Poke-genetics: children
«Report. » he ordered to Captain Seriza.
«Yes, sir. The damages to the structure itself are not threatening to its cohesion, but they are expensive. The lab was trashed and the first cell room is completely out of function. The computer room is also out of service as all the machines had their system fried by a powerful electric current. We lost all the data they were holding. »
«Who is missing? » Jonathan Avery inquired.
«All the prisoners in said cell room, all the test subject in the laboratory at that time, which means half of them, and all the scientists except yourself were found in the dormitory, either unconscious or… permanently put to sleep. »
«I see… was there any witnesses? »
«A few members were working in the computer lab when it was destroyed and the guard in the prisoners' room said it was a steelix. »
Jonathan gritted his teeth. He felt an urge to murder raise inside him. There was only one person that would oppose him. How dare he? He knew of only one person with an electric type and a steelix… or the power to become one.
He turned to the two members accompanying the captain.
«Arrest Captain Seriza and put her in a cell immediately. »
The woman was utterly shocked.
«But… sir! »
«You were in charge of the men during their stay in the headquarters. It was your responsibility to mobilize them and strike back. You will suffer punishment to reflect on your mistakes. »
His harsh tone left no place for a reply.
«Also, arrest the members that were found unconscious in the computer room and the guard in the prisoners' room for their lack of proper retaliation. »
The captain didn't say a word, but she felt a single tear appear in the corner of her eyes as she remembered her previous boss.
When they went away with the poor woman, Jonathan heard a whining voice.
«Aw, that wasn't nice. Marco would always forgive mistakes due to extraordinary circumstances. »
«Well, I'm not Marco Blaze. That man was a fool to believe that trust would be enough to control a terrorist organization. Look at what happened to him. »
Janes looked at him with serious eyes.
«He was not a fool. He didn't put any trust in me. He believed I was competent and that as long as I was satisfied, I would follow him, which I did. »
Jonathan actually laughed.
«If I did not know you, I would say that you regret backstabbing him. »
A horrible smile took place on Janes's lips.
«Of course I don't. It was so fun to see the shock on his face. Plus, Giovanni's expression when I knocked him out wasn't half-bad either. »
The scientist looked at her with a cold expression.
«Don't try it on me, Janes. I'll see it coming and you'd pay for it. »
Jonathan was surprised by the aura of fear the woman let out. With another sly smile, she just said:
«Oh, do you really think you have the power to do that? Remember, I was the one that gave you Team Blast. Are you sure they'd follow you over me? »
Janes was equally surprised when Jonathan didn't back down. Instead, he seemed more imposing and authoritative.
«I do. Just like you said, you gave me Team Blast. Its ownership is no longer yours. If you wanted to be in command, you should have said so from the beginning. Now, it's too late. » Jonathan ranted without flinching.
Externally, she submitted and bowed slightly. On the inside, she kept her sly smug to herself. «Such an interesting man. » she thought. She hoped he'd stay that way, otherwise… he'd know how wrong he could be about «Power».
Stan felt a sudden change of temperature when they emerged to the surface.
The steelix had made sure the transition wouldn't be too violent by going out slowly. It didn't work out too well, but the intent was enough to please the scientists.
Stan looked around. They were still in the forest, but he was sure that they were very far from Team Blast's hideout.
He didn't really have the time to elaborate since the huge pokemon urged them to get down.
«Hum… that steelix looks… could he be…? » wondered Stan.
His questions were answered immediately. The pokemon glowed for a minute and then shrank to a more reasonable size. Under the eyes of five stunned and one triumphant poke-geneticists, Genno turned into Ash.
«I knew it! You acted too concerned when you gave me the researches! » Stan declared.
Seeing the dismay on Genno's face, the scientist lost his enthusiasm.
«What happened to you, Ash? » he asked in concern.
Genno sighted.
«First, I'm not Ash Ketchum, I just copied his appearance. Second, you should have a pretty good idea of what could have happened. »
«If you're not Ash, who are you? » Stan questioned.
«You know my father. He's probably enraged that I freed you. After all, he needed other scientist to assist him. »
They gasped.
«You're… Genno? »
«Yup, in genetically modified flesh and blood. » Genno replied with irony and a hidden pride.
He was surprised by the hug that caught him.
«It's been so long! » Stan said as he recalled the good old days. «The last time I saw you, you were five or six. Don't you remember? »
Genno blushed deeply. He forgot most of that period of his life, but he did remember a little when his father's friend was visiting. Genno remembered the joy he was feeling whenever his father's clumsy friend was coming for a visit. There was a lot more actions these days and, for a kid like him, it had been a blessing.
«I would like to say you've changed a lot, but that would be an understatement. » Stan finished with an embarrassed grimace.
