sidearm. "So, did you do any track in high school?" The girl turned to look at me and nodded. "Did you do any hurdle jumping?" She nodded again. "So many people think that such a skill is useless these days." She nodded and put the bottles of healing items in front of me while I put the basket down beside me. Jenny nodded and I backed away. The girl quickly leapt over the counter as Jenny moved to look at the thief.

"Freeze!" She yelled. "Put your weapon down and put your hands behind your head." I heard an object being set down as a young man stood up slowly with his hands on the back of his head. The girl sighed as Jenny walked up to him and put the handcuffs on him.

"Thank you." The girl said. "It's a good thing you came in when you did. He was going to take me into the back room to do who knows what to me." She hugged my right side and I put my arm around her shoulder, being careful not to move my duster sleeve. "Thank you so much." I patted her shoulder as she looked up at me.

"It wasn't any trouble." I said with a small smile. "I don't like seeing people in danger." The man looked over at me while Jenny walked him out from behind the counter. "And this guy's going away for a while."

"Man, this sucks." He said. "How the hell did you know I was down there? And how did she get here?"

"It's amazing how being quiet masks a phone call at a distance." I said sarcastically. "And you aren't that difficult to spot." He sighed as Jenny walked him out the door, the small bell chiming. I looked at the girl as she stepped away. "So, how are you holding up?" She blushed and put her right hand on the back of her head.

"I'll be okay." She said. "Thanks for saving me." I smiled and put my hands in my pockets.

"Well, I can't stand seeing anyone in trouble." I said modestly. "It's no big deal." She blushed as Jenny walked in again.

"Were you the young man that made the call?" She asked. I nodded. "Thank you for helping apprehend this criminal. We've been looking for him for a couple of weeks." I smiled as she held out her right hand. I took it in my own and shook it.

"I'm just doing what anyone should do." I said.
…

I sat on the edge of the bed. Surge had been unable to battle that day. He and Gardenia spent the afternoon talking, and she had decided to stay at the Pokémon Center, and she was leaving in the morning. Liz was sitting on the couch, finishing her dinner. It was the last of her personal Pokémon food. I stood up and stretched. I pulled off my hat and my coat and set them on the back of a chair. I removed my sunglasses and put them on the nightstand. I sat on my side of the bed and removed my boots and socks. I moved under the covers and set my head on my pillow and looked at my right arm. The green was a strangely calming sight, as was the small bump on my elbow. It would grow, but only with a mental command.

'Why did he give me this power?' I thought. 'He wanted me to protect his daughter, but he could just as easily killed me to protect her himself.' I looked at my fingers and wondered if one day the green would spread to them as well. It seemed likely, but the spread to my eye was limited to the eye itself and not the surrounding tissue. 'Maybe I should consult a library or something. Mythology involving the Ralts family and various myths revolving around humans becoming Pokémon.' I shrugged and put my hands on my chest. 'There has to be at least one out there.' I began closing my eyes when I felt Liz climbing up on the bed. I looked at her as she climbed beside me and up onto my chest. "Hi Liz." She set her head on my chest, right over my heart. I set my right hand over her and grabbed the blankets from the other side and pulled them over her. She sighed as I gently put my left arm over her in a small hug.