I've been proud to have a Pokemon fan reply to my story for once!
Reply to Farla: Hello, nice to meet you, Farla, and thank you reviewing my story! Yes, I should have removed that part about him requiring parental permission or the Receivers hearing of him, since that was a leftover from when some of the Receivers' families survived the attack (which meant they brought children with them). In fact Audrey is canonically Luis' daugther in Receiver 2, and she survived the apocalypse with her father and mother. Second, I planned for there to be less interaction with Pokemon in the early chapter, when I was still planning out how it would end. After some back-and-forth on the r/Fanfiction discord with Pokemon fans, I decided to allow the Receivers (the main ones and the supporting ones) 1 first/second stage Pokemon each at most. This would keep the character limit fairly manageable and at least give some more opportunity for characterization. For the experienced Trainers they recruit, they would have 1 or 2 fairly powerful Pokemon, which meant they could get a second or third-stage with a typing like Steel, Rock, Ground, or Dark to assist the Receivers when fighting the Threat. The Receivers get mostly Normal, Electric, or Water type Pokemon because they primarily fight the autonomous drones the Threat once used against them. These drones will be fully realized from their basic turret/UACV types in the final Act.
"The most important attribute of a Receiver is mental resilience, and the only way to become proficient at this is by rebounding from adversary."
-Resilience, Baseline Set.
Lawrence watched Henry and Luis set up the replica turrets and drones. The entirety of the Rec Center, as well as the twenty-something Trainers they had recruited, had been in the city Pokemon Arena, where causal battles were being held. Everyone watched as sheets of plywood were brought in, to serve as makeshift concealment.
Andrew watched them set everything up, asking all the while about what they would face. These replicas would not fire real bullets, or deliver any shock; it was just for a show, for demonstration. Still, save for the weapons, everything down to the materials used in the replicas were real.
Finally, the Receivers were done setting up. They all retreated to the stands, while Andrew commanded his Chimecho to use Psywave. The blast of psychic energy knocked the turrets over – which didn't seem to register the flying creature as a target. They did, however, fire on the trainer as they caught sight of him, beeping harshly and firing off blank after blank.
The intensity of the noise caused Andrew to try to cover his ears. Hard-light barriers activated around the arena as sensors registered the cacophony as a threat to humans.
His Chimecho immediately used Safeguard, projecting a shield of green light as a replica drone flew towards it, the imitation stun-gun harshly buzzing. The drone rammed against the barrier again and again, unable to break through, before another Psywave smashed it apart.
Andrew stood among the shattered remains of the drone replicas as the arena's hard-light barriers came down. He was congratulated by Lawrence, who shook his hand firmly.
"Huh. Good job, you. Your Pokemon's abilities would serves us well when we confront the Threat." He left the arena a few moments later and took a seat in the stand.
Lawrence brought down a few other turret replicas. These things were salvaged from Reality B in the wake of the MindKill, where some brave – or foolhardy, he couldn't tell which – had risked their lives to capture the Threat Killdrones.
All of them had their weapons either disabled or filled with blanks. He then called down the trainers to give them a demonstration, calling them to stand in front of the turrets one by one.
Everyone approached hesitantly, hearing the harsh beeps and running away screaming when the blanks went off.
"Right, that does it for today. You might have noticed the beeping and delay before it shoots. Now, watch this." Lawrence unscrewed a small post from the weapon module of one turret. "Come around again and I'll explain what happens." Noticing their concern, he said, "It's safe. They're loaded with blanks, remember?"
This time, the turrets beeped for longer before letting of another volley of fire. Soon, loud clunking noises began to emanate from the turrets.
Lawrence walked behind them and switched them off. "Now, what you've just experienced are how Threat turrets operate. He pointed to the spotlight. "This is the camera. It identifies targets and triggers the firing mechanism if something is detected. Right now, it only targets humanoid things, so there are quite a few Pokemon that would likely be safe. But, mark my words, the Threat will adapt and try to find a way to target your Pokemon. It has adapted and found a way to pry our world apart."
Everyone watched as he pointed out the various parts, even opening the magazine to show them the fired blanks. The small post was a motion sensor, detecting body heat and motion to confirm if a target was alive instead of a decoy. Without it, the turrets obviously had a much harder time deciding to shoot.
"The surest way to destroy the Threat killdrones is to destroy the battery, located in the thickest part of a turret's base, or the rear body of the flying shock drones," Henry said, pointing them out. "Any weapon would do; a blade or screwdriver jammed into the power source will render it inoperable."
One of the Trainers raised their hand. "Is it possible to wield the turrets or shock drones yourselves? Why haven't you done it?"
Charlene stood up. "We did. Older Threat turrets only had the basic spotlight, firing instantly as soon as something moved into its line of sight. Anyone fast enough could pick them up and turn the turrets against the enemy. Once the Threat had realized what we were doing - well, you can guess what happened next. Not to mention the high chance of friendly fire or negligent discharges." She paused for a few moments. "Shock drones are far too unpredictable to wield as stun guns. We've been working on connecting the essential components into a easy-to-carry package as well as trying to find a way to convert the turrets into handheld rifles, but now with electric-type Pokemon available, that's been less of a priority."
Confident they had seen everything they needed to know, the Receivers and Trainers were sent back to the Rec Center.
