Ohirume: *excitedly trembling*

Omega: The ****'s goin' on with you?

Ohirume: We're finally at the Porygon chapter!

Omega: … and?

Ohirume: AND, that means we finally- Crag, I can't say. I don't want to spoil it.

Omega: Can you just whisper it?

Ohirume: I'll do you one better. Yukiro.

Seishin: *snap* And just like that, everyone thinks I made an Infinity War reference. Or, they would have if I hadn't said this.

Omega: *flinches, shakes head and blinks rapidly* Oh. I was wondering when we'd get around to that.

Seishin: Alsooooooo-

*"A World Without Danger" Instrumental*

I don't own Pokémon, Ben 10, or Code Lyoko.

.

.

Code: PoЯygon

.

Having reached Matcha City, Ash and friends decided to take a short break at the park before moving on to Dr. Franz Kogami Schaffer's lab. Ash, Brock, Pikachu, Clefairy, and Soot sat at a bench and ate. Misty was … dealing with Psyduck.

"Oh, come on!" Misty shouted at the flailing Water-type in her arms, "It's a water fountain! How the Yvel can you be afraid of water in general?! You know Water Gun for Arc sake!"

Psyduck just continued flailing as he stared at the light stream frightenedly.

Pikachu sweat dropped, "I knew psyduck headaches could be bad but … wow."

Ash chuckled nervously, "You might have had a point him evolving, Soot."

Soot's ears flattened, "Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of."

Brock looked at Ash, "So, how much farther is it to Dr. Schaffer's place?"

Ash looked back at him, "About a half-hour walk. But I'm thinking we should head to Pokémon Center first."

Brock raised a brow, "Really? I didn't think we're that low on supplies."

Ash shook his head, "It's not that." He stopped, reconsidered, and shrugged, "Okay, it wouldn't hurt to top off a few things." He looked back at the Pewter Leader, "I mostly mean that we should head there for-"

He was cut off by Clefairy yawning and rubbing her eyes.

Ash chuckled, "That. I'm thinking we could use some real rest, first. We can head to Franz's a little bit after."

Pikachu yawned too before smiling tiredly, "Fine by me."

"PSYYY!"

"OW!"

Everyone flinched and looked over to find Misty sitting on the ground and holding her head while Psyduck ran away from her; also holding his head.

Misty groaned, "Son of a glitch." She pulled out a pokéball and returned the fleeing Water-type. She sighed, got back up, and walked back over to the others, "I know psyduck aren't the easiest to train, but geez." She looked at Ash, "I don't suppose you'd know a way to make things a little easier?"

Ash shrugged with a sad smile, "Sort of. Psyduck are able to learn Calm Mind. Though, I can't really guarantee that'll help with" He glanced at the pokéball warily, "this."

Misty held up and looked at the ball, "Well. It's worth a shot." She looked back at Ash, "Do any of your forms know that?"

Ash shook his head, "I'm afraid not." He put a hand to his chin, "Although, I could start working on it in my Clefairy form." He looked back at Misty, "Still, it'll take some time."

Misty smiled softly, "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

Ash grinned, "Hey, what are friends for?"

.

**Time Skip**

The group left the park and headed towards the local Pokémon Center. They walked through the front entrance.

"WHAT?!" Nurse Joy cried out over the phone, "Another Pokémon didn't show up?!" She picked up another phone, "Yes, we sent Ninetales recent- What do you mean it turned into a magikarp?!" She propped the first phone against her shoulder and picked up a third. After a second, her eye twitched and she shouted into the phone, "I KNOW SOMETHING'S WRONG! HOW COULD IT BE RIGHT?!" She sighed, "I'm sorry, sis. It's been a long day. We're looking into it."

It was louder than they expected.

Brock stared in confusion before looking at Ash, "This Center isn't always like this, right?"

Ash frowned, "No. It's usually not. What's going on h-"

"THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"

Everyone flinched from the sudden shouting.

Ash and Soot snapped out of it and perked up, "Franz?"

Ohirume: There is a world

That is virtual and different

Seishin: It can be so cold

Makes us stand up for what's right

Mizuro: Our hope through our lives

If we reset it to the start

.

*PKMN Center Backroom

A man with green-ish blue hair and spiraled glasses glared at a computer angrily, "How the Yvel is this possible?! This system is designed to fend off any form of attack! There can't be anything wrong with it!"

Nurse Joy stood over his shoulder, "Well, I'm sorry to say Dr. Schaffer, but there is. Complaints have been coming in all morning."

"Mind if I take a look?"

Franz perked up and turned around in shock. Joy blinked in surprise and looked back as well.

Ash smiled and waved, "Hey, Franz."

Soot smiled, "Long time, no see."

The scientist stared in shock before smiling brightly, "Wha- Ash?! Soot?! What are you two doing here?!"

Soot shrugged, "Casual visit." She sweat dropped, "Or so we thought."

Ash gestured to the Gym Leaders, "That and I wanted to introduce you to my friends. This is-"

"Yes yes, nice to meet you." Dr. Schaffer interrupted hurriedly before gesturing for them to come, "Now, get over here already. I need a second set of eyes on this."

Joy flinched and looked at Franz in shock. Brock and Misty sweat dropped.

Ash looked back at his friends and chuckled nervously, "I swear he's not normally like this." He and Soot ran over to the computer.

Ash looked over the screen and put a hand to his chin, "I see. It looks like a virus is messing with one of the channels."

Franz frowned, "But that's just it. You know for a fact that the system isn't that susceptible to a virus. The firewalls and circuitry are too advanced."

Soot frowned, "Hm."

"Wait a second!" Nurse Joy blurted out; catching everyone's attention, "Dr. Schaffer, what the Yvel is going on here?! You never let anyone help you with … ANYTHING!" She pointed at Ash while still looking at the scientist, "Who on earth is this?!"

Franz smiled casually, "Oh, this is Ashton Satoshi Ketchum. He helped me develop the latest update to the system."

Joy's jaw dropped in shock.

"Seriously?!" Brock and Misty blurted out.

Ash looked back at them, rubbed the back of his head, and chuckled nervously, "I mean, sort of. It was mostly … y'know." He tapped the face of the watch.

Dr. Schaffer flinched at looked at Ash in shock, "What?!" He pointed at Brock and Misty, "You mean they know?!"

Brock and Misty jerked and pointed at the man, "He knows?!"

Soot sighed, "Yes." She looked at the Gym Leaders, "Brock and Misty; Franz knows." She then looked at the professor, "And Franz; Brock and Misty know." She looked back and forth between all of them with an annoyed expression, "And I highly suggest you all cool it before the rest of the city finds out!"

All three of them sweat dropped, "Sorry."

Nurse Joy looked around the room in shock, "Wha- What are you all talking about?"

"I'm afraid that's classified." Franz stated matter-of-factly, "Could you please leave to room for the next ten-"

"Fifteen." Ash jumped in.

Franz looked at Ash in surprise, "Really?" He smiled, "Nice." He looked back at the nurse, "Could you please leave to room for the next fifteen minutes and shut off the security cameras in this room?"

Joy frowned; feeling unsure, "Can I ask why?"

"Also classified." Franz responded, "If you want this problem fixed, we need privacy."

Joy glanced around the room warily before sighing and nodding, "Alright."

With that, the nurse left the room. About a minute later, the lights on the surrounding security cameras turned off.

Franz smiled before looking at Ash, "Alright, Ash. Go ahead."

Ash smiled and nodded, "Right." He brought up the watch, dialed, and slammed down on the face.

The green light faded to reveal-

Misty blinked in surprise and looked around, "What the- Where's Ash?"

"Aim your visual receptors downward!" Called out a high-pitched voice.

Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy flinched and looked down.

Calm Mind waved up at them with both hands, "Greetings!"

Misty blinked in surprise, "Woah."

Clefairy smiled happily, "Aww, she's so tiny."

Pikachu raised a brow, "Uh, yeah. Not what I expected."

Brock looked at Soot, "Calm Mind, right?"

Soot grinned, "Bingo. Small stuff here has an IQ that rivals an alakazam's. His Power Integration is basically the reason dad knows … probably anything."

Misty looked at Soot in shock, "Wait, what?"

Soot snickered, "Yeah. This guy upped dad's mental capacity, memory, and mental prowess two hundred-fold. You should have seen dad before Power Integration came into effect. He struggled in every non-athletic subject."

Everyone -except Ash and Franz- stared at Soot in shock.

Ash sighed, "Regretfully, I must concur with that statement." He pointed up at the computer, "Now, I require assistance. My current stature is rather inconvenient in correspondence to the objective at this point in time."

Pikachu and Clefairy stared down at him in confusion, "Huh?"

Soot snickered, "He needs help getting to the computer." She walked over to the computer and propped herself up against the desk with her tail touching the ground.

