Chapter 7: I did it!

Chapter 7 START

Ghetsis was upholding himself with the strong confident pose he held when facing the sages, the grunts, the people; no matter who he faced he would never waiver. This was required if you had the ambition to take over the entire Unova region and reign above all others. Everyone would know to bow down in respect wherever Ghetsis went. Even Alder, the current Champion who truly deserved that title, would realise his place and submit to him.

However, for the first time in his life, he struggled to uphold himself as he looked at the calm yet deranged eyes of his newly appointed scientist. They were alien. He acquired him after he saw how his abilities triumphed over Colress's and sent the latter packing without a single glance. He wanted to achieve his goals and achieve them now. He had no time for second-rate subordinates to help achieve them.

"How is your research getting along Doctor, it won't be long before we go to meet the legendary dragon. If we want to liberate Pokemon from the evil humans then we'll need to show them that they are causing nothing but oppression to them. We need a legendary Pokemon's power if we want to accomplish this dream."

"It won't be long now. I assure you I will give you the results I promised. I only need more subjects to study before I can make the mind control device. Without them, this will take longer and make us more susceptible to the authorities."

Ghetsis took a small glance over Vikasa's shoulder before quickly pulling back. It made him furrow his brows. His experiments were inhumane and a complete turnover to the culture the current generations were brought up in. Sure, you get those who are downright evil committing crimes like murder, rape, and all sorts but it was very rare. It's unfortunate that he was willing to go to this extent for his dream but it was what it was.

"I will get you more once the operations team reaches Nacrene City. They will kidnap some Pokemon when they are in their Pokeballs in a Pokemon Centre away from their trainers."

"Thank you. I too want Pokemon to be away from such oppression." No, I don't. "And these ones's sacrifice won't go in vain." Ghetsis nodded his head.

"Carry on with your work."

Don't tell me what to do. He goes back into his lab where the doors shut themselves separating him from the leader of Team Plasma. The fucking idiot thought he would actually listen to his pathetic whims. He walked past the few tables that each contained a Pokemon with their body parts open up. Noticeably, they were all bird type Pokemon one could find in the Unova region. Opened wing flaps, removed muscle tissue, one even had his ribs open. The good thing was that they were dead and didn't have to deal with any more suffering.

He placed his hand on a particular place on the wall. It wasn't any different from the rest of the lab. It made a small hissing noise before slowly opening up, revealing a dimly illuminated room with more lab equipment. These ones were more high-tech as they showed pristinely detailed features on them. There was a large mechanical square bed in the middle of the room that had what looked like a scanner connected to it as an overhang.

It's been a month now since I arrived in this world and I've got to say, I'm lovin it. Having been taken away from Earth to a new world with technology beyond what we could've fathomed, it just shrivels my balls. As a scientist, I had no choice but to quickly learn what this world contained and it didn't disappoint. Gadgets, medicine, and even space travel have advanced highly.

However, nothing compared to the discovery of these strange alien creatures called Pokemon. This world didn't only have humans as the highly populated species. These marvellous creatures were ones you would find in a fairy tale. They had fantasy-like appearances based on the normal species on Earth like foxes and cats, but they were able to harness the elements for fighting similar to magic; being able to shoot flames and conjure shields.

I had to learn about them, they were more important than any type of technology this world had to offer me. If there was a chance to find another sentient creature, who could potentially be the apex species of this world, then I had to know about it.

Immediately I got to work. I found Team Plasma, replaced Colress in exchange for my superior biological knowledge, was provided with a home, food, and most importantly a lab, and started to find out as much as I could about them.

...I was severely disappointed. At first, I was excited to find out that they were, in fact, sentient possessing intelligence far beyond Earth's next two smartest creatures, the ape and the dolphin. There was no way the human nature would allow them to just be without some sort of control and I stood correct. Looking at this world's history I found a disappointing revelation. They never fought for their own domination instead they acted as tools for us, dying to fulfil our needs. This was even when they could have easily wiped out the human race, but now it's too late. This society has advanced too much and my species has proven itself to be at the top.

This isn't what I wanted. I wanted to see if there was a creature that could surpass the status of a human, but I guess no matter what world we're in, humanity will always remain at the top. No matter.

He walked to the large table that had much machinery coming out of its sides connected to the singular creature in the middle of it. It was a Galarian Sirfetch'd that found itself in the Unova region somehow, and now part of a grand experiment. He was currently asleep with cords attached to various parts of its body but were mostly attached to the brain, the throat and the heart.

