GammaTron: Hello to Day 6 of Mega May 2024! Welcome to a new fic. This is a Megaman Battle Network/Pokémon CrossOver. I do not own neither Megaman nor Pokémon. They are owned by CAPCOM and Nintendo/Game Freak respectively.
Four months...to twelve-year-old Lan Hikari, it felt far longer. Looking out at the sea, he stared not at it, but at the direction where he had last been with...with his brother...the brother who he worked together with to save the world several times...who stuck with him through thick and thin...who...who self-destructed to save him.
"Megaman, I start the 6th grade tomorrow! I hope that I'll still be in the same class with everyone!" Lan spoke, praying that his brother would hear him, "I've done OK, these last four months...I overslept a few times, but I did all my homework! I guess I can make it on my own, now!" he grimaced, "Okay, okay…Roll has been coming over to wake me up." He frowned, "She misses you a lot, too. So much that she promised to take over your duty of waking me up until I can do it on my own. …I…"
=Beep-beep-be-be-beep!=
"Megaman?!" Lan gasped, quickly pulling his PET out only to see nothing, "..."
"Oh, it's mail!" Lan looked to see a man nearby, looking at his PET, "Oops, I'm at the wrong meeting place…"
"...I figured it was something like that…" Lan sighed before looking back at the sea, "Anyway, this is kinda hard to say, but, Dad's going to get me a new NetNavi tomorrow...At first I told him no, but 6th graders have to have one...But even if I get a new NetNavi, you'll always be inside me! Even if I get a new NetNavi... Even if I grow up... We'll always be together... ...Once I get my new NetNavi, I won't be able to say this again, so I'll just say it one more time…" his inhaled deeply, "Ja…"
"Hi!"
"GWAH!" Lan freaked as he fell into the water with a splash.
"...Did he die? ...I think he died. ...Ohh...Meema's gonna be mad at me again…and so is Dialga and Celebi because they're gonna have to turn back time," a floating pink cat with a long tail, large hind legs, and big blue eyes sniffled before diving under the water in a pink bubble to see he was okay, "Oh phew...Meema's not gonna be mad at me again." she 'swam' over to him, closing her eyes as she gave a happy smile, "Hi! I'm Mew! Are you Lan Hikari?" she didn't earn a reply, making her open her eyes to see he had already breached the water, "...Does he not like me? But I'm cute and pink and fluffy!"
"Wh-Wh-what was that?!" Lan gasped, crawling onto the sand, "D...Did I lose my mind or something and I'm only realizing it now?!"
"Nope!" Lan paled as he slowly looked up to see the floating pink kitty floating upside down, "Hi! I'm Mew! I'm a Pocket Monster!"
"...I-i-i-it's a f-f-floating c…!"
"No screaming," Mew deadpanned as Lan's mouth gained a soft blue glow as they snapped shut, letting Lan's loud scream be muffled, "Why are you screaming anyway? I am a cute, fluffy bundle of pink adorableness. …" she sniffled, tears welling in her big blue eyes, "Is being fluffy a bad thing in this universe?"
Lan tugged at his lips, trying to force them open. Yet, no matter what he attempted to do, his lips just wouldn't part. Why couldn't he open them?!
"Oh, that's because I'm using Psychic to keep them shut," Mew replied to the unasked question and earned Lan's attention, "Maybe I should introduce myself better…Now what did Meema always tell me to say again? ...Oh yeah!" she 'cleared' her throat and did a floating curtsy with an 'invisible skirt,' "I am the Mythical Legendary Pokémon Mew. Registered in the human race's National Pokedex and Kanto Pokedex as the 151st registered Pokémon. I am the origin of all non-Legendary Pokémon outside of one that hates me a whole lot even if it's a technicality. I am the first Daughter of Lady Arceus, origin of all existence." she looked up at him, "Hi! I'm Mew! Can we play, please~?"
'...Huh?'
"Okay, okay, hold on!" Lan yelped, waving his hands, "Y...You're saying you're from another world?"
"Dimension," Mew corrected, drinking a bottle of strawberry milk as she sat in Lan's lap on the empty metroline, "My big brothers found this world by complete oopsies in a big fussy fight about time and space again."
"Right...A-And they ended up in the Alpha?"
"The big gooey red thingy that tried to assimilate them but got wrecked by them? Yep!" Mew replied, "Plus, them working together to smash it made them stop, so that's good."
"B...But my brother...Hub…"
"Yeah...That's kinda why Meema sent me here," Mew noted, "My big brothers came back, but...they did a boo-boo; a big boo-boo."
"You mean…"
"No. They didn't do that, and bad thinking," Mew scolded, using Psychic to bop him with the coloring book she had been filling out-also bought by Lan for her-with Psychic before going back to coloring in the doberman on it but adding a rib cage-like growth over it and curved horns for ears and a devil's tail, "No, when big brother Palkia used his power, he ended up scooping your brother in it and he didn't go 'boom' like an Electrode or Koffing. Meema managed to find him, but there's a boo-boo on our end, too."
"H...He's alive?" Lan asked, his mouth going dry.
"Meema says he is, but the boo-boo won't let us bring him back," Mew replied.
