Disclaimer is in Chp.1
Most will probably realize this at the begininng, but for those who don't, this Chapter is told
from Bulbasaur's POV. Also, to save myself and you some time, I'm not going to be writing what
the Poke'mon are actually saying, just the translation. That'll probably be only for this
chapter, though. If it's in stars, that's a translation for Poke'mon speech. Otherwise, it's
normal speech.
Chp.4 Role reversal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*What makes you think you're a Poke'mon?*
*Well, I'm covered in fur, I have a tail and I've never been human. Why wouldn't I be a
Poke'mon?!*
*You have been human, Dan! Don't you remember?* I asked.
*Dan? My name's Pikachu.*
*Pikachu?* What the heck... *But you're a Raichu Hybrid...*
*Raichu Hybrid?* He looked oddly at me. *What's that?*
*You, dummy!* Nidoran pointed out.
*Don't call me dumb. That's not nice...*
*Well, have you looked at yourself lately?*
*What do...* That's when he noticed his hands. He looked in shock at them for a few
seconds, then ran to the side of the pool to look at his face. *No...no...NO!*
*What's wrong?* I asked.
*Everything!* He curled up into a ball, almost like he was trying to hide from himself.
*Mommy...Daddy...where are you?*
*Oh no...* This was worse than I thought.
*What's wrong with him?* Nidoran asked.
*I don't know...it's like the mature trainer we once knew is now a shell of his former
self.* I heard a sniff, then another. It sounded like he was...crying?
*This is not right...*
*Thanks for that brilliant insight.* I muttered. *Should we try talking to him?*
*He doesn't understand us, remember?*
*Hello! He's understood every word we said so far. I don't get it, but it seems like he
suddenly gets everything we say, even though not a few hours ago, he barely understood a word we
said.*
*Oh, yeah...* I felt like I was about to pop a vein. Nidoran obviously wasn't the
brightest bulb in the box.
I walked over to my trainer, trying to figure out the best way to talk to him. Then
again, how do you talk to a half-human, half-Raichu creature who thinks he's a Pikachu?
*Dan? Dan?* I thought about that for a moment, then tried again. *Raichu?*
*Sniff...yeah?...sniff*
*I'm not sure what's going on, but why don't you come with me, and we can go look for
your parents. How does that sound?*
*I shouldn't go with strangers. Mom and Dad said not to go with anyone I didn't know.
Besides, you might be the one who wants to take me away.*
*You're the strangest of us all, kid...*
*Nidoran!* I yelled. Turning back to Dan, I asked, *Why would I want to take you away?*
*I don't know. My parents were always talking about someone taking me away from them, and
I don't want to leave them.*
*When did they talk about this?*
*Every night, for the past few weeks. They thought I was asleep, but I was never tired,
so I stayed up and listened to them.*
*Really...* I glanced at Nidoran for help. He gave me a, "Like I have any clue what he's
talking about?" look.
*Don't worry, I don't want to take you away. I just want to help you, that's all.*
*What about him?*
*Nidoran? He couldn't hurt a Caterpie, even with the type advantage.*
*Hey! I resent that!*
*Shh!* I hushed. *So what'd you say?*
Dan sniffed a few more times, sat up and straightened out his appearence. He had been
crying, judging by the way some of his face fur was matted down, though he tried to cover it up.
*I...guess I should go with you. I don't even know where I am. How can I find my parents
if I'm lost myself?*
*O.K. Let's get out of here before the cops come.* We ran out of the gym and into the
forest just as the police pulled up. Dan followed us out on all fours, which was a bit odd to
watch, but now wasn't exactly the time to complain.
*Now what?* Dan asked.
*We need to find Misty. Maybe she knows how to...find your parents.*
*Misty? Who's she?*
*She's the gym leader.*
*Is she a friend? I can't really remember much about my friends...*
*Yeah...she's a friend of yours.* Nidoran assured him.
That was great, but how to find her was the question. I couldn't see any sort of tracks
on the ground, and my sense of smell stinks, as does Nidoran's. Maybe Dan could try, but he
wouldn't know what to look for in his current mental state. What got me was how their couldn't be
any tracks on the ground...unless whatever grabbed Misty telported. That was all I needed...
*There's a hole in the tree...*
*What?*
*The trees. There are holes in them...*
I was about to dismiss this as babbling when I looked up myself. There wasn't holes in
the trees, but there were a lot of broken branches, which, when combined with other trees with
the same problem, looked like something had made a perfectly round hole in the trees. Round...
like a sphere! It wasn't much, but it was all we had to go on.
We followed the giant holes deep into the woods. I wondered what could've made these
holes, and what wanted Misty so badly, yet at the same time, passed over my trainer.
*Bulbasaur,* Nidoran walked close to me so we could whisper and not be heard by Dan.
*What are we going to do if we can't fix...well...* He looked back at Dan, pityingly.
