A Boy and His Lucario Part 18
#18 of A Boy and His Lucario Series
It was almost hard to believe Cherrygrove could be called a city. It seemed more like a quiet little town. The city consisted of some small buildings, an ocean shoreline, and elderly people going for a walk.
"What a nice little town." Ashito said. "Although, I feel like we stick out a little too much here." He was right. Most of the people outside were elderly or children, and seeing some teenagers walking with a tall man in a trench coat and three Pokémon wasn't your average sight in Cherrygrove. Naturally they had some eyes weighing on them.
"We should try to get through this town as quick as we can." Kyo suggested.
After more awkward stares from the towns folk, the group made it outside of the city and continued east on Route 29. Lucario was getting very jittery, and Celia was noticing.
"What're you so jumpy for?" she giggled.
"We're getting closer and closer! I'm getting more and more excited the closer we get! I can't wait!" he fidgeted. Celia laughed and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"It's good to see you so happy. I really like it when you are." She commented.
"I can't help but be happy! This is all so exciting! I might have family I've never known about! There's just so much to explore!" Lucario was truly pumped. Celia giggled again as the group pressed on towards Route 46.
The tall man walked alone down a long hallway. He wore an all black uniform with a large red R on his shirt, and was clenching his hat in his right hand, exposing his brown mohawk. He seemed to be mumbling something to himself, possibly cuss words, but it's impossible to truly be sure. Two more people wearing the same uniforms walked towards him from the opposite direction and began laughing when they saw him.
"Hey Pete! I hear you got your ass handed to you by a kid!" One mocked.
"Yeah, and I hear he only had one Pokémon too! The other joined.
"Shut the hell up!" Pete screamed "That thing wus seriously messed up! If Ah got beat, neither'f ya would ever stand a chance! Sides, 'f weren't fer that shadowy figure catching me off guard, Ah could've whipped that kid."
"What do you mean "shadowy figure?"" one of the mockers asked.
"There was this guy with 'em, he was wearin' a full trench coat and hat, so Ah couldn't see what he looked like. But Ah swear Ah heard 'im growl atme." The mockers looked exchanged glances.
"He growled? Was there anything else unusual about him?"
"Yeah. The only other thing Ah could really see were 'is eyes. They were a light blue, hidden in the black of 'is coat. Now that Ah think of it, he wadn't wearing shoes neither. 'Is feet were kinda funny looking, almost like a dog's feet er somethin'. An they were blue too."
"You don't think it could really be him do you?" One mocker asked the other.
"I don't know, but we'd better report this. It sounds genuine tome." The mockers turned and ran down the way they had come.
"Hey! Git back here! I aint done with you! Ya're gonna pay for insultin' me!" Pete yelled in pursuit.
Giovanni, the leader of the infamous Team Rocket, listened to the report of the two grunts who had fumbled into his office.
"And you're certain this is the one?" he questioned.
"Yes, sir. We believe it's Ashito, the failed experiment."
"I see." Giovanni scratched his chin. "I'll have to contact Professor Ettelburg." Giovanni swiveled his chair and pressed a button on the arm. A picture of a short aging man with glasses and thinning white hair appeared on a large screen behind Giovanni's chair. "Professor Ettelburg, I have just received word that the failed Anthropomorphic experiment has been spotted."
"Is that so?" the small professor chuckled. "And where might I ask has it been spotted?"
"The last known location is the National Park in Johto. From there it was seen moving east with two teenagers. Is the tracking device still active?"
"If it were active we would've found it a few months ago." Ettelburg snorted. "If it was with people and heading east, that would mean that they were either heading to Ecruteak orVioletCity. I would recommend sending agents to question the inhabitants of these cities to see if they know anything about it."
"That's a wonderful idea, Professor. I will send a few squadrons to Johto immediately."
"Excellent. If they find anything, have them report straight back to me."
"Certainly, Professor." Giovanni pressed the button again and the screen went blank. He turned his chair back towards the grunts. "I want two of our best interrogation units dispatched to Ecruteak andVioletCityimmediately."
"Yes, sir!" The grunts said in unison and bolted out the door. Giovanni swiveled once more to look out a window. 'I never should have let Ettelburg experiment on Ashito.' He thought to himself. 'He was truly one of my best agents. Taking any order without question, and truly loyal to me." Giovanni pet the sleeping Persian at his feet while he watched two large black trucks drive away.
Two young men stood at attention in front of Giovanni, their ruthless leader. There clothes were tattered from the attack, and one of them was covered in his victims' blood.
"This is unacceptable." Giovanni cursed with his hands folded. "That family held a very valuable treasure to me. If killing the parents was necessary, you should have made a better effort to contain the son. Not only that, but you allowed yourselves to be defeated by an old man! What do you have to say for yourselves?" The agent covered in blood spoke.
"But sir, we had no Pokémon of our own to defend ourselves against Professor Oak's. We had the boy in our custody until he showed up."
