Chapter Text
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The Tree Of Beginning, Rota...
Aaron felt, for a lack of better words, like shit.
He has a pounding headache, everything felt heavy, and he didn't know where he was
And the small hand, or rather paw, lightly slapping his face was not helping
Upon opening his eyes, he was met with a pair of baby blue ones staring straight back at his
":Oh thank Arceus, you're okay!:" Mew yelled, Causing Aaron to flinch and close his eyes
"Mew..." He managed to say, his voice hoarse
":Please, save your energy, there's some people here to help:" the started ":and don't worry, the tree isn't fighting back, for some reason...:"
They then went over to the still unconscious Lucario next to him
"C'mon big guy, up up" a voice piped up, and he was soon picked up by someone and being carried bridal style
Aaron kept his eyes closed through the journey outside, feeling tired despite having just woken up
A few voices were speaking around him, and while he couldn't focus on what they were saying (though he could tell it had to relate to him), the softness of how they were speaking started lulling him to sleep
And before he let sleep take him, he could hear a sound that made him think that they had a giant Pidgeot, except the sound was to fast to be a Pidgeot's wings
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Unknown...
Once again, Aaron woke up.
But unlike last time, he didn't have a huge headache
Trying to open his eyes, he quickly closed them again due to the light "uuughhh"
Fluttering his eyes until they adjusted, he near immediately started surveying the area he was in
At least, as much as he could with the slight panic that was setting in
"*Where is Lucario? Where am I? Ok Aaron, calm down. Focus*" he thought to himself, managing to ease his breathing "*Okay, now look around. What can you see?*"
He was in a cream colored room, with a door to his right and a curtain covered window to his left, along with a chair that Mew was sleeping on
This calmed him down a bit. If they were safe enough to sleep, then he was probably safe
He also notices he was laying on some kind of bed, with some weird mechanisms next to him
As he sat up to look at more of the room he was in, the door opened, and a young man with pink hair and a uniform similar to a healers entered, accompanied by an Azumarill
"Ah, you're awake!" He gasped, waking Mew up
":Sir Aaron!:" They exclaimed, flying over to him
"Okay, I know you are probably quite confused right now, but please don't worry, we are here to help you" the young man said, walking over to Aaron "how are you feeling? Alright? Good? Bad? Oh, please drink this, it will help your throat"
Aaron was then handed a drink, which he quickly downed
"Than-Thank you, and I am feeling surprisingly well from how I was feeling before" he told the man
"That's great! If you need anything, just call for me. Oh! My name is Kazuki, and this is my partner Azumarill" Kazuki said, gesturing to himself and the pokemon
"I'm Aaron. It is nice to meet you, Kazuki" Aaron said, giving a smile
Before anyone could say anything else, the sound of a distant argument could be heard outside the room
"I already told you, we need to run some more tests before you can just start walking around without a care in the world!"
":I do not care! I am going to find Sir Aaron and will not stop me you weirdly dressed human!:"
"Wha-was that supposed to be an insult?"
":It was!:"
"Lucario?" Aaron called out
"Ah, that must be Val, I'll get that" Kazuki said, going over to the door while Mew teleported away
But before he could even reach the door, it was thrown open
":Sir Aaron!:" Lucario said, going to the other side of the bed
"Or not" Kazuki mumbled
"Lucario! It is good to see you old friend" Aaron exclaimed, giving Lucario a headpat
":It is good to see you too, Sir:" Lucario replied, giving a smile
Soon after, a woman in a similar healer uniform as Kazuki's entered the room
"Here, you saw him. Now will you go back?" The woman, who Aaron guessed was Val, asked Lucario
":No, because I have more questions. First of all, where are we?:" Lucario asked her, albeit a bit aggressive
This lead to the two arguing again. It was also then that Aaron noticed some more people standing outside the door
Suddenly, Mew teleported back into the room
":Will you two stop arguing? The director has been informed and has asked to see Sir Aaron and Lucario as soon as possible:" they said, before floating over to the chair and resting
Everyone just stood (and sat) still for a few seconds before one of the people at the door spoke up
"We still need to run some tests"
":OH COME ON:"
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The tests weren't as weird as the two thought they would be, they were just making sure that they were able to walk, amongst some other stuff
Anyways, Aaron had just finished putting on some new clothes, which consisted of a white long sleeved button up, black pants, and brown shoes, when a knock came at the door
"Are you doing okay?" Val's voice said "if you are, Miss Zuri is waiting for you"
"Will do!" Aaron replied, putting on his old hat and going out the door
Soon entering another room, Aaron saw two women, one with long locs and another in a black dress, sitting at a table, along with Lucario standing to the side and mew floating nearby
"Oh, there you are. I am glad to see you are doing well. Tea?" The lady in the black dress offered
"That would be lovely, thank you" he said, sitting down on a chair that Lucario pulled out
"Now that everyone is here, we can start" the woman with locs said, clearing her throat
"Greetings, my name is Zuri, and I am the director of the group that rescued you from the tree of beginning" she started "we have been watching the tree ever since the..."
