Chapter 1: Starting off
First off, I do not own pokemon. Nintendo does. I do, however, own all origional characters and the Shape League. You can use any of these ideas, if you want, so long as you ask me first.
This is my first story, so there's bound to be mistakes. I apoligize in advance for these. There was a little bit of a mistake when I uploaded this, but I promise to have it fixed by the next chapter. That is it, read and review. Taz sat up, scratching his head while trying to wake up. He glanced around his small room, absently rubbing the sleep from his blue eyes. The sixteen-year-old stood up and shuffled over to his closet, pulling out a grey shirt and a pair of jeans. He slipped them on before walking out his door, across the hallway and into the bathroom. He stopped at the sink, grabbing his toothbrush and toothpaste. Placing the head of the toothpaste container on his toothbrush, he carefully squeezed out a correct amount of toothpaste. He was being extra-careful, as the day before his sister had snuck up behind him and scared him, making him shoot toothpaste all over the sink.
Taz looked up, seeing his image in the mirror. He was rather thin, with a little muscle adorning his frame. His hair was jet black and curly, while his eyes were light blue. He stood at just an inch below six feet, just shorter than his father. Taz continued scrubbing his teeth, counting to one hundred and twenty in his head. Once finished he walked downstairs and into the kitchen, glancing through the various cupboards for something to eat. He pulled out a box of cereal, his attention suddenly focusing on the calendar across the room. There was a red circle around the day, so he knew something important was happening. He set the cereal on the counter, walking through the dining room and into the living room, where he saw his sisters blonde hair over the back of the couch. She was watching a battle on the television, apparently very engrossed in it.
"Hey Alison," he called, walking over and tapping the back of her head, "Is there something important happening today?"
"Don't you have to go get your pokemon?" His fourteen-year-old sister replied, smacking his hand away while still watching her show.
"Crap." Taz muttered, dashing toward the front door. He tripped over one of the many toys his father's Ninetales, Nitsy, had left lying around the house. Taz pushed himself off the ground, ignoring the small rubber ball and finishing his dash to the door. He slipped on his shoes, quickly opening the door and running out. Alison brushed a lock of blonde hair from her face, before walking over to the door and shutting it after her brother. Taz sprinted down the street, dodging the occasional person/pokemon taking a morning stroll. Lucky for him, Sandgem was a rather small town, so it didn't take very long for him to reach the professor's lab. He burst through the door, glancing frantically around the room for the wizened old man. He rushed over to one of the interns, clearing his throat to get the mans attention.
"Excuse me, do you know where the professor is?" He asked, "I've got an appointment with him."
"Wuh? Oh, Prof. Rowan! He's in the other room. Just head through that door," He pointed at a green door at the back of the lab, "He should be at his desk."
Taz attempted to thank the intern, but he'd already been forgotten. He shrugged and turned toward the door, happy that he wasn't as scatterbrained as the braniacs in the pokemon lab. He walked up to the green door, knocking briefly before walking in. The professor was sitting at his desk, slumped over various papers and reports. Taz calmly walked over, tapping the old professor on the shoulder. The old man awoke with a start, knocking several papers off his desk in the process. He was wearing a lab coat, with a white dress shirt and blue tie visible through the top.
"Professor?" Taz asked, attempting not to laugh. "Yes? What happened? Who are you?" The old man asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Erm... We've never met. I'm Timothy Zeus. I had an appointment for a starter pokemon." Taz replied, holding out his hand. The Professor shook it, his grip surprising for such an old man.
"Ah, yes, well. Nice to meet you, Timothy." The professor released his grip on the teen's hand, checking his watch. "A little late, aren't you?"
Taz blushed, "Yes, I'm sorry. I overslept."
Rowan nodded, "Water under the bridge. Unfortunately, I'm out of pokemon for you." He gestured to an empty box nearby, "Others came before you with the exact same intention, and each of them received the object of their desire." "Um . . . " Taz scratched his head, an idea suddenly forming in his head. "Well, do you have a pokeball?" The professor raised his eyebrows at the boys question.
"Why would you need a pokeball?" the old man asked, "It's rather difficult to catch wild pokemon without your own."
"Well, I figure I'll just go ask one." Taz shrugged, "If I don't get one, I'll just wait until you get some more starters."
"Well," Rowan said, his booming laugh filling the air, "I suppose you're right! If you truly think that you can talk a wild pokemon into traveling with you, be my guest!" The professor reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, unactivated pokeball, then tossing it to Taz. The teen eagerly caught it, a smile spreading across his face.
"Thank you Professor!" He blurted, bowing.
"Think nothing of it, my boy!" The professor chuckled, "Now, go out and catch a pokemon! If you do manage to get one, come back here and tell me, I'll give you your pokedex and digital registry system then." Taz yawned as he sat out in the middle of Route 202. He'd been walking around all morning, and he'd quickly lost track of time. Even though he hadn't seen any pokemon, he could still hear them rustling around in the surrounding grass. It felt a little like they were trying to avoid him. There wasn't anything he could do about it, so he decided to relax for a few minutes. Couldn't hurt, right?
He absently plucked a piece of the large strands of grass and began winding it around his finger, simply enjoying the feeling of the sun on his skin. Just as he was about to get up, he heard rustles a few feet away. Taz turned toward the sound, just as a ball of blue fur leapt out from the underbrush. Taken by surprise, the teen was easily knocked over by the impact. "Shi?" a small voice said above him. Taz opened his eyes, staring right at a pair of bright yellow eyes. "Shinx!" The pokemon exclaimed, leaping off Taz's chest. The teen sat up, looking down at the small blue pokemon.
"Why'd you do that?" He asked, brushing the small paw prints from his shirt. The small pokemon simply turned and ran back into the grass. Taz sighed as he stood up. The one pokemon he'd seen all day was gone in a flash. He shrugged, deciding he'd just try again after breakfast (Or was it lunch? He didn't quite know what time it was.)
Taz started his trek back to Sandgem, watching the ripples in the grass move away from him as he walked. He couldn't help but feel frustrated at the fearfulness of the wild pokemon. He figured that either 202 or 201 would be best to find pokemon in, as a more powerful pokemon from one of the other routes probably wouldn't be as willing to join him. Kicking a rock along the ground, Taz finally emerged from the tall grass. He walked past a group of trainers, overhearing a bit of their conversation.
"It's going to be so annoying!" One with a blue scarf wrapped around her neck whined. "All those weak little annoyances!" A boy with a red hat nodded in agreement.
"I know! It'll take us twice as long to reach Jubilife if we're stopped every two minutes to fight a Starley."
