As you can see, we have a new cover photo! I got it from Jirulius in the That Universe Discord chat, which is awesome. Covers like these are typically used in TU stories, so that's why he recommended this one for me.

In addition, my own Discord now has 8 members! If you wish to join, send a PM to me, Cosmicsafe74, or record45, and I/he/she will give you the code. At least, I will. I have a mic, so I can do voice chat as well.

Answer: It's Lucario, with Zoroark a distant second, and nobody else even close. But I'm sure you guys already knew that.

Question: What is, in your opinion, the most underrated band there is?

SAMUEL'S POV

The man who walked into the room was slightly taller than average, with short, black hair and green eyes. Nobody else (besides Kieran) seemed to know who he was, but he needed to give me no introduction; I was more than aware of who this person was. I'd seen him before, after all.

"Eric!" I exclaimed. "How did you find us?"

Eric Owsley shrugged. "I used Mesprit to help me figure out the way. It really wasn't that hard".

"Wait, so who is this chap?" Malcolm asked, bouncing on the bed like a little kid. I found it a little annoying that he was playing at being British, particularly when we had to deal with the fact that Lucas London had been kidnapped. We could do with a little less humor, I thought. Also, a little less energy, a little more actually getting things done.

"I helped teach Lucas how to use his illusions" Eric replied. "My name is Eric Owsley, and I am thirty-four years old. I've got a team of Pokemon that are going to help us save him from Team Rocket".

"But we don't know for sure where he's being held!" Michelle all but shrieked. "And, really, we have no way to know for sure, and no reason to trust you. How do we know that you really helped Lucas with the illusions?"

Luckily enough, I happened to know a way to make sure Michelle and Malcolm trusted this man. It rarely failed, but it could on occasion if we were surrounded by many other auras. In that case, it would be like trying to focus on a single instrument when an enormous symphony orchestra was playing. If that wasn't damn near impossible, it was at least pretty hard.

I looked into Eric's aura. I saw that he meant what he said, and he said what he meant. It seemed that it was a safe bet that trusting him was going to be in our best interest.

"We should trust him" I said. "Trust me, I know him".

Kieran shot me a look, which was a grim smile. "He's not going to help us. Not after I attacked you and Lucas up on that hill".

"Maybe he won't help you" I said, pointing my paw at Kieran, "but he might help the rest of us, even if it does mean helping you".

"Samuel is correct" the man replied, smiling. "Just because you might have attacked us, Kieran Mortimer, does not mean that I am not willing to help the others in the group. As long as you do not intend to attack us, then I will count that as a win. You are okay to have in our group in that case".

Kieran nodded. "So...why are you here?"

"Simple" Eric stated, snapping his fingers as though it were a self-evident fact. "I'm here to help you guys. I don't want Lucas London to be left to the mercy, or lack thereof, of Team Rocket. I'm sure that, even now, they are not showing him any mercy. That's just not Team Rocket's style, you know?"

I supposed that I could be fairly confident of that. Whatever else you could say about Team Rocket, they sure didn't pull any punches. There was a chance Lucas could be dead by now, but I didn't want to entertain that thought. For one, it was likely that they would want to perform more experiments on him than they already had. In addition, they just liked to torture Pokemon for their own entertainment. That was some seriously evil stuff.

"So...do you guys wanna order some food for dinner?" Malcolm asked. "I know Meema wouldn't let me eat too much sugar, but can we please get a giant strawberry shortcake with ice cream on top? Please?"

Eric laughed. "Malcolm, your stomach might be a bottomless pit, but ours aren't. We're going to have to eat fairly healthily tonight, in order to be able to train tomorrow".

"Wait" I said. "We won't rescue Lucas tomorrow?"

"You need to become acquainted with my team more first" the man replied. "Learn how to battle using them. I have five Pokemon".

"Which ones?" Kieran asked.

"They are a Haunter, a Golem, a Beautifly, a Mesprit, and a Zubat" he said. "I think that all of them could come in very handy".

