Chapter 13: Tools of the Trade
Location: Longan Laboratories, 75th Basement Floor, Hologram Wing
Time: Monday, April 10th at 14:00…
The next time the kids walked into the Hologram Wing, they were greeted by the sight of the Fighting-Type symbol in the center of the room. On top of that, men in dark, SWAT uniforms were standing in the room with Professor Joshua. Ten in total. Professor Joshua was standing in the center, along with Dr. Adonijah and Samuel Oak. "Welcome once again, students," Professor Joshua greeted them. "What's going on here?" Hiro asked. "Your next lesson is more of a demonstration before the other two lessons are taught to you," Joshua told them, "These men are among the finest I have to offer in my secret police, and they are going to perform for you during your lesson. Please, do try to stay focused." At this, he adjusted his tie and began his lesson.
"Fighting," Professor Joshua began, "The French word for fight is combat, and it is defined as a violent conflict meant to either harm or kill the opponent. The Fighting-Type is just as it sounds: Using brute force on the opponent. If you're the combative type, you will know that there are only two ways to fight: Either attack or defend." At his command, the soldiers took their places and faced each other while Hiro and his friends looked in fascination.
"There are many forms of fighting," Professor Joshua continued, "To name some, there is Taekwondo, the Korean martial art." At the mention of the martial art, two soldiers started to fight. One performed a series of high kicks while the other blocked using his forearms before switching off and retaking their positions. "Capoeira, the Brazilian martial art dance," Joshua continued. At his command, another two soldiers came up. Both of them did a series of spins, flips and kicks, both of which dodged each other before retaking their positions. "Judo, the modern Japanese martial art." This time, four soldiers came up and started grappling and throwing each other down, showing at least five different throws. The four bowed to each other after that and retook their positions. "Penchak Silat, the martial art from Indonesia." Two soldiers stepped up. One went to strike with a punch, but the other caught him by the wrist, then went to strike in three parts of the body before grappling the head in a way the kids saw as uncomfortable. When the soldier was brought to the ground, he tapped out. This went on for two more tries with the other soldier pinning the first one on the last try. Then, they retook their positions. "And Krav Maga, the Israeli martial art." Two soldiers came up and demonstrated both boxing, grappling and kicking moves to bring down their opponent before pinning them to the ground. They retook their previous positions once all was done. "These are only to name some," Joshua told them, "but there are more than these. Much more.
"Through these martial arts, Pokémon have learned to hone their skills and adapt to their environments. This is not limited to just the Fighting-Types. All Pokémon have learned to hone their unique skills and fight. Some martial arts were even inspired by our Pokémon companions. In fact, it's not farfetched to say that they learned from observing other Pokémon. Some Fighting-Types live to hone their skills, such as Machamp, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Hitmontop, Hariyama, and Hawlucha."
Before he could continue, Professor Joshua started coughing again, brought out his oxygen mask and inhaled the oxygen a few times before putting it away. After that, he cleared his throat and continued his lesson. "Besides Ground-Types," he said, "Fighting-Types have the most strengths out of the eighteen types of Pokémon. Cuts, bruises and/or broken bones will normally occur on those who enter a fight, which explains why Normal-Type Pokémon are so prone to Fighting-Types. Ice is fragile, and can thus be broken apart by martial arts, depending on the thickness of the ice itself." A holographic screen showed footage of someone breaking six plates of ice that were two and a half inches thick. "The same can be said for rocks or stone-like objects," Joshua continued, "they can either be lifted, or can be broken by martial art means. Again, depending on their thickness and density." One of the soldiers had a few cinder blocks stacked in front of him. He broke one with a chop, one with an elbow strike, and the last by bringing his head down on it hard. "BEN!" Joshua scolded the soldier, "What have I told you about using your head?!" "Sorry, sir," the soldier named Ben apologized. The five kids laughed at that. Shaking his head, Joshua continued, "I've already told you about the feats of strength in history, so Fighting being strong against Steel needs no explanation." "What about Dark?" Delia asked. "That is a fair question," Joshua said, "The dark is usually aligned with evil, and thus can darken the minds of others who dwell in evil. Martial arts is not only discipline for the body, but it is also for the mind as well. You can discipline yourself knowing right from wrong, and therefore purge any evilness that may lie in your head as well as in your heart. Think of it this way: If you don't control your darkness, your darkness will control you." The kids nodded at the Professor's sage advice before he moved on to the next lesson, until Giovanni raised his hand.
