Poke-genetics: sky diving
He swallowed loudly. He had to say it.
«Why are you doing all those horrible things, dad? »
«What are you talking about? » his father replied, sounding perfectly sincere.
For a split second, Genno hoped it was true. He wanted to believe in his father.
His hopes were crushed.
«Are you saying experimenting is wrong? I brought you up better than that, Genno. »
It was like a punch to the face. Genno's voice was faint.
«You… taught me about curiosity and science… not about something as monstrous as that. »
«What is so monstrous about me experimenting to discover the secrets of poke-genetics? »
«The part where it becomes torture of living sentient beings, humans include! » Genno shouted.
«But, Genno, science has always worked this way. It is an art that has feed of the study of living creatures, regardless of their consent or their feelings. You showed interest in it yourself. Why didn't you come to study with me when I took over this stupid organization? »
«Because they are a bunch of criminals that are making people suffer! And you're the worst of them! »
At that, Jonathan chuckled.
«Genno, the way you sound, if I didn't know how stupidly righteous Stan is, I'd swear you were his son and not mine. »
«Stupidly righteous? Refusing to experiment on sentient creatures is stupid? »
«Now, now, Genno, you sound like those fools in the age of the poke-witch hunts. Shunning scientists because they are ahead of their time… what a pity. »
This was completely mad. Genno felt a burning anger raise in him.
«You're not ahead of your time… you're just a sad, mad man. » he said as he searched through the chemical products of the lab.
«Don't talk to your father like that, young man. » Jonathan's voice echoed with a tone of warning.
«Oh, so I'm your son now? Make up your mind! What kind of father are you anyway? You ordered Janes to throw a DNA sample at me! » he continued his rant as he placed a bottle on the ground next to the door.
«For an experiment to be successful, you need the right test subject. Considering that you are well versed in poke-genetics, you make an ideal test-subject. Besides, you always said that you liked dittos. I was doing you a favor. »
«What kind of reason is that? You like strawberries, but I've never see you turn into one. »
Jonathan laughed at the ridiculous example.
«Don't laugh! Because your argument is as stupid as that! Besides did it not occur to you that I would have agreed to be transformed in an experiment if you asked? »
«Yes, and since you were willing anyway, there's no problem, right? »
«No! It would have been done in a laboratory, in our house, in a controlled environment and with the counteragent ready. That's an experiment, with two consenting parties. What you did was leave me alone in the wild with a new body I had little to no control over. Do you even realize how hard it had been to survive at first? »
«Greater stimuli give greater results. » he simply replied.
Genno had to force himself not to destroy his cellphone. Instead, he redirected his rage toward his plan. He grabbed another product lying in a bowl of oil and placed it not too far from the first bottle. He could only guess the distance he needed to put between the items.
«Well, it's too late to go back now. I've already chosen my side… and you're not in it. » Genno said as he started a fire with papers, the broken leg of an old wooden chair and a lighter between the bottle and the bowl.
«I could see that already. You've freed the foolish poke-geneticists, killed the cooperative ones, destroyed the data I had accumulated so far and take away some valuable test subjects. With such a serious offense, I had no choice but to retaliate. I hope you're guilty. »
«If anyone should be guilty, it's you. You were the one to turn them into pokemon. I'm working on a counteragent, I'll save them. »
«You're a fool, my son. The counteragent only works if it's used during the first week following the transformation. »
For a second, Genno stopped working and paused. He was feeling nauseous. It was well past a week for EVERYONE!
He shook his head. His father had to be playing games with him.
«Really? That'd be too bad. » he tried to sound confident.
«You are really weak. You can't even lie properly. »
«You, on the other hand, know how to lie. You've lied to me for years! »
«Now, that's an unfound statement, isn't it? I never lied to you. It just never occurred to you that I didn't care about the test subjects. I'm researching; I'm not trying to be a saint. »
There was an awkward silence between them. Genno couldn't find an answer. He just looked at the fire next to him.
«Frankly, I do not know what is wrong with you, son? You act so foolishly sometimes. For example, I do not know what is the most stupid of your recent actions: that you gave your phone number to a poke-geneticist when some were being kidnapped or that you didn't even think of throwing your cellphone away. »
Stan! He gave his phone number to Stan when he visited him… and that was the thing he forgot to do: throw his cellphone away!
They were just lucky that Pikachu had brought it along with him, otherwise… they'd have found the island.
His father continued talking.
«Honestly, if I was you, I wouldn't have answered an unknown call and even if I did, I'd have hanged up the second I knew it's my enemies. Now, you'll be captured because we were able to track the signal. Let me say it again, son: you are a fool. »
The teenager put the cellphone on the counter.
«Did you think I didn't notice? Did you think that I forgot that Janes has an alakazam? That by hearing her voice minutes ago I wouldn't think she's the one coming after me? » Genno calmly said.
