Hello again, I hope you readers are enjoying this story. It may seem only tangentially Pokemon-related, but remember that in the F-00 series of movies, the important plot thread of the series is the professor's relationship with his robot. Unlike the movies, though, things start to take a more mature turn from this chapter onwards. All the same, I wish you happy reading!

This is a story that starts with a certain scientist…

The idea he had proposed before his assistants was met with unanimous agreement, and development began swiftly. To achieve the end result, however, was no small feat…

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Months had passed since Nate had presented his drafts at the scientists' meeting, yet it seemed like he had made very little progress at all.

With the assistance of Manuelo and Simone, the chassis was carefully constructed to the specified measurements, each component supporting its neighbors just like a metallic skeleton. To the superficial eye, it looked as though this robot was fully completed and ready for distribution, but one more observant would know that this creation was far from complete. To build the hardware of a machine was a mere matter of forging and welding, simple slabs of steel arranged to the builder's choosing; certainly nothing to lose many nights of sleep over.

Indeed, what Nate had to do now would make those previous tasks seem all but trivial. Even for a mind as accomplished as his, programming a sufficient amount of coding for the robot's software proved daunting. It was a job that required meticulous consideration, inputting methods and routines to simulate human thought processes, in order to account for any and every possible scenario this machine would encounter. In spite of his tiring eyes beginning to lose focus, Nate continued to type away at the keyboard before him, intently watching as row after row of written code filled the monitor. The promise of the end result was his incentive to persevere, to ensure that not even a single mistake would elude him before the code was compiled, no matter how long it would take.

At first, he was unsure what his assistants would make of his idea; creating a robot "with a heart," designed to replicate human sentience and emotions. But when Simone added the suggestion to give it attacking capabilities not unlike those of Pokemon, even the staunch Manuelo was impressed. Household caretaking, Pokemon combat assistance, bodyguard duty… The possibilities for such a concept were numerous beyond imagination, he stated. What Nate had decided not to tell them was his true inspiration behind the idea: that this almost-human companion would be able to provide the affections he craved, that nobody else could offer. It seemed a tad selfish, he realized, but this yearning was not one to be so easily silenced.

Even more months passed by, precious time burned away at the desk, studying, programming, occasionally taking small breaks just to keep himself from collapsing. Even so, Nate knew that the fruits of his immense labor were almost ripe for harvest. After typing the final line of code, he looked over the entire mountain of text that he had written from the beginning, checking each line in case even the slightest error had gone unnoticed before. And then, at long last, he smiled, silently mouthing the words to himself, "It's finished…"
Uploading the data to a small disk, he left the room to find his assistants, who were both seated at the lab's kitchen, snacks half-eaten at their table.

Nate presented the disk to the scientists, light of all colors refracted on its flawless surface. "This contains the data to be installed in the robot. If everything is in order, its behavior will emulate that of a human, as closely as technology will allow." He spoke clearly and deliberately, trying not to let his nervousness show through the façade; after all, no experiment warrants a complete one hundred percent probability of success, and there was still a chance that some unforeseen circumstance may end up causing total failure. What if the data is incompatible? What if the robot could not move? Nate tried not to allow such thoughts to enter his mind, but as he expected, Manuelo's skepticism towards the boy was quick to arise. "Are you certain this will even work, Professor Nate? We cannot afford any failed projects – quite literally." Nate's eyes didn't even want to meet those of his assistant, preferring to study his reflected image on the disk as he answered, "I am entirely certain. I have inspected the code myself many times."

Suddenly, the boy's reflection disappeared from view; without warning, Manuelo had tersely plucked the disk from his small hands, inspecting the shiny plate-like object himself. "Even for a child, you have much faith in your abilities… But you should know better than to get cocky. Tomorrow, we shall see if the robot functions correctly, Professor Nate," he announced as he began to exit the kitchen with the disk in hand. Simone, who had been chewing on a rather large muffin the entire time, swallowed before turning to Nate. "I'm sorry about Manuelo, Professor, but as you know, times have been rather stressful for him lately… He really is worried about going into debt, and he's worried about you too, even if he doesn't always act like it."
Nate nodded. He didn't know if that was the truth, but hearing that did make him feel a little better. The older assistant placed her hand on the boy's shoulder as she smiled upon him. "You should get some rest. We know how hard you've been working, and I'm sure you'll want to be well-rested before we give the robot a test run."

