"First off. Thanks to you, Michael, I was able to return safe and sound. Sincerely, thank you," Krane began.
Michael nodded stoically. The kind words failed to lift his spirits much. He'd been in a funk ever since returning to the HQ Lab from Agate Village, the blood cleaned from his clothes (which had been mended) and his wound stitched up and bandaged. Ironically, even though he'd been stuck in Cipher's lab for over a month, Krane escaped from the ordeal with mere bruises. Apparently, Cipher wanted him in pristine health for whenever their attempts at bribery and coercion finally worked. Lovrina had only gotten impatient and resorted to physical harm after the visit of Cipher's mysterious boss, which Krane only found out about after the man or woman had already left. Apollo had been quiet the entire time, and any attempts made to ascertain why were just met with stony silence.
Then there was Ursula.
The Shadow Delcatty had done quite a number on the poor Teddiursa. It had shredded Ursula, leaving gouges on her head and torso deep enough to badly lacerate several vital organs. It was only the strength of the Pokéball's stasis mode that kept the Teddiursa alive long enough for Michael to reach the PokéCenter in Agate, where the full force of the world's miraculous healing technology could be brought to bear. Michael shuddered just thinking about the technicalities of Ursula's condition, relayed to him in a clinical tone by Nurse Heather.
Ursula had lived – barely. She was in emergency surgery for hours, requiring all of Nurse Heather's medical prowess to save her life. When Michael finally saw her again, she was covered in bandages, between which peeked some of the dozens of stitches keeping Ursula together. Michael was forcibly reminded of the stitched-up Pokémon in Cipher's lab, and he had to flee the room, gagging on bile. He was ashamed of himself for not having the courage to face his Pokémon's sacrifice for him head-on.
They spent three days in Agate, during which Michael and Krane gave their stories to the authorities to be properly investigated, before Ursula was deemed fit to travel in her Pokéball back to the HQ Lab, whose staff included a pair of researcher-nurses who could care for Ursula while she recovered.
Ursula would never again be able to battle. Not without risking what remained of her health, anyway. Michael had almost been in tears from the news. He felt terribly guilty that his Pokémon had suffered so much and so badly because of his decisions. Maybe, if he had been a better trainer, the battle would have ended quicker and she wouldn't have been hurt.
After a frantic, smothering welcome from Michael's mother and sister upon their return to the lab, the celebration for their safe return was like rubbing salt in a wound. Michael didn't feel worthy of praise, even though his deed had been heroic, simply because he'd failed Ursula horribly. He avoided his mother, who seemed to know something was wrong, and slipped away from the festivities as soon as he could, opting instead to sulk in his room. Apollo had been despondent as ever, not acting to comfort his trainer.
"Secondly, though it was a horrible ordeal, I learned a few things when I was in that desert lab. First and foremost, Cipher hasn't disappeared! The fact that they're still around is alarming. Worse, they are making more Shadow Pokémon again. And worst of all, they are trying to create the ultimate Shadow Pokémon—ones that are impossible to purify," Krane debriefed.
Michael fidgeted. He'd been hiding in his room for a few hours when a lab aide knocked on his door and told him that Krane wanted to meet with him and some other key personnel in the conference room. Sighing, he complied, returning Apollo to his Pokéball. Now, he was listening to Professor Krane's speech, while his mother kept sending him worried glances from across the room.
"Cipher must be plotting world domination using Shadow Pokémon as their weapons again," Krane concluded, inciting worried murmurs and scared whispers around the room.
"But never fear!" Krane continued. "To counter Cipher's new Shadow Pokémon conspiracy…"
Before he could finish, a scientist barged into the conference room, disrupting the meeting. "Director! Lily! We did it! The Purify Chamber is finally completed!"
"What, really?" Krane gaped, astonished. "What fantastic timing! It's finally finished! Lily, thank you! Thank you for pulling everyone together so capably in my absence! Okay, I think this meeting is over for now, so let's not waste any time! Let's all go have a look at the Purify Chamber."
Everyone filed out of the conference room, all excited about the completion of Purify Chamber, save for Michael, who was in a bad mood to begin with and didn't know what the Purify Chamber was, anyway. And thinking that Apollo wouldn't want to miss whatever was happening, he let the Espeon out of his Pokéball. Instead of jumping on his shoulders, like he was expecting, Apollo remained down by his feet.
Michael followed the crowd but was waylaid by his mother as he turned a corner. She hurried him to a corner, looking worried.
"Michael," she began. "I've been worried sick about you ever since I heard that you'd gone to Cipher's lab. Are you okay?"
"Well, my side is healing alright—"
"That's not what I asked, Michael."
Michael pondered the question for a bit before deciding to tell his mother the truth. "I'm not okay. It was horrible. But I will recover, in time," he said slowly, thinking of Ursula's bandage-covered body as she was hurried away by the HQ Lab's nurses. His own mental state would improve if he could see the Teddiursa when she was awake and responsive.
Lily teared up and pulled him into a tight hug. Michael hissed as his stitches were pulled. She quickly let go, looking upset.
"I'm sorry, Michael," she said mournfully. "I just can't stand it when you're hurt." She paused for a moment before offering a tentative smile. "Shall we go see the Purify Chamber?"
Michael nodded silently and followed his mother. Despite how she'd aggravated his wound, Lily's comfort still meant a lot to him and cheered him up a little.
He was led down the hall to a lab that was just across from room R-4, where he'd received the Snag Machine. It was another one of the restricted-access labs, room R-1. Michael realized that this was where he'd found Jovi watching the scientists before he'd gone to Cipher's lab.
"This is the Purify Chamber!" Krane announced once Michael and Lily had entered the lab as the last stragglers. Everyone was crowded around something in the middle of the lab that Michael, short as he was, couldn't see.
"Michael, your father and Professor Krane designed this five years ago when they were motivated by the Shadow Incident," Lily whispered to her son. "If evildoers were to create Shadow Pokémon again, they wanted to be able to save them themselves instead of relying on others. Michael, your father believed that passionately. You know that he and Professor Krane laid the foundations to establish the Pokémon HQ Lab. If your father were here now, I'm sure that he would be delighted."
Michael took a deep breath at the mention of his father, Gerard Garrison. He had disappeared four years ago, leaving the small Garrison family heartbroken. No one knew if he'd been killed by thugs or if he'd simply abandoned his family. Michael was loath to believe the latter theory. He remembered a kindhearted man with a warm smile, always willing to set aside his research to spend time with Michael if he asked. Something bad had to have happened to separate them. No one had found a body, but as the years moved on, hope that he was alive and well dwindled.
It was sad, Michael mused. He didn't know how much Jovi remembered of their father, but it couldn't be much. She would have been almost too young to remember him when he vanished.
"…While I was gone, everyone seems to have rallied around Lily and made things happen," Krane said, Michael just now tuning back to his speech about the Purify Chamber. "I'm so proud of everyone here at the lab. Congratulations! Now then, Michael, if you would come forward?"
Michael blinked. Surely he wasn't going to be given the honor of operating the machine! He had no idea how it worked. But then again, he was unofficially in charge of all the Shadow Pokémon he'd snagged, and if this machine purified Shadow Pokémon, then…
Michael stepped forward, and the scientists blocking the center of the room parted to allow him access. A small, circular platform was revealed, with the machine part Michael had picked up from Gateon Port whirring underneath it. There was a slender control panel attached to the platform. Krane gestured for Michael to step onto the platform. He did so, feeling slightly self-conscious with all the eager gazes on him.