In the Marco's office, Jonathan did not believe his ears.
«Well, if I were you, I'd listen closely. » Genno advised as he escaped the lab by the tunnel he had dug days ago.
A minute later, the door of the lab was opened by a bunch of Team Blast members.
In the tunnel, Genno whispered with deep hatred.
«Take this! »
Janes lead the members to the lab. It was a pity she never got to go inside of it with her alakazam when she was working for Giovanni; it would have allowed her to teleport her team directly in the lab to capture the kid on the scientists, but at least she knew where it was.
When she revealed the location of the lab, a few members got ahead of her. As they were about to touch the door, she felt a chill run down her spine. As fast as she could, she called out her wobbuffet.
Her intuition saved many members.
When they opened the door, they knocked the fragile bottle of hydrogen and broke it… next to the flames.
The fire burst! …And stopped at a few centimeters of the wobbuffet.
«Whew, that was a close one. » the sly woman said. «Good job, wobbuffet. »
She walked in the middle of the deserted laboratory, baffled about the disappearance of the kid. Janes was sure that there had been no hidden passage leading out of it, but, when she saw the hole in the wall, she changed her mind. Janes continued to explore the place. She looked at the broken bottle with curious eyes.
«A trap. Such a clever kid. A little like his father, only less vicious. »
It was then that she saw the little bloc of metal covered in oil next to the door. There was a bowl on its side, dripping of oil too. She didn't have the time to elaborate. A part of the bloc was no longer covered in oil.
The criminals were blown to the walls, thrown by the strength of the blast. Janes felt a few bones inside of her break as she made contact with the wall. A metallic taste filled her mouth. She took her previous comment back. He was as vicious as his father. She wasn't able to move her legs and her arms were barely able to.
Furious, she dropped a pokeball.
«Dragonite. The brat escaped in that tunnel. Get… him! » she ordered with a deadly emphasis on the last two words.
When he heard the blast, Genno felt a savage feeling of triumph raise inside of him.
«That's basic chemistry, you monsters… »
It really was. He had put a bottle of hydrogen close to a flame. When it was broken, the hydrogen made contact with the flames, creating a first explosion. If they didn't fall for that one, the other would get them.
He had been surprised to find some cesium in the basements, but considering how dangerous it was, it was not impossible to discover some in an ancient criminal's lair.
Cesium is an extremely reactive metal that explodes in contact with water. For this reason, it is usually kept in oil. Otherwise, the humidity of the air would be enough to create a reaction.
The burst created by the hydrogen would blow the cesium in the bowl away and the oil would eventually wear off.
According to the noise, it had.
Genno kept running in the dark, using his ditto eyes to the fullest. He had to get out of here as fast as he could. Even if his trap had been successful, there were bound to be a few members able to run after him.
He got lifted from the ground. Something had hit him in the back.
«What? »
He fell face first in the rocks, getting more bruises and feeling some blood running down his nose. Ignoring the pain, he tried to assess the situation he was in. There was something really heavy on top of him and it was using its claws to maintain him against the ground.
«My mistress ordered me to pick you up. » the dragonite stated.
«You… Dragonite? Why are you doing this!»
«It's an order from my mistress. »
«That doesn't mean you have to obey every order she gives you. Heck, you could even flee and never see her against if you wanted! Please, let me go! » Genno pleaded.
«I'm obeying her because I like her. That's all. »
«You like her? She's a sadistic monster! » he shouted in disbelief.
Genno immediately realized it was a bad idea to say that. The pressure on his back got stronger than ever.
«Do not say anything like that ever again… or I might not complete my mission of bringing you back alive. » the dragon pokemon threatened.
That helped Genno keep his mouth shut.
«If only… I could see him… » he despaired.
He felt himself be lifted again. The pokemon was careful not to appear in his sight.
«I need to think of something fast! » Genno urged his mind.
The dragon pokemon spread his wing.
«Quickly! » he thought.
He was struck by inspiration just in time.
In the claws of an unsuspecting dragonite, Genno morphed back into a ditto. Unprepared, the dragonite let the suddenly much smaller pokemon slip between his claws.
Angry, the pokemon rushed to capture him again, but, as he was about to succeed, his eyes made contact with those of the ditto.
In the cave, the light was blinding. The dragon pokemon could only catch a glimpse of another dragonite before the one his mistress requested disappeared in the darkness of the tunnel.
Genno felt the sides of the tunnel shakes under the cry of rage his chaser let out.
«Oh Mew. I better master this type of flight before I'm turned into mincemeat. »
It had been an unpleasant surprise to discover that dragon types didn't flew the same way birds did. They actually had an extra pair of limbs for that sole purpose which made things harder for a first try in that form.
«Great, just what I needed: a handicap while I'm being chased by an extremely rare and powerful pokemon. Figures. » Genno resented.
A red light flashed in his eyes and he felt panic replace his anger. A stream of fire went over his head, missing him by inches.