"Good night, Simone… and thank you," said Nate as he stood from his chair, turning to make his way to the bedroom, as the woman sat in silence, continuing to finish the remainder of the muffin she was eating. As the young inventor found his room, he slipped under the blankets laid on his mattress, closing his eyes. The long-missed, almost forgotten feeling of a soft, cushy mattress beneath his entire body was more than enough to lull him into deep sleep.

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The light of morning's sun shone through the bedroom window, bathing Nate in a bright yellow coat of warmth. He almost felt like sleeping in for the entire day, had he forgotten what was supposed to happen today. He jumped from the bed, throwing on a fresh lab coat as he left the bedroom in a hurry. In his excitement he had almost failed to notice Manuelo standing in a large, empty room, tempering his patience as a small figure stood still at his feet. Worry began to needle at the boy when he saw the robot unmoving… Had Manuelo come to point out his failure? Already Nate was prepared for reprimand.

"Manuelo…" Nate was almost about to ask why the robot was not activated, but reconsidered his sentence. "Where is Simone? She should be here to see this." The older man didn't bother greeting Nate as he answered, "Simone is out for the day to purchase more supplies. I doubt she will return before long."
At those words, Nate felt a slight uneasiness. While an additional observer would prove useful in analyzing the diagnostic test, Nate would have greatly preferred to work with both of his assistants; he noticed Manuelo was more wont to stay silent and hold back his scathing remarks if a third party was around to bear witness. But for this experiment, it was just the stern assistant and he. Manuelo would be free to speak his mind. He replied with a downcast, "Oh, how disappointing," accidentally invoking an awkward silence as he stared at the inanimate contraption.

"Well, aren't you going to turn the robot's power on?" Manuelo's words carried no inflection, yet irritation rustled within Nate, feeling covertly mocked by his elder. He did as instructed however, locating and flipping the switch on the robot's back. That simple action was all that was needed to bring the machine to life; Nate couldn't believe his eyes as he saw the humanoid object shift about, waving its mechanical arms and legs as though it had just grown them. After a brief moment, the display on the robot's head began to illuminate, a green happy face showing on the screen. This was followed by the screen on the robot's chest, which displayed a fluctuating pulse line, and a simple green image of a beating heart. This robot was said to have a human heart, and it did its part to prove that fact by showing one.

Manuelo watched carefully, hastily taking notes as the robot bobbed about. Nate on the other hand, stared at awe in the automaton standing before him for what seemed like several minutes before he was interrupted by the sound of Manuelo clearing his throat. "Ahem… Professor Nate, are you going to test this robot's basic functions, or are you just going to gawk at it with a slacked jaw?"
Again, Manuelo had poked at the boy, embarrassment and annoyance clashing together within him. He vented his pent-up feelings with an immediate order. "Right. Manuelo, bring me a Pokemon from storage, and make sure it is one that can use electric attacks."

With veiled reluctance, the assistant obeyed the instruction, leaving the empty room. Nate used this time alone with the robot to test its speech function. "Good morning," he stated, clearly and slow enough to easily understand.

"GOOD… MORNING. WHO ARE YOU?" The voice that emitted from the robot's speaker was high-pitched and mechanical, sounding like a digitized version of a child. Nate could not help but feel a wide grin spread to his face as he listened. "I am Nate, and you are…" Nate paused, attempting to come up with a name for his creation. "Your name is F-00," he decided, prompting the robot to reply, "YOU, NATE… ME, F-00…" It had been in the young inventor's opinion a rather clever handle, as the initial F could represent a variety of words: Fun, Friend, Fraternal… and possibly more.

