HUMAN POKEMON 2

Cynthia looked around the Sinnoh region looking for any sign of the three girls who had disappeared two weeks ago. When asked about their whereabouts, the townspeople in the last town the girls were seen in said that they received an invitation to meet a talented man named Ryder, who could somehow teach humans how to use Pokémon moves.

When she heard this, Cynthia was afraid of what this Ryder person could do with that kind of power. To better prepare herself, she called upon Sabrina, Kanto's psychic Pokémon expert, and Lorelei, Kanto's Ice Queen, to give her a hand.

Eventually, their trail of clues led them to a small seaport outside of Canalave City. There, they saw Ryder, accompanied by two people in wide-brimmed hats and trench coats, boarding a moderately small liner heading out to the Kanto region. Cynthia decided to follow Ryder on board, using her status as Pokémon League Champion of Sinnoh to get her and her friends on the liner for free.

Three days out at sea, Lorelei was standing out on the rail on the ship, thinking about what Cynthia had asked her to do.

"How does this Ryder person fit into the disappearances? So far, all we're going on is mere coincidence. What makes Cynthia so sure that he's connected?"

As she thought this, Lorelei saw Ryder and one of his travelling companions set up a few chairs near the front of the liner. She decided to hang back and see if there really was any connection by observing Ryder's behavior.

"You must be excited after that week of successful shows, Emmy," Ryder told his companion.

"You bet I am," Emmy said. "It felt so good to show off my skills to those foolish humans."

"Humans?" Lorelei thought. "Why would she say something like that?"

"Careful you don't talk too loud, Emmy. You never know who could be listening."

"No one is out here with us. Who could've possibly heard?," Emmy said while removing her coat.

Lorelei nearly gasped when Emmy let her coat drop to the ground. Emmy looked exactly like Iris, one of the girls who had gone missing. She was wearing a one-piece suit that was patterned after a Pokémon she only recently heard about called Emolga. Now she was convinced of Ryder's involvement in the disappearances. He must have kidnapped those poor girls and hypnotized them to believe they're Pokémon loyal only to him. She turned to go tell her friends…

…and was met with a Haunter, who swiftly entered her body. Lorelei struggled for a while, then suddenly went limp. When she straightened up again, her eyes were glazed over. She then calmly walked to Ryder and Emmy and bowed.

"What's this about?" Ryder asked.

"This woman tried to expose us to two other trainers itching to capture us. She needs to be dealt with, Master Ryder," Lorelei said, revealing herself to be possessed by Haunter.

Emmy said, "I told you a plane home was a better idea."

Ryder just smiled. "This is perfect."

Haunter and Emmy were surprised and said in unison, "How is this perfect?"

"Simple. We'll soon have three more performers for our little act. Haunter, keep possessing this woman, but lessen your control over her until they reach my lab. I'll make sure they can follow my trail to make it easier on you. Make it seem she was just knocked out for a while so she doesn't get more suspicious."

Haunter smiled and said, "Right." He then made Lorelei's body fall in the exact spot where he possessed her.

Lorelei woke up and grabbed her head. "Ow! What happened? Wait. Ryder!" She turned around and saw that Ryder and Iris were still in the same spot. "I've got to tell Cynthia and Sabrina." She ran to the cabin where she, Cynthia and Sabrina were staying in for the voyage, unaware of her involvement in Ryder's newest scheme.

After the liner docked in Vermillion City, Ryder, Emmy and the other accomplice disembarked the liner and walked out of town. Cynthia, Sabrina and Lorelei followed close behind, with Haunter lurking in Lorelei's shadow, waiting for the right time to strike.

Ryder and his two friends stopped in front of the back of an electronics store in a small town between Vermillion City and Saffron City. Cynthia and Sabrina crouched down in the bushes.

"So, this jerk was in my back yard all along?" Sabrina said. "I'll make sure he pays for brainwashing innocent people."

Cynthia said, "Right, we'll try to take them by surprise and learn all his secrets. Then we'll be able to free those poor girls from that monster. First, we need to find a way inside."

"I can handle that," Lorelei said, having caught up to them.

"How?" Cynthia asked.

In response, Lorelei's eyes glowed a sinister reddish-purple that caught Cynthia and Sabrina by surprise. Cynthia fell asleep quickly, but Sabrina struggled for a few seconds more. "Why…are you…helping that man…Haunter?"

Haunter made Lorelei's body put on a wicked grin. "Because I like seeing chumps like you suffer. I really must commend you for detecting me inside this woman's body, but I'm afraid you realized too late for it to matter." After Sabrina heard this, she collapsed, trapped in a deep slumber with Cynthia.

Ryder, Emmy and the other person walked to where Haunter stood and asked, "Was there any trouble?"

"Nah, but the black-haired girl noticed I was possessing this woman. She might be trouble," Haunter said.

"So she's a psychic. It doesn't matter. She'll end up just like the rest. Haunter, Emmy, take them inside. I need to show my associate what I am doing here."

(Thirty minutes later)

"You've got a lot of guts to come looking for me after all these years, Ryder. I hope this has something to do with your research."

"Yes, Boss Giovanni. I managed to complete the machine I told you about."

"You mean the one that could make humans learn Pokémon moves?"

"Exactly." Ryder was talking to Giovanni in a glass booth above a lab with two tables on it. As they were speaking, Emmy and Chance were hooking Sabrina, who was now dressed in a performance suit modeled after Alakazam, to a machine on one table while an Alakazam put the wires on the other half of the machine onto itself.

