Pokémar Episode V, A Clone's Destiny

Final Preparations

"And you're absolutely positive there's no other way to do this?" Thunder moans, avoiding eye contact with the pokeball in my hand.

"It's either this or we get someone to implant the chip surgically." Jackson says. Thunder winces in response. "Look, it'll be for three seconds. Five at the most. And if it's too much, you can break free pretty easily."

"I'll get you out as soon as I can. You have my word." I add.

Thunder is quiet for a moment, weighing his options.

"...Alright. Fine. Just get it over with." He closes his eyes tight, bracing for the worst. I tap the button on the ball, watching it flash green as a ready signal.

"On three, ready?" He nods quickly. "Okay, one, two, three." I lob it gently towards him, though it seems to almost jet away from my hand once I let go. It opens above Thunder and grabs him with the blue beam. Immediately he is pulled in and the ball snaps shut, bouncing off the floor with the distinctive pling sound. the ball's light flashes amber as it gently rocks back and forth. A few second later it stops moving. The light goes dark with a final click.

"And there it is." Jackson comments. "Took it like a champ. Usually there's a lot more shaking." I quickly scoop the ball up, slightly surprised at its new heft before activating it once more and tossing it out. And just as quickly as he vanished into the pokeball he reappears, looking a bit more relaxed now.

Suddenly the ball bounces straight back at my face, catching me completely off guard. I scramble to either catch it or swat it away, accomplishing neither as it makes contact with my right cheek. "Ah!" I yell in a mix of mild pain and surprise. "Son of a bidoof... I forgot they boomeranged..."

"You okay Alex?" Thunder asks.

"I'm fine. Wasn't even that bad, just scared the daylights out of me. How was your 'trip?'"

"Not as bad as I remember. Felt slightly more homely. Slightly. Still don't want to stay in there longer than I need to."

"Now that you're tagged you should be safe to go." Jackson says. "I'll drive us back to where I found you and we can go from there."

"Actually, it'll be just me, Thunder and Growlithe." I say.

"I can handle myself. You forget I spent a lot of time as a pokemon too. I know how to fight."

"It's not your abilities. I don't want to put you in harms way. This is our mission. Not yours. You have a son to look after. If they see you with me, you just got a target painted on your back."

"...I guess that's true. But I'm still going to drive you there myself. I need the car for work, after all. Better there's someone to drive it back in case... well... Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"Alright then. Guess that's the plan. You ready to-"

"Uh... Dad? Alex?" Josh says from outside the doorway. "What are you doing? Are you pretending to be pokemon or something?" For a moment I freeze. I had preferred to keep our little secret just that. "Wait... were you talking to your pokemon?" Wow... he jumped to that conclusion fast.

"I-uh... What makes you say that?" I reply.

"I just remembered that Thunder was talking back. You were having a conversation, weren't you? You speak pokemon?" Well. No use hiding it now.

"Alright, fine. Yes. I know Pokespeak."

"Wait, really?! You can talk to pokemon!?" He yells in amazement. I swear you could see the stars in his eyes from a mile away. "That's amazing! Where'd you learn to do that?!"