Story Notes:
This is my first series/ story.As the story progressess there will be more violence and action.Disclaimer:All related material are property of their respective creators. I am in no way associated with owners, producers and creators of any media franchise. No copyright infringment or plagiarism is intented.
Chapter 3 - And so it Begins
Chapter 3 - And so it Begins
"Hi Professor Rowan, its me, Odai."
Odai had shortly found a strange machine on the wall that looked like a phone booth except with video calling and called someone called Professor Rowan. He was apparently a scientist but the long, brown coat he wore made it seem less than likely. He had a thick grey moustache and the rest of his hair had turned a deep grey. His eyes were sharp and piercing and when he spoke you could instantly tell the voice of authority in it.
"Ah, the new trainer. How is the Charmander I gave you?"
"He's doing well, but I called to tell you of a recent, uh, scuffle in the forest."
"I thought I told you to avoid that forest until you had more and stronger Pokemon!"
He glanced apologetically at me before continuing, "I was attacked by some Mightyena and a Lucario saved me, I had to use a poke ball on him to get him here though and he's decided to stay with me..."
"A Lucario you say? Well let's have a look at him."
Odai moved away from the video call and I moved into view.
Rowan stared at me, and I almost cringed from his gaze. It felt like he saw every detail no matter how small.
"This is a very unique Lucario, Odai, his eyes for example are a dark green, almost like a humans. Lucario's, with his body strength are hard to find in the wild and I can only guess at how intelligent he is. Lucario, do you know any moves?"
I shook my head, keeping my eyes level with his. My eyes before the 'transformation' had been a dark green, inherited from my dad.
"Hmm, I'll ask the authorities whether they know anything about this, in any case I want you to head back to Sandgem Town, I expect you here tomorrow, there are some items I wish to give you."
"Ok Professor, I'll see you some time tomorrow afternoon."
After we left the Pokemon Center we walked for several miles, following a winding, muddy path. The path started to climb steeply and Odai stopped shortly, gasping for breath. I realised my training as a soldier had left me with much more stamina and I had managed to keep hold of it.
"Charmander, come out," he called pulling out a poke ball from his belt. In a flash of red light Charmander appeared.
"I thinks here's as good a place as any to rest so you should enjoy yourself."
I dwarfed the Charmander in height yet he stood up bravely to me and said, "Thank you for saving my Trainer and me, I don't know how we could have escaped without you."
"No problem. You were pretty brave for someone your size against them." I said.
We stayed there for an hour, the Charmander seemed a bit nervous about me but stood up defiantly whenever I looked at him. It took several more hours to reach the top of the hill, by which time the sun had started to set. Down the hill in the distance, at least several hours walk were the flickering lights of a town. Darkness had fallen but there was still enough light to see by.
"Not good," I muttered as two black clad men walked up to us, their silhouettes just visible from the dwindling light; as they neared I could make out the Team Rocket symbol on their shoulders.
"Can I help you?" asked Odai, not knowing what and who they were.
Instead of talking the lead man pointed a finger at me and beckoned threateningly. I stood still, tensing my legs, preparing to dodge or attack.
After several seconds silence the other man spoke, his voice dripping with venom, "We only want Corporal Mitchell then we'll be on our way. Or if you want to resist I can assure you it will be hazardous for your health." He almost chuckled on the last part.
"Corporal Mitchell?" Odai replied looking lost. "In any case if you want Lucario you'll have to come and get him, Go Charmander!"
Charmander appeared snarling angrily, his tail flame blazing fiercely.
"Bad mistake kid, this Pokemon here is rightful property of Team Rockets scientists and we want it back."
I chuckled dryly and stepped forward, beckoning them on.
"You're not taking me back and I want to know where my friends are."
To the men it sounded like a defiant 'Car!' but its meaning was the loud and clear, 'come and get me.'
The lead man drew a poke ball and was half way through saying "come on ou-" when I barrelled into his chest knocking the wind out of him, not noticing I had managed to speed over the 10 meter gap between us in less than a second. The second man just stood dumbstruck as I grabbed his shirt collar and lifted him of the ground, several feet in the air. Once again I repeated,
"Where are my friends?" except this time I pushed with my mind while saying the words.
The man muttered quietly, "I don't know, try our base at Jubilife City, the back door code is 6-7-8-9. Please don't hurt me, I'm just a grunt, I only follow orders. Please."
He was on the verge of crying and disgraced I let him go. He grabbed his mate and dragged him off down the hill the way we had come.
"Yet who gave the order?" I muttered.