Ash smiled, "My appreciations offspring." He climbed up Soot's tail and up her back before jumping off her head. He ran up to the keyboard and looked over the screen. Calm Mind put a hand to his chin, "Very peculiar." He looked at the scientist, "Franz, I require assistance in accessing this Central Processing Unit."

Dr. Schaffer nodded, "Right." He walked back over and took a seat.

Ash looked back at the screen, "Appreciations. Now, input my instructions as I relay them and do not approach leisurely. I have little intentions of communicating at a moderate rate given the state of emergency."

Franz smirked and put his hands over the keyboard, "Good. I've been waiting for another speed test."

The pair got to work immediately. Everyone else looked at Soot in confusion.

Soot noticed, "Calm Mind's personality glitch is similar to Frenzy Plant's. The main difference is that he mostly uses big words and/or over explains stuff in a way that tends to make sentences more complicated than you'd think possible."

Ash stopped talking and looked back at the group, "As I have previously relayed at multiple opportunities, that statement is lacking in an insurmountable amount of factual data."

Soot sweat dropped, "Case and point."

Clefairy sweat dropped, "I'm not sure I like this one."

Calm Mind rolled his eyes and looked back over the screen. He sweat dropped, "Franz. That statement regarding my communication ability was part of the required input."

Franz flinched and started rapidly deleting what he typed, "Sorry."

Misty crouched down next to Soot and whispered, "You're weren't actually serious about that, were you?"

Soot nodded, "Yeah. Calm Mind's really that smart."

Misty shook her head, "No, the whole- Ash used to be dumb thing. You had to be exaggerating a little. Right?"

Soot sighed, "Nope. Dad really was that dumb. If it weren't for the watch, odds are you'd all just be wandering around Kanto aimlessly. Heck, you'd probably wind up at the North Pole at some point."

Brock sweat dropped, "Short of teleporting, that doesn't sound possible."

Soot snickered, "Exactly."

Brock and Misty sweat dropped.

"Hmm." Ash said with a hand under his chin, "I believe that I have discovered how this complication came to originate."

Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy looked at Soot.

Soot sweat dropped, "He found the cause of the problem."

Ash nodded, "Precisely." He raised a finger, "The reprobate of our technical difficulty is showing unnaturally immense symptoms-"

"Dad." Soot interrupted in an annoyed tone, "Human. Now."

Calm Mind sighed, "Understood." He jumped to the ground, reached around, and touched the watch's symbol on his back. He lit up green as usual and reverted as himself.

Ash shook his head and muttered, "Ugh. Calm Mind." He looked around the room, "Anyway, the problem is actually showing off free-willed and spontaneous actions."

Soot blinked in surprise, "Wait, what?"

Misty sweat dropped, "I don't get it."

"What I mean" Ash continued, "is that they're acting on their own in real time with no singular goal. That kind of programming is impossible to do in such a short amount of time and trumps any sort of remote operating."

Brock raised a brow, "What if someone's actually been working on it for that long?"

Ash shook his head, "Not likely. It would take decades of work and research to perfect something this advanced."

Misty frowned and raised a brow, "So, what does that mean? It sounds like your saying this virus is impossible."

Ash nodded with a smile, "Right. Because it isn't actually a virus."

Everyone stared at Ash in confusion, "… huh?"

Ash smirked, "It's not a virus. Or even a real computer program for that matter." He raised a finger, "It's a set of living consciousnesses that have been uploaded directly into the transfer's system's network."

"So, what does that mean?" Brock asked.

"Put simply." Ash started before pointing backwards, "Team Rocket's in the Transfer Network. Literally."

"WHAT?!" Everyone -except Franz- blurted out.

Franz raised a brow, 'Team Rocket?'

Soot took a step forward, "But, for that to happen, they would need a-" She stopped and glared at the scientist, "Fraaaanz."

Dr. Schaffer flinched and waved his hands defensively, "I swear I didn't do this! And I sure as Yvel didn't let anyone use the-" He perked up, "Wait. These people wouldn't happen to be a blue-haired man, a red-haired woman, and a human-speaking meowth, would they?"

Misty blinked in surprise, "How the actual freaking Yvel did you know that?"

"I'll tell you on the way." Franz said before he pointed at the doorway dramatically, "To the lab!" He ran through said doorway and out of view.

Brock sweat dropped, "Is that normal for him?"

Ash sweat dropped, "One-hundred percent." He ran after the man, "Come on."

Everyone else ran after him.

Ohirume, Seishin, Mizuro:

Here we are, going far, to save all that we love

If we give all we've got we will make it through

Here we are, like a star, shining bright on your world today!

Make evil go away!

.

*Pokémon Center front desk

Nurse Joy stared at the blank monitor and tapped her fingers as she impatiently waited for the fifteen minutes to pass. After the ninth minute, she received an unpleasant update.

"To the lab!"

Nurse Joy perked up and looked over right as Dr. Schaffer ran past and out the front entrance.

She jumped to her feet, "What the- Dr. Schaffer, the problem still isn't fixed!"

"Franz, wait up!" Ash called up as he and the others ran past Joy and out the automatic doors.

Joy's eye twitched and she groaned, "Schaffer." She groaned and picked up a phone, "Plan B it is."

.

**Time Skip**

The group made their way towards Franz's lab with the professor leading the way.

"Ash, I still don't understand what you mean." Brock said worriedly, "How exactly could Team Rocket literally be in the Network? "

Soot spoked up, "Franz has an oversized Transfer Machine that can send beings directly into the Network without requiring a pokéball. It's big enough to fit five to maybe fifteen adult humans if they all bunch up."

Franz frowned, "And I'm sorry to say, but these Team Rocket people broke into my lab and used it. Even worse, I can't use any kind of vaccine program to stop them. The only one that would work would also destroy their coding."

Misty blinked, "Destroy their coding?"

"Since their bodies are in the network," Ash said before his eyes narrowed, "it would destroy them for real."

Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy looked at Ash in horror. Soot and Franz looked down somberly.

Pikachu gulped, "S-so, how do we get them out without hurting them?"

Soot spoke up; staring ahead, "It's actually pretty simple. Go in and get them out."

Brock frowned, "Is that safe?"

Ash frowned and crossed his arms, "No more than it is for Team Rocket. We'd be putting ourselves at the exact same risk to both stop and save them."

Brock and Misty shared a worried look. As did Pikachu and Clefairy.

Ash smiled sadly, "Guys, I promise it'll be okay." He held up the watch, "I'm letting anyone get hurt. That's not a promise. It's a guarantee."

The Gym Leaders smiled softly and nodded, "Thanks."

Pikachu and Clefairy sighed in relief before nuzzling up to Ash's head; causing him to chuckle.

Franz glanced back at them with a soft smile, 'You're a good man, Ash. But don't worry.' His glassed glinted as he smirked, 'The new system will make sure you'll all get out fine.' He sweat dropped, 'I hope.'

He stopped and looked up at his lab with a smile, "Here we are."

Everyone followed his gaze. The building resembled a mansion with a pink roof. The walls of the front gate had heavily chipped plaster.

Misty sweat dropped, "Really?"

Soot snickered, "Don't let the outer appearance fool you. The lab is in the back and loaded with more tech than you'll know what do to with."

Brock smiled, "Oh, I get it. The outside is like this, so it won't look like a lab."

Ash shrugged with a smile, "Pretty much."

Franz sweat dropped, 'What's wrong with the outside?'

Ohirume: Code Lyoko! We'll reset it all

Seishin: Code Lyoko! Be there when you call

Mizuro: Code Lyoko! We will stand real tall

All three: Code Lyoko! Stronger after all

.

**Short Skip**

A pair of automatic double doors slid open to reveal the group. Pikachu and Clefairy watched the doors curiously. Brock and Misty stared in shock at the high-tech computer lab before them.

Ash walked forward and turned around to face the others. He held out his hands and smirked, "Guys, welcome Kogami Laborator- GAH!" He was cut off when something pink and blue crashed into him and knocked him to the floor; knocking Pikachu and Clefairy off in the process.

Brock and Misty flinched, "Ash!" They each pulled out a pokéball and glared at the attacker.

Pikachu and Clefairy recovered and got into their fighting stances. Soot's eyes widened in shock upon seeing-

"Porygon!" Ash cried out happily before pulling the Normal-type into a hug, "I haven't seen you since you were a cluster of executable files!"

Porygon nuzzled the boy the happily.

Soot smiled brightly, "I can't believe it! You actually finished him!" Soot raised a brow, "Her?" She looked at Franz, "Them?"

Franz nodded with a smile, "Them. Porygon's genderless."

Everyone else just stared in confusion, "Wait, what?"

Ash stood back; still smiling. Porygon floated next to him.

