Chapter 6: Explosion and Explanations
A flock of Pidgey flies over what seems to be a deserted arena which had been bustling villa full of fun and games only a few minutes ago. A lone Pidgey broke away from the flock to perch on the cotton candy machine and rest its wings. It isn't long before the rest of his flock join him and they all enjoy the free snack. The area gradually grew silent as their instincts warned them of approaching danger and they flew off in a hurry to avoid the unseen threat. A large beep resounded and grew until it could be heard all around. With a final long tone, an enormous explosion engulfed Pallet Town all the way to the residential area until a smoldering pile of ashes was all that remained.
Officer Jenny stood on the outskirts of the now ruined Pallet Town and sighed as she looked behind her at all of the people that were now homeless.
'At least they're alive,' She thought with a small smile. She hadn't taken a head count to confirm that everyone had evacuated, nor had she received any word from Professor Oak on the condition of him and the people with him. She gripped the Pokégear she had borrowed from a nearby gentleman and began dialing police headquarters back in Viridian City. There were going to be a lot of people moving in tonight...
Darkness and silence filled the inside of Professor Oak's underground shelter. The tremors from the explosion had shaken the room and knocked out the main power line, leaving everyone shaken up and blind.
"Ash, you dope! Get off of me!" yelled a very irritated and embarrassed Misty.
"Pika! Pika chu pikachupi!" (Hey! It's me Misty!)
"Oh! Sorry Pikachu!"
"Hey! What about me?" Ash grumbled. "Aren't you even going to say sorry to me?"
"Keep whining and I'll give you plenty of things to be sorry about," she growled. As tough as she was trying to act, the truth was that Misty was still afraid of the dark, though she'd sworn to die before she let anyone know.
"Ha ha, you're so funny. I'd be able to laugh even harder if my lungs weren't being crushed!" Ash yelled as he shoved the body on top of him.
"Hey! Quit shoving!" shouted Melody. "I wasn't on top of you on purpose." Misty felt her face turn a deep crimson, but whether it was jealousy or anger would have been anyone's guess if they could actually see anything.
"Go, Zippo!" yelled Ritchie as he threw his pokéball. A flash of red light temporarily illuminated the room and replaced a by the soft glow around the tail of Ritchie's Charizard.
"Smart thinking, Ritchie," Tracey remarked as he extended a hand to help Melody up.
"Yeah," Gary agreed. "Now all we need is a better source of light. Go, Umbreon!" yelled as he released his Pokémon. Gary's Umbreon appeared in a flash of red light and contributed to the visibility problem when his yellow rings started glowing.
"I'm afraid that's not much better, but I have a more permanent solution if everyone would release your electric Pokémon." Professor Oak requested. Pokémon were released until they had Pikachu, Richie's Pikachu, Sparky, and Casey's Elekid.
"Now if you'd all direct a thunderbolt in that direction," Professor Oak pointed at the wall behind them. "Those panels will use the electricity to get the generator started."
"Pikachu! Sparky! Elekid! Thunderbolt!" shouted their respective trainers, pointing to where Professor Oak had. The lightning illuminated the room as it struck the panels. Cheers from everybody overshadowed the sound of machinery booting up, until Professor Oak switched on the monitor of the main console to display the situation above ground. Everyone gasped at the horrendous sight before their eyes. All eyes turned to Ash, Delia and Gary. Delia's hand went to her mouth while trying to choke back tears stemming from memories made in the now decimated Pallet Town. Gary turned his head away and closed his eyes to block the images from his mind that threatened to throw him into a pit of sorrow and despair. Ash lowered his head and clenched his fists hard enough that he would have snapped anything he could hold in half.
"A-Ash?" Misty quivering voice asked, reaching out for his shoulder. "A-Are you o-okay?" Ash pulled away the moment he felt her normally calming touch. Professor Oak put his fist to his mouth to clear his throat before speaking.
"Everyone, I understand that we have just witnessed an appalling misfortune, but I need you all to focus on what I am about to tell you. For the past 15 years, I have been researching the potential of unifying a Pokémon's abilities with the human spirit. I know that this doesn't stray from my research that you're all familiar with, but I assure you there was a deeper level to my research that I have not yet revealed to you."
"What are you talking about, Grandpa?" Gary asked, curious to know what his Grandpa could have kept from him for so long.
"I've theorized about the possibility of using a Pokémon's abilities to enhance the capabilities of humans, but only with Pokémon that are in constant contact with their trainers," Samuel explained.
"Why couldn't you have told us this sooner?" Ash inquired. "I could have been blasting Team Rocket with my bare hands before they recited their stupid motto."
"More like take on a Snorlax at an all you can eat buffet," Misty muttered.
"It was only a theory at the time, Ash. When I introduced the idea to the symposium 10 years ago, it was deemed impossible by all but one man."
"Who Professor?"
"Professor Namba."
"You mean the guy who was trying to capture Lugia at the Whirl Islands?" Brock asked.
"Yes, Tracey. Namba was the head of research for science and technology to use against Team Rocket. We had no idea that he was in cahoots with Team Rocket all along. Although his intentions remained a secret, we still found out that he couldn't be trusted when we investigated his research lab. Team Rocket was a rising threat that needed to be taken care of, but the methods he was using to test my theories were unforgivable," Professor Oak explained.
"What was he trying to do, Professor?" Ritchie wondered.
"He began extracting DNA strands from the Pokémon and splicing them into humans to give them superhuman abilities."
"Was it a success?" Gary asked.
"Yes and no, Gary. Eventually the process proved possible, but there were side-effects."
"What kind of side effects?" Todd wondered.
"The Pokémon used in the experiments lost all of their special attacks and could barely function in their daily lives." Professor Oak replied sadly.
"That's despicable!" Nurse Joy yelled, clearly outraged.
