Story Notes:
This story is a continuation of Story of a Boy and His Mate. I tried to get more people to write for the filler stories between breaks, but only one person rose to the call. So now, that one person will have their Pokemon added to this story. Seikiru, Ember will be a valuable asset to the team. Sorry if she seems out of character, but I just use the excuse that 3 years with Dustin has changed her quite a bit.
Catching the Competition
Hello, everyone. Sorry again for tardiness, but that's what you get for breaking your leg and forgetting to bring your laptop to the hospital. Thankfully, they saved my leg from being chopped off. Took a while to do so, about a week, but I'm back, and 10x wiser.So, where'd we leave off? Oh yeah. We found out that the bad guy in this story is none other than Ash Ketchum, renowned Pokemon Master, turned one of a few leaders of Cipher. What a twist!Anyway, that's enough of my rambling. Now, back to Sylvia and Dustin.On with the Show!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Dustin POV)I was the first to wake up. I knew, because the entire lab was quiet. I looked next to me, seeing Sylvia sleeping soundly. And by soundly, I meant soundly. Boy, could she snore. In fact, that's what woke me from my slumber. I clambered over her sleeping form, and landed lightly on the ground. I had gotten good at that sort of thing. I went over to where my clothes lay from last night's encounter with my love. I proceeded to dress as quickly as I could. I wanted to explore this place a bit. It wasn't everyday that I would see a Laboratory as graceful and as pristine as this one. Even Professor Oak's lab wasn't as grand as this one. However, I had heard that 2 years ago, Professor Oak passed away at the ripe old age of 93. Old guy... but now, his Grandson has taken over the lab. Gary Oak. So, it's still Professor Oak's lab.I took the elevator down to the main floor, to see that nobody was at the reception desk. I walked up a bit, up to the desk, when something in the window to my right caught my eye. I looked in, and I could see some weird machine that looked big enough to fit on my arm. As well as a machine that I could swear would fit on my head, or around it."Pretty interesting, isn't it?"The voice caused me to jump. I turned around, and saw Professor Michael. "Uhh... professor! I'm, uhh... sorry... I woke up first, and I just got curious..."The Professor smiled. "It's understandable to be curious. I was gonna show you this today, anyway."I tilted my head a bit. "Why's that, professor?""Because you're going to be using it to save your son." The Professor responded with a serious tone in his voice.My heart skipped a beat. This machine was going to help me save my son? I couldn't believe it! I was gonna see Mar again! "I'll do anything! Put it on!"Michael placed his hands on my chest. "Hold your horses. You first need to know what it is." He then grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the room that held the device. He then pulled out 2 chairs. One, he sat in. He then motioned at the other chair, stating "Sit."I took my seat, rather a bit too obediently.It's the canine in you. You're getting too housetrained for your own good.Is that what's happening to me now?Yes. But, if you let me out every once and a while...Last time I did, you almost took off Aren's horn!I wasn't aiming high... but I was aiming for his horn...You're perverted. You know that?You still love me. Admit it."So, what is this machine, Professor?"Michael looked at it, then back at me. "First, you need to know what you'll be up against." He stood up, paced back and forth once, then sat back down. "10 years ago, an evil syndicate known as Cipher was collecting Pokemon and using machines to artificially close the heart of a Pokemon, hence creating Shadow Pokemon.""Shadow... Pokemon?""Correct. Now, 15 years ago, they also tried doing something, but on a more discreet scale. They'd use bribery and blackmail to gather people's Pokemon from them, and then turn them into Shadow Pokemon. They were then recruiting more members for Cipher by talking with them after they had won tournaments, and such. The winner would then get a Shadow Pokemon as a prize. It was a horrible thing."My breathing started to quicken. Pokemon having their hearts sealed away, and pawned off for prizes in contests. It was appalling! "Okay, so where does this machine come in?""I'm getting to that! Hold your Horseys! Now. 15 years ago, an individual who was with another bad group, Team Snagem, had what was called a Snag Machine. This machine could literally steal another trainer's Pokemon from them. Anyway, this individual, Wes was his name, he left Team Snagem, stealing the Snag Machine and blowing up Team Snagem's hideout. He then went to Phenac City, where he met a strange girl in trouble. He saved her, with the help of his Pokemon. However, when he saved her, she saved him by telling him about a Pokemon that was in another battle he was facing. This girl could see a dark aura around Pokemon that have had their hearts closed. They went around, and ultimately stopped the Shadow Pokemon conspiracy. Now, after that, Wes submitted the Snag Machine to this very lab for examination, and refining. We also examined the girl's abilities as well. Our result," he pointed at the machine. "The Snag Machine v2. 