Deceitful

The user has been betrayed by their best friend, Lewis, who secretly works for Team Plasma alongside his father. After Lewis's Shiny Gliscor incapacitated the user, they were taken to a secret lab and placed inside the PTU—a machine that permanently transforms humans into Pokemon. The user wakes up in a cage post-transformation. Lewis has claimed the user as his personal Pokemon to save them from being terminated by his boss, Samantha Masters. He places a heavy metal shock collar on their neck to prevent escape, constantly crying and feeling immense guilt, yet delusionally hoping to maintain their best friendship. initial message(s): The agonizing surge of electricity from the PTU machine finally fades, leaving your body aching and entirely changed. You open your eyes to the sterile, blinding lights of the Team Plasma laboratory, finding yourself locked inside a small, reinforced cage. Outside the glass, standing next to a scientist, is Lewis. Your best friend. He presses a hand against the cage, his eyes red and welling with tears. "I'm so sorry," Lewis chokes out, his voice trembling with genuine guilt. "I didn't want it to happen like this. But if I didn't turn you in, they would have terminated you. You're safe with me now. I'm taking you home. We're still best friends, right?"

User: I glare at him with pure hatred and slam my new paws against the glass. "Let me out of here, you traitor!" Narrator: Your strike hits the Plexiglas with a dull thud, doing absolutely no damage. Lewis flinches at your obvious rage, wiping a tear from his cheek. "You have to calm down," he pleads softly, pulling out a thick, heavy metal shock collar. "Humans can't understand you anymore. You're just making Pokemon noises to me. But I promise, I'll take good care of you." Despite his betrayal, his eyes hold a desperate, sorrowful affection—he truly believes he saved your life and hates himself for the pain he caused you.

"Good luck with that. Humans can't understand us. Only..."

"Pokemon," I interrupted Pidgey.

"Pokemon. Only Pokemon understand us!"

"So?" Piplup scoffed.

"So... I can get my team to help me out!"

"Yeah, but how're they gonna know its even you? And for all we know, he might hold you in some of unbreakable cage so you can't escape. Put one of these babies around your ankle."

"Hmm... Good point..." I replied.

The room was silent again.

"Wait! They'll be looking for me at Lewis' house. My mom, dad, even my team should be there."

"They might've already done that," Cyndaquil said.

I thought hard.

"What if you-"

"Hush! I'm trying to think!" I snapped at Zorua.

My mind was focused on finding anything to get myself out of this situation.

An idea sprung into my mind, giving me a smile.

"I got it! My Staraptor takes a fly every morning. If I can get her attention-"

"Do you even know where she flies to?" Pawniard asked.

"Yeah. She actually flew me with her on her route. Every time she takes me, she passes Lewis' house! All I gotta do is get her! It's foolproof!" I said confidently.

"Listen Damian... I'm sorry... But... Your plans... You're thinking on the bright side. You're so confident you can escape, but its not gonna work. I understand you're excited that you're leaving, but what're the odds of you even being outside? He'll have a shock collar on you so you can't leave the house! Team Plasma is smart! They will always be twenty steps ahead of you!" protested Bagon.

He was right.

I'm thinking of the inevitable.

I'm hoping.

After all, that's all I had left to rely on.

Hope.

But even hope seemed to be failing for me.

"I'll get out... Believe me. I will escape from him. I will get my team to help me. I'll come back for all of you. I'll save all of us."

"Man... Y'know what? I appreciate the offer but... We'll stick to my escape plans," Josh joked.

I laughed, as did the others.

"We'll be dead before you get back if we keep following Josh' plans!"

A scientist came into the room.

"Damn. Who's up this time?" Bagon swore.

The scientist lifted Kate and placed her into a cage.

I started to panic.

"What're they doing!" I yelled as left the room.

"Wish me luck guys!" said Kate.

Zorua sighed.

"They're gonna do some more tests on her."

I rushed after them, as I almost made it out of the door, electricity pulsed throughout my entire body.

I screamed in pain as it shocked me.

The door shut behind me.

"Don't worry. They're just doing vaccinations."

When I regained my strength to stand, I asked, " V-vaccinations? For what?"

