I apologize for the long delay in updates. All of the previous chapters have been somewhat updated, and the explanation you all deserve will follow. Thanks for your patience!
Michael quickly scanned the outside area of the HQ to try to find out what had happened. What he saw was a vision of total chaos. Both Ladon, another young trainer at the HQ Lab whose partner was Sentret, and Russel, one of the few scientists at the Lab which had a Pokémon partner, were lying unconscious on the ground.
Ladon had claw marks along his arms, some of which appeared to be quite deep and inflamed, but looked fine everywhere else. On the other hand, Russel had apparently been hit on the temple and fell unconscious immediately. The fact that he was bleeding from a would in his head made any other assumption irrelevant. The fountains that decorated the field in front of the Lab appeared to have scorched by powerful flames.
But the most out of place things were the three people in white armor-like uniforms. One was much buffer that the other two, and also had Professor Krane pinned with his arms. The second was the most generic of the three, only wearing a uniform and a red scarf. The third, who appeared to be the leader, had a slightly different helmet as well as yellow trim on his uniform. They also had a storage van, a large hover vehicle usually used for transporting large Pokémon and items.
"We need to leave, before anymore of them see us!" The plain grunt yelled. He then immediately turned and saw Michael running towards them.
"Naps!" He yelled towards the yellow one, "Can you handle him like you did the others?"
Naps, as that was apparently his name, turned toward Michael. "So what? Are you going to try to play the hero? In that case, it's time for you to learn heroes don't always win!" Naps unclipped a Pokeball from his uniform. "Teddiursa, crush him!" He yelled as he threw the sphere in Michael's direction.
The Pokémon that appeared looked a lot like a child's teddy bear. It had orange and cream-colored fur that covered most of its body, and a symbol in the form of a crescent moon on its forehead. This was expected, but what shocked and also scared Michael was the look in the Pokémon's eyes. Normal Pokémon have that sparkle in their eyes that shows emotion and intelligence. Even Pokémon that have no problem attacking people show malicious intent in their eyes. However, this Teddiursa had neither. It just looked towards Michael with what appeared to be soulless eyes.
The eyes of one that cannot feel emotion.
Michael also noticed it appeared to have fresh blood on its claws. With a grimace, Michael threw out Eevee to fight this monster.
Then, something strange happened. The eyepiece from the Snag Machine then shot out and created a turquoise screen that Michael could see through. Staring past it, he was shocked to see that the Teddiursa now had a glowing purple aura surrounding it. Michael, putting the pieces together, was shocked as a single realization came to mind.
He was facing down a Shadow Pokémon.
"Michael!" Professor Krane yelled, coming to the same conclusion that Michael had. "That's a Shadow Pokémon! You need to snag it from him!"
Michael looked back at the Teddiursa. Eevee was dancing around its attacks, allowing the bear's claws to cut only air. Michael unclipped one of the Pokeballs that he had on his belt. He held it in his glove that connected to the Snag Machine and turned it to active mode. The Pokeball grew to its normal size and began to emit a purple glow.
"Throw it now!" Professor Krane yelled.
Michael reared back his arm, and threw the sphere at the Teddiursa. What happened next shocked him. Normally, when catching a Pokémon, the Pokémon will turn into white light and be sucked into the ball. However, what happened now was totally different. Instead of turning into white light, what appeared to be a ghostly hand popped out of the Pokeball and dragged Teddiursa into it! The ball immediately showed a successful capture.
"Wa-What just happened? W-Was it a snag?" Naps stuttered, obviously not hearing what Professor Krane had just yelled at Michael.
"Naps? What the hell just happened?" The grunt yelled towards his yellow partner. His eyes widened when they landed on the machine on Michael's arm.
"Naps! We need to get out of here now! If you can't handle the kid, looks like we'll have to do it the hard way!" The grunt threw out a Pokeball.
"Magmar! Use Hypnosis!" Out of the Pokeball came a red and yellow colored creature. Before Michael could get any more details, a series of blue orbs began to lull him into a deep sleep. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw the large man throw Professor Krane in the back of their vehicle.
His final thought before he completely lost consciousness was this. "I failed."
When Michael came to, he was laying on his bed in his room. He quickly checked his belt, only to discover he was missing the Pokeballs holding both his Eevee and the strange Teddiursa.
Silently cursing under his breath, Michael made his way towards the room where he had obtained the Snag Machine, which was still secured on his arm. After the door opened, he was met with a sorry sight.
Ladon and Russel were sleeping on two examination tables. While Russel looked perfectly fine, Ladon was another story. His arms, "which had most likely been attacked by the Teddiursa," Michael thought, had been torn to shreds. Michael could see muscle twitching and even the white of his bones. Luckily, one of the scientists was also a medical doctor, and she was currently patching up his arms to the best of her abilities.
