Poke-genetics: skirmish
Genno was flapping his pidgeotto's wings as well as he could. This form was much better than a spearow or even a pidgey, but he still had a few problems with flight in general.
He sighted. He would have to get used to it. Whenever they were traveling, he had to transform to move faster. Unfortunately, that included flying 90% of the time and it was completely irresponsible to risk their safety or their success because he didn't like it.
This time, he was the one to blame. When he bought the milk, he only purchased enough for two weeks, fearing its great conservative properties would not be enough, even if he was pretty sure some pokemon on the island knew how to use ice punch or blizzard.
Since he was the only one that could go in a town and get milktank milk, he volunteered to buy some more. He had been especially enthusiast after Ash wondered if he could just try to find a Milktank somewhere and morph. He knew that was a joke, but it left him mental images so freaking that he just had to get some milk in the minutes. Maybe that was part of Ash's plan. There was just one problem: they didn't have any money left.
This was why he was flying toward the place he was the most uncomfortable with: his house.
«Chuu… » Alexchu complained.
«It won't be long, I promise, Alex. » Ash said as he looked Genno's backpack for the bags of milk.
He searched through the articles. Where was it?
«CHUU! » he complained louder.
«There it is! » sighted Ash in relief.
Quickly, he grabbed the bag, opened it with his fangs and poured the precious liquid in a nursing bottle. Then, he lifted his son, placed the nursing bottle in his mouth and sat down, all in one swoop.
Calming down, the pichu sucked the milk out of the bottle. Ash watched tenderly as his son had his meal.
As the last drop of liquid was drunk, Alexchu left out a satisfied noise that sounded a little like a burp. At that, Ash chuckled.
«Now, now, don't do that in front of your grandma or she'll be mad. » he scolded playfully.
Alexchu smiled at his dad, not even understanding what he said. After that, he yawned.
«Okay, I think you could use a little nap. » Ash declared.
Letting his son cling to his fur, Ash walked on all four legs to look for a comfortable place. He settled for the foot of a fruit-tree not too far from the beaches. From there, they could hear the voices of pokemon playing on the beach or swimming in the lake.
«We'll be comfortable here, won't we? » he said to his son.
«Chu! » he answered with a smile.
Ash laid on his back, Alexchu on his chest. As the small pokemon drifted away in sleep, Ash fondled him, stroking his head and messing with the little bit of fur on Alexchu's forehead.
«Sweet dreams. » he wished him.
He stood where he was, listening to his son's calm breath. His mind wondered. What was he going to do about Team Blast? As Genno told him, it was impossible to just barge in the middle of the conflict. He had responsibilities, he had to take care of Alex. Even if he could find someone to take care of his son while he was fighting, there were always risks. What if he did not return? What would happen to his son then? His mother had been kidnapped. If his father went missing, he'd be alone, without a family to love him. Ash vowed not to let it happen. He knew all too well what it was like not to have a father to grow up. There was no way he'd leave Alex alone.
«Ash! » Pikachu said incredulous. «What are you doing? »
«Acting as a pillow, why? »
He understood why Pikachu looked shocked about his behavior when he felt liquid pouring on him.
Alexchu had an accident.
«Common sense, Ash. It was okay the last time in the nursery, because that pichu looked months old. Alexchu's just a newborn and if you fed him, there's an hundred percent chance that it will happen. » Pikachu pointed out.
Feeling uncomfortable, the pichu woke up and protested loudly.
«That's another habit you ought to lose. » Ash commented. «Well, it's bath time for the both of us. »
Holding him at the end of his arms, Ash took him to the beach. There, many pokemon were relaxing on the sands while their own children were playing in the lake or on the sand. There was even a strength challenge going over the lake. It seemed like these were bound to happen frequently between rival specie. This time, there were a pidgey and a spearow having a flying agility contest. Normally, he would have just enjoyed the show, but Alexchu thought otherwise and didn't hesitate to tell his father with another loud «CHU! ».