*Don't worry about it. We'll help him.*
*Yeah, but say we don't. What do we do with him, or ourselves?*
*Look, it's not going to happen, so don't think about it!* I didn't mean to yell. It's
just I knew what he meant, and I didn't want to think of the possibiltes if we didn't help Dan.
What would happen to him? Sure, maybe he could act like a regular Poke'mon, but it'd be
impossible for him to live like one. If anything, he'd probably be turned in to some science lab,
or locked in some nuthouse with people who have real problems. He didn't deserve that.
We continued to follow the holes, though something else bothered me. Despite all the
broken branches, there were none actually on the ground. It was like something swept them all
up, but there were no tracks, footprint or otherwise. I shivered at the creepiness of the
situation. We couldn't turn back now, though I did feel the urge to more than a few times.
The holes stopped near a secluded little building deep in the forest. I wondered what a
building would be doing back here, but since the trail stopped here, it had to be more than the
little one story building it looked to be. There was a pole on the roof that I could Vine Whip
to, but there seemed to be no other way in.
*You two stay here. I'm gonna check this out.*
*Why do I have to stay? Because I'm too young?* Dan huffed.
*Too young? You're older than me...*
*No I'm not. You're at least 6 years old. I'm about a half year old.*
*A half year?* He thought he was a baby? That would explain his earlier reactions...but
how? Must be a human or Hybrid thing that happens when they get hit in the head. I don't know
that much about humans, so I can't say for sure.
*No, Da...Raichu,* Nidoran corrected himself, *Bulbasaur's the only one who can get in.
It doesn't have anything to do with age.*
*O.K....* he still sounded annoyed.
*Nidoran, watch him and make sure he doesn't do anything to get in trouble.*
*Sure.* I sent out my vines and wrapped them around the pole, then pulled myself up to
it. Unfortunetly, I went a little too fast and ended up smashing my face against the pole.
After muttering some choice words, I opened a door on the roof with my vines and climbed
down the stairs to the first floor. It looked like a normal hallway; gray walls, cheap carpet,
couple of wooden doors, didn't seem like anything odd. Curious, I nudged open the closest door
and peered inside.
"Hybrid experiment #04123 is responding normally to the new serum."
I ran under the closest thing to me, a table, and looked around. I could see a whole
bunch of tables loaded with test tubes, burners and other sciency stuff. There were a bunch of
men and women in white lab coats walking around, some with clipboards in their hands. The two
closest to me were talking about something.
"It is? Good, we can't afford anymore screw-ups. You remember how bad Giovanni went after
us when we lost all those Hybrids so long ago."
"I wish I could forget." One of them shuddered. "I still don't know what happened to that
fool who suggested that if he'd bought the unbreakable glass, none of this would've happened."
"Rumor is he's locked down in one of the dungeons, and can never leave. He was lucky,
too. Giovanni was in a good mood when he punished him."
"I'd hate to get on his bad side...but enough of this. You must see the progress of our
latest Hybrid..."
"I will, but I have to check on our latest recapture. To think, she was the Gym Leader
all these years."
Gym Leader? He must've meant Misty! I followed the man who was going to check on Misty
out the door and far down the hall into another room. Thankfully, I'm small, and the hallway was
unoccupied otherwise, so no one noticed me. He opened another door and stepped through, leaving
it open enough for me to squeeze through.
"So, how is our little fish doing?"
"Alright, for now. She's still out from the earlier tranquilzer, but I think she'll be
ready for the serum soon."
Misty was in Hybrid form, suspended in a glass tube filled with some bluish-greenish
liquid. There was a mask of some sort over her face, and a tube from that mask that led to
something that I guessed let her breathe.
"How much tranquilzer did you use on her?"
"About the same used to knock out a Tarous."
"Wow..." one of them whistled, "that much?"
"She's a real fighter. Our Kadabra had so much trouble keeping her in the dome it
couldn't teleport back and take her with it at the same time, so it had to walk back and hold
her in with it's powers."
That explained the holes in the trees. It probably levitated her in the ball, which
caused all the broken branches. Then it used it's powers to cover it's tracks, not realizing
the holes it made. I looked around for a place to take cover, only to realize there wasn't
anything to hide behind or under! I just hoped they didn't turn around.
"What's this one's special abilites?"
"Well, lets see..." one of them punched a few buttons on the computer in front of the
tank. "Besides great swimming speed, being able to hold her breath for hours, and being
hydrokenitic...she's supposed to be able to communicate with Poke'mon telepathicly, though she'd
escaped before we could confirm those reports."
"What about the other one?"
"The other one?"
"You know...the other one..."
"I don't know, really."
"That Raichu Hybrid we had to leave behind, you..."
"Raichu Hybrid?! You mean that one that escaped last week?"
"You don't know? Well, no one's here...You can't tell Giovanni, but the Raichu Hybrid was
actually with her," he jabbed a thumb at Misty, "but since Kadabra was alone, and it was using
all it's power just to hold her, it couldn't take him with it."
"Wait, how do you know this?"
