"Yeah, I guess you are pretty interested in this stuff, thanks for the info!"
"It was my pleasure! Keep up the good work"
"Kay! Thanks!" Akari said happily, taking his new information with a smile.
It was then that a loud crash happened to the lights, Shutting them down one by one. "W-what's going on!?"
"I don't know, just take shelter, I'll take care of it!" Akari said closing his eyes to use his aura sight to see what was happening, his aura allowed him to see the energy in all things. Including people who had been wearing night-vision goggles. "You have no reason to be here, leave now!"
They stayed silent, it seemed like they could see that his eyes were closed.
"Very well...Then you can't blame me!" Akari began staring straight at one of the thieves.
"Guys! This is the kid!"
"The kid!? But weren't we here to get the rock thing?"
"Well, we might as well take care of both. One snuck up from behind, Swinging their arms wildly to which Akari ducked and parried, pushing him towards the other two. From there he tossed two Pokéballs, sending out Vulpix and Ribombee. "Powder Snow! And String Shot!" The icy breath seemed to completely freeze the pinchers from their waists down while the threads restrained their arms.
"There! Hey, you can come out now, it's safe"
"I-it is?"
"Yeah! Just try and find a way to turn on the lights. As for you three, mind explaining what you're doing? And how you think you know who I am"
"I don't need to say anything!" One of them said.
"Listen, you can tell me, or you can tell the Ranger Union, and I know for a fact, they don't mess around!" Truthfully, he was bluffing but had hoped that they wouldn't notice.
"A-alright...We don't know why, but we were told to steal a stone tablet," One of them said, they didn't seem to be lying
"Hey! Don't tell him that!"
"I didn't even want to be here! I'm only here because I was forced to be here!"
"Please, tell me everything you know," Akari said, kneeling down to speak with them.
"T-that's all I was told...They get us to do their dirty work so when we get caught, they don't get affected."
"Oh...Well tell me, do you want to help Pokémon?" They nodded as the other two kept shouting their way "Well, I can't respect your earlier life, but If you wish to change, I'll do anything I can to help" He said with a smile waiting for their response as the lights began to come back on
"Y-yeah..."
"Okay then, let's try and get you a better life" Akari smiled, removing the webbing before turning around to check to make sure that the man wasn't watching before he created a hammer with the aura, shattering the ice. "There, I'll go check on the lights, you wait here!" He spun around, prepared to run to find out where the man had gone, until he was hit on the head, collapsing.
"Wait, you were kidding?"
"Of course, if he was as gullible as Admin Skye said, all you had to do was say you wanted to help him"
"Wait, really? That's quite surprising...Then again, he is just a kid" From there all of his Pokémon appeared from their Pokéballs, standing guard over him.
"Typhlosion! Heat Wave!" One of them commanded, sending a large Pokémon from their wrist as they easily took each and every one of his Pokémon down and unconscious. Or at least it would have been his last Pokémon if the mark on his wrist hadn't began to shine along with the stone tablet.
"Uhm...Skye didn't mention anything about shining hands, did she?"
"I don't believe so, what can we do?"
"I'm not certain, it might be dangerous to touch him..." The mark began to turn into a bright yellow, as did the tablet with a roar appearing from the entrance of the cave, a strange, but powerful aura entered. With blinding speed, the beast stood to defend the child, releasing sparks of electricity into the area.
"Hey! I think I got the lights back on!" The man said, returning to the sight of Akari unconscious and Raikou defending him. "W-what's going on!? But the legend said it would only react to those who were worthy, unless...This kid is worthy..." He muttered to himself, watching from a safe distance. Although there wasn't much to see, a child they could easily win against, however a legendary Pokémon was well above their paygrade as they seemingly ran away.
"R-Raikou, it's an honor to meet you!" The man said, but was seemingly ignored as Raikou bowed it's head to Akari's hand before the mark flashed yellow a few times before returning to the color it was before.
"H-hey, kid! Wake up!" By the time he could even get part of a reaction, Raikou was gone.
"Huh? Is it already breakfast?" He asked
"Uhm...No. Wait don't you know what happened?"
