Chapter 36

The day was drawing to a close, but the negotiations were just getting started. Andy arrived around sunset along with an array of Faradian citizens. Half of them had doctorates in Pokémon Medicine and Psychology, the other half had an array of degrees in construction, welding, ecology, culinary, and economics. These were respected people in their fields, or so I was told. I'm not going to judge them until I see their performance. With the satellite phone in my hand, I walked up to them and introduced myself. Ray cared enough to give me a boost, others kneeled to try to get around my level to shake hands. Initial impressions told me these were the right people, I just wondered how much convincing it took for them to come here.

Bruiser was within the fray, he had already become acquainted with these people and was already dropping details of his life. I walked up to Andy and asked, "How are things on the home front?"

"We were on the TV listening to the negotiation itself. Everybody is, the moment when you talked about getting a commission for the Dixierats I just packed my bags and left for Electron."

"How's Matt?"

"He's doing okay, and he's worried about you."

"And Polly and Wheels?"

"Worried as well."

Andy handed me a piece of paper. "These are the list of names of the people here along with their professions, have Louis rattle them off for confirmation."

"Got it. Thanks, Andy."

I returned to the House Chamber. It was still dark. The senators and representatives were already taking off their business coats and ties. Some were even sleeping on their desks over cots and sleeping bags. The Dixierats gave them space, walking around them as they navigate the House Chamber. Governor Norman and his family sat where they were first dropped off hours earlier. They had already fallen asleep, trying their best to stay comfortable as a whirl of activity flocked around them.

I rang Louis up. "Yes, Tesla," he said. "What do you need?"

"The committee is here, can you provide a list of names of the people attending."

"Yes, I can."

I held up my version of the list by the electric lantern. "Read them out loud."

There was a pause, then Louis began. "Stephen Michell, Welder. Doris Witter, Psychologist. Michael Sheldon, Doctor. Marvie Packer, Ecologist. Ronald Paddock, Construction. Stanley Rittmiller, Culinary. Annie Rogers, Pokémon Trainer. Samson Rickwall, Economist. Cathy Dargan, Architect. Andrew Westinghouse, Surgeon."

"Yup, that's all of them."

I heard Louis shuffled some papers at the other end of the phone. "Now what do you want next?"

"This is more directed at the people. Set up a petition to remove every senator and representative currently holding office. Also, set up a petition to remove the Governor from office. If this Island is going to claim independence from Unova, these people shall not control the new national government. As for the Supreme Court justices, they also must be removed from office. They wouldn't be so useful under a new system and constitution."

"Why would the people do that?"

"Because of their deep ties to Unova. Heck, a quarter of these politicians were born in Unova. You want fresh young people running the first few years of this country, not old folks."

"This is a lot harder than gathering people together. I'll put a petition together but this demand might not go through."

I thought for a moment. "Get this demand through and I'll start letting some hostages go, I'll even announce it to them myself."

"Will you turn yourself in after this is over?"

I frowned. "Louis, arrest me and you'll unleash a shit-can of worms on this Island. Throw me in jail and the whole Island will revolt. Not only that, you also have to deal with hostile pokémon who view me as their only hope in a new life. The Dixierats may be docile, but the Pokémon Resistance Army is not. If your government decides to declare war on these pokémon, they will unleash a genocide so vile this Island will be forever known as the rock expressing all the evil in this world. Besides, once this is over, you have no right to hold me accountable for any crime that had happened before Faradian independence because the jurisdiction doesn't exist anymore. New nation, new laws. This problem will become Unova's problem, not yours. In fact, my freedom is the only reason why you are not dealing with a hostile takeover. This is a peaceful takeover, and the only casualties happening are the chus who serve me." I raised my voice. "Fuck, I was just reunited with a long lost son and he passed away hours before I even got back to Faraday Island! Do you have any idea what kind of bullshit I was going through before this?!"

Louis said nothing, I looked up and saw the Smugleaf, Wotter, Woody, the camera crews, and several Dixierats staring at me. Luckily they didn't have the cameras pointed at me, but I think the people listening in on the negotiations heard enough. I hanged up on Louis and sighed, "I don't want to sit in this standoff any longer. Get the cameras pointed at the House Speaker's podium, I better make an announcement."

A Dixierat grabbed an electric lantern and sat it on the House Speaker's podium, cameras all shift attention away from key people and focus on the podium. I crawled through the House Floor and made my way around the house podium and climbed up on its surface. I looked out over the darkness, seeing all the faces of half-sleeping senators and representatives. It's only seven in the evening, there were plenty of people still awake.