"Wh-What?! But...but why?"
"Because of the boo-boo!" Mew pouted, crossing her arms over her chest and puffing her cheeks in annoyance, "I just said it three times now! Mmmm...Why are you such a dum-dum but also so nice because you gave me my yummy pink berry milk and my coloring book and crayons?"
"Hey…" Lan pouted.
"Are we there yet~?" Mew whined.
"Can't you teleport like you did to find me?" Lan asked.
"Yeah, but I always wanted to ride one of these and Meema told me to never use Teleport with milk that didn't come from a Miltank," Mew replied, shaking the nearly empty bottle.
"I have no clue what that is," Lan deadpanned.
"It's a Pokémon like me!" Mew beamed.
"Of course…" Lan sighed.
"W-Wait! You're telling me that she…" Maylu pointed at Mew, who was happily humming to herself as she played with the giant teddy in Maylu's room, "...is some sort of divine creature and that her big brothers saved Megaman, but now he's stuck in their world and you have to go there to get him back?"
"That's right!" Mew beamed, waving the big teddy's paw at Maylu, "Buuuuuuuut…"
"Oh, I hate it when someone says that..." Lan groaned.
"Me too!" Mew agreed, "But there is an issue. Since Mr. Mega guy comes from in your computers, Meema doesn't want a human there."
"Huh?" the two preteens asked.
"Wait...Do you mean...me?" Roll asked, pointing at herself.
"Yeppers!" Mew beamed, flying over to the monitor she was on, "Meema says that if someone like Mr. Mega guy goes there, we can send both back easy-peasy enough. If it were a human, then there'd be more boo-boos and Mr. Mega guy might go bye-bye or the human would be stuck in the computers."
"So...you need a NetNavi to go then?"
"Yeppers!"
"But how long would she be there?" Maylu asked.
"Oh, that's simple enough!" Mew beamed, spinning around to her, "I can turn into any Pokémon, even other Legendaries and Mythicals! I'll turn into a Celebi and when they come back, it'll be just a few minutes after we leave!"
"So what are we waiting for?" Roll asked, a bit excited.
"Oh! Well...There's an issue," Mew admitted, "Humans in our world? Yeah, you gotta be...um…" Mew spread her arms out upwards and downwards, "...Bigger."
"Bigger? You mean older, right?" Lan guessed.
"Yeah, that!" Mew replied, "Um...I think it's sixteen years of age and the nice pink lady here looks like she's twelve."
"Huh? Why does she have to be older?" Lan asked.
"Because of stupid rules that Meema wanted me to follow," Mew pouted, "Apparently, she'll do far better at what we're doing if she's aged up to sixteen."
"So we'd have to update her appearance," Maylu guessed.
"Nopes! I can do that no probs!" Mew beamed before her body glowed, "Transform!"
The pink kitten's body became a pink blob that quickly reshaped into a strange pink and navy-blue creature. It seemed to have tried to take on the appearance of a duck of sorts minus the wings. Its body was lacking any form of angle and seemed to be made of nothing but curves with a blue 'beak' and feet and the rest being pink.
"Porygon 2!" Mew chirped before tapping the monitor and ended up sucked into it.
"E-Eh?!" Roll yelped as Mew appeared before her.
"Ready to age up?" Mew asked, her eyes resembling 'smiles.'
"Um...C-Could I say 'no?'"
"Nope!" Mew beamed before tapping her with her 'beak.'
Roll glowed before her outfit changed into a very baggy one. She had on a pair of baggy blue jeans that she had to grab to keep from falling and a baggy pink and white shirt with her emblem on the front and a pink jacket over all that. Her helmet was gone, replaced by a pink and red hat resembling it with the antennae on the sides. Her gloves and boots were gone, replaced with a pair of black fingerless ones with pink hearts on the backs and white running shoes with pink hearts on the sides. Mew tapped her again and Roll's body shot up in height as her body quickly filled out until the once-baggy clothes now fit snugly on her older figure.
"Ta-dah~! Apparently, a lot of humans like having or looking at these kinds of figures," Mew explained as she made a mirror for Roll to look at herself in, "I don't get it. But, eh, everyone has something they like. Like me and yummy milk and coloring books!"
"E-Eh?" Roll whispered, running a hand along her figure as if trying to confirm that the young, beautiful woman in the image was actually her, suppressing a noise as she felt unusual sensations in the movement.
"Alrighty! We're all set up! Now then...Meema said that I should turn into Big Brother Palkia to get you to where you need to go since he and Big Brother Dialga are in time out and Big Brother Dialga's not allowed to make time move faster to make the time out end sooner which sucks~" Mew noted, becoming her normal pink kitten self, "And that I need to alter memories of people where you arrive at, making them think you're a new girl that's moved there to become a Pokémon Trainer."
"Trainer?" Roll repeated, her more mature-sounding voice momentarily surprising her.
"Okay! Here we go!" Mew cheered as she quickly transformed into a pearl and pink-colored bipedal dinosaur-like creature with pearls embedded in its arms, "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"
"Ah! Wait a mom…" Roll began before Mew scooped Roll up and swung her free claw before her, tearing open a pink and black vortex that they jumped through, "KYAH!"
