Poke-genetics: wrong
He was unable to think. What could he do? They were no pokemon in sight and he was deadly tired. To make things even easier, he was in front of a freaking crowd!
When the adults recognized him, they immediately shouted:
«It's him! It's Ash Ketchum! Get him! »
Feeling his knee going weak, he stopped standing. He was unable to think of anything. There was no way to escape them as tired as he was. He could only…
«Please… please… don't... take me to them… » he begged.
He instantly felt the atmosphere change. Apparently, that came out wrong, because all the adults were looking at him with curious or stunned expression.
«What did he say? » asked a man with an intimidating appearance.
«He said something like: «ditto di…tto to ditto». » replied a small old lady.
Genno felt his eyes open wide in surprise. He… had talked like his pokemon self?
«Huh? What kind of babbling is that? »
The old lady raised her shoulder, having no satisfying answer.
The man turned to Genno.
«Don't think talking nonsense will help you in any way! » the man said as he grabbed him by his t-shirt.
Instinctively, he knew what to do.
«Sorry, but I think it will. » he said, mentally restraining from showing a sly smile.
Of course, to others, it had sounded like «di ditto diii. ».
Genno looked intensively in the large man's eyes… and morphed.
The man jumped back in surprise.
«What in the name of Mew is going on? »
A copy of himself was staring at him.
«Ditto ditto dittooo? » it said to him with an innocent look.
Comprehension spread through the crowd like wildfire.
«Isn't it obvious, John? That's not Ash Ketchum, it's a ditto. That kid probably used one of his pokemon as a decoy. » someone told him with disdain.
Genno had to resist the urge to punch that person in the face. Ash, using a pokemon as a shield? How dare they talk about him like that when they didn't even know him?
Nonetheless, he kept an innocent face and tilted his head on the right. Dittos didn't have the reputation of being the brightest beings on the planet. This made things easier for him. Looking like he didn't understand, he said:
«Hey, you wild pokemon out there, please help me! Distract the humans or whatever for a few seconds. I need your help! I don't want to be experimented on! »
The more he spoke as a ditto, the less the adults were interested in him… until one of them interjected.
«Can't we use it to get back our children anyway? If we get it to transform into that trainer again, we could hand it over to Team Blast. »
An icy hand of fear was tightly holding Genno's throat. A part of his mind screamed in indignation. «And they dared suggested that Ash was a bad trainer! »
«Don't be stupid. A ditto can only transform into what they see and this one had been frightened enough to turn into John. »
Genno was doing his best to hold his breath. If he let loose his control over himself, he'd be breathing so heavily they'd thought he was sick. It didn't really matter. Seconds later, he really felt sick.
From the back of the crowd, a very special person pushed his way to the border of the lake, where he was.
A member of Team Blast.
«What have you find here? What's the big deal? »
A wave of shame erupted from the adults. Shyly, the old lady explained.
«We thought that we had found one of the persons you're looking for, but… it turned out to only be a ditto. »
Genno and the member simultaneously showed their shock.
«Are you idiots? That's the one we're looking for! Get him! » the man ordered.
«WAIT! »
They all turned toward the now glowing ditto. It took the appearance of Ash Ketchum.
Genno knew he was lost the second the member had come out of the crowd. He had nothing to lose… and he had to tell them clearly what he thought.
He took a deep breath and looked genuinely sad.
«Why are you trying to capture me? »
«Isn't that obvious? We want to get back our children! » John shouted.
«Even at the cost of other peoples' lives? » he asked.
And the question shook them. There was an accusation so deep that it broke some of their spirit.
«Don't try to hide yourself from the truth. If they get their hands on me, I'm definitely dead… or broken so thoroughly I might as well be. Let me ask you, to what extends are you ready to go to save them? »
While some hesitated, the old lady included, others like John didn't stop.
«If it wasn't for you, some of our children wouldn't be lost forever! » a genuine pain in his voice.
Genno looked at the man's eyes. It was the eyes of a parent, one that had suffered.
The teen wanted to punch himself. If only he could tell all those parents that their children were not lost forever…
But he couldn't. If his father heard that the kids were alright, he'd try to find them and would make sure that his threats were executed.
He hardened his mind, following his resolve. With a calm voice, he said:
«I'm sorry. »
John punched him. The pain combined with his anger had erupted at once.
Genno fell to the ground, his body betraying him. He felt like he could not get up… but he did. There was something that had to be said here. AND HE WOULD!
When John saw the damn trainer get up, there was no longer that pitiable apology on his face. It was expressing anger.
«… but you are wrong! » Genno shouted.
They all froze.
«Even if I didn't do anything, you would still have lost them! You're children are in the hands of criminals! Did you really expect them to just hand over your children if you cooperated? No! They'd just continue to use you over and over again! At first, they used you to get rid of their rivals, meaning they were now the strongest criminal organization in Kanto. Now, they're using you to capture people opposed to them. What is the next step? Complete domination over Kanto. No enemies, no rivals, just a whole region doing their bidding without asking questions. People that pretends to be good citizens on top of that! »
Genno was getting more and more intense with each passing words.
«Besides, the only thing that tells you that I'm the one that attacked Team Blast is Team Blast itself! They could have accused anyone they wanted and you would not be able to prove them wrong, because they have complete control over your lives! »
The member didn't want him to speak anymore.
«Make him silent or you won't see your precious little children ever again! » he ordered to the crowd.
«Are you afraid? » Genno said as he turned to the member.
«What? Are you nuts? » the man in red and black asked.