5 years passed, and Cipher came back. This time, they took to becoming more ruthless, attacking civilians for their Pokemon. Even killing. I took the new Snag Machine and used it to stop Cipher's plans once again. Easily done, I might add. And since then, it's been quiet, until now."I sighed. It was a lot of information to take in all at once. I thought I had it, so I went ahead and said "So, this Snag Machine will help me get my son back?""Yes. It's quite possible that your son is being used to become a Shadow Pokemon."My heart almost stopped. Mar was going to be the enemy? Something then haunted me. 'Your son will either make or break this world for better or worse. But, he will have to choose.' "So, what are we waiting for?"There was another voice behind me. "Yeah, I want my son back now!"I turned around. Sylvia had woken up and was standing in the doorway. "Hun, have you been there this whole time?"Michael laughed. "Are you sure you're part Lucario? I would have thought you'd have sensed her Aura.""I uhh... haven't learned how to do it passively. I can only do it when I will myself to do it.""Ah. That is a bit of a problem. But, that's neither here nor there." He got up from his chair and went over to the Snag Machine. "This version is v3. It's been made especially for you, Dustin. It has an incredible feature, which I know you'll enjoy. This region, the Orre region, destroyed all of its stock of Pokeballs around 5 years ago, after all of the wild Pokemon were gone from here. Not even the Hot PokeSpots would attract Wild Pokemon anymore. So, they were non existent. However, this model doesn't have to use Pokeballs. It can use Auraballs.""Auraballs?" Sylvia asked, confused."In all sense of the word, you create an Aura Sphere with the hand that you have the machine on, and focus on it. The machine will pick up on the focusing, and create an Auraball. It's, in every sense, a real Pokeball, one that you've created. As well as, any Shadow Pokemon you catch with this type of ball will be quick to have their hearts unlocked. Now, there is a drawback with this. If you use an Auraball, it takes a chunk of your Aura away for good. So, I hope you have a plentiful stock of Pokeballs. Only use Auraballs in absolute necessity." He then motioned for me to hold out my arm. I did so, and he placed it on there. As it was placed, it locked into position on my arm. I flexed it, finding I could still move it around normally. It really did fit. Michael then continued talking. "Now, there's one more piece that you need. The Shadow Scanner." He indicated to the eye piece-looking thing. "This thing will show you if a Shadow Pokemon is in the vicinity."~*~"We interrupt this program with a message from the author."Hi, Majinonifox1 here. I would like to point out one really weird fact about this game. If any of you have seen D. Gray Man, do you not agree with me that the Shadow Scanner is basically Allen's eye? SPOILER Allen's left eye can see the Demons. SPOILER Isn't that what it basically is? Just my words on the matter.We now return you to our regularly scheduled story, already in progress.~*~I nodded, and allowed the good Professor to attach the thing to my head. It felt weird, but it also seemed like it wanted to be there. I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it. "So, this whole thing's going to help me get my son back?""Very much so. Would you like to test how this would work in an environment that would let you use your Auraball without hurting yourself?"I nodded. I would need all the practice I could get before heading out on what would be a dangerous journey. "Let's do this."Michael nodded, and led me to the room completely on the opposite side of the lab. He then flipped a switch, and the room became dark. The only light was from the platform I was on. He then went to a keyboard. "We'll take this simple. You will have no Pokemon, and the opponent will have one Shadow Pokemon. To clear the stage, you must successfully use your Auraball once. To fail is to miss using your Auraball 3 times." A computer voice, a woman's, called out "Scenario