"...Lan, this better not have been…"
"I swear, Maylu, I am just as confused, lost, and a mixture of so many emotions as you are."
"Please warn me next time!" Roll groaned as Mew, in her real form, hovered around her, giggling.
"Y-You fell off and landed on a...and...tehehehehehehehee~!" Mew laughed.
"Are you sure you're billions of years old?"
"Yeppers!" Mew beamed before landing on her head, "Okay! So the place ya need ta go to should be straight ahead! Once you're there, go see this silly mister with white hair on his head and he'll give ya a Starter! You won't have to worry about things, either. Just make sure to beat all the Gyms, Titans, and thingies to go to places!"
"Starter?" Roll repeated, "Gyms?! Titans?!"
"Here's a RotomPhone," Mew continued as a small orange device appeared before Roll and she barely caught it, "It's got a map of the whole region! You can mark off places you've been to and so much more!" she vanished before appearing before her, holding her tail, "Oh! Um...before I go bye-bye until you find him because Meema doesn't want people to see me..."
"Huh? Why?" Roll asked.
"Oh, because the last time it happened, I got cloned and the clone got super-changed into a new Legendary that Meema had to personally intervene with," Mew explained, "And well...yeah. Stay safe, okay? You're…" she looked at her in concern, "You're not gonna like what you see when you find your mate…I'm sorry."
"Wait, what? Mate?!" Roll exclaimed before Mew vanished, "Ah, come on! Mew~!"
"Just head for the house right there," Mew's voice spoke as Roll felt her head being turned to look at a large manor by the sea.
"Huh?" Roll pondered, "Wow…It's almost as big as Yai's."
"Good heavens!"
"?!" Roll jumped at that shout.
She nearly turned if not for three objects running past her. She followed them and her eyes widened. Splashing about in a stone fountain was a white and blue duck of sorts. Unlike the ones she saw in pictures or outside of the PeT, this one looked more…cartoonish. It had big blue eyes and was splashing about in the water, styling the large amount of blue feathers on its head into a slicked-back hairdo. Mewling made her look to the garden of flowers…where an adorable green kitten was nuzzling and sniffing them. It opened its big magenta eyes and mewled happily, some flower petals scattering. One flew by and landed on the snout of a tiny red/orange crocodile-like creature with a white underbelly and lower jaw with three bits of hair sticking out of the top of its head. It huffed and puffed…before sneezing fire on a berry it was reaching for. It looked at it in sadness before a giggle went off. The owner of the giggle was a girl around Roll's current age with her brown hair pulled up into a small ponytail with a green pair of highlights in it on two of the three strands of hair that curled in the front. She wore a white button shirt, purple shorts with black stockings, purple running shoes, a purple tie, and a strange leather item strapped over her right arm and hand. She gently petted the crocodile's head before standing up and looking at Roll in amusement.
"Are you these three's Trainer?" she asked.
"Um…" Roll began before an older man with shoulder-length, well groomed white hair, a small patch of hair on his chin, a purple suit, and white glasses entered.
"Hoo…hoo…So glad they stopped…" the man noted.
"Are you okay, sir?" Roll asked, moving over to him.
"I…I'm fine…" he assured, looking up at her, "Oh! I was hoping to run into you, but these three popped out of their PokéBalls before I could arrive at the hotel you were staying at and ran all the way here." he looked at the three creatures as they gathered together…with the crocodile carrying the burnt berry, "I do wonder which one you'll pick as your first Pokémon."
'Huh?' Roll pondered before the girl walked up to her.
"Buenas! We haven't met, have we?" the girl asked.
"Um…no, n-not really," Roll replied before the girl looked her over and turned to the elderly man.
"Hang on, Director... Is this who I think it is?" she asked.
"Yes, this is our Academy's newest student, Ms. Roll Sakurai. She will be attending as of today," the man replied.
'Huh? Academy?!' Roll thought as her eyes widened.
"So you're that kid who came here from that small island Region! I've been dying to find out more about you!" she noted with a grin, "I'm Nemona! Normally I live in the school dorms, but home is here. Whaddya say, new neighbor—wanna be friends?"
"Huh?! U-Uh…" Roll began before thinking on it, 'Maybe if we become friends, I'll understand things better…' "Sure! Like he said, my name is Roll!"
"Love that enthusiasm! We're gonna get along just fine!" Nemona cheered.
"Miss Nemona is the president of our student council and a Champion-ranked Trainer in her own right," the Director explained.
'Ranked? Like Lan and Mega were doing?' Roll pondered.
-flashback-
"Mmm…That jerk…" Roll fumed as she stomped up to a security cube and put her antennae on it…before they glowed and it opened up and dispersed into data, "Hmph. Nice try changing the password like that." she stepped onto the glowing circle in the middle of the small platform behind the cube and the area changed for her, shifting from black 'skies' with green cubes in them constantly folding and unfolding to what looked to be an actual night-time sky that she took a moment to appreciate, 'Will give them props at how accurate the sky here is to Earth's sky…but…I can't lose focus.'