Taz shoved his hands in his pockets, increasing his walking speed. He'd been searching all morning for a pokemon, and these idiots had the audacity to complain! The teen let out a sigh, walking in silence for a few more minutes before reaching his house. It was a simple, two story house near the center of town, identical to just about every house around it. On the bright side, there were three bedrooms and two bathrooms, so he and his sister almost never needed to cross paths. Although she wasn't too antagonistic, Alison was still a genius, and easily capable of torturing her older brother. Taz was still technically a prodigy, but he was one of the scatterbrained geniuses. Alison, on the other hand, had perfect photographic memory and an IQ higher than everyone else in her school, and could usually outwit her sixteen-year-old brother. Taz opened the door, walking in and shutting it behind himself. "I'm home." He called, hearing a mumble from upstairs. His parents worked in Jubilife City as editors of several T.V. shows, so they lived in Jubilife on the weekdays and came back to Sandgem on the weekends, and his sister spent most of her time outside school either watching television or playing video games. Taz didn't mind, of course. It essentially meant that he got the house mostly to himself all day. He'd graduated the pokemon academy a month earlier, so he'd been lazing around the house all day. The pokemon academy had changed a bit in the past years. In order to become a trainer, a person would have to undergo at least two years in the academy, where they'd learn the basics of training and pokemon development. If you came from one of the wealthier families, you could attend from the age of ten to the age of sixteen, receiving extra education in the process. His parents had the money, so they sent their children to trainer school for the full six years. Taz wandered into the kitchen, putting two pieces of bread into the toaster. He was about to go to the fridge for a drink, but he heard a noise at the front door. Curiosity taking over, Taz walked over and opened the door.
"Shi!" said a small voice. He felt something rush past his foot, followed by padded steps rushing into the kitchen. Taz tilted his head and walked into the kitchen, finding the Shinx from before sitting on top of the counter and eating a piece of bread. "What are you doing here?" Taz asked, walking over. The Shinx lifted its head, forgetting about the half-eaten piece of bread and leaping on Taz. This time, however, the teen was ready, and grabbed the small pokemon mid-leap.
"Shi-Shinx!" It exclaimed, kicking its hind legs a little before calming down. Taz brought the pokemon closer, cradling it against his chest with one arm whilst grabbing the piece of bread with the other. He held the food close to the Shinx's mouth, the small pokemon eating it happily. 'Let's see here . . . ' Taz observed, 'The tufts of fur on the sides of its head are rather small, and its hind-paws are blue, so that means this one is female.' He'd studied some of the various pokemon in the Sinnoh region, and had fortunately remembered most of what he'd learned. The toast popped up, the sound scaring the Shinx from his arms. The small pokemon shrieked and ran upstairs, resulting in a shriek from Alison. "There's a wild pokemon in my room!" She screamed, running downstairs. She ran to her brother, hiding behind him. "It tried to kill me!" She cried.
"She's just a Shinx . . . " Taz mumbled, walking upstairs to his sisters room. It was a rather bare room, with a door leading to a walk-in closet, a T.V. with a GAME OVER screen on it, and a bed. The door was closed, and the T.V. was a wall mounted, so the only place the Shinx could've been hiding was under the bed. Taz walked over and got down on his hands and knees, peeking under his sisters bed. He could see a pair of yellow eyes staring back at him, blinking every few seconds.
"Come on out," Taz cooed, "It's okay." The Shinx began slowly crawling out. It was soon back in Taz's arms, purring gently. Taz scratched under its chin, walking back to the kitchen. His sister was sitting up on the counter, munching on the toast he'd made earlier. "See?" Taz asked, "She's just a little scared Shinx."
"It attacked me." Alison insisted.
"She was startled by the toaster."
"I swear it wanted to rip out my throat and eat my brain."
"...You need to stop playing those video games." Taz sighed, grabbing the other piece of toast from the toaster, "And you owe me a piece of toast."
"Put it on my tab." His sister retorted, hopping down from the counter and walking back upstairs. "And keep that little monster out of my room!" Taz shook his head, walking into the living room. He sat on the couch, placing the Shinx beside him and taking a bite from the toast. "You seem to like me," He said, breaking off a piece of toast and setting it in front of the small pokemon, "Wanna be my first pokemon?" He asked, taking the pokeball from his pocket and enlarging it. The Shinx looked at the ball as though she'd never seen one before. Taz set the ball on the arm of the couch, going back to eating. Unfortunately, he'd set it right next to the edge, causing it to fall down and roll across the floor. "Shi Shi!" The Shinx exclaimed, leaping over Taz and chasing the pokeball. She pounced on the ball, causing a bright flash of light. The Pokeball wiggled for a few seconds, before a small Ding resonated through the room, leaving Taz stupefied.
"...What just happened?" he asked himself, staring at the pokeball. He stood from the couch and walked over, picking up the pokeball. He pressed the small button on the front, causing the Pokeball to open and a red light to appear. The Shinx was left standing in the middle of the living room, blinking its eyes in confusion. "Are you okay?" Taz asked, kneeling down and scratching under his new pokemons chin.
"Shi." Shinx replied, placing her paw on Taz's arm.
"I guess you're gonna be hanging out with me from now on." Taz sighed, scratching the top of her head."Now I just need to think of a name . . . " Her element was electricity, which was similar to lightning. Maybe a Latin name would be good. He'd taken a few Latin classes, so he knew that Levitas was Latin for lightning. "How about Vita?" He asked.
"Shi!" She replied, leaping onto his lap.
"Vita it is." Taz spent the rest of the day getting acquainted with his new pokemon. He wanted to figure out how to best train her, he'd read that different pokemon need to be trained differently. He'd found out that sudden noises threw off her concentration, something he'd need to focus on. Luckily, she seemed to be very light on her feet, so training her techniques in battle wouldn't be too difficult. After breakfast the next day, Taz brought Vita to the Professor's lab. The old man was sitting at his desk, looking over a few papers.
"Excuse me, Professor?" he asked, holding Vita to his chest. Rowan jumped at the sudden voice, glancing around the room before turning and seeing Taz behind him.
"Timothy! Nice to see you again! Did you befriend a pokemon for yourself?" Rowan glanced at Taz's hands, seeing the small Shinx cradled gently. "Oh, a Shinx! Very nice choice my boy! If you'll just follow me over here, we'll get your Pokedex and D.R. set up!" Taz followed Rowan over to a large metal rectangle-shaped device. It was almost seven feet tall, and easily able to fit a person inside. "What's this?" Taz asked, looking the gigantic machine over.
"This is a D.R. assignment bay." Rowan replied, pressing a button on the machine. The chrome Rectangle split down the middle, a door opening up. "Just step inside, and it'll scan your biometrics. These will then be assigned to your D.R. system and your Pokedex." "Well, okay I guess . . . " Taz turned and set Vita onto the ground, "Just sit out here for a minute, okay?"
"Shi!" The Shinx replied, sitting faithfully and waiting. Taz turned and walked into the machine, a metallic hissing noise following. He turned to see the door closing, leaving him in complete darkness. A loud Whirrrr began, filling the small space. Red beams shot out from all sides, scanning each part of his body. He resisted closing his eyes as two of the beams stopped over them, scanning his iris. He felt rubber-like materials close around his hands, scanning over his fingerprints. A microphone shot out, stopping just short of his mouth. "Speak your name clearly into the microphone, please." A robotic voice requested. Taz leaned forward.