I will have to create the ultimate being myself. This world is inhabited by nothing by inferior creatures even the humans are weak. Where was the rampant crime, where were the people eating each other over competition?

This is the research I'm actually working on. The mind control device will be a side thing to impress Ghetsis, but my focus is mainly on this. He will be the first step to achieving my goal. I will create the creature who will dominate this world and destroy anyone who stands in his way. 'Why?' You may ask. Simple. because I hate weakness, so all those who aren't able to stop me deserve to be beneath my power.

It's not as messed up as you think it is, not at all. The world is always operated by those in power- mostly gained from tyranny- so this will just be a step up from that, and if you ask the question 'what if the creature turns on you?'. It won't, I'll make sure of that. I'm not dumb enough to fall for that cliche.

He was looking at the vitals shown on a tablet protruding from the side of the bed. Everything was stable from the heartbeat to the brain activity, but for some reason, the Sirfetch'd remained in its coma. The first and most important stage of the project was increasing a creature's intelligence, so he transferred some parts of a human brain from a child he kidnapped from the countryside to this Sirfetch'd. He didn't know why, but its species was greatly compatible for it.

This would be considered an outlandish experiment or a useless one. It would have labelled him stupid if he tried it back home as combining two brains is far beyond impossible. He sighed as he sat down on the adjacent chair. After 2 weeks nothing major has happened. He shouldn't think that he would get results in only 2 weeks despite the fact that he shouldn't get any at all, but he liked quick results.

BEEP...BEEP...BEEP

The holter monitor was starting to get really annoying. He gripped the tablet tightly. Perhaps he did get over his head. I mean what was I thinking? He slammed it down on the nearby desk before swiping aside some diagrams. There was no way this was going to work. He huffed in place, placing a hand over his eyes as they were starting to turn red.

BEEP BEEP

He gasped, immediately picking up the tablet to read the heart rate. That was different. No, maybe it was just a one-off.

BEEP BEEP...BEEP BEEP BEEP

The monitor was showing a pulse that was increasing in rate. He quickly turned to the table. The Sirfetchd's eyes were slowly opening and his mouth parted to take in deeper breaths. He threw the tablet on the floor, ran to the table and yanked every single plug that was attached to him. He carefully inspected the Pokemon as the Sirfetchd's eyes weakly stared at the doctor. He was starting to regain more of his consciousness as his vision was clearing up.

"I...did it?" Vikasa asked not believing what was in front of him. "I did it! I ACTUALLY DID IT!"

"S-s-s-ff-th-"

"Shhhhh it's okay it's okay." He assured him with the most gentle whisper he could muster. He looked at him like one would to their newborn baby. "You, my beloved creature, have become the first of those who've been improved."

(with Team Sarah)

"Alright, you two it's time to bring our A game. This is the real deal." Sarah said to the two companions beside her. "We're bringing home our next badge."

"Are you nervous?" Athena asked Anubis, sensing the small burn of anxiety in him.

"Don't worry. Even though I lost my first gym battle, which was definitely Sarah's fault." She mumbled the last part. "I know we're going to beat Lenora's Pokemon."

"Y-yes you're right. We've got this. I've got this." He took a deep breath and tried not to think too much about it. All those doubts were just whispers in his mind, they don't exist. As long as he didn't listen to them he'll succeed.

"It's good to be confident. The trainers who are able to beat me have to have it. The only ones who get lucky are those who are rich enough to buy some strong starters." Lenora said leading the group past the library along with her husband Hawes.

Now that made it harder for him to ignore the thoughts, especially since he was bought by a rich household, but couldn't fulfil his end of the bargain. They reached the end where the two stood facing them while standing next to a bookshelf.

"Before we begin our battle I like to have trainers study up on what's coming their way in the future as a Pokemon trainer. If you fail to prepare then you prepare to fail. I would recommend starting off with this book." She said pointing at the thick book behind her.

Sarah's smile fell. She had been waiting for a gym battle since yesterday, got her booking cancelled without any kind of notification, and is now told she has to go through a study session before she can actually battle her...This felt illegal.

Why are they smiling like that? She raised a brow at the duo. Something was going on here, did she miss something? Instead of thinking too much about it, she took the book that Lenora recommended to her. If she was going to read one she might as well pick the one the Gym leader suggested.