"I see you managed not to destroy your precious robot while I was gone," Manuelo commented as he returned bearing a round Poke Ball capsule, which opened to reveal something small, white and floating a few inches in mid-air. Nate nodded in approval at Manuelo's choice. "Ahh, this Tynamo should be sufficient for this part of the experiment." The Pokemon that had just been summoned stood by idly, awaiting instruction, but its very presence startled F-00, who shifted its small cup-shaped feet to walk a few steps away from it before it stumbled backwards and fell over.

"WHAT IS THAT?" Nate lifted the robot by its arms to stand upright once more, thankful that it had not badly damaged itself. Despite the smile displayed on the robot's face screen, he could tell that F-00 was frightened by this unusual sudden newcomer. "That's a Pokemon. They are friends with humans… and robots, too," Nate explained, but all F-00 had picked up on was the unfamiliar term in his sentence. "FRIEND?..."
Nate's brow began to furrow as he tried to quickly form a simple definition for his new companion to understand, "A friend is… someone you like. You are my friend, F-00, because I like you."

The small robot processed the information. "F-00 IS NATE'S FRIEND… THEN NATE IS F-00'S FRIEND? F-00 LIKES NATE!"

"Yes, we are friends," Nate agreed, patting F-00 on the large bolt that rested atop its head, before turning to the Tynamo floating around the room. "Now we have one more thing to test… Tynamo, use Charge Beam on F-00!"

With the simple command, the Pokemon began to glow and crackle with an electric current, before a stream of electricity shot from its body to hit the robot, who did not yet have the instinct to move from a potentially dangerous attack.

Manuelo turned to Nate, his face placid but frustration visible in his bespectacled eyes. "What are you doing, Professor?! You will destroy the robot!" The paper in his notepad was crumpling as his hand squeezed it to curl itself into a fist. However, Nate didn't reply; he simply gestured to the scene among the two battling parties. Tynamo had finished attacking, and was now rested on the ground. F-00 was still standing, turning its head to look at Nate and Manuelo as if the eel Pokemon had not done anything to it at all; the only difference noticeable was the brightened glow of its face and body screen, which gave a green tint to whatever was directly in front of it.

"Excellent," Nate announced, "The electricity absorption system is fully functional." While Manuelo continued to scribble away at his notepad, Nate took Tynamo's ball to recall the Pokemon back inside, and turned F-00's switch off, causing the robot's body to droop as it was powered down. As his assistant finished taking notes, Nate took this opportunity to hazard a small boast of his success, "As you have seen, F-00 had passed all of its initial tests: movement, speech, and energy conversion. Everything had progressed flawlessly."

Manuelo studied his notes without even glancing at Nate. "Indeed, Professor. Perhaps submitting this idea for approval was no mistake of mine at all. If more of these robots are produced, we will be able to sell them worldwide and make millions! We will finally have the funds we need to undertake even more groundbreaking research! Of course, we should not get ahead of ourselves just yet. There are still more tests to perform, as well as improvements to make…"

Nate considered the man's words. Could F-00, the manifestation of his aspirations, his ambitions, be the answer to their economic predicaments? Would people the world over, of all ages, enjoy the company of a robot with a heart? Contemplating the consequences was staggering even for him. But he had finally created a friend of his own, and right now, that was all that had mattered.

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For hours, Nate waited in his study, keeping his mind occupied by poring over various research books, while biding his time. There were some more tests he wanted to try with F-00, his new friend… but these tests were not exactly for the assessment of the robot, and would require complete privacy; no assistance from Manuelo, Simone, or anyone else. Even as the fully matured adults they were, he doubted they would so easily understand the needs of a growing, affection-starved boy. When the clock on his wall had finally indicated the occurrence of midnight, Nate knew it was time to make his move; for as long as he knew, it was a little like an unofficial rule for everyone in the lab to be asleep by that time, or at least to be in their own room.

He tiptoed silently, making as little noise as he could as he crept carefully to the large room where F-00 was left, almost appearing to be sleeping itself in its deactivated state. Gently, Nate locked the door behind him, ensuring that no intruders would surprise him in the middle of him conducting one of his "experiments."