"Timothy Adam Zeus." He said, speaking as clearly and confidently as possible.
"Any aliases or preferred titles?" the voice asked.
"Taz."
"Reasons for such aliases or preferred titles?"
"T, A and Z are my initials, and I don't like the name Timothy." Taz replied.
"Age?"
"Sixteen."
"Birthday?"
"November twentieth." "Please hold still while your blood type is processed." The voice said, as the microphone retracted back into the machine. Taz felt a sharp pain in his arm as the needle drew some of his blood. He began thinking on the subject of D.R. systems. It stood for Digital Registry system, and was a form of electronic badges and ribbons. They'd originally switched over because of various robberies. Bandits would simply steal the badges from trainers, then challenge the Elite Four without actually challenging the gyms. In order to prevent this, scientists created an application for poketches that wired them directly into the trainers biometrics. Once the trainer beat a gym leader, they'd have a special code wirelessly assigned to their application. Each code was specially designed toward the trainers biometrics, so they wouldn't be able to be copied. In recent years, nearly everything had become computerized, digitized and all other kinds of -ized, making things much easier. "Blood works finished. You may now exit the Scanner." With another Hisss the doors swung open, the florescent lights flooding the small room. Taz walked out, his eyes quickly adjusting to the increase in light.
"Shi!" Vita yipped, running to her master and nuzzling his leg.
"Hey girl!" Taz laughed, picking up and cradling the Shinx. "I wasn't in there very long!"
"She's very loyal," Rowan called from his computer, "The second those doors closed she started yowling. Got worse once the machine started up." Rowan shook his head, "Never left that spot, though! I've never seen that kind of loyalty with such a recently captured pokemon." "Good girl." Taz cooed, scratching her chin.
"Anyway, your D.R. should be ready soon." Rowan informed, reaching into one of his lab coats pockets, pulling out a small, black device and a matching Poketch. "Here's your Pokedex and Poketch." The professor said, handing the two devices over to Taz.
"Cool." The trainer chuckled, strapping the Poketch to his left wrist and slipping the Pokedex into one of the pockets in his jacket. Vita gave a small growl at being jostled around, but otherwise remained silent. "Alright, your D.R. is finished, and being sent to your Poketch." Rowan said, turning toward Taz. A small Ding came from his wrist, signaling the successful upload of the D.R. system. "You're now a legally registered trainer. Congrats!" Rowan and Taz shook hands, before the trainer left the professor's lab. Vita sniffed at the device strapped to her trainer's arm, pawing at it occasionally. Taz laughed and tapped her head, eliciting a playful growl. Taz laughed again, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his Pokedex.
"Now that I have a Pokedex, I can see how powerful you are." He pressed a button, activating a scanner inside the front. Ding! "You don't have much by way of power, but you should be able to make up for it with your speed." He set Vita back on the ground, now using his free hand to navigate the touch screen. He clicked on the "Moves" option, bringing up a list of her various attacks. Tackle, leer . . . Taz looked down at the small pokemon in shock. Fire Fang?! Such a young pokemon that knowing that kind of move could only have been the result of very specialized breeding. He'd studied it a bit back at the academy, but that kind of thing had always been his sisters area of expertise. "Shi shi?" his pokemon questioned, tilting her head.
"Nothing to worry about." He slipped his 'dex back into his pocket before bending over and lifting his pokemon back up. "We're going to head back to my house. How does a visit to my sister sound?" The Flash pokemons eyes widened considerably, panic evident in them. A few minutes later, Taz and Vita were sitting in the living room, Alison prodding at the pokemon seated in her brothers lap.
"Interesting." Alison muttered, lifting Vitas tail up. "She does show a few small impurities. Look right here," She pointed at a small patch of fur just at the base of the tail. "You see how the rest of her fur lights up when she's scared? This small patch doesn't." Alison, released Vitas tail, ignoring the Flash pokemon as it ran and hid under the couch. "Normally, a patch of fur not lighting up would be normal, but that patch is also slightly lighter than the rest of her fur, and has a different texture." She turned toward the section of couch Vita had dove under, raising her voice, "If the little mutt would come back out, I'd be able to examine a bit further!" she called. "Just try not to be so . . . Rough." Taz sighed, "She's still a little nervous around you."
"Why should she be nervous around me?! She's the one who tried to eat my face yesterday!"
"Calm down." Taz insisted, placing his hand over his sisters mouth. "Vita, come on out girl!" he cooed, "It's okay, I'll keep her from hurting you, I promise!" Vita slid her head out from beneath the couch, glancing warily in their direction. She slid out some more, slinking over to Taz and leaping into his lap. Taz took his hand from Alisons mouth.
"Rude bastard." She muttered before turning her attention to Vita, "I'll just be taking a look at your teeth, so could you open up?" "Shinx . . . " Vita replied, looking up at Taz before opening her mouth. Alison leaned toward the small pokemon, examining her teeth.
"She's definitely a hybrid. Not very diluted, though. I'd say that the father was a Houndoom, judging by the length of the upper canines compared to the lower set." She leaned back, Vita quickly snapping her mouth shut. "I can't say for sure, but she might learn another flame type move later on, but probably not until she's fully evolved."
"Shi?" Vita asked, looking up at him.
"It means you might be able to learn more than other Shinx." Taz explained, "Vita, have you ever set your teeth on fire?" It sounded like a strange question, but he didn't really care. "Shi!" Vita replied, opening her mouth again. Flames began emanating from her mouth, dancing along her fangs.
"Interesting." Alison muttered, "Her being able to use a move like that at such a low level is just . . . interesting." Vita closed her mouth, the flames dying down.
"Thanks for the help, Alison." Taz said, lifting Vita into his arms, "We'll be heading out for training now."
"Whatever." Alison sighed, grabbing the remote and turning on the television. Taz walked through town, soon arriving at the beginning of Route 201. He set Vita on the ground, scratching her head as he did so. "Alright, all we need to do is find something for you to battle."
"Shi shi!" Vita replied, dashing off into the grass. Taz laughed, walking after his pokemon. He'd chosen Route 201 for three reasons. Firstly, it was actually very short. It wouldn't take more than a half hour to walk through it to Twinleaf or Lake Verity. Second, it was filled with low level pokemon. The only pokemon they'd encounter were Starly, Bidoof, or Kricketot. And lastly, it was always a nice place for a walk.
