Some of you are going to have a heart attack at this; two updates in two days (give or take an hour or two), and three in one week! And yes, this is a real update, LuciferIX! Well, thid chapter is shorter than the last few, but it's as long as it needs to be. Hopefully you'll all enjoy it. And sorry, Advanceshippingrox, but I didn't put it in because it was your idea; it's been the plan since I started writing this.
Anyways, enjoy! And as ever, please review!
Brock stepped out onto the balcony and slumped into a chair, exhausted. "It's going to be okay," he said, forestalling their questions. "We got an intravenous drip into its arm and started filling its body back up with fluids. It'll take a day or two before it's completely recovered, but it isn't in danger anymore."
"That's a relief," May said, letting out a held breath. Brock nodded.
"It's all thanks to Rey, Pidgeot, and Staraptor that the Wobbuffet is alive," he said. "If they hadn't gotten here as quickly as they did..."
"You don't give yourself enough credit, Brock," Anabel said. "You were the one who knew that it was dying, and you were the one who managed to send Rey on ahead with it." She frowned for a brief moment. "Where is Rey, anyways?" she asked.
"Downstairs on the battlefield," Brock answered. "Her ego took a real blow when she lost to my brother; I think it reminded her a bit too much of the way she lost to Koga and ended her Pokemon journey." He sighed. "I met her a couple of times in Pallet Town when I visited with Ash. She's a nice girl – most of the time – but she can act very nasty towards people who she thinks are beneath her when it comes to battling."
"Why?" May asked, confused.
"From what I understand, Koga was very harsh towards her," Brock answered. "He ended the battle early and told her she would never be a great trainer. She was crushed, and her dreams of being the best died. Since then she's resented trainers who she sees as weaker than herself, thinking that they'll grow and go on to be far more successful than she ever was. It's why she was so antagonistic towards Forrest; she couldn't accept that someone so much younger than her could already be a Gym leader. And it took a battle with him to prove otherwise, and for her to respect him for his ability."
"So she's trying to get back some of her confidence," Dawn said.
"That's right," Brock agreed. "That match was the first official battle she's had in ten years. She was overconfident and lost because of it, but I think it relit a spark of ambition that's been smouldering inside her all this time. She still wants to be the best, and now she's been given a second chance. Emotionally, anyways."
"Do you think she'll compete in a League?" Anabel asked him.
"Gym badges never expire," Brock answered. "She still has five Kanto badges registered to her, so she only needs three more. And she's had ten years of training with her Venusaur, along with her other Pokemon. Anything's possible, I suppose."
Ash climbed up the stairs of the Battle Tower; he had flown on Pidgeot on the way back, but rather than landing on the balcony he had directed the flying-type to land at the entrance instead, preferring the extra time it gave him to think as he climbed.
He paused three levels up at the entrance to the battlefield. Inside he noticed Rey, her face red with exertion as she battled her Venusaur against a Xatu. He watched her a moment before making his presence known.
"Doing a little training?" he asked. Rey started and turned before nodding.
"Yeah," she said. "It's been a while since I got any serious training done, and Venusaur and Xatu both need the workout."
"So this is your Xatu?" Ash asked, walking up to take a close look at the regal psychic-type. Rey nodded.
"I caught her as a Natu six years ago," she said. "I've never really battled with her that much, but we've trained an awful lot and she evolved a couple of months ago because of it." She sighed. "The only problem is, when I try to train her against Venusaur I'm commanding both of them. And because I do that, I know exactly what move is going to come next from both of them."
"Why is that a problem?" Ash asked.
"Because I never let Venusaur lose," Rey answered. "I'm biased in her favour because we've been together for so long; Xatu can never win."
"Why don't you train her against some of your other Pokemon?" Ash asked. Rey let out a bitter laugh.
"My training legacy," she said. "I only have two other Pokemon, and they're both too weak to battle Xatu." Ash held up a hand, stopping her.
"Never call your Pokemon weak," he said. "They may not be strong enough to defeat Xatu, but that doesn't make them weak. It may not seem like there's a difference, but there is. Saying that a Pokemon is 'too weak' just demoralizes them. And besides, how do you know they can't defeat Xatu?"
"They never have before."
"What happens before doesn't matter," Ash answered. "Every time a Pokemon battles they grow and get stronger, even if they don't win. A newly caught Pokemon can defeat the strongest member on your team if they're smart about it."
"Really," Rey said, and eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips.
"Don't look at me like that," Ash told her. "Why would I lie?" He suddenly smiled. "I remember when I caught my Bayleef; it was still a Chikorita, and it was the pluckiest little Pokemon you'd ever see. I got so frustrated with it that I sent out my Charizard."
"Oh no," Rey said, starting to grin. "Don't tell me..."
"Yep," Ash nodded. "That Chikorita took down my Charizard." He clapped a hand on Rey's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "We all have room to grow," he said softly. 'There's always time." He turned and left the room, calling out four Pokemon as he did so; Floatzel, Staraptor, Totodile, and Noctowl.
"Why are leaving these?" Rey asked, confused.