As soon as she tried picking up the book she let go as there was a slight rumbling around her. The bookshelf itself was slowly moving apart and revealed a staircase going below. Lenora smiled at her goofy face.

"It never gets old does it dear."

"Nope, it certainly doesn't."

"What is this?" Sarah asked

"It's the battlefield of course. You see I do a test on every trainer who wants to earn their gym badge. Seeing their reaction tells me what kind of trainer they are. 9/10 they don't pick the book I tell them to as they would rather go their own way. That shows either arrogance or solitude. The ones who like to rush through life without planning pick the thinner books, thinking it would get them their gym battle faster and the others would pick ones they're interested in which shows that they haven't gotten their priorities straight. If you're going to have a gym battle then you should have your mind in the game. All of us Gym leaders know what we're doing and we'll teach those who truly want to become amongst the top."

Sarah could only watch her in awe as she now realised how knowledgeable and experienced Lenora was. She had to ask.

"What is it you see in me, what kind of a trainer am I?"

"You Sarah are one of the uniques. You're shy, naive and I can tell you've been a shut-in for most of your life. You want to go out there to prove yourself, but find yourself quite lacking." Sarah didn't like what she was hearing despite it all being true. Lenora's smile widened.

"But you have a good and strong heart. One that will never waver against any challenge. As long as you keep true to yourself and don't change the path that you're on then you will accomplish your goals. Well, come on then we ain't got time to waste."

They went to their respective positions before Hawes called out the rules.

"This is the Nacrene City gym battle between Sarah, the challenger, and Lenora, the Gym Leader, will begin by each selecting two of their Pokemon, and when either the Gym Leader or the challenger's Pokemon are left unable to battle the battle will be decided. In addition, both Pokemon can be freely substituted at any time."

Lenora took out a pokeball from her pocket and let out her first Pokemon, a Lillipup. Sarah squealed, bringing her hands to her crying heart at the adorable little puppy. She pulled out her pokedex while shaking in delight and pointed it at him.

"Lillipup, the puppy Pokemon. The long hair around its face provides an amazing radar that lets it sense subtle changes in its surroundings." The robotic voice said. Sarah was slightly annoyed that it didn't tell her any other information, but it was expected since he wasn't registered to her.

"Since you're bringing out Lillipup, I'll bring out Athena." The Psychic Pokemon jumped from Sarah's side to the plane dirt battlefield, her smile vanished as she eyed her opponent. It was battle time.

"Let's start this off Lillipup with Roar." He inhaled a large amount of air. Team Sarah had to hold their ears when he let out a huge roar that shouldn't be coming from a Pokemon his size. It sent waves of sound to their side but didn't do any damage to Athena.

"...What did that do?" After a moment Sarah questioned the results of the Roar when nothing happened.

Lenora eyed the three pokeballs on Sarah's sash. The Riolu was sitting on the side as the battle went along, so she knew that one of them belonged to the Weavile.

"Where's your Weavile?"

"I didn't want to use him for this battle as I've been too reliant on him so far. I'm going to show the Nacrene City Gym Leader what Sarah Grace can do. He's at the library, it's like his natural habitat."

Well there goes that opportunity

"I told Lillipup to use roar as it's a move that forces the trainer to switch their Pokemon. I wanted to surprise you and see how quickly you can adapt to a new situation without time to plan, but I guess I can't do that. It's good to try to be less reliant on someone whom you've depended on for so long, so let's see what you can do." Her Lillipup let out a bark as he got into a defensive position.

"We'll fulfil your request. Athena use Confusion." She sent a large ring of yellow energy to her opponent.

"Dodge it." Sarah's eyes widened when Lillipup dodged to the side with incredible speed. He's quick.

"Now use Take Down." An orange aura surrounded him as he dashed to Athena.

"Q-quickly use Double Team." Athena spread many clones around her side of the battlefield just in time as Lillipup went through one, dissipating it. Sarah sweatdropped as the move looked like it could have caused a lot of damage. "Use Confusion again."

Athena sent another Confusion but it was again dodged.

"Shadow ball." Lillipup opened his mouth gathering the energy for the growing ball before shooting it.

"Double Team." Athena sent another wave of clones with one of them facing the shadow ball and dissipating.