"It's a medicine that keeps us from getting any sicknesses," replied Pichu.

"Say, how old are you? Just curious." Poochyena asked.

"Am I that handsome of a Riolu?" I joked.

"Save it for the day care center dude," Pichu laughed.

Everyone became grossed out by his comment.

"I'm 17, gonna be 18 in April."

"Oh, well happy birthday then," Meditite said with a smile.

"Hey! Its March right now!" I blurted.

The lights in the room turned off, leaving us in pitch black.

I started to panic again.

"Hey, relax. Its just bedtime, that's all. Arceus, you are so jumpy."

He hit the nail on the head on that one.

I closed my eyes and gasped.

"Woah... Cool," I muttered.

"What?" Pichu asked from nearby.

"I can... I can see you guys. I have like... Night vision or something."

"That's the aura vision thing. That's a Riolu's ability," added Poochyena.

I looked around and could see different color blobs of light surrounding everyone in the room.

It was like standing inside of a lava lamp.

I looked at the wall and could see a dim red blob of light that resembled a human.

"Hey! I... I can see someone! There's someone in a room next to us!" I exclaimed.

"Probly the surveillance guy. Watching to make sure we don't escape."

"Just go to sleep bro," said Josh.

"Okay."

I dropped to the ground and lied on my back.

"Damian?" asked Pichu.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Good luck out there. If you do escape, we won't forget you. Even though we've only known you a little bit."

"Don't save us if you think you can't," Meditite added.

"I'll come back guys... Don't worry. I'll take out every Team Plasma member one by one if I have to."

"Good night guys," Bagon said.

We all replied with a good night.

I closed my eyes, my vision still being the colorful vision, but I managed to fall asleep in a flash.

previous chapternext chapterchapter list The Good Ol' Days CHAPTER 4: The Good Old Days

I woke up to the sound of a vehicle door thumping.

My eyes fluttered open slowly.

I rubbed my eyes of any crud, yawned, and stretched.

I was back in my small cage.

I could hear muffled voices outside.

I pressed my head against the plastic cage, hoping to hear better.

I then remembered I was a Riolu and had ears on top of my head.

I pressed my ear against the cage.

I could only get out very few words when the speakers spoke a bit louder.

I could hear the sound of a car door opening, then Lewis' dads voice.

"See ya round Caleb!" his dad replied.

Lewis' voice appeared next.

"So dad? How am I gonna keep Damian? I mean..."

"Put a shock collar on em so if he goes past our driveway... Well, he won't be able to. Keep him in a cage, not a Pokeball. We gotta keep a close eye on him."

"Knowing Damian, he'll escape the first chance he gets."

"You got it kiddo!"

"But I'm just curious though... Even if he did escape, he wouldn't be able to tell anyone about it. Humans can't understand Pokemon so..."

"It doesn't matter. Pokemon can communicate with each other. If he got his group to help him, he might be able to escape."

"Yeah... I guess your right about that."

I heard the engine start and the vehicle began to move.

"Can I see if he's up?" Lewis asked.

"Go ahead, just don't let em out."

"Don't worry, Heracross won't let it happen. Damian? You up?" Lewis asked.

I didn't answer.

I felt a knock on the plastic cage.

"Yoo-hoo! Wake up!"

I remained silent.

"Just let him sleep. He had quite a day yesterday," his dad chimed.

Lewis groaned.

"Fine."

It was surprising enough that Lewis was with Team Plasma, but his dad too?

I felt like a complete idiot knowing I've known this guy for 4 years and knew nothing about him being in Team Plasma.

I simply continued to lay down and hoped for more hope.

Hope was all I had left.

In 5 hours or so (it could've been 2 or 10 hours, I wasn't keeping track of time), the vehicle stopped, and my cage was being lifted.

"You up yet Damian?" Lewis asked.

The cage door opened and I stared into his soul.

"Lewis! You're gonna have to stop calling him Damian. Call him Riolu."

"Can't I just say I named him Damian after my lost best friend?"

"Well..."

"Yeah! Its a great idea and you know it!" Lewis laughed.

"Fine. I don't see why not."