I made out a thumb sticking up in the air from the main camera guy, and I spoke. "My name is Tesla Westinghouse, the Master of Electricity."

I used my electricity and flicked on every unpowered bulb in the ceiling. The House Chamber lit up. The General Assembly were stirred awake. The Governor even sat up, squinting from the bright light of the conventional lighting. The Supreme Court justices stirred awake, their tired eyes turning to me. Once I was sure I had the Faradian Government's attention. I continued. "I just turned a 108 years old a few days ago, and I am in no mood of celebrating. In fact I never was in the mood of celebrating my birthdays." I took a deep breath. "I came from a time when the computer age was just getting started. Back then, the human population was much smaller, the forest were much bigger, and contact between man and pokémon were kept at a minimum. My ancestors back in Viridian Forest never had much contact with humans. It was an isolated world, a lost world. I was born and raised in a family of seven. I was the first-born, I had a loving mother and caring father. I used to live without worry, without a care, no concern for my long-term future. Nothing like we're all experiencing now."

I took off my eye-goggles and tossed it onto the podium, I sensed the atmosphere in the House Chamber change. "This is what I looked like when I first arrived at your Island a hundred years ago. I was poached by a criminal organization. They pulled me from my mother's arms, stuck me into a cage and shipped me from one pokémon lab into another. I always had a bad impression of humanity from an early age. The first time I ever encountered a human being, he had a double-barreled shotgun aimed straight at me. Stupid hicks they are. I watched them killed one of my uncles, blew him apart with a slug round. That's not something a young pichu should experience. Ironic that I lost my family a few weeks after I evolved into a pikachu.

"I grew mean-spirited, irritated, hostile to anyone who tries to interact with me. Don't get me wrong, those handlers were nice people. But for me, it was over. I was done. I would never see my mama again, if only she saw what kind of creature her Sparky would become.

I noticed Andy walking up and handing me a glass of water. I took it and sipped it, then continued, "When I first arrived in Faraday Island, I was brought to the lab at Faraday City. A young Irvin Westinghouse caught my eye. Despite warnings from the staff, he tried to befriend me. I flashed my teeth at him, hissed, and he hissed back." I smiled. "He knew how to deal with me from the first hour we've met. I let him take me into his arms and we formed a bond. Mind you that I had never been in a poké ball, I'm still technically a wild pokémon. It wasn't an ownership, it was a contract. He would be my trainer, and in turn I would serve him till life.

"At first he taught me how to battle, like every beginner trainer would do. Oh boy was I mad when he waved that copper pipe in front of my face, asking me to shock it. Which I did, and in turn I blew apart his arm. His mother threw me out the window, cut me up pretty bad, then took her son to the hospital while leaving me bleeding in the back yard. It took hours before they would come back. I haven't moved since being thrown out the window, so he found me, patched me up, and was soon got caught by his mother and was given an ultimatum.

"Even from back then, I never liked him. Because he was a dumbass, always had been when he was a kid and even worse when he became an adult. But Irvin, even though he was an asshole, was very caring. Before that mishap, we bumped into this little nerd while strolling through the park. The kid was probably eight at the time, his name was Matthew Kissinger. We went over to his house and Irvin talked with him for a while. And just when we were about to leave, I ran ahead and plowed my head into the fucking wall. Around that time, my eyes were going bad. Matthew came up with a solution, he took a spare spectacles broke off the lenses, and stuck them inside some welding goggles made during that time. He stuck it on my head and the world just got a whole lot clearer, I didn't even notice how bad my vision was getting, it also served as a reminder that I was getting old.

"While he was putting the goggles together, Irvin noticed the Tesla coil sitting on his shelf. Matt was working on it for a school project at the time, and after a short discussion he asked him if he ever named me. We tossed a few names around and we stuck with the name Tesla, named after the guy who harnessed electricity for consumer use." I reached down and put my eye-goggles back on. "Without these eye-goggles, I would've been so blind I wouldn't be able to battle. Without them, I would have severe eye damage from the glass window. When Irvin's mom said he would kick him out if he won't get rid of me, he packed his bags and left. And then mom disowned him.

