Shadowfall

by Hollow Mashiro

Five years of peace have passed in Orre after the first Shadow Incident. However, Cipher, assumed defunct, regains its power and returns to attack Orre again. The original Snagger is nowhere to be found, so someone must adopt his job to save the region. And so the responsibility falls into the lap of a young boy named Michael... Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness novelization.

2. Chapter 1

Within the hold of a giant rock hand, crowds cheered as two large Pokémon faced off against each other: a Salamence and a Metagross. The Salamence hovered in the air, circling the Metagross menacingly, while the steel-type watched its opponent warily from the ground. Neither made a move to attack the other. One of their Trainers was a red-haired teenager of fourteen wearing a green shirt, a light gray vest, and jeans, while the other was a man clad in blue.

"Salamence! Use Earthquake!" the boy yelled, breaking the stalemate. The dragon-type Pokémon instantly responded, slamming itself to the ground to create tremors that shook the stadium and sent shards of rock flying upward.

"Levitate, Metagross!" the man called. The Metagross pulled its legs up and hovered above the ground with its magnetic abilities, which allowed it to avoid the worst of the quake, though some of the displaced rock still hit and damaged its metallic skin. The boy gritted his teeth in frustration; had the attack truly connected, it would have dealt major damage to the opposing Pokémon.

"Follow up with Sludge Bomb, Metagross!"

"Dodge it; fly!" The Salamence took to the air again to increase its chance of evasion, circling high above the Metagross's head in dizzying, confusing patterns. The Metagross followed it into the sky with its powerful magnetic abilities, trying, but failing, to keep up with the agile Dragon Pokémon. Purplish sludge built up in its mouth, and when it calculated the chances were best to hit its opponent, it fired. The Salamence instantly rose in altitude, but it wasn't fast enough. The Sludge Bomb exploded in the center of its chest, painting a good portion of its azure and crimson scales a dark purple and causing it to roar in pain at the force of the impact.

The boy winced; his opponent had gained the upper hand, and it wouldn't be easy to turn the battle around. At least the Salamence hadn't been poisoned. "Metagross may be powerful, but it's not too agile! Outmaneuver it; frustrate it!" he called, hoping to salvage the battle. The Salamence shook off the remaining effects of the bulls-eye Sludge Bomb it endured and wheeled away from the floating Metagross, circling it in erratic patterns.

"Follow it and keep using Sludge Bomb!" the opposing Trainer responded. The Metagross pursued the Salamence and shot more batches of sludge at it, but the speed its magnetism provided was no match for the speed of the Dragon Pokémon. The boy grinned as the Salamence dodged the attacks and goaded the Metagross into following its movements aggressively.

"Now dive!" the boy commanded. The Salamence shot toward the ground, the Metagross following it in a plummet. At the last possible second, the Salamence pulled out of the dive, its wings straining to keep it from plowing headfirst into the ground. The Salamence barely got out of the way in time before the heavy Metagross slammed into the ground, unable to generate a magnetic field strong enough to negate the massive amount of force its accelerated fall had generated.

"Use Earthquake again while it's in the ground!" the boy quickly commanded, taking advantage of the opening during the time it would take for the Metagross to recover from the impact and work itself free from the ground, as it had buried itself a few feet deep.

"Get out of there, now!" Metagross's Trainer yelled; it would be disastrous if the super-effective Ground-type move impacted, especially after the Metagross had already sustained damage from its collision with the ground and the debris from the first Earthquake.

The Metagross was fast, but the Salamence was faster. In the few seconds while orders had been issued, it had retreated to a great enough altitude that it was able to instantly slam into the ground hard enough to create an Earthquake. The Metagross, unable to propel itself from the crater in time, took the full force of the super-effective attack. The ground caved beneath its enormous weight, and it sunk further into the ground. Debris pelted its metallic hide from above, partially obscuring its form in rubble.

The Metagross struggled for a few seconds afterwards, but its energy had been drained by the Salamence's attacks, and it was unable to create a magnetic field of enough force to extract itself from the crater. It collapsed, unconscious. Its Trainer wordlessly called back the Pokémon, and he fell to his knees in defeat.

"All right, Michael. This will do for today!" Michael, the boy, felt like he was falling – a familiar side-effect of returning to reality from a simulation – and the stadium and the opposing Trainer faded away to be replaced by a lab room filled with computers and wires. He stood in a sim machine, and wires were connected to his body.

"Yes, sir! That was a well-played battle! Michael, your battle skills have improved by an amazing amount. I mean, it was impressive the way you handled that big Pokémon with aplomb. You took command of it as if it were the same as your Eevee. Don't you think it's time that you consider raising other Pokémon besides your Eevee, Apollo?" the technician, Tuncer, chattered as he deftly removed the wires. Michael winced as they were detached, as the adhesive used to keep the wires attached to him made their removal painful. It was akin to having several small band-aids ripped off.

"Thanks for the ego boost, but I'd really rather just stick with Apollo for now," Michael replied, grinning and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly—a habit of his when he was embarrassed.

"Whatever floats your boat," Tuncer shrugged while annotating a recording of the battle for Michael's tutor to review. Years earlier, it had become clear that teaching Michael in a conventional classroom with other children was a bad idea. A workable solution to Michael's schooling was devised: he was tutored in everything from math to Pokémon battle strategies by some of the personnel at the HQ Lab (the only official existing Pokémon lab in the Orre region and where he lived with his mother and sister), and the sim machine was used for practical assessments of Michael's skill with Pokémon. Today, Michael had to stay in the sim until he'd completed a pre-set number of battles of various difficulties, and he was free once he'd completed all of the battles. The battle with the Metagross had been his last one, so he left the sim room. There was no need to stay there any more, after all.

Michael jogged across the hallway of the lab and entered an office with a bookshelf overflowing with books and a desk covered in paper. It was a shortcut from the sim room to his bedroom in the lab. The lab itself was made of two buildings – the residential/office building and the building that held the actual laboratories – and this particular office was connected to one of the offices in the residential building. Michael took advantage of this to avoid the winding path he'd have to take to get to the residential wing otherwise.

Normally, this office was empty, its owner downstairs working on some pet project of his, but, to Michael's irritation (as he technically wasn't allowed within this office without good reason after he'd unintentionally destroyed some important research notes with coffee), this time two scientists were present, chatting.

"Hi, Michael," a brunette middle-aged man clad in business casual and sporting a lab coat greeted. "Have you finished training?"

The other scientist, a brunette, green-eyed woman also wearing business casual under a pink overcoat, gave Michael no chance to respond. "Michael, this is the director's office. Did you want to pay a visit to Professor Krane?"

Krane, the director of the Lab, laughed. "You don't need to be that stiffly official, Lily!"

"But—"

"Oh, yes. I've heard your Pokémon battle tutor singing high praises about your battling skills, Michael. That's outstanding! I sure don't think I'd stand much of a chance against you." Krane laughed again at the pleased blush that spread across Michael's face at the compliment.

"I wish everyone wouldn't drown them with such gushing praise all the time. My son and daughter will become spoiled rotten," grumbled Lily, Michael's mother.

"There's nothing to worry about," Krane grinned. "Both Michael and Jovi are wonderful kids."

Lily frowned, looking somewhat troubled. "That reminds me… I don't think I've seen Jovi since lunchtime. Michael, I hate to bother you, but could you go find Jovi for me?"

"Again?..." Michael groaned. Jovi, his eccentric sister, always ran off to play and explore, no matter how many times she had been reprimanded for disappearing and forbidden from doing so again. He was usually the one sent to find and retrieve her, to his continual consternation.

Because of the complaint and resentful look on her son's face, she added, "Michael, I think you already know, but several research projects are in their critical phases in this lab. That's why your mother can't afford to take any time off right this instant. So please, honey, will you go find Jovi for me?"

Michael sighed, resigning himself to the tedious task. "Alright…"

Lily smiled. "Thank you. I'm counting on you. I don't think she could have wandered off too far, but just in case, check outside, too."

Krane, understanding Michael's annoyance, piped up. "I'm sorry, Michael. After five long years, this project is finally on the verge of coming together. But for that to happen, we can't do without your mother's expertise." He paused for a moment before adding, "By the way, I left a P*DA in your room, Michael. Go check it out."

"Really?" Michael's eyes lit up. He'd wanted a P*DA ever since the newest, multi-purpose version had come out on the market! Sure, it was a few weeks after his birthday, but that the professor remembered it at all was touching. "Thanks, Professor!"

Krane grinned. "I'm sure you already know this, but P*DA stands for Pokémon Digital Assistant. It's very useful – it can be used for email, among other things. I'm sure that you'll find its many features helpful. It's also quite easy to use. I'm sure you'll have no trouble figuring it out."

Michael already knew all of this, but he still exclaimed, "Okay!" He dashed excitedly through a doorway on the other side of the room which led to another office, ignoring Krane's amused chuckle and his mother's call to slow down. The lab tech inside the office glanced up, startled, but Michael paid no attention to him. After exiting a tube elevator and running through a few rooms, Michael entered his bedroom. Upon seeing the clutter – clutter that hadn't been there the last time he'd checked – he groaned.

"How many times have I told her to keep her hands off my stuff?!" he exclaimed, reaching over to tidy a stack of books that Jovi had been rifling through. His desktop computer was logged onto the web, and the site that displayed was a virtual trainer simulation. Apparently, the trainer was a fan of pink, Plusle, Minun, and Skitty. Michael exited out of the website and then made his rumpled bed. After dumping all of the things that didn't belong to him in Jovi's room next door, Michael turned his attention to the silvery device he'd seen on his desk.

"This must be the P*DA…" he murmured, turning it over in his hands to fully examine it. He'd seen models in commercials, but this was the first time he'd actually held one in his hands. While the P*DA looked exactly like it had been shown in the commercials, it was slightly textured, instead of being completely smooth as he'd imagined it to be.

Tossing a Pokéball in the air and releasing the Pokémon inside, he said, "Apollo, what do you think of my new P*DA?" The brown, fox-like creature jumped on the desk and sniffed it curiously.

"Vee eevee," he said, deadpan. Michael scratched the male Eevee behind the ears absentmindedly. Suddenly, the P*DA started beeping and vibrating, startling both Trainer and Pokémon. Michael pressed a button to open the device, and the metal shifted to reveal two screens, one of which displayed his trainer information, already downloaded, and several different applications. A mail symbol flashed at the bottom of the screen, which led Michael to assume that he'd received an email. He tapped the symbol, and the second screen displayed an email—it was from Professor Krane; he recognized the email address.

The email read, 'If you're reading this email, then you must have obtained the P*DA. Go ahead and try out its many features. By the way, Adon was playing hide-and-seek with Jovi. Why not have a chat with him?'