"I think we'd better get some sleep," said Odai, staring wild eyed, "we can talk about this tomorrow. By the way Lucario did you know you used quick attack on that man?"
Shaking my head, I made my way to a tree and sat down, staring at the stars.
"How did you know how to use telepathy?"
"Read it in a book somewhere."
"So the secrets out, or at least it will be by the time we get to the professors."
"It's not much of a secret and I was planning to get around to telling Odai sooner or later and if anyone tries to stop me I can easily just knock them out."
"Ah, that may be true with these grunts and while you're high level compared to the Pokemon around these parts, you're a warm up dummy for others, especially with the only move you know being quick attack."
"Leave it for tomorrow, I'm tired."
"One more question, why did you really decide to stick with this kid?"
I sat there staring at the stars, thinking back to the day when I had received the news.
"I was on tour about a year ago when terrorists blew up a apartment building. Hundreds were killed including my younger brother who was 15 when I last saw him, my mum, and my cousin, who they were visiting, all died. I didn't even hear about it for several months after and by the time I did, they had already been buried. My family who I hadn't seen for 2 years died and I never even saw their graves."
"I can see why you so determined to save your friends, you don't want to lose anyone else, and why your sticking with the kid... he reminds you of your brother doesn't he?"
"Yes. He does. Let's get some sleep, I think tomorrow is going to be a long day."
I woke up at the first hint of sunrise. Yawning I started doing the usual warm up, push ups, sit ups before I realised how, while my body had changed, my instincts and mind still worked the same way as before and I had automatically followed the routine I had done since joining.
Flexing my arms and legs, I looked up at the tree I had been sleeping against. The lowest branch was several meters above me. I could feel I was stronger, both physically and mentally.
"I wonder..." I muttered to myself.
Crouching down I tensed my legs and jumped, landing smoothly on the branch.
"How things change."
Looking down at the boy, I saw him twisting and turning, groaning something indecipherable.
"For better or for worse though?" I asked myself thinking back to the outpost. My family had all died or passed away. And now all my friends had been captured by Team Rocket, I had been transformed, and now..."
I leapt down from the branch and landed by Odai, a made barely any noise as I landed on the leafy ground. Odai was groaning softly and I could make out the odd word or two. I sighed remembering my brother wishing me good luck as I left to go on tour. Odai looked uncannily like him, even his attitude was similar, the never backing down type.
"It's hard, isn't it?"
"Yeah. My family's gone, my entire unit, my friends, captured. My only desire now is to free them. I've lost too many good men, and I never leave a man behind."
"Just remember that you were not the only one affected by this. I like you, but when I was captured, I left all I knew behind, my friends, my mate, and I never expect to see them again. And since the transformation, I don't think I want to. Imagine trying to live a normal life with a second, alien mind in your head."
"I'm sorry if I've been a bit self- centered lately, I never thought how it might have affected you."
"Well at least I'm not the one from a different world, you have to learn a completely different life here if you want to fit in and survive."
Odai stirred again and I put a hand over his mouth. He sat bolt upright, yelling "Charmander!"
He blinked a few times, taking in his bearings then noticed me sitting by him. "Thanks, that was a really bad dream." He shuddered thinking back. He looked curiously at me,
"Didn't those men from last night call you Corporal Mitchell and why did they want you so bad?"
Sending the thought to him I said,
"Corporal is more of a rank or designation. My name is Jakkaru."
Strangely Odai didn't look surprised when I used telepathy.
"I was wondering whether you could use telepathy or not. A fair amount of Lucario's can and I was thinking you might not be able to. It's a very useful ability, especially when in a battle. That reminds me, was it necessary to head but that man, most people decide on Pokemon battles, not by tackling the opponents trainer."
"I'll remember that next time we meet a trainer."
Odai then turned his attention towards packing up his sleeping bag.
"Why not call yourself Mitchell, its your name after all?"
"Maybe if I was a human, but this is your body, and imagine what kind of questions would be raised if a Pokemon had a human name."
"Thanks, though it might be a bit awkward if I met anyone who knew me."
"Heh, you think it might be awkward for you, all my friends are human and I look like a blue and black jackal with mystical powers."
"Mystical powers is hardly a description of Pokemon moves, but you do raise a valid point."
Once Odai had finished packing we set off for the town. It only took a few hours and the path was mostly downhill, so we made it without having to take a break. Sandgem Town was more of a large village, with houses and shops mixed together. Everywhere I looked where Pokemon, either helping other People or playing with kids. Odai led the way to Professor Rowan's lab, which sat on the edge of the town. It was an impressive site, several marble white buildings stood lined together, with a large dome appearing from behind the buildings.
