"He is an extremely strange child," Dr. Prazan told them. She was leading them through the building to that strange child, who she was in charge of. "He has this fantastic story about how he came to Corellia - in fact, how he came to this galaxy. We invited you Jedi here to try and make sense of it, and to explain to him about the Force - I think that's a very important thing for him to know."
"Very interesting," said Obi-Wan.
"Ah, here we are." Dr. Prazan opened a door. The room beyond it contained a bed, three chairs, and a table with a microscope on it. Sitting on the bed was, indeed, an extremely strange child.
He wore gloves, unfamiliar clothes that were mostly blue, and a brimmed, cylindrical hat. His brown hair stuck out in stiff spikes, and he had very large, oddly-shaped eyes.
"Richie," Dr. Prazan said to the boy, "I'd like you to meet Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker."
"Hi," Richie said, without much enthusiam. "Are you here to interrogate me too?"
"Of course not," said Obi-Wan, trying to sound friendly. "We are members of an order called the Jedi Knights, and we're here to try and make some sense out of your story, and to help you get used to life around here."
"You mean . . . Am I stuck here?"
"Perhaps. Let's hear your story first."
"Okay." Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Dr. Prazan pulled up chairs to listen.
"This is how I got here," Richie began, "and it's true, okay?"
"Okay," said Obi-Wan.
"Good. So, I was on my way to the Saffron City Gym for a second try at defeating the gym leader, Sabrina, in battle. When I got there, I noticed that there was a new teleport pad just outside the doorway."
"He says that's something they use on his world to instantly transport
people a short distance," clarified Dr. Prazan. "It doesn't seem
possible."
"It is possible!" Richie asserted. "The Saffron City Gym
has lots of them. And I knew this one was new, since I'd been there
before. This one looked different. It had a symbol on it, like
an asterisk inside a circle.
"I ignored it and continued on into the gym, but just as I got to the first of the teleport pads leading to the arena, my curiosity just took over. I had to know where that new pad took you.
"So I went back to the entrance and stood on the pad, but it didn't work like all the others. First, a sort of force field came out of the edges of the pad, went up and closed over my head. It was clear, and it felt like soft glass. Next, a vent near my feet opened and started filling the little bubble I was in with air.
"Next, the pad started to move. It shot off the ground and went up and up, faster and faster. In just a few seconds the pad was stuck to my feet, hurtling me through space. I had to watch my own beautiful planet Earth vanish into the distance behind me. Then I realized that I was screaming, and getting tired of it, so I started to look around.
"I was obviously moving through space at an incredible speed. There was plenty of air within my bubble, thanks to that vent. The stars and planets went by so fast . . . it was amazing . . .
"After some time, maybe five or ten minutes, I looked back and saw that I had left an entire galaxy - my galaxy - behind. For all its majesty, it was rather sad. Would I ever see it again?
"I continued to shoot through space for about twenty more minutes, and I passed between or through another galaxy or two, I'm not sure. That was when I began to wonder, did the teleport pad know where it was going?
"Obviously, it did. When I entered this galaxy, the pad headed toward a certain planet - this one, Corellia, right?"
"Right," said Obi-Wan.
"Yeah," Richie went on, "so, when I got to Corellia, the pad turned so that I was entering the atmosphere feet-first. The air in the bubble got very hot, and then I was standing on the ground.
"The force field retracted, and I stepped off the pad. As soon as I did, it cracked and turned dark gray. So I think I was right - I am stuck here."
"Well," commented Anakin, "that's -"
"I'm not done yet!" said Richie. "So then I started looking for any sign of civilization. When I found this city, I started wandering around, and Dr. Prazan found me and said I should stay here. There, I'm done."
"Hmmmm..." said Obi-Wan. The room was silent, waiting for the Jedi's appraisal of the story.
"It's very interesting," Obi-Wan commented. "Could it be true? I really don't know . . ."
"I have an idea," said Anakin. "If we find the place where Richie landed, and the teleport pad is there, that'll prove the story is true!"
Obi-Wan stared at his young Padawan. Why didn't I think of that?
"A wise idea," said Obi-Wan at length. "Let's go." He started to get up.
"Wait!" said Dr. Prazan quickly. "I want you to see this." She activated the microscope on the table. "We have here a sample of Richie's cells. We found his midichlorian count to be above average, which was surprising enough, but looking at them through this . . . well, that was really strange. Here, take a look."
Obi-Wan looked. My goodness! Are those midichlorians?
They were in the usual configuration, but they were bright yellow in color. Each one had two tiny red dots on its main part, and three appendages: two pointed with black tips, the other zigzagging with a brown base.