"Slow down Vita!" he called ahead, "Stay where I can see you!" The grass around them reached up to his hip, so it was rather difficult to see the small pokemon. He could see the grass in front of him begin rippling, before Vitas small head popped into his sight. Just as quickly as it had appeared, her face disappeared back into the grass. She'd apparently leapt up in an attempt to see above the grass. Taz walked over and lifted her up, scratching underneath her chin. "Shi!" Vita exclaimed, leaping out of his grasp and back into the grass. He could see her ripple in the grass heading away, forcing him to jog to keep up. Her ripple stopped a few feet ahead of him, sounds of scuffling breaking out. A shrill shrieking sound rang out, before a red and creme colored mass was sent flying out of the grass and into a clearing. Soon afterwards, Vitas shape leapt after it. When Taz got close enough, he was able to see what Vita had found. A Kricketot. Fairly easy to beat, he doubted he'd even need to instruct Vita in order for her to beat it. "Shinx." The Flash pokemon growled, staring the bug type down. Her eyes seemed to pierce into the Kricketots soul, making the bug pokemon shift nervously. Taz smiled, it was a Leer attack. Vita dashed forward, slamming into the surprised Kricketot. She then used Fire Fang to latch onto Kricketots collar and flip it over her body and slam it into the ground. The Cricket pokemon managed to get out of Vitas fangs, and fled into the tall grass. "Vita." Taz sighed, walking over, "We're not supposed to attack a wild pokemon that doesn't attack us. Especially when we're not going to capture it." He explained.
"Shi." Vita replied, apologizing for her behavior.
"It's alright. I should've explained it to you." He replied. The rest of their journey to Twinleaf went smooth enough. Even without attacking everything that crossed their paths, Vita still got a bit more powerful. Taz decided to visit one of his friends while he was there, so they ended up near the southern end of town.
"Vita, remember. She's been sick for a while, so she's really weak." Taz chided as he knocked on the door, "Don't run around the house." The door slowly opened, a middle-aged woman standing behind it.
"Oh! Hello Timothy!" She greeted, keeping her voice down, "It's been a while since I've seen you!"
"Hello Mrs. Anderson." Taz returned, "It's nice to see you. I was wondering if I could visit Amelia." "Of course!" Mrs. Anderson said, stepping aside and opening the door wider, "She's always so happy when her friends come over. By the way, what a cute pokemon!"
"Shi shinx!" Vita exclaimed, puffing out her chest. Taz walked through the house and up the stairs, knocking on the first door to his right.
"Come in." A quiet voice said from the other side. Taz turned the knob, slowly opening the door. "Hey Ana." He said, walking in.
"Hey Taz." Ana replied. Her full name was Amelia Nicole Anderson but she, like Taz, preferred to use the anagram of her name. The eighteen-year-old lay on her bed, eyes half lidded. Her skin was sickly pale, and she was incredibly thin. Her hair was a pale green color, with matching eyes. On the rare occasions she stood up, she was about two inches shorter than Taz. She wore a pair of baggy red shorts and a light pink shirt. She cradled her Quilava, Angel, in her arms. "How are you?" Taz asked, setting a chair near Ana's bed.
"Sick, weak, scrawny, the usual." She laughed, "How about you?"
"No complaints." He gestured to Vita, "I got a pokemon."
"I saw that." Ana laughed, reaching over and petting the Flash pokemon. "Hey, I have something I want to talk to you about."
"Hm?" Taz mumbled, stroking Angels fur.
"I'm going to start the Gym Challenge tomorrow." Ana answered, "I can't stand being cooped up like this." Taz was silent for a few minutes. "What would your parents think?" He finally asked.
"Doesn't matter." She responded, "I'm eighteen now, I can do what I want."
"...Well, I'll go with you." Taz replied.
"You don't have to-"
"I'm going with you." Taz repeated, "If I have to stalk you the entire time, I'll do it, but I'm going with you."
"...I guess there's nothing I can say to stop you." Ana sighed, "Just meet me at the Lakefront tomorrow night."
"Okay." Taz replied, standing up, " I'll see you there . . . I have a question, though."
"Hm?" Ana asked as Taz reached the door.
"How are you going to get around? You don't exactly walk fast."
"I ordered a custom wheelchair." Ana answered. "It's designed for paralyzed trainers." Taz nodded and left the building, making a note in his Poketch about the next night. A few hours later, the pair walked through the busy Jubilife city streets, Vita hiding inside Taz's zipped up jacket. The Shinx had gotten a bit more practice on the walk from Twinleaf to Jubilife. Unfortunately, upon entering the crowded city the small pokemon was frozen with fear. She could handle a few people at a time, but the density of people in Jubilife simply overloaded her senses, so she crawled into Taz's jacket and poked her head out the top. Taz had decided to go to Jubilife to inform his parents that he'd be leaving the next night and pick up supplies. It was already around five in the afternoon, so he'd planned to stay with his parents over the night. Finally managing to push his way through the crowd, he found himself in front of the Jubilife T.V. station. Taz walked through the automatic glass doors and up to the front desk.
"Welcome to the Jubilife Television Station. I'm sorry, but your pokemon must be inside its ball at all times inside the building."The receptionist informed.
"Sorry." Taz said, taking the pokeball from his pocket. "You'll have to go inside for a while." Vita nodded, tapping her head on the ball and disappearing in a flash of red.
"How may I help you today?" the receptionist asked. "I'm Timothy Zeus. My parents work here." Taz answered, "Could you direct me toward their office?"
"Of course. They're on the fifth floor, just go down to the end of the hall, turn right, and they're in the office at the end."
"Thank you." Taz said, walking toward the elevator. He pressed the up button, a small Ding ringing out in response. The doors slid open and Taz walked inside, the doors closing behind him. There was a woman standing inside with a blue hat and dress.
"What floor may I take you to?" She asked, smiling.
"The fifth floor, please." Taz responded. The lady pressed a button and the elevator began rumbling. Taz felt the familiar feeling of vertigo that came from riding in an elevator. A few seconds later, the doors slid open. "Fifth floor, executive offices." The lady recited, "Have a nice day." Taz nodded, leaving the elevator. He walked at a rather quick pace down the hallway, wanting to let Vita back out as soon as possible. Even in the short time he'd had her, the teen had grown accustomed to the pokemons presence, and he was beginning to feel strange without her. The teen turned right and walked down another hallway, stopping in front of the last door. He raised his hand and rapped his knuckles on the door a few times. "It's open." Came his father's deep voice. Taz opened the door and walked inside. His parents were rather high up in the business, so they naturally had a rather nice office. It was a corner office, so two of the walls were gigantic windows which overlooked the streets below. Large leather couches sat against all the walls on the room, giving the area a lounge like feeling. There was a large circular desk which sat at the center of the room. On one side of the desk sat his father, who was overlooking a few of the papers, while on the other side was his mother tapping away at her keyboard. His mother, Theresa, glanced toward him. "Tazzy!" She exclaimed, standing from the desk and walking over. She wrapped her arms around her son in a hug. Theresa was only a few inches shorter than her son, around the same height as her husband in fact. She had a rather thin build, as expected from a lady who concentrates on looking respectable, with black hair and light-blue eyes which matched her sons. "What a nice surprise!" "You're not in trouble, are you?" His father asked from his seat, looking up from his papers. Maxwell was a rather thickly built man, contrasting his wifes small stature. He spent nearly every morning working out, which created a rather fit and muscular build. His daughter had inherited her blonde hair and hazel eyes from him. "No trouble, dad." Taz replied, "I just had something to tell you guys."