"R-Roll?" Roll looked to see a startled Megaman, juggling a piece of data only to fail to catch it and fall, "Ah!"
Roll was there in an instant, catching Megaman in her arms while her antennae caught the data. Before he could ask for it back, Roll looked at it, seeing it was an emblem of sorts with an orange '2' on it.
"What is this?" Roll asked.
"It…It's why we were going all over DenTech and Yoka today," Megaman sighed, "Roll…How did you get in here?"
"Lan changed the 'e' with a '3' and that's all he did."
"Ugh…Lan…" Megaman groaned before wincing, "...I…I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"No. Lan, however? He's in trouble with me. Where is he anyway?"
"I convinced him to take a shower. He…" he sighed, "He's not taking what happened in SciLab well…"
Roll's expression softened, "Neither is Maylu to be honest. Lan hasn't gone to school in several days now and when she came to try to find out why, he goes and shouts for her to leave and stop bothering him." she grabbed his shoulders, "Mega…Hub…" Megaman looked at her in the eyes, "Please…What happened? Why did he do that?"
"...We…" Megaman sighed, "We messed up…Match…Match set us up." he grit his teeth as he looked down in shame, "One of those packets of Data he gave me to give to the Mr. Progs…I've used it before. I knew it was dangerous! But…But when I tried to speak up about it…he said they were being used to make defense programs to better protect something vital to SciLab's systems…" Roll cupped his cheek with a hand, tears starting to fall from his eyes, "We…We got played and Papa and all those scientists paid for it…"
"Hub…" Roll whispered before gently holding him close, "There's more, isn't there?" she held up the emblem, "Does it involve this?"
"..." Megaman looked at it and sighed before holding a hand up…and Roll nearly jumped at the icy blue flames that came out of the palm of it, making her swear she was seeing ice appear at the tips of the fire, "Chaud came after Lan made Maylu and Yai leave. I tried to get him to answer it, thinking it was Maylu again, but it was Chaud. Lan nearly got arrested because of how he told Chaud about what happened. He told us that he would pretend he didn't hear anything Lan said and…"
Megaman went on, explaining the situation. How they went to visit their father in the hospital and ended up running into the former leader of Grave (Roll still kept reeling over how Lan chose to befriend the leader after everything his organization pulled), how Lan and him confessed to what happened to their father and his assurances to them about it all. How they went to SciLab and Chaud had them enter an event known as 'The Rankings' and defeat powerful Undernet NetNavis that held IDs known as 'Ranks' and reach high enough to meet 'Rank 1' (Roll was rather interested in knowing what this 'Serenade' looks like since a name like that made them seem more than just a dangerous NetNavi). She had forced herself to not roll her eyes when Megaman admitted they fell into a trap with a fake EMail from Maylu, having a feeling Lan ignored how strange it sounded because it was from 'Maylu.' He went on, telling her how he 'met' Serenade and was given a powerful Program called GigaFreeze to use on this 'Beast' called 'Alpha' that SciLab had kept sealed away…only for the WWW to use the programs they stole from the school, the Yoka Zoo, the Beach Street hospital, and SciLab to break through the security measures and steal it. Megaman had followed after the NetNavi that stole it and was about to reclaim the Alpha…when it was stolen by another named Bass…who proved he, too, could use the GigaFreeze and negate the program from hitting Alpha.
"We…We couldn't do anything in the end…" Megaman noted, rubbing an eye to try to stop the tears, "We…We did all that a-a-and it led to nothing…They have Alpha a-and from how Chaud spoke when we told him…" he shivered, "It…It's going to lead to a global war…"
"?!" Roll covered her mouth in shock, "Hub…" he worriedly looked at her, uncertainty in his eyes…before widening as she hugged him, "I…I don't know how to even begin to think of how you're feeling. Here I go coming here to scold Lan for what happened earlier and I end up hearing just why things ended up like this…"
"R-Roll…"
"What do you think?"
"...A-About what?"
"Do you think the monorail under the fountain is still running?" Roll asked.
"O-Oh…I…No," Megaman shook his head, "Officials tore it apart and filled it in when school was out for break. There's just a crater where the original base is."
"Oh…"
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because…Because I want to try to help lessen things, help with the burden you're putting on yourself again," Roll replied, "You and Lan going off to do things on your own…It hurts I can't do more for you."
"..." Megaman returned the hug, "...Being yourself is the best thing, Roll. And you're always there for me, even when you don't realize it."
"Hub…?" Roll whispered in confusion.
"Your BattleChips. Lan has all three versions in his Folder at all times," Megaman explained as he showed their current Folder layout (and not seeing how Roll's eyes widened because holy Asimov that's a lot of rare and powerful BattleChips in there and…), "Your BattleChips have always been something that's helped because I know that even if you're not able to be there…you're still with me and helping me in the worst moments."
"Oh Hub…" Roll sniffled.
-end flashback-
"I absolutely love Pokémon battling! In fact, we should battle right now—you and me!" Nemona beamed excitedly.
"H-Huh?! Battle?!" Roll repeated, snapping out of her thoughts of the past, 'Not even five minutes and I'm going to fight?!'