"Yes, Giovanni?"
"What about their weaknesses, like Psychic and Flying?"
"Oh! Thank you, Giovanni. I almost forgot about those explanations. Fighting is weak against Psychic due to two reasons. One: Mind over matter; the mind can be an extraordinarily powerful weapon and can be used to overcome physical problems. Two: Martial artists use the same moves for so long that they become predictable to anyone with a high-functioning brain. If you use your brain and strategize while they use the same moves, you can anticipate them to the point where you can outmaneuver them. Fighting is weak against Flying due to the same principle as Ground, which we'll cover in a few moments. You cannot fight what you can't touch. Plus, Kung Fu was inspired by a certain bird for the defensive stance. After those two, there is Fairy-Types. The vague, magical creatures of folklore, pure of heart. Martial artists cannot work on fairies because direct violence can't work on magic."
Professor Joshua started coughing again after that. Once again, he brought out his oxygen mask and inhaled what was needed from his portable oxygen tank. Once he was done, he put it away again. This got the kids concerned over his health, as he never had to use his oxygen tank that much. Before they could ask him if he was okay, Professor Joshua decided to continue his lesson.
"Rock," Professor Joshua moved on, and the Fighting-Type symbol spun and formed the Rock-Type symbol, "If we are talking about geology, rocks are the inorganic minerals that make up our very planet. Our first tools were made of rocks before we started using metal. Though there are many that vary in density, the Earth's crust is made up of three types of rock layers: Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The igneous rocks are formed when magma cools in our planet's crust, or when lava cools on the surface or seabed. Sedimentary rocks are those that are formed by the process of weathering. That, along with transport and deposition of other existing rocks via water removal, which is called erosion. And metamorphic rocks are those that are transformed when subject to very high pressures without excessive melting."
"You said the base draws its energy from the Earth's mantle, right?" Hiro asked. "Indeed, I did," Professor Joshua answered, "If you're wondering what kind of rocks we'd be surrounded by on this floor, my best guess would be just below the sedimentary rock and surrounded by the metamorphic rocks." "How close are we to the mantle exactly?" Jason asked. "I'd say we're currently ten miles away from the mantle," Joshua answered, "with the 100th Basement floor being four miles away, and the rods providing energy to our generators going the rest of the way down." "That's a looooong way down," Pikachu said.
Professor Joshua decided to continue after that. "You will find that many of the Pokémon species that are Rock-Types are mainly metamorphic or igneous rocks, depending on where they are found. Their exoskeletal forms are mainly casings of rock, while the joints and interior of the species appear organic. However, it is because of their casing that certain types have no effect on their bodies. A bird's body is fragile compared to a rock, explaining Flying-Type's weakness to Rock-Type moves; the same can be said for Bug-Type Pokémon. Large rocks can smother flames, depending on the size of the flame, and regular flames cannot damage large rocks. This explains why Rock-Type moves are strong against Fire-Type Pokémon. And rocks are much denser than ice is. Whereas ice is fragile, rocks are not easily as such. Hence why Rock-Type moves are effective against Ice-Type Pokémon. As for their weaknesses, it's already been explained why they're susceptible to steel, but what about the other types?
"While they are closely related, the soil covers rocks as it resides above them. Rocks come from the Earth. Same as steel. They are covered by the ground, waiting to be dug up, all the while being broken up by the tectonic plates beneath us. Rocks are susceptible to plants because, like ground and water, tree roots are capable of breaking up rocks." As Professor Joshua said all this, he showed holographic videos to the kids containing time-lapsing tree roots breaking up rocks to make room for them. "Wait," Pikachu said, "How does water break up rocks?" "Pikachu wants to know how water breaks up rocks," Hiro translated when they all looked at Pikachu. "By erosion," Giovanni answered, "like the Professor said. Rocks can be broken down by water over time and then swept away to another location. This is how places like the Grand Canyon were formed." "Giovanni is correct in that assessment," Joshua said before walking to the kids, and the scene changed to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, startling Hiro and his friends. "Look around, children," Joshua said as he pointed with his cane, "All of that was formed by millions of years of water erosion and tectonic uplift. It may not have looked like it millions of years ago, but these rocks were chipped away by the river and the wind, atom by atom, piece by piece. The same can be said for other natural occurrences around the world. Natural arches, spoil tips, wave-like sea cliffs, all caused by wind and water erosion."