He looked around, wondering which one was the real one. It's not often you get beginning trainers with Pokemon who could use Double Team. He used his facial hair in an attempt to find her; any physical difference in the area as an illusion wouldn't trigger his hair. It was hard, but he could discern which one she was.

"Use shadow ball; multiple but weak." He sent the four shadow balls at her. Sarah clicked her tongue as she knew that this was a great counter for another round of Double Team.

Athena narrowly dodges them as she kept hopping back when a shadow ball almost hit her. These weaker ones were also slower but Lillipup's attack were already too quick. She huffed in place.

She's getting tired. Double Team is a move that requires a huge amount of energy. Weak but multiple she said. I didn't even know you could do that. She knew this would happen from the very start. Is this the strategist of a Gym Leader.

Sarah felt a surge of admiration within her before she smirked as she stared at Lenora's eyes. She wasn't going to give up so easily, not without putting up a fight.

"Use Psybeam." Athena sent out a purple beam of consecutive rings. The training yesterday wasn't for nothing as it was quick enough to hit the dumbfounded Lillipup. He staggered, trying hard not to fall down as the attack did a lot of damage.

"Good, I see that the fruits of your training are going to pay off today...if you win. Use another Take Down." She shouted, intending to end the round. Lillipup surrounded himself in the same orange aura before dashing to Athena.

Athena braced herself for the impact. Lillipup's charge was already a metre away from her. Everyone became confused when he changed direction and ran to the side, hitting his forehead onto the wall causing small chunks to break off. He had to sit down as the recoil did a huge amount of damage to him. Both trainers saw from his eyes that he was confused, it came from the Psybeam.

Sarah smiled as she planned to take advantage of it.

"Now! Keep using Psybeam until he goes down."

"Don't let them, land the next Take Down!" Lillipup charged his attack again which came close to hitting Athena but a slight deviance led him to hitting the wall near her. He needed to sit down from the recoil. Using his vulnerable state, she sent many powerful Psybeams as quickly as she could. Sarah knew that if he broke out of his confusion then she would lose this round.

Lillipup yelled in pain as they overwhelmed him. Swirls appeared on his eyes as he fell on his side, fainting. Sarah jumped into the air in victory as she had won the battle. Athena limped her way towards her side getting a ruffle on her green hair. One down, one more to go.

"Well done for defeating my Lillipup." Lenora said, recalling him before grabbing another pokeball. "But here comes the true challenge. Watchog come on out!"

Out came of the red beam a maroon meerkat with huge frontal teeth and yellow stripes. He stood up straight with his arms crossed giving his challengers a serious glare. It was a bit intimidating like seeing a bouncer staring completely at you.

Sarah didn't bother scanning him with her pokedex when her adrenaline was at an all-time high and she needed to keep the streak going.

"Anubis come up." He was sitting on the side the entire time watching his small friend fighting with all her might. Seeing the action welled up a feeling of excitement since he was a Pokemon and fighting is what he does. The various moves made him watch in awe. Although, now that he was being called up, his heart started to burn up and tighten. He slowly walked to his side of the field.

"Take a deep breath." He heard from behind him. Sarah took a deep breath and then slowly blew out. He repeated the notion. Hey, it worked! The burning sensation surprisingly went away and helped him focus on his opponent.

Let's see if I can still fight.

"Watchog use Confuse Ray." He threw a yellow energy ball.

"Use Detect to dodge it." Sarah realised that speed is Lenora's forte which is the opposite of her Pokemon. Anubis's focus increased tenfold, allowing him to notice even the slightest movements of his opponent. He watched his arms as he threw the Confuse Ray, reading the trajectory and seeing exactly the way it would reach him. It was easy from there to avoid it as he jumped to his left.

"Low Kick." Watchog suddenly appeared before Anubis, startling him before he went down and sent a strong kick to Anubis's leg. He fell down as the kick hurt a lot and swept him off his feet.

That was when he froze as he looked at the particular part of his leg where a bruise started to form. Watchog went back to Lenora, waiting for his next command, but Anubis just sat in place and stopped breathing. Sarah grew worried. He's been traumatized. Dang it, I shouldn't have brought him out so quickly I'm so stupid. No, I will help him get through this.

"Anubis get up! I know what your trainer did to you before but I promise you I'm not like that. I would never hurt you in any way no matter what. Just please...get up."