"Well..."
Suddenly, before he could finish, a huge siren went off in the entire building, followed
by an announcment.
ATTENTION! HYBRID DETECTED OUTSIDE THE FACILITY! CAPTURE AT ALL COSTS!
"Never mind! Let's get...huh?" They turned and spotted me as they started to leave.
"Where did that come from?"
"I don't know. Nobody here trains a Bulbasaur. I doubt it's wild, ethier."
"It's a spy! Better take it out!"
"How? All I have is a Wartortle!"
"I don't have anything! Just grab it!"
They ran at and lunged for me, but they were slow and clumsy. I lead them on a run all
around the lab, and they were totally exhausted within a minute. Finally, probably more in
fustartion than anything else, one of the guys enlarged and threw out a Poke Ball.
*Wartortle!*
"Wartortle...take care...of that...Bulbasaur!" he gasped, out of breath.
*A Grass-type! Are you crazy?*
*Desperate is more like it.* I charged and Tackled her (Wartortle was a girl) to the
ground. Her shell took the worst of it, and she rolled back to her feet.
*Hey, that was a cheap shot!*
*Stop complaining and start fighting!*
I fired a pair of Razor Leafs at her, but she dodged one and shot the other one down
with a Water Gun before turning it on me. I braced and took the blow, the water doing nothing
other than refreshing me a touch.
*Nice defense,* I commented, *but you gotta work on your counters.*
*Don't be too sure you're going to win with your type advantage alone!*
*What, that's...
Bulbasaur?
Huh? There a voice in my head! That's rarely good...
Over here! I heard the sound of rapping glass. I turned and saw Misty, her eyes open,
hitting the glass that surrounded her with her fist.
*Misty, you're O.K.!*
What...look out!
It was too late. Wartortle knocked me back with a lucky Tackle, then got a quick hit in
with her claws. I released a little Stun Spore, but she leapt back before it could do anything.
Sorry! Misty apoligized. She quickly got serious. Look, there's not a lot of time
here. I'm guessing Dan is around somewhere, and he sent you to get me. Looks like you have
something else to take of first, but when you're done, get me out of this tube! I'm
claustraphobic, and there isn't a lot of room here!
*Sure, as soon as I take care of little Miss Whiner here...* I tried to Vine Whip
Wartortle, but she Withdrew into her shell before I could connect.
Wrap it up like you did with Staryu!
That's good advice, I thought, quickly entangling Wartortle in a bundle of vines.
She struggled inside her shell, unable to get out.
"Wartortle, you worthless Poke'mon! Break out!"
*Nice trainer you got there.* I said sarcasticly. It took a few seconds to decide what
to do with a shell, but after looking at Misty still struggling inside her tube, it was pretty
obvious. I took the shell in my vines, bought it back and...
SLAM!
CRACKKKKK!
I repeatily slammed Wartortle into the tube, forcing the glass to crack slightly. Her
trainer didn't seemed to want to get involved in any of this. I shuddered at the thought of
being trained by someone like that.
*Ow! Hey, that really hurts!*
*Just one more time...* Sure enough, one more quick slam cracked a hole in tube, sending
the liquid spilling onto the floor. With a few swift kicks, Misty made a hole big enough for her
to squeeze out through.
"NO!" The scientists yelled.
*That's it!* Wartortle yelled. The tone of her voice shocked me so much the shell slipped
out of my vines and crashed to the ground. She went back to her normal position and glared
angirly at her trainer.
*I've had enough of this! You don't pay any attention to me, other than to yell at me,
I'm lucky if I'm even fed anymore; you don't care about me at all! Even when I evolved, you
barely noticed, and now you send me out against a Grass-type?!" Wartortle cried, looking at her
trainer. *I'm tired of this!* With that, she shot a stream of water at her ex-trainer. He and
the other scientist ran from the water, moving behind the remeants of the thing that held Misty.
"Let me give you some help there..." Misty closed her eyes and held out her arm, palm
facing forward.
*What are you doing?* I asked. She didn't respond, and at first, I was really confused.
Wartortle changed her aim to the tube, the water blocked from the men by it. Suddenly, the water,
and I swear it's true, bent around the tube and hit the scientists. Even as they ran, the water
followed them, no matter where they went, bending and twisting around corners and anything that
could normally block it.
*Whoa...* I was in shock. This kept up for about a good two minutes, which was actually
quite amusing. The alarm resounded during this time, reminding everyone of the Hybrid still
outside. Wait...Hybrid outside the building?
*DAN!* I ran out into the hall, desperate for a way out. I followed one Rocket dressed
in black out a part of the wall that lifted up when he hit a switch hidden in the wall.
All heck was breaking loose outside. Nidoran and Dan were surrounded by a ring of
Rockets, some with rubber gloves, but they mostly seemed unready for this. They attacked the pair
one at a time, like in a bad karate movie, and, just like a bad karate movie, they couldn't get
ethier of them. If they went after Nidoran, he jabbed them in the leg the moment they would
grab him. If they went after Dan, he fried them with a bolt of electricty before they even got
within five feet of him.