Ash gestured to the Normal-type, "Everyone, this is Porygon. The-" He stopped and blinked in confusion. He looked at Franz, "Actually, how about you do it? It's been a few years."

Franz smiled, "Thank you." He looked around the room and gestured to the Pokémon, "This is Porygon. The Virtual Pokémon. They're Genderless Normal-types from the Mineral Egg Group. They're man-made Pokémon that consist entirely of programming code. They're capable of moving freely in cyberspace."

Brock looked at Franz in shock, "Wha- Man-made?! You created a Pokémon?!"

Franz nodded with a smile, "Correct."

"How is that even possible?!" Misty blurted out.

Soot sweat dropped, "Guys. This is far from the first time something like this has happened."

Pikachu and Clefairy looked at her in confusion, "Really?"

Ash nodded, "Yeah. Voltorb, baltoy, castform, trubbish, golett, and grimer were initially created by human influence a few centuries and/or millennia ago." He pointed a thumb at the Virtual Pokémon, "Porygon here is just one of the more recent and high-tech examples."

Soot followed; still sweat dropping, "There are also rumors that banette are artificial and the result of a cursed, vengeful doll. The only problem with that concept is the fact that they evolve from shuppet."

"Oh." Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy said; all sweat dropping.

Misty snapped out of it and looked at Dr. Schaffer, "Still, that is impressive."

Franz smiled, "Thank you. But -now that Ash is here- there is something I wanted to test. As you all know, the artificial Pokémon Ash listed are capable of reproduction -albeit with the help of a ditto more often than not- and have organic DNA despite what one might think."

Brock nodded, "Right."

"So," Franz continued, "the most sure-fire way to prove that a Pokémon is genuine is to test if they actually have DNA."

Misty raised a brow, "How do plan to figure that out? A blood test?"

Franz shook his head, "No. Porygon doesn't have blood or cells." He smirked and his glasses glinted, "What I'm getting at is a special device that can scan DNA."

Ash's eyes widened in shock, "Wait, what?! You're asking me to scan Porygon?!" He smiled brightly, "Oh, Yvel yeah! Let's try it!"

Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy looked at Ash in shock, "HUH?!"

"Well, yeah." Ash said with a smile, "Remember when I scanned kangaskhan? Compared to this, that will have been like scanning a pidgey."

Franz jerked and looked at Ash in shock, "You scanned a kangaskhan?!"

Soot nodded with a bright smile, "Yeah! The watch even reconfigured their DNA to male! And get this: both the adult and infant are part of transformation! Dad's consciousness gets split between them!"

"WOAH!" Franz called out with a bright smile. He perked up and shook it off, "Sorry. I got off track. Go for it, Ash."

Ash nodded with a smile, "Right." He held out the watch to the levitating Normal-type, "Porygon, would you mind touching this?"

Porygon nodded happily. They moved closer, placed the tip of their face on the watch, and backed up.

Ash blinked in surprise at seeing the watch still green. He frowned, "Oh."

Franz frowned as well, "Hmm. I was worried about this. I managed to program DNA for Porygon, but I guess that isn't enough for the watch."

Soot frowned and her ears drooped, "Aw man. I would've like seeing an organic porygon."

Porygon looked down somberly.

Ash noticed and pet them with a soft smile, "Don't worry, Porygon. It's not your fault."

Misty sweat dropped, "Uh, guys? Isn't Team Rocket still in the Transfer Network?"

Franz flinched, "O-oh. Right."

Soot chuckled nervously, "I guess we got a little sidetracked."

Pikachu deadpanned, "I'd say more than a little."

Ash chuckled nervously and looked back it the professor, "Lead the way, Franz."

Pikachu and Clefairy jumped back onto Ash's shoulders and Franz lead the group out of the room and down a hallway.

After a few second, Ash stopped and blinked in surprise, "Wait. Didn't we just pass the Transfer Machine?"

Franz smirked, "That, we did."

Soot raised a brow, "So, how are we getting into the Transfer Network?"

Franz's glasses glinted said before he pushed a button next to a door, "With these."

The doors slid open to reveal three massive, metal tubes with a huge cluster of thick wires stretching from each one to the ceiling.

Ash's eyes widened in shock, "What the- Franz what are these things?"

Schaffer grinned, "These are Virtualization Chambers. They're not only more advanced than the transfer machine, but safer too. They're designed to digitize your body and even DNA to transport you directly into the internet." His smiled brightened, "The best part is the built-in failsafe. If you're body takes too much damage -even self-inflicted-, you'll immediately be removed from the system and reappear in one of the Chambers. This can even be done remotely."

Everyone's eyes widened and looked at the machines in shock, "Woah."

Soot looked at the man with a raised brow, "How the Yvel did you come up with these?"

"That's actually the strange thing." Franz said with a frown, "They came to me in a lucid dream where I was actually being taught how to construct them by… by…" He groaned and held his head, "I can't describe them. It's the only part of dream I can never remember."

Omega: *glares at Seishin*

Seishin: What? (ΦωΦ)

Everyone stared at him in confusion.

Misty put a hand to her mouth and whispered to Ash, "Do you swear this guy doesn't have a few screws loose?"

Ash frowned and whispered back, "Franz may be a little … eccentric. But he knows what he's doing. I trust him."

Brock sweat dropped, "If you're sure." He perked up upon realizing something, "Wait a second." He looked at the professor, "If that's all true, why can't you just pull Team Rocket out normally? Or send in Porygon to attack them?"

Franz looked at him; still frowning, "I would if I could. They didn't actually use the Chambers to get in. They used the Transfer Machine in the other room. It doesn't have the same fail-safes and requires anyone who uses it come back out the same way they got in."

Ash blinked in surprise, "So, we won't be putting ourselves in as much danger as Team Rocket."

Franz nodded with a smile, "Correct. All you have to do is knock them out or restrain them and bring them to the gateway I'll open for you."

Soot deadpanned, "And you decided to wait until now to tell us that part." She sighed, "So, how do we use them?"

Franz raised a finger, "Only one being in a Chamber at a time; not counting any Pokémon you have in your pokéballs." He crossed his arms, "Aside from that, just sit back and wait while I take care of things in the control room." He turned towards the door, "I'll go set everything up. You all wait until I call you."

Ash nodded, "Understood, Franz."

With that, Franz left the room with Porygon following him.

Ash walked up to a Chamber and put a hand against it with a smile, "I've gotta admit, Franz really has outdone himself on this one."

Misty sweat dropped, "I guess." She looked at Ash curiously, "How do you know Dr. Schaffer anyway? And why did you tell him about the watch?"

Soot smiled, "Actually, that's the funny thing. There was a time where we thought Franz made it."

Brock looked at her in surprise, "Really?"

Ash nodded, "Yeah. Professor Oak thought it was one of his crazier gadgets and called him up to ask about it." He chuckled, "He immediately became interested and wanted to study it firsthand." He looked down at the watch with a soft smile, "I actually have him to thank for Power Integration."

Everyone else -except Soot- jumped in surprise, "Wait, what?"

Ash nodded, "It was a few months after I found the watch. The first new non-Pokémon popped up and the form was," Ash looked unsure, "weird. And I mean by non-Pokémon standards. The silhouette looked human and I didn't look any different when I turned into it. The only real change was the watch's symbol ending up on my chest. Anyway, we called up Franz again to get his opinion. We ran some tests and they went … poorly."

Brock frowned, "How, so?"

Soot sighed, "Dad got violently electrocuted."

Misty and Pikachu raised a brow, "And?"

Soot rolled her eyes, "Guys, this was before any of Power Integration came into effect. Dad was a completely regular, five-year-old human back then and wound up in the hospital for a week."

Clefairy tilted, "But, Ash is right here and isn't hurt. So, things had to have turned out alright."

Ash blinked in surprise, "Uh- Okay, fair enough." He held up the watch, "After that, I couldn't find the human-looking being in the watch anymore and Power Integration kicked in a few days later."

Brock put a hand to his chin, "Huh."

The Virtualization Chambers lit up around them and opened.

Franz's voice came up over a speaker, Alright, we're ready. Ash, Brock, and Misty, you go first. Just step in and I'll take care of the rest.

Ash looked up and nodded with a smirk, "Can do!"

Pikachu and Clefairy jumped down from Ash's shoulders before Ash walked into the center Chamber and turned around. Brock and Misty followed suit and started looking around their pods curiously.

Franz spoke up again, Transfer Ash. Transfer Brock. Transfer Misty.

As he said this, the Chambers closed on each trainer. Pikachu and Clefairy jumped slightly.

Soot raised a brow, 'He came up with code phrases?'

Scanner Ash. Scanner Brock. Scanner Misty.

The trio were forced to close their eyes as the pods lit up brightly.

Virtualization.

They all flinched as a massive gust of wind blew upwards and they became engulfed in a blinding white light.