Ash looked around the beach, trying to find a particular pokemon. Luckily, there was one that was not swimming in the lake. He approached it.
«Hum… Hi. » he clumsily started.
«Well, hello there, pikachu boy. » the vaporeon replied.
The pokemon's crystalline tone and her slender grace identified her as a female.
«May I ask for your help? »
Her keen eyes identified the source of his embarrassment immediately.
She chuckled.
« What do you need me for? »
«We need a bath… or a shower. »
«That I can see. Alright, I'll help you. Follow me. »
She led him to another part of the beach. On this side of the island, there didn't seem to be any resting pokemon. He thought it was strange, but shrugged it off. Still holding Alexchu at the end of his arms, he said:
«Ready whenever you are. »
The female vaporeon first used Water gun and shot down a purple fruit. It rolled on the sand and stopped at Ash's feet.
«Use it. Its skin exhales a perfume and is able to wash away pretty much anything. » she informed.
«Thanks. »
With a delicate smile, she used another Water gun, toward the sky this time, effectively creating the effect of a shower.
Ash began rubbing the fruit against Alexchu fur. The pichu protested, but this time, his complaints went unheard.
Genno landed successfully for once, much to his surprise.
He shrugged it off immediately though when his eyes fell on his old house. It was almost the same as when they left after Ash's transformation. It was weird to look at his place and wonder if he wanted to get back inside. Most likely, it could be dangerous. After all, who knows who could be inside right now. The most plausible answer was that a few members of Team Blast were in. The worst was that his father was in the house, but those were just negative thoughts. There was no way his father would return here while he was in command of Team Blast, right?
With apprehension, he changed. His body grew taller and he lost his bird attributes, becoming a full-fledged (at least in appearance) human. He looked at Ash's body for a second. It was deeply ironic that he was being able to change into his friend while he didn't want to when Ash deepest wish was the ability to do the same.
Though today, he was not so sure about that. There was one thing Genno was sure about. Alexchu was a pichu and Ash was partially human. What it meant was that if Ash could use a counteragent (assuming that thing was possible), his son would not. He was born a pichu and a counteragent would not have any effect on him. Selfishly, he was happy not to be in Ash's situation. If only…
He slapped himself. There was a time for whimpering and that time had been fully used up weeks ago.
«Genno Avery. » he said to the door.
The system recognized the password and opened. He always thought it was a stupid password, anybody could say it with chance if they wanted to find him. Bizarrely, his father thought it was a great idea. At first, Genno thought of it as a token of affection. Nowadays… he didn't. It was probably to see the look on people's face when they thought it was a vocal recognition system.
Genno sighted angrily as he entered his previous home. His father was sending so many signals in the past! That was just a stroke to his ego, seeming more talented that he was. Oh, he was talented in poke-genetics, but not much elsewhere.
Still, he forced himself to calm down and be cautious. If there was any member, they could easily hear the door open as long as they were on the first floor. Upstairs though…
Genno felt like hitting himself. There was no reason to be relieved if they were upstairs, his room was on the second floor!
As silently as he could, he walked toward the stairs and his room.
Luckily for him, not a single noise came out of the wooden stairs. Feeling his heartbeat raising, he pinched himself not to run to his room and lock himself in.
Genno reached it without incident and closed the door. He was relaxing a little. Maybe there weren't members in here after all.
He opened his closet and reached for his purse. He forgot it when they left the first time, mostly because he had borrowed his father's credit cards. Unfortunately, since he saw his father taking over Team Blast, he stopped using it. He was sure he wasn't really important to Team Blast before, so they wouldn't really look for whoever was using Jonathan's cards. Today, he was totally sure that it would be a BIG mistake. So he began using the little paper money he had and used it all up.
He sighted in relief when he saw that it was untouched and that his savings were inside. They could last a little longer, especially with the fruits and berries in Cerulean's Forest.
He couldn't help but be caught up by nostalgia as he looked around his room.