"Who does he think he is?" agreed Melody.
"I agree with all of you, and I assure you that the research community supports your beliefs as well. As soon as we discovered the experiments taking place, we arrested Namba and every staff member involved."
"What about the Pokémon?" Ash asked.
"Since the Pokémon were no longer able to use their attacks, we couldn't release them into the wild. Our only course of action was to relocate them to Mr. Fugi in Lavender Town until they could be adopted. Fortunately there were many people that appreciated Pokémon that couldn't attack as they made ideal pets. It may not have been the favorable decision, but it was the best we could do," Samuel reasoned.
"I don't understand. If the Pokémon's attacks could be taken away, couldn't they just be put back again?" Delia asked. Samuel shook his head before pressing a button on the console. The picture changed from the surveillance outside to a 3-D diagram of a Pikachu.
"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that. If you'll look at the monitor, you'll see a view of the everyday Pikachu." Professor Oak pressed another button and the image became transparent before zooming in on a genetic level.
"And as you can see here, the genetic structure of the same Pikachu. If you look at this DNA strand shown here, you'll see what makes it possible for a Pikachu to use electric attacks and control them safely and efficiently." He pressed another button which summoned a similar shape next to the Pikachu diagram. "It's easier to see when compared with this Pichu who does not possess the natural ability to control its electricity."
"Pika pika?" (Even me?) Pikachu asked.
"Your a slight exception, Pikachu," Professor Oak clarified before continuing. "Namba succeeded in removing the DNA strand, but failed to isolate the fail-safe DNA sequence. As a result, the humans used in the project burned through their abilities at an accelerated rate. I'm sure many may have even lost their lives."
"But if all he needed was the fail-safe, why couldn't he just remove that as well?" Asked Gary.
"If he had tried, the power would have been sealed up off immediately. I can only theorize it to be nature's way of ensuring that the powers don't fall into the hands of those who would misuse them," Professor Oak explained.
"But if Namba was imprisoned, who is that wants your research?" Todd asked. Samuel closed his eyes and sighed.
"I'm afraid he escaped 5 years ago. I'd only recently heard from him when he kidnapped me for my knowledge of Pokérus. That is until today. It seems that he had a hand in the disbanding of Team Rocket. He turned in everybody of importance but the Rocket Boss, whom even he feared. He then reorganized all the Team Rocket grunts into a new team he calls Team Devastation. You've already met them. If only I had deciphered the warning those three dunces, who were after your Pikachu recited, Ash."
"Are you trying to say that Jessie, James and Meowth were trying to help?" Ash asked doubtfully.
"I thought you were familiar with their motto, Ash."
"More than I care to admit, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"Think about it Ash, the third line?" Brock reminded.
"Oh, you mean 'To protect the world from Devastation'," Ash realized.
"You mean they actually knew what they were saying? I guess that would explain why they got so mad the time we mangled their motto when they kidnapped my Ditto," Duplica said with a sheepish grin.
"Are you sure they weren't just stringing words together? When Tracey and I fought with Cassidy and Boot, or Botch, or whatever his name is, their motto was way different," Ritchie pointed out. Tracey nodded.
"You're right Richie. Their motto started with 'To infect the world with Devastation'. Something doesn't add up here."
"I understand your suspicions, but the fact that Team Rocket was only interested in Pokémon that they considered strong is solid proof. They must have wanted to use Namba's research to give themselves more power," Professor Oak explained.
"And just imagine if they got hold of legendary Pokémon for their experiments," Misty pointed out. Everyone fell silent as they pictured the pure chaos that would ensue if Team Rocket got hold of that much power.
"But Team Rocket was nothing but a pack of liars who wanted power for themselves!" Casey argued.
"Yeah!" Todd agreed. "If it wasn't for the fact that they're complete idiots, they might have had good plans. But they actually thought I was going to capture Pikachu!"
"That was pretty stupid of them," Ash chuckled.
"You thought his camera was a gun," Misty countered, earning a dirty look from Ash.
"I know they had err—peculiar methods, but Jessie and James had our best interest in mind. Even if they wanted to get rich quick in the process," Samuel reasoned.
Delia nodded in agreement. "It's not like they haven't openly saved us before." Ash looked at his mother, completely bewildered.
"When have they ever helped us?" He asked.
Melody sighed. "Gee, Ash. Tell me again how you got the last treasure from Articuno's island?"
Ash flinched. "Um… well, I made my way across the ice with the help of my Pokémon." He mumbled before turning away. Melody put her hand on her hip as she playfully stuck a finger in his face.
"Really? Cause I seem to remember a turbo raft picking you up after you crashed, and a certain trio who jumped off of Lugia to make sure you reached your destination easier." Melody smiled in contempt, seeing Ash lower his head in defeat.
"I still couldn't trust anyone part of an organization that abandons their Pokémon because they consider them weak. How could anyone from Team Rocket be considered good?" Nurse Joy asked.
"There is no good or evil, save in the way you see the world. There is no dark or light, save in your own vision. All changes in the blink of an eye, yet all remains the same," Misty quoted. "Conor, from the book Daughter of the Forest said that."
"But what does it mean?" Ash wondered.
"I think it means that the way you look at something defines whether it's bad or not. We choose to see the evil in what Team Rocket does, so it's harder for us to accept Team Rocket as anything but bad guys." Brock deduced.
"Well whatever we agree on, we still need to decide on what to do next," Gary pointed out.
"Pallet Town probably isn't the only place they're going to hit. We should warn everyone." Duplica suggested.
"It doesn't matter what we do next," Ash argued. "Just as long as we stop them."
"Pi Pikachu!" (Darn straight!)
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, I type slowly and I make frequent changes to the way I write the chapter. I hope to get the next one up soon too. Read and Review please.