"Calm yourself, Ms. Nemona," the Director noted, "You two will be in the same class, so you will have plenty of time to battle later…and get to know one another better, of course."
"We're gonna be neighbors AND classmates? Nice! We'll be able to battle all we want!" Nemona cheered.
'Seriously…What does she mean by battle?' Roll pondered as the Director shook his head in exasperation.
"On that note, Ms. Sakurai…" the Director spoke, "Have you decided which of these three Pokémon you wish to become your Starter?"
"Oh my gosh, your very first Pokémon. I'm getting chills just watching you pick!" Nemona squealed in excitement.
'I…better play along. No idea what they mean by Starter…o-or anything, really…' "Mmm…" Roll looked at the trio before smiling and knelt down before Sprigatito, "Would you like to be my Starter?" 'You seem the most normal-looking of the three…'
"Nya~!" Sprigatito mewled as she hopped into Roll's arms and nuzzled into her.
"I guess that's a yes," Roll giggled, petting the green feline and causing it to start purring.
"My word, I've never seen a Pokémon be so friendly in such a short time. Please make sure to treat Sprigatito with love and care. Now…would you like to give them a nickname?" Clavell asked.
"Mmm…" Roll looked her Starter over, who was cleaning themself with a paw, "...Tango."
"Excellent," Clavell nodded as he handed her a red and white ball, "And this is your new Pokémon's PokéBall."
"That's Sprigatito, a Grass-type Pokémon! It can use its plant powers to soak up whatever water you throw at it!" Nemona beamed before going silent, "Roll... I can't believe you actually chose Sprigatito…" Roll tilted her head before Nemona beamed, "I mean, like, way to make the perfect choice for you! You two make such a good combo!"
"Um…Thanks, Nemona," Roll replied, petting Tango and causing them to purr softly.
"Can I choose one of these Pokémon too, Director Clavell?"
"Oh, but…did you not receive a Pokémon when you entered the academy, Miss Nemona?"
"Not back then, no! I had other Pokémon I was focused on raising at the time. But now I want to raise a new Pokémon alongside Roll while she raises her own new partner!"
"Indeed, a rather splendid idea," Clavell complimented, "If you wish to raise one of these Pokémon on equal footing with Miss Sakurai here, I shall be more than happy to allow it."
"Yesss!" Nemona cheered before walking over to the duck, "Since Roll chose Sprigatito, I'll go for this little one!" she knelt down to a knee and patted his head, "Nice to meet you, Quaxly! Welcome to the team!"
"Qua!" Quaxly beamed.
"All right, then! Now that we've chosen our Pokémon, we have to battle!"
"B-Battle?" Roll repeated before Nemona ran off.
"I'll be waiting for you down at the beach. Come join me when you're ready!" Nemona beamed.
"Ah, wait! What's…" Roll began before sighing, "Real spitfire that one…" 'I swear, she's like Lan when he's overly excited.'
"As you may have noticed, Miss Nemona is a tad overly fond of Pokémon battling," Clavell spoke, "But I do hope you'll join her for a battle. It will help you get to know your own Pokémon as well."
"It…It will?" Roll pondered, looking down at Tango in her arms.
"Spig~" Tango purred.
"Well…A-Alright," Roll nodded as she followed Calvell around the house and onto a modest beach, 'Oh god…what do I do?!'
"Over here!" Nemona beamed, causing Roll to look over and see a field as big as a tennis court that was primarily blue with a prismatic design resembling a PokéBall in the center of it, "Anyone can be a Pokémon Trainer as long as they have Pokémon by their side! And it's our duty as Trainers to help our Pokémon grow stronger through battle!"
"It…It is?" Roll asked.
"Yep! …So, you ready to battle me, Roll?" Nemona asked.
"I…" Roll looked down at Tango, who hopped out of her arms and looked eager to fight, "I guess we are."
"Perfecto! I'm so excited! For this battle, I think I'll use—" Nemona began before Clavell clapped his hands twice.
"Miss Nemona, I trust you remember that Miss Sakurai is wholly inexperienced in Pokémon battling?" Clavell reminded.
"Heh, whoops...G-Good call, Director," Nemona sheepishly scratched her cheek with her right hand, "I was about to send out one of my usual partners right off the bat…"
'Usual partners?!' Roll thought with widening eyes.
"I guess I'll take this chance to try out my new buddy instead!" Nemona beamed as she held up a PokéBall…with Quaxly inside of it, faintly visible through the red top of it, "C'mon, Roll! Let's have us a fruitful battle!"
"Ah! U-Um…" Roll gulped, 'What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?!'
"You can stay silent for a moment."
'?! M-Mew?!'
"Meema's disappointed with me…"
'...Why?'
"I didn't give you knowledge about Pokémon Battles and other 'common knowledge.' So, uh…tiny headache incoming?"
'Tiny wh-?!' Roll began before flinching, 'Gh…Owowowowow…That's supposed to be a tiny headache?!'
"Yep! Now, um…I'm in time out now, so bye-bye…" Mew sighed.
"I know this is your first Pokémon battle, so let's just have some fun!" Nemona beamed, not even noticing a thing.