Genno was uneasy in front of the posters in his room. There were famous poke-geneticists from a long time ago, notably the ones that invented the pokeballs. There were also the ones from this decade… including his father.
He was there, smiling at him through the paper. He was holding the trophy he won with Stan Folklow in the university contest.
Sleeping here must have happened a century ago. So many things had happened to him. Some happy, like befriending Ash and Pikachu, some sad, like losing everything he had here, some inducing despair, like the massive children kidnappings.
Genno jumped in surprised. He had heard voices!
«… no seriously, what kind of order is that: stay in my lab and make sure nothing happens. »
It sounded like two men.
«Well, those are strange, but it's like Marco taught us: obey, obey blindly if you must, and we'll be the richest. »
«Yeah… but I liked it a lot more when it was Marco that gave the orders. He was the one to save me, not that lunatic of a scientist. »
«Don't say that in Avery's house, you idiot! What if he has cameras or microphones? »
Genno was breathing heavily, much to his dismay. It was as if his body decided to betray him. A voice in a corner of his mind kept repeating him that they would definitely hear him breathe, that he would be found out.
Couldn't that corner of his mind shut up for a few minutes? He needed to think clearly. Right now, they only seemed to be talking in front of the lab. Hopefully, they wouldn't think of checking his room.
«Come on, the enemy entering my room for no reason, just as I am inside. » he thought. «What are the odds of that? »
«As good as getting turned into a ditto by criminals. » that pesky voice answered.
He seriously needed to stop talking to himself. He was much more pessimistic that way. He should go talk to Nidoking, that guy was having a simple view on things. It happened, it didn't happen or it happened but I don't care about it. No «it will probably happen and I'll be in for a world of pain. » with him.
When it became obvious that the two guys would just stand where they were, Genno sighted in relief. Now, onto the important part, how was he going to get out of his room?
On a more light hearted note, that inner voice said that if he had to seriously try to find a way to accomplish that, his life was crazy on so many levels it was not even funny.
Genno cursed as the thought gave him an urge to let out a nervous laugh.
Concentrated on that task, he did not hear one of the two guy declared that he was going to get something to drink in the kitchen.
At first, getting out of the house through his window seemed like a not too bad idea.
At first.
Now, it was just a bad idea. Genno overestimate his abilities. He thought that after flying in a few hundred meters in the sky he wouldn't be too intimidated by the height of the second floor. Big mistake. Without wings, he really felt the meters add up. He was trying to get a grip somewhere, but the walls of his house were almost perfectly smooth.
He fell.
Instinctively, he yelled. Mentally, his mind ran full speed to prevent him from hurting himself. As if whispered to him, he knew what to do.
He transformed. He morphed into the only creature he was able to without looking other than Ash. He turned into his natural body, a ditto.
His body didn't shatter like some might think. Instead, he bounced on the ground three or four times before stopping completely. He was feeling dizzy now. Forgetting the danger, he settled for a minute of rest before moving.
Genno quickly became uncomfortable about himself. He inadvertently opened his ditto eyes and regretted it. It was worse than being stuck in a swirling whirlpool of rainbows. He immediately decided to morph back in Ash's body.
«No more time to lose… I should really get out of here now. »
As he stood up, he heard something that froze his blood in his veins.
«Freeze or I'll shoot you! »
Genno's face was drained of blood in the horror of realization. It was impossible to be mistaken on the identity of that voice's owner.
One of the two men from Team Blast was aiming at him with a gun.
Genno felt his heartbeat get much faster. «Think, Genno, think! You can't be caught now! What can you do to escape? » he told himself.
«Greg, get down here! I found an intruder! » the member shouted.
Genno was beginning to panic.
«WHY CAN'T I THINK OF ANYTHING? »
The other member joined them. He was taller than the guy with the weapon and looked a lot more muscular.
The biggest of the two looked pensive.