"Oh! What a coincidence!" His mother said, releasing her son from her grip, "We've got something to tell you as well!"
"You first." Taz replied, sitting on the couch that sat against the entire wall. While his mother walked back around to her side of the desk, a creme colored head poked itself out from beneath his father's side. "Nine?" It asked, blinking rapidly for a few seconds. Once it saw Taz it quickly slid from underneath, exposing a large vulpine body with nine fluffy tails swaying elegantly behind it. The Ninetales walked calmly over to Taz and leapt up on the couch next to him. "Hey Nitsy." Taz laughed, scratching underneath the pokemons chin. She was his father's pokemon from back when he'd attempted training. Unfortunately, Maxwell had never managed to obtain other pokemon, so he didn't make it very far. Nitsy had stayed with him over the years, and would always play with Taz and Alison when they were children.
"Tails." Nitsy greeted, leaning on Taz's shoulder. "Here it is!" His mother said, pulling a box from her desk. Max stood up and walked with his wife over to their son. "We got you this little present." She said, handing the box to her son.
"Nine." Nitsy muttered, sniffing at the box.
"What do you think it is, girl?" He joked, the Ninetales shrugging in response.
The box was light green, around two inches in height, and around five inches in width and length. He slid the top from the box, spotting a small red and white orb nestled inside the padding. "A pokeball?" He asked, pressing the button to enlarge the containment device. "Open it up, Tazzy!" His mother cheered, clearly excited. Taz shrugged and pressed the front button, a bright red beam shooting forth. Soon a small orange monkey sat in Taz's lap.
"Chimchar." He said, looking around the room. The small fire ape glanced up at Nitsy, who tilted her head in curiosity. "Chim!" It screeched, quickly hiding behind Taz.
"It's a starter!" His father laughed, "We figured we'd grab you one, so we stopped by the Lab yesterday." Taz gently lifted the Chimchar into his arms, cradling it as he usually did to Vita. It was a male, he could tell by it's slightly longer arms. He couldn't help but laugh slightly.
"What?" his mother asked, wondering if he didn't like the pokemon. "It's just . . . " Taz said, reaching one arm into his pocket and pulling out Vita's ball. "I stopped by the lab yesterday, and Professor Rowan said he was out of pokemon. He gave me this pokeball to go out and catch a pokemon." He released Vita, the Shinx appearing in his lap. "Shiiii." She yawned, stretching.
"...Oh." His father said, " . . . Well we can't simply take him back, so he'll have to stay with you."
"Now your little Shinx has a friend!" His mother said, sitting next to her son and rubbing Vita's head. "What's his name?"
"Shinx!" Vita indignantly growled. Taz laughed, and rubbed the fur on her back.
"Her name is Vita." He said, still cradling the Chimchar in his left arm.
"You come up with the strangest names." His father pointed out, returning to his desk.
"Awww! I think it's cute." Theresa cooed, returning to her side of the desk as her husband had done. "What are you going to name your Chimchar?" Taz shrugged in response, lifting Vita to his chest using his right arm. "I just took the Latin word for lightning and cut a piece out of it to name Vita, but I don't want to name him Pyro." Taz sighed, as Chimchar used his bottom set of hands to grab the star on Vitas tail. "That name is too common. I'll just wait and see what comes to me. Until then, would you mind if I just called you Chimchar?" He asked, bouncing the small fire pokemon in his arms. "Char." He responded, squirming out of his trainer's grasp. The small fire chimp quickly scurried over to Nitsy and leapt into her tails, which she had left lying on the couch behind her. Vita watched the small chimp curiously before looking up at Nitsy's face.
"Shi!" she greeted. "Pokemon names aside, are you going to stay here tonight?" His father asked, looking through the papers on his desk.
"That's what I'd planned, if it's alright." Taz responded, setting Vita down near Nitsy's paws.
"Of course it's alright, sweety!" his mother said, looking up briefly from her computer, "We'll be off work in an hour. You can wander around for a while if you'd like, just meet us at the house later."
"Okay." Taz replied, standing up, "Come on you two, we've got to gather some supplies." The teen opened the door and began walking back down the hall, his two pokemon following close behind him. After leaving the building, Taz and his pokemon made a bee-line for the nearest Pokemart. They hadn't made it far before Taz realized that most of the people bustling around didn't think to look at their feet in case a Shinx and a Chimchar happened to be walking around. To remedy the situation, he put Vita back inside his jacket and had Chimchar ride on his back. They'd gotten a few stares from people they passed, but Taz ignored them. He instead focused on remembering his way around the large city.
While his mother and father did work in Jubilife, Taz didn't really wander around. He made the commute for the pokemon academy but the school was located near the main road, thereby eliminating any need for him to learn his way around. After a few minutes of wandering around, they spotted the familiar blue and white roof of the Pokemart. Taz managed to push his way through the crowds, relieved to find the small shop fairly empty. There was a clerk sitting behind the counter, lazily reading a magazine. When he heard the doors slide open, however, he glanced up. Upon seeing the trainer and his pokemon, his gaze immediately shifted to the wristwatch on his left wrist.
Taz walked past the counter and immediately began searching through the various shelves. He grabbed ten pokeballs, a foldout tent, a sleeping bag, ten potions, ten antidotes, and a traveler's backpack to carry it all in. Chimchar had needed to go up to the front to grab a basket to hold the stuff in. After about ten minutes of gathering his supplies, Taz brought his items up to the counter. The clerk stood from his seat and walked over to Taz, letting out a sigh that told everyone in the vicinity that he didn't want to be there. After ringing everything through, the clerk looked up at Taz and gave him the bill. The teen pulled out a small card used to store credits for trainers and swiped it through a machine on the counter.
"Alright, here are your things." The clerk recited, bagging the items Taz had purchased and handing them to him. "Thank you for shopping at Pokemart, have a nice day." The clerk immediately went back to lounging about and reading his magazine. Taz took the bags and nodded gratefully to the clerk before exiting. Taz and his pokemon walked leisurely down the street, which was quickly becoming less crowded as it got later in the afternoon. "Alright you two," Taz said as they approached the northern end of town. "We're going to stop by the house, then head onto Route 204 to get some training done. Sound good?" Vita, who had remained inside his jacket the entire time, mewled in agreement. Chimchar nodded from Taz's back, shifting to sit on the trainers shoulders. "Great... Now I just need to remember where the house is." Taz didn't wander too far into the large city very often, and it was easy to tell. The poor teen would wander for a good few hours down street after street, unable to recognize his surroundings at all. The sun was beginning to set, and with it, all hopes of Taz finding the house before dark. Whithin minutes, the streets around him were completely dark. The streetlights kicked on, illuminating the surrounding area just enough for Taz to be able to find a bench and sit down. He set the bags next to himself, deciding to at least pack everything into his new backpack. "Shinx!" Vita mewled as she leapt from the jacket, Chimchar following. The two began running around, playing some form of tag, while their trainer began taking the small vials from the plastic bags and placing them in his backpack. Whithin the medicine pouch were smaller pouches, specifically designed to keep the vials from rattling around during travel. There were twenty pouches in all, just enough to hold all the vials he'd purchased. After that, he slipped the small sleeping bag into the larger pouch. He'd bought a thinner sleeping bag, it wouldn't keep him as warm as a regular one would, but it was much more compact. The tent he'd bought was specifically designed for trainers. All he had to do was attatch the small line to two trees, drape the top of the tent over it, then zip the top to the bottom and doors. It kept all the wind out, and didn't require any sticks to hold it up. Taz slipped that, too, into his bag. "There, now I won't have to pack up later." The teen sighed, looking around. Aside from the occasional squeek or squeel from his pokemon, the street was absolutely silent. He looked down at his poketch, which read 10:47. "We need to get home." His pokemon stopped their game and looked up at him, tilting their heads.