*Don't any of these guys have Poke'mon on them?* Nidoran asked no one in paticular.
*Guess not.* Dan replied.
Think fast, Bulbasaur. I had to figure out how to break them up...ah-ha! I settled
myself and concentrated on creating seeds. I felt them start to pile up in my bulb, and I let
them out one at a time. They burst open into vines and quickly wrapped up the Rockets, sapping
their energy as they did.
*Alright!* Nidoran cried as my Leech Seeds did their work.
*Cool...* Dan turned to look at what was happening, not seeing that a seed missed the
Rocket behind him. She grabbed a large stick off the ground, charging at him and swinging. She
connected with his head before I fired another seed and tangled her up too.
"Dan!" Misty came running out of the passage way as Dan sat on the ground, dazed for
sure, but still aware. He held his head for a few seconds, then looked around, confused.
"Where am Rai? What happened?" he asked.
"Are you O.K.? You just got hit in the head."
"Rai did?" He still seemed clueless as to what had happened. "The last thing I remember,
the gym Chu came down on my head...now I'm here. Raichu happened?"
"Didn't you come here to save me?"
"Rai...guess." He stood up and brushed himself off. "Ow...my head..."
"Come on. I should get back to the gym, and you should get some rest."
"Raichu." He agreed with a nod. Nidoran and I had to point out the holes we'd used as a
guide into the woods, so they could use them as a way out.
By the time we returned to the gym, the police were there in full force, investigating
every inch of the place. Dan and Misty spoke privately for a few moments before Dan started back
toward the hotel. We followed him, paused outside for a few moments while he made a quick change
back to human, then walked into the hotel. The clerk seemed surprised to see someone walk in
with his Poke'mon out of their balls, but Dan quickly explained that he wanted to see how his
Poke'mon did in the night.
After he checked in, we went back to the room and went to bed. Dan took the bed, while
Niodran and I took up a spot on the couch. It was well past noon when some annoying little
bellhop knocked on the door and woke me up. He came in and left an envelope on a table just
outside Dan's door before he left. About twenty minutes later, Dan came out in Hybrid form,
yawning.
"Morning, Bulbasaur." he yawned, streching out.
*You got something here.* I looked up at the letter. It was a plain white envelope, not
very big at all.
"Raichu?" He picked up the envlope and opened it, pulling out a piece of paper. He read
it over for a minute, then reached into the envelope, pulling out a...
"Cascade Badge. Thank you, Misty." He knelt down and patted me on the head. "Rai guess I
have you to thank, too. I don't Raichu a thing that happened, but Chu safe to say you did a lot."
*Well, maybe I did a little bit...* I said modestly.
*Hey, what about me?* Nidoran asked, joining the two of us.
"I'm sure you Rai a lot, too." He was about to pat Nidoran too when he remembered the
horn, and instead stroked his back a little. After, we ate our breakfast and helped Dan pack up.
He seemed to be kinda quiet for most of it, like he was really thinking about something. I
tried to read the letter he'd gotten at one point, though after a few seconds it occured to me
I couldn't read. (Hey, I was only taught how to obey spoken commands. There didn't seem much
point in learning how to write!)
Dan never told us what was in the letter, even after we'd left the hotel and went to the
Poke'Mart. I was concerned something bad happened, but when he said he'd let me and Nidoran get
one thing of our choice out of the store, I kinda forgot about it.
*Bulbasaur, I want to ask you something.* Nidoran asked as we searched for what we
wanted. I'd already picked out a huge bag filled with different types of candy for Poke'mon, and
pushed it with my head towards Nidoran.
*What's up?*
*About what happened before. When and if Dan ever fully understands us, should we tell
him what happened and how he acted?*
I looked up at our trainer, who had naturally went to human before coming in, grabbing
some medicences for us and whatever else he thought nessacary. Should we tell him what happened?
I know we need to be honest with our trainer and all, but...I felt really uneasy about that.
*No,* I shook my head at the thought of what would happen, "he never asked for this to
happen to him. I still don't know what was with all those Rockets that had Misty, but they're
probably involved with our trainer as well. He doesn't need that to happen to him.*
Nidoran nodded somenly, then went back to looking. A minute later we bought up our stuff
as Dan packed the last of everything into his bag. He paid for our things and put them in the
pack as well.
Well, I thought, despite a few obstacles, we've made it out O.K.. If we could make it
through this, we could make it through anything.
*Dan, you dropped something!* Nidoran said. He had, indeed, dropped a Paralyze Heal on
the ground, not even noticing it was missing.
"You can have your candy later, Nidoran!" Dan said before returning Nidoran into his
ball.
*No, you dropped you're Paralyze Heal!* I tried to tell him.
"You too, Bulbasaur!" Dan put away Nidorans ball and pulled out mine. Well, I thought
before I was returned to my ball, almost anything.