Michael mentally sighed. Running around inside the maze-like lab was the last thing he wanted to be doing when it was such a perfect day outside to be training Apollo, but fear of his mother's wrath overruled his desire to disobey her. After clipping his black bag with red trimming on his belt, which contained three potions and two antidotes, and slipping the new P*DA into his pocket (and making a mental note to toy with its features later), Michael said, "So, we need to find Adon. Apollo, can you help me locate him?"

"Vee!" Apollo held his head high in the air and sniffed cautiously. The Eevee led Michael on a twisting path through the many rooms of the first floor of the entire lab, startling several people. While, technically, Pokémon weren't allowed to be out of their balls without a reason inside the lab, most of the lab personnel let Apollo's presence slide since the Eevee was small and generally well-behaved.

"Alright, I'm guessing he's not on the first floor. Let's go to the second," Michael said gently to his annoyed partner. They rode up a tube elevator to the second floor, where the majority of the offices were located.

"Vee!" Apollo exclaimed, picking up Adon's scent and dashing toward an office at the front of the building. He scurried under a desk and began licking someone's face. A bang informed Michael that whoever was under the desk had hit his or her head, startled by the Eevee's appearance.

"GAH! Michael! Call off Apollo!" a voice yelled, which Michael quickly identified as Adon's. He reached under the desk and plucked the Eevee away from the unfortunate aide. After waiting a few seconds and realizing that Adon wasn't budging from under the table, he knelt down so he could properly talk with the man.

"Sorry about that," Michael apologized through an amused grin as Adon pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face. "Apollo's just a bit excited that he was able to find you, I guess. Anyway, do you know where Jovi is? Apollo dragged me through just about the entire lab before we found you, and we didn't see her anywhere…"

"You're looking for Jovi? We're supposed to be playing hide-and-seek right now, but isn't she around anywhere?" Michael shook his head. "Well, maybe she's gone off to Dr. Kaminko's manor. It's a big, weird house southeast of here. Here, let me show you." Adon pulled out an older model of the P*DA and quickly brought up a map. Michael grabbed his own P*DA and, after a bit of fiddling with the device to figure out how the built-in map of the Orre region functioned, downloaded the coordinates of and the directions to the house.

After than was done, Adon complained, "Jovi's 'it' in our game of hide-and-seek. I wish she'd find me soon. My back is starting to hurt."

Michael sighed dejectedly. He wanted to be out pla-training with Apollo, not running all over Orre to locate his missing sister! "Alright. Thanks!" he managed before dashing out of the room, Apollo still in his arms. He almost collided with one of the lab aides, Aidan, in his haste. "Oh, sorry, Aidan! What are you up here for?" Aidan was normally downstairs working in one of the forbidden-access labs, which contained experiments too dangerous or too classified to share with the general public. Even Michael, one of the Lab's residents, didn't know what was in most of them.

"Hi, Michael – don't worry about it. The lounge is noisy, so I'm going to see what the commotion is about. The TV news just came on, so maybe something big happened," Aidan replied.

"Really? I wonder…" Michael murmured, curious. It wouldn't take but a couple of minutes to discover what the uproar was about – Jovi could wait that long, he reasoned. He and Aidan entered the lounge, which was complete with tables, couches, a coffee machine, a few Pokémon, and a television. Michael and Aidan arrived just in time to catch the news report. A female anchor appeared on-screen and began delivering her report. Behind her was an image of a cargo ship.

"We bring you ONBS News. Authorities have still failed to find any traces of the cargo ship S.S. Libra since its sudden disappearance off the coast of Gateon Port. There have been no reports of flotsam that may indicate the ship's sinking. The authorities appear mystified by the way the ship vanished like smoke. There are reports of numerous Pokémon on board. Concern is rising over their welfare."

Indignant and anxious murmurs rose throughout the lounge. Apollo growled at the screen. Michael was worried—something terrible must have happened to the ship and the Pokémon it was carrying. As one woman loudly denounced the news report, saying that the Libra had had engine trouble and was adrift at sea, Michael felt his ire rise. If the Libra were adrift at sea, then the sailors on board would have radioed for help, especially given the precious cargo on board.

"Wow, a cargo ship carrying Pokémon disappeared without a trace. Is that really possible? I'm finding it a little hard to swallow," Aidan said to himself, hardly noticing Michael stomp past him angrily. "Michael! Where are you going?" The call was ignored.

Michael rode down the tube elevator and exited the lab. He took a few deep, calming breaths. There wasn't any use in getting so worked up about the news report; there wasn't anything he could do about it. People would be people, and a large number of them were thoughtless and tactless. Besides, the longer he put off finding Jovi, the less amount of time he'd have to play with – er, train – Apollo.

He was about to head around back, where the storage shed for vehicles was located, when a shout reached him. "Hi, Michael!" He turned and saw his friend Aferd waving at him from the other side of the lab. Aferd ran up to Michael, panting slightly. "I heard about you! Sounds like you've been racking up outstanding scores on the Battle Sim System. But instead of that virtual reality stuff, how about a real battle for a change? I'll be happy to battle with you anytime," the trainer said hopefully. Aferd regularly challenged Michael to battles, though he rarely won. The two trainers had been friendly rivals ever since Michael had started training Apollo a few years ago.

Michael shrugged. "Why not?" It'll help me blow off some steam, stall finding Jovi, and train Apollo, he thought while, in standard Orre battle tradition, he wagered some of his allowance money on the battle.

"Okay, that's the spirit! Let's get it on!" Aferd exclaimed excitedly. He sent out his Sentret, which bounced playfully on its tail. Apollo, seeing the opposition, jumped out of Michael's arms and landed in a battle-ready position. Some of the scientists loitering outside drew closer to the battle, interested.

"All right, Apollo, let's start things off with a solid Bite attack!" Michael called, his anger and tension drifting away in the adrenaline of the friendly battle. He'd always loved battling, despite his relative inexperience.

"No way we'll be taken down by that again! Sentret, dodge it by jumping up high!" Aferd countered. The Sentret bounced into the air with its tail, away from Apollo's fearsome jaws.

"That won't stop us! Sand Attack, Apollo!" With his hind legs, Apollo kicked up a cloud of dirt, which collided with the Sentret's face and obscured its vision.

"Use your nose to sniff out the Eevee, then Scratch it!" Aferd ordered. The Sentret fell directly in front of Apollo, eyes closed and nose twitching.

Michael grinned as an idea came to him. "Sand Attack again!" Apollo once again kicked a cloud of dust at its opponent.

"Watch out, Senret!" Aferd called, but to no avail. With its eyes closed and without instructions from its Trainer about which way to dodge, the unfortunate Sentret inhaled a lungful of dirt and dust. It started to sputter, sneeze, and rub frantically at its nose.

Michael took advantage of the opening. "Tackle attack!" Apollo charged forward, impacting with the Sentret. It bounced back a few feet with a cry.

"C'mon, you can do it, Sentret! Get up!" Aferd urged, bouncing on his feet and making impressive gestures with his arms—a sure sign he was becoming nervous. His Pokémon struggled to its feet, panting, blinking grit out of its eyes, and occasionally coughing.

Michael waited just long enough for the Sentret to stand before issuing his next orders. "Knock it off balance with Tail Whip!"

Aferd, having learned his lesson from before, shouted, "Dodge left!" The Sentret jumped to the left, but Apollo was well trained and could adapt to the new development without needing an explicit order from Michael. The Eevee cleverly spun counterclockwise when it was close enough, giving it the momentum it needed to spin in the Sentret's direction. His tail connected with a loud Thwap!, and the Sentret staggered away, off balance.

"Finish it with Bite!" Apollo lunged forward, his canines glowing in preparation of the Dark-type attack. He latched onto Sentret's belly fur. The Sentret could not endure this last attack, and it fell back with a cry, out cold. Apollo gave a triumphant "Vee!" before strutting back to Michael and jumping back into his Trainer's arms.

Aferd gaped at his unconscious Pokémon. "Whoa! He really is tough!" he exclaimed to himself as Michael was congratulated on his win by the watching audience. "Where did I go wrong?" It had become habit for Aferd to ask for advice to improve his battling techniques when he lost.

Michael grinned. "A Sentret's nose is a lot more sensitive than a human's nose, and I took advantage of that with the second Sand Attack when you ordered Sentret to rely on scent instead of sound. Also, you didn't warn Sentret about where Apollo's attack was coming from when it couldn't see."

Aferd nodded, absorbing Michael's advice. "Well, that was an eye-opener! Michael, you've become a lot tougher without me noticing. Okay! I'll train using the Battle Sim System, too! That's what I'll do," Aferd said determinedly before handing Michael the money he'd lost in the wager. Michael watched him enthusiastically charge through the crowd into the lab, no doubt making a bee-line for the sim room. Michael shook his head; in his rival's excitement, he'd probably forgotten to take his Sentret to a healing machine. It wasn't that Aferd didn't love his Sentret; he just had rather narrow tunnel vision when he became zealous about something.

The crowd effectively dispersed by Aferd's charge, Michael slipped away from the battle area and headed toward the vehicle shed around the glass dome that made up the main part of the lab building, but he backtracked when he noticed something though the glass. One last detour, he thought somewhat guiltily before entering the lab quietly and sneaking up behind his victim.

She gave a loud snore just as Michael tapped her on the shoulder. "Hunh?!" She looked around dazedly before snapping to attention and rattling off her standard greeting. "Here! Here at the Pokémon HQ Lab, we undertake a variety of research on Pokémon, from their ecosystems to battling…" She trailed off when she noticed no one in front of her. She slowly turned around, then gave a little screech as she came face-to-face with a smirking Michael. "Uh... Oh, it's you, Michael. You scared me out of my wits!"

"Well then, Shelly, better not fall asleep on the job again," Michael teased before heading to the back of the lab, ignoring the secretary's irate shouts behind him. Apollo seemed amused by the whole occurrence.

Okay, enough stalling, Michael thought as he exited the lab through the rear entrance and headed toward a large shed in the back. The shed contained all the vehicles owned by those who worked at the lab. Some lived at the lab, such as the director and Michael's family, but others had cars to make the daily commute between their homes and the lab. A few simply walked.

When Michael had been given a motorized scooter for his twelfth birthday, he'd been absolutely ecstatic. He loved being able to go almost anywhere with it, as his mother allowed him to leave the lab with it any time he wanted, provided he was back before sundown. Apollo liked it, too; he frequently sat behind Michael and poked his head into the wind when the scooter was moving.

Michael located his scooter in one of the spaces made specifically for small vehicles. Apollo jumped from his Trainer's arms to the back of the leather seat, while Michael pushed the kickstand back into its niche in the scooter's frame with his foot. He straddled the familiar scooter and started it with a six-digit code inputted into a keypad (it never hurt to be too careful in protecting one's possessions in Orre, after all) and a twist of a small handle. He revved the engine before driving out of the shed. Apollo gripped his Trainer's gray vest with his claws to keep from falling off. Once the lab was out of sight, Michael pulled out his P*DA and accessed the map with one hand, the other preoccupied with steering the scooter.