The Chamber's whirring subsided, and they opened up a few seconds later. All three were empty.

Pikachu's eyes widened, "Woah."

Clefairy stared in shock, "They're gone."

Soot smiled, "Okay. Now, I'm interested."

Omega: A world of machines

It can shadow human nature

Faux: And all that we need

Is the way to find the answer

Luke: And one thing is sure

You can count on us for good

.

*Pokéball Transfer Network

Ash woke up in midair above a network route and fell down to it. He landed in a crouch and stood back up.

Ash smiled, "Happy to see he fixed that thing with the landings."

"OW!"

Ash jerked and turned around to find Brock and Misty sitting on the ground uncomfortably.

Ash sweat dropped, "More or less." He ran over and helped them up, "Are you guys alright?"

Misty held her head, "Yeah. Just had a rough landing."

Brock looked around in awe, "Woah."

Misty looked around as well and her eyes widened, "You can say that again."

Ash chuckled, "Yeah. Wel-"

Welcome to cyberspace!

Everyone flinched and looked over to see Franz's face on a screen. A massive Porygon floated in place behind him.

Franz smiled, Hello.

Misty flinched, "Woah! How did Porygon get so big?!"

Franz smiled, Don't forget that is Porygon is made of data. Their base size and weight may be set, but -with enough strength- they can still alter it at will.

Porygon nodded happily.

Ash frowned, 'Size alteration? Aw man, that would've been cool.'

Brock stared at the Virtual Pokémon in awe, "Wow." He looked at Franz, "So, I guess they'll take us to team Rocket?"

In a second, Franz responded, I'm still sending Soot and the others. He started typing, Scanner Soot. Scanner Pikachu. Scanner Clefairy. Franz smirked and they heard a click, Virtualization.

Everyone heard an odd sound and looked up to see three wire frame silhouettes of the Pokémon appear above them. They started to fill into their natural coloration before they fell to the 'ground.'

Soot landed normally while Pikachu and Clefairy screamed and landed face-first.

"ow." Clefairy whined.

Ash blinked in surprise upon realizing something and looked at the screen, "Wait, can we still feel pain?"

Franz stared at Ash in confusion, Did I not mention that?

Misty deadpanned, "No, you didn't." She jerked and blinked in surprise, "Wait. How much will that damage eject thing hurt?"

Franz chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, That probably depends on how you're your Life Points are drained.

Soot's eyes widened in shock, "Wha- Probably?! You mean you haven't tested this?!"

Franz remained silent for a moment before blurting out, There's no time to waste! You need to stop those Team Rocket people as soon as possible! With that, the screen went blank and sank into Porygon's side.

Soot glared at spot the screen sank into, "Seriously?"

Misty smirked slyly, "It sucks when you have to find about something like that, doesn't it?"

Ash groaned, "You have no id-" His eyes widened; as did Soot's, "Oh." He looked down, "Oh, that's where we get it from."

Soot chuckled nervously, "Sorry."

Brock chuckled, "We've gotten used to it."

Ash sweat dropped, 'I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment.' He shook it off and ran over to pick up his Fairy and Electric-types, "Come on. Franz did have a point."

Everyone nodded and loaded onto Porygon before they started moving along the virtual highway.

After a few minutes, Team Rocket came into view on the highway tube. They all stood in front of an exit and admired a massive pile of pokéballs being held back by a line of traffic barricades. Behind the tRio was a tall rectangular sign with "STOP" printed in the middle of a burst effect.

Pikachu glared at them, "There they are!"

Soot pawed at Porygon's back, "Hey, Franz! We found them!"

A compartment on Porygon opened and Dr. Schaffer's screen slid out of it.

Franz looked over at the group and frowned, Yes. It's seems you're right.

Brock raised a brow, "Are those traffic barricades?"

Misty looked at Franz, "That actually works?"

Franz started typing, Hm. Ah, I see. It looks like those are actually visual models for a blockade program. Still, it looks like they have the properties of regular barricades. Moving them out of the way or destroying them should fix things.

Soot smiled, "That sure makes things easier."

Franz frowned, Perhaps. But you'll still need to play this out carefully. I think your best plan of attack would be to-

"Or, we can do this." Ash interrupted before shouting, "Hey! Team Rocket!"

The tRio flinched, looked towards the group, and grimaced.

Soot grinned, "You didn't think we'd actually let you get away with this, did you?!"

Dr. Schaffer sweat dropped and he mumbled, I suppose that works.

Jessie and James pulled and threw a pokéball, "Go Arbok!" "And you too, Weezing!"

The Poison-types emerged and glared at the group.

James held out a hand, "Weezing, use Smog!"

Weezing shot towards Porygon as he emitted a green smoke from his body.

Ash grimaced, "Jump!"

He jumped off Porygon to 'ground' below. Soot followed immediately. The pair landed in a crouch.

Ash looked around and his eyes widened, "What?! Where are they?!"

Soot looked back up at Porygon and grimaced, "Crag! They're still up there!"

Ash followed her gaze and grimaced when he saw Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy looked over the edge of the Normal-type warily.

"Guys!" Ash called out, "You need to hurry before-" His eyes widened, "Look out!"

Pikachu's ears twitched and looked back to see Weezing flying behind them; still spewing Smog. The Poison Gas Pokémon slung around to shroud Porygon in the gas.

Ash grimaced, "GUYS!" His eyes narrowed and he pulled out a pokéball, "Pidgeotto! Enter the fr-"

He was interrupted by a purple, weezing-like Porygon shooting out of the cloud and Tackling the real weezing. The Poison-type shot towards the ground, hit Arbok, and they both fell right on top of their trainers. Jessie and James cried out as they're Pokémon drove them into the ground.

"Woah!" Soot blurted out in shock.

Porygon flashed back their regular colors and floated down towards the tube. Everyone else climbed off, and Ash and Soot ran over.

"Are you guys okay?" Ash asked worriedly.

Misty nodded and patted the Virtual Pokémon, "Yeah. Thanks to Porygon."

Brock looked at Ash in confusion, "But, what was that move they used? I've never seen anything like it."

Ash raised a brow, "I was actually hoping for an answer, myself."

Conversion 2! Franz shouted out excitedly; startling the group, It's one of Porygon's signature moves! It allows them to randomly take on a type that resists the type of the last move the opponent used! In this instance, they became Poison-type! The other is Conversion which changes their type to that of one of their own moves!

Clefairy's eyes lit up, "Coool."

Soot smiled brightly, "Seriously! That's awesome!"

Ash pouted, 'They even have free-willed type changing.'

"Don' think you've won yet!" Meowth shouted at them, "We still 'ave one more trick up our sleeves!"

Jessie -dazed- held up a pokéball and tossed it, "Go, Porygon Zero."

The pokéball burst open. The group's eyes widened in shock at seeing a second Porygon emerged. This one had a white '0' on their head and small black flag with a red 'R' attached to their tail. They immediately lit up and started growing to match the other porygon's size.

Ash flinched, "Wha-" He glared at the scientist's screen, "Franz! What the Yvel?! Why didn't you tell us they stole a porygon?!"

Soot glared as well, "Or the fact that there even was a second one!"

Franz sweat dropped with a nervous smile, Oh. I failed to mention that as well, didn't I?

Soot groaned, "Freaking Yvel, Franz."

Brock looked at the others determinedly, "Still, we can work on getting rid of the barricades while Porygon holds off the other one."

Everyone else nodded, "Right."

Ash looked at the Normal-type, "We're counting on you Porygon!"

Porygon nodded with a determined glare and shot towards Zero.

The group all ran towards the barricades.

They heard the Porygon clash in mid-'air' and glanced over at them. Porygon Prime's entire body was in the shape of a shield. Porygon Zero's head was in the shape of sledgehammer as they attacked Prime. Prime blocked with ease.

Ash stared in shock, 'Non-move based structural shape-shifting?! Oh, come on!'

They all got to work on pushing away the barricades. Ash and Pikachu went to one, Soot and Clefairy to another, and Brock and Misty to a third.

Ash and Pikachu started pushing theirs forward. As soon as they did, the pokéballs started levitating before shooting off down the highway.

Team Rocket were already back on their feet and in the middle of returning their Poison-types.

Jessie glared at the twerps, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Those pokéballs are ours!" James shouted at them, "We stole them fair and square!"

"That's right!" Meowth shouted.

The tRio ran towards the group; dodging zooming pokéballs.

Misty glared at them, "Crag!"

"Pikachu!" Soot called out.

"On it!" The Electric-type called out before unleashing a Thunderbolt on the Rockets.

The tRio cried out as the bolt swept over them. The electricity faded and the three of them stood their dizzily.

"Alright!" Clefairy cheered.