«Hey Dan, isn't that the kid we're… ? »
«I'm sure he is. Ash Ketchum, or more likely, the new boss's son. That should give us a nice promotion, don't you think? »
They got closer, the smaller guy still aiming at him.
«Anything? » he asked his extremely stimulated mind. «Not yet! If you think it's easy to think with a gun aimed at you…» «News flash: I KNOW HOW IT FEELS! »
«Don't be so nervous, kid. I won't shoot if you don't try anything stupid. » the member assured.
Genno would have said something like: «Yeah, like I'll believe you! », but he had the feeling it would be a big mistake.
The two of them were less than three meter away from him. Of course, it was at the last second that he got an idea.
Greg was about to restrain him when Genno's face betrayed utter shock.
Both members stared, surprised.
The young man was looking behind them.
«Greg, keep an eye on him! I'll check behind us. »
Genno bit his lip. Since when were henchmen allowed to know how to react to that trick?
Dan turned around quickly, eying the whole courtyard, verifying the forest and the sky: nothing. Dan smiled to himself; the kid had tried a desperate bluff. Too bad they were two against one.
The member turned and made a pretty good imitation of Genno's face from seconds ago.
There were two Greg rolling on the ground.
The kid got him.
«Both of you freeze! » Dan yelled while pointing his gun toward the fighting Gregs.
The two men were dumfounded to discover that he seemed serious enough to pull the trigger. They both distanced themselves from each other. It was wise to obey a member of Team Blast threatening you with a gun, even if it was someone you knew.
«Now, I'll ask each of you to whisper my member number in my ear. Greg, get ready to act as soon as I discover which one is the kid. »
He then pointed the one on his left.
«You, come here and tell me the number. You should guess what would happen if you can't. » he added as a clear threat.
The chosen Greg approached a suspicious Dan. All three men in red and black uniforms were nervous. This was the moment of truth.
The Greg leaned and his mouth got close enough to Dan's ear for him to whisper.
At that moment, Greg took a deep breath.
He punched Dan in the face.
As the smaller member fell on his back from the sheer strength of the hit, Genno ran toward the forest as fast as he could. Fortunately for him, the member called Greg was athletic and ran fast which gave Genno a great advantage in a race. Unfortunately for him, the guy with that same body and had actually worked to get to that level of physical ability was chasing him.
«If I can get into the woods, I'll be able to hide or I'll see a pokemon. Either way, I'll be safe there! » he mentally said with Greg running after him.
Dan swore. That damn kid! He ignored his bleeding nose and grabbed his gun.
Genno saw the shadows of the trees getting closer. He was going to make it. Just a few meters…
The pain came atrociously fast. Without knowing, he had been shot in the left arm. Either Dan was a sniper or Genno was out of luck… Though, to be fair, he could have been hit in the legs or the chest.
Not even realizing how, the teenager continued to run. The torture was getting stronger and stronger with each move.
He bumped into a tree and fell to the ground with the momentum. He felt the leaves of the bushes he tripped into bruised his face. At this point, he didn't really care.
That wound… if it was not treated fast enough, the blood lost might actually…
It didn't matter if he thought about that he decided. He had tripped during a chase, Greg was sure to lift him in seconds and bring him back in his house until his father decided what to do with him.
Genno had no way to know it, but Greg had lost sight of him. The man had been too efficient. He realized that Dan would recover, so he made sure not to run in a way to would prevent him from shooting. Greg had run for a few seconds to his left and instinctively slowed down when he heard the astounding noise from the gunshot. Now, he had been too far away to see Genno fell and lost sight of him.
The teenager tried his hardest not to sob. Something was wrong; he should have been founded already. That was the rational part of his mind. The rest of it was just asking repeatedly for the pain to disappear.
He curled on himself, wanting to make himself smaller, to get some comfort from that childish position. As he wished for being smaller, he subconsciously returned to his natural ditto body.
His dark green color served him well, Greg walked past him and did not see him.
Genno realized instantly that his prayer had been answered. The pain had disappeared. His ditto body was in a perfect shape.