"So if that's the case," Christian said, "how come Flying-Types aren't strong against Rock?" "Were you listening to anything the Professor was saying?" Jason annoyedly said to the five-year-old, "He just got through saying that the birds' bodies were fragile compared to rocks." "There's no need to be rude about it, Jason," Joshua told him before addressing Christian's question, "While wind is certainly capable of chipping away rocks through erosion, the process takes millions of years to affect rocks in the way you're thinking." Christian nodded and took note of it.
"I think I've explained enough about rocks for one day," Joshua said, "Now let's get to the next lesson, which is Ground." At that moment, the scenery changed from the Grand Canyon to a plain land full of nothing but dirt. In addition to this, the Rock-Type symbol morphed into the Ground-Type symbol. "The surface of our very planet," Joshua began, "Soil, or earth, is a mixture of minerals, liquids, gasses, and organic matter which work together to support life of plants and organisms that live off of the soil. Soil plays a significant role in the planet's ecosystem. It provides rooting for plants, acts as a carbon dioxide reservoir, and serves as a home to certain Bug-Type and other burrowing Pokémon. Below the soil, before you hit rock, is a mixture of sand, silt and clay." "What's silt?" Delia asked. "Silt is a granular material that's mostly made of broken grains of quartz," Joshua answered.
"Anyway," he continued, "As I've stated before, Ground is closely related to Rock, as it shares the same weakness to water as Rock does, and for the same reason. Unlike Rock, however, Ground is also weak against Ice due to the fact that it can solidify the ground and cause it to be less mobile. One can easily lose their footing on such ground. It is weak to the Grass-Types because the roots of plants carve their way through the ground, and they get their nutrients from it as well. On the other hand, electricity can lose conductivity very easily when striking the ground. Anything that has low conductivity cannot be affected by electricity."
As soon as he finished his lesson, the scene disappeared and reverted to the Hologram Wing, and the Ground-Type symbol returned to the emblem of Longan Laboratories. "Wait," Jason said, "You didn't explain how Ground is strong against fire, poison, rock or steel." "Yes, he did," Christian corrected, "He brought up the rocks and steel earlier in the lesson about rocks, and he brought up that fire and poison are weak to ground in chapters nine and ten. Ten and eleven, if you're reading on a fanfiction website." Immediately after he said that, a light blew out from the ceiling, startling some people. "I'm not paying for that." "How do you know about the lessons in the first place?" Hiro asked him. "I've kinda been spying on you guys," Christian said cheekily. "Mr. Delphox," Professor Joshua addressed him sternly, "If you wanted to participate in my class with them, all you had to do was ask. It's impolite to spy on others, especially when you've got a teacher of your own. Do you understand?" "Yes, sir," Christian hung his head and nodded.
"With that out of the way, why don't we move on to the next part of the lesson?" Joshua said before nodding to Xavier. Xavier pressed a button he kept in his lab coat pocket, and from the floor rose a selection of weapons. Swords, daggers, kunai, a katana, a pair of sai, nunchucks, a bow and arrows, a crossbow, a bow staff, a scythe, and a battle ax, to name some. Hiro and his friends walked up to get a closer inspection of the selection of weapons brought before them. "They're not real weapons," Joshua assured them, "They're mid-grade plastic, and you get to choose which weapon you wish to be accustomed to. These, along with your Pokémon, will assist you in killing Halzief's minions, wherever they may be. Go ahead. Choose whichever suits your fancy."
Giovanni walked up, looked through the weapons and then spotted a pair of brass knuckles that covered the forefingers up to the first knuckle. Giovanni picked them up and tried them on. "I think these will do nicely," Giovanni told himself. Jason walked up next and had his eyes on the scythe. Seeing as his main Pokémon was a Ghost-Type, it made a fair fit. "Oh, yeah," Jason said to himself, "My kind of style." Delia went up to the bow and quiver full of arrows and picked them up off of the rack while Christian picked out the crossbow. "Go for the one that was on that rock picture, Hiro," Pikachu told his trainer. "The one that Professor Joshua showed me earlier?" Hiro asked. "Yeah!" Pikachu confirmed. Hiro walked up to the rack and chose the most basic weapon. Hiro raised the sword up and admired its craft.