Soot glared at the tRio, "We still need to restrain-"

She was cut off by a crashing sound above them. Everyone looked over right as Porygon Zero plummeted towards Team Rocket and they all shot away down the highway.

Soot stared in shock, "Or not."

Brock grimaced, "Crag! How are we supposed to get them out now?!"

Franz looked around, We'll worry about that later. Right now, you need to focus on getting rid of those- A phone started ringing on his side and he looked to the side, Huh? I'll be back in a second. Finish with those barricades. The screen went blank.

Soot sweat dropped, "Okay?"

Omega, Faux, Luke:

Here we are, going far, to save all that we love

If we give all we've got we will make it through

Here we are, like a star, shining bright on your world today…

Make evil go away!

.

*Franz; real world

"You did what?!" Franz shouted over the phone.

Nurse Joy glared at him, "Well, you didn't give any other choice, Dr. Schaffer. The Transfer System is still messed up and you're not here to fix it." She looked back at the man sitting at the computer, "Calling in an expert to upload the vaccine program is our only option."

Franz grimaced, "Wait, Nurse Joy! You don't understand!"

Nurse Joy glared at him again, "Oh, I understand plenty. We're getting things fixed one way or another." She hung up before he could respond.

Franz gulped, "Oh crag."

.

*Cyberspace

Ash sighed before smiling, "Alright, where almost done." He looked at the larger 'STOP' sign in front of them, "Just one more to go."

Misty sighed in relief, "Finally."

Brock looked at the sign and put a hand to his chin, "This one could be tough. It might be easier to just destroy-"

There's no time! Franz shouted as his screen lit back up, You need to hurry and get those three out of there! Asap!

Clefairy raised a brow, "Uh-"

Ash looked back at her, "A. S. A. P. It stands for 'As soon as possible'." He looked back at the man, "And what are you talking about?"

The Pokémon Center has uploaded the vaccine program! Frans shouted worriedly, You need to get Team Rocket out of their before it destroys them!

Soot grimaced, "What?!"

Everyone heard what sounded like an ambulance siren and looked back to see what looked like a hovering ambulance shooting towards them from the highway tunnel. The side of it opened to reveal needle-tipped missiles; aimed at the STOP sign.

Brock grimaced, "The vaccine!"

"We have to find them! Quick!" Misty shouted.

Ash nodded, "Right." He looked towards their Virtual Pokémon, "Porygon!"

Porygon shot down towards them. Everyone loaded onto them and the Normal-type flew away from the vaccine.

Everyone looked around for the tRio.

Clefairy perked up and pointed towards the 'ground', "There they are!"

Everyone followed her gaze to find the tRio glaring at them. Jessie and James were on standing on the highway while Meowth was on Zero's back.

"Hey!" Jessie shouted, "Where do you think you're going?! The fight's just getting started!"

James shook his fist angrily, "Get back here you cowards!"

"Give it a rest!" Soot shouted back, "If you ever want to see the light of day again, you need to get on Zero's back and run like Yvel!"

Jessie raised a brow, "What are you talking about?!"

The tRio flinched when they heard a massive explosion and looked back to see the remains of their stop sign flicker out of existence and a wave of pokéballs shoot towards them. Jessie and James grimaced and hurriedly climbed onto Zero before they took off high above the highway.

"Oh, thank goodness." James sighed in relief.

Jessie looked back at the ambulance in shock, "What the Yvel is that thing?!"

"It's a vaccine program!" Ash shouted; catching the tRio's attention, "If that thing destroys your bodies here, then you're GONE! Forever!"

"WHAT?!" Team Rocket cried out.

"I don't wanna die in a computer!" James whined.

"Then hurry and follow us!" Misty shouted.

Jessie looked at Zero, "You heard the twerpette! Follow them!"

Zero nodded and shot forward. The tRio caught up to Ash and the others.

Meowth looked at the group in a panic, "How are we supposed ta get outa here?!"

Give me a second! Franz called out while typing, I'm opening the portal to the Transfer Machine now! Aaand … Done! They heard a click on his end. His screen looked ahead, Right there!

Everyone followed his gaze and found a metallic, spinning portal ahead of them.

Franz spoke up again, You need to get to that portal!

James smiled brightly, "Alright! We're saved!"

Ash jerked when he heard shifting metal and looked back. He grimaced, "Not just yet!"

Everyone looked back too and flinched at the sight of the vaccine program; now in missile form.

Misty gulped, "Uh oh."

The vaccine unleashed a swarm of missiles towards them.

Jessie grimaced, "Evasive maneuvers!"

Zero complied and flew off to the side. A handful of the missile split off and went after them.

"Wait!" Brock shouted at them, "We need to stick together!"

"Worry about that later!" Ash called out, "Right now, we need to take out those missiles!"

Misty looked at Ash in surprise, "Huh? I thought we'd be okay we got hit."

Soot looked at Misty, "Well, sure. But, if we get taken out, then those three are on their own."

Ash nodded, "Right!" He held out a hand, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt the ones heading our way! Soot, Shadow Ball the ones targeting Team Rocket!"

The pair nodded, "Right!"

The fired off their respective attacks and destroyed/detonated the missiles with ease.

"Alright!" Clefairy cheered.

Misty looked at the vaccine in surprise, "Wait, what's it doing?!"

Everyone looked over. The head of the vaccine rocket had been split open with a large metal cannon now poking out. It was aiming for Zero.

Franz stared in horror, They- they actually executed that command.

Brock looked at Franz worriedly, "What are you talking about?! What command?!"

A massive burst of white fired from the vaccine. Team Rocket screamed as they were struck. Everyone else had to shield their eyes from the resulting flash.

They all looked back to find Zero smoking and plummeting towards a hole that was appearing in the middle of nowhere.

"Team Rocket …" Soot muttered in shock.

Misty stared in shock, "Are- are they-"

They're alive! Franz called out while typing. He grimaced, But they're on their last legs and Zero's down for the count! And to make things worse, that thing they fell in is a bug-hole! It's top priority for those to be closed immediately!

Brock looked at the man determinedly, "Then we need to go and get them out!"

Franz frowned, I'm afraid it won't be that easy. Porygon's nearing their weight limit and they can't grow anymore. If they get on with you, you won't be able to outrun the vaccine.

"So, what? We need another Porygon?" Ash said in alarm.

Frown looked at him; still frowning, That or most of you will need to be devirtualized first.

Misty gritted her teeth, "Crag. There has be another way, right? What about a Flying-type or Ash's Dragonite form?"

Fran's jaw dropped, Ash has a dragonite fo- He stopped, shook his head, and said to himself, No! Worry about that later! He looked back at the group, That won't work. The virtual world doesn't have all the same laws of physics as the real world. Any form of flight that requires air or wind won't work there.

Ash grimaced and put his right hand to his head, "Crag! There has to be something we can-" He glanced at the watch in front of him and moved his arm to looked at it. His eyes narrowed and he muttered, "Virtualization…" His eyes widened in shock, "That's it!"

Everyone else flinched at looked Ash in surprise, "What?"

Ash looked at Franz with a determinedly glare, "Franz! You said the Virtualization Chambers turn our bodies and DNA into data, right?!"

Frans raised a brow, Well, yes, but- He stopped and stared in shock, You mean- The screen turned to face the back Porygon's head, Do you really think it'll work?

Ash looked at Porygon as well, "It's, at least, worth trying."

"Ash, what are you talking about?!" Misty asked in alarm.

Soot glanced around thoughtfully before her eyes widened in shock, "He's gonna try scanning Porygon again!"

Everyone -except Ash and Franz- looked at her in surprise before looked at the pair.

Ash nodded, "That's right. There's a chance that the watch couldn't scan them before because their DNA wasn't compatible enough." He smirked, "But here, our bodies digital, just like Porygon's. It might work now."

"But what if it still doesn't?" Brock asked worriedly, "What do we do then?"

Ash frowned, "Then half of us will have to devirtualize and leave it up to the others to save those three."

Pikachu frowned, "I really don't like that idea."

Ash sighed, "Neither do I." He held up the watch, "So, let's hope this works."

He crouched down and placed the face of the watch on Porygon's back.

He pulled his arm back and everyone looked over the face of the watch.

Omega: Code Lyoko! We'll reset it all

Faux: Code Lyoko! Be there when you call

Luke: Code Lyoko! We will stand real tall

All three: Code Lyoko! Stronger after all

.

*Team Rocket

Jessie slowly stirred awake and sat up while holding her head, "What happened?"

Meowth frowned, "We fell in a hole." He looked to the side, "Also, James has been doin' dat."

Jessie followed The Scratch Cat's gaze to find her human teammate sliding down a wall.

Meowth sweat dropped, "James, I keep tellin' ya da wall's too smooth. Dat ain't gonna work."

James looked back at him frightenedly, "Well, we have to try something! If we don't, that vaccine thing will get us!"