The ride to the manor was uneventful, as Michael unerringly followed the directions Adon had inputted into his P*DA. The scenery was gorgeous; tall trees reached to the sky, their roots hidden from view with a thick covering of lush mosses and ferns. Apollo seemed distracted, too; it was the first time either of them had gone somewhere other than Gateon Port alone. The Eevee nearly fell off the scooter when they bumped over a wooden bridge that spanned a wide river, its slats placed together unevenly. Shortly after crossing the bridge, puffy clouds started covering the sky. Michael took no notice of them until he heard the roll of thunder in the distance.

"Great; now it's going to rain!" he grumbled, envisioning himself sopping wet and covered in mud from the road. Then worry overtook his irritation. "Man, I sure hope Jovi hasn't gotten into any trouble…"

The dirt road abruptly turned to cobblestone as a dilapidated house came into view. Though the estate looked like a dump to Michael, due to the broken wall and overgrown grass poking up between the dark flagstones, the house was still obviously in use because the odd spheres attached to the house's roof crackled with electricity. The misshapen dead trees, broken Groudon fountain, shadowy pines, spikes on the fence, dark clouds, and thunder all contributed to the image that the house was owned by a mad scientist. Michael checked that he was, indeed, at his destination before dismounting his scooter and leaving it parked just outside the wall, locked in place so that anyone brave or crazy enough to approach the house wouldn't run off with it. Apollo jumped into his Trainer's arms, shuddering. Michael shivered and cautiously approached the front entrance. He dearly hoped that Jovi had enough common sense to stay away from a place like this, though from his sister's eccentric personality and Adon's description of the place, he had to wonder…

Suddenly, a voice cried out, "Wait! Who goes there?!" An extremely short, blue-haired man wearing a lab coat and odd glasses that were imprinted with swirls approached him.

"Ah, excuse me, I'm looking for—" Michael politely began, but was interrupted by the odd man.

"You must be a burglar! Chobin will put you straight! Don't you move! Chobin is the name! And Chobin is the number-one assistant to Dr. Kaminko! Chobin is the only assistant, so Chobin has to be the number-one assistant!" Chobin insisted before withdrawing a Pokéball from his coat. Apollo growled at the man for the slight to his Trainer.

"Wait, I'm not—" Michael spluttered, but everything he said flew in one of Chobin's ears and right out of the other.

"Chobin will have none of the burglar's excuses! Go, my Sunkern!" the insane lab aide cried before releasing the grass-type. Apollo, holding a grudge against Chobin, jumped to the ground, still growling.

Michael sighed in exasperation and, seeing no way around the battle, called, "Apollo, Bite!" The Eevee dashed forward, fangs at the ready and glowing with energy in preparation for the Dark attack. The Sunkern swerved to the side, but Apollo was faster. With a spring to provide the momentum needed to cross the final few feet between himself and his opponent, Apollo bit down on the Sunkern hard. It squealed in pain and bounced away once the Eevee released it.

"Sunkern! Absorb! Show this burglar why Chobin is the number-one assistant to Dr. Kaminko!" Chobin yelled. Apollo threw himself to the left to avoid the red beam of light originating from the leaves on Sunkern's head.

"Again!" Chobin barked, and the battle became more like tag as Apollo frantically dodged the beams Sunkern kept attacking it with. The Eevee was trained well enough that he could dodge the attacks without Michael's explicit instructions, but he could neither attack, as none of his moves were long-range, nor get closer, at the risk of being hit with the Absorb attack.

Finally, Apollo made a mistake and jumped straight upward to avoid the Absorb. Sunkern took advantage of this and hit him when he was still in the air, unable to maneuver. Michael gritted his teeth as the crimson beam fragmented into shards and gained an emerald hue, flying back to the Sunkern to deliver Apollo's stolen strength. He made a mental note to work on evasion tactics with Apollo the next chance he got.

"You see, burglar? This is why Chobin is the number-one assistant to Dr. Kaminko! No burglar stands a chance against Chobin!" Chobin jeered, thoroughly annoying Michael.

"Tackle attack!" Apollo, unfazed by his loss of energy, rushed forward and collided with the Sunkern before Chobin could give it any more orders. The weak Pokémon couldn't withstand another of Apollo's more powerful attacks, and it bounced to the ground, unconscious.

"Chobin lost!" The lab aide sounded dazed and confused at the sudden turnaround, as though he'd never contemplated what would occur when he lost. He soon regained his wits, though, and recalled his Pokémon. He shouted agitatedly, "You've made Chobin angry now! Even though Chobin lost, you're still not getting past Chobin!"

"I just want to find my younger sister!" Michael snapped impatiently, fed up with having to deal with the oblivious lab aide. "Is there a blue-haired girl named Jovi here or not?" Apollo, curious, trotted up to Chobin and gently nudged him to see if he responded, but the aide was too caught up in his anger to notice either Michael's words or Apollo's prods.

Chobin straightened his glasses. "Huh? Closer observation reveals that the subject is a child. Ergo, the subject is not a burglar! Ahaha! Chobin wishes you spoke up right away."

"I did say something," Michael grumbled. "My name's Michael, by the way. Have you seen—"

"You're Michael? Chobin apologizes for jumping to the wrong conclusion," Chobin interrupted, causing Michael to groan in frustration.

Michael was about to ask again if the aide had seen his younger sister when the double doors to Dr. Kaminko's house opened, and a young blue-haired girl wearing a white dress dashed outside. She seemed surprised by Michael's presence. "Oh! Big brother! What are you doing here?"

Michael was relieved to see that his little sister was alright and not lost in the forest or injured. "I'm—"

"Oh! Jovi gets it! Big brother, you got lost, didn't you?"

"No, I—"

"Uh-uh-uh! There's no hiding stuff from Jovi! Because Jovi knows!"

"Jovi, I—"

"This big house is Dr. Kaminko's," Jovi chattered, as unaware of Michael's words as Chobin. "Dr. Kaminko's job is to make incredible inventions. There's a whole bunch of neat machines like they have at the Pokémon HQ Lab. You should come in too, big brother!" Before her sibling could formulate any sort of reply, she dashed back inside, the doors swinging shut behind her.

Michael felt like banging his head against something, his relief having quickly faded. No wonder Jovi likes it here; everyone is as crazy and deaf as she is! He heard the odd sound he had identified as an Eevee's laughter coming from Apollo. "Traitor," Michael muttered to his Pokémon, who seemed to find his Trainer's plight absolutely hilarious.

"Michael, you are that girl's older brother? Sometimes, she comes here. She wanders around everywhere. Chobin finds it hard keeping an eye on her so that she does not bother the doctor," Chobin grumbled, unmindful of Michael's annoyance.

"That sounds just like her." So this is where she's been when I've found her wandering around by the road! "Anyway, can I go inside? I need to get Jovi back the HQ Lab," Michael said through gritted teeth, what little patience he had left quickly waning.

"Oh, yes! Michael, you will have a look at Dr. Kaminko's inventions? You will, yes? Okay, this way, please! Follow Chobin!" Chobin replied excitedly. Michael wondered how 'searching for Jovi' translated to 'looking at inventions', but at least he had gotten inside the house.

The interior was as dilapidated as the exterior. The walls were covered with mildew and the wooden slats of the floor had almost disappeared beneath a thick coat of dust, somehow unbroken by footprints, despite that Jovi had to have passed this way to get outside. Apollo sneezed fiercely, his nose itching from the dust.

"Eevee vee," the Eevee sniffed. He sneezed again, prompting Michael to return the Pokémon to his Pokéball.

The room ahead was completely bare, save for a large TV set into one of the walls and a shelf holding a few old-fashioned videotapes. "Okay! Chobin will now show you the inventions of the inestimable Dr. Kaminko. Dr. Kaminko's inventions, it needs to be said, are number one in the world! Chobin is full of admiration!" Chobin sighed dreamily before grabbing one of the videotapes.

"How do you know they're number one worldwide?" Michael asked, deciding to play along. Besides, if Chobin were distracted enough by the VCR, then he could slip away to look for his sister in other parts of the house.

"That needs explaining?" Chobin replied, surprising Michael – the aide had actually heard what he'd said! "In the whole wide world, no one but Dr. Kaminko would invent such inventions! Therefore, they are number one in the world without question! Our Dr. Kaminko, who is verily great, is inventing in that room there." Chobin pointed to the open door on the left, from which the faint sounds of activated power tools originated.

"Hi, Doctor! What kind of funny machine are you making this time? Jovi wants to know." Jovi's voice floated from the doorway. Upon hearing his sister, Michael began to edge his way in that direction, hoping that Chobin would not notice his escape attempt.

"Uh-oh! That girl is at Dr. Kaminko's side again! Chobin hopes she is causing no disturbance. Anyway," Chobin's attention snapped back to Michael, who halted his endeavor to sneak off into the room to collect Jovi. "Let Chobin acquaint you with just some of Dr. Kaminko's greatest inventions. Let the VCR roll!" Michael watched with equal parts of horror and amusement as the Chobin on TV blabbered on about sandals designed to hurt someone's feet, a power-draining lightbulb, a vacuum cleaner that coated a room in dust, a refrigerator that turned off when the door was closed, a recorder for TV programs that cut the program off five minutes early, a calendar with only three hundred days, and a radio that would yell 'please help me' at two in the morning.

Completely useless, Michael mused, but they'd make for great prank gifts… I wonder if those glasses Chobin is wearing are designed to make the wearer blind?

"Ahaha! Incredible, is it not? There is much more than that, too. The doctor's inventions, which are fantastic, can be seen on this monitor. Chobin gives you permission to use this anytime you like." With that, the aide tilted his head to the side for a few seconds, then forgot about Michael's existence and abruptly scurried through the right-hand door, no doubt the entrance to his workspace or something along those lines. His head was still tipped to the side.

I don't want to know, Michael thought, just glad to be rid of the lab aide. He headed through the left-hand door and beheld who must have been Dr. Kaminko – his long hair defied gravity and stood straight up, and he wore the same glasses that Chobin did. Jovi was peering over his shoulder, pestering him about whatever little mechanical trinket he was creating, while an older man hovered by the other shoulder, carefully examining the technical readouts of one of Kaminko's inventions.

Michael approached his sister and said, "Come on, Jovi. We need to get back to the HQ Lab. Mom will be worried sick. …And Adon's back is starting to hurt." Michael prodded his sister with a finger, but she just waved him off with an annoyed gesture. She didn't seem to hear a word of Michael's statement.

"Excuse me, but I couldn't help but overhear you," the older man said, addressing Michael. "Did you come from the Pokémon HQ Lab?"

Michael eyed him cautiously, wary of yet another wacky person accosting him. "Yeah. What of it?"