"Okay, Michael, we'll have you lead the way," Krane declared. "The glorious history of the Purify Chamber will begin with you! Are you ready?"
"Yes, professor," Michael nodded.
"Okay!" Krane excitedly said. He turned to a nearby technician and gestured. "Syler, if you would be so kind as to briefly explain how the Purify Chamber works?"
"Certainly. Okay, Michael, listen closely," Syler said. "The Purify Chamber is designed as a facility in which Shadow Pokémon undergo purification through contact with regular Pokémon." Michael's eyebrows flew up. He wondered how they managed to create such a machine. "Purification is conducted on what we call a set. This is where a Shadow Pokémon comes into contact with regular Pokémon. In the center of a set, one Shadow Pokémon is placed. Up to four regular Pokémon can be placed around the Shadow Pokémon. We have nine of those sets here, which means we can efficiently purify up to nine Shadow Pokémon at the same time. There is one thing you need to be careful about, though. Purification can only happen if there is at least one regular Pokémon on a set with the Shadow Pokémon. Understand so far?"
Michael nodded. One Shadow Pokémon and up to four regular Pokémon were placed together in one of the nine sets, where purification occurred. He was following.
"Now, the number of regular Pokémon placed with a Shadow Pokémon, and their compatibility, are key points. First, the number of regular Pokémon. The more regular Pokémon you place with a Shadow Pokémon, the quicker purification is. Next, the compatibility of Pokémon. Compatibility depends on the types of the Pokémon involved, and the directions they face. By adjusting these factors, you'll likely see differences in purification speeds. Got it?"
Michael nodded again. Type compatibility and the number of regular Pokémon affected purification speed. He got it.
"Excellent! Those are the basics. I'm sure you'll understand more as you use the Purify Chamber," Sylar assured.
"The Purify Chamber is on standby. System status is good to go!" Penny, a female scientist, reported. The crowd shifted in excitement. This was it! "Now, Michael, when you tap twice with your foot on the platform, a holographic image of the Pokémon involved in purification will appear. Well, it would if there were actually some Pokémon on the sets. When you're checking the hologram, swipe on the control panel to zoom to individual sets. At any selected set, you can configure things as you see fit. The control panel will allow you to pick the Pokémon you want to place on the selected set, position them, and so on. Any questions?"
"Yeah, just one. Where are the Pokémon I'm going to use going to come from?" Michael asked.
"For the time being, they'll have to come from your already impressive collection. All the other Pokémon here at the lab have duties elsewhere, but that may change in the future. Some Pokémon may want to volunteer their time in the Purify Chamber, too," Penny answered. "We've already set it up so that you can access the Pokémon you've stored here at the lab."
"Okay," Michael nodded. It made sense.
Lily had made her way to the front of the crowd and was looking at her son proudly. "The Purify Chamber was your father's dream," she said. "Please, Michael, start the system with your own hands."
Somewhere in the crowd, Michael heard some sniffling from someone who sounded suspiciously like Aidan. "Wow… Our long-held dream… The Purify Chamber is finally finished. It stirs up emotions… It's bringing up a lump in my throat… Sigh…"
"Ready to go?" asked Krane.
"Ready," Michael confirmed. He held his arms out for Apollo to jump into, but instead, the Espeon just wound around his legs. He was confused by the Espeon's despondence, but he let it slide for now, because here was not a good place or time for a discussion.
He tapped his foot twice on the raised panel. Sparks of light surrounded him before flickering into a hologram that floated above the heads of the crowd. Nine holographic spheres of light floated in a circle around him. He swiped on the control panel from side to side and watched the nine empty sets flick side to side while the machine part whirred in a circle beneath his feet. The crowd oohed and aahed around him. There was a faint sound of music coming from speakers set into the walls of the lab, but it was neither loud nor terribly noticeable.
On the control panel, Michael found the connection to his Pokémon storage unit. He tapped it and brought up a holographic interface from which he could move Pokémon from his storage into the Purify Chamber. He noted that someone had put Marie the Ledyba back into her ball and put her in storage so he could access her. She was the only non-Shadow Pokémon he had in storage, so he tapped on her Pokéball and moved her into the first set. She appeared in a burst of light, orbiting an empty center.
Michael bit his lip. Which one of his Shadow Pokémon should he put in the Purify Chamber to test it out? He felt a bit uneasy using the machine, thinking it would be better to at least introduce himself before sticking the Pokémon in an untested machine. But the scientists around him were looking at him with such awe and admiration that he couldn't bring himself to raise his concerns. Besides, it was only rarely that a new invention from the Lab didn't work as planned; the guidelines for completion of a project were meticulous. So, guiltily biting his lip, he chose the Baltoy he'd snagged from Browsix and put it in the center of the first set. It appeared in the hologram, its shadowy aura on full display. Its Pokéball joined Marie's in the slot in the machine part for the first set, which he could see through the transparent glass under his feet. The speakers in the wall produced a slightly louder tune. Michael could hardly make out the notes, but there was a faint beat he could follow.
The scientists watched as Michael displayed Baltoy's Shadow Meter on the hologram, another function of the Purify Chamber, and they watched with breathless wonder as Baltoy's heart remained firmly closed… remained firmly closed… remained firmly closed… and opened just a smidgen, less than one percent of the bar. But it was enough to have the crowd cheering, hugging each other in delight. The Purify Chamber worked!
Smiling, Michael tapped the panel beneath his feet twice and let the holograms disappear. Whether or not the holograms were active wouldn't affect the purification speed.
"How did you find the Purify Chamber?" Krane asked as he stepped down.
"I think it works fine, but I would still like to work with the Pokémon myself, if that's okay. I think a stable human presence would be good for Shadow Pokémon," Michael explained.
Krane hummed thoughtfully. "You may be right. In the coming weeks, we will have to watch the effects of the Purify Chamber closely, to make sure our theory is all correct and only helps instead of hurting the Pokémon. Still, if it all turns out to work fine, using this system, it's possible to purify many Shadow Pokémon at the same time."
Michael nodded. That sounded reasonable. He wished he hadn't had to choose a Shadow Pokémon to essentially be a guinea pig for the Purify Chamber, but some Pokémon had to be the first to try it out, and the benefits to using the Chamber were potentially greater than any of the risks.
Michael suddenly yawned, causing some of the scientists around him to chuckle. He frowned, embarrassed, and he suddenly found the crowded room intolerable. "I'm going to bed," he announced, turning to exit the lab. "I've had a hard time recently, and I'm sure you need to monitor the Purify Chamber… Thank you all for your hard work!" he called behind him, not waiting for any response.
Michael headed back to his room, Apollo on his heels. He realized that, despite his Pokémon's usual running commentary on everything he saw, Apollo had been silent the entire time Michael had been working with the Purify Chamber. Once he was safely back in his room with the door pulled shut, he decided to gently address Apollo's sulking.
"What do you think of the Purify Chamber, Apollo?" Michael asked.
It hardly matters what I think, Apollo replied, head bowed.