Jessie raised a brow, "What about Porygon? Can't they just us out?"

Meowth sweat dropped, "About dat." He pointed to the side.

Jessie looked where he pointed and grimaced when she saw Zero laying on their side; back to normal size and their eyes in swirls.

Jessie scurried over and picked up the Normal-type, "Porygon! Porygon, come on! Wake up!"

Porygon's head fell back.

Jessie gulped, "Oh no."

James frowned, "Don't say that! There has to be something we can do!"

Meowth's ears twitched and he looked up. He grimaced, "Too late."

The others looked up and their eyes widened at the sight of the vaccine rocket above them and aiming down into the hole.

Jessie fell to her knees, "This is it. Isn't it?"

"Looks like it." Meowth muttered in horror.

James started tearing up and forced a sad smile, "At least, if we're going out," He got on his knees and pulled Jessie into a hug, "it'll be together."

Meowth looked over in surprise. He started tearing too and nodded with a worried frown.

He walked over and hugged Jessie too, "Togetha."

Jessie stared in shock before sniffling and pulling them into a group hug, "Together."

The tRio huddled closer together as the vaccine started whirring.

Meowth sniffled, "It's been nice knowin' ya guys."

Jessie nodded with a somber smile, "Yeah."

James nodded, "You were the best friends I've ever had."

"Wow. I didn't know you actually cared about each other that much."

The three of them nearly jumped out of their skin before looking over in shock.

Soot smiled, "Maybe, you three aren't as bad as we thought."

"Wha-" Meowth stuttered before shouting, "WHAT DA YVEL ARE YA DOIN' DOWN HERE?!"

Soot raised a brow, "Uh, saving you?"

Jessie jumped to her feet and wiped away her tears before glaring at Soot and shouting, "Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

James glared as well; tears still in his eyes, "Do you have any idea how scared we were?!" He stopped and blinked in surprise, "Wait, how are you getting us out of here?"

Soot shook her head, "Oh. I'm not." She glanced upward with a smirk, "He is."

The tRio raised a brow before flinching at the sound of a large crash. They looked up in shock to find a porygon hovering above them and the vaccine spiraling out of view.

The Virtual Pokémon looked down at them; revealing a green symbol in the center of their forehead, "Are you guys alright?!"

Meowth's eyes widened in shock upon hearing the electronic voice.

Soot smiled at Ash, "We're good! Nice timing, dad!"

Jessie and James looked at her in shock and before staring back at Ash in shock. He was already descending into the hole and landed in front of them.

"T- twerp?" James stuttered.

Ash sweat dropped, "Do you really have to call me that all the time?"

The tRio just stared; frozen in place.

Soot rolled her eyes, "Can you just get on him already? The vaccine will be back soon."

Team Rocket snapped out of it and hurriedly got on to Ash's back; Zero still in Jessie's arms.

Soot jumped on as well and smiled, "Alright, dad! Let's get the Yvel out of this Crag-hole."

Ash nodded with a determined glare, "Alright!"

He started hovering and shot out of the bug-hole instantly.

The tRio looked back as the vaccine moved back into place over the hole and fired a pair of missiles into it. A geyser of light burst from hole before it collapsed in on itself.

Jessie gulped, "Okay. That was too close for comfort."

James sighed in relief, "Oh, thank goodness."

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet."

The tRio flinched again and turned around to see Brock, Misty, Pikachu, Clefairy, and Franz-on-screen on Porygon's back.

Brock pointed a thumb towards the portal in the distance, "We still need to get you out of here before the vaccine recovers."

"Well, what are we waitin' for?!" Meowth shouted, "Move it, Phantom!"

Franz raised a brow, Phanto-

"We'll tell you later." Misty jumped in in a harsh whisper.

The pair of porygon shot towards the portal.

Soot, Pikachu, and Meowth's ears twitched and they looked back.

Meowth grimaced at the sight of the four missiles shooting towards them, "Seriously?!"

Soot glared, "Freaking Yvel!"

Pikachu jumped forward and unleashed a Thunderbolt. He hit and blew up one of the missiles and set off two more in the process. The area lit up in a massive flash from the resulting explosions.

"Nice one Pikachu!" Misty cheered.

Brock grimaced, "Wait! There's still one left!"

Ash's eyes narrowed, "Brace yourselves!"

Meowth looked at Ash in shock, "Wait, what do ya mean brace-"

Ash held out his left wing and barrel-rolled to fling Soot and the tRio over to Porygon and the others. Soot landed with a skid and the tRio screamed and landed in a heap.

Misty smirked, "Welcome aboard."

James sat back up and held his head, "What the heck was that about?"

Brock pointed towards Ash, "That, I assume."

Team Rocket looked back and their eyes widened when they saw Ash shooting towards the last missile. He rammed into it head-on and detonated it. The Normal-type was engulfed in the massive explosion.

"TWERP!" Team Rocket cried out in alarm as Ash exploded.

Ash reappeared from the explosion in human form as he was flung backwards; eye closed.

As he fell, sections of his body fell away in the form of pixels; leaving nothing but a wireframe silhouette. The silhouette blipped out of existence soon after that.

Misty blinked in surprise, "Woah."

Soot cocked her head, "Huh. So that's what getting devirtualized looks like."

The tRio didn't hear them. They stared at where Ash was in absolute shock.

"T- twerp." James muttered.

"He's-" Meowth followed in shock.

Jessie just stared in stunned silence.

Porygon disappeared into the portal before it collapsed in on itself.

Laura and Illavera: We'll do our best,

To never let you down

Nuevo and Pike: We're up to the test,

To turn this world around!

.

*Real world

Franz's massive Transfer Machine whirred to life. A handful of bolts stretched down from the ceiling of it and traveled upwards; reforming Porygon Prime, the unconscious Porygon Zero, Pikachu, Clefairy, Meowth, Soot, Misty, Brock, James, and Jessie one-by-one, in that order.

Jessie, James, and Meowth were still staring off into space in shock.

Soot blinked in surprise and looked around curiously, "Huh. I didn't think we'd come out of this one."

Brock put a hand to his chin, "Yeah. I kind of expected us to reappear in the Chambers."

Misty shivered, "I think I would've preferred that. That felt weird."

Pikachu chuckled, "Yeah. I guess Ash got off easy."

Meowth jerked and stared at the Electric-type in shock.

Soot snickered and translated; causing Jessie and James to mirror Meowth's expression.

The group laughed.

"H-how?" James muttered; catching the group's attention.

Misty raised a brow, "How, what?"

"Wha- What do you mean 'what'?!" James blurted out, "The twerp just sacrificed himself to save all of us! I thought you were supposed to be his friends!"

Soot chuckled, "James, calm down. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad?!" Jessie shouted at them, "The twerp just gave up his life to save all of you and you're LAUGHING?! What the Yvel is wrong with you?!"

Meowth joined in by pointing at Soot accusingly, "And you! He was your meema for Arc sake! How can ya be so nonchalant about losing h-"

The door to the Transfer Machine's room opened and everyone looked over. Jessie, James, and Meowth's eyes widened in shock as Ash walked into the room with Dr. Schaffer by his side.

Ash smiled with a raised brow, "Are you kidding me, Franz? Did you seriously think I wouldn't let you study my porygon form to help you upgrade the others?"

Franz shrugged with a smile, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it first." His smile brightened, "After what I say in the Transfer Network, I can't wait! Just imagine it! Free-willed processing! DNA that registers in the real world!"

"Uh, Franz?" Ash said while sweat dropping.

"Biological reproduction!" Franz stopped and raised a finger, "Note to self, get a ditto."

"Franz." Soot called out.

Franz smiled brightly again, "Vocal communication!"

"FRANZ!" Ash, Soot, Brock, and Misty called out.

Dr. Schaffer flinched and looked over at everyone in the tube, "Oh, right" He smiled, "Welcome back to the real world, everyone."

"Wha-" James muttered.

"T-twerp?" Jessie stuttered and she stared at Ash like she was staring at a ghost. Which, in her eyes, see thought she was.

Ash raised a brow, "What?"

ALL:

Here we are, going far, to save all that we love

If we give all we've got we will make it through

Here we are, like a star, shining bright on your world today…

Make evil go away!

.

*One explanation later

Jessie's eye twitched as she glared at Ash, "So, we weren't in any real danger."

Ash waved a hand, "No." He pointed at the tRio in front of his "You were." He pointed towards himself and his friends next to him, "We weren't."

James glared at Ash, "So you let us think you were gone for nothing?!"

Brock stared in surprise, "Did we never tell you about the fail-safe we had?"

Misty flinched and grimaced, "Oh, dear Arceus. Franz is rubbing off on us too." She looked at the man in question, "No offense."

Franz sweat dropped, "Some taken."