"To battle," Ash said. "Let them battle against your Pokemon naturally. Watch them battle and learn what strengths they need to improve. Venusaur and Xatu against Floatzel and Staraptor in a double battle, and your other two Pokemon against Totodile and Noctowl in a single. Sometimes the best way for a Pokemon to grow is to rediscover its own natural skills."
And with that, he left the room.
Professor Oak sat at his computer and sighed, rubbing his temples as he waited for the analysis to finish. He gazed sadly around at his trashed lab. The fifteen valuable plates he had painstakingly collected and researched over the years had been stolen, and judging by the scattered papers and open cupboards, the rest of his lab had been ransacked as well.
"It must have been a two-pronged assault," Tracey surmised from behind the Professor. "That one guy who came in and threatened Delia wanted you to tell him where it was, while another broke in here and searched the lab to try and see if you'd hidden it away."
"That is what probably happened," Oak agreed, "but then I don't see why they would have taken the stone plates as well. It doesn't make any sense... As far as I know, there's no correlation between the two."
"Did they get your research on either?" Tracey asked in concern.
"Luckily no," Professor Oak answered. "So far as I can tell, the files on the GS Ball and the stone plates weren't copied or downloaded. I don't think my computer was even touched, to be honest." Tracey opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the computer.
"Analysis complete," a cool female voice spoke.
"Ah, excellent," Professor Oak said, turning back to the computer and rubbing his hands.
"Is that the sample of the pustule from May that Brock sent?" Tracey asked in interest.
"Yes; hopefully this will prove to Ash that it isn't the Pokerus," Oak answered. "Computer: identify."
"Sample is a previously unknown virus. No known recorded cases have been diagnosed." Professor Oak frowned.
"Well, at least it isn't the Pokerus," he muttered. "Computer: is there a documented virus of a similar genetic structure?" The image of the sample onscreen faded, to be replaced by an image that he knew all too well. "Oh no," he groaned.
"Pokerus," the computer answered. "A temporarily contagious disease that only affects Pokemon, causing a temporary state of insanity."
"Computer: compare Pokerus with unknown virus," Oak ordered. "Could unknown virus be created through a natural mutation of the Pokerus?"
"No," the computer answered after a few seconds of calculation.
"What does that mean?" Tracey asked. A grim slash crossed the Professor's face.
"Computer: could unknown virus be created through a synthetic manipulation of the genetic structure of the Pokerus?" he asked.
"Yes," the computer answered.
"What does that mean?" Tracey asked again.
"Computer: define the predicted effects of unknown virus," Professor Oak ordered, panic starting to set in.
"Effects unknown. For most likely scenario, please access Pokerus."
"Professor?" Tracey asked.
"This unknown virus infected May and almost killed her," Professor Oak muttered to himself. "Its effects are the same as the Pokerus..." He turned and looked Tracey in the eyes.
"There's only one thing it can mean," he said slowly. "Someone's made the Pokerus infect humans."
Giovanni stood, surveying the damage. Hard lines of anger crossed his face at every turn. Steam rose from the centre of the room where the Moltres had been hit by the water attacks; the Heatran sagged immobile, still in its cage and critically injured; Grunts were scattered around the perimeter, many of them groaning in pain and the rest staggering around with bewildered expressions on the face. As for the reinforced glass which should have protected him...
"NAMBA!" Giovanni roared, the call echoing throughout the spacious room. Almost comically, Professor Namba's head peeked around the blast doors that led to his lab. Disregarding the still smouldering shards of glass that clung resiliently to the window frame, Giovanni leaped through the hole and stormed over towards the cowering Professor.
"It's not my fault!" Namba squeaked as he drew nearer. "That one fool tripped and let go of the cage! If he hadn't fallen and knocked those other Grunts over the cages would never have collided, and the Moltres wouldn't have been provoked!"
"Hang the man who tripped!" Giovanni growled, lifting Namba bodily by the neck and smashing him against the blast doors. "Your mutant virus is supposed to give you control over an infected Pokemon! Why didn't you call it off its rampage?"
"I... I...," Namba stuttered, and Giovanni's lip curled scornfully.
"Oh, I see. Too scared to get involved? Pathetic," he muttered in an eerie imitation of his youngest son. He dropped the terrified Professor and stalked away to the cage containing the Heatran. "Don't just stand there!" he bawled at the Grunts. "Get this Heatran into the lab and get it healed now!" As the majority of Grunts leaped forwards to lift and carry the cage, he turned and walked over to the Grunt who had caused the situation by falling, and who actually appeared to be asleep.
"As for you," he growled, leaning down to pick up the man by the neck. The response was immediate. The Grunt's eyes snapped open and, with an unfocused gaze, leapt forwards under Giovanni's guard and tackled him to the ground. Giovanni gasped in surprise as his back hit the floor, and then the Grunt's hands were fastened under his neck and the life was being choked from his body. He writhed, trying to free himself from the deranged man to no avail, and then the man suddenly went limp and fell to the floor.
"Are you alright, sir?" Bashou asked, kneeling down to his side. Giovanni nodded and, taking a deep breath, clambered to his feet. He glared down at the unconscious man who had tried to throttle him and then turned back to Bashou.