"Okay," Michael said, eyes narrowing. He was too exhausted to keep pushing with the roundabout method, so the blunt approach it was. "This has gone on long enough. What's with you, Apollo?"
Nothing.
"That's a lie and you know it. Tell me what's wrong." Silence. "Please."
…I attacked Lovrina. I saw her shoot you and something inside me just… snapped. I wrenched the gun out of her hand and slammed her against the wall. I haven't felt the same since.
"You're feeling bad because you protected me?" Michael asked incredulously.
You don't understand. I broke something, Michael! Apollo shouted, bristling. I would be willing to physically harm anyone who dares to hurt you, now. That's not something trained Pokémon are supposed to do! Or feel! I'm worthless, now!
Living in a Pokémon lab, Michael had been taught many strange, interesting things about Pokémon. One of these things was that Pokémon that had been trained almost all carried an instinct to avoid seriously attacking humans and other Pokémon with the intent to harm. Untrained Pokémon with a bad trainer could harm, wild Pokémon could harm, but most fully trained Pokémon could not, even if they were ordered to, almost as if there were a genetic or neural switch that was triggered at some point in their training. It was extremely difficult and time-consuming to train a Pokémon to attack to harm on command. If a well-trained Pokémon still had the desire to seriously attack others, it almost always meant that something was seriously wrong with the Pokémon.
But Michael didn't even hesitate. "Don't you dare say that. Don't you ever say that!" he growled. "You'd never be worthless to me, no matter happens or what you do. You're my best friend; I don't take that lightly!"
I don't deserve it, Apollo said miserably. I hurt someone. What if I hurt you, too?
"Well, it wasn't exactly a normal situation, was it?" Michael countered. "You didn't just randomly hurt her. She attacked first. It was self-defense. And you know what?" Michael kneeled to be eye-to-eye with Apollo. "If someone really attacks me again, I can count on you to protect me."
Apollo fidgeted uncomfortably. But—
"No buts. You made the right choice. You saved my life. That is something I will always be grateful for and always approve of. Who cares that some crazy chick got slammed into a wall?"
Apollo sighed and sent Michael a feeling of resignation and acceptance. It will take some time for me to accept your words as truth. And one last thing. …Does this make me a Shadow Pokémon? Apollo asked meekly.
"No!" Michael vehemently denied. "You still have feelings. You still have a conscience. If I've learned anything about Shadow Pokémon, it's that they don't have those things."
Still, can you please check? Apollo pleaded.
"If it makes you feel better," Michael said, reaching back to activate the Aura Reader. He scanned Apollo. There wasn't a single trace of a Shadow Pokémon's black aura. "Nothing."
Apollo drooped, emotionally drained. Okay.
Michael chuckled. "We make quite a pair, don't we? There's me with my problems with saving Pokémon, and you with your issues protecting me…"
That wrung a laugh out of Apollo. I suppose.
Later, as Michael was taking painkillers, he mused that the headache he'd gotten from the conversation was entirely worth it. He would do anything to help his Pokémon, especially Apollo.
A troubling thought hit him as he was falling asleep, though: Shadow Pokémon were extremely attractive to criminals because they wouldn't hesitate to hurt or kill on command, no extra intensive training necessary. How was he supposed to keep himself and his Pokémon safe if he kept involving himself with this problem? And how would anyone keep more Shadow Pokémon from being made even if Cipher fell?
Michael found that Houndour, Seedot, and Spheal were all ready to be purified when he checked their statuses, even though he hadn't spent much time working with them, because of all the battles they'd faced in Cipher's lab. He felt guilty that he hadn't paid much thought to his Shadow Pokémon during his stay in Agate beyond making sure they were healthy and fed, but he had honestly been distracted by Ursula's plight and the authority's questioning.
So he tracked his mother down to let her know that he was heading back to Agate to purify his Pokémon. Understandably, she was leery of letting him leave the lab again so soon.
"You just got home, and you're in no shape to travel by yourself! You've barely let the gash in your side heal!" she exclaimed.
Michael winced and didn't reflexively put a protective hand over the stitches in his side only through sheer willpower. "Mom, Nurse Heather in Agate can remove the stitches just as easily as the nurses can here. I might prefer Nurse Heather, to be honest, because the nurses here don't really work with humans."
"Nurse Heather works with Pokémon far more than people," Lily replied irritably.
"Okay, fair, but Agate also has a human-only clinic because a lot of the residents are old," Michael countered.
"I don't feel comfortable letting you leave the lab so soon after you provoked those people and rescued Professor Krane. You could be attacked out there!"
"Apollo is an excellent guard, never mind my other Pokémon, not to mention that the lab isn't super safe because Professor Krane was attacked and kidnapped right on our front lawn!" Michael snapped. Michael instantly regretted the words when Lily turned a sickly gray color at the reminder; he didn't want to deliberately hurt or scare his mother.
Lily took a deep breath. "We have been working to improve security here. We don't have that much extra money, but we have hired some guards. Haven't you noticed them? We're building a checkpoint on the road, too."
Ever since this entire Shadow Pokémon incident had started, Michael had been too preoccupied to pay close attention to the goings-on of the lab, but he did fuzzily recall some construction equipment along the road to the lab and some new faces that looked less like scientists and more like police officers.
"I guess I've seen them around," Michael said, a bit less harshly, "but that doesn't mean that I and my Pokémon aren't capable. And even if I am attacked, in this part of Orre, police backup would come quickly, plus any bystanders would be more willing to help me out. I'll be okay, Mom."
Lily grouched, "Why do you want to leave so badly? It can't be that you just want to purify your Pokémon. You could do that here with the Purify Chamber."
Michael sighed. "I know, but I'm not really comfortable using it yet. It just seems so… mechanical and impersonal, even if it takes less time than traditional purification. And it still hasn't been completely tested yet, so I'd rather not use it much until then. I don't even know how it purifies Pokémon, just that it does."
"You should talk to Professor Krane if you want to know more. He knows the most about the process. I suppose it's not unreasonable for you to be wary of it… after all, it does manipulate a Pokémon's physiology. Even if it's for a good purpose, it wouldn't be hard for something to go wrong," Lily said, sighing heavily. "I'd avoid mentioning all this to the other members of the lab. They're still celebrating the Chamber's initial success."
"Not a problem. So can I go?" Michael asked.
Lily studied her son closely for a few silent, tense moments. Michael wasn't sure what she saw, but whatever it was caused her shoulders to slump with resignation. "You can go," she said. "Just, please be careful, okay? And keep in contact."
"I will, Mom."
Michael packed an overnight bag and traveled back to Agate without incident. When he arrived, though, he was fussed over by the residents because of his injury. It took him a while to escape the clutches of the little old grannies who wanted nothing more than to bundle him away in a pile of blankets. But once he finally made it to the Relic Stone – albeit with some elderly tagalongs – he purified the three Shadow Pokémon that had been his partners and had kept him safe in Cipher's lab.
The female Houndour, unlike Marie the Ledyba, loved to battle, so Michael named her Rogue. She proudly puffed up as the peanut gallery, consisting of Michael's Pokémon and the four Agate residents who'd followed him to the Relic Stone, cheered and applauded.