Jessie grumbled and crossed her arms, "Great." She sighed and looked back at Ash, "Still, thanks for … that. I guess."

Meowth sighed too, "Yeah. Thanks for … savin' us and junk."

Soot smiled, "No worries."

Ash smiled too, "Still, how about I make it up to you for the whole missile scare-thing." He held up four fingers, "You have four minutes to get out of the lab."

James stared in shock before glaring at him, "What?! We thank you for saving us and you respond by threatening us?!"

Ash waved a hand, "I didn't mean that." He pointed towards Dr. Schaffer, "Franz called the cops on you. They'll be here in four minutes."

Franz jerked and stared at the boy in shock, "Ash!"

Meowth blinked in surprise, "Oh. Well, thanks twoip."

Jessie looked around, "Uh, how do we get out of here?"

Ash raised a finger, "One thing, first." He held out his hand, "Zero's pokéball."

Jessie grumbled before reaching around, pulling out the pokéball, and putting it Ash's hand, "There. Now, how do we-"

Ash raised a finger again, "Wait." He pointed the pokéball at the unconscious porygon, "Return." The beam shot from the pokéball towards the Normal-type. They disappeared a moment later.

Soot smiled, "Alright, then." She gestured to the door, "Out that door, take a right, run down the hall like the house is on fire, and you'll be outside in about half a minute."

Franz jerked again and stared at the Dark-type in shock, "You too, Soot?!"

James smiled and nodded, "Thank you."

With that, the tRio ran out the door, "Team Rocket's running off again!"

Misty sweat dropped with a smirk, "They still found a way to do that."

Brock chuckled, "Old habits, I guess."

Franz stared in shock as the tRio left. He glared at Ash, "Did you really have to tell them that? We could have gotten them arrested for breaking and entering."

Ash shrugged, "Eh. Like, I said, I owed them for the scare. Plus, they've kind of grown on us."

Soot sweat dropped, "More or less."

.

**Time Skip**

After the calamity in the Transfer Network, Franz invited the group to stay the night in his lab. Partially out of kindness and mostly to have him and Ash pull an all-nighter to study Ash's Porygon form. Everyone else had the privilege to sleep soundly in their choice of the many sound-proof rooms in the house.

Soot, however, decided to stay with Ash and Franz down in the lab on account of not needing as much sleep as the others and the fact that she actually had ways of sleeping through whatever noise they made. Also, to make sure there wasn't a repeat of the Power Integration incident.

The next day rolled around and Ash called everyone back down to the lab.

When they entered, they immediately noticed the heavy bags under Ash's eyes.

Brock sweat dropped, "So, uh, what did you want to tell us about?"

Franz smiled brightly, "Allow me to introduce," He held his arms out wide, "My new and improved Porygon Prime and Porygon Zero!"

The pair flew into view from around his back.

"Good morning everyone!" Prime called out cheerfully.

Zero chuckled nervously, "Uh, hi. Sorry about yesterday."

Pikachu and Clefairy smiled brightly, "Woah!"

Ash smiled, "Yup. They can talk now." His smile brightened, "And there's something else."

He held up the watch, "Porygon's Power Integration came into effect this morning and it's been letting me see machines in a whole new light." He looked back towards a computer. He started seeing countless figures, charts, and algorithms. The computer began to break apart in his literal Point of View.

Ash smirked, "I'm thinking of calling it Technopathic Clairvoyance. It lets me mentally dissect any machine that I look at and figure out everything there is to know. If I stare long enough, I can even see their coding." He looked back at the other and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "For example, I think I found out how to hack my Pokédex."

Brock stared at Ash in shock, "I- I thought that was impossible."

Ash smirked, "I thought the same thing before today. I stared at my dex for a whole freaking hour and found a miniscule flaw in the security system that takes a couple billion lines of code to break into." He cleared his throat, "Which a porygon has the ability to do in five minutes."

Soot snickered, "Oak's gonna go crazy over this."

Misty sweat dropped with a smirk, "So, you mostly called all of us in here to brag about the watch making you even smarter?"

Ash chuckled nervously, "A little, I guess. But, there's something else." He smiled sadly, "Something that, I'm sorry to say, I've been keeping a secret."

Soot and Franz looked at Ash in confusion.

Misty's eyes narrowed, "Ash, you promised not to do that anymore."

Ash waved a hand defensively, "I know I did, but please here me out. It wasn't a matter of trust, this time. It's that," He smiled sadly, "I didn't want to get your hopes up if I failed. Again."

Misty blinked in surprise and shared a confused look with Brock.

They looked back at Ash, and Brock asked, "What do you mean?"

Ash smiled, pulled off his backpack, and reached into it. He pulled out a thin, rectangular, red case and opened it. He reached in and pulled out two thin lens. Each was surrounded by a thin black ring with four green bumps around them.

Soot perked up and stared in at the disk in shock. Franz did as well.

Misty raised a brow, "Camera lenses?"

"No." Franz said; still staring in shock, "Th-those are-" He looked at Ash; still shocked, "You actually finished the Change Lenses?! When?!"

Ash chuckled, "Actually, I haven't. Not yet, anyway." He smiled brightly, "But, by the looks of it, the Clairvoyance has finally given me the edge I've been needing."

Soot smiled brightly, "Dad, that's incredible!" She shifted to a frown, "But, are you positive?"

Ash nodded and put the Lenses back in the case, "I am. With the help from Porygon's Integration, I've been able to figure out more about the watch than we've ever been able to before." He brought up and stared at the watch before smirking, "DNA recognition, Transformation Matrix, what happens to my clothes when I transform." He looked up with bright smile and held up the watch, "Nanomachines."

Misty glanced at Brock. He noticed and shrugged.

They jumped when Franz excitedly shouted, "I knew it!"

Ash and Soot gave him a disappointed look.

Franz cleared his throat, "Okay. Maybe I didn't know exactly." He pointed at them, "But it was one of my theories!"

Ash rolled his eyes while smirking, "Anyway." He looked back at the others and pointed at the watch, "I also found out that this thing has a battery that will outlive the next twenty generations. I'll never have to worry about recharging it."

"WHAT?!" Franz shouted, "How could something have that much power?!"

Ash looked at him with a smile, "That's just it. The power-supply is self-renewable and dying at a rate so slow that it makes a slowpoke look like they're moving at lightspeed in comparison."

Soot's eyes widened in shock, "Woah." She blinked in surprise and raised a brow, "Wait, when did you have time to figure all that out?"

Ash looked at her with a smile, "Actually, I got all of that just now." He put a finger to his temple, "This Clairvoyance is insane."

Clefairy put a hand to her mouth and whispered to Pikachu, "Are you understanding any of this?"

Pikachu sweat dropped and whispered back, "Not even a little."

"That's neat and all," Misty said; catching their attention. She gave them a deadpanned expression, "but what about the lens-things?"

Brock sweat dropped, "Yeah. You still haven't told us what they do."

Ash chuckled nervously, "Right sorry." He perked up, "Put simply." He smiled slyly and brought up the watch, "They let other people use this."

"WHAT?!" Brock, Pikachu, Misty, and Clefairy blurted out.

Brock stared at Ash in shock, "Ash, a-are you serious?!"

Ash nodded before pulling out one of the Lenses again, "Once there complete, I just have to dial up a form and place the Lens on the watch." He placed the Lens on the watch's dial; as per his explanation. He removed the Lens and held it up. It looked no different, "The silhouette will show up on the Lens." He flipped it like a coin towards Misty.

The Cerulean Gym Leader flinched and caught it.

Ash smiled and pointed at the Lens, "And then anyone can use that to turn into the selected form."

Misty and Brock looked at the Lens in shock; speechless. Pikachu and Clefairy looked at Ash and grimaced at what they saw.

"I can't say for sure when I'll have them done." Ash said; catching the human's and Soot's attention. They flinched when they saw him grinning wickedly, "But with how close I'm getting, it won't be more than a day or two. I'm ten billion percent certain."

Everyone else -except Soot and Franz- sweat dropped as they stared in Ash in shock, 'What's with that creepy look?'

Soot blinked as she and Franz stared at Ash in confusion, 'Ten billion?'

Ash shook his head and blinked rapidly, "What the- Where the Yvel did that come from?"

Everyone else crashed to the ground.

ALL minus Ohirume:

Here we are, going far, to save all that we love

If we give all we've got we will make (Ohirume: Evil go away!) it through

Here we are, like a star, shining bright on your world today…

Make evil go away!

.

*Later; outside the lab

Dr. Schaffer frowned, "Do you have to leave so soon? I was really hoping to get the Lenses in action."

Ash smiled sadly, "Sorry, Franz. But we need to head out and I still need a little more time. Besides, I'd feel a little more comfortable if the field test is in a forest." He gave a sly smirk, "Y'know, instead of the place that three idiots broke into."