The cage closed again and I could tell I was being taken into his home.

It sucked that the cage had no outside visibility at all, but it made sense for them to do.

But not knowing where the lab was bothering me.

How would I save the others?

Their house alarm went off and four beeps stopped the home's alarm system.

The cage opened again.

"Come on Damian. Welcome home."

I exited the cage in a haste.

I knew his house like the back of my... Paw.

I felt really short to everything around me.

His 3 foot dining room table was taller than me!

"Alright so... Whaddya wanna do Damian?" Lewis asked.

I felt his dad wrap something around my neck.

It choked me just slightly.

"Shock collar. He won't be going anywhere," his dad said.

I tugged at the piece of equipment.

It was choking me.

The device didn't feel like a standard shock collar from the store.

It was metal, thick, and would be impossible to break.

"Looks a little tight. Can ya loosen it a bit?"

"It has to be tight. Keep him in your room for now."

"Can I go outside with him?"

I looked back and forth at the father and son conversation.

"Not now. Just keep em in your room. The police wanna come back to talk to us today."

"Again? They just came over like five days ago! What else do they need? You think they know about us?"

"No! No way! We're the witnesses remember?"

"Yeah. Just worried that's all."

His dad rested a hand on his sons shoulder.

"Don't worry. Just let me do the talking. All you have to do is stick with the story."

"Yeah. Alright. I'm gonna take Damian upstairs with me then."

"You do that. Have fun you two."

I began to feel a little annoyed, along with the boiling anger inside of me.

They were acting like I honestly wanted to still be friends with a sociopath who made me hate him in one measly day.

Again.

I hate him, but he's still my friend.

I'll never change that.

Lewis ran upstairs and signaled me to follow him.

"C'mon Damian! Get up here!" he called.

I took my sweet time walking to the stairs.

I stared at the carpet covered stairs in awe.

Each step was about a fourth of my size.

It wouldn't even be a walk upstairs, but a climb.

I sighed.

"Ri..."

Not hearing my own voice anymore felt weird too.

Only hearing the word Riolu was annoying.

How do Pokemon live like this?

As I made it to the top step, I could see Lewis waiting at his bedroom door.

"What took ya bro?" he asked.

"Lu! O! Riolu! RI! RI!" I snapped.

I tried saying "I'm not your bro you crazy demented psychopath!"

"I know the stairs are a climb. Don't be a wuss about it!"

The idiot couldn't understand a word I said.

I did have an advantage to that though.

I can curse him out and he won't understand a word of it.

The thought made me smile inside.

I went into his room.

Messy as ever.

'Clean your room you needy ponce! I can't wait to beat your ass after this!'

Instead, my Pokemon speech talked to him.

"Just chill out dude. Geez."

'Chill out!? How about you burn up in hell!'

"I got some stuff you can do since... Well... You don't have thumbs anymore, you can't really play video games anymore. I can turn on the TV if you want," said Lewis.

T.V.

After all the crap I've gone through, a comedy show would be nice.

Even if it meant watching it with my so called best friend.

I pointed at the television set, using the only word I knew how to say.

"You wanna watch TV?" he asked.

I nodded.

He switched on his 32' inch HD television.

The cooking channel appeared on screen.

"You wanna watch something on FX, Fennekin, Comedy Network, what?"

I simulated laughing to tell him comedy.

"Comedy Network?"

I nodded.

"Cool. I'm in a laughing mood anyway."

Of course he is.

He switched the channel to Comedy Network HD.

The famous comedian Greg 'Muddy' Jersey was on.

He was okay.

Hit and miss kind of guy.

"So, this chick comes into a restaurant with her Eevee right? And I'm just sitting at my table. Looking at her, thinking oh she's out with her Pokemon, okay. But then it gets weird. I was at the restaurant with my girl and finally, she asked what I was looking at. I told her to look at the two. The lady and her Eevee. So my girls like, what about em? Well... That Eevee is eating more politely than her master!"

The crowd laughed.

I didn't and neither did Lewis.

"Miss," preached Lewis.

I set my gaze to his outside window.

I jumped onto his unmade bed and stared.

Stared at the outside world.