input received. Sending images now."All of a sudden, the entire room was gone. All that was left was what I could see. And, I was seeing more and more by the minute. When my eyes adjusted to the change, I could see the Phenac stadium, where I had challenged Justy. Then, an energy orb appeared, and there stood a small boy with bright spiky red hair. I called out "Professor, is this your-""That's me from 10 years ago. He's sending out his Pokemon. No more talk. Only action."The computer sent out a Pokemon. It was a weird one, one I had never seen before. The computer's voice called out again. "Zoroark, the Monster Fox Pokemon. No available data.""Professor? What the hell is this?" I called out scared."That's what I'd like to find out!" he called out. I then heard some keys clacking about. "No! Not again! There's a hacker in Cipher, and they've sent an agent to try and stop you! You've gotta stop that Pokemon!""How do I do that?" I said, hurriedly."Catch it!"As he gave his directions, the Shadow Scanner activated, and I could see a dark aura around the Pokemon. Then, all I could see was the Pokemon rushing forward to attack... me! I jumped out of the way as fast as I could. It seemed that Shadow Pokemon had no problem attacking a human. But wait. I'm not human. The professor said I had no Pokemon. That's a lie. Even if all my Pokeballs are gone, I have one Pokemon always: me!I began my change. It was fast paced. My hair came in first, followed by the paws instead of my hands and feet. My face became a snout, and everything else pretty much happened all at the same time. After 3 seconds, I was a full Lucario. Thankfully, the Snag Machine hadn't broken. In fact, it seemed to have felt me transform, and adjust itself for the change. I noticed I couldn't fight with my left hand, as that was the hand needed to catch this thing. I had to take it down fast. The computer said this Pokemon was a Zoroark, so I called it thus. "You know, your Zoroark is impressive. However, I'm much stronger than that overgrown fuzz goof."My words didn't have any impact on the trainer, but that's not who I was aiming for. The Zoroark's eyes widened, and the aura around it turned a violent shade of red. This was different. It seemed it was in some sort of berserk mode. It rushed me. I took a backflip defense, then jumped in the air, firing an Aura Sphere from my right palm at the creature. This creature was a Dark Type, it seemed. My attack wasn't going to be a small thing to him. It was gonna hurt if it hit. However, the Zoroark just disappeared from sight. And in it's place, there were 6 other copies of Zoroark. "Double Team?"The professor's voice called out "That's not Double Team. Shadow Pokemon can only learn Shadow Moves. This is called Shadow Shift.""Shadow Shift... I gotta find the real one." I then concentrated. I could feel the Aura around me. And, I could see that there was only one of the clones that had Aura. That one was the real one. I fired an Aura Sphere at it, and this time, it hit the mark, sending the Zoroark flying far off to one side."Now, Dustin! Catch it!"I sighed once. "Pitiful Pokemon, let your Heart be saved!" I focused an Aura Sphere in my left hand this time, and the machine reacted, a blue jet appearing around the ball. When it was gone, what replaced the Aura Sphere was a Pokeball. But, it was different. It was a deep shade of blue, much like my Aura Sphere, and it looked almost as if it could be see through. I then threw it. I wasn't much of a left hand tosser, but the machine seemed to be aware of it, tossing the Pokeball for me, basically. It hit its mark, and swallowed Zoroark in a flash of blue. It then laid on the ground, shaking with a red dot in the middle like a regular Pokeball. It kept shaking and shaking. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. Then, the Pokeball was raised into the air, and glided over to my outstretched hand. It was still like Aura. I could control it.Then, all of a sudden, there was a female voice. "Simulation success." Then, the voice changed. "You will not stop us forever! Cipher will win!" Then, Phenac City dissolved, and I could start to see the blackness again. Then, the lights came on, and Sylvia was there, as well as Michael, and as well as a whole bunch of people that I didn't recognize. They were all clapping and cheering. I looked around. "Wait, what? Where'd you all come from?"Michael put me in a headlock, but not enough to hurt me. "You saved this place. If you hadn't captured that Pokemon, it would have continued to eat at our resources until everything was gone."One of the other scientists spoke up. "About that, sir... the Pokemon ate our records of past Shadow Pokemon from before, as well as our