"Not really, no...My head kind of hurts, and I feel pretty tire-" He began to say with a yawn before falling back asleep.
"Ah, jeez! I can't just keep you here! Uhm...I guess just sleep here for a bit..." He lifted up the boy, laying him down to sit against the cave wall. "But what was that...His hand flashed yellow, could he be that hero?" He asked himself, raising Akari's hand and examining it. It looked normal enough, except for that mark which he assumed was a tattoo of sorts. "No, that's nonsense, Raikou probably just came to protect the tablet..."
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?"
"Huh? W-wait I haven't done anything! Wait, you're a Pokémon Ranger too!?"
"Of course I am, and I should ask what you're doing to him and his Pokémon?"
"Wait, let me explain, some bandits appeared and he told me to take shelter while he took care of him. He told me it was safe to come out, but when I did, he was unconscious and Raikou was there"
"Raikou?"
"Yes! The being of thunder...However, I have to ask, have you noticed anything odd about him? Like teleporting and blades of light?"
"No, why?"
"Well, this mark on his hand flashed yellow when Raikou appeared, and Raikou is only said to heed those it found worthy...When I thought about it, he matched most of the qualities of the ancient hero of the land"
"You're kidding right? He's just a kid, You probably were just seeing things, he sleeps a lot." She couldn't honestly find it to be that far-fetched, this was Akari, even after he was open about his abilities, she didn't know who exactly he was, or if he was even human. There were times she could consider him to be a Pokémon.
"I suppose that would make more sense, You should probably take him with you"
"Yeah, I think he's had enough trouble for a while now" She smiled a bit before lifting up Akari in her arms. He was pretty light, making it easy to do so.
"Hey! You better back off, Pincher!" Summer called out from the entrance whist catching her breath.
"And who are you?"
"Quit it with the act! You can't just act like a Pokémon Ranger and get what you want!"
"Act? But who's the one with the Styler?"
"You came into his house, tied me up, and threw me into a closet!"
"Well, you criminals should be used to it by now, I'm taking Akari home, and I'll be turning you into the police"
"You lying Miltank!"
The strange woman gasped, offended by the title given. "You're coming with me!" She ran over to Summer, quickly forcing an impact against the back of her head, effectively knocking her unconscious. "Thanks for watching after him!" She gave a wave as the man nervously waved back, afraid to do anything to upset the woman. However, without her notice, a Pichu had climbed onto Akari's back, hiding itself in his bag.
"Alright, you stay put, we'll try not to hurt him too badly"
"What're you going to do to him!?"
"Oh nothing much, just...A little makeover" She gave a wave, locking the prisoner in the dark as she turned the lights off before returning to a laboratory of sorts with Akari asleep in a large test tube type device.
"Are you sure you want to do this? It's still got some kinks to work out, so you could end up switching bodies, or you could end up creating something else"
"Something else?"
"Well, It's difficult to explain, but the machine copies the DNA of both hosts, then writes over the DNA onto their new body, effectively switching bodies. However, there's a chance that one of you might come out a clone while the other body is nothing more than an empty husk.
" I'm willing to take that chance, with his powers, we'll become unstoppable!"
"Very Well, we'll start up the machine..." Before Skye could step into the machine, Some kind of electricity shot out from inside the second capsule, preventing her from getting closer. From closer inspection, there was a wild Pichu inside. A wild Pichu that stood inside as it was activated.
"Shut it down!"
"I can't! And there's not enough power to start it up again for another few hours..."
Smoke rose from the machine, showing the lack of proper detailing as a Pichu with an Ukulele stumbling out and collapsing while another Pichu did the same. However that Pichu appeared to have silver eyes and a mark on its hand. While yes, Akari had powers, they were linked to his soul rather than his body, this of course meant that he would have never lost it in the first place.
"Hey! You mind explaining what's going on!?" Akari squeaked before seeing the smoke clear, revealing his old body. "Is that...Me? What have you done to me!?"
"You mean...We wasted the experiment just for him to turn into a Pichu!?" Skye growled.
"W-what!? Hey, I warned you that this might happen, this isn't my fault!"