"Is this my fault neither had the common sense to bring any with you?" Giovanni sneered. Neither agent replied. "Get out of my office. Get yourselves cleaned up and be prepared for KP duty tomorrow morning." The agents walked out with their heads hung low. When the first was out of the office, Giovanni pressed a button on his chair, closing the door. The agent covered in blood stopped just in time to avoid the closing of the door on him. He looked back to see Giovanni signaling for him to come.
"Yes, sir?" he asked as the walked back towards the desk. Giovanni rose, revealing he was much taller than the agent.
"Boy, I like you. You started here with nothing and quickly worked up the ranks. You have shown much promise. Not only that, but your loyalty to me is outstanding. You're loyalty is like that of a Stormtrooper to Adolf Hitler during the Second World War." He put his hand on the agent's shoulder. "Ashito, I see great potential in you. Professor Ettelburg has devised a new formula that will give a soldier the brute strength of an animal. I want you to be the first to receive this advancement." Ashito was speechless. Nothing could cross his mind other than his extreme loyalty to his leader.
"I... I would gladly receive it for you, sir." He stuttered. Giovanni smiled and patted him on the back.
"Excellent! Go get yourself cleaned up and report to the lab immediately. Professor Ettelburg will be waiting for you."
"Yes, sir."
Ashito entered the lab for the first time. He always knew where it was, but he was never authorized to step foot inside. It was large and spacious with metallic walls, large computers lining them. Directly in front of where he was standing stood a slanted mechanical table with a large tube filled with a strange green liquid attached to the wall.
"Welcome!" he looked up the see the small aging man in a small sized white lab coat standing on a balcony. His glasses rested at the top of his nose, and his white hair was thinning at the top. "You must be Ashito. Giovanni has told me much about you. So much in fact, that he had me look into this experiment."
"You're going to give me the strength of an animal?" Ashito asked.
"Yes. But seeing as this is a completely new experiment, I've started small. Please, go to that table over there; I'll be down in a moment. For the best results, I please ask that you remove your uniform and put on the shorts I've laid there for you." And he disappeared in the darkness of the balcony. Ashito walked to the table slowly observing the equipment around him. Some of it he recognized; he had used them in missions past. He got to the table and beside that was another small table with the lab shorts. We removed his uniform and put on the shorts as instructed.
"Excellent, you're ready!" Ettelburg chuckled, appearing from nowhere. He pressed a button on the small table with made the large one straighten up. "Please, stand up against the table. Ashito did as he was told and the professor strapped in his arms and legs. He then pressed the button again and the table returned to its slanted position. The metal was cold against Ashito's bear back, and he was a little uncomfortable.
"Are these straps really necessary?" he asked.
"If you don't want to fall off the table, yes." Ettelburg laughed. "We are taking every precaution. Should you become to strong, you won't be able to leave so we can fix the problem." Ettelburg pressed another button on the small table. A large mechanical arm made it's was out to the large tube and stopped just above Ashito's chest. A needle stuck on the end. "We'll start you off small. Since this is new, there's no telling what will happen. I've successfully extracted and contracted the DNA of a husky."
"A domestic dog?" Ashito asked.
"Yes. Huskies are one of the strongest of the domesticated dogs."
"So why not something stronger, like a German Sheppard or a Rottweiler?"
"Like I said, this is experimental. We need to start off smaller. If this is successful, we will move on to larger animals, like wolves, bears, lions, things like that." Ettelburg pressed the button once more. "Try not to squirm." The arm lowered and inserted the needle straight into Ashito's chest. He grunted at the sharp pain. The liquid in the tube began to move through the mechanical arm into the needle, which began moving it through Ashito. Ashito grunted even louder. He could feel the alien fluid moving through his blood stream to all parts of his body. Ettelburg checked a small monitor next to the tube. "Your body is reacting to the chemical well. But you'll need much more to be altered." Ashito began shaking; so much of this strange green concoction was being pulsed through him. He could feel it being pumped in and out of his heart. The tube was about half empty now. Ashito's body shook like an earthquake had hit him. Then he felt something new. His muscles. They were growing. "Yes! Excellent! The chemical is working! You're being enhanced!" Ettelburg cheered. Ashito watched as his muscles began to grow. His chest puffed up like that of a body builder. His arms and legs were larger than ever before. He could feel himself getting stronger with each heartbeat. But then, everything went wrong.
The monitor started beeping loudly. Ettelburg checked it to make sure nothing was going wrong. The screen blinked red and sounded an alarm.
"OH NO!" Ettelburg shouted. He quickly began pressing buttons, but it only made it worse. The green liquid began pumping faster. The tube was almost empty. Ashito screamed in pain. There was so much fluid moving through him it hurt. Then he felt something. He watched in horror as his feet began to change. They slowly changed shape. He no longer felt toes or nails, but something was trying to push its way out of his new feet. He screeched in the pain as four sharp black claws emerged from his new feet. Next he witnessed a light shade of blue. His legs were growing fur! A light blue fur pushed itself up out of his legs and moved up to his torso where it turned white. As it moved away form his chest, it turned the light shade of blue once again. It engulfed his arms and hands and moved its way to his neck, now white in the front and blue everywhere else. Everything but his head was now covered in the blue and white fur.