Dawn watched the other sixteen-year-old Trainers in the shooting range. All of them looked nervously at the weapons in front of them.
Henry and Lawrence kept going over their usual safety spiel, so much so that she herself could recite it by memory alone. The guns had been press-checked and unloaded by the Trainers themselves, as part of the firearm operation fundamentals session a week ago.
"Carefully pop off the slide," Lawrence instructed. The trainers carefully pulled and prodded at the guns, clearly afraid. "I'll show you, then you copy me."
Lawrence removed the slide with a smooth motion, keeping the recoil spring in his grip as the Trainers did the same. "Good job. Now, compress the barrel spring against the front of the slide. If it flies off, don't worry. Pick it up and place it on the table."
"Why are we even doing this? It's complex, and Pokemon can be just as effective as these guns are," a Trainer cut in.
Henry pointed at the trainer in question. "The biggest reason why we're ordering you to do disassembly is so you're familiar with what you're using. Trainers bond and train with their Pokemon to understand each other, is that correct?"
The trainer nodded.
"This is the same thing, only with a mechanical device instead of a living creature. By the time we've completely covered these disassembly drills, the process will become as natural as breathing. You will become able to do these drills with extreme speed and precision, even with your eyes closed. A misfire or magazine failure will not prompt confusion and fear but a practiced, mechanical response with incredible clarity."
As the trainer mulled over these words, Henry continued, "When was the last time you had a Pokemon battle? Did you freeze at your Pokemon's injuries, or did you bring a Potion out of your bag immediately to heal them? What about calling out commands? I have seen from your badge counts that you were Trainers for several years. No doubt you will know exactly what your Pokemon are capable of."
He paused for a few seconds, leaving the group to think. "This is why we're training you right now. In both our disciplines as Receivers and Trainers, the proper use of what we have at our disposal must become so ingrained that no thought is ever given to have any chance of success."
Lawrence coughed to get the group's attention, directing them to replace the barrel before sliding the spring into position.
"Good job, everyone," Henry said. "Push the slide onto the receiver – that's the frame of the gun – to put it back on."
"Now you know the basic disassembly procedure. We've got one hour to kill here, so get going and repeat it!" Henry proclaimed, ignoring the ensuing groans.
Charlene smiled as she peeked out from behind a tree, noticing a Pichu. She readied Marill's Pokeball in her hand, confident that she could win. Sure, type disadvantage was an issue, but this particular Pichu didn't look very experienced. In her other hand, she carried her gun. It wouldn't be much use against an electricity-shooting creature, but it still gave her reassurance.
Beside her Andrew clutched his Bidoof's Pokeball in his hand. His Chimecho was his ace and backup.
"Ready?" she asked. "We need the element of surprise here." They threw their Pokeballs out without a word.
Marill's Water Gun soaked the electric rodent. It shook itself off and unleashed the most powerful Thundershock it could muster, sending Marill into convulsions as its nervous system malfunctioned. Charlene hurried to recall it before any more damage could be done.
She pulled out the flare gun and fired at the ground near the Pichu. It froze in terror, allowing her to throw the Pokeball at it.
The ball didn't even shake. Taking a breath, they grabbed it and moved as quickly as they could to the bus stop, traveling home to the Rec Center in silence.
Back at the Pokemon Center, Andrew managed to find his voice. "What the hell did you think you were doing back there?"
"I captured a Pokemon that I wanted. Look, it's my first ever, really."
"That's not what I meant. You almost knocked out your friend's rental Pokemon, and…" He couldn't find his voice, instead letting out an exasperated sigh. "The whole point of a starter is to find a Pokemon that won't try to attack or kill you in your sleep! Now that Pichu has every reason to do that!"
Charlene tapped the gun strapped to her leg. "We'll see how well that Pokemon does against some lead flying at high speed, then."
Andrew stared at her, shaking his head. Before Charlene could think of anything to say, he was gone.
Charlene sat at the table until the intercom called her up. She carefully stood up and descended the stairs, gripping the handrail the whole way.
The nurse at the front desk handed over her Pokeballs without a word.
Back at the Rec Center, everyone turned to look at her. She returned Marill's Pokeball to Cecily and went into her room without a word. Her leg hurt from the walking, but she pressed on.
That Pichu she caught could wait until tomorrow. For now, she decided she could do with an ice pack and a cold drink.
Charlene finally gets her first Pokemon. It's Pichu, which exists only in the Trophy Garden.
For this fic, I decided to have Pichu and its evolutions in the wild. The rationale was released Trainer Pokemon or ones imported from other regions that have them in the wild. I believe they're fairly common in the regions where they come from and rare inother reigons otherwise., and the nature of these species would make the line popular family companions. I think you can find Bulbasaur in the wild in one game that doesn't take place in Kanto, so that's the likely reason, and if that's true of one Pokemon, what's to say that it is true of other Pokemon, too?
i also wanted a Pokemon that Charlene could call her own. Her using the gun is a reflection of Cecily's attempt in Chapter 2, but this time it works. She's also impulsive and rash as portrayed in Receiver 2, so that factors in her falling back on what she knew - her gun. The second added part is the reason why the Receivers couldn't just grab a turret and turn it into a functioning rifle - which is "They once could, but it's impractical now."