"Um…R-Right!" Roll nodded as her RotomPhone scanned Tango and showed her the screen, 'He's Male and knows Scratch, Tail Whip, and Leafage. Okay…' "Ready, Tango?"
"Nya~!" Tango mewled as they walked onto the field as Nemona sent out Quaxly with a rather awkward toss.
"Very well. I shall be the judge for this then," the Director spoke as he stood in a small rectangle outside of the field, "This is a one-on-one Pokémon Battle between Ms. Nemona and Ms. Roll. Begin the battle!"
"Water Gun!" Nemona quickly shouted.
"Ah! Dodge it and return volley with Leafage!"
Tango jumped to the side, avoiding the spray of water the duck fired from his beak. Tango shook his fur, causing several leaves to fall out before shooting out at Quaxly, knocking him over.
"You must've been studying up for school! Smart move—Grass is strong against Water!" Nemona complimented, "Go in close for a Pound!"
"Move around and Tail Whip!"
Tango tried to move away, but got smacked with a punch from the duck. He hissed out and got back up before wagging his tail tauntingly at Quaxly. The Duck gawked at the sight before fuming.
"Leafage!"
"SPRIG!" Tango hissed as he sent another leaf volley that slammed into Quaxly, causing him to go into the air a few feet before falling onto his back, revealing swirls replacing his eyes.
"Qua~" the duck groaned.
"Quaxly is unable to battle. The winner is Miss Sakurai," Clavell declared.
"Wow! Not bad, neighbor! If you can battle like that on your first try, you definitely have what it takes to be a Trainer!" Nemona beamed, pumping a fist before picking up the duck and pulling out what looked like a yellow Mystery Data to Roll and fed it to the duck, causing it to wake up and most of its injuries to fade away to her surprise, "Heh…" she grinned at Roll, "Look at you, winning your first battle ever! You've got even more potential than I thought! You're gonna be a strong Trainer for sure!"
"Oh! Um…Thanks?" Roll replied as she picked up Tango, who purred as he received some light scratching from his new Trainer.
"But now I want to try a different strategy! Let's go again—just one more battle!"
"H-Huh?! A-Another one?!" Roll gawked, 'Oh god…It's a female Lan, isn't it?!'
"Miss Nemona," Clavell spoke up as he walked over to stand by Roll, "Miss Sakurai and her Sprigatito Mr. Tango are surely weary already from that last battle."
"A-A little, yeah," Roll admitted before Clavell pulled out a bottle with a blue liquid in it and a bottle with pale yellow liquid in it before spraying Tango with both, causing the feline to purr as Roll watched with wide eyes as the bruise from the Pound vanished in a matter of seconds.
"Ah, sorry! I got kinda caught up in all the excitement…" Nemona sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, "I'm really sorry, Roll. Same to your Sprigatito, too."
"Ah…D-Don't worry about it. Give us some time to get some other battles in before we have another one, okay?"
"Heh...Alright! Thanks, Roll!" Nemona replied with a relieved smile before a glint all too familiar to Roll that she'd see on Lan and Dex appeared, "And yeah! Definitely! We'll definitely battle more!"
"You two seem to be becoming fast friends, though you've only just met," Clavell commented before turning to Nemona, "Can I count on you to take your new schoolmate here under your wing, Miss Nemona?" he glanced over at Roll, who was tickling Tango's stomach, "I'm sure she can learn a great deal from a Champion-ranked Trainer, such as yourself."
"You bet, sir!" Nemona replied before turning to Roll, "Oh, that reminds me! Since you're new to training Pokémon, there's an app you definitely need! You have a smartphone, right? Lemme see it for a sec."
"Um…Okay," Roll replied, pulling out her RotomPhone as another popped out of Nemoma's pocket before both glowed for a few moments as a loading bar appeared on her phone's screen, "Huh?" the loading finished and an app appeared, resembling a red rectangular device with a blue gem on a top corner at the front of it, "'PokéDex?'"
"The PokéDex will automatically register any Pokémon you catch. It's a must-have for Pokémon Trainers! Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Jacq, actually made it himself!" Nemona explained with a wink.
"Quite a convenience in these modern days. Back in my youth, we had to fill out a PokeDex by hand with pen and paper," Clavell noted in fondness of his memories of youth.
"Oof! Filling out a Pokédex by hand? I can't even imagine how much work that would take!" Nemona grimaced.
"Ohoho…No, I suppose you can't," Clavell spoke.
"It must have been really hard back then," Roll noted.
"Oh it was, Miss Sakurai. Yet…no matter how much the times may change, the wonder of meeting new Pokémon never does," Clavell spoke, smiling fondly at the memories, "That is a truly timeless pleasure. And the more Pokémon that you encounter, the more you'll find yourself growing and changing." he put his hands behind his back and looked at them both, "I hope you both will work hard toward the goal of completing the PokeDexes in your possession."
"Yes, sir," Roll replied before opening the app and aiming it at Tango, who was washing his face with a paw.