"Wait...you have a Mesprit?" Michelle asked. "That's a Legendary! You don't just get Legendaries that way!"

"That is true" Eric said. "It is normally very difficult to find a Legendary. However, if you know the right people, it becomes far less difficult".

That was a bit of an ominous statement. Reading his aura, I knew that he had nothing but the best of his intentions, but if he was trying to make us trust him, he sure wasn't doing a very good job of it. It was hard to trust someone who just casually tossed out information like having a Legendary Pokemon, and then didn't tell you how he had acquired it.

Still, though, we had to trust Eric. He probably was our only option, and our best chance at being able to get Lucas back.

"So...what do you want to get for dinner?" Eric asked. "They have a lot of food at this Pokemon center".

After we told Eric our orders, he went down to the kitchen part of the center to make sure that it was being made the way we wanted it.

"He's really being helpful, isn't he?" Michelle asked.

I nodded. Eric Owsley was being almost suspiciously helpful. I knew that he didn't have any ulterior motives, but it was still a little unsettling to be living with so much uncertainty, and now find a person who was so kind. That did not just happen.

Our food came, and it was pretty good. It definitely tasted better than the cafeteria food at the high school I used to attend, and probably better than that at Lucas's school as well. I was glad that Eric wouldn't let me order chocolate, because Lucario become addicted to the stuff very easily, for whatever reason.

In spite of what Malcolm had demanded, we did not get strawberry shortcake; we didn't need the exuberant Zorua to become even more hyper than he already was. We all needed our sleep, and there was no way that he would be conducive to that for us. I feel horrible for saying this, but it's true.

Even after we were done eating, we stayed up two hours later that night, discussing plans to save Lucas from Team Rocket. Everything had to go perfectly or close to it, because there was no doubt that the villainous team would have put up many strong lines of defense against intruders.

Overall, I could tell that all of us were nervous. We only had two more nights until we would be in the do-or-die situation. Lucas's was the only life at risk right now, but that could change if something went wrong on our mission. I tried not to think that way, however. I wanted to be as optimistic as possible.

And, as I finally got in my bed in the Pokemon center in order to go to sleep, I had the feeling that it was all going to be okay. We just couldn't fuck it up.

LUCAS'S POV

Seriously, Arceus. Waking up with a blinder of a headache was becoming sort of a pattern for me. Was this some kind of cosmic joke, or just a coincidence? Either way, I was sick of it.

Examining my surroundings, I saw that I was still locked in the room and chained to the wall. I could only move my arms and legs the amount that my irons would allow me to, which is to say not very much at all. In addition, the chains were starting to chafe around my ankles and wrists, even though I had a significant amount of fur to cushion against that.

Really, I had so many unpleasant physical sensations going on that I could barely count. All I knew was, I was going to need to deal with it. It would be best not to give Jessie and James, if they came into the room, the satisfaction of knowing that they had gotten to me. I would remain as calm, cool, and collected on the outside as possible, even if, on the inside, I was as freaked out as it was possible to be. All I wanted was to be out of this dark, dank cell.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I technically could have gotten up and walked over to answer it, but it was far quicker for the Team Rocket scientist to walk in on his own, carrying a cardboard box. This begged the question of why he had to knock in the first place, but it probably didn't matter too much.

"Good morning, Lucas London" the scientist said. "My name is Dr. Shives, and I am going to be the one conducting the experiments on you. Trust me when I say that they will be performed in as humane a manner as possible".

I grunted. There was no way he was being serious! I had to fight the urge to laugh, but it wouldn't be from thinking something was amusing. It would have been at the fact that he could say something that was so blatantly untrue, something that I knew was untrue. There was just no way that he could possibly be doing anything in a humane manner, the way things were going. Team Rocket was bound and determined to find out the secret behind my transformation.

Of course, I had a pretty good feeling that it had to do with that mysterious necklace. As to where that necklace had come from, or why it had even been made in the first place, his guess would be as good as mine.