newfound knowledge. We can retrieve the data, but it'll take time."Michael spoke in a serious tone again. "Make it so."The scientist bowed, and ran off. I then took to looking at the sphere that I was still clutching in my hand. "Professor, you said that was a simulation. Why do I still have that Zoroark captured here, then?""Apparently, there was someone on the other end, using a real Pokemon in the Simulator. When you caught it, you were catching it with Aura. I think that's what made it possible for you to catch it from another location."I began to think about what all of this meant, when I saw something that made me jump. The Pokeball filled with Blackness, and also with blue. It seemed the Blackness was dominating over the Blue, but it wasn't advancing. It was simply, there was more black than blue. "Professor, what does this mean?"Michael smiled. "Well, that's just something called the Shadow Monitor. Through your Auraballs, you can monitor your Shadow Pokemon's change from having their heart locked up, to ready to unlock their heart. We would have the machine that we used 10 years ago up, but it doesn't work with Auraballs quite yet. We still need to do some more tests."I looked at the Pokeball. In this ball, there was a new friend. And I had a feeling that this new adventure was going to bring us a whole bunch of new friends. I held the Auraball in the air, and said to everyone there "I will do this, not just for my son, but for the whole world. I will save each and every Pokemon's heart! I will! And, that's a promise!"The entire place erupted in cheers and applause. However, I only heard them for a bit before I felt dizzy. Then, all I could hear was Sylvia crying out "Dustin!" before seeing only black.~*~A lone Lucario kept moving, floating above the sand, saying only one thing over and over again. "Dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad..." He kept floating on, only knowing that one word. He just floated along, not knowing anything else, but dad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Look at this! Done in 2 hours again! But, it's quite longer. This time, motivation was sour apple candy. A whole bunch of it, too. Motivation for the battle was the actual Cipher battle theme from Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness.I do not own Pokemon, or any related media of such. All Pokemon belong to their creators, and I am not making money off of this.That said, I also do not own D. Gray Man, and I do not own any related media of such. The phrase used above is a play on the rough Japanese translation from Allen Walker's line, "Pitiful demon, may your soul be saved." I do not own this line, and I do not claim to. Again, no money is being made from this creation.There. Now, I won't get sued. :)This is Majinonifox1, signing off.Chapter End Notes:Read, rate, and review! :
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Dustin POV)I was the first to wake up. I knew, because the entire lab was quiet. I looked next to me, seeing Sylvia sleeping soundly. And by soundly, I meant soundly. Boy, could she snore. In fact, that's what woke me from my slumber. I clambered over her sleeping form, and landed lightly on the ground. I had gotten good at that sort of thing. I went over to where my clothes lay from last night's encounter with my love. I proceeded to dress as quickly as I could. I wanted to explore this place a bit. It wasn't everyday that I would see a Laboratory as graceful and as pristine as this one. Even Professor Oak's lab wasn't as grand as this one. However, I had heard that 2 years ago, Professor Oak passed away at the ripe old age of 93. Old guy... but now, his Grandson has taken over the lab. Gary Oak. So, it's still Professor Oak's lab.I took the elevator down to the main floor, to see that nobody was at the reception desk. I walked up a bit, up to the desk, when something in the window to my right caught my eye. I looked in, and I could see some weird machine that looked big enough to fit on my arm. As well as a machine that I could swear would fit on my head, or around it."Pretty interesting, isn't it?"The voice caused me to jump. I turned around, and saw Professor Michael. "Uhh... professor! I'm, uhh... sorry... I woke up first, and I just got curious..."The Professor smiled. "It's understandable to be curious. I was gonna show you this today, anyway."I tilted my head a bit. "Why's that, professor?""Because you're going to be using it to save your son." The Professor responded with a serious tone in his voice.My heart skipped a beat. This machine was going to help me save my son? I couldn't believe it! I was gonna see Mar again! "I'll do anything! Put it on!"Michael placed his hands on my chest. "Hold