"Sprigatito, the Grass Cat Pokémon. Once known as Nyahoja, Sprigatito is capricious and attention-seeking, and it tends to sulk if ignored by people. Sprigatito can rub its paws together to unleash a sweet, therapeutic aroma that mesmerizes anyone near it and causes its foes to stop battling. The scent becomes more potent when Sprigatito is exposed to sunlight. Sprigatito can absorb moisture into its fur by grooming it, which helps it to perform photosynthesis. It washes its face regularly to avoid drying out," a female voice came from her RotomPhone.
"That's honestly adorable," Roll whispered.
"Now, Miss Nemona, I do still have a few matters to discuss with your parents. Could I depend on you to see Miss Roll to the academy?" Clavell requested, "You would be doing me quite the favor."
"Of course! Leave it to me!" Nemona beamed while pumping a fist.
"Then I leave her in your capable hands," Clavell nodded before looking at the crocodile, "All right, little one. It's time you and I were on our way."
"Fue~!" the crocodile yawned before following after Clavell.
"Maybe I oughta make a little more time to work on my PokéDex along with all my battling..." Nemona muttered to herself before her eyes widened, "Oh! Right! Speaking of PokéDexes, Roll, you've probably never caught a wild Pokémon, right?"
"Um…No, no I haven't," Roll replied.
"I'll show you the ropes before I take you to the academy. Come with me! C'mon, vamos!" Nemona cheered as she ran off, waving to her from the distance, "This way!"
"...Well…guess we're doing this, Tango," Roll noted.
"Sprig~" the Sprigatito mewled as she nodded.
'Here goes everything. Don't worry, Mega. I will find you,' Roll vowed as she walked off after Nemona.
"All right! This here is Poco Path! It's the path that leads to adventure for you and me!" Nemona grinned as she and Roll entered a path filled with patches of tall grass and trees with a coastline along the right side of their view, "Out here, things are different than in towns and cities. You're gonna see wild Pokémon out and about. They'll be on the path and in the grass and such! Get too close to one, and you'll have to battle." she gestured to Tango in Roll's arms, "But you've got Tango for that, right?"
"Sprig~" Tango mewled.
"And if you want to try to catch a Pokémon, you gotta use…" Nemona pulled out the familiar small red and white sphere with a silver button in the middle of the divide between the two colors, "...a good ol' PokéBall!" she pulled out several more, "I've got tons. Have a few!"
"Oh! Um…Th-Thanks," Roll thanked as she accepted them.
"Oooh, what luck! Time for some learning by doing! Try battling this Lechonk, Roll!"
"Le…chonk?" Roll pondered, tilting her head as she pulled up the PokeDex app.
"Lechonk, the Hog Pokémon. Known originally as Gourton, Lechonk has an excellent sense of smell, which it uses to find fragrant wild grasses and rich Berries to eat. This diet causes it to emanate a herbal body odor that repels bug Pokémon. Lechonk is also known to feed on the sweet nectar on Appletun's back," the app spoke in a woman's voice, "Most Lechonk have a timid and faint-hearted temperament, and will panic and charge forward if attacked or startled by an opponent. Despite its apparent bulk, Lechonk's body mainly consists not of fat but of muscle, built up by its habit of walking around to find food. Some Trainers use Lechonk to look for cooking ingredients, such as detached Crabominable pincers scattered on mountains. Be warned, however, wild Lechonk will become hostile towards trainers carrying groceries or meals and attack them for their food."
'Ick…' Roll thought with a grimace, 'Yeah, no. Not gonna try to catch this thing.' she held Tango up and whispered, "We are not catching this thing, Tango. Beat it up and make it go away."
"Tito," Tango nodded before she put the cat down and it charged at the wild Lechonk, "SPRIG!"
"Cho?!" Lechonk yelped before Tango pounced him into a small cloud of dust and dirt before the bruised and battered pig stumbled out of it before falling over…shrinking right before their eyes.
"?!" Roll gawked as Nemona laughed.
"Nice! Defeating a Pokémon in battle will help your Sprigatito grow and get stronger! Next time, try throwing a PokéBall when a Pokémon's riiight on the tip of being defeated. You'll have a decent chance at catching it then!" Nemoma assured before seeing her face, "Uh…What's up?"
"It…It shrank!" Roll gawked.
"Well, yeah. Pokémon do that," Nemona replied.
"How?!" Roll gawked.
"...No clue," Nemona shrugged, causing Roll to facepalm, "Anyway, have some more PokéBalls just in case. Not every catch works out!" she handed Roll a small bundle of them, "Weaken the Pokémon, then throw the PokéBall! Remember that, and you'll be fine!" she patted Roll's back, "Now go battle those wild Pokémon and catch some of 'em!" she pointed at the lighthouse in the distance, "Let's meet back up at that lighthouse over there! You can see our school from the top! Oh, and if you get real good at catching Pokémon, gimme some advice!" she held up her arm, showing the strange straps on it, "I'm not great at the actual 'throw the PokéBall' part."
"O-Oh…um…Okay," Roll nodded as Nemona ran off…before Roll pulled up the PokeDex App, "I need to look at what's in the area here…"
"Sprig?"
"Trying to see if there's anything here that could be a good Pokémon," Roll explained, "I…" she paused in her lookup, "...I need to get some really strong Pokémon, you included."
"Tito?" Tango tilted his head.
