Chp.7-Just can't go anywhere without making a scene! I walked to Vermilion for two days straight, stopping only to eat and drink. I went without sleep, not wanting to lose anytime starting to search for my Poke'mon and Sara. Problem was, I ran out of people food, which meant I had to stick with the Poke'mon food I had, which didn't fill me up very much. Sure, I still had the candy Bulbasaur and Nidoran got back in Cereluan, but I felt a bit guilty about eating that, since I did promise that for them and them alone. Finally, about eight miles out from Vermilion, I swallowed the last piece of Poke'mon food, and I was still hungry. I kept walking none the less, sheer will power the only driving force I had. Don't panic, I thought. You're about to go into a city. There's plenty of food there. I'll just grab a burger or some chicken before I start searching...Do I have enough money? "Rai been robbed!" I exclaimed, looking at my empty wallet. It was just full of money! Where'd it all go? It must have been back when the cops were near my stuff. They must have searched it, and someone probably took all my money. Man, now I was poor, tired and hungry. Not a good combination. I walked and walked, feeling weaker with each step I took. Great, now I don't even have the energy to change back to human. How was I going to get into the city now? *sigh*"Raichu just get Chu water..." I muttered, kneeling down next to a large pond and pulling out my filter. Normal people can last a few weeks without food and a few days without water. Since I could go maybe ten hours without food, I wasn't about to risk running out of water, even though my thirst hadn't really been a problem before. I pumped and pumped the filter for a while, filling up all my canteens as fast as possible. I was halfway through the last one when something moved out of the corner of my eye. I looked up in time to see a blue tail slip below the surface of the water. "Chu?" I stuck my head underwater to see if I could spot the owner of that tail. I couldn't see anything...must have imagined it. I pulled out my head and kept pumping. When I was done, I put everything away and got out a towel to dry off my face. "Nuts..." The fur of my face was all messed up now. I put down the towel and tried to fix it a little. Though I've never really had been too concerned about my looks, being a Hybrid changed that. Now I'm constantly worry about keeping my fur nice and straight so I don't look like a dork. There, that's bett...hey, where's the towel? Looking around, I saw my towel below the surface of the water...moving? Not quite sure what was going on, I tried to reach in for it, but it kept moving away. Annoyed, I finally jumped in and swam after it, but it moved pretty fast. Being tired as it was, there was no way to catch it. I gave up, not wanting to waste valuable energy. Just as I started to climb out, my towel came up to float by my side. I felt like it was trying to intimidate me. Then I felt like a fool for not just grabbing it. At first, I ignored it and started to climb out. Just as I was about to put my pack on, I dove in after the towel, making a less than spectacular bellyflop, but grabbing the towel in the process. "Come here!" Even though I couldn't see anything, there was definitly something pulling on the other end of it. It wasn't really strong, as I pulled around the invisible force rather easily. This little tug-of-war went on for a few seconds, then I finally gave one mighty pull. I fell back, gripping my towel and landing on my back. Suddenly there was a weight on my stomach as whatever it was landed on it. "What the...RAICHU!" Something burned at my stomach and clothes, which hurt quite a bit. I shoved off whatever was on my stomach, only to end up getting my hands burnt, too. It wasn't like a burn from a fire, but more like from acid. That meant...this was an Acid Armor move...and since only two Poke'mon learn Acid Armor...and Muks hate water... "VAPOREON!" I always wanted a Vaporeon for my team, and of course now would be the time my Poke'mon were deposited all over Vermilion City! I didn't even have anymore Poke'Balls, either. Still, I had to try... Vaporeon had gotten some mud on it when I threw it, and part of it stuck on, so I had an idea of where it was. Grabbing the towel, I started to circle Vaporeon, and it circled with me. I lunged at it, trying to wrap it up in the towel. We wrestled around for a while, and I acquired