The Spheal, a male, was a noble sort of Pokémon, bowing courteously to the small group and honoring Michael with whiskery kisses once he had been purified. Michael tried to name him Tusker, but the Agate residents complained loudly about his choice. "That's hardly a fitting name for that Pokémon!" one protested. After some discussion among them, they decided that Kaizou-ou (nickname Kaizou), or Walrus King, was a much more fitting name. Even though Michael was a bit miffed at the residents for butting in and choosing a different name, he couldn't deny that it was more fitting and more elegant. Plus, Kaizou seemed to like it better.
It came as a surprise to the small crowd that Seedot, another female, evolved into Nuzleaf immediately after purification, the tough experiences she'd had as a Shadow Pokémon stacking enough to cause her to evolve. Michael watched in astonishment through the Aura Reader as the green energy matrix of purification expelled the blackness of Shadow corruption, like normal, before shifting to a bright multicolored spark of light at Seedot's heart. The spark engulfed Seedot in light of all colors but predominantly forest green and smoky gray; a second later, Seedot glowed white in Michael's normal vision and evolved. Michael felt awed for a split second that evolution looked different through the Aura Reader, too, before the new Nuzleaf tackled him to the ground with echoing laughter. She was somewhat wild and obeyed only Michael, whom she respected and loved above all else for trusting her wholeheartedly in Cipher's lab while she was a Shadow Pokémon and purifying her. The elders made some joking comments that she was like a feisty forest spirit, so she was fittingly named Kodama, the traditional name for forest spirits.
Instead of returning home after the purifications, to the concern of his family and the staff, Michael swapped out all his Pokémon save for Apollo at the Agate Pokémon Center for some of the Shadow Pokémon he'd saved from Cipher's lab to start purifying them at Agate Village. He spent the night at Eagun and Beluh's house, listening to old folktales passed down in the area about Orre and the Sandy Wastes to the south. He was also treated to a handful of stories about their spirited granddaughter, Rui, and the quiet but compassionate scoundrel named Wes she'd dragged home one day. Eagun and Beluh spun the stories to make it seem like Wes and Rui cared for normal abused Pokémon, not Shadow Pokémon, and Michael guiltily pretended that he didn't know more than what he was being told. But if Wes and Rui really had taken down Cipher during the Shadow Incident, maybe they could help Michael and the HQ Lab members combat Cipher again?
"Is there a way to contact them? I mean, it sounds like they were great with abused Pokémon. I know Shadow Pokémon aren't like your average abused Pokémon, but maybe they could still help? Or give a few pointers?" Michael asked hopefully.
Beluh eyed Michael a bit suspiciously, but Eagun shook his head guilelessly. "We haven't been in direct contact for over three years," he said, slumping. "Oh, Rui still sends postcards at the holidays, so we know she's fine and still traveling with that rascal of a boy, but we don't know where she is or how to contact her. She left her P*DA with us when she left Orre."
Great, Michael thought testily. Shadow Pokémon have popped up again and the people who dealt with it before have vanished. Just perfect…
His irritation with that knowledge followed him all the way to Mt. Battle. It was easier to be angry with the situation than to acknowledge the deep-seated fear that he would have to be the one to continue engaging Cipher and snagging Shadow Pokémon, exposing himself and his Pokémon to further danger. He and Ursula had almost died last time they'd engaged Cipher! He couldn't be the only person both strong and trustworthy enough to carry the Snag Machine!
Thankfully, Apollo and Vander (who waylaid him before he could enter the challenge area to ask about what had happened at Cipher's lab and offer his continued support) helped him reign in his emotions to present a calm, genial front for his Shadow Pokémon. Depending on the Shadow Pokémon, attempting to interact or battle with them while in a bad mood could lead to disastrous results.
He spent a month training nonstop on Mt. Battle and shuttling back and forth between Mt. Battle and Agate Village, mooching off Vander and Eagun and Beluh for food and living accommodations. Thankfully, his worried mother was too busy to drag him home, and she seemed more comfortable with the situation after Michael showed that he was in staying safe and that his wound was healing well. He slowly but surely purified all the Pokémon he'd snagged at the lab, save for two.
(He wasn't avoiding a still-unconscious Ursula, the sight of whom made him shiver and nauseous with guilt. He wasn't, Michael told himself. Besides, the Shadow Pokémon still needed to be purified, and sitting at a bedside doing nothing wouldn't help them. He needed to do something.)
Michael took care to give each Shadow Pokémon the attention it deserved, making sure that it was comfortable both with itself and with Michael as its partner. Through his work with the Shadow Pokémon, he was starting to notice each Pokémon fell under one or two of four common emotional themes: anger and aggression, fear, lack of emotion, and lacking personal willpower. Which Pokémon exhibited which traits sometimes seemed to coincide with that Pokémon's true personality, but not always, and Michael wondered what caused the variations he saw. He was also starting to better predict what to expect in the purification process for each Pokémon. Generally, the more emotional Shadow Pokémon were more likely to try to attack him (and he was, thankfully, able to escape those situations with only minor scrapes, bruises, and burns) but purified more quickly, while the less emotional, more obedient Pokémon took longer to purify. He cared deeply for each wounded Pokémon that he worked with and made sure to name each one once it had been purified at the Relic Stone. Mareep even evolved into Flaaffy upon purification, much like Kodama had.
After being purified, many of the Pokémon were stored in the lab's database for the time being, until the expansive habitat for Pokémon at the lab had finished being refurbished. The habitat consisted of outdoor and indoor segments and was situated behind the lab proper. It had been built with the lab, four years ago, but Krane and his father had severely overestimated the number of people who needed to use the Pokémon storage service, and thus it had fallen into disuse and partially repurposed. Even now, only Michael's Pokémon would inhabit the space, once it was repaired and the force field to prevent Pokémon from escaping was functional.
One exception for purification was Baltoy, who was still at the HQ Lab and who had been ready to purify not long after Michael had initially left the lab for Agate Village. The lab staff wanted Michael to be present for Baltoy's purification, which he was fine with. He also refused to feel guilty about stalling, given that the scientists said that they wanted to spend some extra time testing the machine, analyzing the data gathered from its initial subject, and studying the effect the machine had on the psychology and physiology of both Baltoy and Marie.
The other Pokémon he hadn't managed to successfully work with was the Delcatty he'd snagged from Lovrina.
He knew that it was his duty to purify the Delcatty like he'd purified the rest. It would be simply cruel to leave it as a Shadow Pokémon, its heart locked up tight and its only purpose being to obey. But he couldn't look at it without thinking of how it had torn apart Ursula; he occasionally had nightmares from the memory. It was tempting to just stick it in the Purify Chamber and be done with it.
But that would be a cop-out, paying tribute to his own fears rather than putting the Pokémon's best interests first. He was still convinced that Pokémon-trainer interaction would lead to a better purification, given that the Purify Chamber was still in the process of being tested. Plus, he wanted face-to-face contact with all the Pokémon he'd saved (though he wasn't quite sure why – maybe to assure himself he was doing the right thing by stealing them, or maybe to give them some friendly contact as a Shadow Pokémon before sticking them in an impersonal machine). So, once he steeled himself, he let Delcatty out of its ball.
He very nearly returned it in the next second, only sheer force of will stopping him. Delcatty hadn't been cleaned since its last battle and was still coated in blood and gore. Michael knew that if he didn't have the courage to face the Delcatty for this encounter, he'd never have the courage to properly purify it. So he took a deep breath, introduced himself as Delcatty's new trainer, and took it into Vander's bathroom to be washed, fighting nausea as the bathwater turned pale red.