your horses. You first need to know what it is." He then grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the room that held the device. He then pulled out 2 chairs. One, he sat in. He then motioned at the other chair, stating "Sit."I took my seat, rather a bit too obediently.It's the canine in you. You're getting too housetrained for your own good.Is that what's happening to me now?Yes. But, if you let me out every once and a while...Last time I did, you almost took off Aren's horn!I wasn't aiming high... but I was aiming for his horn...You're perverted. You know that?You still love me. Admit it."So, what is this machine, Professor?"Michael looked at it, then back at me. "First, you need to know what you'll be up against." He stood up, paced back and forth once, then sat back down. "10 years ago, an evil syndicate known as Cipher was collecting Pokemon and using machines to artificially close the heart of a Pokemon, hence creating Shadow Pokemon.""Shadow... Pokemon?""Correct. Now, 15 years ago, they also tried doing something, but on a more discreet scale. They'd use bribery and blackmail to gather people's Pokemon from them, and then turn them into Shadow Pokemon. They were then recruiting more members for Cipher by talking with them after they had won tournaments, and such. The winner would then get a Shadow Pokemon as a prize. It was a horrible thing."My breathing started to quicken. Pokemon having their hearts sealed away, and pawned off for prizes in contests. It was appalling! "Okay, so where does this machine come in?""I'm getting to that! Hold your Horseys! Now. 15 years ago, an individual who was with another bad group, Team Snagem, had what was called a Snag Machine. This machine could literally steal another trainer's Pokemon from them. Anyway, this individual, Wes was his name, he left Team Snagem, stealing the Snag Machine and blowing up Team Snagem's hideout. He then went to Phenac City, where he met a strange girl in trouble. He saved her, with the help of his Pokemon. However, when he saved her, she saved him by telling him about a Pokemon that was in another battle he was facing. This girl could see a dark aura around Pokemon that have had their hearts closed. They went around, and ultimately stopped the Shadow Pokemon conspiracy. Now, after that, Wes submitted the Snag Machine to this very lab for examination, and refining. We also examined the girl's abilities as well. Our result," he pointed at the machine. "The Snag Machine v2. 5 years passed, and Cipher came back. This time, they took to becoming more ruthless, attacking civilians for their Pokemon. Even killing. I took the new Snag Machine and used it to stop Cipher's plans once again. Easily done, I might add. And since then, it's been quiet, until now."I sighed. It was a lot of information to take in all at once. I thought I had it, so I went ahead and said "So, this Snag Machine will help me get my son back?""Yes. It's quite possible that your son is being used to become a Shadow Pokemon."My heart almost stopped. Mar was going to be the enemy? Something then haunted me. 'Your son will either make or break this world for better or worse. But, he will have to choose.' "So, what are we waiting for?"There was another voice behind me. "Yeah, I want my son back now!"I turned around. Sylvia had woken up and was standing in the doorway. "Hun, have you been there this whole time?"Michael laughed. "Are you sure you're part Lucario? I would have thought you'd have sensed her Aura.""I uhh... haven't learned how to do it passively. I can only do it when I will myself to do it.""Ah. That is a bit of a problem. But, that's neither here nor there." He got up from his chair and went over to the Snag Machine. "This version is v3. It's been made especially for you, Dustin. It has an incredible feature, which I know you'll enjoy. This region, the Orre region, destroyed all of its stock of Pokeballs around 5 years ago, after all of the wild Pokemon were gone from here. Not even the Hot PokeSpots would attract Wild Pokemon anymore. So, they were non existent. However, this model doesn't have to use Pokeballs. It can use Auraballs.""Auraballs?" Sylvia asked, confused."In all sense of the word, you create an Aura Sphere with the hand that you have the machine on, and focus on it. The machine will pick up on the focusing, and create an Auraball. It's, in every sense, a real Pokeball, one that you've created. As well as, any Shadow Pokemon you catch with this type of ball will be quick to have their hearts unlocked. Now, there is a drawback with this. If you use an Auraball, it takes a chunk of your Aura away for good. So, I hope you have a plentiful stock of Pokeballs. Only use Auraballs in absolute necessity." He then motioned for me to hold out my arm. I did so, and he placed it on there. As it was placed, it locked into position on my arm. I flexed it, finding I could still move it around normally. It really did fit. Michael then continued talking. "Now, there's one more piece that you need. The Shadow Scanner." He indicated to the eye piece-looking thing. "This thing will show you if a Shadow Pokemon is in the vicinity."