"Today, I am going to make sure that we find the secret behind your transformation, or at least get closer to the solution. I have this bag of pure caffeine, which will be administered intravenously. Were we to have you drink it, you would not be able to keep it down".

I fought the urge to laugh once again. There was no way he was being serious!

Then, he revealed what was inside the box. A bag of something labelled PURE CAFFEINE: USE WITH CAUTION, a tube, and a needle. At that point, I knew that he was going to follow through with it. And there was nothing I could do about it. After all, I was still chained to the wall, and, if I thrashed around to try and prevent it, there would be no way that they wouldn't just use a tranquilizer, get the IV in anyway, and my efforts would have been utterly fruitless.

Better not to wake up with that huge headache, I supposed.

"Do it" I said through clenched teeth.

Dr. Shives gave me a dirty look. "What did you say?"

"I said, do it. I've always wanted to have an IV drip of caffeine". Of course, I was being sarcastic. I had never had a cup of coffee in my life, other than a sip or two, which I promptly spat back up due to the disgusting taste. Truth be told, I've never understood why so many people depend on it to get through the day. I've always been able to do just fine, even though I don't have the most energetic personality.

An IV of caffeine would probably be ripped out immediately, since I'd be going crazy. I never bothered to find out if I had ADHD, but I might find out now.

"Okay" Dr. Shives said, tying a tourniquet around my arm, while being careful not to cut himself on my extremely sharp claws. "This will only hurt a little".

He stuck the needle into my arm, which hurt more than I would have thought at first. I've never been one to be that afraid of needles, which might have something to do with telling myself that it'll only last for a second, and then it'll be over, just like that.

Still, it was quite something to know what was going to happen. What would it be like to be pumped full of pure caffeine? Would I feel the urge to run wild, to break these chains away? Would I end up hurting myself? Would something else bad happen? Would that be outweighed by whatever harm could be caused by the caffeine?

The tube was inserted, and the bag was held in the air by Dr. Shives. With the pole next to him, he hung the bag from there. I could understand that it might get tiring to hold onto that bag for too long. Truth be told, Dr. Shives was probably just a subordinate, forced by his boss to do this. However, that didn't make me hate him any less. He was still engaging in unethical experimentation on a teenage boy who had just so happened to transform into a Zoroark. It made no sense from the standpoint of being an ethical person. However, it made perfect sense if you were just another one of Team Rocket's cronies, not willing to think for yourself.

As soon as the first drops of caffeine began making their way into my veins, I felt a small buzz. It felt like the inside of my head was made of gears, spinning around and around in order to keep me going. It made me feel less grounded, in a way. That was not a reassuring feeling, I can tell you that much. I do not recommend getting kidnapped by Team Rocket and experimented on in this manner.

The more caffeine they got into me, the more hyper I felt on the inside. I wanted to just run, run so far away from all of my troubles. I didn't feel like I was on cloud nine, not by a long shot, but I felt far less tethered to this world, as well as the pain.

To sum it all up, it felt both blissful and terrifying at the same time. Blissful, in that I no longer was consumed by the pain of the shackles, and the constant headache I had been having lately. Terrifying, because it felt like I was almost outside of my body.

People often talk about out-of-body experiences they have had as being blissful, or amazing. For me, it was pretty scary. I didn't know what was going on, and I didn't feel as though I was able to scream. Whatever was in this bag of caffeine might have also included something to make me feel as though I couldn't talk...but I thought it was pure caffeine? Couldn't that kill within minutes, if you took too much of it?

I didn't know. All I did know was, if I managed to survive the day, I would never become a coffee drinker. My parents, one of whom was now deceased, had both required their usual cup to get through the day, and I had always prided myself on not being one of those people. What if I became addicted as a result of this?

Even with all of these jumbled thoughts running through my head, I managed to endure the hour, trying not to pass out from the sheer force of all the caffeine. I saw that the bag had pretty much been drained, so Dr. Shives, who had been watching over me the whole time, helped me up.