He could only feel a terrible pain from the attack, not because it hurt as much as it did but because it's been ingrained from what he felt on that day. When Conner tied him up in the abandoned laboratory so he could wither away with no one knowing, alone. He tied him from his legs, arms and mouth, but even then from the love he had for his trainer despite the bullying he went through, he had hopped his way to him to follow him. Conner only responded by giving an annoyed remark and sending a hard low kick to his leg, sweeping him and letting his head hit the floor. He was shocked then teared up when he walked and never came back.

Those dark thoughts from earlier found their way to his head when it was most vulnerable. She's going to aban- Shut up! She'll le- I said shut up! I made my declaration last night to give her a chance. I won't disrespect her nor myself by giving up now. If I do I won't forgive myself.

Anubis quickly got up and jumped before Sarah. He calls out to her, breaking her out of her stupor before giving her a sharp and determined look. We've got this. She nods before pointing at Lenora's Pokemon. If she wants speed then we'll give it to her.

"Use Quick Attack to get close to him then use Brick Break." Lenora gapes as she hasn't seen a starting trainer use a move in that way before. He dashed in a flash leaving a white trail behind him. He instantly reached the Watchog like he did to him and sent a glowing white fist into his stomach.

Watchog was sent flying back and hit the wall, cracks appearing behind him. Lenora's eyes widened by how much power was in that attack. He may not have the best speed despite being a Pokemon of mobility, but he has whopping power. The move was also super effective against normal types. She knew Watchog couldn't handle another one of those.

"Bring down Thunder Bolt." The lookout Pokemon stared menacingly at Anubis as he charged his body with electricity shooting around him before releasing a huge bolt of lightning against Anubis.

"RIOOOOO!" He shouted in pain.

"Withstand it Anubis I know you can do it! If there's anyone who's tough enough to beat a Thunder Bolt then it's you. Keep moving, ignore the pain and end this with one last punch!" She shouted hoping he would listen.

It was hard to open his eyes but he did and saw his opponent not too far from him. Withstanding the pain as he clenched his entire body, he slowly walked forward towards him.

"More power!" The Thunder Bolt grew in size and made a loud thunderous noise. It hurt a lot, but he still wasn't going to give up. His opponent was just a few feet away. He got ready a glowing white fist when he was right in front of him and with all his might put in it, brought down his fist onto Watchog's head.

He smashed him to the ground creating a small crater on the battlefield. It sent a small cloud of dust around, but it was clear who won when Watchog stayed on the ground motionlessly. Anubis could barely keep on standing as he huffed in place.

"Watchog is unable to battle. Anubis is the winner which also means that victory goes to Sarah Grace, the challenger.

I-i won...I did it? I...r-really did it. I DID IT!

Anubis, ignoring the screaming his body was telling him, kept jumping in place as a huge smile adorned his face. He almost fell when his legs gave way but was caught when Sarah rushed through the field. They both had blurry eyes as they wrapped each other in a soft yet firm embrace.

"I-i'm not a-"

"I know. you don't need to tell me I already know." That was when he could confirm for the first time in his life he was in safe hands. Athena felt a huge surge of happiness and determination through her horn which also pushed her forward.

"Hey, I want a huge too." She wrapped her tiny arms around them despite being too small to properly embrace them but it doesn't matter. The team had a moment. Lenora watched the scene that almost made her cry if Hawes didn't bring a hand to her shoulder. This was why she became a Gym Leader; to give trainers valuable knowledge and to show them the power of bonding with their Pokemon.

Hawes takes out something from behind him before they move to the trio. They broke their embrace before gathering themselves. Sarah let out a sheepish smile while wearing red puffy eyes from their little moment. She wondered what it was that Hawes was holding until she remembered that it was another badge, similar to the one she got from the Striaton Gym.

"Congratulations Sarah. For showing great strategy against a weakness you had to overcome and for bringing out the bond you have with your Pokemon, I present to you the basic badge. This shows your determination as a trainer and completing the second milestone in your journey."

Sarah took the badge and kept staring at it. It was a purple rectangle with small squares on the top and the bottom. It deserved its name as the basic badge as it didn't symbolise any particular Pokemon type or fancy quirk. It looked like the side of a book which showed her just how important strategy is in a battle. Speaking of books, she had to pick up Theodore from the library.

"Thank you, Lenora and Hawes. I'll treasure this experience." Lenora only nodded with her motherly smile.