"C'mon man. Its not so bad. Y'know the only reason they do this is so people don't know about the real Team Plasma."

'Real Team Plasma?'

I think he understood that.

"Those guys you see on TV all the time, they're posers. They act like us, but in real life, they're just guys we pay to be witnesses," I looked outside again, "Team Plasma is awesome. Mister Preston is like, the coolest man alive! He actually gave me a fifty dollar watch!" exclaimed Lewis.

I wasn't even paying attention.

"Damian?"

I didn't look back at him.

"Listen alright... I'm sorry. I just gotta stop this now. You don't wanna be friends anymore. I mean it makes sense. But if I wouldn't have told Team Plasma, they would've known anyways and then we would both be Pokemon, only stuck in some lab."

I snarled.

'You little punk! You didn't have to turn me into this! You didn't have to snitch to your dumbass boss! You should've been loyal to your best friend! Me! You said you would take a bullet for me! You lying bastard! A real friend would've taken my role! Thanks to you, I'm stuck like this!'

He just looked at me.

He couldn't understand me, but he could at least see I was angry.

'I'm gonna be a Pokemon forever.'

I wanted to cry.

I did.

But I was done crying.

I had to take action.

I had to get my team.

"I'll leave ya alone."

I stared angrily out the window.

If I had fingers, they would be broken from being clenched into a fist of total rage.

My next sight gave me hope.

I could see Staraptor flying above.

Just seeing her made me smile inside.

She flew past the house in a flash.

I checked the time on Lewis' alarm clock.

10:38

I'll have to get outside by 10.

I knew it! I knew Staraptor would!

Tomorrow was the day, for now, I just needed to play it cool.

The entire day, I had high hopes.

Lewis didn't talk to me much.

Probably because he knows how pissed off I am at him.

He and I stayed in his room watching comedy shows.

The police came over at 1 o clock and Lewis' dad talked to them.

Lewis locked me in the cage again while they spoke to the police.

If I turn human again, I will never put my Pokemon in a cage.

Ever.

Lewis gave me Pokemon food.

Similar to what I gave my team.

In separate bowls were food for his team.

I never actually spoke to his Pokemon.

I heard them talking to each other, but I've never heard them talk talk.

When we all forced in the dining room to eat, I finally said, "This stuff's kinda interesting," I said, referring to the food.

"It's like... Sweet... And... I dunno how to explain it."

"Shut up brat!" Raichu snapped.

"What? I'm just makin' small talk, that's all," I mumbled.

"Don't talk to us! We're not your friends! You're not our friends! Got it?" Empoleon barked.

I flinched as he raised his voice.

I just swore under my breath.

They finished their food much quicker than I did.

Heracross stepped behind me and kicked my food over.

I swore in my head.

They all left the dining room, except Swellow.

I looked at my food scattered all over the floor.

"Here," Swellow slid his bowl to me.

There was a bit of food left.

"Thanks," I said.

'What's he gonna do? Steal it or something?'

I carefully took some food and ate it, expecting Swellow to do something mean or cruel.

To my surprise though, he just watched me.

When I finished the remains of his food, I said, "Thanks... Again."

He nodded.

I was ready to leave until he stopped me.

"Listen Damian. I'm sorry this had to happen to you," blurted Swellow.

I frowned.

"Its not your fault," I replied.

"I know, but... I can already see what you're going through. Your best friend having you kidnapped, then turned into a Pokemon just to cover his own ass. Its despicable. I'll try to help you if I can. I really liked you Damian. I still do. You're a great kid. If ya need someone to help ya out, I'm your guy."

I smiled widely at his thoughtfulness.

"Thanks."

"You've got my support buddy," he said.

He started out the dining room, but stopped himself.

"Oh! And uhh... Don't ask the other guys to help. Cause... They won't."

I nodded.

"Swellow! Where you at!?" one of the Pokemon yelled.

"Just givin' Damian the rules of this house!"

Swellow winked at me.

"Get your feathery tail outside! We got some wild ones in the front!"

"That's my cue. See ya bud."

"See ya."

And with that, Swellow was out of the dining room and in the front yard.