a few more nice burns on my clothes and fur. Soon, though, I had it in the towel, which I'd turned into a makeshift bag. It thrashed around for a while, then seemed to give up. Proud of myself for my first catch, even without Poke'mon, I searched through my backpack for something else to store Vaporeon in until I got another ball. Ssssssss... What was that sound? It seemed to be coming from the towel...oh man! Vaporeon was trying to burn it's way out! I grabbed the first thing my hand came across, a pot for boiling water, and dropped the towel in it. Not a second after I did, the towel disintigrated into nothing. Before it could escape, I turned the pot upside down on the ground, trapping it. "Vapor..." "Rai wouldn't try that again." I advised, knowing full well it might try to eat through the pot with acid. "Rai a Hybrid. A Hybrid is Raichu of human and Poke'mon. Chu, not only do Rai look half like a Raichu, Rai have the abilites of a Raichu. Chu, my friend, are a water type. Even Chu must know Raichu water is weak to electrcity." I kept one hand on the top of the pot and the other close to the side in case Vaporeon did try to escape again. If it did try to get out again, it probably would, since I wasn't really willing to get burned again. I got lucky, however, as Vaporeon said something through the pot. "Vaporeon. Eon lost." "Chu admit Chu lost? And Chu won't run away?" "Vapor..." This was too easy. I wasn't about to lose a Vaporeon, so I made a quick contract with the trapped Poke'mon. Basically, it couldn't run away, hurt me or anyone else without special permission or in battles, and would stay in my arms until I got a ball to put it in. If not, and I quote, "May thou be struck by the curse of Ninetales, the punishment equal to that of grabbing all nine of it's tails at once." That's a 9000 year curse(1000 years per tail) that no one wants to deal with. Vaporeon agreed to my terms(or at least I think it did. Remember, I get maybe 2% of what a Poke'mon says!), so I carefully lifted up the pot. It dropped it's Acid Armor, and I put the pot back. I put my backpack on and picked up Vaporeon. "Well, Raichu hard, but Rai think it was worth it. Do Chu?" "Eon, Vaporeon it." it said. "Hmm..." Might as well ask... "Are Chu a male?" "Vapor." he said with a nod. Another guy...Am I ever going to catch a girl? "Raichu then. Come on, let's get going." I started walking again, trying to figure out how to make Vaporeon comfortable. I told it the story behind my Hybridism, or at least as much I recalled. Yeah, it's not exactly a bedtime story, but the worst that could happen would be that Vaporeon be a little scared of me, and like they say, it's better to be feared than loved. Actually, Vaporeon seemed to enjoy it. It was actually rubbing it's head up against me, almost as if it liked the story.(And who wouldn't? Sorry, just a little ego there...) We heard the city well before we reached it. It wasn't just the usual city noises; there sounded like some kind of festival going on. On the outskirts of the city, I was definitly sure there was something going on. Bright banners were everywhere, music of all sorts could heard, and there were all sorts of smells, especially... "FOOD!" All the different food smells, combined with my own ravenous hunger, pushed me over the edge. I ran into the city full speed with the last bit of energy I had, totally forgetting about trying to cover up my condition at all. I dodged through crowds and crowds of people, clutching Vaporeon to my chest so I didn't drop him. Finding a large table loaded with foods all sorts, I placed Vaporeon down on the table and dug in, passing up utensils and eating with my hands only. Vaporeon seemed hesitant at first, but after watching me gulp down bowl after bowl of food, it dove into a bowl of apples and started eating too. I really don't know how much food I consumed, but I caught various comments like, "What a pig!" and, "What is that thing?" in between gulps, so it must have been quite a bit. Eventually, someone tapped me on the shoulder while I worked on a basket of chicken. "Can't talk. Eating." I mumbled through mouthfuls of food. The basket of chicken quickly disappeared after that. I looked up angrily, ready to shock whoever just stole my food. It turned out to be a very large, very angry looking man who stood on the other side of the table. "Excuse me...sir..." he said in a threatening tone. "I hope you plan to pay for