"Ugh...Fine just hand me the rubber gloves, Gotta put these with the girl"
"Very well, but are you sure he can even use electric-type moves?"
"Who cares, we can keep them in a cell until we know what to do with them," She said sliding on the gloves and squeezing each Pichu with a different grip.
She took them both into a different room before throwing them both down and locking the door.
"Hey! Let us out of here! What have you done to those Pichu!" Summer demanded answers, bashing her side into the bar walls.
"Huh, Summer? Oh, thank goodness you're okay!"
"A-Akari!? Where are you?"
"Can't you tell? I'm right here? Oh, wait...Didn't she say I was a Pichu? Well at least you're still human"
"Excuse me? They turned you into a Pichu!?"
"I don't think it was intentional, Apparently they were trying to swap bodies with me to get my power. Jokes on them" He smiled showing his mark.
"You still have your aura?"
"Yup! Just gotta grab my body then we can leave" He created a wormhole, which was admittedly smaller, though not by much as his husk of a body fell through
"This is so weird..."
"What are you talking about, I'm the one who's a Pichu now"
"Yes...I suppose that's fair, Although it would be wise for you to leave the island"
"What? But I'm going to protect the island! That's my job!"
"Your job was to just make sure everyone was getting along, powerful as you might be, you're still just a kid!"
"I won't just leave!"
"Would you both just shut it! You can fight later!"
"Huh, Did you say something?"
"Nope"
"So that means...Pichu?"
"You can understand me? Well you are a Pokémon now"
"Oh...I guess..."
"What are you talking about?" Summer asked.
"Tell her later, for now it'd be best to return home"
"Oh, uhm...right!" He said forming a portal underneath them before falling inside of his home. Pichu and Summer landed gracefully while Akari had fallen onto his back.
"So...Mind explaining what's happened to you, and why you're not...human"
"Uhm...So I think that they tried switching bodies with me to get my powers, but this Pichu got in the machine and somehow I turned into a Pichu?"
"That's...Odd...But as for now, I cannot allow you to continue your Ranger work"
"W-what!? But I still have my powers, I'm still me!"
"That's not what I mean, you being a Pokémon brings unwanted attention to yourself, plus it'd be best if you were far away from here until the Ranger Union knows how to turn you human again, C'mon think about it!"
"Hm...Fine...But once I'm human I'm coming back!"
"So you've been turned into a Pichu?" Professor Hastings asked, skeptically observing his form. "And this isn't some prank?"
"I wish it was just a prank..." Akari responded, his cheek being lightly tugged as an electric shock caused the professor to flinch.
"I see...This is unfortunate, Summer, what did you plan to do?"
"I hoped for him to return to the Alola Region until you're able to turn him, human, once again"
"Understood, I approve"
"What!? You can't be serious! I still have my aura, and now I can use electricity!"
"Please, just listen, they know about your abilities, It's only a matter of time before they realize we escaped, just try to lay low until we can get you back in your body"
"But, I can take care of myself!"
"That might be so, but as powerful as you are, not even you can protect an entire island, Akari...I placed you there because I felt you wouldn't be placed into harm, it was your parents' wishes"
"You...You didn't think I was strong enough?"
"I'm sorry, but it's for the best you return to your home in Alola before you may return to your work...You are dismissed"
"B-but...Alright..."
"Listen, I know they'll get you back to normal as soon as they can! Right professor?"
"Without a doubt"
"G-great..." He forced a smile, no matter what he had done, he always felt as if it wasn't enough.
"But hey, I'm sure your family will be excited to see you again?" She tried to add some positives.
"I guess..." It was then that the Professor pulled a flip phone from his pocket and dialing Akari's parents.
"Hello? Is it about Akari, is he okay? Is he eating okay!?" Amelia asked without as much as a chance to breathe.
"Oh...Uhm, Actually it is about him, due to some unfortunate circumstances, We need to have him stay in the Alola Region for a short amount of time"
"Circumstances? He's not being hunted is he, did he do something wrong!?"