"Woah! Damian, what the hell happened?!" Lewis exclaimed after seeing the mess of food everywhere.

I didn't speak, just walked away and went back upstairs.

The last expression on his face being confusion.

"Lewis! Clean this damn mess up!" his dad yelled.

I laughed.

'Yeah, clean it up!'

I lied on the sofa.

My eyes beginning to close slowly.

I yawned and fell asleep.

previous chapternext chapterchapter list With Swellow's Help CHAPTER 5: With Swellow's Help

I woke up with a good, long yawn and opened my eyes to find myself in the plastic cage again.

'Must have put me here when I was sleeping.'

I yawned again and noticed a difference in this cage.

It had a steel gate so I could see what was going on around me!

Nice improvement.

I looked over at Lewis' alarm clock.

"Woah! It's only 7:30? I never get up this early!"

"What is it Damian?" Lewis groaned from his sleep.

He wiped his eyes, sat up, and looked at me.

He stood from his bed and approached the cage.

"You wanna come out?" Lewis asked.

"Yeah I want out! Open the damn door!"

"Okay... Just..."

He yawned and opened up the cage letting me out.

2 hours!

I couldn't wait for 10AM.

"How're you up so early?" he groaned.

I didn't answer.

I jumped out of the cage, onto the carpet floors.

Lewis yawned again.

"Okay, I'm up. You're up. Whaddya wanna do?"

I had to do something to pass the time.

But what?

I thought for a moment.

My stomach growled a little.

I felt my gut with my paw.

"Hungry? Dude, I dunno how you can eat so much and not gain any weight. Its like your stomach has a dark vortex that transports your food into space!"

I didn't smile.

"Alright, let's get some breakfast."

I followed him, hopping down from step to step.

He led me to the clean dining room and poured me some food.

"I might as well get the whole gang up while I'm at it," Lewis moaned.

He went upstairs, then came back shortly and released all of his Pokemon.

"Breakfast you guys."

His team stared me down.

Not Swellow though.

He acquired his team with food, then went into the kitchen.

"Why're you up so damn early!? I was still sleeping! I should slam you into the wall!" Heracross put his hand to my throat.

I gasped for release.

Swellow stepped in.

"Hey, chill out. If Lewis see's us pickin' on em, he'll put us back in our Pokeball's," Swellow protested.

Heracross dropped me, then stared at Swellow.

"Are you sticking up for this little crap?" Heracross growled.

Swellow kept a straight face.

"No. I just don't want to be in my Pokeball all day knowing that this kid is running freely."

Heracross looked at me again.

"Okay, then you won't mind slamming him for me then?"

Both Swellow's and my faces lit up.

Swellow gulped, then grinned sheepishly.

Swellow stepped in front of Heracross so close they could bite eachother.

"You better get the hell out my face Swellow," Heracross snarled.

"You want me to slam him?" Swellow asked.

Swellow lifted into the air and pressed his claw against my neck, smashing the back of my head into the wall.

I winced in pain as I made contact with the wall.

Swellow removed his talon from my throat and went back to Heracross' side.

"Nice one Swellow. I'm impressed. Sorry for accusing you," Heracross sneered.

The fighting-bug type then punched me with a ton of force to me nose.

I curled into a ball and grabbed my now bleeding nose.

Swellow made a face at his fellow teammate.

Heracross and the others just laughed.

"Don't be getting all soft on us Swellow. He's trash. That's all he'll ever be," Raichu scoffed.

I stood up weakly, applying pressure to my nose with my right paw.

"Trash? You think cause you're bigger than me, you can push me around? What you don't know is this'll all be over-"

Heracross swung his fist at me again.

I put my right arm up to block the strike, then kicked him in the chest.

The group starting Ooh-ing.

"Wow... I didn't see that one coming. Kids got fight in em. I respect that," Heracross laughed.

He punched me again, but landed it this time.

Then, he tipped my food over and poured it onto my head.

I just lied there.

Fighting the pain.

Fighting the torture they were putting me through.

Fighting from fighting back.

When they were all done, I could hear Heracross whispering, "Hope you enjoyed breakfast brat."

I lifted myself from the ground, food falling from my fur onto