all that." "Uh...pay?" Now that I was stuffed with food, I could see there were price signs on all of the foods on the table. Prices that I couldn't pay... "Yes, pay. Even your kind...whatever you are...have to pay for my food." "Oh, pay!" I sounded confident, but really was about to bolt out at full speed. "Rai, let me just get my Vaporeon here,...Vaporeon, Water Gun Raichu!" "Vap? Vaporeon!" Vaporeon looked out of the bowl, confused for a second, but then shot a stream of water from it's mouth at the table owner. It hit him right in the face, temporaily blinding him as he cleared out his eyes. With that, I grabbed Vaporeon and hauled my tail outta there. I probably would've made it out without a hitch, had the table owner not been yelling, "Stop him! He's a coustume wearing theif!" That attracted a lot of unwanted attention, and a few people actually gave chase. I outran them easily, but I still needed a place to hide as a mob grew in size quickly. I lost a lot of ground at one point where I had to cross a busy section of highway. The cars were coming too fast for me to even dare trying to cross until the light changed, and by the time it did, the mob was almost on top of me. After making it across the street and turning a corner, I saw the city's Poke'mon Center. Praying that I could convince Joy and anyone else that happened to be there to let me stay, I ran through the double glass doors. "Joy, Rai...WHAA!" Two seconds after I ran in the door, I was tackled by ten little kids, none of them over the age of six. Some of them were petting my head, while others were yanking on my tail. Vaporeon escaped from my arms in the struggle, but I had to take the abuse, since I really didn't want to hurt any of them. On the plus side, I heard the mob go by while I was buried under the little bodies, so at least I lost them. "Kids! I have ice cream in the kitchen!" a familiar voice said. At the mention of ice cream, the kids forgot about me and ran off to the kitchen. "Thanks...JOY!" Geez, she surprised me! I scrambled to my feet and picked up Vaporeon. "Raichu, Joy, my name Chu Dan Gotem..." "I thought your company said all the entertainers were booked for the Spring Festival..." Joy said, looking confused. "Company?" I was as confused as her. "You're not from the entertainment company? Then, why the coustume?" "Rai don't know...oh, the company!" Great, I walk into the perfect cover and still almost manage to blow it! "My last party...let Chu early, so Rai came here." "Oh...what happened to your coustume? It's all damaged." she said, referring to the large holes in my clothes, the burnt away fur, and the fact that I was soaking wet. "Rai...Vaporeon has a little problem with Poke'mon Centers. Raichu found out Rai was taking him in for a checkup, he got a Raichu defensive." "Vaporeon? Eon, Vapor Vaporeon checkup?" Vaporeon asked. Thankfully, I don't think Joy got the impression anything was wrong. "Don't worry. There's nothing to be afraid of." Joy said soothingly, taking Vaporeon from me. To me, "Thank goodness you're here. Parents keep dropping off their kids with their Poke'mon, and expect me to take care of all of them. I'm too busy trying to keep them from breaking anything to care for any of the Poke'mon!" I nodded understandingly and went into the kitchen. While Joy took care of the Poke'mon for the next few hours, I took care of the kids...or rather, they took care of me. Like most little kids, they loved Poke'mon, and they enjoyed pretending to be all sorts of Poke'mon and wanted me to play with them. Did these kids have energy! If they weren't pretending to be Poke'mon or trying to yank out a piece of my fur, they were doing almost anything else. At least ten times I had to pull out kids who'd ran into the operating room or the recovery room before they woke up the Poke'mon trying to just get a little rest. Luckily, I always pulled them out just before the rather large Charmeleon that was healing from what looked like a tooth problem of some sort turned them to black cinders. The worst part of those few hours, though, was trying to keep my tail in one piece. Kids were always yanking on it or trying to do something with it. At one point, two kids even turned it into a jump rope. It was fine at first, since you only needed one person to swing it(as the other end was connected to the base of my spine), but when a girl missed her jump and landed full force on top of it, it took every ounce