«Kind of. » Genno said with a surprisingly light heart.
«Okay, I suppose you know them by names but let me present the others to you. »
He turned toward the other scientists that were standing still, completely baffled by the previous statements. Stan put Genno in front of one of them. It was a woman with curled dark brown hair and a motherly face. Her brown eyes were hidden behind her glasses, but they didn't hide her good nature.
«Genno, this is Helen Futchi. She graduated the same year your father and I did. »
The woman shook hands with the impressed teenager.
«Enchanted. » she said nicely.
«You're the one working on the premises of evolution and genes modification, aren't you? »
«Yes, that's me. » she replied.
Stan then put him in front of a tall man with a severe expression. His black hair was cut short and he was standing straighter than a pole. He seemed to be uncomfortable with the son of Jonathan Avery.
«This is Robert Hainess. »
«Hum… you wrote an essay about evolutionary stones, didn't you? »
«I did. » the scientist said as he reluctantly took the hand Genno offered.
Stan presented him to the other three poke-geneticist: Martin Heiberg, a short man specialist in neurology and brain structure, Carly Pearldaughter, an imposing woman with short black hair that discovered the genes responsible for the natural evolution and Wilfred Sturvan , a man with long blond hair with exceptional knowledge in blood analysis.
Genno was trying to refrain from jumping like a little kid. He couldn't believe it! It was a dream coming true. He always wanted to meet great poke-geneticist like them.
It was deeply disturbing that it happened because he was fighting a criminal organization. Once more, Genno thought that Fate was a prankster like no other.
«Now that the presentations are done… » began Stan. « …how about you tell us where we are, Genno?»
«This is Cerulean forest. We need to get going. I've look for a secure place to hide for now and I found one. »
«May I ask what this place is? » Stan wondered.
«…it's Team Rocket's previous headquarters. They shouldn't look for us there. »
Just like Genno was about to show them the way, Robert interrupted.
«Wait! »
They all stopped.
«May I ask you something? »
«Yes… » Genno answered slowly.
«Why did you save us? »
«You're unhappy? » Genno said while raising an eyebrow.
«No, but I'm doubtful. Are you really opposing your father? »
Genno received the critique without flinching. Stan, on the other hand, turned angrily at the man.
«Hey, watch what you're saying! Genno saved us! »
«My question is more complex than that, Stan. I want to know why he saved us and not the kids if he was opposed to his father. Surely it would have been more efficient to free the hostages...»
Genno looked angry for a second, but that emotion vanished.
«…you don't understand what strategic thinking is. » he stated plainly. «I did something that was much more decisive. Think for a second. What will happen if I free the kids? »
«Team Blast won't have any hostages to press the citizens of Kanto. » answered Robert as if it was the most obvious fact.
«Wrong… they're going to kidnap more kids. »
An oppressive silence took place in the forest. The poke-geneticists were all looking at Genno with round eyes.
«Do you understand? Until they are definitely crushed, trying to free the children will only results in more children suffering. » Genno said as he turned his back on them.
«But… Genno… the ones that are already in Team Blast's hands… » Stan tried to say.
He didn't even try to finish. He had noticed the somersaults of Genno's shoulders. He was crying.
«Dear viewers! This is terrible! Team Blast's new leader, Jonathan Avery, is furious. His headquarters were attacked a few hours ago by the wanted trainer Ash Ketchum. He sent another video which we will show immediately. » said the nervous reporter.
«Hello, citizens of Kanto. »
Jonathan's face had appeared on the television all over the region. The threat in his greeting was enough to make most people shiver.
«I am disappointed. Even with a reward as generous as the one I offered, you did not bring me Ash Ketchum and his pokemon. Even worse, you allowed him to attack my hideout and let him escape with some scientists I was keeping prisoners. » he said with a discouraged tone.
His voice became much harsher.
«You shall pay for your incompetence. » he states.
It was as scary as a death sentence.
«Half of them. »
Horror was spreading like wildfire. It had touched the parents in Kanto everywhere. Now, it was about to swallow the whole region.
«This is how many children will suffer for your mistakes. »
Jonathan snapped a finger.
«Observe. »
The screen showed closed room containing dozens of kids. The few that had understood what was going to happen were calling for their parents.
It started.
From the walls, gas slowly crept into the room. It moved slowly, leaving the kids the time to regroup in the middle of the room, still hoping for a miracle.
It was pointless.
The gas wasn't yellow this time. It wasn't really defined by one color. There were dozens of clouds of different color. They were crawling, moving horribly slowly toward the center of the room, attempting to fill it.
The kids began coughing.
The parents began crying.
Just like Sebastian, the children felt dizzy. Some were staggering, others were already on their knees, feeling the structure of their body changing.
The gas filled the room more and more until the cameras were not recording anything except multicolored gas.