"How is the Lab's director? Professor Krane, yes?"

"Uh, he's doing just fine, aside from a slight lack of sleep because a few of his pet projects are coming together…" Michael said, caught off-balance by a person who seemed to act normally yet was still keenly interested in Kaminko's odd creations.

"Well, that's good to hear. Ah, yes – if you'd be so kind, please tell the professor that the machine part he needed is ready, and that he should come get it anytime."

"And this is coming from...?"

"My name's Makan. I run the Parts Shop in Gateon Port."

"Alright, no problem. I'm sure the professor will be happy." Michael turned to Jovi and began poking her again. "Jovi!" he exclaimed, raising his voice. "Earth to Jovi. Can you hear me?"

Finally, Jovi responded to her brother's nagging. "Hi, big brother! This is a funny drawing! It's a really detailed drawing of a really weird machine!" she said cheerfully.

Michael sighed. "That's great, Jovi, but we need to go home now."

"Huh? You're going home already, big brother? But you just got here! Oh… Jovi gets it! Jovi has to show you how to go home, right?"

"I think I can get home all by myself," Michael replied dryly.

"Okay! That's what Jovi will do! Jovi will take you home!" Jovi decided before turning her attention to a Minun that was attached to one of her legs. Michael couldn't understand how the Pokémon had such a high tolerance for the large quantity of dust in the house. "Mimi! Let's go home with big brother!"

The Minun gave a shrill "Mi mi!" before jumping onto Jovi's shoulder.

"Okay! Let's move out! Jovi will visit again, Doctor! Bye-bye!" Jovi called, but, surprisingly, Kaminko didn't seem to hear her.

Michael's P*DA went off just as he and Jovi were exiting the building together. Michael checked the device – there was a new email from Professor Krane in the inbox.

'Dear Michael, you appear to have traveled far in your search for Jovi. Please come back to the HQ Lab as soon as you find her. I need your help with something.'

"What is it? What is it?" Jovi clamored, jumping up and down while clutching Michael's arm. "Oh! Big brother got a P*DA? Jovi is jealous of big brother! But what was the beeping noise?"

"It was an email from the Professor. He wants me to come home quickly, probably for help with one of his experiments or something."

"Jovi is worried about letting you go by yourself, big brother. Let's go right now!"

Jovi sat sidesaddle behind Michael on the scooter and chattered the whole way home. Her Minun clung tightly to her shoulder and accentuated her speech with the occasional, enthusiastic "Mi!" Michael blocked out the sound of their voices so that they were merely a buzz in the background and concentrated on his lush surroundings. He was relieved when the HQ Lab finally came into view. Lily was waiting at the front steps, tapping her foot impatiently. Michael parked his scooter by the steps, figuring that he could go put it in the shed later.

"Oh, hi, Mommy! We're back!" Jovi called when she caught sight of her mother. She gracefully slid off the scooter and flung her arms around Lily.

"Oh, Jovi! Haven't I told you not to wander away by yourself?" Lily chided while returning the hug.

Jovi replied, "No, Mommy, you don't understand! Big brother was lost, so Jovi brought him here! If Jovi weren't there, Jovi bets he'd be crying by now saying he can't go home! Right, big brother?"

Michael just sighed in resignation. "I give up," he groaned. "She's impossible."

"Oh, my, my! Jovi, you are such a brave and resourceful girl!" Lily praised airily. "But that's quite enough for today. Besides, Adon must be tired of waiting for you."

"Oh, my gosh! I was in the middle of hide-and-seek!" Jovi gasped. "Okay, big brother, I'll see you later! Bye-bye!" She dashed off into the lab—accidentally jostling her Minun off her shoulder, which speedily recovered to run beside her—and finally searching for a certain aide whose back had to be just about killing him.

"Michael, thanks for finding Jovi for me," Lily said seriously. Seeing the exasperated look on her son's face, she decided to change the subject instead of grilling him about Jovi's whereabouts. She could ask later, after all. "Oh, yes. Professor Krane wanted to see you, Michael. Go see him right away, please."

"I know; he emailed me. Do you know where he is?"

Lily paused. "No, actually. I'd check his office first, though."

"Gotcha." Michael jogged toward the left-hand building where the living quarters were located, instead of the right-hand building, which housed the actual labs. Oddly enough, it was easier to access Krane's lab through the residential wing than the laboratory wing, even though Krane's office was located on the second floor of the latter.

Seeing as there was no reason to keep Apollo cooped up anymore, he let the Eevee out of his Pokéball. Apollo preferred to be out of his ball, anyway. The Eevee barked, "Vee eev eevee vee!" and rubbed up against Michael's legs in contentment.

Michael smiled in response to the Eevee's affection. He reached down to pick his Pokémon up, but Apollo clambered up one of the green-clad arms and settled over Michael's shoulders like a furry neck pillow. Michael looked at his partner in confusion, but simply rubbed Apollo's head. The Eevee licked his Trainer's cheek, eliciting a smile.

Michael went upstairs in the residential building's tube elevator and dashed through an office before entering Professor Krane's office in the research wing of the lab. However, the only person there was an old man who was studying how treatments from Psychic- and Fire-type Pokémon could treat various ailments that troubled the elderly.

"Oh, Michael, Apollo, welcome back. Were you gone far away?" the man queried, looking up from his paperwork to greet the boy and his Eevee.

"Yeah, I was looking for Jovi. Do you know where Professor Krane is?" Michael asked.

"Huh? The Director? He went downstairs just a little while ago. You didn't bump into him?" the man replied, but Michael was already running out of the office and into the lab's tube elevator.

After getting directions to Professor Krane's whereabouts from a passing scientist, Michael found the Professor and Aidan standing over an odd, lighthouse-shaped contraption in one of the side labs, muttering excitedly. This piqued his interest, as he'd rarely seen them so excited except when one of their projects had finally been completed. Besides that, this particular lab was a forbidden-access lab and had always been off-limits to him. He had no idea what was inside. The door to this lab shouldn't have even been open.

Krane looked up as Michael peeked in the doorway. Instead of shooing him out, as he should have with a forbidden-access lab, he instead greeted, "Hi there, Michael! I've been waiting for you! This lab is home to the Snag Machine, and I wanted to show it to you. Has Aidan said anything to you about it?"

"No…"

"It's a special device for snagging Pokémon. The two of us, Aidan and I, were developing it. And now, it's finally finished. I'd like to begin testing it right now. Michael, will you help us?" the Professor asked.

Snagging Pokémon? I've heard of catching them, but… "Alright," Michael said aloud, anticipation building. Unlike Dr. Kaminko's inventions, Krane's always had a function that would aid people or Pokémon – or both.

"Okay. Step inside, please—this lab is officially open to you. I've already updated the security system to allow you access." Most of the HQ Lab's doors opened automatically, but those that didn't – usually with good reason – were installed with some of the latest security features on the market, including biometric locks.

Michael entered the lab, inwardly marveling that he'd been allowed access to one of the forbidden labs. Once he was inside and the door was properly sealed against curious eavesdroppers, Krane revealed, "I should tell you, the Snag Machine is an outrageous piece of work. After all, it's used for stealing Pokémon from another trainer in battle."

"What?!" Michael yelped in utter shock. It was widely known and recognized in all of the regions (perhaps less so in independent Orre, but still) that stealing another trainer's Pokémon was one of the worst crimes a trainer – anyone, really – could commit. Krane would never make something with such a despicable function. "That's illegal! Why are you making something like this?!" Michael demanded.

"We didn't make this to steal Pokémon indiscriminately from Trainers," Krane continued, unfazed. He held his hands up in a simple calm down; be patient gesture. "Michael, you've heard of Shadow Pokémon, haven't you?"

"The term rings a bell, but I don't know much about them…" Michael cautiously replied with narrowed eyes, wondering where the conversation was headed.

"Well, you were only eight when they first appeared, and sheltered by your mother from their true nature, no doubt…" Krane trailed off, eyes distant, and his next words were so soft that Michael wondered if he was meant to hear them at all. "…wouldn't have heard much about them anyway; people like to pretend the Shadow Incident didn't exist…"

"…Professor?" Michael asked hesitantly. He'd never seen the Professor so reflective – lost, almost – and he made a mental note to research this "Shadow Incident" later.

Krane snapped to attention. "Er, right. Anyway, Shadow Pokémon are Pokémon that have been turned into mindless fighting machines after having their 'hearts' closed by cruel artificial means, capable only of obedience, anger, and sadism. They're to be pitied."

Michael's eyes widened in shock, then narrowed again in fury. Ever since he'd been little, he'd been taught to be kind to Pokémon; they were humanity's greatest friends, companions and allies. He knew that Pokémon were abused sometimes, but he'd never heard that they'd been so malevolently exploited. "That sounds terrible! Turning a Pokémon into a mindless fighting machine… a tool…" he growled angrily. Apollo echoed his Trainer's sentiments, snarling furiously. "That's why you built something like this, isn't it?"

Krane nodded, chuckling. "Smart boy. That is why we developed the Snag Machine – to take back such modified Shadow Pokémon. They shouldn't be around anymore now, but we still created this machine just in case someone tried making them again. Greedy people will always attempt to gain power, no matter the consequences. But for now, I'd like you to test our Snag Machine. After all, you're the best trainer at this lab. The Snag Machine is in this case. Try equipping it right away, please," Krane said. He paused, then added, "Apollo, Michael will need that shoulder…"

Michael nodded jerkily, still seething from the idea that anyone would try to create such a miserable creature, while Apollo gracefully leaped from Michael's shoulders and onto the floor. Aidan pressed the columns on the lighthouse-shaped case in a complex sequence, and the case swung open to reveal the Snag Machine. Michael examined it curiously.

The Snag Machine was a metal shoulder pad and a glove connected by a thick metal cord which a bar of light periodically traveled down. A glowing blue panel was on the back of the glove, which spun about every once in a while, and a metal Pokéball-shaped design was on the palm. An oddly shaped mechanism was perched on hooks behind the Snag Machine.

Krane and Apollo carefully watched as Aidan gently removed the Snag Machine from the case and placed the shoulder pad on Michael's left shoulder. Concealed clamps attached themselves to his shoulder to keep the device steady. Michael heard the hidden hydraulic mechanisms within hiss quietly before he felt a slight pressure on his shoulder. It felt as if someone had a hand on his shoulder and was squeezing – not enough to cause pain, but not enough to go unnoticed, either. Next, Aidan helped Michael fit his hand into the glove, the inside of which contracted slightly to fit snugly. Michael wiggled his fingers and realized that he could still move them almost to their full extent. He watched in fascination as the thicker fingers of the glove perfectly mimicked the movements of his slimmer fingers. The plating attached to the glove made the actual glove appear thicker than it really was; it was thin as a gardening glove. As Michael circled his arm about to test the limits of the motion of his shoulder with the shoulder pad, he felt air flowing in through the exposed fabric on the palm.