Most will probably realize this at the begininng, but for those who don't, this Chapter is told
from Bulbasaur's POV. Also, to save myself and you some time, I'm not going to be writing what
the Poke'mon are actually saying, just the translation. That'll probably be only for this
chapter, though. If it's in stars, that's a translation for Poke'mon speech. Otherwise, it's
normal speech.
Chp.4 Role reversal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*What makes you think you're a Poke'mon?*
*Well, I'm covered in fur, I have a tail and I've never been human. Why wouldn't I be a
Poke'mon?!*
*You have been human, Dan! Don't you remember?* I asked.
*Dan? My name's Pikachu.*
*Pikachu?* What the heck... *But you're a Raichu Hybrid...*
*Raichu Hybrid?* He looked oddly at me. *What's that?*
*You, dummy!* Nidoran pointed out.
*Don't call me dumb. That's not nice...*
*Well, have you looked at yourself lately?*
*What do...* That's when he noticed his hands. He looked in shock at them for a few
seconds, then ran to the side of the pool to look at his face. *No...no...NO!*
*What's wrong?* I asked.
*Everything!* He curled up into a ball, almost like he was trying to hide from himself.
*Mommy...Daddy...where are you?*
*Oh no...* This was worse than I thought.
*What's wrong with him?* Nidoran asked.
*I don't know...it's like the mature trainer we once knew is now a shell of his former
self.* I heard a sniff, then another. It sounded like he was...crying?
*This is not right...*
*Thanks for that brilliant insight.* I muttered. *Should we try talking to him?*
*He doesn't understand us, remember?*
*Hello! He's understood every word we said so far. I don't get it, but it seems like he
suddenly gets everything we say, even though not a few hours ago, he barely understood a word we
said.*
*Oh, yeah...* I felt like I was about to pop a vein. Nidoran obviously wasn't the
brightest bulb in the box.
I walked over to my trainer, trying to figure out the best way to talk to him. Then
again, how do you talk to a half-human, half-Raichu creature who thinks he's a Pikachu?
*Dan? Dan?* I thought about that for a moment, then tried again. *Raichu?*
*Sniff...yeah?...sniff*
*I'm not sure what's going on, but why don't you come with me, and we can go look for
your parents. How does that sound?*
*I shouldn't go with strangers. Mom and Dad said not to go with anyone I didn't know.
Besides, you might be the one who wants to take me away.*
*You're the strangest of us all, kid...*
*Nidoran!* I yelled. Turning back to Dan, I asked, *Why would I want to take you away?*
*I don't know. My parents were always talking about someone taking me away from them, and
I don't want to leave them.*
*When did they talk about this?*
*Every night, for the past few weeks. They thought I was asleep, but I was never tired,
so I stayed up and listened to them.*
*Really...* I glanced at Nidoran for help. He gave me a, "Like I have any clue what he's
talking about?" look.
*Don't worry, I don't want to take you away. I just want to help you, that's all.*
*What about him?*
*Nidoran? He couldn't hurt a Caterpie, even with the type advantage.*
*Hey! I resent that!*
*Shh!* I hushed. *So what'd you say?*
Dan sniffed a few more times, sat up and straightened out his appearence. He had been
crying, judging by the way some of his face fur was matted down, though he tried to cover it up.
*I...guess I should go with you. I don't even know where I am. How can I find my parents
if I'm lost myself?*
*O.K. Let's get out of here before the cops come.* We ran out of the gym and into the
forest just as the police pulled up. Dan followed us out on all fours, which was a bit odd to
watch, but now wasn't exactly the time to complain.
*Now what?* Dan asked.
*We need to find Misty. Maybe she knows how to...find your parents.*
*Misty? Who's she?*
*She's the gym leader.*
*Is she a friend? I can't really remember much about my friends...*
*Yeah...she's a friend of yours.* Nidoran assured him.
That was great, but how to find her was the question. I couldn't see any sort of tracks
on the ground, and my sense of smell stinks, as does Nidoran's. Maybe Dan could try, but he
wouldn't know what to look for in his current mental state. What got me was how their couldn't be
any tracks on the ground...unless whatever grabbed Misty telported. That was all I needed...
*There's a hole in the tree...*
*What?*
*The trees. There are holes in them...*
I was about to dismiss this as babbling when I looked up myself. There wasn't holes in
the trees, but there were a lot of broken branches, which, when combined with other trees with
the same problem, looked like something had made a perfectly round hole in the trees. Round...
like a sphere! It wasn't much, but it was all we had to go on.
We followed the giant holes deep into the woods. I wondered what could've made these
holes, and what wanted Misty so badly, yet at the same time, passed over my trainer.
*Bulbasaur,* Nidoran walked close to me so we could whisper and not be heard by Dan.
*What are we going to do if we can't fix...well...* He looked back at Dan, pityingly.