"That man cared about me so much that I didn't realized how much I really loved him. Our pokémon team grew as we toured around the regions of the world, eventually winning the tournaments that make him become a Pokémon Master. Honestly, pokémon battling didn't made him a Pokémon Master. It was what went on behind the scenes. I know, because I was the one who executed his plans. The . . . friends I had throughout the 70 years I spent with Irvin . . . we were close. For those who were growing up during our hayday, you remember the battles on TV right? How my friends battle the challengers at the Faraday City Gym. How I battled them at the Faraday City Gym. You ever wondered how I managed to tolerate so much pain? Because the drama I experienced long ago made any other pain null.

"I honestly hated the job, hated battling, amusing you people. It didn't feel right to me. In fact, I actually kidnapped my pokémon friends when they were eggs. Take them away from their families just to bring them back to this Island to raise them. That was Irivn's decision, not mine. They all knew what happened, but they never gave much thought about it. Why would they, since they never got the chance to experience the love and affection of their birth families. So for almost every pokémon battle I would have in that gym for your amusement, I would get intoxicated. Not shit-faced, but drunk enough to where I could hardly stand. If you ever wondered why I was wobbling on my feet on occasion. Well, there you go.

I leaned over the mike and said, "You people didn't get it. Pokémon battling may be thrilling but it's a harsh business. I suffered broken bones and horrid injuries just to keep you guys entertained. I tried to get my point across by making sure the pokémon who challenge me wouldn't walk away from our battles, some don't even walk again. I incapacitated every pokémon who dare comes into that gym to face me, not a single one of them is alive today." I pointed my finger at General Crowley. "You, Crowley, faced against Irvin's scrafty, Nobark. Remembered when Nobark head-butted the ground and knocked himself out? How you won because of that? It may be hilarious, and even Nobark thought it was hiliarous, but reality is he was mentally ill. He suffers from dissociative personality disorder. He was a curious case. For every emotion in existence, there was a personality for it. When Irvin died, he lost all the good ones and went insane. More on Nobark later."

I turned back toward the camera. "So how did I learn how to talk your language? Irvin taught me how to speak, he even taught me how to read and write. What really made him a Pokémon Master is that he educated his pokémon, and not just train them. I learned basic math, science, social studies, the usual works. And then I advanced on more complex subjects. I learned your history, world history, even pokémon history. I grew hungry for knowledge, reading books from cover to cover. It didn't take me long to realize that the more stuff I knew, the more insignificant I began to feel. Eventually I got to a point where I didn't need my trainer anymore. I knew everything there was to know.

"After completing my education at the age of 35, I went on to live the rest of my days at the Irvin's father's farm. I've seen pokémon come and go. We had a lot of fun together. Irvin eventually became close friends with Matthew. Both had wives and kids. Honestly, the only people I ever liked the most in the world is Matt. He's more of a subtle character, he lets a lot of shit roll over him. Irvin was just loaded with drama, I always hated him for that. Matt acted as a buffer, even in some cases a break from all the stress I have to deal with from him and his pokémon. I was nice to him and his wife, but not their only son. Oddly enough that I watched their children and their children's children be born and raised. I never had much of a relationship with Irvin's son and daughter because they always left me alone, but Matt's only son I had a nerve with. Emmett Kissinger tried to pet me once, and I flashed my teeth and hissed at him. Oh boy was he terrified, he ran out of the house because of that. He told on me; that little shit. Matt just shrugged it off and Irvin didn't do anything, we didn't have any problems between us until decades later.

I took another sip of water and said, "I suffered from post-tramatic stress disorder, depression. I had suicidal thoughts, even attempted suicide. I just wanted to end it all, cause everytime I were to look into the mirror, I can watch myself get older from every passing minute. My friends were dying and we stopped poaching eggs long ago, Irvin and I were just taking care of the aging pokémon we had left throughout our later years. Irvin's grandson took sympathy for me when he was growing up. Like Emmett, he wanted to befriend me, but unlike Emmett, he knew what buttons to press. While Matthew was passive and subtle, Andy was active and subtle. Again, he was an asshole like his father and grandfather but nothing anybody can do about that. I saved his life once, he had a bad head injury after falling off of his bike. I did CPR because I knew shit, saved his life. The injury fucked up his decision-making process, but didn't stop him from becoming a doctor. We became close after he pulled me out of a situation where some idiot pokémon of ours decided to put nair in the shampoo, and next thing I knew my fur was on the floor of the tub and I was being dressed in his father's old baby clothes by Matt's wife.

A few people in the House Chamber chuckled.