"This is really well-made," Michael murmured, flexing his wrist. The Snag Machine had hampered few of his movements, and it was obviously built for comfort and durability, as well. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Krane said, pleased.

"Eevee vee eev eev eevee!" Apollo exclaimed, staring at the odd contraption now attached to his Trainer's arm. Michael smiled and knelt down so the Eevee could sniff the machine curiously. "Vee!"

"It seems that Apollo approves," Michael grinned. "Should we test it now?" he queried, eager to test one of the Professor's inventions – and to test a technically illegal device with a benevolent purpose.

"Hold your Ponytas; there's one more thing I have to equip," Aidan said while removing the odd device still in the case from the hooks.

"This is the Aura Reader," Krane explained while Aidan showed Michael how to attach it to his ear. "This device allows you to—"

"Wow, it fits you perfectly," Aidan interrupted breathlessly. "It even looks cool, too, Michael. Oh, and I have one more thing for you – a new feature for your P*DA. It's called the Shadow Monitor. It will let you check data on whatever Shadow Pokémon you encounter." Michael handed his P*DA to Aidan, and as the lab aide inserted a data chip into the device, he continued, "Not that there's any current reason to need this app, but you should still have something like this, just in case."

Krane, unfazed even though he'd been interrupted, said, "Now then, you should learn how the Snag Machine works. It will be a lot easier to just show you how it works in practice rather than trying to describe it." Apollo gave a concurring "Vee," causing Krane to smile. "Let's go upstairs to the Battle Sim System room." Michael grinned; he'd always learned more from practical lessons than dry lectures.

Krane exited the room, with Michael, Aidan, and Apollo right behind him. Abruptly, Aidan halted and gasped, then chuckled. Michael and Apollo looked at him strangely.

"Whoops! How silly of me! I almost forgot to give you these," Aidan hurriedly said, pulling out five shrunken and empty Pokéballs from within his lab coat. "In order to use the Snag Machine, you need at least one Pokéball. So, I'll give you these," Aidan explained while handing the Pokéballs to Michael. "Pokéballs aren't used in the Orre region, so we import them from another region." After Michael stored the Pokéballs in his bag, Aidan grinned, "Okay, now we're set! Let's hurry over to the Director."

Suddenly, Apollo's ears twitched, and he started growling menacingly. "What is it, Apollo?" Michael asked worriedly, scooping up the Eevee. He got his answer when he heard a door slamming open and running footsteps, followed by a scream.

"W-what's going on?! Who are you people?!" Krane shouted. Michael and Aidan tore out of the lab they had been in to the foyer, but by then door had already banged closed.

The foyer was devoid of people, save for Shelly. She was standing behind her desk, obviously deeply shaken. "It's terrible, Michael! Some strange men came barging in and took off with the Director!" she cried.

"Dammit! What the hell happened to security?!" Michael swore. Aidan didn't rebuke the foul language, since he was pale and shaking in terror. Michael glanced around the lab. No one was going outside to find Krane. Michael clenched a shaking fist, his fear – as nothing like this had ever happened at the Lab – and his desire to aid his friend warring within him. Michael gathered himself together and, before he could lose his nerves, called, "Stay here; I'll go check it out!" He raced out of the lab and dropped Apollo to the ground. The Pokémon was tense and battle-ready as he followed his Trainer outside.

Michael and Apollo froze as they beheld the scene outside the Lab. All the lab workers in sight were lying on the ground, unconscious. A large red hover vehicle was parked below the steps next the Michael's scooter. There were three men in a white armor of some kind that Michael had never seen before. The one with the largest build held Professor Krane's hands behind his back and was pushing him toward the vehicle.

"Will you let go of me! Where do you think you're taking me?!" Krane demanded as he struggled against his captor, wriggling furiously and digging his heels into the ground.

One of the smaller men in armor with a yellow bandanna chuckled sinisterly. "I'm taking you to your new lab, professor," he replied, smirking cruelly.

"What… My new lab?" Krane gaped, dumbstruck.

"Move it; we don't have any time. If you don't want to get hurt, hustle yourself into the car," the large man holding him growled.

"You people… What are you?!" Krane cried out in fear.

That was enough to snap Michael out of his daze. "HEY!" he shouted. Apollo shook himself and growled menacingly as the three men in armor swung around to face him. Krane couldn't stop a look of relief from spreading across his face.

"Hah? What is it, punk? You're going to play hero and try to stop us? I don't show mercy to anyone, not even kids," the man with the yellow bandana hissed. "Go, Teddiursa!" Apollo bounded forward in response to the challenge as the Little Bear Pokémon emerged from its Pokéball.

Michael was about to order Apollo to attack when a beeping noise in his left ear distracted him. A small screen slid across his left eye. Michael blinked as a small line of text appeared on the screen – a system check, he presumed – before the screen darkened. As it did so, odd, purplish-black flames appeared around the Teddiursa. Then Michael's vision blurred slightly as his sight in his left eye conflicted with his sight in his right eye, giving him an instant headache.

"What is that?" he whispered to himself in horror. Peering closer, he saw unbridled hate in the Teddiursa's eyes.

"Michael! The Aura Reader is responding!" Krane screeched. "That's a Shadow Pokémon!"

What?! Michael thought as Apollo took a few wary steps backward to put more distance between himself and the newly dubbed Shadow Pokémon.

Michael's opponent rounded on Krane, screaming, "Shut up!"

But Krane would not be silenced. "Hurry, Michael, hurry! Throw a Pokéball at it!"

So much for testing the Snag Machine on the Sim System, Michael thought grimly as the armored man started to yell at Krane again, disregarding Michael as the lesser threat. Michael numbly reached into his bag, and the thick fingers of the glove closed around one of the shrunken Pokéballs. He pressed the Pokéball's button, enlarging it to full size, before instinctively closing the glove over the ball. A bar appeared on the back of the Snag Machine's glove on the blue panel, quickly making a complete circle. Some lights flashed on the Snag Machine, and blue lines appeared on the exterior of the Pokéball – the ball's circuitry, Michael realized. When the circle on the panel had been completed, the lines brightly glowed golden before fading away altogether.

Michael drew his left arm back and awkwardly threw the Pokéball at the Teddiursa.

He had been using his bad arm, and he realized with dismay that his aim had been off by about a foot. But he soon discovered that that didn't matter, as the ball opened while still within the air. A dark, glowing, clawed hand emerged from the ball, dragging the startled Teddiursa into it.

The Pokéball – no, the Snag Ball – clattered to the ground, shaking. Everyone present watched the Snag Ball with trepidation, and the man who'd been yelling at Krane stared at it in horror. Apollo stayed tense and ready in case the Teddiursa broke out of the ball.

Finally, it stilled, and the red glow emanating from its button became white again. A light flickered on the glove of the Snag Machine, and the Snag Ball flew back to Michael. He caught it with his right hand, somewhat surprised. Professor Krane smiled with relief.

"What was that? My Shadow Pokémon!" the armored man cried out in dismay. "Was that… Was it a snag?"

Michael shrunk the Teddiursa's Pokéball and attached it to his belt next to Apollo's. Teddiursa's former master gaped at it disbelievingly. During the man's distraction, Apollo cautiously edged back to his master, still keeping a wary eye on the opposing Trainer in case he sent out another Pokémon.

Finally, the armored man snapped out of his stupor and exclaimed, "Kid! What is that machine on your arm?!"

"Could it be…" the other smaller armored man gasped in disbelief. "A Snag Machine?! What the hell is that doing here?!"

The man with the yellow bandanna whirled on his partner, jaw dropping. "That's big news! Come on, move! I need to report this to headquarters, like, now!"

Michael, still numb and moving on autopilot, was a second too slow in reacting, and in that time the kidnappers had already gotten a decent head start to their vehicle. Krane had been thrown over the largest man's shoulder. When the Professor started thrashing about again, his captor slammed an armored fist into his kidneys, rendering Krane temporarily immobile from the pain. A trunk within the vehicle was opened, and the Professor was roughly tossed inside. The trunk slammed closed, and by the time Michael and Apollo had reached the vehicle, its engines had already roared to life. It sped away, kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured Michael's and Apollo's vision and caused them to stagger, coughing violently. When they had recovered, the vehicle was already long gone.

The lack of noise prompted some of the braver scientists to venture outside, and when they did, they found that a few of those who were unconscious were stirring. They also found Michael, who had slumped to the ground where he stood. He was clutching Apollo tightly and looked like he was in shock.

Michael couldn't believe what was happening. He'd confronted the kidnappers – all by himself; the adults in the lab had been no help at all – used the Professor's new invention; stolen a Pokémon from a Trainer on the Professor's insistence, opposing moral lessons that had been drilled into him since he'd been a toddler – now that the men were gone, it was fully sinking in that he'd stolen a Pokémon, something society labeled as utterly despicable; and watched as the kidnappers had stolen his friend right in front of him. The rational part of his mind was telling him to get up, get inside, and wait for the authorities to provide an update on the situation, but the majority of his brain had him paralyzed, trying to refute events that should have only occurred in a nightmare. Nothing of this magnitude had ever happened to him; he didn't know how to deal with it.

Lily hurried outside and wrapped her arms around her stiff son. "You were very brave, Michael, for taking on those kidnappers with the Shadow Pokémon all by your lonesome. No one blames you for Professor Krane's kidnapping."

Michael stood slowly, eyes wide and vacant. He nodded to his mother absentmindedly before stumbling back into the lab. He entered the first room he saw and slumped onto one of the chairs, still clutching Apollo tightly.

The Eevee gave a sad, "Eevee vee…" before sadly licking his Trainer's chin. He hated seeing Michael so lifeless, but there was little Apollo could do, being in a similar despondent mood that Michael was in.

After a few moments passed, a scientist peeked in the doorway and tucked a blanket around Michael before disappearing again. Michael pulled it tighter around him; he was unusually cold, despite it being in the middle of summer…

Professor Krane was gone.

It was a reality Michael didn't want to accept. The Professor had been a steady source of support all throughout his life in lieu of his absent father, offering encouragement, advice, and comfort – in between all of his experiments, of course. Despite his busy schedule, Krane managed to visit both Michael and Jovi often. He'd even come up with the solution to Michael's schooling after a nasty incident involving the other children at the Gateon school Michael had gone to and Michael's then recently obtained Apollo.

Professor Krane was gone.

Who knew what the armored people would do to Krane? He wasn't a fighter in any sense of the word. They probably wouldn't kill him; if they'd wanted to, they'd have been able to do so right in the middle of the Lab's grounds. Considering that one of them had said something about another lab, they probably wanted Krane's brilliant mind for some illegal experiment. Michael had no doubt that they'd harm the Professor physically to get what they wanted. Michael had to force himself to calm down before he started hyperventilating; the thought of the Professor being tortured left him breathless.