"Chim chim char." Chimchar squeeked, leaping up onto the bench.
"Shi shi." Vita mewled, leaping into Taz's lap. "I wish I knew what you were talking about." Taz laughed, putting Vita back inside his jacket and slipping his backpack on. Chimchar clambered up and took his seat upon the backpack, happy that he didn't have to hold on anymore. "I doubt we'll be able to find the house this late at night, so we'll just get a room at a pokecenter." Taz said, standing up and walking down the street. He'd seen one earlier, so he figured that backtracking would be the best option. His pace was beginning to pick up, the sound of his footsteps echoing around the empty street was unnerving the young trainer. He rounded the corner, spotting the glowing red roof of the pokecenter down at the end of the street. Letting out a sigh of relief, Taz increased his pace, eager to get inside the safety of the building. The shadows around the edges of his vision were beginning to move, causing even more panic to fill his brain.
"Shi-shinx!" Vita squealed, becoming restless.
"What's wrong?" Taz asked, looking down at the small pokemon nestled whithin his jacket.
A shadow detatched itself from the building ahead of him, forming a human shape. Vita dropped through the bottom of his jacket, landing between her trainers feet with a growl. Chimchar scurried down Taz's leg, taking a battle stance next to Vita. "I'm shaking." The shadow said sarcasticaly, stepping under a streetlight. Light turquoise hair, white shirt with a G symbol, and grey pants were all illuminated, along with a face that oozed smugness and confidence. "You're pretty stupid to wander the streets this late at night." the man said, walking closer. "As punishment for disobeying curfew, all your pokemon are now forfeit to Team Galactic." "Vita, Chimchar." Taz said, taking a step back. His pokemon turned their heads to look up at him. "...Return." Without time to protest, his pokemon were returned to their pokeballs, which Taz slipped into his pocket. He knew his pokemon weren't strong enough to handle Team Galactic. Even a low-level grunt like the one in front of him could easily wipe the floor with a beginning trainer. "Good, now hand me those pokeballs." The grunt said, now whithin arms reach of the trainer. Taking a deep breath, Taz reached into his left pocket and pulled out two empty pokeballs. He handed them to the grunt, before sprinting past him and toward the pokecenter. His ruse only lasted for a few seconds, though, not enough time to put any real distance between the two. "Get back here!" the grunt shouted, pulling a pokeball from his belt. "Get him, Noctowl!" Taz heard a muffled whoosh sound, before he felt a gust of air hit his neck. His right arm erupted in pain, as the Noctowl scraped it with it's talons. Taz whipped around and smacked the pokemons head, dislodging it from his arm long enough for him to continue running. He cradled his injured arm near his chest, pushing the three large gashes into the fabric to stop some of the bleeding. He felt a gust of air once more, this time whipping around just as the Noctowl got whithin range. He'd thrown his right hand out, the blood flying from his fingertips and blinding the Noctowl. Whithout missing a beat, he turned and began sprinting towards the pokecenter once more. The glowing red roof was now only three streetlamps away, but that short distance might as well have been a mile for Taz. The gashes in his arm were fairly deep, and he was loosing blood fast. After what felt like an eternity, the trainer arrived at the door, turning to see the Galactic member sprinting full pace at him.
Taz darted inside as soon as the automatic door opened enough for him to fit. He glanced around the lobby, happy to see not only a Nurse Joy, but a police officer as well. The two were talking to each other when he'd entered, but had stopped once they saw the bleeding teenagers arm. "Galactic... Outside." Taz managed, his vision going blurry from the lack of blood. The Nurse Joy ran over and put his good arm around her, supporting him until the Chanseys brought a stretcher. The police officer, meanwhile, ran outside to look around.
"Take him to the O.R. Stop the bloodloss immediately." Joy ordered the Chanseys. Taz felt a prick in his left arm, probably something the nurses gave him, before his vision blacked out. The teen didn't have any dreams. His drugged, unnatural sleep resulted in simple darkness, warm and familliar. He awoke in a small, white room. He assumed it was small, at least. The ceiling was currently the only thing Taz could see. He felt two warm lumps near his hands. Out of curiosity, he moved his left hand over just enough to brush against the lump, which he discovered was furry. He lifted his head just enough to see it, happy to find that it was Chimchar, who had curled up into a small furry ball between his hand and his hip. The trainer looked over to his right hand to see Vita slumbering peacefully, her head resting on the splint adorning his forearm. A small rush of panic hit him, before he remembered the events of the previous night. Taz heard shifting off to the right, immediately turning his head to spot the sounds source. His father was sleeping in a chair a few feet from his bed with Nitsy, who was the only other one awake, curled at his feet. Upon seeing that Taz was awake, the Ninetails sat up and began pawing at Max's leg. After a few seconds the man woke up, his eyes blurry from the sleep. After rapidly blinking a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes, Taz's father looked over at the teen. "Oh, you're up!" He said, eyes suddenly snapping open. Taz nodded in response. "That's good, that's good... What were you thinking, Tim? Taking on a Galactic member?"
"I didn't mean to." Taz said, his voice raspy from his dry throat, "I got lost, and he just came out of nowhere." The trainer looked down at his pokemon, sleeping peacefully beside him. "He said to give him Vita and Chimchar. I gave him two empty pokeballs instead, and took off." "The police caught him." Max said, petting one of the tails Nitsy had rested on his lap. "His Noctowl used a slash attack. That's what made your arm like that. You're lucky it just grazed you, it could've done some serious damage if it had been dead on. Hell, you've lost alot of blood already. Joy says she's hesitant to let you go so soon." Taz stayed silent, choosing not to respond to his fathers talking. In truth, Taz was freaking out. What if that attack had hit head-on? Humans didn't have the natural barriers of energy surrounding their bodies that pokemon did. His arm could've been broken, or even cut off.