As a Shadow Pokémon, Delcatty was a malevolent creature, furiously shredding whatever it could get its claws on. Only through the force of Michael's personality was he able to assert any measure of control over it. He quickly realized that the best way to purify it would be to have it participate in battle, though he had yet to find an opponent for it other than Apollo that he felt comfortable allowing Delcatty to battle, the memory of Ursula's mauling still fresh in his mind.
Apollo, at least, was fast enough to stay well out of range of Delcatty's claws whenever Michael allowed them to informally spar, and it was easy enough to recall him if Delcatty got too close. Apollo practiced with his psychic abilities each day, quickly becoming stronger and more precise. He was able to carry heavier loads, pick up a greater number of objects, and hit harder. Apollo took great delight in showing Michael how he was now able to hurl Delcatty across Mt. Battle's courtyard, when he hadn't been able to budge it in Cipher's lab. And the headaches he caused whenever he spoke to Michael were slowly decreasing in intensity. Michael thought he might have been overusing painkillers for the headaches, but the Aura Reader was hardly bothering him now, so he hoped to that Apollo would figure out how to talk painlessly soon to give his kidneys and liver a break.
Apollo's ability was turning out to be very handy for translating what other Pokémon were saying, especially while purifying the Shadow Pokémon. Michael knew that telepathy of the kind Apollo was using, even if imperfect, was very rare even among psychic-type Pokémon, and he privately wondered to himself how he'd been lucky enough to land an Eevee-turned-Espeon with enough potential and brains to pull off stunts other Pokémon couldn't.
One time, Michael asked why he was the only human Apollo talked to. Apollo shuffled his feet a little petulantly and replied, Don't wanna talk to anyone but you. Michael affectionately hugged his Espeon, feeling overwhelmed and happy and not quite sure why. "It'll be our little secret, then," Michael mumbled against Apollo's short fur, glad he hadn't told anyone about Apollo's ability before then.
One day, while he was taking a break from purifying the last of his Pokémon, the TV in Eagun's house turned to an ONBS news report. He didn't pay any attention to it until he heard them mention "a laboratory in the desert," after which he listened closely. It seemed that the results of the police investigation of Cipher's lab were finally being released to the public. Aside from what Michael already knew, the lab showed signs of being hastily vacated, a stark contrast to the dusty abandonment the authorities had found only weeks before. No one knew exactly how Cipher had managed to fool the authorities for so long, but a preliminary search of the premises had uncovered several of Dr. Ging Kaminko's Jet Vacuum Cleaners, which coat rooms in dust. Dr. Kaminko himself was found to be uninvolved with the conspiracy, just that he'd sold his inventions to shady customers.
Michael noticed that the report was carefully worded to avoid all mentions of Cipher. It seemed as though the Confederation of Orre was still working hard to keep the first Shadow Incident covered up.
Finally, near the end of the month, Michael received an email from Professor Krane, asking him to come back to the HQ Lab to purify Baltoy, as the preliminary testing on the machine and both Pokémon that had been in it was complete. Unable to come up with a good enough excuse to stay away, Michael acquiesced.
Michael returned to the lab, feeling equal parts proud that he'd managed to purify so many Pokémon by himself and guilty because he still wanted to stick the Delcatty in the Chamber and never look at it again, even though he'd successfully worked with it thus far. It wasn't fair to the Pokémon, which had likely been programmed to attack in such a manner and thus wasn't at fault.
But even though her condition had improved, Ursula still hadn't woken up.
Michael was greeted at the HQ Lab by his mother and Professor Krane, the former looking irritated and the latter seeming a bit sheepish. Lily marched over to Michael and enveloped him in a fierce hug. "It's about time you came home!" Lily snapped. "I've been worried sick! Why didn't you come home?"
Michael shuffled his feet and looked away guiltily. The past month had been by far the longest amount of time he'd been away from the Lab without major supervision, but he'd handled it easily and maturely. He was nominally watched by Vander and the elders of Agate, but they didn't dictate his schedule. Realizing Lily was waiting for an answer, he mumbled something about purifying Shadow Pokémon and feeling claustrophobic at the Lab.
Lily heaved a huge sigh. "Fine then. Welcome home. Come inside so we can get your injury checked out, and then we'll purify Baltoy, okay?"
Michael hummed an affirmative before following his mother into the residential wing. He heard Professor Krane call, "Welcome back!" from behind him.
Michael was just given enough time to put his bag down before Lily lifted his shirt, critically examining the thin white scar along his side left behind by the bullet graze. Satisfied that the wound seemed to be healed, she said, "Thank you for letting me look, sweetie. You do know I worry. Now, shall we go to the Purify Chamber?"
Michael rubbed his eyes, a little tired, but nodded. "I'm sure everyone has been waiting for this."
A horde of scientists greeted Michael as he entered lab R-1, murmuring excitedly to one another. Marie and the Baltoy were holographically projected floating above everyone's heads in a rotating circle with eight empty spheres. They looked like they were resting peacefully.
As he stepped onto the Purify Chamber's platform and activated the user interface of the machine, Michael asked, "So there were no problems these past weeks? How does this work?"
Syler the technician stepped forward. "We had a handful of minor problems – small bugs, you know, but nothing harmful that prevented the Chamber from working. The physiological and psychological changes in both Marie and Baltoy were well within our expected parameters for regular and Shadow Pokémon."
"Physiological and psychological changes?" Michael repeated, alarmed.
Syler nodded. "Even in old-fashioned purification, Shadow Pokémon undergo some pretty drastic mental and physical changes under the surface. The mental changes we saw in Marie's state seemed to be mostly because she was cooped up in her ball for an extended period of time, not because of the Chamber itself. The Chamber does have a slight physical effect on normal Pokémon, but these changes quickly disappear once the Pokémon is removed from the Chamber."
"And these physical changes are…?" Michael prompted, raising an eyebrow.
For some reason, Syler paled and squeaked. "O-oh, nothing big," he stammered. "Miniscule amounts of aural energy and, uh, blood are used by the Chamber as a template to nudge a Shadow Pokémon's biorhythms back to normal, w-which causes a minor stress response… b-but it's a l-lesser response than even one i-induced by a normal b-battle…" He trailed off.
Michael glared at the man. Minor stress response? What was that even supposed to mean? Was the Purify Chamber really not safe? Was Marie okay? And why was a grown man shrinking away from his fourteen-year-old scrawny self?
Krane coughed loudly, redirecting Michael's attention. "Marie is fine, Michael. Syler means to say the Purify Chamber just tires regular Pokémon a bit."
Michael huffed softly, relaxing. Krane knew him well, to be able to address what was making him upset so directly. "Oh, okay," he said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He really did need a nap after this. "So how do I purify Baltoy?"
Krane gestured at the user interface. "Engage the set Baltoy and Marie are on," he advised. "Then the purification ceremony will start automatically by tapping your foot on the platform. Pretty simple, right?"
Michael tapped the controls to engage the first set, and the hologram changed. The other eight empty sets disappeared, while Baltoy floated above Michael's head and Marie orbited them. Both Pokémon looked alert, despite recently waking up. Even in the Chamber, they could still hear human voices outside their balls, it seemed. Michael took a deep breath, then tapped the platform.