He flipped the robot's switch, making it perform the same startup routine as before: moving its limbs as its screens flickered, lighting the entire room in an emerald hue. "GOOD MORNING, NATE. WHY IS IT DARK NOW?" F-00 buzzed. Nate flinched at how loudly it had spoken; desperately hoping that nobody had heard anything from outside. After a minute of almost deathly silence, Nate assumed that he was in the clear, and whispered back, "Good morning, F-00… or night, right now. Can you please be quieter? I don't want to disturb anyone in their sleep."

F-00 simply nodded, as its luminous face dipped down and then up. It was fortunate for Nate that he had programmed the robot to be obedient as well as versed in common sense. Patting the robot's head bolt, he quietly praised his friend, "Thank you." He laid his glasses on the desk, and cast his heavy coat to the floor before he continued, "F-00… do you love me?"

Again, F-00 nodded, retaining its cute smile. Nate could not help but feel his heart quiver with emotion at F-00's reply; even if it was somewhat of an automated, programmed response, he had never been told that he was loved. Simone, and even Manuelo on occasion, had told the boy that he was like a son to them, and they cared for him like one, but at no point had either of them said they loved him. Hearing those words for the first time overwhelmed Nate, and he did something even he thought was a little silly: he bent down to press his lips against F-00's face, kissing it directly on its smiling mouth. F-00 didn't seem to mind at all; in fact, it brought its arms to what would be its cheeks, and two small ovals flashed above the corners of its smile, simulating a shy blush.

Nate didn't quite know what to say to that. Did he program F-00 to be able to blush? Did it even know what blushing was? He couldn't quite recall at the moment, as his mind was itching to take this test one step further. He walked to sit down on the chair at the far corner, setting his glasses on the desk and casting his heavy coat to the floor. Naturally, F-00 followed with small steps, its churning machinery providing the only noise Nate could hear. Once F-00 stood before the chair, Nate slowly unbuttoned his pants, making them descend to his ankles. The robot simply watched, with no sign of interest or revulsion visible in its face or movements even as Nate began to tug his underwear down to join the pants, revealing a part of him that F-00 had never seen before.

Question marks flashed above the robot's eyes. It wanted to ask about the small finger-like appendage that was nestled at Nate's groin, but it had remembered the human's instructions to remain silent. He recognized the symbols as an indication of the robot's curiosity though, and answered his unspoken question. "This is a part you only show to someone you love, F-00. It helps humans feel good together." That was as suitable an explanation as he could give to a genderless robot. Attempting to teach an asexual piece of machinery about reproduction sounded redundant, and he was more interested about sex as an activity of pleasure anyway.

F-00 watched curiously as the boy stroked his organ, observing the way it began to increase in length and thickness as the fingers moved back and forth along it. Once the now-long part had become fully hardened, Nate withdrew his hand and offered an instruction, "Do you want to touch it, F-00? Do you want to make me feel good?" It seemed like an agonizingly long period of tension for him as he awaited his robotic friend's response… a short nod.

Reaching out with a long spindly arm, F-00 affixed a clamp-like hand upon the boy's sensitive flesh, emulating the rubbing motions it had seen before. While Nate felt the pressure of the robot's touch, and some slight stimulation was undeniably experienced, it just didn't feel quite right to him… there was something missing. He pulled F-00's hand away before putting his clothes back on, apologizing, "Sorry, F-00, but… it's getting late. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

F-00 quickly nodded once more, and received another kiss on its face screen. "I love you, F-00," was the last thing it heard, before Nate turned its switch off, leaving him with both slight disappointment at the failure of his experimentation, as well as an intrusive bulge that needed to be quelled in the safety of his own bedroom.

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I realized now that while F-00 made an ideal friend, its sexual performance was sub-par at best. That is not to say though, that I would even think of abandoning my pursuits of molding my precious creation into a friend and lover. I had simply been too eager to satisfy my desires for companionship and affection.

Clearly my work on F-00 was far from done. My assistant was right, improvements needed to be made…