"No, no, nothing like that...Well...Sort of, His Power was revealed to a large group of Pokémon Hunters known as the Pinchers, in an attempt to gain his ability, they had attempted an experiement...Which had turned him into a Pichu"
"I beg your pardon!?"
"It is quite difficult to explain, but it would be wise for us to deliver him back home"
"Oh...But you know about his Aura, wouldn't it be safer for him to just go through one of his portals?"
"I would say the same, however, from what I've learned, he has a unique aura, one that can be tracked through usage."
"So he can't use his powers...That's unfortunate..."
"H-Hi Mum..." He said quietly, quite embarrassed about his appearance.
"Oh! You...You're actually a Pichu now...That's uhm...surprising..."
"Can I ask you to keep a close eye on him?" The Professor asked before going closer to whisper."I'm not certain how this will affect him, so I'd like you to let me know when he begins acting weird, also I wish for him to lie low until everything's under control, but I get the feeling he won't want to sit and wait"
"Understood, I'll be sure to watch him"
"Thank you, we'll inform you of any updates on returning him to normal" They seemed to leave just as quickly as they had arrived, leaving Akari on his own, he hadn't even known of his Pokémon's whereabouts.
"Hey, c'mon now don't worry, I'm sure you'll be back to normal eventually!"
There was then a knock at the door before Amelia called out for them to enter.
"Mrs. Sunnon, I just saw some Pokémon Rangers leave your house, is Akari here?"
"As a matter of fact, he is! C'mon Akari show yourself"
"W-wait, no! This is too embarrassing!"
"Huh? Did something happen to him?"
"Somewhat, Here he is" She picked him up from under his armpits.
"H-hey put me down!?" He squeaked, squirming around before making eye contact with Lillie and Hau, who were wearing pink and white outfits from the Pokémon Center.
"Akari? Is that you?" Lillie asked.
"Yes...Unfortunately" He sighed
"How'd you do that!? It'd be so cool to be a Pokémon!" Hau began getting closer before he was placed down onto the table
"It's not like I wanted to...Some weirdos tried some kind of experiment on me, and now I'm a Pichu"
"E-experiments!? Why!?"
"I think it was because of my power...Speaking of which how have you done with yours?"
"Oh! I've learned to make small wormholes! I can't actually go through them all the way, it's just larger than my hand though, Plus I can slowly heal Pokémon and I can create fire from my fingers!"
"Wait, you've learned all of that!? That's really impressive, but I actually learned something too"
"Huh? You did?"
"It's called Aura sight, it allows me to see even in the dark"
"Wait, really!? That's incredible!" Lillie had said, though slightly jealous how he could grow so quickly, mastering new abilities before she could even learn her first one.
"How many fingers am I gonna hold up?" Hau asked.
"Huh? I'm...Not actually allowed to use my Aura for a bit..." He looked down a bit
"How come?" Lillie asked
"Well, since his Aura is odd, if he uses it, it'll be easy to track him. Which is why he'll be laying low here for a while. Just until he's able to get his old body back" Amelia explained before heading to the kitchen of the house, which was divided by a transition of carpet to tiles with the counter being a big part of the area. "By the way, it'll be late soon, if it's okay with your parents you're free to stay for dinner"
"Oh...But I think Mother would be okay with me staying here, may I borrow your phone to ask?"
"Certainly! It's just over by the couch"
"Okay, thank you"
"I just gotta go check in with my parents real quick!" Hau gave a wave before rushing out for a minute.
"She said yes!" Lillie gave a smile before noticing Akari's concerned look. "Akari? Is something wrong?"
"N-no, it's fine..."
"Are you sure, if you need to talk about it, I'll listen"
"It's nothing, just tired"
"If you say so...But how does it feel being a Pokémon?"
"It feels pretty weird...I can't move the same way I used to, plus my head feels really heavy..."
"Oh, that must be hard to get used to"
"But on the plus side, I think I can use electricity and I can talk to Pokémon!"
"Wait, really!?"
"Well, I think so anyway, I can talk to Pokémon, or I can only talk to other Pichu"
"Let's find out," Amelia said, then calling for Chikorita to come.
"Chikorita! I missed you!" Akari said, rushing up to it
"Akari? Wait are you a Pokémon!? What's going on!?"