"Tails." Nitsy growled, suddenly staring at the door. Taz glanced over, watching as Nurse Joy walked in. The pink-haired nurse wore a reassuring smile, although it didn't change the mood in the room much. "Nice to see you up, Timothy." Joy said, opening his chart. There were a few moments of silence as the nurse read the notes, before she looked up at Taz. "Well, we managed to stop the bloodflow before it was too late, so we don't have much to worry about there. The Noctowl cut through both an artery and a vein, so it was touch-and-go for a while." "I see." Taz said, glancing down at the splint on his arm. "What's with the splint?"
"Well, both your radius and ulna were cracked. We put you in a splint until we can take an X-ray to tell the damage." Joy's face lost it's smile, "A few of your muscles were also damaged. Moving anything from your right wrist down will probably be difficult for the next few months. Are you right-handed?" "I'm ambidextrous." Taz responded, wiggling the fingers on his left hand.
"That's good. Writing with your right hand will be nearly impossible for a while. But, if you keep practicing, your hand should be back to normal whithin six months." Once more, Taz was silent. Six months before he could use his right hand? He looked down at his right hand, willing the fingers to clench into a fist. Nothing. He tried again, this time managing to make them twitch.
'It's not enough!' he thought, trying harder. His fingers began to slowly move into the clenched position, before pain erupted from his arm. He clenched his teeth, relaxing his hand. "When can we get the X-ray?" Maxwell, who'd stayed quiet throughout the conversation, asked.
"We have a slot open right now, if that's alright." Joy responded, recieving a nod from both Max and Taz. "Alright, one moment." Joy left the room for a few moments, before returning with a wheelchair. She wheeled it up to the left side of his bed. "Alright, that's not necessary." Taz argued, not wanting to be wheeled around.
"You can walk, if you like." Max said, grinning. Joy was about to protest, before she was silenced by a glare from the large man. Taz nodded, swinging his legs over Vita and hanging them from the left side of the bed. Were they always that heavy? The teen was rather shocked to find that he was wearing nothing but a hospital gown. They'd changed his clothes while he was unconscious? The sudden movements had woken his pokemon from their sleep, and their bleary eyes regarded their trainer with curiosity. Taz slid off the bed, his knees nearly buckling once his feet hit the ground. He felt a slight pull in his left forearm, which turned out to be a red packet labled AB+. It took him a few moments to register what it was.
"Blood?" He asked, looking at Joy. "It was necessary." She said, "You lost quite a bit." Taz frowned, grabbing the rack the packet hung on and using it to support his weight. His legs felt as if they would give any minute.
"Maybe I'll take the chair." Taz finally sighed, eliciting a chuckle from his father. The trainer sat in the wheelchair, patting his lap for Chimchar and Vita to come. The two pokemon leapt from the bed and into his lap. Joy wheeled them out of the small room, Maxwell and Nitsy following right behind them. An hour later, Taz was laying down in the hospital bed once more. The X-ray hadn't taken long, however they'd had to wait for the results. Chimchar and Vita, convinced their master was alright, were running around the room. He couldn't tell what they were playing, though. It looked like one of them would hide, the other would find them, then they'd race to see who could dive into Nitsys tails first. Vita usually won. Maxwell had left soon after the X-ray to tell his mother and sister, who'd immediately came from Sandgem once she'd heard about her brother. He'd left Nitsy to keep an eye on Taz. The trainer had to admit, though, he was suprised with the old pokemons patience. She didn't seem to mind the two younger pokemon, and would occasionally flip her tails around to make the game harder for them. A sudden noise attracted Taz's attention to the door. Somebody was knocking. "Come in." The teen called, tilting his head. The door opened, a tall broad-shouldered man walking in. He wore a grey jacket with jeans, with Aviator glasses that obscured most of his face. His hair was light pink, and hung to his jawline. Seeing the stranger, Vita and Chimchar leapt up onto the bed, sitting on Taz's lap. Nitsy, meanwhile, walked around to the left side of his bed, the side nearest to the door. "Hello young man." The man said, smiling. "My name is Leon." A Mightyena walked in behind Leon, sitting near the door to keep it open. "This is Luther." Leon said, patting the pokemon on the head.
"I'm Timothy." Taz said, using his real name. "Is there something you needed?" "Not particularly." Leon replied, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "I'm here to make an offer. You say no, I leave you alone, and nobody bothers you about it again. You say yes, I show you shit most people can't even imagine." Taz's eyes narrowed. Who was this guy? He seemed familliar.
"I'm listening." Taz said. What harm could come from him hearing what this 'Leon' had to offer? He could quite easily say no. "Great." Leon said, grinning. "First off, do you know about pokemon Egg groups?" He asked. Taz nodded. Egg groups were specific groups that each pokemon belonged to. They could only breed whithin their certain egg groups. Unless they had dual-egg groups, a pokemon in the Ground egg group could only breed with another of the same group. "I studied them a bit in school." Taz stated.
"Good." Leon replied, "Well, each egg group has a specific genetic code. Scientists have managed to identify that code. Once they did, the craziest thing happened!" Leon took off his glasses, revealing warm looking brown eyes, "They realized that Humans have identacle codes!" "Yeah, so?" Taz said, "It's been known for a while that pokemon from the Humanshape group are compatible with -"
"No, no, no." Leon laughed, interrupting the teen. " I'm talking about completely identacle!" Taz frowned, not quite understanding what Leon was talking about. "Here's the thing. A new League has been made. It's experimental, and so far only active in Sinnoh. We call it the Shape league. Nobody but the government, the hospitals, and the trainers in it know about it." Leon held up his left arm, sliding the sleeve from his jacket down to his elbow, revealing a black Poketch. "This is a Pokeshape. Identacle in shape to a regular Poketch. The only difference between the two, is that it does this." He pressed one of the buttons along the side of the watch. After a quick flash of light, Leon and his pokemon were gone. In the mans place stood something that nearly made Taz leap from his bed. A large, Mightyena stood before them. No, not a Mightyena. This thing had Human bone structures, and an almost-human face. Hands were visible, although the fingers were visibly shorter and had pads on them. "What... What happened?" Taz asked, Vita and Chimchar standing between him and the Mightyena-thing.
"Sweet, huh?" The thing growled. "It's me, Leon. And Luther. Shut up, I'm giving a speach. Just get to the point. I'm the trainer, here! So, we share a body remember?" And, right before his eyes, the monster began arguing with itself. Sensing his discomfort, the Leon/Luther thing looked at him. "Don't worry about it. I'm not gonna hurt ya. As for what happened, we Shaped. I suppose you can say we morphed together. We share a body, and can hear each others thoughts." "I..." Taz studdered. He couldn't think of a word to say. He was completely terrified, yet his curiosity was driving him insane. He knew that, even if he'd wanted to, he wouldn't be able to turn this man down. If it meant being able to be a pokemon, or even part pokemon, he'd try it. But he still had a few questions. "How... How did you find me?" Taz asked, relaxing slightly, "Why pick me? I haven't even started training yet." "Many reasons." Leon said, leaning back against the wall. "Firstly, your bones. The X-ray you took earlier showed that you have a rare bone-structure, perfect for being a Shaper. Your joints are strong enough to endure everyday stress, yet easily reformed. This allows you to Shape easier. Second is your blood. Bloodworks showed that you have a very strong Ground group affiliation. This is perfect, because it's the largest and most diverse of all the Egg groups. You may have some more, but those require certain tests to find."