As we entered the reception area Professor Rowan greeted us.
"So this is the Lucario. Officer Jenny told me how she found you in Team Rockets lab and left you in the forest. If you don't mind I'll skip any introductions and get straight to the point; I want a blood sample from you if you don't mind and I've got a Pokedex to give you Odai."
Without waiting for a reply he turned around and gestured to one of his assistants who took a quick blood sample from my arm, mumbling a apology and took it through a set of doors leading into another building. Rowan returned with a high-tech looking calculator.
"This is a Pokedex, it contains all the known information and species of Pokemon as well as legendary Pokemon. It can scan a Pokemon and register its level, moves, and gender and take various life signs. I want you to regularly keep in contact and to report your journey. I also want you to keep an eye on Lucario; I have a feeling that there's going to be one heck of a story to tell when you finish. "
"Odai, you should look into battling the gyms and even taking on the Elite Four if you get that far. Lucario, I have something that Officer Jenny salvaged from the lab, I believe it's yours. Finally, I can give you some money to start of but you should help out where you can and make some more money."
Rowan passed a backpack to me, unzipping it I found my old clothes, camo trousers, shirt, jacket, as well as a small selection of weapons; pistol, mp3, a SPAS 12 shotgun, as well as magazines and shells for each. Odai and I stared at the array of weapons.
"I advise you keep an eye on those and don't let anyone see them. Officer Jenny gave them to me as they are of a different make to any of the firearms around here and I was curious if they were yours Mitchell or one of your units?"
"How do you know of me and my unit?" I asked him.
"Your jacket was the only one found at the lab and has a name tag. Team Rocket also left several notes about how you appeared from nowhere, dressed and armed strangely then sent of to different locations, though they didn't name where."
He looked me up and down then continued, "They also forgot to destroy most of the research on you and your blood type, and the... experiment they had on you. In any case, what's there is all yours, though whether you bin it or keep it is your decision, and you should get a move on if you want to get anywhere."
With that he ushered us out the door and suggested we headed towards Oreburgh for the first Gym.
"Busy man," I commented to Odai.
"Yes, he's always been like that, straight to the point and doesn't like time wasters. So what was this experiment he mentioned?"
"It's a long story."
"It's a long walk."Chapter End Notes:Because it took so long to get round to publishing it chapter 4 is already nearly don
"Hi Professor Rowan, its me, Odai."
Odai had shortly found a strange machine on the wall that looked like a phone booth except with video calling and called someone called Professor Rowan. He was apparently a scientist but the long, brown coat he wore made it seem less than likely. He had a thick grey moustache and the rest of his hair had turned a deep grey. His eyes were sharp and piercing and when he spoke you could instantly tell the voice of authority in it.
"Ah, the new trainer. How is the Charmander I gave you?"
"He's doing well, but I called to tell you of a recent, uh, scuffle in the forest."
"I thought I told you to avoid that forest until you had more and stronger Pokemon!"
He glanced apologetically at me before continuing, "I was attacked by some Mightyena and a Lucario saved me, I had to use a poke ball on him to get him here though and he's decided to stay with me..."
"A Lucario you say? Well let's have a look at him."
Odai moved away from the video call and I moved into view.
Rowan stared at me, and I almost cringed from his gaze. It felt like he saw every detail no matter how small.
"This is a very unique Lucario, Odai, his eyes for example are a dark green, almost like a humans. Lucario's, with his body strength are hard to find in the wild and I can only guess at how intelligent he is. Lucario, do you know any moves?"
I shook my head, keeping my eyes level with his. My eyes before the 'transformation' had been a dark green, inherited from my dad.
"Hmm, I'll ask the authorities whether they know anything about this, in any case I want you to head back to Sandgem Town, I expect you here tomorrow, there are some items I wish to give you."
"Ok Professor, I'll see you some time tomorrow afternoon."
After we left the Pokemon Center we walked for several miles, following a winding, muddy path. The path started to climb steeply and Odai stopped shortly, gasping for breath. I realised my training as a soldier had left me with much more stamina and I had managed to keep hold of it.
"Charmander, come out," he called pulling out a poke ball from his belt. In a flash of red light Charmander appeared.
"I thinks here's as good a place as any to rest so you should enjoy yourself."
I dwarfed the Charmander in height yet he stood up bravely to me and said, "Thank you for saving my Trainer and me, I don't know how we could have escaped without you."
"No problem. You were pretty brave for someone your size against them." I said.