*Don't worry about it. We'll help him.*
*Yeah, but say we don't. What do we do with him, or ourselves?*
*Look, it's not going to happen, so don't think about it!* I didn't mean to yell. It's
just I knew what he meant, and I didn't want to think of the possibiltes if we didn't help Dan.
What would happen to him? Sure, maybe he could act like a regular Poke'mon, but it'd be
impossible for him to live like one. If anything, he'd probably be turned in to some science lab,
or locked in some nuthouse with people who have real problems. He didn't deserve that.
We continued to follow the holes, though something else bothered me. Despite all the
broken branches, there were none actually on the ground. It was like something swept them all
up, but there were no tracks, footprint or otherwise. I shivered at the creepiness of the
situation. We couldn't turn back now, though I did feel the urge to more than a few times.
The holes stopped near a secluded little building deep in the forest. I wondered what a
building would be doing back here, but since the trail stopped here, it had to be more than the
little one story building it looked to be. There was a pole on the roof that I could Vine Whip
to, but there seemed to be no other way in.
*You two stay here. I'm gonna check this out.*
*Why do I have to stay? Because I'm too young?* Dan huffed.
*Too young? You're older than me...*
*No I'm not. You're at least 6 years old. I'm about a half year old.*
*A half year?* He thought he was a baby? That would explain his earlier reactions...but
how? Must be a human or Hybrid thing that happens when they get hit in the head. I don't know
that much about humans, so I can't say for sure.
*No, Da...Raichu,* Nidoran corrected himself, *Bulbasaur's the only one who can get in.
It doesn't have anything to do with age.*
*O.K....* he still sounded annoyed.
*Nidoran, watch him and make sure he doesn't do anything to get in trouble.*
*Sure.* I sent out my vines and wrapped them around the pole, then pulled myself up to
it. Unfortunetly, I went a little too fast and ended up smashing my face against the pole.
After muttering some choice words, I opened a door on the roof with my vines and climbed
down the stairs to the first floor. It looked like a normal hallway; gray walls, cheap carpet,
couple of wooden doors, didn't seem like anything odd. Curious, I nudged open the closest door
and peered inside.
"Hybrid experiment #04123 is responding normally to the new serum."
I ran under the closest thing to me, a table, and looked around. I could see a whole
bunch of tables loaded with test tubes, burners and other sciency stuff. There were a bunch of
men and women in white lab coats walking around, some with clipboards in their hands. The two
closest to me were talking about something.
"It is? Good, we can't afford anymore screw-ups. You remember how bad Giovanni went after
us when we lost all those Hybrids so long ago."
"I wish I could forget." One of them shuddered. "I still don't know what happened to that
fool who suggested that if he'd bought the unbreakable glass, none of this would've happened."
"Rumor is he's locked down in one of the dungeons, and can never leave. He was lucky,
too. Giovanni was in a good mood when he punished him."
"I'd hate to get on his bad side...but enough of this. You must see the progress of our
latest Hybrid..."
"I will, but I have to check on our latest recapture. To think, she was the Gym Leader
all these years."
Gym Leader? He must've meant Misty! I followed the man who was going to check on Misty
out the door and far down the hall into another room. Thankfully, I'm small, and the hallway was
unoccupied otherwise, so no one noticed me. He opened another door and stepped through, leaving
it open enough for me to squeeze through.
"So, how is our little fish doing?"
"Alright, for now. She's still out from the earlier tranquilzer, but I think she'll be
ready for the serum soon."
Misty was in Hybrid form, suspended in a glass tube filled with some bluish-greenish
liquid. There was a mask of some sort over her face, and a tube from that mask that led to
something that I guessed let her breathe.
"How much tranquilzer did you use on her?"
"About the same used to knock out a Tarous."
"Wow..." one of them whistled, "that much?"
"She's a real fighter. Our Kadabra had so much trouble keeping her in the dome it
couldn't teleport back and take her with it at the same time, so it had to walk back and hold
her in with it's powers."
That explained the holes in the trees. It probably levitated her in the ball, which
caused all the broken branches. Then it used it's powers to cover it's tracks, not realizing
the holes it made. I looked around for a place to take cover, only to realize there wasn't
anything to hide behind or under! I just hoped they didn't turn around.
"What's this one's special abilites?"
"Well, lets see..." one of them punched a few buttons on the computer in front of the
tank. "Besides great swimming speed, being able to hold her breath for hours, and being
hydrokenitic...she's supposed to be able to communicate with Poke'mon telepathicly, though she'd
escaped before we could confirm those reports."
"What about the other one?"
"The other one?"
"You know...the other one..."
"I don't know, really."
"That Raichu Hybrid we had to leave behind, you..."
"Raichu Hybrid?! You mean that one that escaped last week?"
"You don't know? Well, no one's here...You can't tell Giovanni, but the Raichu Hybrid was
actually with her," he jabbed a thumb at Misty, "but since Kadabra was alone, and it was using
all it's power just to hold her, it couldn't take him with it."
"Wait, how do you know this?"
"Well..."