"Most of the weapons you've chosen are for mid-ranged to close-quarters combat," Joshua told them, "But the arrows you've chosen are for long-range combat. Add your Pokémon to the list, and you'll be prepared for any battle you may face, as they can handle long-range targets. There will be other gadgets that will be handed to you before you head out into the field in three years time. But for now, let's focus on practice."
As Professor Joshua walked to the edge of the hall, the soldiers and two other professors followed. After the rack of weapons descended back into the floor, a Soul Harvester materialized in the hologram room, standing in the middle of the wing and staring at the kids. "That is your target, children," Joshua said on the intercom, "A Soul Harvester. They are easy enough to kill, but you do not want to get ambushed by them, especially when they charge in packs. The only thing they know is to contaminate and kill. They will contaminate any Pokémon they come into contact with, and they will fight tooth and nail to kill any human they come across. They cannot be reasoned with, and they do not feel any guilt. Your job is to fight and kill first before they reach you."
Before any of them could ask questions, the Soul Harvester hologram charged at the children, only to get cut down by Hiro, who swung his sword downwards down its skull. The Soul Harvester fell to pieces immediately after having its skull broken in. "Very good reflexes," Joshua complimented, "There will be other enemies besides the Soul Harvesters that you'll have to worry about, however. But not to worry. We have three years ahead of us, and I'll provide you with this information needed to defeat your enemy.
"Now, as you have seen, the way to kill a Soul Harvester is one of two ways. One way is massive trauma to the skull, as Hiro just demonstrated, and the other way is severing the skull from the rest of the body. However, be careful of how many Soul Harvesters you kill at a time. If you're not careful, the remains of fifty Soul Harvesters will turn into one of these…" Xavier made the remains of the Soul Harvester disappear, and then another monster appeared. This one was literally big boned, ten feet tall, stood on two legs, had fists as big as car tires, shorter tails, and skulls like a Tyrunt with larger and sharper dragon horns. Whereas the Soul Harvester's eye sockets burned green, these burned red. The kids looked up at this one, and Giovanni comically said "Nope!" before walking away, only to be held back by the other kids.
"This specimen right here is called a Brute Charger," Joshua explained, "Unlike the Soul Harvesters, which can store up to twenty souls at a time, they can store up to two hundred at a time. Note the size of the Brute Charger in comparison to the Soul Harvester. The size is enough to send trucks two hundred yards before crashing back to the ground. They run up to thirty miles per hour, and are known for knocking down and mauling their opponent before taking their souls. Thankfully, they are incapable of contaminating Pokémon like the Soul Harvesters are. Sadly, they are incapable of being subdued by Alpha Power like the contaminated Pokémon and Soul Harvesters are. Omega Power is required to bring this undead beast down. Do not try to attack their skulls first. They will block with their arms. Aim for their elbows and knees if you want to bring down these monsters. Aim for their skulls last. And once again, be aware of how many you kill. If you kill fifty or more at one given time, they'll turn into something worse."
"It gets worse than Brute Chargers?!" Giovanni asked. "Much worse," Joshua told them, "These next monsters are the reason why armies fell before the Great Parlonian War." Joshua nodded to Xavier and made the scene change to the outside of the building at ground level. Outside, there were thousands of Soul Harvesters and contaminated Pokémon, all crowding around the protective shield that the facility was encased in. Outside, they also saw Brute Chargers and skeletal creatures that towered above them by at least fifty meters. They were thicker-boned, lanky, had longer arms, and had skulls like an Alakazam with horns on their foreheads. Their eye sockets shined an ominous blue flame.
"What… in the world are those?" Delia asked, scared. "Those towering ones are called Titan Reapers," they heard Joshua tell them. "That doesn't sound derived at all," Christian said under his breath. "They are slow moving, but are far from benign," Joshua continued, "They will shine spotlights from their eyes right on you and steal your souls by inhaling. These creatures store up to ten thousand souls at a time in their rib-cages. The only way to stay safe from them is to quickly use Omega Power. That will keep your souls safe from being stolen at any moment. Do NOT be in their spotlight without it being active. If you do, you're dead. The only safe places are behind them or in the air behind their heads. Those, or behind anything that can cast a shadow. Your targets for these creatures are ultimately on the upper vertebrae, or shooting explosive rounds at their skulls. If you do that, you'll have little left to worry about. Always remember: The head is always the key to eliminating enemy numbers."
