Pokemon Max: Final Showdown

Ch. 52 Universal Reset Part 7

Ch. 62 Universal Reset Part 7

"When I was in college I studied theoretical sciences. I was investigating energy flows. I was enjoying myself. I had a partner who was a lot of help. We worked really well together, and...to be honest, I kind of had a crush on him." She sighed. "His name was Marcus."

"Wait, like the boss of that big corporation?" I asked.

"Yes. We worked great together. And one day I was studying a certain project I had been working on. I was investigating energy flows, when I incorporated a certain formula. And I detected an energy I didn't recognize. I tried to figure out everything logical, but nothing matched. So I tried connecting some variables that didn't make logical sense. And I found energy flowing from an entirely different world."

"Really? Just like that?"

"I know, it was strange. Anyway, I discovered Pokemon, as you can imagine. I was amazed, and studied their energy. I realized the energy was very similar to certain types of people. I figured if I could run this energy through a certain chemical combination, I could create a chemical that could safely bond with DNA to provide cures for diseases."

"Wait. You're saying you created something to change people?"

"Uh, basically."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Where I come from, this formula turned me into a pokemon hybrid." 

"I designed it. And I don't know what happened where you came from, but here, I never completed it. Because it was stolen."

"What?"

"By Marcus. He stole it from my systems. Wiped my records clean of it. There was no evidence I had it removed."

"But then how did you know?"

"I worked with him. I knew his style of coding and data working. I could recognize his touch on my computer. But nobody could win a trial with that kind of evidence. He left to go to another university soon after. I tried to get started again, but the fact that I had been lied to and manipulated, plus not having my basic research to go off of, made it next to impossible."

I stayed silent.

"I was hoping to get a doctorate, but it never even came close after that."

"Just one thing confuses me about all this."

"What?"

"Me. I am totally different here than I am in my world. Like not only in terms of my life, but genetically. I don't look like I used to. I don't think my father here is the same father there."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." I sighed. Thoughts began spiraling through my head that never would have made sense naturally. "This might sound weird, but did you have a plan to do anything with your research?"

She looked at me surprised, and replied "Well, actually, I suppose I did. I learned different frequencies that occurred in different pokemon. I finally realized I could replicate a frequency and send a message that might hopefully be received. But before I could send it my work was stolen."

She looked me deeply in the eyes. "Why? What's wrong?"

I stood up. "Nothing. I'm gonna get going." I walked to the door, and as I grabbed the handle, I turned around and called, "Thanks."

She looked at me and nodded. I slipped out the door. I sighed and began heading home. As I passed the building of the corporation that had caused all the trouble in my life, I noticed it felt strange to not have to worry about being spotted. I could just walk in public. I looked up at the building. I thought about how my world had ended up the way it did.

I looked down at my hand. I clenched it into a fist. No. I wasn't going to let this world turn out like mine. I had been to this building a couple dozen times. I practically knew the ins and outs of it. 

So I was going to get in there and do something stupid that I would never think to do, especially now that I didn't have pokemon abilities. 

Suicide mission? Check. It was still gonna turn out like a normal day.

---

I crawled through the vents, which isn't as fun or easy as they make it seem in the movies.

I couldn't help but make a little more noise than I probably should have, but if Pokemon weren't out in this world, hopefully I wouldn't have to deal with Lucario.

I opened a vent and looked inside. Thankfully I was close to the ground. I could see one guy standing outside the entrance to a camera room, which likely held some sort of map of the building. I had encountered these guys like 50 thousand times. I slipped in and popped up next to him. Evidently they didn't get a lot of activity in this world, because he was very incredibly surprised when he saw me.

"Hey there. I don't know how long you've worked here, but chances are you didn't know about-" I struck a hand into the back of his armor's neck area and flipped a quick switch that I had found on their suits. An electrical pulse ran through, knocking him unconscious. "This."

I slipped into the room. Only one man was in there sitting in a chair watching cameras. He shuffled a little when I came in. "Your shift over soon, Jerry?"

I shot him in the arm with what I REALLY hoped was just tranquilizer. Fortunately he stuttered a little before passing out and falling out of his seat. I checked his pulse, and it was normal, not rapid like the formula had been known to cause.

I sat down and studied the cameras and found everything I could to help me get to the data crux. I grabbed a few papers and the guy's vest and glasses. We looked surprisingly similar.

I walked down the halls, occasionally flashing the papers in the hopes people would buy them as an excuse for me to be walking around. I followed the path I planned and reached the room. Thankfully nobody was there. I found a tablet and connected it to the data crux. I suddenly realized that I knew nothing about data. Or computers.

I just started clicking through files. Eventually I found one that seemed very interesting. I accessed it, and an error occurred, asking me for a password. I groaned. There was no way I could crack this.

I recalled what Doc told me. I really doubted that bad guys could be this predictable. I clicked in 7 digits. 

A-L-L-I-S-O-N.

Doc's first name.

I got in.

I smiled and got what I needed on the tablet. Suddenly, two men came in. They seemed surprised to see me. "What are you doing in here? No one's on data duty."

I swallowed my absolute panic. "Hey guys, sudden bit of info I needed to get into the computer. No biggie."

They grabbed the papers out of my hand. "This is a request sheet for better scientist bathrooms."

I sighed. "You know, you're the first person who's bothered to look at that."

I ran out of the room, turning corners as quickly as possible. Pretty soon, I was getting close to a vent. I ducked under a desk and slid in, putting the cover back on behind me. I crawled out and got into an alley. I slowed my breathing. I was okay. I had actually done that and gotten out in one piece. I made my way back to Doc's house.

---

"Hey." I said to her as I came in.

"What are you doing back here?"

"Well, you just didn't seem right not working on something, so..." I pulled out the tablet. "I got you this."

She seemed pleasantly surprised at first, then angrily surprised. "Wait a minute. Did you break into a highly secure company and steal my data for me?"

I thought quickly through my options. "I...didn't get caught?"