"Okay, Lucas London. You will now run on the Pokemon treadmill for an hour".

I groaned on the inside. I had never been one for distance running; I could do short distances, since my legs are very long, making me kind of like a gazelle in that manner. However, as soon as distance running was put into the mix, you could count me out.

Then again, I was now a Zoroark. And I had just been given a very high dose of pure caffeine, a dose that would likely have killed a human. Cle
arly, number 571 had some power to survive it.

The only question was, what would await me on the treadmill?

The Pokemon treadmill was a huge thing, about thirty feet square.

For this was not like a normal treadmill; I was told that it would speed up or slow down according to my speed, and there were no guardrails either. No safety clip to put on my shirt, not that I could have worn one anyways.

"Get on" Dr. Shives said. "It will measure your heart rate as you run, because Team Rocket's technology has gotten to that point. We don't need any electrodes; the treadmill has built those in, and they don't need to be on your chest".

"That is quite the technology you've got there" I said. I'd been forced to admit it, because I was generally interested in science, and that had not changed now that I was no longer a human. If anything, the necklace made science more interesting to me; I wanted to find out the secret behind my transformation as much as Team Rocket did.

The only difference was, I didn't want to go to such lengths in order to do it.

"Get on" Dr. Shives repeated, and I was forced to obey him. I didn't know what other tricks he had up his sleeve, should I refuse, but I didn't want to take that risk.

As soon as I was on, I started running in order to get away from that man. However, just like he had said, the treadmill moved at a speed that was prohibitively fast for making forward momentum. Not only that, but, when I tried speeding up a little, the conveyor belt sped up with me. It sure as hell seemed that the speed of the treadmill was affected by my own speed.

When I started slowing down, so did the conveyor belt. Indeed, this was what was going on. I knew it.

This went on for what felt like an eternity. As I sped up, so did the treadmill. I couldn't get off it; it was as though there were an invisible wall covering the perimeter of the treadmill. Of course, I wasn't going to take the risk of severely injuring myself by running off, but even if I had wanted to, this would have been very difficult if not impossible.

I became more and more short of breath. Like I said, I've never had the best stamina when it comes to running. Even as a Zoroark, that was somewhat true, but the treadmill compensated for that easily. It was hard to fall off on accident, since it automatically changed speeds depending on the runner's speed. Overall, while it was not a pleasant experience by any means, it was definitely interesting that Team Rocket had such power. The government was going to have to figure out a new way to fight them, that was for sure.

Finally, it was over. I was led back to my room, and I actually had to lean on Dr. Shives for support, since I was just so incredibly exhausted that I had difficulty walking on my own. It was a little embarrassing, but there was no one around to see. As much as I hated the doctor, he was at least not allowing me to faceplant on the ground.

When we got back to my room, I was shackled back to the bar and led back into bed. I fell asleep almost immediately, running on the treadmill having taken a lot out of me.

KIERAN'S POV

The next morning found us once again eating from the Pokemon center's cafeteria while discussing plans to rescue Lucas.

We were going to make our attempt to rescue Lucas the next day. The thought of what we were going to attempt made my heart race faster, which made me think about...that.

To put it one way, I had kind of had the devil on my shoulder ever since I had been diagnosed with my heart condition. He had always been telling me to cause as much chaos as possible, since I'd be checking out of this world in not too long.

Five years, I thought. That was four years ago. How long until my heart stops working? How much longer do I have?

The answer was, there was no way of knowing. Some days I felt fine. Some days I had trouble catching my breath, and then I really did feel as though I was dying. Lately, I'd been having a lot of good days, and hopefully that wouldn't end anytime soon. Right now, things were going pretty well for me, all things considered.

"Hey, Kieran, want to go train our Pokemon for the battle tomorrow?" Eric asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I realized that I'd been sitting, cross-legged, on my bed, much like a Buddhist monk or a meditating Lucario. For all I knew, I'd been sound asleep.

"That can't hurt" I said, standing up. "Let's go".