"I know, right? Matt was just standing there not sure what to do and Irvin is standing there taking pictures. No help there, thankfully Andy stepped in and bailed me out. Not sure if we're even. I saved his life but he saved me from embarrassment. But fuck it, I'm getting too old for this shit anyway."

I could hear Mark laughing in the background. I even smiled, "I had a lot of good times with Irvin's pokémon, and we were all close. Not exactly the kind of big happy family I hoped for, but we were close. I put them in the incubators when they were eggs, many decades later I buried them myself. Buried them on the farm, in a small little plot of land devoted to serve a cemetery. Most of Irvin's pokémon are buried there now. Poor things. Many committed suicide and went insane after Irvin's death. We had a community at that farm. The big thing about Irvin is that he never treats his pokémon as pokémon, he treats them as people. He gave them people food and people beds, no leashes, ropes, nothing. He was their master and I am the largest fish in the school. While he makes the rules, I enforce them. At the time, I was too angry and stubborn over my lost I failed to realize the damage I was causing to them. On rare occasion I would beat them for stupid decisions. But they knew, they knew what I went through. I wish I could apologize to them and take it all back.

"After Irvin's heart attack and death, we all fell apart. His children and grandchildren moved on, his pokémon didn't. Matt's son grew up to become a police officer, even became the key person in tracking me down in the early days of my outlaw years. He later had a son, Mark Kissinger, who was the most badass sniper on this Island. In fact, when we first met, he shot me in the arm with a .22 rifle, then his dad shot me in the ass with a 9mm, and then Mark found and proceed to strangle me near to death. So that goes without saying: Fuck the police!"

"It was like squeezing a bag of lard!" Mark called out from the background, I was sure the camera's microphones were sensitive enough to pick it up.

I stood there with a face for a few seconds. "See, what do I tell you? I can personally say Mark Kissinger is the most badass Faradian on the Island. No one can ever rival his patriotism for his country. Not even Irvin."

I finished my water and continued, "Anyway, after that pardon from Governor Norman here. I went to Unova to see an old friend. Andy had been busy, I went to go see him and found him swarming with these mice pokémon he personally calls the Dixierats, named after the town nearby. Even though mice aren't rats, but heck, fuck logic.

"Yes, the very same Dixierats who has infested your Island."

The House Chambers were filled with whispers for a few seconds, and then I continued, "You know what's the kicker? You can take any of these chus, anyone of them, and analyze their blood. If you go up the family tree, you'll discover that the family line will bottle-neck at a certain point. In fact, all of these chus can trace their descendants . . . to me."

That stirred quite a commotion among the House Chamber. I said, "You helped create them. There's a breeding lab at Faraday where I go to since my late thirties. Scientists wanted to breed another pikachu with my powerful electrical abilities. I have a mutation that, well, makes me bend electrical forces to my will. In fact I'm feeding power to those lights wirelessly via microwave radiation. So they paired me up to a beautiful flower, Polly. She was my one and only mate, like your wives. We both had a lot of children, some of which went on to create the Dixierats. Sadly, due to the contract, I never saw a single son or daughter. And when the contract expired, they took Polly away from me. It was devastating for me, it took me months to recover. By discovering the Dixierats, I didn't get that sense of family I was so hoping. It reopened old wounds, and eventually I left.

"I couldn't remember what I did the next few weeks. My liver failed, that's all I know. Next thing I know I heard of what Nobark had become. He has become a terrorist, a villain, because his mental illness. You heard about what was happening at Soho, right? That's because Nobark finally snapped and I had to contain the damage. I was very close with Nobark, more close to him and to any of Irvin's pokémon. When I first saw him after twenty years, he was gravely ill. He has Parkinson's, arthritis, the URP was after him. He was dying, and somehow that monster within him caused an entire town to go into Marshall law and tried to control its people. Nobark planned on creating the Pokémon Resistance Army, determined to give pokémon equal status as to that of humans. It's like Team Plasma, but pokémon, and violence. The pokémon who served him gave him all their lives and loyalty, and he let them down. You've got to realize these pokémon were abused, abandoned, unloved. I know their pain because I've been through it, but I never went down the paths they had because I knew what it was like to have a loving family. Nobark tried to recreate it, he failed. He asked me if I could take them off his hands, I said yes. But before we could do anything, his mental illness consumed him and he went on a murderous rampage."

"It was bad, most of the PRA didn't even know what they were doing when they were attacking Soho. They were just following orders. They didn't realize what had happened until I asked them to stand down. And then when the police cornered Nobark, we said our goodbyes. And then I killed him."