"Good. I've seen many trainers come and go, but sometimes there are those unique ones who pull out the unexpected. Sarah, you are one of those unique ones. As long as you keep moving forward no matter how hard it gets then you'll succeed."

Sarah bowed and thanked them again before they all left. She went to the library with a skip in her steps. She wanted to show her companion the badge.

"Theodore!" She shouted his name which echoed throughout the library, but after a minute, he didn't come out. "Theodore, come on out, I've got a surprise for you...Theodore?"

Still no response. Her friend couldn't be that invested in his books to not hear her in a silent library, could he?

Maybe he's outside.

They found him standing next to the library's entrance, leaning against the wall, looking out into the distance. She smiled gleefully.

"Hey hey guess who won the basic badge, yep, it was me. Now I've proven that I can win a gym battle by myself. Oh my cupcakes you should have seen the battle it was epic. First Athena used Confusion then Lenora's Lillipup went roar and then...What are you looking at?"

She saw that he just nodded over her sentences without really paying attention. he still kept his attention at the distance. When tracing his line of sight, she saw a large crowd gathered in a circle with their Pokemon beside them. Odd, I know I keep my team out but some trainers don't, not as much as this.

"Do you know what the crowd is about?" She asked. Theodore finally paid attention to her. He took out his notepad and wrote.

IT'S TEAM PLASMA. THEY'RE CARRYING ON THEIR PREACHING NOW IN THIS CITY.

Team Plasma! Now she had no choice but to go to the crowd and see what they had to say. There were all sorts of people with their Pokemon ranging from beginning trainers to just casual families. They had their full attention on the singular figure in the middle surrounded by members with the uniforms she'd seen in the dreamyard. It made them all look pretty much the same.

The figure wore a thick brown cloak that went to his ankles. It was creepy as it had huge eyes designed all over it making it seem like he could see everyone around him. He held a cane that had the Team Plasma Emblem on it. Strangely, he wore a single red glass on his left eye. All this made him look like a villain Sarah had seen in one of those movies.

The way he stood with his grunts standing strongly around him made the crowd look at him with respect, but not the type you would see from a lovable leader but a tyrant who commanded it. Already was Sarah getting bad vibes from this guy.

This was similar to the scene in Accumula Town where the figurehead was surrounded by a crowd of people telling everyone about their goals of Pokemon liberation. Admittedly, Sarah was daydreaming about a pink Ponyta, so she didn't hear what they said and realised she missed the whole speech when everyone had dispersed. However, after the incident with the Munna, she had no choice but to pay attention and listen to what they had to say.

"People of Nacrene City I am the leader of Team Plasma; Ghetsis." This immediately sent alarm bells in her head. She remembered the name the grunts mentioned when trying to extract the dream mist from the Munna. It was Ghetsis.

"For how long have Pokemon accompanied us throughout our day to day lives from casual living, to work, even for the sport of battling. They've been with us humans throughout our entire existence ever since we were first made and from that time we have united and created the heaven we live in today."

Everyone in the crowd agreed. They were nodding their heads and giving their smiles. The Pokemon beside them held onto them whether it was with their paws, tails or whatever appendage they had; they held tightly. Unfortunately, that would quickly vanish.

"But has that always been the case though, have we always lived in this heaven? No, we haven't. Don't forget history. For thousands of years, we, the destructive humans have only used Pokemon for our selfish gain. They were used in wars, as tools, and are now trapped in the little devices we call pokeballs to be used as slaves. I have asked you to bring out your Pokemon. Look at them are they really the friends we think they are or have we tricked them by putting them in these confined little spaces."

Everyone looked at their 'friends', at their eyes. There was nothing wrong with them, no hint of repulsion against their trainers. But now Ghetsis placed a seed of doubt in them from the idea. Have they unknowingly manipulated them to be this way for their own gain? Humans have been excellent when it comes to their manipulative capabilities, it's the reason why they are considered special in the world, but he was right on one point; humans have severely abused Pokemon for their selfish needs in the past.

Everyone is taught, a small amount, in the later years of school about the Great Pact. This was to prevent society from going back to their old ways by showing them the horrors of what would happen if they did. Obviously, this didn't stop everyone, but it has had overwhelming success.

"The truth is that we've made a dystopia for them and have convinced ourselves otherwise to run away from the truth. History has shown that we humans repeat our mistakes over and over again and will never change. So for once, I ask you, to give up your Pokemon and let them return to the wild. For once let's go against our nature and let them have their freedom otherwise they'll end up getting hurt by us again. If you truly care about your partners then you'll do so. Thank you for listening."