of self control I had not to instinctivly fry the kid. It was getting pretty late by the time the last of the kids finally left, a great relief for me. I'd collapsed on the couch in the lobby when I was finally down to one kid, totally worn out. "Are you sleepy?" the little girl asked. "Yes, Raichu tired..." I said, wiping the sweat off my forehead. "Oh." She paused for a moment, then said, "I know how to make you feel better." "How?" She climbed onto the couch, and before I could say anything, started scratching my head, right by the ears. "This makes my Pikachu feel better. Do you feel better?" Oddly enough, it did make me feel better. I let her keep it up for a while, just enjoying the feeling I was getting. It was like all life's problems were just floating away. Too bad she couldn't keep it up forever. Soon, I was starting to think like a real Raichu. Then again, what said she couldn't? I could go with her, be part of her team. She'd probably wants a Raichu anyway...I started rubbing my head against her, trying to get her to use both hands. Better yet, maybe I could get her to rub my stomach. Oh, if she did that... BEEEEPPP! "Sorry. My Mommy is here. I gotta go." With that, she hopped down and left. I felt really depressed now. Didn't she think I would be a good addition for her team? Didn't she think I was strong enough? Why did she turn me down... "Whoa!" Dan, what are you thinking? You're not a Raichu!, I told myself. I shook my head vigoriously, trying to shake the thoughts I just had. That's never happened before...it's like the human part of me just went into a brief coma, and a Raichu took control of my thoughts. It was way too creepy. "Joy?" I called out, getting up and walking behind the main desk. "Can Rai use the kitchen and make Chu dinner?" "Sure, but there isn't much here!" she called back. Boy, she wasn't kidding! Going into the kitchen, all I found was half a container of ice cream, a couple of T.V. dinners, 3/4 of a turkey, mayo, and two loaves of bread. I thought I was gonna starve! I microwaved all the dinners, one at a time, and made turkey sandwiches with everything else, saving the ice cream for dessert. It took a good hour to finish cooking everything, which seemed kinda pointless since I finished it all in ten minutes anyway. Despite my gorging, I was a gentleman and left Joy a dinner for herself. "Ah, here you are." Joy said as she came in, watching me throw out the last tray from the dinners. "I was just about to pay you...aren't you hot in that suit?" "Suit? Oh, no! It Raichu very well." "Um...do you have to talk like that? It's very distracting." "Like Rai? Oh..." Think fast, Gotem! "It...helps me stay Raichu a role, that's Chu." "Uh-huh..." Man, was that a lame excuse. Any second now, she was going to figure it all out, and then she'd call the cops on me, and then I'd be back in jail, and then... "O.K., if you say so." she said, shrugging. "Can you help me clean up?" I was so dumbfound that she actually bought my story that it she had to ask me again twice before I agreed to help. After we'd finished, Joy left to get the money for my work. While she did, I bought all my things to the trainer bedroom, getting ready to take a snooze. When Joy found me again, she seemed confused. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Getting ready Chu sleep. Why?" "You can't stay here. This is a government building, and they're all closed for the festival. The Center is the only exception, and even then, it's only open during the day." "Raichu! Now where am Rai supposed to go?" "You don't have a place to stay? Not even a hotel room?" "No! Raichu from Pallet training. Rai just came Chu town toda...two weeks ago...and my room Raichu inn got rented out!" "Oh...if I'd known that..." We stood in silence for a few moments, neither of us sure what to do. Suddenly Joy spoke up. "Listen, why don't you stay at my house? It's right across the street, so no one will see you. Besides, all the hotels are probably booked for the festival anyway, and I can't just leave you out on the street, can I?" "Gee, thanks." I helped her close down, and she paid me for the day's work.