He screamed once again when he felt something erupting above his rear. Out shot a fluffy husky tail, blue fur on top, white on the bottom. Then, he felt it coming to his head.
"I need armed guards in here, NOW!" Ettelburg shouted into a microphone.
Ashito's head began to feel the affects. The fur spread to his head as he watched his chin, mouth, and nose elongate. He watched it shape into a new mouth and felt every sharp tooth stick its way out of his gums. His new nose could instantly smell the air around him. It was a foul stench of sweat and something he guessed to be the green liquid. His ears shriveled into his head and popped back out pointed husky ears on top of his head.
Ashito pushed his new muscles with all his might and broke the arm straps. Ettelburg ran in terror; his failed experiment was freed. Ashito yanked the needle out of his chest and crushed the mechanical arm with brute force. He threw it aside and tore away the restraints at this legs. He ripped the metal table off its hinges and threw it into the tube and monitor. The tube shattered into a million pieces and the monitor was silenced. Ashito examined the destroyed tube. There was no liquid on the floor. It had all been pumped into his body. He took deep breaths as he looked at his new body. This couldn't be possible.
The armed guards Ettelburg had requested finally arrived at the main lab door. They were absolutely shocked to see a humanoid husky standing in front of them.
"Don't just stand there, kill it!" Ettelburg shouted. The guards opened fire. Ashito ran and evaded each bullet with his new, fast legs. He bolted out the door, knocking the guards over. One of them reached for a radio.
"Put the facility on lock down, we have an escaped experiment!" he shouted. Alarms began sounding throughout the building. Ashito picked up his pace and headed straight for Giovanni's office. There were two guards in front of the door with weapons. Ashito quickly grabbed them and bashed their heads together, leaving them unconscious on the floor. He pounded on the door with his powerful fists. Each punch left a huge dent in the doors, until finally they gave way and flew into the office. Giovanni clung to the wall in terror as he watched the large beast slowly walk into his room. Ashito was now much taller and larger than him. Ashito growled as he slowly approached Giovanni.
"Why? Why have you let this happen?"
"We had no idea something like this would happen, it was an experiment!"
"THEN WHY DID YOU EXPERIMENT ON ME?!" Ashito howled as he effortlessly flicked Giovanni's desk out the window with one hand. "I've done nothing but slave for Team Rocket and took every order without question to prove my allegiance, AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?!" He tore the chair out of the floor and chucked it straight at Giovanni, who ducked nanoseconds before it could hit him. Ashito lunged with a mighty howl. Giovanni cringed, waiting for his doom, but heard a thunk. He opened his eyes to see Ashito on the ground in front of him, there was a dart in his back. Ettelburg stood at the door with a smoking gun.
"I've tranquilized it. We'll need to move it into an enclosed area immediately."
"What on earth have you done to him?"
"He took too much chemical and it mutated his DNA. He's no more than an animal now."
"Very well, just get him somewhere he won't do any damage."
Ashito slowly gained consciousness and looked around. He didn't know where he was, but it was bright. He rubbed his eyes and rose to his feet, observing his surroundings. He saw an opening in the wall with two armed guards. Lab equipment lined the walls. He also noticed he was in what looked like a large glass container.
"Well, it's up." Ettelburg stepped forward. Ashito growled at the site of the little man. "My, such a temper. But no matter, I won't have to deal with that much longer."
"What do you mean?" Ashito snarled.
"You're just another failed experiment, there's no sense in keeping you around. So by the orders of Giovanni, I'm going to "put you down" like the beast you are." Ashito lunged at the glass, only to bounce back with a sharp pain. "Tsk tsk, I wouldn't do that if I were you. I made this especially for you, to ensure that this time you won't escape. Now, relax as I just introduce you to my gaseous friend." Ettelburg pulled a lever on the bottom of the container. Small vents opened inside the container and released a green gas. Ashito coughed violently as he inhaled the toxic fumes. He began pounding on the glass. "Forget it, you'll never break it!" Ettelburg taunted.
Ashito was furious. He pounded with all his might, all the brute strength of a husky. Again and again he punched the glass as more and more gas made its way to his lungs. Finally, with a mighty burst of energy and panic, Ashito threw both his fists into the glass, shattering it into a million pieces. He lunged out of the container and raced to the door. The guards opened fire but Ashito was too fast for their bullets. He raced as fast as he could past all the screaming personnel until be found the main entrance. He broke through the glass doors, having no time to stop and open them. He ran deep into the surrounding woods were he would attempt to lose anyone following him.
'From this moment on,' he told himself 'I must fight for my life.'