"Explain to me how this works, Ryder."

"Certainly, Boss." Ryder picked up an intercom to talk to the people in the lab. "Emmy, Chance, is Sabrina hooked up?"

Chance stuck her thumb up and said, "Everything's ready on this end, Master Ryder."

"And how about you, Ally?"

The Alakazam looked up to Ryder after it had connected itself and nodded. Before Ally lay down, though, she stuck a small bud in her ear.

"What did that Alakazam put in her ear, Ryder?" Giovanni asked.

"That is a power dampener. It's made so that no Pokémon can use their moves and abilities."

"Why would you create that?"

"You'll see."

Emmy and Chance walked over to a control panel, assumingly to stay clear of the tables. Emmy picked up an intercom and said, "Everything's set down here, Master Ryder."

"Very well," Ryder responded. He then turned to Giovanni and said, "Now, here's the fun part." He pressed a button on the control panel in front of him and the machine whirred while Ally and Sabrina glowed a faint rainbow-colored light.

"Boss Giovanni, I was not able to make humans directly capable of learning Pokémon moves, but I did manage to find a way to achieve a similar result. What my machine is doing now is transferring the minds of Ally and Sabrina into each other's bodies. The machine is able to make any Pokémon become capable of using their moves and any moves it can learn while residing in a human body, effectively making them Human Pokémon."

"So what you're saying is you can make it so that the human body can learn Pokémon moves, but a Pokémon must be inhabiting the body?"

"Yes, I am. It's not the outcome you asked for, but…"

"This is quite ingenious. I think this will work perfectly. I have plenty of loyal Pokémon and grunts at my disposal, so I can take back my seat of power over Team Rocket from those soft-hearted fools who now run it."

The machine stopped working and the light receded. Before Emmy and Chance could move, the wires connecting Sabrina's body to the machine came off on their own and Sabrina's eyes shot open. She looked at herself and smiled. She then glided over to the control panel, levitated the intercom to her and spoke to Ryder.

"Transfer successful, Master Ryder."

Ryder grinned and responded, "Excellent, Ally. Take Sabrina down to the cells with the others."

Giovanni turned to Ryder and asked, "Cells?"

Ryder said, "Boss, the women whom I've used so far in this experiment were hostile towards my ambitions. I've had to subdue them before I could make the swaps. The power dampeners are so that they don't cause a revolt while in the Pokémon's bodies."

Giovanni said, "Show me some 'Human Pokémon' in action."

Ryder messed with a few buttons and a screen lowered and turned on. The image on the screen was of two women standing in an arena, looking like they were about to fight each other.

"Boss Giovanni, behold my lovely Garchomp, Garnet, and my stunning Dewgong, Denise."

The women's images cleared up to reveal the bodies of Cynthia and Lorelei, but they had already been changed. Cynthia's body, now run by Garnet, was dressed in an outfit that resembled Garchomp, while Lorelei's body, run by Denise, wore an outfit that resembled a Dewgong.

Garnet spoke first. "Are you ready to taste defeat?"

Denise yawned and said, "Look, I've got a nap to get to, so can we make this quick?"

Garnet got angry and charged at Denise, her body giving off a light-blue aura. Denise jumped out of the way and said, "Really? Dragon Rush? Don't you think you can be a little more creative, Garnet?" She then lowered her glasses and her eyes gave off a rainbow-colored beam that squarely hit Garnet in the back, causing her to double back. Denise then inhaled and exhaled a Blizzard out of her mouth, freezing Garnet in place.

Denise gracefully landed on her feet and dully said, "Well, looks like I win again."

Garnet thawed out and yelled, "Well, you never would've caught me in that Blizzard if I hadn't been distracted by that Aurora Beam!"

Denise yawned again. "Whatever. I'm going to take a nap."

As Denise left the arena, Ryder raised the screen and said, "So, what do you think?"

Giovanni grinned and said, "This is amazing. Ryder, I must really congratulate you on a job well done. I would still like more of those Human Pokémon before I begin my big plan to take back Team Rocket."

Ryder smiled. "Consider it done, Boss. I'll get you only the best army of Human Pokémon you could ask for."

(In the cells, at night)

"Mommy, are those thwee newcomers doing ok? They seem sad."

Patty was walking back from the storage unit with Beauty carrying sacks of food for them and the other Human Pokémon to eat. On the way back, they passed the cells that contained Cynthia, Lorelei and Sabrina, now trapped in the bodies of Garchomp, Dewgong and Alakazam respectively.

Beauty told Patty, "No, dear, I think they're still getting over the shock of what happened. Maybe in a few days, their attitude will lighten up."

Patty said, "I hope so, Mommy. I don't like them being sad."

When the two left, Cynthia looked at Lorelei and Sabrina and said, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. You shouldn't have had to suffer for my arrogance."

Lorelei said, "What arrogance is there in trying to stop a mad man? We're your friends, so we're in this together. Don't try to put all the blame on yourself."

Sabrina said, "Besides, at least we're not alone."

Cynthia looked to where Misty, Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, May, Dawn and Iris were locked up. She noticed that Iris kept looking for a way to escape, despite not knowing a thing about the layout of the lab they were kept in.

Confident that this wasn't the end, Cynthia turned to Lorelei and Sabrina and said, "You know, if that girl still has hopes of escaping, then we shouldn't lose hope either. They haven't won yet."