AN: Thank you so much to anyone who reviewed! And also a huge thanks to Mind Where Odd Thoughts Drift, your review is making me fall out of MY chair while I type this! XD Well, this is the first chapter where you guys will "officially" meet the main character, and then we're off on our adventure! Hope you like it :D

The computer didn't put up much of a fuss as I forced my way into the dusty compartment housing its keyboard and information on its scripting codes. I discovered it read the seemingly-ancient AppleScript, which fortunately I knew fairly well. Hearing the claws raking down the door, though, made me nervous, and I struggled to complete the necessary codes, knowing I was in a race against the clock.

After what seemed like an eternity, I had finished punching in the required passwords, swiping my ID card on more than one occasion, offering voice recognition, and coded for override. The computer was now in my control.

Now, instead of speaking, I typed out the Pokémech I required:

R-059-14
R-128-05
R-232-32

I heard the hiss as locks unopened for decades jerked apart in a rush of steam. The Pokémech I had requested stood quietly, not showing any signs of confusion, simply wanting to know what their next orders were. "Arcanine, Tauros, Donphan," I said, addressing each in turn and, despite decades of disuse, falling easily into the tones of a real trainer. "Go to defend the other scientists. They need your help against the robots." I gave each one a pat and mustered a small smile. "I'm counting on you."

Arcanine nuzzled me slightly in return while his comrades pawed the ground impatiently, and the team set off. "Good luck, guys..."

I could hear the clash of the rehabilitated Pokémon against my own mechs, but forced myself not to focus on that. My duty to the Lab was completed. Now, it was time for my own master plan.

I knew I had broken rules to get this far, but that was to help fellow humans survive. This time, I would be doing it off of an unproven theory and delirious optimism. The likelihood of failure wasn't enough to deter me. While the Lab closely monitored its count of operational Pokémech, it would never know if a few prototypes went missing. I would be sending them off unbeknownst to anyone, in the vain hope that they would return... with real Pokémon.

The prototypes were, in a sense, true Pokémon as well. But their machine aspects made them just as much a Pokémech. I could use the Pokémech aspect to contact and enhance them so that they could survive the journey, and they could use the Pokémon aspect to connect with any pure species they find and bring them back. It was a plan that might just work.

I would use two prototypes for the mission: two would have a greater chance of survival and success than one, but wouldn't be as noticeable as three. On a whim, I selected the ones that had played such an important role in my past:

F-197-01
R-155-03

I watched as Chris and F-197-01 stepped back into the world for the first time in nearly two decades. The Umbreon shook himself briskly, then trotted off to investigate his surroundings, head twisting back and forth as he analyzed the area. Chris was shier, panicking a little, and jumping straight into the air when a little flame spewed from her back. The burns had made her more nervous than I'd thought.

They certainly weren't the ideal Pokémech for the job. One was scared out of her own skin, the other could care less about our situation. But somehow I felt they could do it.

They had to.

F-197-01

My good eye opened slowly, but the scanner that replaced the left one was already absorbing and evaluating data. I would never get used to that rush of knowledge that came with it every time I saw something new.

Someone caught my glance. An older man, probably in his fi-

Name: Russell Thornhill.
Age: 53
Gender: Male
Body Type: Medium fitness
Health Status: Tired, but not ill.

The data stream came flooding through my brain. That never happened to me before the operation. I wonder if other Umbreon always thought like that. Maybe there was more wrong with me than just my eye.

I didn't want to hear any more of what could be figured out by the scan, so I switched it off. The red glow dimmed to a lifeless gray, and I twisted my head back and forth to get a view of my surroundings. Suddenly, a hand swooped down and caught me. The old man. I remembered why I had wanted that operation to begin with. If a tired, elderly human could catch me by surprise, I'd never survive.

"Steady there, F-197-01," he cautioned me as I struggled angrily. I hated that name. It was so mechanical. So unlike the flesh and blood Umbreon I used to be.

Having learned my lesson, I switched the scanner back on, and almost immediately the heat-sensing function drew my gaze to the Pokémon he was holding in his other hand. A Cyndaquil.

Name: Chris
Age: 19 Years Chronological, 1.5 Years Biological
Gender: Female
Body Type: High Fitness
Health Status: Nervous, but not ill.

I wondered what all that chronological and biological junk was about. But my attention was soon pulled away by the man looming over me.

Before I could react, he pinned me under his elbow, grabbing at my scanner with one hand and wielding a bulky cable in the other. Of course. The UpGrade Wire. Any Pokémon that underwent an operation was given a slot in their new machinery that would allow the scientists to update their drives.

And then the information was streaming in again, but not in the way my scanner usually does it. I was getting a story this time. Images flashed in my mind's eye, and voices sounded. Just like that, I had a mission.

I looked up at this old man, knowing what he wanted me to do. I must go to the wild, find the pure Pokémon, and bring them back. And I would take this Cyndaquil, Chris, as my partner in that journey.

I remembered, dimly, the time when he saved me. When my rings became the bold lines that now define me. I knew I owed this man my life. I knew I had to repay him. But there was no way I would allow these scientists to control me. I am not just a number of their making.

I am Zero, and I will succeed.

AN: Well, that's all for now! I'll update again tomorrow, but after that we'll be all caught up and updates will be weekly instead. Thanks for reading, and please review if you get the chance! Constructive criticism is welcome ^^

Thanks! :D

~Elekiddish