The grunts surrounded him like a shield as they left with the crowd parting ways for them. Throughout the speech, Sarah was keeping herself from lashing out and exposing the lies they were uttering. What she had personally seen was a complete contradiction to what they were preaching. What made her madder were the small conversations happening around her in the crowd where people were actually considering his words.

Seriously. Wasn't the miraculous city around them built by BOTH Pokemon and humans proof enough about the harmony they could live in. Her proof was shown in Nacrene City and no one would be able to convince her otherwise, she just can't believe that it was this easy to trick people.

"Lies...they're all lies." Came a small voice from behind her. She turned to see a young man- not much older than her- glaring at Ghetsis as he left with enmity in his eyes. He wore grey trousers, a rolled-up white shirt, and a black and white cap. He also wore an interesting pendant around his neck. He was quite handsome if it wasn't for the expression he was wearing.

Theodore was shocked. N...what is he doing here? He's meant to show up later in the series in some far-end city.

"What Team Plasma is doing is wrong. They don't try to save Pokemon from humans nor try to bring them a better life. Instead, Ghetsis is lying to us to weaken the League. I've seen what Team Plasma is doing... those damn horrible experiments on my friends." He says with clenched teeth before sighing. "But I don't suppose you would believe me. No one ever does anyway."

"No no!" Sarah quickly said waving her hands. "I believe you. I've seen what some members have done at the Dreamyard when they were trying to get some dream mist for their research or something."

N's eyes widened. This was the first person to have believed him and not turn away after giving a random excuse. He could tell she was being resolute too. He nodded.

"I've been investigating Team Plasma for a while now. Their goals were always reaching domination over Unova, but recently they've changed. They have a new member, who popped out of nowhere, committing atrocious experiments on Pokemon for the name of 'science'. My poor friends are in pain and I need to help them get out if it's the last thing I do."

He broke out of his stupor when seeing Sarah's concerned gaze over him despite her being 2 feet shorter than him. He rubbed the back of his head, his sour face turning cheerful as he wore a soft smile.

"Sorry, my name is N and I try to help Pokemon in any way I can."

"My name's Sarah and this is Athena, Anubis and Theodore." She said pointing to each Pokemon. "That's a nice goal to have. I try to be the same."

"Thank you, that means more than you realise." He looked at Athena and Anubis as they wore very happy smiles, ones that almost made him take a step back. He could feel the incredible feeling of love in their hearts for Sarah like they would do anything to protect her. However, the Riolu did have some fear deep in his heart. It was small but still there, though N ignored it because it wasn't significant.

"Your Pokemon really love you. I've come across trainers with strong bonds with their Pokemon but yours is definitely strong." Sarah flustered slightly before telling him to stop it.

"How can you tell anyway?"

"You see, I have the ability to read a Pokemon's heart and sense how they feel similar to your Ralts's ability. Mine is just more towards intention." He could also understand pokespeech but he likes to keep that to himself. He never wants Ghetsis to know how strong his ability is.

He looked at the final Pokemon, Theodore, standing further away from the group with a bored look. He tried to see what was in his heart.

...What?

N has spent his life around Pokemon and seen the vast nature of their feelings. Their hearts usually are simple to read like black and white. They were either sad or happy or angry etc. However, sometimes one would appear with complicated emotions like grey that were harder to talk to. They were the ones who asked the complicated questions that didn't have a simple answer to them. He hated those questions, they infuriated him. The problems this world has has simple solutions to fix them. There were no ifs or buts about it.

Theodore's heart was like those Pokemon but much deeper. He couldn't decipher what type of character he was as his heart showed every emotion all flowing around another in a chaotic mess. No, in that chaotic mess, there was an absence of the two emotions he valued the most. Love and joy.

When looking at his blue eyes that reminisced of the ocean they didn't make him feel its cool peacefulness. They made him feel uncomfortable even though he couldn't explain why. He was like a wilted flower in a garden of blooms.

He's still a friend who needs freeing. Don't worry Theodore, there will be a day when you will be freed, and experience love and joy.

"Your Pokemon are very interesting some of the most unique I've met so far. Anyway, I'll see you around I'll be going to Castelia City." With a wave, he turned and left. Sarah waved back in delight.

He was a nice guy but strange.