Franz chuckled, "Alright, alright. Fair enough. I'll update my security system." He gestured to the Virtual Pokémon on either side of them, "And with their help, it'll be a breeze."

Prime nodded with a determined glare, "Yeah! We'll set up all kinds of superpowered and high-tech traps! Once we're done, no one will even be able to make it through the front gate alive!"

Zero blinked as they stared at Prime in shock, "Uhhh…"

Pikachu, Clefairy, and Soot gulped.

Ash chuckled nervously, "That sounds like it'll be a bit much. How about adding nanoscopic security cameras and maybe some more frightening and believable holograms. Like Tyranitar or Gyarados."

Prime pouted … well, a porygon's version of a pout, "Fine."

Soot sighed in relief, "Good." She looked at Franz with a smirk, "You might also want to add in that 'damage eject' protocol into the older Transfer Machine."

Franz looked down at her with a smile, "Oh, don't worry about that. I've been considering dismantling that thing ever since finishing the chambers. And now I know they work."

Misty's eyes widened, "Wait. You weren't even sure they would work and still sent us through those things?"

Franz chuckled nervously, "I, uh- I suppose that is what I just said." He looked back at Ash, "Anyway, next time we meet, I wanna take that porygon form out for a spin." He grinned wickedly and rubbed his hands together, "I can only imagine the advancements I'll be able to put together with that kind of power."

Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy grimaced. Ash sweat dropped. Both porygon backed up slightly.

Soot deadpanned, "Franz, stop. You're scaring everyone."

Franz rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously, "Sorry. I just got excited." He looked back at Ash, "But, you will let me try it out next time, right?"

Ash smiled and nodded, "I promise. And I'm positive I'll be finished with them long before then."

Soot glanced at Ash with a sly smirk, "Would you saw your ten-billion percent positive?"

Ash glared at her, "Soot, cut it out. I still have no idea where that came from."

Franz smiled, "Still, I like it." He put a hand to his chin, "I think I'm gonna make that my catchphrase."

Soot sweat dropped, "Why do you need a catchphrase?"

Franz shrugged, "Why not?"

Seishin: Oooo. I really wish we could tell him the bad news. :(

Ash perked up upon realizing something, "Oh, uh, one more thing before we go." He walked up and whispered something to Franz.

Franz almost broke into laughter before saying, "Okay, deal. But only if you get his reaction on video."

Ash smirked, "Trust me. I am not passing up a chance like that."

Gem: Hey! Sorry we're late! Now we-

Ohirume: Too late. You missed it.

Mewtwo, Gem, and Gem's Pikachu: Oh, come on!

Pearl and Peridot: *shrug* Meh.

.

*The next day; forest clearing

Everyone stood in a clearing with all of their Pokémon out.

Misty and Brock stood across from the group and stared at the glass disks in their hands in awe. These Lenses were currently filled in green and had a black pikachu silhouette in the center. Theirs and Ash's backpacks and pokéball were propped up against a tree.

Brock and Misty's Pokémon looked at their trainers anxiously. Ash's Pokémon watched in interest.

Ash smirked with his arms crossed as all of the Pokémon stood around him, 'After all this time. Over two years of painstaking work. I almost can't believe it.'

Brock looked up at Ash, "So … this is it?"

Ash smiled and nodded, "Yeah. All you have to do is put it somewhere on your body and hit it."

Misty looked at him too, "And you're sure it'll work?"

Soot snickered, "Oh, please. Dad knows what he's doing." She shot Ash a sideways glance, "Right?"

Ash chuckled, "Positive." He put a finger on his temple, "I've run the scenario countless times as myself, Calm Mind, and Porygon and made every possible modification imaginable to make sure they're safe." Ash stopped, blinked, and raised a finger, "Though, I should mention a few minor glitches I couldn't find a way around."

Misty and Brock flinched.

Brock gulped, "G-glitches?"

Ash smiled softly and waved a hand, "It's nothing big."

He raised a finger, "First, the symbol on your new form will be in the same relative place that you put it on your human self. I suggest putting it on your chest, stomach, forehead, or even your back. It doesn't matter whether you put it on your clothes or skin."

He brought up a second finger, "Second, the transformation isn't perfect. The new form will definitely be from the species on the Lens, but you'll be easier to tell apart from others. Namely, your eyes will stay the same, your hair will mirror your human hairstyle, and your headgear -like hats or hairpins- will remain and resize to your new form." He sweat dropped, "I think that's the nanomachines again but I'm still not completely sure."

He brought up a third finger, "And this third thing applies to me as well. The Lenses and watch synchronize a bit too much when at least one Lens user and I use the same form. Specifically, the eyes and hair glitch will apply to me as well and if I Lockdown, you'll Lockdown too with the same time limit as me."

Misty perked up, "That doesn't sound bad at all."

Ash smiled and shrugged, "I never said it was. I'm just letting you know what to expect." He chuckled, "Y'know. Start trying to break Franz's habit."

Brock and Misty chuckled as well before sharing a look and nodding.

Misty placed her Lens on her stomach. Brock placed his Lens in the middle of his chest. They pulled back their hands and disks stuck to them.

Ash smiled, "Now, you just need to tap it. It doesn't matter how hard you hit."

Misty took a deep breath and looked at Brock, "Ready?"

Brock nodded, "On three?"

Misty nodded back, "One."

"Two." Brock continued.

"Three!"

The pair slapped their respective Lenses and flinched as they became shrouded in green light. The light faded to reveal Brock and Misty with their eyes closed and arms in front of their faces. The Pokémon's eyes all widened in shock.

Ash smiled brightly and whispered, "Incredible."

Misty's ear twitched and she slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes shot open as she saw her hands. Or, paws now. She stared in shock and looked down at her new form. The Lens glowed pure green on her stomach.

Misty wiggled the digits on her paw in awe, "Woah."

"Misty?"

Misty looked over and her eyes widened upon seeing a male, spikey-haired, squint-eyed pikachu staring at her; an identical Lens on his chest, "Brock?"

"WOW!"

The pair flinched at the unfamiliar voice and turned towards the source.

Clefairy smiled brightly, ran over to Misty, and held her paws, "Misty, look at you! You're so pretty!"

Misty stared at her in shock.

Pikachu walked over and put a paw on Brock's shoulder; startling him.

The natural born mouse grinned, "So, Brock. How does it feel to understand us for the first time?"

Brock just stared at him; speechless.

"Woah." Charmander said in awe.

Bulbasaur stared in shock, "I can't believe it actually worked."

Muk blinked in surprise, "Never a dull day with this kid."

Pidgeotto smiled, "Still, this is pretty cool."

Starmie drooped slightly, "Sure. But why did our trainer have to turn into an Electric-type of all things?"

Geodude chuckled and crossed his arms, "I don't mind. We still have an advantage over our trainer."

Goldeen looked at Geodude from the pool, "Still, couldn't he have given her the vaporeon form?" She looked at the Duck Pokémon, "You agree, right Psy-" She stopped and blinked in surprise.

Turns Psyduck fainted when the pair changed.

Staryu turned towards the duck and sweat dropped, "Seriously?"

Onix just stared down at the pair in shock, "I- I- Uh-"

Brock and Misty looked around the group in awe.

A green flash caught everyone's attention and they turned towards Ash. They found a hat wearing, brown-eyed pikachu with tufts of fur poking out the sides of his head.

"So," Ash said to his once-human friends before giving a fanged grin, "What do you guys think?"

.

.

*****PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING*****

Ohirume: The new comment response will be posted on "Random-ish stuff on the side" on 2/5/2020 at approximately 11:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Part of the reason I'm saying this is in regard to the Change Lenses. I know that not everyone may like the idea of them.

I've seen reviews in other stories that are exclusively negative towards a single concept that's too abstract or too 'Deus Ex Machina'. Y'know, too Overpowered or convenient.

I'm not exactly sure if the Lenses qualify as something like that or if those people were hating for the sake of hating, but … I still know that this concept won't to everyone's liking. Everyone has their own opinions.

That said, I have no interest in scrapping the Lenses. And, I sincerely apologize to anyone this upsets.

If you want my reason for including them, I'll happily answer whatever questions you have … within reason. And by that, I mean no major spoilers.

Omega: *sly smirk* So, you'll actually explain how they work?

Ohirume: Remember that episode from the Second Season of the Classic Ben 10 series where Ben used a screwdriver to pop the faceplate off the Omnitrix? It's a similar (but not exact) concept. Aside from that, it's fictional science that I can't explain.

Omega: *Blinks in surprise* Honestly, I didn't expect an answer.

Seishin: Also, bonus points to anyone who can figure out what the deleted form's species was.

Omega: WHAT ARE THE POINTS FOR?!

Seishin: … :P