We stayed there for an hour, the Charmander seemed a bit nervous about me but stood up defiantly whenever I looked at him. It took several more hours to reach the top of the hill, by which time the sun had started to set. Down the hill in the distance, at least several hours walk were the flickering lights of a town. Darkness had fallen but there was still enough light to see by.
"Not good," I muttered as two black clad men walked up to us, their silhouettes just visible from the dwindling light; as they neared I could make out the Team Rocket symbol on their shoulders.
"Can I help you?" asked Odai, not knowing what and who they were.
Instead of talking the lead man pointed a finger at me and beckoned threateningly. I stood still, tensing my legs, preparing to dodge or attack.
After several seconds silence the other man spoke, his voice dripping with venom, "We only want Corporal Mitchell then we'll be on our way. Or if you want to resist I can assure you it will be hazardous for your health." He almost chuckled on the last part.
"Corporal Mitchell?" Odai replied looking lost. "In any case if you want Lucario you'll have to come and get him, Go Charmander!"
Charmander appeared snarling angrily, his tail flame blazing fiercely.
"Bad mistake kid, this Pokemon here is rightful property of Team Rockets scientists and we want it back."
I chuckled dryly and stepped forward, beckoning them on.
"You're not taking me back and I want to know where my friends are."
To the men it sounded like a defiant 'Car!' but its meaning was the loud and clear, 'come and get me.'
The lead man drew a poke ball and was half way through saying "come on ou-" when I barrelled into his chest knocking the wind out of him, not noticing I had managed to speed over the 10 meter gap between us in less than a second. The second man just stood dumbstruck as I grabbed his shirt collar and lifted him of the ground, several feet in the air. Once again I repeated,
"Where are my friends?" except this time I pushed with my mind while saying the words.
The man muttered quietly, "I don't know, try our base at Jubilife City, the back door code is 6-7-8-9. Please don't hurt me, I'm just a grunt, I only follow orders. Please."
He was on the verge of crying and disgraced I let him go. He grabbed his mate and dragged him off down the hill the way we had come.
"Yet who gave the order?" I muttered.
"I think we'd better get some sleep," said Odai, staring wild eyed, "we can talk about this tomorrow. By the way Lucario did you know you used quick attack on that man?"
Shaking my head, I made my way to a tree and sat down, staring at the stars.
"How did you know how to use telepathy?"
"Read it in a book somewhere."
"So the secrets out, or at least it will be by the time we get to the professors."
"It's not much of a secret and I was planning to get around to telling Odai sooner or later and if anyone tries to stop me I can easily just knock them out."
"Ah, that may be true with these grunts and while you're high level compared to the Pokemon around these parts, you're a warm up dummy for others, especially with the only move you know being quick attack."
"Leave it for tomorrow, I'm tired."
"One more question, why did you really decide to stick with this kid?"
I sat there staring at the stars, thinking back to the day when I had received the news.
"I was on tour about a year ago when terrorists blew up a apartment building. Hundreds were killed including my younger brother who was 15 when I last saw him, my mum, and my cousin, who they were visiting, all died. I didn't even hear about it for several months after and by the time I did, they had already been buried. My family who I hadn't seen for 2 years died and I never even saw their graves."
"I can see why you so determined to save your friends, you don't want to lose anyone else, and why your sticking with the kid... he reminds you of your brother doesn't he?"
"Yes. He does. Let's get some sleep, I think tomorrow is going to be a long day."
I woke up at the first hint of sunrise. Yawning I started doing the usual warm up, push ups, sit ups before I realised how, while my body had changed, my instincts and mind still worked the same way as before and I had automatically followed the routine I had done since joining.
Flexing my arms and legs, I looked up at the tree I had been sleeping against. The lowest branch was several meters above me. I could feel I was stronger, both physically and mentally.
"I wonder..." I muttered to myself.
Crouching down I tensed my legs and jumped, landing smoothly on the branch.
"How things change."
Looking down at the boy, I saw him twisting and turning, groaning something indecipherable.
"For better or for worse though?" I asked myself thinking back to the outpost. My family had all died or passed away. And now all my friends had been captured by Team Rocket, I had been transformed, and now..."
I leapt down from the branch and landed by Odai, a made barely any noise as I landed on the leafy ground. Odai was groaning softly and I could make out the odd word or two. I sighed remembering my brother wishing me good luck as I left to go on tour. Odai looked uncannily like him, even his attitude was similar, the never backing down type.
"It's hard, isn't it?"
