Pokemon Evolution: A fanfic for older Pokemon Fans

Chapter 40: Simulacrum

Author's Note: Despite being Chapter 40, the following events take place between Chapters 9 and 10. The reason as to why is explained after the chapter's end :)

Pokémon Evolution Chapter 40:

Simulacrum

Ryanne woke up with a start as Kyu's feelers shook her from sleep. Her last memory was dozing off at Kiawe's apartment, but to her surprise, she had awoke fully dressed on top of her made bed. "Kiawe must have brought us back after the dinner party," she rationalized to herself. "That was a lot of fun, celebrating our final trial, horrible pickup lines, filling up on Kiawe's spicy cooking, and..." realization set in. "The egg!!!" Ryanne shouted, receiving an eye roll from Kyu. The Intertwining Pokémon stood next to Ryanne's chair, turning her attention from her Trainer to the vibrantly glowing egg within the egg container. The texture and color of the egg's shell and the warm glow from within reminded Ryanne of the salt lamps she had occasionally seen in stores and restaurants. "Do you think they're ready?" she asked cautiously.

The Sylveon nodded enthusiastically, carefully lifting the glass lid off the egg container. Trainer and Pokémon watched in excitement as the shell of the egg evaporated, and the Pokémon within emerged. Light poured from the egg, shaping into a menagerie of chimeric limbs. Mammalian hind legs, avian front legs, an aquatic tail, and a head crest like a hatchet took form before the light settled. The chair the Pokémon precariously balanced on tipped slightly, sending to land on their feet. Counting the crest on its head, the beast before Ryanne stood almost a foot taller than her, but they stood at eye level with her.

"H-Hello." Ryanne whispered, her breath taken away by the newborn's tremendous size. "Welcome to the world, Silvally. My name is Ryanne, I'm your Trainer. This is Kyu, one of my partner Pokémon and my best friend." Kyu cooed a hello as Ryanne cautiously held out a friendly hand towards the quadrupedal creature.

The Silvally sniffed her hand before resting their mandible in her palm. With the Synthetic Pokémon's head this close to her, Ryanne could get a much closer look at the mechanical device that replaced their maxilla, resembling a metallic beak with a CD drive where the two halves of the jaw connected.

"So peculiar," Ryanne softly spoke. "The Aether Foundation's experiments are nothing like I've ever seen before. Astounding work!" The Silvally raised their head from her hand, beaming in pride to her compliment.

Digging out a booklet the Aether Foundation sent the day after receiving her egg, Ryanne began to read aloud. "Like the original three subjects of the 'Type:All' experiments, this 'Silvally Subject 4' (to be named by you) wields the RKS System, a hardware upgrade that enhances your Sivally with power that rivals many Mega Evolutions. To protect you, their Trainer, and themselves from harm, please equip your Silvally with the Control Mask included in this crate. While the weight of the restraining helmet will slow down your Silvally significantly and disables the use of their RKS System, this decrease in ability and agility will allow them to learn to control their natural strength. While unable to activate their RKS System, Type:All Subjects are referred to as 'Type:Null'."

Ryanne looked up from the brick of text to find both her Silvally and Sylveon expressing boredom. "Well, we certainly can't go around calling you 'Type:Null' until you're ready to come out of the helmet. You're a clone AND a chimera, so how about we call you... Simulacrum?" Kyu shook her head in disagreement. "Who asked you Kyu, I like it. But, let's call you 'Sim' for short?" To that suggestion, Kyu gave approval.

Heading downstairs, Ryanne excited introduced their new teammate to her other Pokémon. Most seemed either happy to meet the chimeric beast, or cautious to their size and unusual appearance. Dragging out the Aether Foundation crate from under the table, Ryanne extracted the over forty pound helmet. "Unfortunately everyone, 'Sim' will have to wear this protector for a little while, just until they are able to fully control their strength, but I'm sure you'll all get a chance to get to know each other fairly well before then." Attaching the Control Mask, Ryanne instantly noticed that the fur around her new companion's head and the membrane of their tail faded from the titanium white to a dull grey. Ryanne swallowed, hoping the weighted headgear wouldn't cause any permanent harm.

Over the next couple days, Kyu watched 'Sim' like a hawk, helping them with even menial tasks like climbing and descending stairs. Ryanne noticed that even with Kyu's help, 'Sim' struggled to eat, and the Synthetic Pokémon had trouble sleeping due to the weight and bulk to their control mask. At first the Trainer simply thought the 'Beast Killer' was having trouble adjusting, but she saw the discomfort they felt on a near constant basis. Kyu continued to assist Silvally, the Sylveon seemingly adopting the newcomer to their little family as one of her own. Even with all the attention Kyu gave 'Sim' though, it didn't seem to lessen the unease and pain Ryanne's Silvally felt within. After eight days since 'Sim' had hatched, Ryanne couldn't take anymore.

"I can't let you suffer anymore 'Sim'. We're taking that Control Mask off!" With the combined efforts of Ryanne, Kyu, Sherwood, Mettaton, and 'Sim' themselves, the Control Mask cracked open, releasing 'Sim' into the open air. Inhaling deeply, the color rapidly returned to Sim's fur and tail.

Ryanne exhaled in relief, only to be caught off guard when the Synthetic Pokémon's pale eyes began to glow green. "That color. Sherwood, you don't think it's 'that' again, do you?"

The Sceptile's brow furrowed, it was definitely 'that' strange condition again. The last time it appeared, Sherwood Mega Evolved before she was ready, but that occurred years ago.

"Val-eye!" Simulacrum roared, their mind caught in a haze. The chimera began to thrash about, knocking into walls, furniture, and even Ryanne and her Pokémon. Without needing order, Kyu used Heal Bell, the soothing melody calming the beast's outrage.

"Good thinking Kyu, but you and I both know that's only a temporary fix. I shouldn't have been so quick to remove the Control Mask. I know it was hindering 'Sim', but I couldn't stand the sight of our friend in pain. We'll have to train hard with Sim over the next couple days... maybe then we can get a handle on that rowdy condition."

The immediate danger over, Ryanne climbed the stairs of the small apartment to her room. On her nightstand awaited the her PokéNav Plus and a series of numbers scratched on a scrap of paper, the one she had received from Mallow the day before 'Sim' hatched.

"Has it been almost two weeks already?" she groaned. "I'm terrible!" Kyu pranced into the room, tilting her head in confusion to her Trainer's distress. "Kyu, can you babysit 'Sim' in a day or two? I need to take up Mallow on her offer for a date."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Author's Note(s?): Whoa, one of these at the END of a chapter? That's a new one for me. Anyway, thanks everyone for reading this latest chapter. I know this could technically be considered a "filler episode", especially considering the cliffhanger I ended Chapter 39 on, but I felt this was a good place to put it.

This chapter fulfills three things I've been wanting to do for a while: A) show the events that took place between Chapters 9 and 10. B) Gives more detail regarding the "green-eye condition" from Chapters 15 and 16, helping to better explain why Sim acted the way they do in Chapters 10 and 16. C) Showcases the interactions between Sim and Kyu. I realized that outside of that throw away line in Chapter 16, they hadn't really interacted much in the story. Given the events of Chapters 35-41, it felt like now was the right time to flesh out the relationship they had.

I know it's kind of lazy writing to retcon stuff like this, but at least I'm trying to make up for it now. Chapter 41 is the last chapter in this story arc, so hopefully all your waiting (assuming you are reading this series in real time, as I release new chapters), is worth it.