As the kids took note of this, the scene changed back from outside to the inside of the Hologram Wing."There are two more creatures that I need you to be aware of before your training begins, children," Joshua told them, "Let me bring it up one quick moment…" After that, a monster showed up that looked like a stitched up form of various Pokémon. It had the head of a Tauros, which had the back and tails stitched down the backside, the body of a Machamp, the upper arms of a Conkeldurr, the lower arms of a Rhyperior, and the hind legs of a Mudsdale. It was waving around bones of other deceased Pokémon as weapons.
"Hello, ugly," Christian commented. "That thing before you is the only flesh-based creature you'll come into contact with," Joshua told them, "I call them Minotauros, based on the Greek legends of the Minotaur. These embroidered pests are capable of using weapons, unlike the other enemies you'll find out in the open. Fortunately, as intimidating and strong as they may seem, they are easy enough to kill. All you need to kill them is use a Fire-Type move, and they'll fall apart. Aim for the legs first, and then work your way up. Aim for the joints that meet where the body parts differ from each other.
"And finally, you should know about the contaminated Pokémon. Grotesque-looking as they've become, they have retained their natural abilities, but their strength increases by however much their combat level is. Combat level is defined as how strong a Pokémon is over the course of multiple accumulative battles won. The only difference to the contaminated Pokémon and the uncontaminated ones are that their types are converted to mostly Dark-Type. As you've seen when we were attacked by Hiro's contaminated Pikachu, the contaminated Pokémon are capable of spreading the virus to one another. The only way to stop them is either damaging a vital organ, emitting an extensive amount of light with moves like Solar Beam, or using Alpha Power, which can also stop the Soul Harvesters' rampaging. That, or using the music Hiro provided. That's when the virus stops taking a hold on the affected Pokémon, and they regain their senses."
"What about Halzief himself?" Hiro asked, which made the others turn to him. "What does he look like? Do you have a holographic image of him?" "I'm afraid not," Joshua shook his head, "While this holographic technology was barely around when Halzief was attacking, we have no holographic imaging of him. But I can tell you what he looks like. He is a nine-foot, bipedal crimson dragon with gold under-platting and black markings. His wings are over 20 feet in length each, and have golden plated spikes protruding from the edges. Four fingers on each hand, counting the thumbs. He has six ghastly, black appendages that can steal the souls of anyone and anything they touch. He has six horns on his head, an amethyst gem on his forehead, and horrid crimson eyes that glow with absolute hatred. He is known as the Omega Pokémon, the king of dragons, and lord of the darkness."
The names and verbal depictions that Joshua gave were enough to make the kids shudder in their places. None of them could think about fighting such a fearsome adversary so terrifying. "But Ice, Dragon and Fairy-Types can beat him, right?" Hiro asked. "You would think that, Hiro," Joshua told him, "but no. Halzief grew to a degree where he could withstand even those types of moves, so no move is super effective against him. The only way to beat him is to power through and beat him regularly." "That's so unfair!" Delia uncharacteristically said, "No Pokémon can be that strong!" "I thought the same thing when I fought him millennia ago," Joshua said, "but, apparently, he has gotten that strong over the years he spent destroying our planet. Along with the amount of souls he devoured over time, he became a powerhouse."
"How did you beat him?" Jason asked. "I had trained for sixty-five years along with the rest of humanity and Pokémon-kind," Joshua answered, "We dedicated our waking moments to bettering ourselves in battle and to bettering our relationships with the Pokémon that resided with us." As he was explaining this, he made a map of the Parlona Region show up in front of the kids. Blue dots signified Joshua's army's numbers, while the red diamonds signified Halzief and his forces. "When the time came for us to fight back, we numbered 100 million in humans and five to six times that in Pokémon," he continued before the blue dots closed in and eliminated the red diamonds, "It was a long a grueling war, but we vice-gripped the enemy forces and surrounded Mt. Endgame. When the time came for me to fight Halzief, it was me and several of the Legendaries, Mew included. It was me, Mew, Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, Rayquaza, and Ho-Oh. The other humans and Pokémon worked tirelessly to destroy the last of his forces. Eventually, it ended up as a dogfight in the air before Halzief and I fought in free-fall. And as we fought, I took my sword and ran him through in his soul sac. He lost control of most of his forces as a result, and we were able to haul back the daylight, the latter of which turned him to stone."