Suddenly, before he could finish, a huge siren went off in the entire building, followed
by an announcment.
ATTENTION! HYBRID DETECTED OUTSIDE THE FACILITY! CAPTURE AT ALL COSTS!
"Never mind! Let's get...huh?" They turned and spotted me as they started to leave.
"Where did that come from?"
"I don't know. Nobody here trains a Bulbasaur. I doubt it's wild, ethier."
"It's a spy! Better take it out!"
"How? All I have is a Wartortle!"
"I don't have anything! Just grab it!"
They ran at and lunged for me, but they were slow and clumsy. I lead them on a run all
around the lab, and they were totally exhausted within a minute. Finally, probably more in
fustartion than anything else, one of the guys enlarged and threw out a Poke Ball.
*Wartortle!*
"Wartortle...take care...of that...Bulbasaur!" he gasped, out of breath.
*A Grass-type! Are you crazy?*
*Desperate is more like it.* I charged and Tackled her (Wartortle was a girl) to the
ground. Her shell took the worst of it, and she rolled back to her feet.
*Hey, that was a cheap shot!*
*Stop complaining and start fighting!*
I fired a pair of Razor Leafs at her, but she dodged one and shot the other one down
with a Water Gun before turning it on me. I braced and took the blow, the water doing nothing
other than refreshing me a touch.
*Nice defense,* I commented, *but you gotta work on your counters.*
*Don't be too sure you're going to win with your type advantage alone!*
*What, that's...
Bulbasaur?
Huh? There a voice in my head! That's rarely good...
Over here! I heard the sound of rapping glass. I turned and saw Misty, her eyes open,
hitting the glass that surrounded her with her fist.
*Misty, you're O.K.!*
What...look out!
It was too late. Wartortle knocked me back with a lucky Tackle, then got a quick hit in
with her claws. I released a little Stun Spore, but she leapt back before it could do anything.
Sorry! Misty apoligized. She quickly got serious. Look, there's not a lot of time
here. I'm guessing Dan is around somewhere, and he sent you to get me. Looks like you have
something else to take of first, but when you're done, get me out of this tube! I'm
claustraphobic, and there isn't a lot of room here!
*Sure, as soon as I take care of little Miss Whiner here...* I tried to Vine Whip
Wartortle, but she Withdrew into her shell before I could connect.
Wrap it up like you did with Staryu!
That's good advice, I thought, quickly entangling Wartortle in a bundle of vines.
She struggled inside her shell, unable to get out.
"Wartortle, you worthless Poke'mon! Break out!"
*Nice trainer you got there.* I said sarcasticly. It took a few seconds to decide what
to do with a shell, but after looking at Misty still struggling inside her tube, it was pretty
obvious. I took the shell in my vines, bought it back and...
SLAM!
CRACKKKKK!
I repeatily slammed Wartortle into the tube, forcing the glass to crack slightly. Her
trainer didn't seemed to want to get involved in any of this. I shuddered at the thought of
being trained by someone like that.
*Ow! Hey, that really hurts!*
*Just one more time...* Sure enough, one more quick slam cracked a hole in tube, sending
the liquid spilling onto the floor. With a few swift kicks, Misty made a hole big enough for her
to squeeze out through.
"NO!" The scientists yelled.
*That's it!* Wartortle yelled. The tone of her voice shocked me so much the shell slipped
out of my vines and crashed to the ground. She went back to her normal position and glared
angirly at her trainer.
*I've had enough of this! You don't pay any attention to me, other than to yell at me,
I'm lucky if I'm even fed anymore; you don't care about me at all! Even when I evolved, you
barely noticed, and now you send me out against a Grass-type?!" Wartortle cried, looking at her
trainer. *I'm tired of this!* With that, she shot a stream of water at her ex-trainer. He and
the other scientist ran from the water, moving behind the remeants of the thing that held Misty.
"Let me give you some help there..." Misty closed her eyes and held out her arm, palm
facing forward.
*What are you doing?* I asked. She didn't respond, and at first, I was really confused.
Wartortle changed her aim to the tube, the water blocked from the men by it. Suddenly, the water,
and I swear it's true, bent around the tube and hit the scientists. Even as they ran, the water
followed them, no matter where they went, bending and twisting around corners and anything that
could normally block it.
*Whoa...* I was in shock. This kept up for about a good two minutes, which was actually
quite amusing. The alarm resounded during this time, reminding everyone of the Hybrid still
outside. Wait...Hybrid outside the building?
*DAN!* I ran out into the hall, desperate for a way out. I followed one Rocket dressed
in black out a part of the wall that lifted up when he hit a switch hidden in the wall.
All heck was breaking loose outside. Nidoran and Dan were surrounded by a ring of
Rockets, some with rubber gloves, but they mostly seemed unready for this. They attacked the pair
one at a time, like in a bad karate movie, and, just like a bad karate movie, they couldn't get
ethier of them. If they went after Nidoran, he jabbed them in the leg the moment they would
grab him. If they went after Dan, he fried them with a bolt of electricty before they even got
within five feet of him.