"...People are counting on me to find someone," Roll replied, petting his head, "Especially the brother of the one who's missing…"
-Flashback-
Roll grimaced as she looked at the time. There was roughly thirty minutes left before Maylu had to leave to get to school on time…and yet, here they were, standing outside the Hikari household, waiting as usual. The only difference being…she shook her head, trying to quell the pain lancing her CyberCore of the lost Blue Bomber. She glanced around, seeing Maylu busy rechecking her homework, before quickly entering the Network. She looked around before spotting a familiar security cube and opened it. Lan hadn't changed the password. She stepped into the Network for Lan's PC and looked at the various PNG and JPEG files opened, all showing photos that focused or had a familiar warm face. She moved them away and looked out at the bed outside of the computer screen, a familiar bundle under its covers.
"Hey~! Lan, wake up!" Roll shouted, waving her arms…earning no response, "Mmm…Lan~! Wakey-wakey~!" Lan snorted…before rolling away from the screen, "Grrrr…HEY! WAKE UP, MISTER!"
"GYAH!" Lan freaked, falling out of bed and landing on his face, "Oough…" he slowly sat up and blinked a few times, "R-Roll…?"
"You have thirty minutes to get dressed and get going before you're late," Roll warned, "And Maylu is outside waiting to walk with you!"
"...Ah!" Lan panicked as he ran about (Roll quickly moving a picture of Megaman and her in Sleep Mode on a digital couch with her head on his shoulder [what the heck? Who took this photo of them?!] to block all sight of Lan) and quickly got dressed before pausing and looking at the screen, "...Roll?"
"Yes?" Roll asked, moving the photo away.
"Wh…Why are you here?"
"Why? Because…" Roll trailed off, wanting to say 'because you're keeping Maylu waiting,' but… "..." she inhaled, "I…I remember Mega always saying you needed help waking up…" Lan flinched on hearing that as she looked down at her boots, "I…I just wanted to…to do something for you and him since…"
"..." Lan walked over to the screen and pressed a finger to it, "Roll…I…I'm not good at waking up by myself. I…I want to learn how to, but…" he gave her a small, sad smile, "I miss Hub a-and I want to do this on my own, but…but will you come over and do that sometimes?"
"You mean shout at the top of my digital lungs for you to wake up?"
"Er…"
Roll smiled sadly as she laid her hand over where Lan had his finger on the screen, "Of course I'll help you, Lan. Mega…Hub is someone important to all of us. I…I don't want to accept it, not until the sixth grade comes. So…So I'll help you get up in the mornings. I won't be perfect at this and you better expect to get some articles from me on how to wake up on your own."
"As long as you try your best, that's good enough for me, Roll," Lan assured.
Roll nodded before frowning, "Okay. Now you better hurry up, mister. You have fifteen minutes to get out that door before you and Maylu both end up late. And did you do your homework?"
"Aw come on, Roll~"
"No way! You need to do your homework so you can get good grades and keep in the same class as Maylu," Roll scolded, "You still have her Heart, mister."
"Ack!"
-End Flashback-
"I want to do all I can to find him because he means so much to so many people," Roll spoke.
"Spri…" Tango mewled, his ears drooping before sniffles made the two look down, seeing a small orange Pokémon looking up at Roll with big tear-filled eyes. Her RotomPhone popped out of her pocket.
"Pawmi, the Mouse Pokémon. Pawmi has yellow underdeveloped electric sacs in its cheeks, as well as yellow pad-like organs on its forepaws that can discharge electricity. If it feels threatened, it will rub its cheeks to generate electricity, which it then delivers to its opponents by touching them with its forepaws. The organs on its forepaws turn teal-blue when discharging. Pawmi's thick fur provides insulation against the cold and allows it to store electricity," RotomPhone informed via the PokeDex App.
"Pawmi?" Roll pondered before getting down to her knees to better look at the tiny Pokémon with a big tuft of orange hair atop its head, bending back in a familiar way to her, "You were listening to why I'm in Paldea, huh?"
"Paw…" Pawmi nodded, rubbing some tears from its eyes.
"...Would you like to help me then? I need a lot of it since I don't know how to even start looking for him here," Roll offered.
"Mi," Pawmi nodded again as Roll pulled out a PokéBall and gently offered it, letting Pawmi hold out of its long front legs and pat it, causing the ball to open and turn Pawmi into energy that was sucked up into it before it snapped shut with a 'click.'
"Well…That was easier than Nemona said it'd be," Roll admitted, looking at her new catch, "...Netto."
"Ga?" Tango tilted his head.
"It's a bit of a secret name Maylu has for Lan," Roll whispered, "When they were little, Maylu couldn't say 'Lan' to save her life, so they both decided on nicknames until Maylu could say Lan. Lan went with 'Meiru' while Maylu called him 'Netto.' They still use them, but only rarely. I'm naming him that because…he kinda looks like Netto with the fluff on his head." she put the PokéBall on her belt, "Come on, Tango. Let's keep going."
"Sprig!" Tango nodded as Roll walked off.
'Here I come to find you, Mega…' Roll thought.
GT: Gonna be interesting here, folks. Please Read and Review.