Michelle, Samuel, and Malcolm all seemed eager to as well. I was glad that I wasn't wearing my pajamas; I had slept in my normal clothes that night. Some people only sleep in their underwear, some nude, but I'm not one of those people. For me, it's either normal clothes or PJs. Say what you will, but I have always preferred to dress modestly.

We left the room and headed into town. Rocket was a small town right on the coast, with plenty of taverns and other small businesses. However, that wasn't what we were looking for.

"Here's the battling arena!" Eric said. "We found it!"

I saw what he was talking about. There was a small area, similar in size and appearance to an outdoor basketball court, that looked like it was meant to be used for battling. Instead of the usual circle that you see in the middle of a court, there was an image of a Pokeball. There was no doubt that this was the place.

"I like it here" Michelle said. "I love the sun, the sound of the waves...the sea is just awesome".

"Where's Team Rocket?" Malcolm asked. "I mean, I don't see a huge castle or anything like that".

I was about to point out that an evil organization like Team Rocket that was worth their salt would absolutely not have their location be so clear to see at a couple of miles away. Perhaps it was out to sea by a little bit, or hidden using some special technology. Really, we didn't know.

We watched Golem duke it out with Haunter, Beautifly fight against Zubat. I could have called my own Pokemon to come and do some practice battling, but I didn't feel like it. Even though there were a lot of Poison types that were loyal to me whenever they got to know me, I didn't feel like it would be a good idea to call them out right now. I wanted them to be well-rested for tomorrow.

One might consider that a silly idea, but it was true. Sometimes, I couldn't get the Pokemon to work with me, and they would need a break. When that was the case, I had no option but to honor their requests. I might be a lot of things, but I'm not a Pokemon abuser.

Suddenly, as Zubat was battling against Golem, we saw a man walk up to us. It wasn't someone I recognized, but his presence was intimidating just the same.

He was a very large man, tall and stocky, who looked to be a couple of years younger than myself (although, looking at me, you wouldn't believe that I was only 24 years old). He must have been a good six inches taller even than Lucas, who stood at six feet, two inches.

I was surprised to see him there, but he kept on walking towards us, moving with a purpose. I could guess that this purpose was to find us for whatever end Team Rocket had set up for them.

"Who are you?" I asked the man. His head wasn't very prominent on his muscular body, which was adorned in a well-worn piece of Kevlar vest. He had green eyes and light brown hair, and he wore a friendly expression once he got closer. Although, the friendliness was mixed with ferocity, if that was even possible and not a grade-A walking contradiction.

"My name's Garfield O'Shannon, and I want to help you guys" he said.

We all looked at each other, shocked.

LUCAS'S POV

I woke up in the middle of the night to the feeling of a prick in my arm. It was just above the bandage that had been placed after the last IV, and I got the feeling that I might have to go through this all again.

Trying to open my eyes, I saw Dr. Shives once again. He wore an expression of determination, determination to find out what the hell was going on with me. Again, something I didn't blame him for, but I just wished he could have found a different way to go about it. He didn't have to treat me so poorly.

Soon, an IV was put in my arm once again. This time, however, I was able to see that something was not getting put into my arm; rather, something was being taken out of it. Blood?

The more they took, the weaker I felt. It wasn't hard to get back to sleep once again, with my last thoughts being, Man, this sucks. They had better come and get me soon.

Not a very long chapter, but better than the last one. Thank you to Zaravan for giving me Garfield, a character that has a very interesting profile.

Also, this story has now passed the 60,000-word mark. This will make it easier to find in the Pokémon section, since it'll be in its own word category. I'm definitely glad to have reached this point.

I don't know if I will update on May 29, which is my cake day of sorts. My first anniversary of joining this site, in case you don't know what that means. I was considering writing a small one-shot inspired by Matthias Unidostres, featuring some of my fans, but I decided against it. I just want to write this.

In any case, thank you for over 5,000 views, and have a nice day.

Sincerely, SnowLucario