«I asked if you are afraid. Look around you: you are alone, surrounded. The only thing that guarantees your safety is the promise to give their children back. There's just a little problem: you can't keep that promise as some of their children were turned into pokemon! » Genno accused.
The member suddenly felt the atmosphere become a lot hotter. He could feel the glance of some of the parents fell on him.
«How low do you intend to sink if it means saving the ones they didn't already transformed? Obviously sending a teen you never met to his demise doesn't disturb you, even if he hadn't done anything wrong at first. Did I do anything wrong when Team Blast announced they wanted me in their hands? No…I only tried to fight Team Blast, the ones that created this mess in the first place! Nevertheless, I've been chased by a whole town of people just like you. What about a friend? Would you sell him out if they asked you to? Hey, John, if they asked you to give them your children to free all the others, would you do it? »
The question was like a parasite, devouring the poor man from the inside. There was no way he'd ever give his children away to criminals like them!
And the truth put him to shame.
«You wouldn't... and that's normal for a parent to want to keep his children safe. I bet you'd give yourself away without a second of hesitation, but you'd never give the ones you love. »
Genno had to keep his anger under control. He was actually shaking from it as he continued.
«BUT YOU WOULD ALL FORCE HIM TO IF TEAM BLAST ASKED THAT! » he screamed toward the rest of the crowd.
He could see it on their face: shame. They would all do it and they knew it. A few of them looked away, but most of them only let their despair took over. Their determination would not falter. They wanted their children to be safe… and humans.
«It's just … wrong. Trying to selfishly save only those you care about, even if it means hurting everyone else. » he said in a whisper.
«It's WRONG! Cooperating with Team Blast will not save anyone! They'll only have more puppets. The one way to end this conflict is by destroying them! They're the only ones responsible of your misery! »
«SILENCE! TAKE HIM AWAY NOW! » the member ordered, forgetting his previous unease.
«I'm just trying… to save everyone. » Genno finished, pleading.
He didn't look at the parents as they got closer to capture him. He just waited, the fatigue catching up now that he was no longer angry. With his eyes closed, he thought.
«Sorry guys, it seems like this is as far as I go. » he said mentally toward Ash and Pikachu.
The lake suddenly exploded under a noise of apocalypse.
At first, it didn't know where it was. It could only feel the lightness of its body. It was… under water!
Its memories flashed before its eyes. Its mistress was injured, she had given him an order, the ditto kid had fled, it tried to capture him and he slammed it into the lake.
The feeling of being pummeled and trashed by something else brought back memory of how it would sometimes test its mistress's dominance when it was younger.
Just a dratini at that time, it had tried to go against her. She had completely dominated it, leaving it motionless on the floor, baffled and wounded in its young dratini's pride.
However, it saw something unexpected in the woman. There was affection in her eyes.
«Such power at a young age… you really are what I want. Follow me, I'll make you stronger. I can see it, that pride that makes your heart beat. I'll train you to be my strongest pokemon. »
She had kept her promise. She had trained it harshly, constantly pushing it to its limits, sometimes asking too much. It was often tempted to resent her, but it could truly felt how its strength was growing with each passing moment in her presence. It had proven itself once more when it evolved at an incredibly young age compared to its wild siblings. From that moment on, it swore its loyalty to her. She had understood its core and fed it. It'd go against Mew if she asked.
A few times, it had disappointed her. Each time, she had looked at it with bored eyes that hurt it more than her strongest hit. Each time, it swore it would not happen again.
The brat, as she called the ditto, was escaping…
It wouldn't let this go! It was a proud dragonite! It was an apex predator, a pokemon so strong that it was considered as rare as a legendary, a creature that other feared with just a whisper of its name! It would not endure failure!
The dragonite let out a dragon rage attack as it flew out of the lake.
Genno realized who it was without looking. It was a roar that induced an instinctual fear far from his human, rational, mind. It was the roar of a dragonite…
…which happened to be furiously diving toward it.
Genno wanted to move. He was furiously ordering his limbs to obey his commands, but they didn't listen. He was too tired, too afraid.
He could catch a glimpse of the various adults around him, moving backward, toward the cover of the trees. The teenager could understand the fear a completely furious dragonite.
«Don't worry. » he said. «It's here for me. »
Mew he hated how weak that sounded! He was even shaking in fear! Genno could feel his legs shaking instead of moving. Though no matter how afraid he was, it did not distract him from the truth.
He was not the one shaking! It was the…
Genno felt himself get lifted in the air.
«What the…? » he shouted.
A steelix! A steelix had come out of the ground to hold him by the t-shirt, which he mildly appreciated, between its giant teeth.
The dragonite yelled, even angrier. A large stream of fire engulfed the steel pokemon.
The light from the firestorm blinded every single being around.
When the flames died out, the giant pokemon had disappeared… and another hole had appeared in the ground.
This time, the adults decided it was time to flee.
A wise choice one might say… as Dragonite roared in fury again, unleashing many devastating attacks in the process.
When they got out of the ground, Genno was tossed on the grass mercilessly. After a painful landing, he asked the steel pokemon:
«Hey! What was that for? »
The steelix grunted and explained with a sharp, dangerous look:
«That flamethrower hurt… a lot! »
Finally realizing what had happened, Genno tried to bow, but, as he was unable to get up, he settled for a simple «Thank you. ».
«Don't thank me, kid. That was an order from my trainer. »
«Your trainer…? » he asked, surprised.
The steel pokemon simply nodded to a person behind him.
«Looks like he got you just in time, didn't he, Ash? »
That voice….
Genno managed to move enough to see who it was. In a whisper, he said:
«Brock…»