«Less thinking, more flying! » he told himself.
He was flapping his wings as fast as he could. He could feel the presence of his chaser. It was slowly becoming bigger and bigger, more threatening by the seconds. A single bead of sweat drifted from the side of his head.
The sides of the tunnel slowly turned red again.
Genno dived, almost making contact with the ground.
The flames missed him again, but he still felt the heat. It only amplified the feeling of urgency that was blooming in him.
«Faster… faster… faster ! » he repeated.
In front of him! There was a slight ray of light. It was the end of the tunnel! Behind him, the dragonite was working on reducing the distance between them. He couldn't let himself get caught again! There was no way he could take down a pokemon like that in battle!
Genno could see the sides of the tunnel easily now. The light was shining down on the walls of rock around them. He could probably see the dragon chasing him had he turned around, but he was too afraid to try.
«Just a few more meters… »
He could feel the fresh air of the surface cooling down the cave, riding on his wings.
«Almost… there… »
He could catch a glimpse of the blue sky from where he was…
«YES! » he shouted in victory.
He was outside! He was flying under the open blue sky!
Genno felt an ecstasy of pure adrenaline kick in, replacing the fear. He had been fast enough to outrun a dragonite! While being one himself though…
A stunning pain filled his mind.
He had been hit in the ribs by something. «What the…? » His field of vision was covered by pale orange. The dragonite had caught up to him!
«You brat! You're going to pay for humiliating me! » the dragon pokemon screamed over the wind, grabbing Genno by the shoulders.
«What humiliation? I'm trying to flee here! » he shouted back, trying to break free.
The dragon pokemon opened his mouth but didn't reply. Instead, Genno saw a ball of energy form inches away from his face.
«Holy crap! That's a Hyper be…»
The attack hit in dead on.
Everything went silent. He could not hear the roaring wind. He could not hear the loud indignation of the pokemon. He could not hear his own voice.
His head was spinning.
Genno was vaguely conscious that they were heading back toward the tunnel. His eyes were half-shut, sometimes showing image of the forest below, sometimes of the mountains in the background, once of a calm lake hidden among the trees.
A single thought was echoing in his mind.
«I… must not… get captured… »
Mechanically, he grabbed the other dragonite's arm, who was surprised to see his prey was even conscious at this point. Without much effort, the dragon pokemon shook him off.
Genno was falling. The other had thrown him away when he broke free and the teenager was not even registering that he needed to open his wings.
The dragonite saw the kid falling to his demise. He felt fear help him move faster, the fear of failure, fear of his mistress's reaction.
Genno saw the dragonite dive in his direction at full speed. He should do something about it, right?
As the dragon pokemon approached, he tried to change of position. He needed to face the ground…
The dragon pokemon roared again.
And almost squeak in surprise. The kid, the copycat that looked brain dead seconds ago, had given a flap of his wing and flown just over him.
Janes's pokemon felt a pair of arms hold his shoulders, just like he had done minutes ago.
Genno felt the dragon try to break free. In his confused mind, there was but one order: don't let go. As if having his entire mind focused on one task made him stronger, his embrace was as firm as steel.
If he had been less stunned, Genno might have noticed how fast they were going… Somewhere in his mind, he knew they were heading exactly where they had to.
The ground was approaching at an alarming rate. Genno actually had to fight the instinct to spread his wings before he could make sure that Dragonite was the one under. The pokemon only had the time to let out a scream of distress before they hit the lake.
Genno felt the water violently splashed his face as he entered the body of water.
It was like being surrounded by a silent world of calm and rest. Unable to think clearly, he morphed into his ditto form.
The pain disappeared and his mind was suddenly crystal clear. Genno's first coherent thought was that he needed to breath. The second was that dittos were extremely poor swimmers. The third was that he had lost sight of the dragonite.
Before the lack of oxygen affected him, he changed into Ash and swam toward light.
His head pierced through the water and he inhaled a large quantity of air. Genno then tried to stay in place but the task proved itself to be difficult.
His arms and legs were heavy. That was one of the things he noticed about his transformations: it healed physical injuries, but it add no impact on his level of exhaustion. If anything, it tired him even more.
Genno chose to get to the shore before he no longer had the strength.
As he was about to reach it, he sank. Cursing his treacherous body, he pushed himself even harder to reach the sandy shore.
Coughing, he slowly got out of the water and fell on his back.
He was breathing heavily, trying to get a little bit of control over his crazy heart. He was looking at the sky, letting himself get swallowed by the peace of the clear blue sky.
«It's this way! » said an unknown voice.
He jolted on his feet.
«I told you I saw something fall from the sky. » claimed another, deeper, voice.
«Maybe it was a couple of bird pokemon fighting? » suggested a more feminine one.
Genno froze.
Dozens of adults had gotten out of the woods and were now staring at him.