Professor Krane had been kidnapped.

They'll get him back, Michael thought stubbornly, ignoring the little voice at the back of his head that whispered, No, they won't.

A sniff came from the doorway, and both Michael and Apollo looked up to see Jovi. She was trembling violently. Finally, she cried out in despair and flung her arms around her older brother, sobbing. Michael snaked an arm around Jovi and held his younger sister close, comforting her as best he could.

After a few minutes, warmth started to seep back into Michael's limbs. Numbness and worry turned to sorrow, and he would have broken down and started crying had Jovi not been there. As it was, a couple of silent tears slipped past his control before his depression turned to a steely determination to stay strong for Jovi. Despite the annoyance he often garnered from her eccentric personality, he really did love her. She was his little sister, after all.

After a while, Lily and Aidan entered the room, looking grim. Jovi detached herself from Michael and latched on to her mother, still crying. Michael lifted Apollo into his arms and hugged him tightly. Apollo nuzzled his Trainer affectionately in return.

"Waaah! They took the Professor away!" Jovi cried, her voice slightly muffled from having her head buried in her mother's coat.

"Don't cry, Jovi. I'm sure Professor Krane will be okay." Lily said gently, stroking her daughter's hair. Jovi sniffed, but her cries quieted down a little.

"We've contacted the police and the proper authorities about Professor Krane. They should let us know if they discover anything," Aidan said to Michael before his gaze became vacant. He was more affected by the kidnapping than he let on. "I still can't believe that this is happening..." he murmured.

"Professor Krane predicted that someone will again try making Shadow Pokémon. His prediction was on the mark," Lily said grimly, eyeing the extra Pokéball sitting innocently on her son's belt.

"Michael, the Teddiursa you snagged probably isn't the only Shadow Pokémon that was made… When the Purify Chamber is completed, we will be able to save many Shadow Pokémon at the same time, but… Professor Krane is crucial to the project. Without him, there's nothing we can do!" Aidan cried in despair.

Michael watched as a change came over his mother. Determination replaced controlled sorrow, and she closed her eyes to either steel her resolve or think. She then blurted out her resolution to the world, eyes shining.

"Let's complete it! We'll finish the Purify Chamber ourselves!"

Aidan looked at her as though she'd grown a second head. "Lily? The Director's not here! It's hopeless. There isn't any possible way to get it done."

Lily snapped, "You're on the verge of finishing! This isn't the time to feel sorry for yourself. The Purify Chamber project got this far not just because Professor Krane was here. We got here because we all worked as a team. Having come this far, it would be wrong to stop now. Our pride as scientists is on the line. Let's finish the project as one!" Apollo began enthusiastically yipping after Lily's speech. A few eavesdropping scientists shamelessly peeked into the room, either agreeing fervently with Lily or asking what they should be doing. Lily began barking out instructions to the scientists. Jovi had picked up her mother's enthusiasm, since she had stopped crying, but her eyes were still puffy and red.

Michael gave a tiny grin. His mother's inspiration was infectious. Seeing such determination to be unaffected by Krane's kidnapping was exactly what he needed to get over the last of his despair.

He then studied his mother and Aidan carefully. This "Purify Chamber" was obviously of some significant importance if the two scientists were so impassioned about it. It was probably related to Shadow Pokémon, taking recent events into account. I hate being kept out of the loop, he grumbled, bitterly thinking of the mysterious "Shadow Incident" Krane had mentioned.

Lily turned back to the others in the room. "Things will get very busy around here!" she said, which Michel translated to, Go to your rooms and stay out from underfoot! "I'll go upstairs and check how the data processing is progressing," Lily continued. "Aidan, go to the Purify Chamber and help run diagnostics on the Sets."

After both scientists had left the room, Michael said, "Come on, Jovi. Let's go back to our rooms."

"But Jovi wants to stay and help Mommy!" Jovi protested, watery-eyed.

"Right now, all we'd be doing is getting in the way," Michael gently rebuked. "We can check on Mom later, okay?"

"'Kay," Jovi sniffled. She tightly gripped her brother's hand as the two weaved through crowds of busy scientists. Apollo had jumped onto Michael's shoulders again, unbothered by the metal shoulder pad of the Snag Machine, and he was barking to warn the scientists of their approach.

When Jovi and Michael finally reached their bedrooms, Jovi said softly, "Jovi wants to play with Mimi and Pluplu. Will big brother be okay without Jovi?"

"I'll be just fine, Jovi. The real question here is, will you be alright?" Jovi nodded and disappeared into her bedroom, but her determined front was ruined when Michael heard a loud sniff and Jovi's Plusle's and Minun's concerned squeaks. He attempted to enter but found that she'd locked the door.

Michael entered his own room and slumped down on the bed, sighing. Today had been completely draining, physically and emotionally, and time had slipped by so quickly that the sun was low on the horizon, from what Michael could see from his window. He shook his head frantically. The last thing he needed at the moment was to slide back into despondency. Apollo sat next to Michael, barking a concerned, "Vee?"

Michael scratched Apollo behind the ears absentmindedly. "Today's been a crazy day, huh, Apollo?" The Eevee gave an affirmative bark. Michael's mind remained blank for a moment before his thoughts drifted to the mysterious "Shadow Incident" and "Purify Chamber" the adults had mentioned. Michael sat in front of his computer and started it up, Apollo following him and sitting next to the monitor. When the computer had warmed up, Michael pulled up a search engine and typed Shadow Incident.

The returns dealt mainly with a popular novel by an author in the far-away Sinnoh region. He didn't know much about Sinnoh – he was much more familiar with Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, Orre's trading partners – but he didn't think the incident was centered in the other region. Discarding the book as irrelevant, Michael tried again: Shadow Incident Orre. This time, only a few results returned, mainly forums based in the other regions wondering what in the world the mysterious Shadow Incident of Orre was. There were a couple mentions of Shadow Pokémon and someone named Wes, along with the normal conspiracy theories the public tended to generate when something was kept secret, but that was it. There was one site that was based in Orre, though, and Michael clicked on it.

You are attempting to access classified information. Please enter an access code.
–Confederation of Orre

Michael's eyes widened. A cover-up? Orre was notorious for not trying to hide its high crime rate and large population of thugs, especially in the southeastern area of the region. What would be so bad that even rough, tough Orre would conceal a part of its history?

It probably had something to do with Orre's relationship with the other regions, Michael mused, mind whirling at the implications of a cover-up in Orre. Orre's relationship with the other regions was tenuous, at best. All of the other regions were notorious for looking down on Orre for only accepting a partial treaty with the Pokémon Association. Orre followed some of the Pokémon Association's rules (the most notable exception being the lack of an organized Pokémon League system with Gyms), in return for trading rights with the regions in the Pokémon Association – an absolute necessity for Orre, as the desert that made up the majority of the region was unsuited to any kind of farming. Orre's economy was based primarily on fishing, industry, mining, and tourism; people loved to see scenic places like Phenac City. Trainers, especially, were drawn toward Mt. Battle, as it was the only place in any of the regions that offered the challenge of one hundred consecutive battles. Orre traded its abundance of iron, coal, natural gas, oil, and precious metals for industrialized goods and necessary supplies for human and Pokémon alike; without the trade, the region would starve. It was imperative for Orre to keep the trade; it was about the only thing Orreans sought to preserve of the other regions.

How would the Shadow Incident be so bad that even Orre would strive to keep it hidden? That it would threaten the precious trade, scare away the other regions? Michael wondered. He didn't think there was much that could possibly bring the Orre region lower in the other regions' eyes, but apparently he was wrong.

Orre was viewed as uncivilized, filled with Pokémon thieves and common thugs (in some of the rougher towns, the latter was certainly true). Because of the rougher nature of most Orre battles, the double battle as the standard battling type in the region, and the lack of wild Pokémon (since they had all been wiped out in the eruption of, as it was contemporarily named, Mt. Battle centuries prior, which replaced fertile land with harsh desert), Orre was viewed as inferior to the other regions. No one in Orre really cared what the other regions thought of them – which was why the government of Orre was so different from that of the other regions. Orre's government was comprised of an alliance of all of the different counties and presided over by a council with representatives from each county, instead of being completely lorded over by the Pokémon Association. This council was named the Confederation of Orre.

This giant cover-up made Michael even more curious of what had happened five years prior – he remembered all of the adults being really uptight and secretive, almost paranoid. However, he knew he wouldn't be getting any more information from the web. The people of Orre could be amazingly clandestine when they wanted to, a side-effect of being involved with so much shady business. Getting information from the scientists of the labs was also a no-go, as they would be busy with whatever the Purify Chamber was. Michael glanced at the Snag Machine on his arm. He had a feeling he'd be getting answers anyway, what with his ownership of the machine (temporarily, at least; no one had bothered to take it from him) and his snag of the Shadow Teddiursa. His only viable current course of action was to wait until some opportunity came along to get information.

Michael scowled. He hated waiting.

"Vee?" Michael realized with a start that he'd been staring at the same web page for quite a while. Lost as he was in his musings, he hadn't noticed Apollo becoming increasingly worried.

"I need a break from this," Michael groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off a headache. He had been staring stupidly at the computer screen for some time, after all. "You want to get some dinner, Apollo?"

His answer was an enthusiastic, "Vee!"

Michael poked his head out of the door, watching the veritable chaos that was taking place, even in the residential wing. He couldn't imagine what the laboratory wing was like. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, shouting at each other for one reason or another. Apollo, who had taken refuge on Michael's shoulders, laid his ears flat at the noise.

One thing that's nice about being smaller than most people is that I can navigate through crowds easier, Michael thought as he slipped through the throng of scientists mostly unnoticed. He crammed into the tube elevator beside a couple of people hauling boxes of what looked to be mechanical junk but probably wasn't upstairs. As Michael neared the kitchens, the crowd thinned out. There was no one else in the small café save for a single chef, who looked alarmed at the noise floating through the open doors of the café.

After a moment of thought, Michael quickly obtained a box of food to take back to his room instead of eating at the café. He also grabbed large bag of Pokéfood that would last Apollo for a while. After navigating back to his room, Michael laid on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling instead of eating his meal. Apollo abandoned the bowl of food Michael had set out and jumped up next to his Trainer, prodding him. "Vee?

Michael sighed despondently. "I don't know what to do now, Apollo." He gestured vaguely toward his door. "I wish there were some way I could help, but I can't. I'm no scientist!"

Apollo stared at his Trainer, then gave a sharp, "Vee eevee vee!" and headbutted Michael, startling the boy. He glanced at his Pokémon. Over the years, Michael had learned to rudimentarily understand what Apollo was trying to say (provided the message wasn't too complex), as the two had bonded so closely.