She thought for a second "incident with Lucario waking up from the staff"
":Ah:" Lucario said ":that:"
"Yes, that. To put it simply, a few days ago we detected a spike of energy inside, and a team went to check it out. And that's where they found you" Zuri told them
Aaron sat speechless, while Lucario looked to the side, not saying anything. Days? It had been days since they first awoke? Wait-
"How... How many years have passed? Since we... Since I went into the tree?" Aaron asked
"Rounded up? Around two hundred years" Zuri told him
Aaron slumped slightly in his chair and just looked back down at his tea with a melancholic expression, while Lucario places a paw on his shoulder to comfort him
"I understand that this is likely quite hard for you" the lady in the black dress said "but do understand that we are here to help you in any way we can, I assure you"
Aaron gave a smile that admittedly was slightly forced "thank you, I shall remember what you said, madam..." He trailed off, as he didn't know her name
"Cogita, dear. And you can drop the madam, it makes me feel my age" she chuckled, placing a gloves hand over her mouth
"Ah, apologies! That was not my intention, I assure you" he told her
"It's alright, I know it wasn't" she assured him
"If you wish, when you are ready I would like to introduce you to everyone. a few at a time, of course" Zuri said
"I would like that, thank you" Aaron said
Soon after, Zuri's attention was turned elsewhere, and she left the room
Aaron then noticed that Lucario looked a bit distant
"Are you alright old friend? You seem down"
":I am, it's just... This reminds me of when I awoke from the staff:"
"Ah" Aaron said, before letting out a chuckle "I guess I now know how you felt"
That made Lucario smile ":heh, I guess so:"
The two then said a quick goodbye to Cogita and Mew, and went out
"Hm, I was just about to pour him a new cup" Cogita said. She then turned to Mew
"Mew, I'm curious considering how... Would well be the right word? Considering how he took the news of two hundred years having passed, how well do you think he would take the other news we have for him?"
Mew turned to her ":I'll be honest, he would probably take it well:" they said ":But I think we should wait until he adjusts first:"
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Iron Island, Sinnoh...
Riley was honestly so tired
"Uuughhh, why is it so hard to research into my own family" he groaned, holding his head in his hands
On the desk in front of him was many different papers, along with a few old photos and notes
":Are you okay?:" Lucario asked, having just entered
"Yeah, I'm just a bit stressed, is all" Riley told him, stretching "what's up?"
":Just checking in, is all:" Lucario said ":any updates?:"
"A few small ones, but I've also managed to find something pretty important" Riley said, putting a picture down "found this in some stuff mom left. apparently she had some siblings"
":What?:" Lucario exclaimed, surprised
"Yeah, and I think I've managed to find out at least one of their names"
Suddenly, the doorbell rang
"Hm, seems we'll have to wait on that" Riley said, getting up
Grabbing his hat and jacket, Riley then opened the door to a young man in a hoodie and a ball cap
"Hello" Riley greeted him, giving a smile
"Hi, Uhm... I was walking by the mine entrance when I saw team... Team Rocket causing some some trouble. I was told I should go to you for this" the man said
"Really?" Riley said "If this is true, then you should probably inform officer Jenny about this"
"Oh! Uh... She's busy..." The man said
Riley admittedly became a bit suspicious due to the pauses, but quickly dismissed them "*They're probably just anxious, is all*"
"Okay then, please show me where this was, Lucario and I will deal with it immediately"
The man smiled "of course, it's this way" he motioned with his hand, and then started walking away
Riley went to follow, but Lucario held him back by his sleeve
":Sir, I'll admit that I have my doubts about this:" Lucario whispered to him
"I do too" Riley whispered back "but if there's even the smallest chance this is real, there are pokemon that are being hurt, and we should stop those hurting them before it escalates"
Lucario let go of his jacket ":Agreed. But we should still be cautious"
The two then quickly caught up with the man, and started walking towards the mines
While they were walking, Riley noticed officer Jenny out of the corner of his eye, just chilling and resting on a wall
Riley immediately became suspicious. Looking over to Lucario, they shared a glance that was replied with a nod
Nearing the mine entrance, the group saw two people in blue and yellow outfits, which had white accents and a gold symbol on their chests
Upon getting closer, it was also clear that they were standing over a net that held a few distressed and injured pokemon
These were clearly not team Rocket grunts, but with them clearly aggravating the pokemon it was clear they likely weren't just some normal people
"Hey!" Riley yelled, rushing forward a few steps "What are you doing to those pokemon?"
":Let those pokemon go!:" Lucario yelled, also rushing forward
The two people paused, one of each of their hands going to a PokeBall on their belts
"Oh" one of the people said "we were just- Now!"