"Yeah. My family's gone, my entire unit, my friends, captured. My only desire now is to free them. I've lost too many good men, and I never leave a man behind."
"Just remember that you were not the only one affected by this. I like you, but when I was captured, I left all I knew behind, my friends, my mate, and I never expect to see them again. And since the transformation, I don't think I want to. Imagine trying to live a normal life with a second, alien mind in your head."
"I'm sorry if I've been a bit self- centered lately, I never thought how it might have affected you."
"Well at least I'm not the one from a different world, you have to learn a completely different life here if you want to fit in and survive."
Odai stirred again and I put a hand over his mouth. He sat bolt upright, yelling "Charmander!"
He blinked a few times, taking in his bearings then noticed me sitting by him. "Thanks, that was a really bad dream." He shuddered thinking back. He looked curiously at me,
"Didn't those men from last night call you Corporal Mitchell and why did they want you so bad?"
Sending the thought to him I said,
"Corporal is more of a rank or designation. My name is Jakkaru."
Strangely Odai didn't look surprised when I used telepathy.
"I was wondering whether you could use telepathy or not. A fair amount of Lucario's can and I was thinking you might not be able to. It's a very useful ability, especially when in a battle. That reminds me, was it necessary to head but that man, most people decide on Pokemon battles, not by tackling the opponents trainer."
"I'll remember that next time we meet a trainer."
Odai then turned his attention towards packing up his sleeping bag.
"Why not call yourself Mitchell, its your name after all?"
"Maybe if I was a human, but this is your body, and imagine what kind of questions would be raised if a Pokemon had a human name."
"Thanks, though it might be a bit awkward if I met anyone who knew me."
"Heh, you think it might be awkward for you, all my friends are human and I look like a blue and black jackal with mystical powers."
"Mystical powers is hardly a description of Pokemon moves, but you do raise a valid point."
Once Odai had finished packing we set off for the town. It only took a few hours and the path was mostly downhill, so we made it without having to take a break. Sandgem Town was more of a large village, with houses and shops mixed together. Everywhere I looked where Pokemon, either helping other People or playing with kids. Odai led the way to Professor Rowan's lab, which sat on the edge of the town. It was an impressive site, several marble white buildings stood lined together, with a large dome appearing from behind the buildings.
As we entered the reception area Professor Rowan greeted us.
"So this is the Lucario. Officer Jenny told me how she found you in Team Rockets lab and left you in the forest. If you don't mind I'll skip any introductions and get straight to the point; I want a blood sample from you if you don't mind and I've got a Pokedex to give you Odai."
Without waiting for a reply he turned around and gestured to one of his assistants who took a quick blood sample from my arm, mumbling a apology and took it through a set of doors leading into another building. Rowan returned with a high-tech looking calculator.
"This is a Pokedex, it contains all the known information and species of Pokemon as well as legendary Pokemon. It can scan a Pokemon and register its level, moves, and gender and take various life signs. I want you to regularly keep in contact and to report your journey. I also want you to keep an eye on Lucario; I have a feeling that there's going to be one heck of a story to tell when you finish. "
"Odai, you should look into battling the gyms and even taking on the Elite Four if you get that far. Lucario, I have something that Officer Jenny salvaged from the lab, I believe it's yours. Finally, I can give you some money to start of but you should help out where you can and make some more money."
Rowan passed a backpack to me, unzipping it I found my old clothes, camo trousers, shirt, jacket, as well as a small selection of weapons; pistol, mp3, a SPAS 12 shotgun, as well as magazines and shells for each. Odai and I stared at the array of weapons.
"I advise you keep an eye on those and don't let anyone see them. Officer Jenny gave them to me as they are of a different make to any of the firearms around here and I was curious if they were yours Mitchell or one of your units?"
"How do you know of me and my unit?" I asked him.
"Your jacket was the only one found at the lab and has a name tag. Team Rocket also left several notes about how you appeared from nowhere, dressed and armed strangely then sent of to different locations, though they didn't name where."
He looked me up and down then continued, "They also forgot to destroy most of the research on you and your blood type, and the... experiment they had on you. In any case, what's there is all yours, though whether you bin it or keep it is your decision, and you should get a move on if you want to get anywhere."
With that he ushered us out the door and suggested we headed towards Oreburgh for the first Gym.
"Busy man," I commented to Odai.
"Yes, he's always been like that, straight to the point and doesn't like time wasters. So what was this experiment he mentioned?"
"It's a long story."
"It's a long walk."Chapter End Notes:Because it took so long to get round to publishing it chapter 4 is already nearly don