"Huh? There is something I can do?" Michael asked, interpreting Apollo's actions. The Eevee nodded and nudged the Shadow Teddiursa's Pokéball. "What, you want me to let it out? I don't think that that's such a great idea…"

"Vee!" Apollo nodded, then shook his head in frustration and pointed first at the wall, then at Michael with one of his paws.

Great, charades. I'm awful at charades. "I'm not giving Teddiursa to Jovi," Michael deadpanned. Apollo banged his head on the wall in frustration.

"Eev eev ee eem eev mee eevee mee eev!" Apollo barked with difficulty, since the 'm' sound it was using was not a sound it could usually make.

"Me?" Michael asked, picking up on the difficulty of the syllable. Apollo pointed at the wall again. "Me go to Jovi room?" Apollo took a swipe at his Trainer. "Ow! Okay, no… Um… Oh! Is it something that starts with the letter 'm'?" Apollo nodded. "Okay… Meal? You want me to get something for Jovi to eat?" Apollo shook his head and pointed at the wall again. "Hmm… Minun starts with 'm', so is it Minun? And maybe Plusle, too?" Apollo nodded enthusiastically, then pointed at the same wall again. "Minun and Plusle and Jovi? They're comforting each other right now…" A few loud squeals drifted through the wall. "And playing…"

Apollo gave a happy "Vee!" and then pointed at Teddiursa's Pokéball.

"You want me to play with Teddiursa?" Michael asked skeptically, but Apollo started barking in happiness that Michael had finally understood what he was trying to say.

"But why?" Apollo trotted to the door and nosed it open, letting Michael see the chaos outside. The scientists were still frantically running around, spouting technical jargon to each other. Over and over, the words 'Shadow Pokémon', 'Sets', 'Purify Chamber', and 'Teddiursa' cropped up in their speech.

After thinking for a while, Michael finally connected the dots. "Are you saying that playing with and being nice to Teddiursa might help it become normal again?"

Apollo barked, "Vee!" proudly one more time before pushing the door closed.

Michael brought Teddiursa's Pokéball in front of him and stared at it, wondering if Apollo's idea could really help. Sure, he knew a lot about regular Pokémon, but what if playing with it would only make things worse? Michael chewed his lip in thought and finally reminded himself, I have to do something. Professor Krane wouldn't want me to just sit in here, brooding, after all.

Michael finally sighed, "Okay, but if it tries to get out of my room, it goes back in the ball." Michael locked his door, just in case, before tossing Teddiursa's Pokéball into the air.

The Shadow Pokémon materialized on the floor, somewhat bewildered. "Urs?" it wondered before catching sight of Michael. "Teddiursa!" it snarled, unsheathing its claws.

It's not really going to attack me, is it? Michael wondered. There was an odd beeping in his ear, but he ignored it.

Thankfully, bloodshed was averted when Apollo strode up to the Teddiursa confidently and began barking at it in an upbeat tone. This thoroughly confused the poor Teddiursa, as it couldn't quite seem to understand why the Eevee was being so friendly to it.

Michael blinked. The purple flames around the Teddiursa were back, as was the screen that had come from the Aura Reader. He pinched the bridge of his nose to help stave off the impending headache, but it did little good.

I'll just have to get used to the double vision, I guess, Michael thought. Better start stocking up on painkillers…

"Vee! Eevee!" Apollo called, snapping Michael to attention. Teddiursa had relaxed some, but was still looking up at Michael, eyes narrowed.

"Hello, Teddiursa," Michael smiled before sitting on the floor. "I'm pleased to meet you…" Michael held out his right hand, and Teddiursa gave it a cautious sniff. Seeing no negative response, Michael reached up to stroke the fur on Teddiursa's head.

Teddiursa, apparently, thought that Michael was about to attack him, and unsheathed its claws fast as lightning and lashed out violently at Michael's hand, which quickly retreated with three thin but bloody scratches.

Michael gritted his teeth in anger and pain, but his rage drained away when Professor Krane's voice echoed in his head: Shadow Pokémon are Pokémon that have been turned into mindless fighting machines after having their hearts closed by cruel artificial means, capable only of obedience, anger, and sadism. They're to be pitied. "Apollo, why don't you tell Teddiursa that I'm not going to attack it?" Michael said evenly before rummaging through the drawers in his dresser for some band-aids. After locating them, Michael clumsily applied them, as the thicker fingers of the Snag Machine's glove were ill-suited to handling small objects. It would have been easier for him to just remove the Snag Machine, but he didn't know how to take it off. By the time he had finished, both Pokémon were looking a bit less agitated than before.

Michael figured that Apollo had said something to the Teddiursa, but he still felt the need to state, "I won't hurt you. I don't know how those armored nutcases treated you, but I promise that I won't intentionally harm you. Okay?"

The Teddiursa nodded hesitantly. "Teddiursa," it said slowly. This time, when Michael extended his hand, Teddiursa allowed him to pat its head.

After that, the three played various games together – tag, catch, and other simple games. Sometime during the entertainment, Michael regained his appetite and ate the food he'd filched from the café—it was pasta with chicken in a tomato sauce, he noted (for he hadn't been paying attention to what he'd grabbed from the café)—and fed the Pokémon with the Pokéfood he had obtained. Throughout the couple of hours they were playing and eating, Teddiursa didn't look happy, but it looked less angry than before, so Michael guessed that it was a start. The purplish-black flames around it had also diminished, which Michael also took as a good sign.

At one point, the headache from the Aura Reader started to become unbearable, and Michael called for a quick time-out. He downed some painkillers from the small medicine kit he had in his dresser and tried to hide the bottle from Apollo, but the Eevee seemed to know exactly what Michael was consuming and barked worriedly.

"I'll be fine, Apollo. I just have a headache from the Aura Reader, that's all," Michael said, but there was a slight catch in his voice that left the Eevee unconvinced.

Apollo scrambled up onto Michael's shoulder – Teddiursa looked at him as if he'd lost his mind – and began tapping the Aura Reader with his paw. The Eevee found a few buttons to press, so he took a wild guess and pushed the one on his far left. The Aura Reader's screen slid back. With the double vision gone and the painkillers kicking in, Michael's headache drastically reduced.

"Are there controls back there, Apollo?" Michael asked. Apollo answered with the affirmative, so Michael reached back awkwardly with his left gloved hand and hit the button closest to the front. The Aura Reader's screen slid back in front of his left eye. Michael closed his right eye to stave off the headache, then hit the next button further back. There was another diagnostic sweep, and then various nuances in the Teddiursa's flaming corona were identified. A horizontal purple bar then appeared, hovering over the Teddiursa's head. It was separated into five sections. One of the sections was partially white instead of purple.

"That's… odd," Michael murmured.

"Vee eevee," Apollo deadpanned before pressing the button that would retract the Aura Reader's screen. He then jumped to the ground in front of a silent Teddiursa, questioning, "Eevee vee eevee eev?"

"Teddi teddiursa teddi," the Little Bear Pokémon replied. It paused before speaking again, this time more impassioned. "Ursa! Teddi teddiursa urs! Teddi! Teddi teddi! Urs! Teddi teddiursa! Ursa teddi teddiursa!"

"More charades, Apollo?" Michael sighed. Apollo handled the charades better this time around, using various balls in the room to pantomime a smiley face. "Happy?" Apollo motioned to himself, then to Michael, then to himself again. "I make you happy, and vice versa?" The next pantomime sent Michael for a loop, until he finally connected the balls Apollo was sending crashing into each other was meant to symbolize "battle". The smiley face again, and a motion at Teddiursa. "Battle makes you happy, Teddiursa?" "Ursa!" Michael didn't understand Apollo's motioning to himself, Michael, and Teddiursa until he motioned to the Pokéballs attached to Michael's belt. "Trainer?" A motion between Michael and Teddiursa. "Yeah, I guess I'm Teddiursa's trainer now…" Then weak Tackle, Bite, and Tail Whip attacks on various pieces of furniture, and a motion at Teddiursa.

Michael finally put it together. "So, battling makes Teddiursa happy, but it can't be happy because its trainer, me, doesn't know any of its moves. Is that right?" Teddiursa nodded.

"Don't you use normal moves, like Scratch, Leer, and Lick?" Teddiursa looked utterly confused. "Guess not…"

An idea suddenly occurred to Michael. He pulled out the P*DA and flipped it open to reveal the options Shadow Monitor, Strategy Memo, Status Analysis, and Mailbox, along with other useful apps like the maps. He chose Strategy Memo, and a Pokédex appeared on the screen. Filing that little bit of information in his head for later, he exited out of the app and chose Shadow Monitor. An image of Teddiursa cloaked in the aura appeared, as well as the bar he'd seen on the Aura Reader. He mentally noted the Shadow Monitor's functions and chose Status Analysis. The words Point P*DA at Pokémon appeared on the screen, so he trained the P*DA on Teddiursa. The Little Bear Pokémon's battle stats appeared on the screen, but there were question marks in the spaces where moves, battle experience, and OT numbers were supposed to be. Curious, Michael tapped the space where Teddiursa's move set should have been. The question marks filled the screen, and the message Pokémon moves unknown flashed above them, followed by Input Pokémon move set?

"This will come in handy in the future if I can figure out what your moves are. Why don't we go outside so I can name your moves?" Michael said, addressing Teddiursa.

"Urs!"

Apollo scrambled onto Michael's shoulders and became his fuzzy neck pillow again. Michael stretched out his arms to Teddiursa, who immediately began growling.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Michael said gently, though he was inwardly seething at whoever had Shadowfied Teddiursa and made it so angry and mistrustful. "I simply want to take you outside. For that, I either need to hold you, or return you to your Pokéball. Outside my room is really crazy, with all the people running around, and I don't want you to accidentally get stepped on."

Teddiursa softened fractionally. "Ursa teddiursa," it said, unsheathing its claws and pointing to its eyes. Michael understood the threat immediately.

Any funny business, and I claw out your eyes.

Apollo was growling angrily at the Little Bear Pokémon, so Michael reprimanded, "Be nice, Apollo." The growling ceased, but Michael knew his Pokémon well enough to know that Apollo would still be glaring angrily at the Teddiursa.

Michael gently wrapped his arms around the Shadow Pokémon, which became as stiff as a board, before unlocking his door and stepping outside his room. Teddiursa glanced around in interest. Very few of the hurried scientists noticed them, but those who did froze at the sight of the Shadow Pokémon sitting docilely in Michael's arms.

Michael slipped outside and noticed his half-forgotten scooter still parked at the bottom of the steps. Aloud, he said, "I'm going to move my scooter back to the shed, alright? We can learn about your attacks back there, too, Teddiursa."

Michael set the Shadow Pokémon on the back of the scooter. "Hang on to me with your claws, okay? Apollo, are you alright where you are?"

"Vee!"

"Ursa!"