~*~"We interrupt this program with a message from the author."Hi, Majinonifox1 here. I would like to point out one really weird fact about this game. If any of you have seen D. Gray Man, do you not agree with me that the Shadow Scanner is basically Allen's eye? SPOILER Allen's left eye can see the Demons. SPOILER Isn't that what it basically is? Just my words on the matter.We now return you to our regularly scheduled story, already in progress.~*~I nodded, and allowed the good Professor to attach the thing to my head. It felt weird, but it also seemed like it wanted to be there. I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it. "So, this whole thing's going to help me get my son back?""Very much so. Would you like to test how this would work in an environment that would let you use your Auraball without hurting yourself?"I nodded. I would need all the practice I could get before heading out on what would be a dangerous journey. "Let's do this."Michael nodded, and led me to the room completely on the opposite side of the lab. He then flipped a switch, and the room became dark. The only light was from the platform I was on. He then went to a keyboard. "We'll take this simple. You will have no Pokemon, and the opponent will have one Shadow Pokemon. To clear the stage, you must successfully use your Auraball once. To fail is to miss using your Auraball 3 times." A computer voice, a woman's, called out "Scenario input received. Sending images now."All of a sudden, the entire room was gone. All that was left was what I could see. And, I was seeing more and more by the minute. When my eyes adjusted to the change, I could see the Phenac stadium, where I had challenged Justy. Then, an energy orb appeared, and there stood a small boy with bright spiky red hair. I called out "Professor, is this your-""That's me from 10 years ago. He's sending out his Pokemon. No more talk. Only action."The computer sent out a Pokemon. It was a weird one, one I had never seen before. The computer's voice called out again. "Zoroark, the Monster Fox Pokemon. No available data.""Professor? What the hell is this?" I called out scared."That's what I'd like to find out!" he called out. I then heard some keys clacking about. "No! Not again! There's a hacker in Cipher, and they've sent an agent to try and stop you! You've gotta stop that Pokemon!""How do I do that?" I said, hurriedly."Catch it!"As he gave his directions, the Shadow Scanner activated, and I could see a dark aura around the Pokemon. Then, all I could see was the Pokemon rushing forward to attack... me! I jumped out of the way as fast as I could. It seemed that Shadow Pokemon had no problem attacking a human. But wait. I'm not human. The professor said I had no Pokemon. That's a lie. Even if all my Pokeballs are gone, I have one Pokemon always: me!I began my change. It was fast paced. My hair came in first, followed by the paws instead of my hands and feet. My face became a snout, and everything else pretty much happened all at the same time. After 3 seconds, I was a full Lucario. Thankfully, the Snag Machine hadn't broken. In fact, it seemed to have felt me transform, and adjust itself for the change. I noticed I couldn't fight with my left hand, as that was the hand needed to catch this thing. I had to take it down fast. The computer said this Pokemon was a Zoroark, so I called it thus. "You know, your Zoroark is impressive. However, I'm much stronger than that overgrown fuzz goof."My words didn't have any impact on the trainer, but that's not who I was aiming for. The Zoroark's eyes widened, and the aura around it turned a violent shade of red. This was different. It seemed it was in some sort of berserk mode. It rushed me. I took a backflip defense, then jumped in the air, firing an Aura Sphere from my right palm at the creature. This creature was a Dark Type, it seemed. My attack wasn't going to be a small thing to him. It was gonna hurt if it hit. However, the Zoroark just disappeared from sight. And in it's place, there were 6 other copies of Zoroark. "Double Team?"The professor's voice called out "That's not Double Team. Shadow Pokemon can only learn Shadow Moves. This is called Shadow Shift.""Shadow Shift... I gotta find the real one." I then concentrated. I could feel the Aura around