"That has to be the strangest thing I've seen since the electrostatic field," said Obi-Wan. "How do you know those are midichlorians?"
"Well, you could determine that," answered Dr. Prazan. "Just do a Force scan of the area. If you can sense Richie, then those are indeed midichlorians."
"Okay... quiet, please..." Obi-Wan reached out with the Force.
There were only three Force-sensitives nearby: himself, Anakin, and Richie. Wow... that is one brave, goodhearted kid. He'd make a great Jedi . . .
Slowly, Obi-Wan reverted to the real world. "Oh, yes, those are midichlorians, all right. In fact, Richie has great potential to be a Jedi Knight."
"What's that mean?" Richie asked. "And what are midichlorians?"
Obi-Wan smiled. "Midichlorians are microscopic life-forms that live inside the cells of beings in this galaxy. Without the midichlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force."
"The Force?"
"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things; it surrounds us and penetrates us and binds the galaxy together."
"So I . . . have the Force."
"Yes, you have the ability to feel it, which is a good start. If you developed your powers, you could use them to move objects, send messages to your fellow Jedi, influence the thoughts of the weak-minded, and use some really cool moves in hand-to-hand combat."
"Wow! Um... can I look in the microscope?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Richie went over to the microscope, looked in, and laughed out loud.
"What?" said Obi-Wan.
"They - they look like little Pikachus!" Richie spluttered. "Oh, man... they don't always look like that, do they?"
"No. That's what makes you so unusual. You're proof that not only is there is life in other galaxies, but that some of it can use the Force. And what's a Pikachu?"
"Watch this."
As Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Dr. Prazan watched, Richie pulled out a hard ball. It was half-red, half-white, and sported a yellow star sticker. He threw it towards the floor, commanding, "Sparky, come out!"
The ball opened and flew back to Richie's hand, leaving a glowing mass of energy on the floor, which resolved itself into the form of a yellow rodent standing on two legs. It was easy to see the resemblance between this lifeform and those in the microscope.
"Everyone," said Richie, "this is my Pikachu, Sparky."
"Pika pika," Sparky greeted the group.
"Is that your pet?" asked Anakin.
"Not exactly," said Richie. "Sparky is a Pokémon, and I'm a Pokémon trainer. Many people on my planet are. Pokémon are a special kind of animal that, when trained, are pets, friends and tools for competing in Pokémon matches all in one."
"Matches? You mean, they fight each other?"
"Yes, but not to be bad or anything. Trainers teach their Pokémon different attacks and techniques, then have them battle each other to see whose Pokémon are the strongest."
"What's one of Pikachu's attacks?"
"The Thundershock."
"Can we see it?"
"If we go outside, yes. If Sparky did it in here, he'd break something, or short out the lights."
******
Minutes later, out behind the office building, Richie commanded, "Sparky, show us your Thundershock attack!"
"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
Sparky sent bolts of lightning up into the sky, taking care not to hit anyone or anything.
"Amazing!" said Obi-Wan. "Do you have any other Pokémon?"
"Yes, a Charmander and a Butterfree," answered Richie, throwing two more of the red-and-white balls. "Happy, Zippo, come out!"
Out came an orange reptile with a flame burning at the end of its tail, and an insect with pale-blue wings.
"Happy, Zippo, I'd like you to meet Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Dr. Prazan." To these people, Richie explained, "Happy is the Butterfree, the one who's flying. The other one, my Charmander, is Zippo."
"Chaaarrrr!" Zippo said, looking at Dr. Prazan. It turned to Happy and said, "Char! Charmander char charmander!"
"Free," agreed Happy.
Richie laughed. "You're right, Zippo!"
"What did they say?" asked Obi-Wan.
"Well," Richie answered, "I don't know, but I can guess. I think Zippo pointed out that Dr. Prazan looks a lot like Nurse Joy, who takes care of sick and injured Pokémon back home."
By then, Happy had flown over and landed on Obi-Wan's shoulder.
"It likes you," giggled Richie.
"I see." Obi-Wan didn't sound too happy.
"Can we go look for the teleport pad now?" said Anakin.
"Sure."
Disclaimer and Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement: A BIG thank you to Linda "Soggy-Ben Doggy" Ingram for letting me use the "Midichlorians look like Pikachus" idea. MTFBWY! :-)
Disclaimer: Obi-Wan, Anakin, and everything else Star Wars belongs to
Lucasfilm Ltd. Everything Pokémon belongs to Nintendo, Creatures,
Gamefreak et al. Dr. Prazan belongs to me. No copyright infringement
is intended; I write because it's fun. :-)