After Michael returned the scooter to the shed, he led his Pokémon to some of the open spaces behind the lab. The trees were tall and provided shade, but there was little undergrowth, making it perfect for working outside on hot summer days.

After a little bit of searching, Michael found a familiar nub of a boulder sticking up from the ground. The nub was perfect for a practice target, and he'd done half of his training in this place, drilling Apollo to increase his strength, stamina, flexibility, and speed. The other half was spent in the Battle Sim System to sharpen Apollo's wits and experience with "real" Pokémon.

"Okay, Teddiursa," Michael said. "Use whatever moves you know on the boulder."

"Ursa!" Teddiursa sped at the rock in what looked like a normal Tackle attack, except that even at its strongest, Apollo's Tackle couldn't even put a chink in the rock. Teddiursa's, on the other hand, cracked the rock down the middle. Michael stared at the rock in disbelief, stunned that such a small Pokémon could produce such a damaging attack

"That wasn't a Tackle, was it?" Michael asked warily, just to be sure. Teddiursa growled at him angrily. Obviously not, then.

"Vee! Eevee vee vee!" Apollo said. He was still draped across Michael's shoulders, and he took the opportunity to press the button that activated the Aura Reader with his nose.

Michael blinked rapidly at the return of the double vision and the purplish-black flames around Teddiursa. "Vee eevee!" Apollo called. Teddiursa repeated the attack on one of the surrounding trees, except this time, Michael was able to see the flaming aura leap up and thicken around Teddiursa. Some of the ethereal fire transferred to the tree trunk as the bark cracked and splintered.

Michael was quick to catch on to the Teddiursa's attack. "So, it's like a normal Tackle attack, except those weird flames add a lot of extra oomph. Now, what to name it… It can start with 'shadow', since obviously only Shadow Pokémon can use it… How about Shadow Rush?"

Teddiursa shook its head. Back when it had been around other Shadow Pokémon, it had seen the move called Shadow Rush, and its attack certainly wasn't that…

After a while of guessing a good name for the move and having Teddiursa reject them all, Michael asked, "Does the move already have a name?" Teddiursa nodded. "Great, more charades…" Apollo jumped from his shoulders to aid the process. After a while of pantomiming, which left all three parties angry and frustrated – Teddiursa mangled the tree trunk more in place of Michael in its impatience and aggravation – Michael finally guessed, "Shadow Blitz?!"

"VEE!" Apollo cried in relief.

"Yeah, finally!" Michael laughed as he flipped open his P*DA and input Shadow Blitz into the Status Analysis. "I was beginning to wonder…"

"Teddiursa!" the Shadow Pokémon snapped. Apollo's ears drooped and he slumped to the ground.

"Another move?" Michael groaned. "All right, let's see it."

This move was a whole lot easier to name. Michael watched as greenish-purple cloud emerged from the Shadow Pokémon's mouth and engulfed the remains of the rock protruding from the ground. Once there, it clung to the ground and lingered. Apollo gave it a tentative sniff, and then backed up, pawing at his nose. After figuring out that the cloud hindered the target Pokémon's agility slightly, thus lowering its evasion, Michael had little difficulty in guessing that the move's name was Shadow Mist.

The light was just beginning to disappear from the sky when Michael heard a call of, "Big brother! Big brother!"

"Teddi…" the Shadow Pokémon growled menacingly. That girl who was calling sounded an awful lot like the one who had used the painfulangrymachines on him…

Michael noticed Teddiursa's reaction and said, "That's my younger sister, Jovi. Is there something wrong with her?"

"Ursa…"

Michael pursed his lips. While he'd been interacting with the Teddiursa, he'd been extremely careful to avoid doing anything to inflame it, since—as far as he could tell—Teddiursa would aggressively attack anything that angered it. "Do you think you could meet her without attacking her?" The Little Bear Pokémon shook its head. "Then you'll have to go back into the ball, since she'll try to glomp you the instant she sees you. I'm sorry…" Michael said as he returned the Teddiursa to its ball. He gazed at the ball sadly, wondering, for a moment, if Teddiursa would ever be returned to normal.

"There you are, big brother! Jovi had a hard time finding you!" Michael's sister exclaimed, snapping him out of his brief moment of melancholy. "Can Jovi and big brother go see Mommy now?"

Figuring that they'd waited long enough and that their mother could spare a moment or two for them, Michael replied, "Sure, why not? Come on, Apollo." The Eevee took his new favored spot sprawled across his shoulders, and the two siblings ducked inside the busy main lab, looking for their mother.

As they searched, Michael realized that his lingering melancholy from Krane's abduction had nearly dissipated. Dealing with Teddiursa had been an outstanding distraction, and watching all the scientists run around busily was an excellent motivator, he decided.

Michael finally found Lily in one of the offices in the residential wing, talking in technical jargon with one of the lab techs about something on the computer the tech was working on. Finally, she said in exasperation, "This basic data should be fine now. Keep going with it until we've got the machine part." She looked up from the computer and noticed her two children standing in the doorway, but only addressed her son. "Michael, you came at a good time. May I get you to run an errand for me in Gateon Port tomorrow? We've ordered a special machine part for the Purify Chamber from the Parts Shop."

Before Professor Krane's kidnapping, Michael would have complained about the errand, but now he was glad his mother had chosen him to go do something to help the efforts of the scientists at the lab. "Sure thing. Oh, yeah – I met the guy – Makan, I think – who owns the Parts Shop. He said that your order had come in," Michael said, remembering the meeting at Dr. Kaminko's house.

"Oh, good. I'm sure you know where Gateon Port is – due south of here. It's not far, but be careful," Lily cautioned.

Jovi jumped up and down excitedly to catch her mother's attention. "Jovi knows the Parts Shop! It's next door to Emili's house! Mommy, can Jovi go? Jovi wants to help everyone!"

Lily looked slightly pained. "Jovi, I appreciate your offer. I know you want to help. But, it's an important component…" She trailed off, inwardly debating with herself. Finally, she continued, "…Okay. Jovi, you're a member of the Lab's staff, too. You may go if you take Michael with you. Dear, would you mind going with Jovi?"

Michael grumbled, irritated for an instant, but remembering how devastated Jovi had been when the professor was kidnapped instantly quashed the feeling. It could be her only chance to do anything to help. "Alright." Why do I get the feeling that I'll regret this?

Jovi smiled brightly. "Okay, Mommy! Big brother is Jovi's assistant! You have to listen to Jovi, big brother! Off we go to Gateon Port!"

She turned to dash out the door, but Michael caught the collar of her dress. "Not now, silly," he reprimanded. "It's too dark!"

Jovi pouted for a second, then brightened and said, "Time to go to bed, then! Morning will come faster if big brother and Jovi go to bed now! Remember, you have to listen to what Jovi says!"

I knew it, Michael inwardly sighed. She'll be like this until we get the machine part… Aloud, he humored his sister: "Alright, Jovi. Whatever you say."

Jovi beamed at him, then latched onto his arm and dragged him all the way back to their rooms. Michael couldn't help but be embarrassed when he heard Lily and the lab tech chuckling as they exited the room.

The next morning, Michael and Jovi found their mother working in the same upstairs office, arguing heatedly with the lab tech. Michael recognized the signs of an all-nighter: multiple coffee cups stacked about the desk. In Lily's foul, sleep-deprived mood, he was hesitant to disturb his mother, but he knew she – and the rest of the scientists – would want to know that they were leaving to retrieve the Machine Part.

"Mom, we're leaving now," Michael said.

Lily turned. She looked frazzled. "That's great. Please don't take too long; we can't do without the machine part for too much longer." She paused, drew herself together with a sigh, and added, "Michael, Jovi? Both of you be very careful, please. We're all counting on you two!"

A/N:

Yes, Michael's wearing a different outfit at the start. That will change in a couple chapters, promise. For those of you with complaints: Michael's hardly going to solely have carbon copies of the same outfit in his wardrobe. Real people don't wear the same thing every day, right?

About the Pokémon battles: I admit, I am a complete novice at Pokémon battles in real life (something that will probably be remedied very quickly in the course of writing this fan fiction). If they seemed awful, that's why. I redid all of them at least once. I toyed, especially, with the Salamence-Metagross battle for a while and am still unsatisfied with it. It still seems… choreographed. Wooden. Not realistic. If anyone has any tips for writing a good Pokémon battle, please tell me.

If any of you have complaints on how strongly Michael reacted after Cipher captures Krane, don't bring them to me. Michael is a fourteen-year-old boy who has no actual father – Krane comes pretty close, but he's almost always wrapped up in an experiment, so he isn't the epitome of a father figure – has had lots of problems with people his age (which will be expanded upon), and lives in a lab with everyone who's either older or younger than him. I'm no psychologist, but I'm pretty sure that living with those experiences would grant him with a polite demeanor (smart kids who were bullied can turn to quiet, unassuming shells as a defense mechanism), issues with self-confidence with just about everything barring Pokémon (there's one area that he's comfortable in, at least), and an emotional fragility rarely seen except in stressful situations.

Hope he doesn't act too weird; I want him to have a human personality, after all. Tell me if something seems too out there, and I'll do what I can to fix it, 'kay?

That being said, hopefully I'll be able to get some Michael character development in there with everything. Dealing with something as huge as Cipher wouldn't leave anyone unscathed.

Also, about the Aura-Reader-double-vision-headache thing: I read somewhere that having two different images projected to different eyes could/would cause a headache and nausea. The brain would have difficulty interpreting both at full capacity, after all. Michael will get used to it pretty quickly, though.

Trying to do the governments in the Pokémon world was awful. The only mention of something of a government in the Pokémon world is the Pokémon Association in the manga, and even then, details are scarce. I can't believe there's no government, like some people think, due to the astounding unity of the police, hospital, monetary, and legal systems, or that the Elite Four is the government. Sure, they help take down criminal syndicates, but politics really isn't in their job description. So I made up my own version that seems to fit the best with the regions. The only reason I tackled that endeavor was because my goal was to write this fic without having Wes's and Rui's achievements hanging over my head (Michael's head, really). I don't want to write about Michael constantly comparing himself to what would have been a childhood hero otherwise; it's much more enjoyable to write about Michael's struggle to obtain information. It's a nice change of pace from all the other fics I've seen. Besides that, no one really seems to mention the first Shadow Incident much in XD anyway. Therefore, Shadow Incident #1 was covered up. How? Governments do cover-ups. Also, there aren't any generation IV or V (orVI) Pokémon (barring Munchlax and Bonsly). So the generation IV, V, VI, and later regions don't associate with Orre, therefore their Pokémon aren't present in Orre, except for the really rich or really shady smugglers, which Michael isn't going to really run into anyway. The reason why Cipher doesn't have any of the later Pokémon is because their Pokémon are by-and-large SS Libra Pokémon, which were all Gen I-III Pokémon except the Bonsly. If something in the government explanations seems weird or lacking, please tell me.

-HM