me. And, I could see that there was only one of the clones that had Aura. That one was the real one. I fired an Aura Sphere at it, and this time, it hit the mark, sending the Zoroark flying far off to one side."Now, Dustin! Catch it!"I sighed once. "Pitiful Pokemon, let your Heart be saved!" I focused an Aura Sphere in my left hand this time, and the machine reacted, a blue jet appearing around the ball. When it was gone, what replaced the Aura Sphere was a Pokeball. But, it was different. It was a deep shade of blue, much like my Aura Sphere, and it looked almost as if it could be see through. I then threw it. I wasn't much of a left hand tosser, but the machine seemed to be aware of it, tossing the Pokeball for me, basically. It hit its mark, and swallowed Zoroark in a flash of blue. It then laid on the ground, shaking with a red dot in the middle like a regular Pokeball. It kept shaking and shaking. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. Then, the Pokeball was raised into the air, and glided over to my outstretched hand. It was still like Aura. I could control it.Then, all of a sudden, there was a female voice. "Simulation success." Then, the voice changed. "You will not stop us forever! Cipher will win!" Then, Phenac City dissolved, and I could start to see the blackness again. Then, the lights came on, and Sylvia was there, as well as Michael, and as well as a whole bunch of people that I didn't recognize. They were all clapping and cheering. I looked around. "Wait, what? Where'd you all come from?"Michael put me in a headlock, but not enough to hurt me. "You saved this place. If you hadn't captured that Pokemon, it would have continued to eat at our resources until everything was gone."One of the other scientists spoke up. "About that, sir... the Pokemon ate our records of past Shadow Pokemon from before, as well as our newfound knowledge. We can retrieve the data, but it'll take time."Michael spoke in a serious tone again. "Make it so."The scientist bowed, and ran off. I then took to looking at the sphere that I was still clutching in my hand. "Professor, you said that was a simulation. Why do I still have that Zoroark captured here, then?""Apparently, there was someone on the other end, using a real Pokemon in the Simulator. When you caught it, you were catching it with Aura. I think that's what made it possible for you to catch it from another location."I began to think about what all of this meant, when I saw something that made me jump. The Pokeball filled with Blackness, and also with blue. It seemed the Blackness was dominating over the Blue, but it wasn't advancing. It was simply, there was more black than blue. "Professor, what does this mean?"Michael smiled. "Well, that's just something called the Shadow Monitor. Through your Auraballs, you can monitor your Shadow Pokemon's change from having their heart locked up, to ready to unlock their heart. We would have the machine that we used 10 years ago up, but it doesn't work with Auraballs quite yet. We still need to do some more tests."I looked at the Pokeball. In this ball, there was a new friend. And I had a feeling that this new adventure was going to bring us a whole bunch of new friends. I held the Auraball in the air, and said to everyone there "I will do this, not just for my son, but for the whole world. I will save each and every Pokemon's heart! I will! And, that's a promise!"The entire place erupted in cheers and applause. However, I only heard them for a bit before I felt dizzy. Then, all I could hear was Sylvia crying out "Dustin!" before seeing only black.~*~A lone Lucario kept moving, floating above the sand, saying only one thing over and over again. "Dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad... dad..." He kept floating on, only knowing that one word. He just floated along, not knowing anything else, but dad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Look at this! Done in 2 hours again! But, it's quite longer. This time, motivation was sour apple candy. A whole bunch of it, too. Motivation for the battle was the actual Cipher battle theme from Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness.I do not own Pokemon, or any related media of such. All Pokemon belong to their creators, and I am not making money off of this.That said, I also do not own D. Gray Man, and I do not own any related media of such. The phrase used above is a play on the rough Japanese translation from Allen Walker's line, "Pitiful demon, may your soul be saved." I do not own this line, and I do not claim to. Again, no money is being made from this creation.There. Now, I won't get sued. :)This is Majinonifox1, signing off.Chapter End Notes:Read, rate, and review! :