"So what was I about to do again... OH YEAH! Theodore, guess what, we won! We beat Lenora!"

SHOW ME

He looked at the simply designed badge and smiled victoriously. This was another step towards home.

"So you know what that means don't you, another bowl of ice cream, but strawberry this time." She exclaimed before Athena, like a bazooka, launched herself and headbutted her. Sarah yelped in pain before scowling at her little fairy counterpart. They walked to the Pokemon Centre where they would serve a less exotic bowl.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Theodore asked the canine Pokemon who let out a stupid grin with sparkles in his eyes. He held himself from exploding in excitement.

"Well, I won my first ever gym battle." He puffed out his chest proudly. "So..."

"Oh uh cool I guess." He awkwardly nods at him before Anubis almost fell. His smile falters a bit as he turns his head.

Was I meant to do something? Theodore stood there confused. For some reason, like an instinct, he brought his hand on top of his head and started rubbing it. Anubis's smile came back as he closed his eyes and moved in delight. He leaned closer to his hand. This felt different for Theodore as it wasn't like rubbing the head of an animal he tested on by injecting some potential medicine; it wasn't for manipulative purposes.

Actually, keeping his mood up by praising him could help future performance. the smile he wore definitely wasn't due to the satisfaction that Anubis won after the training that he provided. He let out a small chuckle.

He saw the sisters still bickering about which flavour of ice cream truly reigned supreme. He smiled in amusement as his eyes softened a bit in a way they hadn't in a long time. Chocolate is the best.

(back to Vikasa's lab)

"Aubu bi b-b-B." The Sirfetch'd strained out to say the letter B. He was huffing in place as it was taking a lot of energy to go over the letters of the alphabet. It hurt to use his new vocal cords, but at least he was quickly learning the English language. He no longer felt the difficulty in 'seeing' it like he did before.

"It's okay if you can't carry on. This should be enough for now." Doctor Vikasa stopped the projector showing the alphabet on the wall. He was so ecstatic from how much progress they'd made in a single afternoon. Already was his successful experiment gaining a grasp of the new capabilities that came with his new brain parts.

When he pronounced the first few letters correctly, the doctor literally pranced around the room. From this, he now exceeded every other scientist that exists in this world and his last- No. He looked at the notes on the desk beside him that helped the preparation for the transplant immensely. They were reports and diagrams about a duck's brain written by the one and only Theodore Nieoldiek; the greatest scientist- in his opinion- to ever live. He's glad he could recall them to a T just from memory.

Doctor Nieoldiek was the only person- no, it's being now- that he would consider his superior. His research papers were what led him to the truth of the world. That the ones at the top were meant to dominate any that get in our way.

"Let's move on to mobility therapy." He picked up the ragdoll-like Sirfetch'd from the large science bed and placed him behind some makeshift rails to get his legs working again. Turns out, the 2 week coma was his brain parts accepting each other and fusing their neurons together. The pre/pro synaptic neuron ends must match shape in order for this to work. With this electric impulses can properly travel through one another and allow movement. However, the consequences of the transplant had led him to lose all memory memory except a vague idea and small snippets of his Sirfetch'd life which was perfect for Vikasa to make him realise how much he had done for him.

He held the hand-like winged appendages of his subject to assist him as he walked with his wobbly duck legs. It was slow and unsteady, but they knew that it wouldn't take long to get him up and running, literally.

"I should give you a name. It will make you stand out from the rest of your species like the unique Pokemon you are. You will show them the path to greatness you're walking on and make them realise how much better they can be."

"Sir?" He tilted his head.

"That celery stick sword of yours was a joke. No creation of mine will use that in a battle and shields are gay anyway. I think I'll call you Garland. He was a warrior who used to wield a giant sword to crush his enemies. Yeah, Garland will do."

"G-gg-g-gar-" he started coughing as his vocal cords strained from overuse, but you could tell that he was very happy with the name. He looked ahead at the rails with further determination. The fire in his heart that was always there as it was for all Sirfetch'd grew larger. He let go of his Lord's hands, much to his astonishment, before catching himself on the rails before he could fall. It takes one step at a time. One step.

Chapter End

jiubantai-taicho: As I've said before this fic isn't meant to portray a message through a story but using a message to write a good story. What Shinigami said in the first chapter was used to show that humans can be very destructive creatures if we choose to just for the sake of the story. Don't overthink it.