The reaction was immediate. Lines of holographic light darted from the platform, ascending along circuit-like paths which curved in a sphere. The lines rejoined near the ceiling, above both Michael and Baltoy, and coalesced into a shining ball of light. The ball shot downward, radiating multicolored waves in pulses, before colliding with and enveloping Baltoy. In contrast to the green matrix of energy produced by the Relic Stone, the green-tinged white light covering Baltoy was amorphous and constantly shifting. After a few moments, the light drained from Baltoy like water, pulling away beads of deep purple and black ooze with it. Throughout the entire process, the circuitry in the platform beneath Michael's feet glowed brightly.
Once the extra light faded, Michael could clearly see that Baltoy's aura, easily visible on the hologram, with gone without a trace. A triumphant jingle emerged from the lab's speakers, and a message appeared on the user panel: Congratulations! [Baltoy] has been purified!
Michael had forgotten that the purification was being watched by a crowd, and he jumped when loud cheering erupted. But there was still a small, relieved grin on his lips, because it seemed that the purification had worked without a hitch and both Baltoy and Marie were okay.
Michael crashed on his bed in exhaustion once he successfully extracted himself from the R-1 lab, trusting that the lab personnel would properly analyze the aftereffects of the purification. He slept through the evening and well into the morning of the next day, oblivious to Lily slipping into his room, taking the Pokémon on his person for feeding and check-ups, and returning them quietly.
He woke when Apollo, who'd freed himself from his ball, pounced on him, tickling his face with his ear tufts, rolling over his face, and generally being obnoxious.
Michael! I wanted to see the Purify Chamber working! he complained. Why didn't you let me out yesterday? Breaking out of a Pokéball is no easy feat, you know!
"Gnnuuh," was Michael's eloquent response as he tried to shake the vestiges of sleep. He blearily rubbed his temples as a telepathy-induced headache stabbed the inside of his skull.
Michael! Apollo whined.
It took a few minutes for Michael to give a coherent response, but he relayed what had happened with the Chamber while he showered and put on fresh clothes – just some comfy navy sweats and an old t-shirt. After cleaning and grabbing some breakfast, Michael felt much more human, ready to check on Baltoy and Marie with an intrigued Apollo by his side.
Penny, the lab tech on duty in lab R-1, directed Michael to the small gym behind the residential wing. The gym was friendly for both people and Pokémon, and it was equally likely to be used for some physical experiment as for exercise.
Baltoy and Marie were there, along with a handful of scientists monitoring their condition. Marie greeted Michael happily, flitting over to him and dropping on his head. Apollo, who had draped himself over Michael's shoulders, playfully nibbled on one of her feet in greeting. Michael was heartened to see Marie so joyous and carefree, a stark contrast to her behavior as a Shadow Pokémon. Baltoy – who he named Grimoire at behest of the scientists – worried him, however.
Grimoire seemed a bit listless compared to the other Pokémon Michael had purified, most of whom were rotated through a small temporary habitat and their balls while the main habitat was renovated. It responded to commands readily enough, but it seemed to flinch away from people when they came close, and it barely responded to Apollo and Marie when they tried to talk to it. Michael couldn't tell if Grimoire's aloof behavior was due to its different purification or if it was just its natural personality.
It didn't have the emotional support the others did. Regular Pokémon can hurt too, Apollo murmured, sensing Michael's uncertainty.
Basically, the Chamber works as intended… but just because a Pokémon is purified doesn't mean it's recovered from the trauma, Michael thought to himself, frowning. Old-fashioned purification helps this, but not the Chamber…
Michael quietly resolved to only use the Purify Chamber if he was having major problems with a Pokémon or if time was of the essence. No doubt the lab personnel would wonder why Michael wasn't using their invention as much as they thought he should, but it wasn't the best alternative, even if it was less time-consuming.
Jovi ambushed Michael on his way back to his room, scowling unhappily. "Idiot big brother! Why were you gone for so long? Jovi barely got to see you after you rescued Professor Krane before you ran off again!" Her breath hitched, and she looked like she was about to cry. "Was big brother avoiding Jovi? Is Jovi really so terrible to be near?"
"Of course not!" Michael replied, alarmed. "Where did you get that idea from?"
"B-big brother has been gone for so long! Much longer than he needed to be! And then he didn't even say hi when he came home, even when Jovi watched him in the Purify Chamber!" Jovi wailed miserably. "Jovi thought Jovi had screwed up so bad that big brother didn't want to come home anymore!"
Michael's heart ached, and he gathered his younger sister into his arms without a second thought. He hadn't realized that he'd hurt his sister by avoiding the HQ Lab for a few weeks. "It's got nothing to do with you. Big brother just has a very important job to do, and he wants to make sure he does it right."
"Then why didn't big brother say hi yesterday?" Jovi sniffled into his shirt.
Michael stroked Jovi's hair soothingly. "Your big brother acts stupid when he gets tired. Traveling around and working with Shadow Pokémon is exhausting. I'm sorry I didn't say hi. It was dumb of me."
"Jovi knows big brother has been working hard. But he's been acting weird, too! Meaner and scarier ever since he rescued Professor Krane. Big brother even scared that tech guy earlier just by looking at him!"
Michael twitched a little in surprise. Had he really scared Syler just with a glare? Had his experiences at Cipher's lab really affected him so much? Thinking back to the past month, he really had been more irritable, hadn't he? Just thinking of Ursula and the lab made him feel sick… how was he supposed to be his normal, carefree self?
Apollo nudged Michael's cheek, his warm weight draped over Michael's shoulders – a silent 'I am here; you are not alone.' He was loved and supported by the best. And if he couldn't try to be happy for his family, who else could he?
"Sorry, Jovi," Michael murmured. "I'm home now."
Michael felt more grounded after talking with Jovi, less like his world was crumbling beneath his feet. He no longer felt quite as afraid as he approached the small intensive-care unit for badly wounded Pokémon. Thankfully, Ursula was the only occupant at the moment.
Michael examined the sleeping Teddiursa. He spent a moment remembering Ursula at different times – when she was a ruthless Shadow Pokémon, when she'd been purified and the sparkle in her eyes had returned, when Delcatty turned her into more mauled flesh than whole Pokémon, and finally after her initial treatment, when bandages and stitches and vital machines took up more space than she did.
Ursula looked much better. To treat her injuries, she'd been shaved completely bald, but a thin tan fuzz had started to grow back. The more minor injuries were healed, leaving a smattering of white scars, while her worst injuries still required some stitches. She was missing an eye, and Michael knew that, inside her, there was enough inflexible scar tissue surrounding and, in some cases, partially replacing certain organs that she would never be able to move as freely as she once did. If she strained too much, some of that scar tissue could even tear, causing dangerous internal hemorrhaging. There was a damn good reason she was barred from ever battling again.
Ursula also still hadn't woken up yet, even though there was no specific medical reason that the doctors had found yet that she was still asleep.
Michael felt his eyes watering again as he thought of the specifics of her condition. If he'd just been a better trainer, none of this would have happened. He felt pathetically grateful that Apollo was with him now, a warm comfort draped over his shoulders.