(85 bucks? Could be better, could be worse.) After making sure everything else was locked down, Joy led me across the street to her home, offering me the couch for the night. Before I could say more than "Good night", she went to her room, claiming to be tired and not very hungry. I definitly was worried about Sara and everyone else, and while I thought I really should be looking for them as I got out my sleeping bag, logic told me to wait. After all, I'd just spent the last three days just trying to get here, without sleep. If I went out there now, I'd probably collapse with weariness before I got a block away. What good would I be then? I'd just have to hope that everyone would be O.K. till I could start looking for them again. First thing in the morning, I swore to myself. First thing in the morning, I'll find them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I awoke around 7:30 next morning, the smell of fresh pancakes and bacon tickling at my nose. I rolled over to find just that piled high on the table next to me. Not hearing or seeing Joy anywhere, I figured that she made them for me. Not bothering with the fork and knife she'd left, I tried to eat slowly, but once the first few strips of bacon made it to my mouth, I went into my usual face stuffing. Joy walked in just as I finished up about five minutes later. "Wow. You didn't even wait for the juice..." she noted, setting a large glass of orange juice next to the now empty plate. "Rai was hungry." I said simply, taking the glass. "Thanks for everything." "Oh, it's no problem." she assured me. "Besides, how often to I get to have somebody over whose half Raichu?" It's a good thing she said that when she did, because if she'd waited another second, she would've said that when I would've had a mouthful of juice, probably ending in a spit take. I set the glass down and looked up at her. "What?" "Don't worry. My cousin in Viridian told me all about you. I kind of guessed it was you when you first came into the Center, but I didn't say anything in case you were just an actor in a really good costume." "Rai...So this means Chu won't turn me Raichu police?" "Of course not! You didn't do anything wrong." She walked over to the window and glanced out quickly. "As long as you don't...oh my!" "What is Rai...whoa!" I went to look at what had startled Joy. When I saw the giant hole in the Center's wall, I quickly understood her surprise. "Oh no! I'd better call the police!" Joy rushed into the kitchen, probably looking for a phone. "Don't bother!" I told her, hearing police sirens heading in our direction. "Raichu already did." "Good!" Joy went into a nearby closet and got her coat. "Dan, stay here until I come back!" "Sure, where..." she rushed out the door before I could finish. Sighing, I took another look at the hole. It wasn't like someone just used a Machoke or something and broke a hole. It was way too neat, and the hole in an oval shape. It was like someone burned through it, but with what? I sat around in the house for a few hours while the police taped off the area and started interviewing everyone. I glanced out occasionally, but never for a long period of time in case someone saw me. I really wanted to get out and do some more searching, but the front door was the only way out, and even if I changed to human form for a little while, I'd be dead tired when time was up. Hours and hours passed. The police had left early in the afternoon, but there was no sign of Joy anywhere. I would've tried looking for her, but the police officers stationed outside the center kept me from doing so. Instead, I got another idea. Finding a VidPhone in the kitchen, I turned on the speed dial function and found what I was looking for. Confirming my selection, the phone rang a few times before someone picked up. I was careful not to turn the screen on, but when I heard the familiar voice, I snapped it on. "Hello, Viridian City Poke'mon Center. How can I help you?" "Hey Joy!" I said, seeing her on the monitor. "Oh, Dan! I'm surprised you called!" She looked around quickly before continuing, probably checking for trainers that might be coming in. "I see your still working on your...condition..." "It's alright." I assured her. "Rai are things down there since Rai left?" "Well, the police are still looking for you, but right now, they're not having much luck. They can't get any evidence you did anything, and their case got laughed right out of court." "What case?" "That's what I mean. Do you remember that woman who claimed you attacked her? She failed a polygraph(a lie detector test, simply) about the incident, and few people are beliving the idea of a creature that's half-human and half-Poke'mon. On top of that, the entire force is under