"H-hey, calm down, Yeah I know it's pretty weird, but I'm still me"
"Wait, you can understand me? I'm so glad we can finally talk!"
"Yeah! This is great! Although I'll have to become human again eventually"
"But we have to enjoy this while it lasts!"
"Yeah!"
"Wait, so you can understand her?" Amelia asked as Lillie kneeled down putting her palm next to Chikorita's forehead.
"Huh, Lillie what are you doing"
"Oh right, I was researching to try and find a different approach to my aura, and I learned that Lucario can use its aura to understand the emotions of others, I've learned to do the same, though it only faintly works from up close"
"Oh, I see, That's cool!"
"I've been wondering about your abilities, they came from the Pokémon that Cosmog evolves into, right?" Amelia asked.
"Yeah?"
"I believe so"
"Then how come your abilities are different from each other?"
"No idea"
"I think it has something to do with Akari's strengths"
"Huh?" Akari asked, not sure what she meant.
"Well, Akari, you've always been rather quick to learn physical abilities, I think your powers represent that. However, you're not that intelligent"
"Hey!"
"I mean you've learned the abilities that deal with physical actions such as navigating and transportation."
"I guess so? What does that have to do with how smart I am?"
"Well...Think of it like this, You've learned some offensive abilities, mine are all support-based tactics that usually involve strategy"
"Oh, cool! Although using fire would be nice..."
"I think I can only use fire because of Solgaleo, but you've already learned so many abilities"
"I guess so"
"Plus you still have that rage attack thing!"
"My...what?"
"Oh right...You don't remember"
"Wait, rage? Lillie, what happened?" Amelia asked
"Oh, Well I think he ended up hospitalized because of what he did, All I know is when we were being choked, He just got a sudden burst of power, although he collapsed afterward. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember"
"Oh, no wonder he never told me then! I thought he was keeping some kind of secret move from me!"
"I still don't know what happened..."
"Oh, Mother might have camera footage of what happened"
"I'm not so sure I want to see that..."
"You don't?"
"I don't want that kind of power..."
"How come? It was a perfect trump card"
"I don't want power if it only happens when others are hurt"
"Oh...I guess that makes sense, How long do you think you'll be stuck as a Pichu?"
"I don't know, I wish I knew what even happened..."
It hadn't been long for Akari to fall asleep, With how his day had been already been, it was no doubt he was exhausted, Sleeping next to Amelia on the couch.
"Mrs. Sunnon, Do you think Akari'll be okay?"
"I...I really hope so, he keeps changing, and I don't know how to protect him"
"Protect him?"
"Ever since he was younger, I've always protected him, tending to his injuries when he fell, but now...I don't even know how to keep him safe"
"Well, speaking from experience, he's a little rambunctious at times, but he's always found a way to get out of trouble. I mean he's nowhere near normal, and I might not be who I am now if he hadn't scared me at the beginning of Summer"
"What do you mean?"
"I was afraid of everyone, afraid everyone was going to hurt me. But he's the one who showed me otherwise. In fact if it weren't for him, I might not have met my mother"
"I had no idea, unfortunately, he doesn't tell me things, I think I understand why, but I wish he could rely on us a little bit more..."
"I'm sure he wants to tell you, he probably doesn't want you to feel burdened by his problems"
"I know, I used to be the same way"
"I see, If you want I can keep an eye on him when you're busy"
"That'd be helpful, but don't you have school and an internship program?"
"Oh, I suppose I do, but I could ask mother if I could stay here and have Hau bring me my homework"
"I guess that could work, although are you sure you want to do that?"
"Akari keeps disappearing, and every time I'm not strong enough to help him... I want to help him. For once I just want him to ask me for help instead of being useless..."
"Lillie...You're not useless, If I know Akari, when he needs you, he knows where to find you"
"I guess so... I just hope he can return human soon"
"Me too...But at least he's cute as a Pokémon, he hasn't changed too much"
"Yeah...Pichu is pretty cute..."
"Hey, cheer up, he'll be under my watch so you can be sure he'll be okay"
"Right..."