But what really affected Michael was the sight of his mother and sister over by the table. Jovi was crying, and Lily was trying to comfort her. Unlike most children, Jovi rarely ever cried, so to see her openly weeping was surprising. Michael also saw one of the scientists discussing something with Lily.
As he walked over, he heard the scientist say "But that is impossible! Without Professor Krane, we have no chance of completing the Purifying Chamber!"
Lily quickly countered his statement with, "It's because of everyone here that we got so far!" Lily then turned to Michael.
"Michael!" She exclaimed. "It's good to see that you are feeling better!" Lily, after giving Jovi one more comforting tap, moved over to embrace her son.
"Your Pokémon are currently over in the Development Area, being healed by Blissey. If you want, feel free to go pick them up." His mother whispered as she released him from her hug.
With a mutter of "thanks", Michael walked over to the Development Area and picked up his Pokémon. After walking back to where his mother had been a second ago, he discovered she had already gone upstairs.
Michael up to the upstairs portion of the Lab and found his mother in Professor Krane's office, looking through the notes in the Purifying Chamber file.
"Hey Michael." She said, worry still evident in her eyes. "Can I ask a favor of you? I need you to go to Gateon Port to pick up a part for the Chamber. It shouldn't be too far for you to travel."
Just before Michael accepted the job, his sister ran into the room, yelling, "I know where the Parts Shop is! Let Jovi do it!"
Lily turned to her younger child, shaking her head. "You don't need to do this alone, Jovi. So, unless Michael is fine with you going, you need to stay here."
Michael immediately responded with, "I'm fine with her coming along." Michael wanted to do something to cheer up his younger sister. He knew she needed it.
"Yay!" Jovi yelled in a very high-pitched voice.
"Alright. If you two are both going, you need to leave now. And Michael," she said, walking over to her older child, "Make sure you are careful when using that Shadow Pokémon in battle. They are very powerful, but they won't hesitate to hurt you or others."
"I'll be careful." Michael promised his mother. He then led his sister out of the Lab, but before they could leave the grounds, the scientist that had helped Professor Krane attach the Snag Machine to his arm ran up to him.
"Thank goodness I was able to catch up to you!" the Jason, as Michael recalled his name being, said. After catching his breath, he said, "I have some things that the Professor believed you either needed or needed to know. First off, take this." The scientist handed him a chip for his PDA. "This chip will allow you to transport any Shadow Pokémon you capture to the lab."
After receiving a confused look, Jason went on. "I guess I need to explain. We still aren't quite sure what influences a Shadow Pokémon's purification. So, we would appreciate it if you transferred any Shadow Pokémon that you capture to the Lab. Now, you do still need Pokémon with you, but I doubt you'll need more than your Eevee and that Teddiursa, at least for a while"
"On the topic of Pokémon in your party, take this as well." Jason gave Michael a small card. The card had all of the same information as his PDA. Once again, Michael gave the scientist a confused look.
"This is your Trainer Card." The scientist explained. "It will allow you to use the trading depots in Gateon Port, Agate Village, Pyrite Town, and Phenac City. Now, you can't trade any of the Shadow Pokémon you capture, but once you purify them, you can trade them away to a trainer that will take care of them!" Michael, still skeptical of trading Pokémon, slowly put the small card in one of his pockets.
"And finally," Jason continued, "You need to remember this. Your Trainer Card also allows you to access any PCs and use and healing machines outside the lab you might find. It also allows you rent rooms at a lowered cost at Pokémon Centers, as well as permission to purchase Pokémon related items from marts. All you have to do is swipe it through the card reader at the machines or give it to the receptionist at the Pokémon Center or mart."
"Alright, thanks for the information." Michael said. "But we need to go now, so bye."
Jason nodded. "I understand. Just make sure both of you stay safe, alright?"
"Of course." Michael said as he began to walk towards his scooter, ignoring his sulking sister complaining about "not getting a pretty card"
Michael mounted the scooter and helped his sister on the back, as well as letting his Eevee back onto the handlebars in a flash of light. After all the riders were secure and comfortable, Michael began his long drive to Gateon Port.
For those of you who read my original (and slightly terrible) attempt at this story, you may remember mention of a character named Lia. Lia was originally going to be from the Unova region, and she would have another snag machine. Her purpose in the story was going to mainly be to teach Michael what he is really getting into as well as catching some of the Shadow Pokémon that would be really out of the way. However, getting her character to fit into the story naturally without making Michael's character redundant was difficult. This was a big factor in why I have not done much with this story for quite a while. However, with the idea of Lia scrapped, I think I might be able to get this story working again. I thank those who have put up with this wait, and I hope I will live up to your expectations.
Michaels team:
Eevee: Lv: 12. Moves: Tackle, Bite, Sand Attack, Tail Whip
Teddiursa: Lv: 15?. Moves: Shadow Blitz, Shadow Mist, Lick