Leon pointed one of his claws at the packet of blood attatched his arm. "Plus, it's AB. You can take blood from any of the other blood types, so you're easier to treat medically should there be an accident." There was another flash of light, and Leon was back with his pokemon. Right on time, too. The door, which had closed once Luther had disappeared, opened. Maxwell walked in, immediately closing the door behind himself when he saw Leon.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" He said, keeping his voice down.
"This... This is your kid?" Leon asked, tilting his head.
"You mean..." Max looked over at Taz, eyes wide. "He's a Shaper?" Leon nodded.
"He's got the gift." Leon said, smiling, "You should be happy! Your own kid!" Taz, tired of being left out, spoke up. "Hey! What do you mean? How do you know each other?" Maxwell and Leon glanced between each other, before looking back at Taz.
"Kid... Your parents funded most of the research. Your mom is a Shaper also, if I'm not mistaken." Leon answered. Taz looked to his father for confirmation, recieving a meek nod. Taz looked back at Leon, determination in his eyes. "I'll join." He said, not bothering to look at his fathers reaction. He had to know all about this 'Shaping' thing. His natural curiosity wouldn't allow him to let this go.
"Excellent!" Leon said, smiling even wider than before. "First off, we'll have to register you with the hospitals. Then you just need to stop by the Poketch company and get a Pokeshape. They'll explain how to use it there. It shouldn't take that long." The large man opened the door and walked out, the door closing silently behind him. "What's wrong with you?!" Maxwell said, voice barely below a yell. "Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?!" The man stormed over to Taz's bedside.
"I don't care." Taz said, looking down at his arm. "I want to see how this works."
"How it works?! You and your pokemon combine into a body! It's painful and dangerous!" His father said, clenching his fists, "It's not just your pokemon that participates in this league! You do the fighting too!" "All the better." Taz retorted. He didn't think it was fair to make pokemon do all the fighting, anyways. "Besides, have you ever done it?"
"...No." Max sighed, "No, I don't have the body for it. Your mother was the one who could. We'd hoped you wouldn't inherit it."
"I'll be fine." Taz insisted, nudging his pokemon off his lap. "I can stand now, anyways." He slid off the bed again, standing next to his fathers hulking frame. His knees were still rather shaky, but he was doing fine. "Don't change the subject! This is about you risking your life for some experemental league!" His father scolded.
"I'll be fine, dad. Trust me." He said, sitting down on the bed. "Vita and Chimchar will be with me. I'll be perfectly safe." Max didn't have anything to say to that. He knew that his son wasn't a fool, and could easily think his way out of any situation. The man walked to the other side of the bed, sitting down in the chair and putting his head in his hands. After a few moments of silence, he took his face out and looked at his son. "You'll... you'll still have to clear it with your mother." He said. "Not like she'll be able to change your mind either."
"Thanks, dad." Taz said, smiling. Out of nowhere the door swung open, revealing a flustered looking Joy.
"Was he here?" she asked, looking directly at Max.
"He just left."
"Damn! Did you accept?" She looked at Taz this time.
"Y...Yes?" The teen responded, not sure whether or not it was the correct answer.
"Good! He'll be back!" She said, closing the door. Taz looked over at his father, question clear on his face. "Leon is this Joys brother." Max explained. "She's been trying to get a hold of him for a few months now, but Leon doesn't answer his phone. Something about a family reunion, I think."
"Oh." Taz said. That's why he'd recognized Leon, the pink hair was the same color as Joys. "Aren't all the Nurse Joys related?" He asked, looking over at his father.
"Yeah, they're all cousins or something." Max replied. Taz laughed, understanding why Leon didn't want to go. That many identacle people in one place wouldn't be fun for him either. His mother had actually been fairly accepting of his choice. She'd arrived when he was finishing up the medical paperwork Leon had brought him, and was filled in by Max. Taz's parents were currently standing outside Taz's door, waiting for him to finish changing into the clothes his mother had brought.
"I can't believe you were so open to this." His father laughed, wrapping his arm around her. "It'll be a good experience for him and his pokemon." Theresa replied, leaning into her husbands side. "You know, help them grow closer. Lord knows it helped me and Nitsy." At the mention of her name, the Ninetales let out a short whine. "She says she wants to go home. This place smells like disinfectant." Theresa translated. "Just a bit longer, girl." Max laughed, petting the pokemon at his side. Moments later the door swung open, revealing a fresh looking Taz. The trainer now wore a Black shirt with blue-jeans, and a tan pullover hoodie. His backpack was on his back, where it was meant to be, with a happy looking Chimchar resting on it. A small dark blue tail could be seen hanging out the side of Taz's large frontal pocket, which had a rather large lump in it.
"It's nice to be out of that gown." Taz sighed, slipping his hands into his pants pockets.
"Timothy, get Vita out of your pocket! She's not a toy!" His mother scolded, holding back a laugh. Taz sighed and reached his left hand into his pocket, only to snap it back out a moment later. "She scratched me!" Taz lauged, poking the lump in his pocket. Chimchar, meanwhile, leapt from Taz onto the floor and ran towards Nitsy. The small fire-type leapt onto the Ninetales' back, wrapping his arms around her neck and snuggling into the warm fur.
"Nine." Nitsy grumbled, not bothering to shake the smaller pokemon off.
"Isn't that the cutest thing!" Theresa cooed, watching the two fire-types. "She's like his mommy!" Nitsy glared up at the woman, letting out a small growl. "Stop teasing her!" Max laughed, "Come on, lets get you sighed out." His parents began walking down the hallway, Nitsy following right behind them.
"Wait up!" Taz called, shuffling behind them. The lack of blood had left him fairly weak, and walking at a normal pace would be rather difficult at this point. The group slowed a little to allow the teen to catch up. "So what's the plan for tonight?" His father asked.
"I'm going to begin traveling." Taz replied, "I don't want a little injury like this hold me back." True enough, but the real reason was Ana. She fully expected him to show up tonight, and he intended to keep his promise. It would take him over two hours in his current state, so he wanted to start early. It was currently around two in the afternoon, which meant he had around two hours. "I suppose that's alright." Theresa said, looking down at her son, "You need to stop by the Poketch building, though. If you want to begin your training as a Shaper you'll need a Pokeshape." Max nodded in agreement.
"I'll bring you there once we're done here." He offered.
"Thanks." Taz replied. He'd need to hurry, though. After all, he didn't want to keep Ana waiting Welp, that is over with. Vote, comment and all that. This is a work in process, any advice is welcome