investigation for burtality, so that hurts them even more." "Well, Raichu to them." "Where are you anyway?" "In Vermilion City, at your Raichu house. By the way, why did Chu tell her about me?" "What?!" "Yeah, she said Chu told her Raichu me. Why?" "I...I haven't breathed a word of it to anyone! I swear!" "Well, then how does Raichu about me?" "I don't know. Honestly, I never said anything to anyone!" "Raichu? Well, Raichu talk to her when Chu gets back..." "Uh-oh..." Joy sounded worried. "She not there? Or at the Center?" "No. Is Rai a problem?" "Um...look, can you keep a secret?" "Sure. What's up?" That's when I learned about Joy's addiction. It wasn't drugs or booze, thankfully, but something even more expensive. How so? About $1200 a day! "...and one time, when the clerk asked her if she had enough, she reached across the counter, grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him so they were face to face, and said 'I'll tell you when I've had enough!'" "Whoa..." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was about 10 p.m. when Joy finally came in, her arms loaded with small boxes. I stood by the stairs, waiting for her. "Chu were out again." I said. She jumped three feet when I said that. One of the boxes fell from her arms and hit the floor, causing a shattering sound. "No..." she gently put down the other boxes and picked up the fallen one, shaking it. You could easily tell by the noise it made that it was broken. "My...baby..." "Joy, get a grip. Chu have a problem. Chu need help." "Problem? What...what problem?" she stammered, picking up the other boxes and trying to go to her room. I quickly moved in front of the door to stop her. "Raichu told me all about it. Joy, Chu need help..." "Dan, I'm fine. Please, just let me go!" "Really?" I grabbed a box from her arm and dropped it on the floor. It hit with a shattering crash. "What did you do that for?" she exclaimed. "Because I'm ending this." I grabbed another box and dropped it too. It also shattered. I did this two more times. Just as I was about to drop the fifth one, she gave in. "Please, stop! You're hurting my babies!" "Babies? Joy, Raichu just..." "I know what they are!" She yelled. "They're my children, you...you..." "Children? Joy, Raichu not even living!" "I...I..." I picked up one of the boxes and dumped out the contents. The jeweled egg fragments fell to the floor. Joy's eyes started to fill with tears. "Please, stop!" she begged. "Only when Chu admit Chu have a problem." I grabbed another box with a shattered Faberge egg and dumped it on the floor. "Look at all Raichu pieces...Have Chu ever seen so many?" "No...no, stop!" she begged. I ignored her and dumped out more pieces from the third box. As I opened the fourth one, she finally cracked. "O.K.! I have a problem! Please, just stop!" I closed the box and placed it on the ground, taking the remaining boxes from her. She numbly allowed me to place them on the ground, seemingly worn out. "See? Was that Rai hard?" She sniffed a few times before she broke into tears. "You...You have no...idea...what I...I...feel Chansey." Joy gasped between sobs. "Chansey? Joy, are Chu..." That's when I noticed her skin. It was turning bright pink! Joy fell to her knees, seemingly oblivibious to her skin color change. I took a few steps back, not exactly sure what was going to happen. There was a tearing sound, and a short pink tail shot out from Joy's dress. A Chansey's tail. I couldn't believe it! A Chansey Hybrid? Who'd of thought... Looking closely, I could Joy's hair was growing out at the sides rapidly. It quickly grew till it looked like she had the bangs that Chansey's also have, just made of human hair. That part didn't scare me. What did was watching her hands melt into a pink goo that totally covered her arms. From there, it smoothed and reshaped her arms till they looked like human sized Chansey arms. "Uggh..." I moaned, trying to hold in my lunch. Just when I thought the worst was over, Joy's dress started to get tighter around her stomach. It didn't stop growing until it looked like Joy looked like she was about nine months pregnant! She slowly got to her feet, the change completed. Now I could get a really good look at her. Chansey shaped, human sized arms, bangs made of her own hair, three on each side of her head, pink human legs and face, one large stomach, and a pink tail finished off the complete Chansey Hybrid. "This," she sniffed, "is my problem."