"I'm so sorry, Ursula," he murmured, extending a shaky hand and gently rubbing Ursula's head. The new growth of fur prickled his skin. "This shouldn't have happened to you."
He closed his eyes, overwhelmed. He couldn't help but remember Apollo, as a tiny Eevee in a hospital bed just like this one, struggling to purge the toxins he'd been fed by cruel children at Michael's former school in Gateon. Michael had been unable to keep his Pokémon safe then, too. His imagination, unbidden, then conjured an image of Apollo, as an Espeon, replacing Ursula as the one scarred and stitched up from some horrific injury. He shuddered, feeling sick. If he kept engaging Cipher in battle – and that was looking increasingly likely, because he was still the most qualified to take them on (and wasn't that disturbing, that in a lab full of smart and competent adults, a fourteen-year-old was more qualified than any of them to battle Cipher) – the likelihood of Apollo or any of the other Pokémon he'd grown to care for being terribly hurt was too damn high. He couldn't do this!
Cool, blunt claws lightly brushed his hand, and Michael's eyes snapped open in astonishment. Ursula blinked at him blearily, and she gave him a weak smile. In a low, raspy voice, she said, "Urs urs, ursa…"
Apollo quietly translated, with reverence, She was waiting for you to wake up. She wants you to know that she's okay.
Michael felt a tear slip down his cheek. "I'm so glad you're alive. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."
Ursula whuffed. You already saved me, remember? I would rather face a thousand injuries than be a Shadow Pokémon, Apollo relayed. Don't let this stop you. Even in this state, I will support you however I can…
Even when the nurses booted Michael out of the intensive-care unit to examine Ursula, automatically alerted to her wakefulness via the monitoring machines, Michael couldn't stop crying, feeling like Ursula's kindness had cleansed his spirit of some festering wound.
The next day, Michael awoke refreshed and energized. He visited Ursula again, bolstering his resolve to face Cipher with his head held high. But he needed more information about them, first. He tracked down Professor Krane and Lily scanning sheets of data in a small lounge. Jovi was there too, staring at the data with a deep, confounded furrow in her brow.
Michael cleared his throat to get their attention, then asked, "Any news from Cipher?"
Lily frowned, displeased. "Michael, Cipher is dangerous. You've already made yourself a target. You shouldn't pursue them further."
Michael scowled, digging in his metaphorical heels. "Okay, one, I never said I was going to go after them. I want to know what's going on. Two: Mom, you just said that I'm already a target. Sticking my head in the sand and being unprepared if they come sounds like a spectacularly bad idea. And three, how would we recover the Shadow Pokémon from Cipher if I don't?"
Lily shot an angry look at Professor Krane. "There are plenty of other trainers at the lab now who could take the Snag Machine. It just needs to be readjusted."
"Lily, we've discussed this," Krane groaned.
"I don't care that he's the strongest and most trustworthy one here! My boy should not have to be the first line of defense against those murderous thugs!" Lily seethed.
"You didn't see him in the lab," Krane replied, eyes shadowed with memories. "I don't like it either, but there's no question he's more than capable of surviving and coming out on top. And at this point, do you really think he could be kept out of this? Even if we wanted him to?"
Michael shifted uneasily from foot to foot. He'd never seen Lily and Krane argue – at least, not like this. "Don't I get a say about if I fight Cipher?" he meekly interjected.
Krane sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We've discussed it a bit, and… Well, your mother is adamant that you not involve yourself with this further, but even she can't deny that you've been more effective at stymieing Cipher's operations than we'd ever imagined. As for me, I think it's your choice. Would you continue using that Snag Machine, Michael?"
"Yes," Michael said firmly, without hesitation.
Lily wilted. "Michael, please, reconsider. It's terribly dangerous."
"I can't just sit around and do nothing," Michael retorted. "I'll be fine, Mom."
"It looks as if you'll have to get busy with the Snag Machine, then," Krane said solemnly. "I have no doubts that Cipher has created many more Shadow Pokémon already."
Michael nodded. "Of course. Now, what's Cipher been up to?"
"We don't know. They've gone to ground since you cleaned out their lab. But… Lily, have you made any progress with the flashdrive we brought back from Cipher's lab?" Krane asked.
"Oh, yes, I asked Datan to analyze the contents of it. He's our best hacker, you know," Lily replied resignedly. "I haven't been able to check on him much, and it seemed he was struggling with it, but after a few weeks, even with the extra work from the Purify Chamber, it should be ready." She paused thoughtfully. "Michael, I suppose you could go upstairs and check on Datan yourself."
"Big brother's tired, so Jovi will go!" Jovi piped up.
Michael, Krane, and Lily all jumped. They'd all forgotten that Jovi was there too – she'd been uncharacteristically quiet the last few minutes.
"Oh, no, Jovi, it's okay! This is for work!" Lily deflected.
But Jovi didn't pay attention to her mother and ran out of the room anyway, headed for Datan.
Krane laughed, a little strained. "Jovi never ceases to surprise me. Seeing her boundless energy makes me really realize I'm back home."
"Oh, Jovi. There's no stopping you," Lily said, a little warmer. "Please, Michael. Go ask Datan how he's doing in his office upstairs."
"Okay," Michael said before hastily making his escape. It was always awkward when the adults argued.
"You know there was no stopping or dissuading him. He's too much like his father… and Wes."
"…"
"Think of it this way, if it makes you feel better. He'll be able to trust us and rely our support. Would you rather that he went alone, behind our backs?"
"…You never should have given him that Snag Machine in the first place."
"I know. But he's the kind of person who would have found a way to involve himself anyway, don't you think?"
Michael took the elevator upstairs and made his way to Datan's office. Inside, there was only Jovi, who was looking around with a puzzled look on her face. Even though the office was in total disarray, looking like a paperwork bomb had exploded inside it, Datan was nowhere to be found. The small security terminal in the wall – another recent addition to security – showed that Datan had keyed out of the main building but was still within the perimeter of the lab.
"Did you scare him off?" Michael asked.
Jovi pouted. "Of course not, big brother! He wasn't here when Jovi got here! This is strange. Jovi wonders where he went."
Michael released Rogue the Houndour, her nose being keener than Apollo's. "Okay, Rogue," he said. "See if you can find Datan. He's always sitting in this chair. Can you follow the freshest scent?"
A hand clamped down on his arm. "Nuh uh, wait," Jovi said, a steely look in her eyes Michael had never seen before. "Jovi has a few things to say before big brother runs off."
"Uh, okay…?" Michael stammered.
"The adults here can be silly," Jovi began casually. "They say kids aren't allowed to know about certain things, but they're not careful about who's listening nearby. If Jovi is quiet, Jovi hears a lot of things. Jovi knows that Penny likes one of the new security guards because she thinks he has a big package, though Jovi has never seen Werba carry any packages around."
Michael made an appalled noise in his throat and was very glad Jovi hadn't yet learned the metaphorical meanings of certain phrases yet. "Jovi, what—?"
"Jovi also knows that some of the researchers think big brother is stuck up just because he was the one chosen to have the Snag Machine. Jovi knows that others think big brother is scary or sad or made wrong because he likes Shadow Pokémon more than kids his age. Jovi knows that Michael will have to face more of the bad guys that took Professor Krane."