The kids marveled at the war story he told them. They figured that Joshua was strong in his prime, but to accomplish what he told them took a man with nerves of something stronger than titanium. "I'll tell you more about my fight with Halzief another time," he said before they could ask him more questions, "Right now, you need to focus on the task at hand, which is training to fight against the Soul Harvesters, just as we did five-thousand years ago." As soon as that was said, more Soul Harvesters appeared in the Hologram Wing. They charged at the kids in unison, five in total. Christian summoned his Braixen, and Delia readied her bow and arrow. Jason readied his scythe. Hiro, his sword and Pikachu, and Giovanni his Onix and knuckles.
"Onix, use Rock Smash!" Giovanni called out to his Pokémon. Onix used his tail to smash one of the Soul Harvesters in the head, breaking the skull upon contact. Delia shot at one of the Soul Harvesters and hit it directly in its eye socket, making it fall and skid to a halt before falling apart. "Braixen, use Fire Blast!" Christian commanded. Braixen blew out a large blast of fire from its stick and incinerated the bony creature. The result was it running around futilely trying to put itself out before falling apart. Jason swung his scythe at his Soul Harvester and ended up decapitating it. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Hiro ordered. Pikachu unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity at the remaining one and collapsed into pieces.
"Their reflexes are impressive for such young children," Xavier said as he jotted down notes, "but they can only do so much when they're faced with many more Soul Harvesters and corrupt Pokémon." "You just watch, though, Xavier," Joshua commented, "In time, they'll get better at their weapons and the Pokémon Battling art. Especially our Chosen Hero." With that being said, he talked to the children via the intercom. "For now, children, I'll make your training less onerous because you're starting off. But we will build you up until all five of you can take on this amount later…" After adjusting the settings, there were (to the horror of the kids) five hundred Soul Harvesters, three hundred Brute Chargers, five Titan Reapers and seven hundred corrupted Pokémon. All of them were in the room, surrounding the children. "When you can take on that much," Joshua said, "THAT is when I will deem you ready."
"You expect the five of us and our Pokémon to take on that many at once?!" Jason exclaimed, "That's suicide!!" "Thankfully, not all by yourselves, no," Joshua reassured, "You'll have the support of the finest Pokémon Trainers that will leave this facility, and many of the other facilities in this region, whom we'll rendezvous with along our journey to defeat Halzief." "You mean if Reil-Roh doesn't kill them all first, right?" Giovanni commented. "We've already been in touch," Joshua told them, "All remaining facilities are to begin the defensive measures as soon as he appears again. If Reil-Roh shows up, the targeted facility is to divert all power to the shields, giving them enough power to repel his efforts."
The kids and their Pokémon nodded at this information given to them by their elderly professor. They felt safer knowing that they wouldn't be alone on the battlefield when the time came to fight back. Furthermore, they felt safer knowing that countermeasures were already in place to repel the new monster on the loose. "Now, each of you will be separately training with your Pokémon and your weapons," he decided to conclude, "When your training is adequate, you'll train together. It seems like an arduous process, I know. But I have faith that you'll grow and improve in both regards. And remember that you're never alone. Your Pokémon will also aid you in battle. Remember this, and keep each other safe. If you can do that, hardly any corrupt Pokémon or Soul Harvester will stand in your way. I expect you to study the weapons you've chosen and report back tomorrow morning to show me what you've learned." "Sir," Xavier said, "their surgeries are tomorrow."
"Oh! Right. Study up while you recover, and then show me what you learned after. Class dismissed!"