Silence.

"Irvin put down some pokémon during our time, there were a handful of times were he was force to make that decision. I persuaded him not to shoot Nobark when he realized how bad the scrafty's condition was. I thought I could save him, treat his condition, but he couldn't be save. Had I let Irvin shoot Nobark, a lot of lives would be spared."

More silence.

"I know, it's hard for me to keep up with all this. In fact, I felt finished myself. I took the fall for him, let the URP round me up. I was done, I didn't want to fight anymore. I was old, tired, I wanted to call it quits. And then I heard that the URP was also tracking Andy down while all of this was happening. Next thing I know, a riot stirred up in Soho and I barely managed to escape. I tracked the Dixierats down onto a ship, joined with them, and you know what happened next when they landed at Faraday City."

I finished my glass of water and took a deep breath. "Look, I don't want to be here. I was dragged into this mess by the Dixierats. I didn't even know this was happening until a few days ago . . . All I ask is for you to let me live my life without drama or bullshit. It's a shame it has to come to this, I wouldn't be taking responsibility for the Dixierats if it wasn't for my fucking job with Irvin. If you want me to stay with you, then you gotta let me live my own life on my own terms. Here's all these mice pokémon you funded with your own tax money to create. They are looking for a home, feel free to adopt a chu if you care so much." I turned toward the legislature. "General Assembly, this is for you. If you want your island to claim independence, then do the people a favor and not be part of the new government. Your connections to Unova is too great, and some of you weren't even born in Faraday Island. Doesn't mean that they don't trust you, but they can't take that risk of you potentially sabotaging the revolution." I pointed toward where the lobby was. "The door's right there. If you wanna leave, then go right ahead. But under one condition. You resign from office, in writing, and deliver it to your superior. Keep the process formal. Once you've resigned, then I have no reason to hold you here.

"This also goes to you, Governor. And the Supreme Court, the military generals, the advisors. Resign your posts, you're free to leave. Stay, and the people you serve will decide what to do with you. Remember, General Assembly, that you have the power to impeach the Supreme Court members and the Governor. Again, keep the process formal. I'll leave that decision up to you. Note that it isn't the Governor's fault that all this shit happened on his watch. Nobody ever anticipated a pokémon takeover, which had torn your philosophy of preparedness apart. When morning comes, I'll let you get back to work. But you're not going to leave the Capital Building until the negotiations are complete, and the petition to decide whether to keep you or repeal you from office.

One representative raised his hand, he stood up and asked, "What gives you the right to hold us?!"

I said, "You put my likeness on your flag from popular vote, named me your mascot for your Island. I have a heavy influence on this island for years, and not only do your people worship me I have not one but two pokémon armies keeping you in place. I personally knocked out power throughout Electro to delay the response time long enough for me to walk right in here and bar the doors. If I want, I can get all the Dixierats here to charge up and unleash a powerful electromagnetic pulse to send your nation back into an age before electricity. If that doesn't work, then they can rip out all the wiring manually. You've been under my mercy since I first appeared on TV, and now I'm using that influence to make that known.

"Irvin may be gone, but Matthew Kissinger is still around. He's an old man now, a few years away from 90. He's probably sitting on his couch right now, wondering what I'm really doing. Emmett Kissinger is currently the Chief of Police in Faraday City, thanks to me. He's probably sitting in his office, right now, under the glow of an electric light, wondering to himself if he could've done anything different with me during his youthful years. He can relax, cause his son is making those decisions for him. Recently Mark found Polly and brought her back to me. I don't know how he did it, and how many strings he pulled to make it happen. But he did it. I thought she would be lost forever. I have never been so happy in a long time when I saw her again, after all these years."

"He had a boner!" Mark screamed.

The whole House Chamber broke into laughter. I squeezed my eyes shut and froze. I have to admit, that was really funny. Not something anyone should say within a House legislature, but I bet he was waiting for years to use that line. I grabbed my ears, trying not to laugh myself. "Well he's not wrong."

Everybody laughed harder.

I breathed. "Well, his mom can sure move."

The whole crowd moaned, a few even started clapping. I looked up and saw Mark's face. He was giving me the middle finger, trying not to laugh. I let everyone had their fun for a few minutes, when the applause died down I said, "Again, fuck the police!"

A brief moment of laughter.

"Okay, I'm done for tonight. Goodnight."

The ceiling lights clicked off, returning the entire House Chamber returned to darkness.

TO BE CONTINUED…