After a minute of anxiousness like no other, the parents could see what had happened to their children.
A cruel laugh echoed behind the screen as many realized what had still escaped the perception of some.
They were all sorts of different pokemon in the room.
The television showed the face of a still angry Jonathan.
«That's right. It is impossible for you to tell what pokemon your children have become. I don't even know it myself. I'm putting Marco's previous threat to the next level. You won't wonder whether that pichu or that one is your lost child. You'll wonder whether that pokemon you saw the other day or the one in front of you is your child. And, by the way, I'm not making an empty threat. I've given the orders to the members to free all of them. »
Gregor Dexter once experienced what he thought of as «bottomless despair». He was not alone in this infernal pit of darkness now.
«Remember, I still hold half of the kidnapped children. If I'm not given the satisfaction of seeing Ash Ketchum in the hands of my subordinates soon, they'll suffer the same fate as those poor pokemon. »
The video switched again to the room where you could see that some members were lifting the weak or unconscious children and taking them away. Then, the camera showed 7 pictures. One of each of the free poke-geneticist and one of Ash.
«Bring them back. »
Jonathan's voice filled the watchers' mind with urgency.
«I'm waiting. »
«This is mad! » Martin protested.
Stan was trying to find an argument to defend Genno, but he couldn't find any. Something like that was what Jonathan would have chosen, except one thing: Genno was fully aware of how painful it was of a choice to be made and he was fully experimenting that suffering himself.
«Mad? » Genno asked. «Of course it is mad! » he replied, hatred in his voice.
He was still crying, but there was also a determination as burning as an inferno in his words.
«This whole conflict is madness incarnated! The police held hostage, the criminals in control of the region, them turning children into pokemon… since when was any of this was sane? »
His rant had reduced them to silence and killed their protests before they were born.
«I know too well what they'll feel like, but I can't think of anything else! It was impossible to save everyone now! I had no idea of where they were, how well they were guarded, what to do with them once they'd be rescued… and no matter if I succeeded or not, there would be more to save, harder to save every time, until they would be completely out of reach. »
Genno had fallen on his knee. He was looking down and his tears were flowing more than ever.
«Can't you understand? We have a war to win! It won't matter if we get a single victory if all is lost in the end! We… we… »
Genno's speech was cut by his sobs.
«Genno… » someone said softly.
A pair of arm surrounded him.
«It's alright. » Helen comforted. «No one's blaming you. »
When he saw that Robert was about to open his damn mouth, Stan punched him in the guts.
«She's right, Genno. We understand… even if we think it's a dangerous path you've taken. »
He managed to keep his emotions in check long enough to add something.
«I'm not abandoning all those kids. »
And Stan saw a sparkle of intelligence flash in the teenager's eyes, the same that he saw so many times in Jonathan's eyes when he had one of those ideas that won him so many poke-genetics contests.
Pikachu knocked the ratticate out with an iron tail.
«That's the twelfth ratticate I bring down. Where are they all coming from? » Pikachu asked himself.
Anyone else would have asked: why are they coming?
But Pikachu knew the answer to that question.
«Listen well, Pikachu. » Genno said in his Pidgeot form. «This barrel contains a newly developed powder that is akin to the attack called Sweet scent. »
Pikachu was listening with his ear fully raised to catch every detail of Genno's explanation.
«When you'll open it, the barrel will let out the perfume and every pokemon that smells it will gather. »
«This means… even the… »
«The wild pokemon too, exactly. You'll have to fight to stay next to that barrel, but it is crucial that you do. »
«Why? » asked Pikachu who was starting to get where his friend was going with that.
«Because I know exactly how my father will react. He'll understand that we're taking his means to experiment away and he'll respond by going overboard to prove that he was not driven into a corner. He'll use a lot of DNA samples. »
«But… Genno! This would mean… »
«I know, Pikachu. I can understand how painful it will be for them, but there's no other way. »
He paused for a second.
«This is why what you'll be doing is so crucial. With the barrel of Sweet scent powder, you're going to gather all the transformed children and bring them back on the island! »
Pikachu was breathing heavily. Behind him was the few pokemon that escaped the lab, but he could not bring them to safety until the kids were released.
There was a movement in the bushes and he jumped on his feet. Was it another enemy?
A small growlithe shyly got out of the vegetation to get inside the small clearing. It was clearly young. While trying to master his pounding heart, Pikachu asked:
«What is your name? »
The dog pokemon was startled to hear the mouse pokemon talked. It was almost paralyzed by fear but it answered nonetheless.
«My name's Jessica. »
A human name, yes! Genno's plan was working! With a reassuring smile, Pikachu said:
«Come here, Jessica. We'll wait for the other kids, then we'll go to safety. »