And… *drum roll* another chapter!
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*
Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks
I don’t need to disclaim every chapter, but to be safe…
Chapter 5
Yellow emerged from her hiding place as well, a pleasant countenance of falsehoods, though Red still thought she was a boy.
“Yellow! Pika! Professor Oak! What’s come over you?”
“We’re just ridding the world of an evil.” Yellow said snidely.
“A-An evil? What are you talking about?”
“Him, of course.” Yellow pointed. “Terribly distressing when you captured him. But all’s well. I’m sure this will be a better punishment than jail...”
“You’re going to brainwash him because…”
“He’s the Leader of the Elite Four! Are you daft, Red?”
“I… I wish you’d understand…” Red whispered.
Lance’s eyes lit up, flaring blue for a second. “Granted…” In a second, Yellow, Oak, and Pikachu were all lying on the ground, writhing in agony.
Red frowned. “What was that?”
Had he imagined it? No, he was fairly certain he had not. In any case… he laid a hand on Lance’s arm.
“I wish we were somewhere else, and that Professor Oak and Yellow and everyone who knows about you… will forget.”
“Granted.” Lance nodded, before the blue glow of Teleport warped them away.
“So you’re a genie.” Red deduced. They were back in Mount Silver, although they had teleported straight into a pool of hot water. Not that he was complaining. He could use it, and he had quickly stripped down to his boxers. Lance himself was only clad in a pair of loose-fitting black pants.
However, now things seemed to be shifting even farther away.
“Lance?”
“Yes, Master?”
“I… I’m sorry. This is my fault.”
“It’s not your fault, Master.”
“But I’m the one who turned you into a pokemon….”
Lance shook his head. “Tis not your folly, Red.”
That caught Red’s attention.
“Did you just call me by my name?”
“Yes, Red. I did.”
“Oh! Did the memory suppression … is it finally gone? Do you remember now?” He pressed anxiously. Lance nodded.
“I remember everything…”
“Oh.” But why did Lance sound so depressed?
“Tis no fault of yours, Red. I do not blame you.” Lance sighed. “I suppose I blame myself…”
“But I’m the one who captured you in a poke ball and forced you to go through programming – wait is that why you’re not tearing my head off?”
He fervently hoped no.
Lance laughed. “So you didn’t think it was cute?”
“I didn’t think what was cute?”
“Me following you around and acting like a pokemon?”
“I didn’t mean that!” He almost stuttered the words, but kept his composure.
It wasn’t that bad!
Well, all right. So he’d liked having a person for a pet. That was disgustingly perverted of him, but still.
Lance grinned, almost enjoying Red’s discomfort. “It was the wishing that did it.”
“Hmm?”
“You know how you made a wish and I granted it?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Before that, I just counted as a normal pokemon. But a genie is… different, you could say.”
“Genies are different?”
“Genies are a type of human pokemon. Apparently there is such a thing – only several percentage points of DNA separate the species after all. Humans with powers.”
“I’m still confused…” Red said.
Lance helpfully pulled out a chalkboard and a pointer and began to draw a diagram. “Basically, inject anyone with human or pokemon DNA, and they have the potential to become a new species of pokémon.”
“Like you?”
“Well, I’m a bit different. I already had the Viridian Power, so I guess I was already a magical human. That Megavolt and the lava only finalized the changes. Not to mention that the good professor said I had some pokemon DNA.”
“Oh…”
“Besides, if I had stayed human, I would be dead by now, so it’s lucky I shifted, even if that’s when you caught me…”
Red frowned. “But I’ve treated you badly.”
Lance shrugged. “I’m used to it.”
Red winced, wondering exactly what Lance had gone through to brush off this so flippantly. “But I cut you! With a knife!”
“So? I’ve had worse in pokemon training.”
“Don’t you care that I’ve hurt you?” Red finally stammered out. “I cannot forgive myself and yet you…!”
“I am not your enemy, Red. Don’t force me to make you one.”
Red blew out a frustrated breath. “But I have to take responsibility somehow…”
“Let me pose a question, then. Did you take advantage of me? Even now that you have discovered my Hidden Power, are you actively using it for personal gain?”
“Well no, but…”
“But what, Red?”
“I still feel bad.”
“Quit beating yourself up over it. If I don’t blame you, why should you blame yourself? Besides, you freed me from Oak’s nefarious scientific schemes.”
“… I guess I did,” Red said. He was relapsing into the familiar role of hero. That he could do easily.
Lance smiled.
“Um… what about your evolution though?”
“I do not think I will evolve farther.”
“But the scales…”
Lance shrugged. “Well, we’re sitting in a healing hot spring right now. Maybe that will fix it.”
“Do you think so?”
“It’s worth a try, isn’t it?”
“I guess so…”
“I knew you would see it my way.” Lance gave Red a knowing smile. “Now then, there’s one last issue we have to discuss.”
“What is it?” Red asked, wracking his mind.
“This.” Lance said, and kissed him with a smirk.
End Chapter
Completed 12/2/05