Suddenly, a water pulse came from behind them and hit Riley square in the back, knocking him down
":Sir Riley!:"
"Hah! Got him!" A voice from behind said
Looking behind, the two saw that the man that brought them here had discarded the hoodie and hat and was wearing the same uniform as the other two, and was now accompanied by a Gastrodon
":I knew it!:" Lucario yelled, firing an aura sphere at the Gastrodon which managed to hit the pokemon, but not faint it
Getting up, Riley noticed the two grunts had brought out their pokemon, a Graveler and a Vanillish, and we're about to have them attack him
Thankfully, he managed to summon an aura shield to mostly block the attacks
"On your guard, fools!" The grunt with the Graveler (now dubbed Grunt 1) said
"*That sounded ridiculous*" both Riley and Lucario thought, before Lucario had to dodge a rollout from the Graveler before sending another aura sphere at the same pokemon
Riley then had to block another water pulse and a set of icicle spears
"Please, we do not have to do this" Riley tried to plead with the grunts
"Sorry, but a job is a job" the grunt with the Vanillish (now dubbed Grunt 2) said, then commanding the Vanillish to send another wave of icicle spears
"Yeah! We're getting paid real good if we get you to boos- OW!" The grunt with the Gastrodon (now dubbed Grunt 3) started saying, before being pelted with mud by their own pokemon
"Don't spill, idiot!" Grunt 1 yelled at Grunt 3
"I-Idiot!? If anything, you're the idiot here!" Grunt 3 yelled back
"Will you shut up! Both of you are idiots!" Grunt 2 yelled, their beforehand calmness now gone
"Excuse me!?" The other two grunts yelled back
The three then started arguing, much to the confusion of everyone else, including their own pokemon
As the three continued arguing, Riley and Lucario just looked at eachother
"*Are they seriously-*" Lucario started
"*Yes, yes they are*" Riley replied
"*Take the opportunity?*" Lucario asked
"*Take the opportunity*" Riley said
Lucario then rushed forward, hitting the Vanillish with a metal claw and causing it to faint
"Vanil-" Grunt 2 started, before Riley quickly appeared behind him and restrained their hands behind their back, and then took Vanillish's pokeball and recalled the fainted pokemon
"Stay down" he said
Meanwhile, Lucario had continued the battle with the other trainers and their respective pokemon
After managing to take a water pulse from the Gastrodon, he was hit with a crit rock throw by the Graveler
"Hah! Good one!" Grunt 1 laughed, before they suddenly stopped when Lucario used counter, fainting the pokemon
"...Well Shi-" Grunt 1 started, before Riley also restrained them and the Graveler also being but into it's pokeball
"Now, I recommend that you stand down. I do not wish to escalate this" Riley told Grunt 3, a serious, slightly angry expression on his face
":I'd recommend it too:" Lucario said, raising an aura sphere at the two
The Gastrodon fled back into it's pokeball, while Grunt 3 just raised his hands in surrender
"Good choice" Riley said, Lucario lowering the aura sphere
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"The pokemon are being taken care of, don't worry!" Nurse Joy told Riley "We will check if any of them have trainers, and if they do they will be returned, and wild ones will be reincorporated into the wild"
"I am glad to hear that" Riley replied
"Lucario has also been restored to full health, here you go sir" she then handed a pokeball to him, out of which Lucario appeared
":I hate having to be in there:" he said
"I know, but it's so you can heal, 'Luc" Riley told him, before turning back to Nurse Joy "Thank you"
"You're welcome" she replied, waving as they left
A short-ish walk later, the two arrived back at the house
Riley entered the house, took off his hat and jacket, and collapsed face first onto the couch
"Uuughhh"
Lucario just looked at him, before grabbing a nearby blanket and laying it over him "Rest well, sir"
"I should probably look into who that group is" Riley sorta mumbled, turning his head to the side
":Indeed, but for now we should get some rest:" Lucario said, sitting nearby
":Although:" Lucario started after a few seconds ":you never told me the name of who you found in your research:"
Riley turned to his side "Ah, right. Mom had two siblings, a brother and a sister. I've managed to find the sisters- my aunt's name. Apparently her name is Deliah"
Lucario just let out a "hm"
Soon after, Riley dozed off, with Lucario following soon after
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Meanwhile, in jail...
"I can't believe you messed that up!"
"Me!? Your the one who was supposed to finish the job but nooooo your Graveler can't hit for crap!"
"I can't believe you would argue with me like this!"
"I can't believe your brain isn't in your skull!"
"Excuse Me!?"
Grunts 1 and 3 were arguing up a storm, while Grunt 2 was just sitting off to the side, feeling like a blood vessel was gonna burst "*idiots*"
Letting out a sigh, they just looked at the ceiling
"*Let us hope that the teams in Galar and Johto come through*"
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