Jovi looked down at her shoes, gathering her thoughts. Michael wasn't sure what to make of this new, insightful Jovi, the one he'd seen a glimpse of before in Gateon Port. "Jovi knows Mommy will never let Jovi come with big brother. And even if Jovi wanted to, there is nothing Jovi can do right now to protect him out there."
Jovi stared straight into Michael's eyes, completely serious. "But Jovi can help big brother here. Jovi can find healing potions or other useful things, and Jovi can help purify the Shadow Pokémon big brother snags, and Jovi is also trying to understand the things the scientists are making so she can make her own helpful things. Jovi wants to support big brother however she can."
Michael stifled his kneejerk response to tell Jovi absolutely not, because that's what Lily had just tried to tell him, and it hadn't worked. "…I'll think about it."
"You better," Jovi said, before she abruptly cheerily again, her entire demeanor brightening. "Now, big brother has to find Datan! Off you go!" She pushed Michael out of the room as quickly as she could. "No time to waste! Jovi will go back to Mommy!" She ran off in the direction of the connecting bridge between the residential and lab wings.
Michael gave Rogue a bewildered look. "…What just happened?" he asked slowly.
Without Apollo to translate – an Espeon was much larger than an Eevee, and they'd been flagged down once by a new security guard as breaking the HQ Lab's rules, so Apollo couldn't come out as freely as he used to – Michael could only guess at what Rogue's whine meant. "Well, did you at least get Datan's scent?"
Rogue barked in acknowledgement and butted her head gently against Michael's knees toward the elevator. She led him through the first floor and then outside. People passing by Michael either smiled at him and his Houndour nervously or shied around him, whispering to their companions. Jovi was right: he'd gained something of an infamous reputation in the Lab. It was strange, being treated so differently, but Michael had no idea how to change the situation, and it wasn't overly bothersome anyway, so he put it out of his mind.
Rogue guided him down the path toward the vehicle storage shed before Michael saw Datan, scratching at the ground with his shoe and mumbling despondently to himself.
"Thanks, girl," Michael said before raising his voice. "Datan!"
Datan screeched and visibly jumped before he curled in on himself. "Waah! I'm sorry, Professor! I couldn't decipher it!" he cried, holding his head in his hands. Datan peeked between his fingers to see Michael watching him confusedly. "Huh? Oh, it's you, Michael," Datan realized, straightening a little and putting a hand on his chest. "You scared me half to death!"
"Sorry," Michael apologized, not quite sincere. "Anyway, I'm here to see how much progress you've made on that flashdrive…?" Though Datan's outburst seemed to imply that he hadn't been able to do much, despite all the time he'd been given.
Datan buried his head in his hands, distressed. "That flashdrive is more heavily protected than a bank vault," he mumbled. "I haven't had any luck with it. It would take a seriously talented guy to break through and get at the contents."
"A seriously talented guy, you say?" Krane's voice said from above Michael. (Now it was Michael's turn to jump.) Krane was leaning over the fence from the upper terrace of the lab; neither Datan nor Michael had noticed him approaching.
Datan bowed deeply to Krane. "Awaah! Professor! I'm terribly sorry! I devoted all my spare time to this, but I still wasn't able to crack it open!"
"It can't be helped," Krane soothed. "If it's a seriously talented guy we need, well, I think I may have a solution."
"Who would that person be?" Datan asked hesitantly.
"Nett, in Pyrite Town. I'm confident that he will be able to get at the contents of that flashdrive."
"Oh!" Datan exclaimed. "Yes, he would be able to crack the flashdrive."
"Who's Nett?" Michael asked.
"He works for ONBS," Krane replied.
"ONBS?" Michael parroted. The news station? The one based in Pyrite that had been founded three years ago by a group of teenagers? What would a genius hacker be doing working for a TV network, of all things? There had to be more to the guy than just that. Otherwise, there was no way Krane would be sending the flashdrive to him. "So I guess someone needs to go to Pyrite to deliver it?"
"Right," Krane nodded.
"I'll take it," Michael volunteered. He'd been feeling restless at the lab, between the disquieting behavior of the staff members and his sudden awkwardness with both his mother and Jovi. It wasn't that he was craving danger and adventure; he was just… feeling a little antsy and out of place because of his experiences.
"Okay," Krane said, looking unsurprised. "I was planning on having Aidan take it, but you're more than capable. Even if Lily will have my head for sending you to go wandering around Pyrite by yourself…"
"I'm hardly defenseless," Michael reminded, scowling. Being treated like a child felt stifling. He'd heard the unsavory rumors about Pyrite Town, of course, but after handling Cipher's lab, Michael was sure that Pyrite was nothing he couldn't manage.
Krane nodded. "Alright. Datan, hand the flashdrive to Michael, please."
"Okay." Datan gladly fished around in his lab coated and pulled out the flashdrive, holding it out for Michael to take. Michael accepted the small device, thinking how strange it was that so much important information could be stored and hidden on something so small.
"Do you know how to get to Pyrite?" Krane asked.
"Of course," Michael said, bringing out his P*DA and pulling up the coordinates for Pyrite. It was almost directly southeast of the lab, nestled among the tall plateaus and canyons in that area. "I have the supplies I need to safely make it through the desert. Don't worry about me. I'm prepared!"
Krane grinned. "Go, and be careful. I'll let your mother know what you're doing."
"Thanks!" Michael called behind him, already jogging up the path to get to his scooter. "I won't let you down!"
A/N:
Right. So, it's been a few years since I last updated this fic, and I wanted to come back to it. Reading over the past few chapters was a little cringy in some places, because my writing style has matured quite a lot since then, but I'm going to choose to keep going instead of redoing the earlier chapters because I'd prefer not to accidentally delete something that gets referenced later.
Initially, this chapter was supposed to carry the story to Pyrite Town, through the first events in the ONBS building, and to the Rock Pokéstop. Obviously, that didn't happen, largely because this chapter exploded in my face due to all the character stuff I had to resolve. I spent so much time character building and resolving character conflicts of all kinds that I wasn't able to move the game plot forward. Next chapter, Michael goes to Pyrite and hopefully meets with Nett. Assuming Pyrite Town doesn't eat my plans and explode like post-Cipher Lab did.
A note about the anti-harm instinct of Pokémon that I mentioned: basically, most trained Pokémon don't want to seriously hurt other people or Pokémon, like how most well-adjusted people don't want to hurt others. Badly-trained Pokémon would be willing to hurt others, but more as a consequence of still being partially wild than the bad training. A thug's Pokémon, for example, would be willing to knock others around a bit, but nothing lethal or permanently damaging. Training most species of Pokémon to harm on command is much harder than training a human to harm on command, and some species are easier to train in this manner than others. Basically, Apollo freaked out because Espeons are not easy to train to attack with the intent to harm and because he is well-trained. Even if Lovrina just walked away with bruises, Apollo would have been willing to do worse. Hope it makes sense – this will be important for another non-canon mechanism in Pokémon that will have significance later.
I'm naming all the Pokémon Michael snags, even the ones that don't really appear as anything other than Chamber fodder, because I feel like it. Here are the minor Pokémon featured in this chapter:
Mareep (m): Pharaoh
Gulpin (m): Vacuum
Spinarak (f): Gwen
Numel (f): Etna
Carvanha (f): Samehada
Shroomish (m): Reishi
Hope you enjoyed!
-HM