"You stopped him?" he asked, and Bashou nodded silently. "Buson?" he called.
"Behind you, sir," Buson answered. Giovanni looked at them both, sizing them up.
"You've both saved my life today," he said quietly. "I do not thank people, but you both deserve recognition for what you have done. I'm doubling your pay."
"Thank you, sir," they both said.
"Sebastian?" he asked.
"Here, sir," the senior Professor answered from the ground, where he was intently examining the unconscious Grunt.
"That man will die for strangling me," Giovanni said, "why are you checking him over?"
"Because what this man did was not his own fault," Professor Sebastian said calmly, straightening himself as he stood and looked Giovanni in the eye. "It was Professor Namba's."
"What?" Giovanni asked, dumbstruck.
"Not true!" Namba blurted out from where he stood, having crept near during the incident.
"Look at this man's forehead," Sebastian said. "See this lump above his eye? That is the reason he attacked, and I suspect the reason he fell in the first place."
"Speak sense, man!" Giovanni said impatiently. "It's a bump from when he hit his head after tripping. What does that have to do with anything?"
"It was not caused by his fall; his fall was caused by it," Sebastian said an, noticing the expression on Giovanni's face, he hurried on. "This lump, or pustule to be more precise, is a reaction from being infected by a virus."
"From being infected by a..." the colour drained from Giovanni's face; he could see what was coming next.
"Yes," Sebastian said softly. "This man has been infected by the Perporus."
"That's impossible!" Namba shouted. "The Perporus is just a modified variant of the Pokerus, and that can only be transmitted between Pokemon!"
"As the senior Professor and scientist of Team Rocket, all research passes though me before it is approved," Sebastian said, ignoring his quivering contemporary. "I saw the trials and read the research papers; this pustule matches those of the test subjects and is identical to the descriptions in the paper Professor Namba wrote up."
"You are just trying to discredit me!" Namba shouted accusingly. "You are jealous of what I have come up with and want to claim the credit for yourself!"
"Professor Bamba, I can assure you..."
"It's NAMBA!" he screeched.
"QUIET!" Giovanni roared, with enough fury to make even a nearby Blastoise quail. He turned to Sebastian. "Any more proof?" he asked.
"Bashou, Buson; hold him down," Sebastian ordered, taking what appeared to be two stopwatches out of his pocket. "These are able to determine the genetic makeup of any disease or virus," he explained. "This one on the left has already been tested with the Perporus; the same variant that was administered to the Moltres, if I am not mistaken." He clicked a button and a small scraper appeared out the side of the device on the right. He quickly scraped its edge along the surface of the pustule and retracted it back into the device. The man moaned as his pustule was touched, but did not flail about. There was silence for several seconds while the device clicked and whirred.
"Analysis complete," the device spoke. Sebastian flipped open the lids of both devices and compared them quickly before holding them out to show Giovanni.
"You see," he said quietly. "They're a perfect match." Giovanni stared at the two and staggered back, his heart beating quickly.
"Then this means..." he began.
"Yes," Sebastian agreed. "When Professor Namba mutated the Pokerus into the Perporus, he gave it several unique abilities. The virus will last until death, although its contagiousness still ceases after 24 hours. The effect of increased strength and power remains, but the one infected will actually listen to a command given by its master. One infected by the Pokerus would never obey commands. Unfortunately, it appears as if the human barrier has been removed also. While the Pokerus can only be transmitted between Pokemon, it would seem that the Perporus affects humans. That means..."
"Epidemic," Giovanni whispered, his face pale.
"Sir!" Bashou shouted suddenly. "The Grunt... he's dead."
"What? How?" Giovanni asked. Sebastian knelt and examined the man closely.
"Fever," he said eventually. "One of the symptoms of the Pokerus is a high fever. Pokemon have different body temperatures and higher tolerances than humans do. The fever caused by the Pokerus never causes any lasting harm to a Pokemon, but it seems that the Perporus is not quite as benign when it comes to humans." Giovanni turned and advanced on Namba.
"This is all your doing," he hissed menacingly. "You caused this!"
"I only did what you told me to!" Namba protested.
"I told you to mutate the Pokerus into something we could control!" Giovanni roared, flecks of spit flying into Namba's face. "I didn't tell you to make it infect humans too!"
"But... but..." Namba stammered, backpedalling. Giovanni's cool finally snapped and he lashed out at the terrified scientist, sending him flying.
"Sebastian!" Giovanni snapped.
"Sir?" the senior scientist asked, hurrying forwards.
"You're in charge of this mess now," he said. "Find out the full effects of Namba's Perporus, and reverse them if you can. Do a thorough investigation into where Namba went wrong, and mutate a strain of Pokerus into a form of Perporus that won't affect humans. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Sebastian nodded with a salute.
"Target neutralized," Hunter J's cool, collected voice spoke through the building's intercom. "Moltres has been caught."
"Finally, some good news," Giovanni groaned, placing his hands over his head.
Another quick update, and I hope you enjoyed it! Don't expect the next one so fast though. Please review!