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Location: Longan Laboratories, 65th Basement Floor, 1st Surgery Wing
Time: April 11th at 17:30…
Hiro and Pikachu were sitting in the waiting room with Delia, Jason and Giovanni. The latter three mentioned were waiting for their turns to be operated on so they could gain their eventual Alpha and/or Omega Power. Hiro couldn't because he didn't know what family he belonged to, let alone if he was Parlonian-born or not. If he wasn't, then the surgery wouldn't work for him anyway. "I really hope the doctors will know what they're going to be doing," Delia said out loud while holding her Clefairy, "After what you went through with Jirachi, Hiro, I'm a bit nervous." "Hey, don't worry so much, Delia," Hiro said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Longan Laboratories has a reputation of being among the finest in medicinal and surgical care, among other things. I'm sure you guys are going to come out of it fine." "That's easy for you to say, Hiro," Jason said while his Gengar was out, "You're not the one getting the procedure done right now." "That, and we'll be lucky if the surgeries turn out successful," Giovanni said, "Sometimes, they don't. Have you ever thought about that?" "Giovanni!" Hiro chastised, covering Delia's ears, "Joshua's doctors are professionals trained by him and under him. They're the best at what they do. So don't go and put fears in everyone's heads. I'm aware there could be setbacks, but I'm praying you'll all be fine in the end."
Before any more could be said, the nurse came out and called his friends' names. "Delia, Giovanni and Jason," she said, "the doctors will see you now." "Wish us luck, Hiro," Delia said as she and the others left to follow the nurse. "They'll be fine, Hiro," Pikachu told him as soon as the door fully obstructed his view of them. "I know, Pikachu," Hiro nodded, but prayed nevertheless.
Just then, the holographic television changed whatever was on to the news. "We interrupt this program for an important news bulletin," the news anchor said, "As many of us know, March 30th was the day that one of Halzief's monsters attacked the Longan Laboratories facility at Knuckdown Town. Now this same monster has been spotted outside the facility's shields of Capitulos City. Reporter Yumi of Jubilife News, who was on vacation in Parlona, is on the scene at this time." After this, a woman sporting short, blue green hair, and a black shirt appeared with a microphone in hand, and she was standing outside with numerous soldiers pointed at the shield. "I'm standing outside of the Capitulos City facility of Longan Laboratories where soldiers are aiming their weapons toward the barrier," Yumi began, "Moments ago, the monster that Professor Joshua Longan named Reil-Roh was spotted coming from the center of Parlona where Halzief is residing. The plan we've received is to reroute power to the shields to repel the monster, and that's the plan we are following as of right now. If our transmission gets cut off in the middle of it all, please note that it simply means that the energy needed to broadcast to you is being rerouted to the shields. We will be on the air for as long as possible, and we will hope to be back on the air with you shortly after the attack subsides."
"Yumi!!" a different voice was heard —- probably the cameraman. Yumi turned around to find Reil-Roh popping out of the ground outside of the barrier and ready to strike. The drill on its lower mandible started spinning at a rapid rate before it struck at the shield. The shield was seen starting to bend until the footage started getting fuzzy. Finally, the footage cut out to the anchor at the main studio. "That was Interviewer Yumi at the scene," he said, "I want to apologize for the lack of footage. I've been told by my producers that should it go south, we are not to go live on the scene. As you may imagine, the last thing you need to see is a repeat of what happened in Knuckdown Town."
Hiro tuned out the news after that and sat down. "Hiro?" Pikachu addressed him, "Are you okay?" "The real question is will we?" Hiro said, "I know I'm going to have to try my hardest to combat Halzief, but I can't do it alone. Professor Joshua said we'd get the help of others, but what if there are no others? What if we're all that's left?" "Then we'll just have to fight our way through!" Pikachu answered, "It's not like they'll all be gathered in one spot and we have to fight the ENTIRE horde. They'll be scattered about like other Pokémon." "I guess I didn't think of it like that," Hiro contemplated, "But that still doesn't mean it's gonna be easy."
"It will be when you get your surgery."
"I'd have to find a donor first."
"Why not me?"
"You'd trade organs with me, Pikachu?"
"You're my best friend for life, Hiro. You were there when I needed saving when I was corrupted. Of course, I'd make a trade!"
That statement put a smile on Hiro's face. Not only was he assured that he had a best friend, but he was also willing to make a trade. Not many have been that kind to him before, human or otherwise. Hiro picked up Pikachu and hugged him close after hearing that. "Thanks, Pikachu."
"Anytime."
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Location: Unknown
Time: Tuesday, April 12th at 00:01
Somewhere in Longan Laboratories, a file was being viewed. An adoption file forfeiting the right of parenthood to a Kantonian family. Under the Region of Origin line read: Parlona. Whoever read the file was not taking it well enough. Should anyone catch wind of this, it would be a detriment to their plans. The file was stashed away in their lab coat for safe keeping, until they figured out a way to cover up the truth.