*Don't any of these guys have Poke'mon on them?* Nidoran asked no one in paticular.
*Guess not.* Dan replied.
Think fast, Bulbasaur. I had to figure out how to break them up...ah-ha! I settled
myself and concentrated on creating seeds. I felt them start to pile up in my bulb, and I let
them out one at a time. They burst open into vines and quickly wrapped up the Rockets, sapping
their energy as they did.
*Alright!* Nidoran cried as my Leech Seeds did their work.
*Cool...* Dan turned to look at what was happening, not seeing that a seed missed the
Rocket behind him. She grabbed a large stick off the ground, charging at him and swinging. She
connected with his head before I fired another seed and tangled her up too.
"Dan!" Misty came running out of the passage way as Dan sat on the ground, dazed for
sure, but still aware. He held his head for a few seconds, then looked around, confused.
"Where am Rai? What happened?" he asked.
"Are you O.K.? You just got hit in the head."
"Rai did?" He still seemed clueless as to what had happened. "The last thing I remember,
the gym Chu came down on my head...now I'm here. Raichu happened?"
"Didn't you come here to save me?"
"Rai...guess." He stood up and brushed himself off. "Ow...my head..."
"Come on. I should get back to the gym, and you should get some rest."
"Raichu." He agreed with a nod. Nidoran and I had to point out the holes we'd used as a
guide into the woods, so they could use them as a way out.
By the time we returned to the gym, the police were there in full force, investigating
every inch of the place. Dan and Misty spoke privately for a few moments before Dan started back
toward the hotel. We followed him, paused outside for a few moments while he made a quick change
back to human, then walked into the hotel. The clerk seemed surprised to see someone walk in
with his Poke'mon out of their balls, but Dan quickly explained that he wanted to see how his
Poke'mon did in the night.
After he checked in, we went back to the room and went to bed. Dan took the bed, while
Niodran and I took up a spot on the couch. It was well past noon when some annoying little
bellhop knocked on the door and woke me up. He came in and left an envelope on a table just
outside Dan's door before he left. About twenty minutes later, Dan came out in Hybrid form,
yawning.
"Morning, Bulbasaur." he yawned, streching out.
*You got something here.* I looked up at the letter. It was a plain white envelope, not
very big at all.
"Raichu?" He picked up the envlope and opened it, pulling out a piece of paper. He read
it over for a minute, then reached into the envelope, pulling out a...
"Cascade Badge. Thank you, Misty." He knelt down and patted me on the head. "Rai guess I
have you to thank, too. I don't Raichu a thing that happened, but Chu safe to say you did a lot."
*Well, maybe I did a little bit...* I said modestly.
*Hey, what about me?* Nidoran asked, joining the two of us.
"I'm sure you Rai a lot, too." He was about to pat Nidoran too when he remembered the
horn, and instead stroked his back a little. After, we ate our breakfast and helped Dan pack up.
He seemed to be kinda quiet for most of it, like he was really thinking about something. I
tried to read the letter he'd gotten at one point, though after a few seconds it occured to me
I couldn't read. (Hey, I was only taught how to obey spoken commands. There didn't seem much
point in learning how to write!)
Dan never told us what was in the letter, even after we'd left the hotel and went to the
Poke'Mart. I was concerned something bad happened, but when he said he'd let me and Nidoran get
one thing of our choice out of the store, I kinda forgot about it.
*Bulbasaur, I want to ask you something.* Nidoran asked as we searched for what we
wanted. I'd already picked out a huge bag filled with different types of candy for Poke'mon, and
pushed it with my head towards Nidoran.
*What's up?*
*About what happened before. When and if Dan ever fully understands us, should we tell
him what happened and how he acted?*
I looked up at our trainer, who had naturally went to human before coming in, grabbing
some medicences for us and whatever else he thought nessacary. Should we tell him what happened?
I know we need to be honest with our trainer and all, but...I felt really uneasy about that.
*No,* I shook my head at the thought of what would happen, "he never asked for this to
happen to him. I still don't know what was with all those Rockets that had Misty, but they're
probably involved with our trainer as well. He doesn't need that to happen to him.*
Nidoran nodded somenly, then went back to looking. A minute later we bought up our stuff
as Dan packed the last of everything into his bag. He paid for our things and put them in the
pack as well.
Well, I thought, despite a few obstacles, we've made it out O.K.. If we could make it
through this, we could make it through anything.
*Dan, you dropped something!* Nidoran said. He had, indeed, dropped a Paralyze Heal on
the ground, not even noticing it was missing.
"You can have your candy later, Nidoran!" Dan said before returning Nidoran into his
ball.
*No, you dropped you're Paralyze Heal!* I tried to tell him.
"You too, Bulbasaur!" Dan put away Nidorans ball and pulled out mine. Well, I thought
before I was returned to my ball, almost anything.