Chapter 5: SCIENCE!

It was decided it would be two weeks before me actually meeting the team. Not because of any specific distrust, but to study and prepare me.

See, technically, I didn't exist. But you're smart enough to figure that out. So identification and such were important. Even if I was going to live in Mount Justice, I at least needed that for the future.

And then of course, there were my team and my items. Both of which, for many reasons, were of interest to the scientists of this world.

And last but not least, I had some heroes to meet, which was by far the best part.

The identification stuff was easy. I sat at a desk with a lawyer and a government official and answered a bunch of questions, mostly on where I was born on my Earth and such.

Then came the science stuff. For that, we went to STAR Labs Philadelphia, taking a Zeta tube to enter. Several scientist from both STAR Labs and WayneTech were selected for their expertise in various fields.

The whole thing was pretty cool. While my Pokemon couldn't go outside, they enjoyed being allowed to let loose and show off what they could really do.

In that time, I got my physical done, had an IQ test, and was scanned by dozens of people. While I had no powers of my own except for stunning good looks, they did the scans to see if the Pokemon were somehow extensions of my will, if I was warping reality and that's why they saw me as their leader.

Yeah, like Zapdos was a great listener. And bullshit if anyone could make Chesnaught or Chansey do anything they didn't want. And while Jirachi was adorable, damned if she didn't end up getting into trouble.

The tiny legendary, when surprised by a security guard who was apparently too dumb to respect the superpowered cutie and tried to pinch her cheeks painfully, Body Slammed a 350 pound man through drywall.

I gave her as much candy as I could for that, as the dude was a jerk. Jirachi had been terrified she would get in trouble, but the security footage showed the man had been dumb enough to mess with a being well capable of destroying the entire building.

Yeah, no one felt much pity for him after.

When they figured out I didn't really have powers, the scans began on my Pokemon, as well as the various tests on my technology and the objects I had.

In that time I got to know several of the scientists. While we never really became close, being that the whole program was built to be as brisk as possible to get all the information they were curious about, I got to know most of them. Except for one man, who had been obsessed with the idea of doing exploratory surgery on my Pokemon, and tried to petition to force me to let them.

I didn't break his jaw, but I damn well tried driving with my hip and punching like I wanted to go through him. He was off the project immediately. Whoever the fuck had put his on it in the first place got a serious reprimand.

The rest of the scientists were cool though, even if I kept trying to remember if they were famous in the comics or not. My Pokemon had a good time, and I ended up learning a lot about them.

PYJ

"How are we not affected by Heatran's body heat?" A young woman by the name of Karen Faulkner ("Call me Kitty!") asked me as Heatran purred under her hand. She was about a year older than me, with short clipped black hair and some sophisticated glasses. She was cute, and always kind to my Pokemon. Heatran in particular loved her. "We've done the tests. The magma that makes up her body should be incinerating this room. And yet, she just feels warm."

"I have no idea." I answered. "I think her skin actually acts as a containment suit, with her mind somewhere within her guiding the whole process." I patted her head, which got me a happy bark as Kitty giggled.

"Well, we at least know what the mind inside is like, don't we sweetie?" Kitty rubbed a spot just behind Heatran's mask and immediately got a purr that sounded like a gently flowing magma river.

How can a Pokemon that looks like Heatran be so cute? Now that's a good question.

PYJ

"How do Pokemon attacks work?" A black woman asked as she watched Jirachi slam her tiny form into a steel wall with a shattering boom of power using her Iron Head attack.

The woman was named Sarah Charles. She had a short afro with a streak of red in it, and was polite, if a bit distant.

"Is it psychological, your use of the names acting as a trigger to have them use the abilities? If so, how do wild Pokemon learn these moves without trainers of their own?" She frowned further.

"We've managed to pin down the specific energies each 'type' uses. But there are so many mysteries left."

"Some of the moves are in-born." I answered. "My Pokemon, being raised in captivity, have learned some techniques that aren't native to their biology."

"Wait, so that does that mean that they're DNA is being rewritten to use these moves? Is that why they can use moves outside of their types?"

"I have no idea."

PYJ

"What are the differences between Legendary Pokemon and others?" A balding man with a simple worksuit on asked as he worked at a machine that was measuring Zapdos' energy output.

"Legendary Pokemon often have higher physical and mental abilities than others." I answered as Zapdos preened its feathers imperiously. "Zapdos here has a higher capacity for storing and releasing electricity than most any Pokemon. Of course, with training, the right setup, and some smarts, any trainer can make their own Pokemon match the Legendaries."

"Why are they gifted with so much power?" He asked, trying to hold back his awe. Zapdos apparently matched some nuclear power plants in sheer energy output. "Are they genetically enhanced somehow?"

"At least two that I know of, but they're outliers." I answered, thinking of Mewtwo and Genesect. "As for the rest? There's a lot of legends why they are so powerful." I answered softly. "But most of it comes down to, 'because Arceus says so'. Past that, I don't want to get into it."

Especially considering the fact that would mean describing Arceus in full, something I was nervous about. Not a good idea to describe the Pokemon universe's ultimate trump card.

"At the end of the day, having a Legendary Pokemon is not as big a deal as you might think. Simply having a well-developed team that can work for you, that's the real treasure. I put so many on my team because they cover each other, no more, no less." I said calmly, trying to show the cool calculation of any good trainer.

"Well," I said with a grin I couldn't hold back as I watched Zapdos light up once more, letting a blast of thunder fill the room as other scientists stared in the background. "That and they're damn cool."

PYJ

"So originally Chesnaught had an ability called Bulletproof that protected him?" A middle-aged black man asked me. We were standing at a firing range as I nervously watched Chesnaught standing at the other end. The bearlike knight cracked his neck, bullets deformed from the impacts on his armor like skin surrounding him on the floor as he grinned, flashing his fangs.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if that's the case anymore." I scratched my neck. "A lot of the Pokemon's abilities are hard to prove without a Pokedex handy. Chesnaught is already hardened against powerful impacts, so proving he has an ability against bullets is hard. Zapdos' Pressure is supposed to fill the area with a powerful oppressive aura, but he does that on his own as is. Latias has Levitate, but that's as much a part of her psychic ability as anything, like how she envelops me in a telekinetic bubble to protect me in flight."

I sighed. "I thought Chesnaught's Bulletproof would be easy, but he treats blades and punches the same anything else."

My running theory is that this universe is somehow changing the make-up of my Pokemon, changing things like Chesnaught's massive defense stat into general invulnerability, and Heatran's Flash Fire into a biological function. I can't tell the scientists though, as it would require a serious explanation on game mechanics.

I'm sorely tempted to tell this specific man, who isn't technically a scientist, but I hold back.

"Thanks for helping out Mr. Irons. I know you didn't want to do this."

"No worries kid. This was fun, and your Pokemon are incredible. Besides, between Jirachi and the guys who used to hire me, I prefer the midget. I'm honestly glad Kala brought me in on this. I think I needed to be remember some good in this world, after the things I've seen."

"And please." The man said with a wide grin as he lifted up and loaded a futuristic assault rifle. "Call me John."

As he aimed the gun at Chesnaught, my partner roared in challenge.

PYJ

"This is actually easy to understand." A young woman by the name of Tina McGee explained with a smile as Chansey and Jirachi used their abilities to heal a cut we had made on a man's skin. Like Chesnaught's Bulletproof, I assumed their healing had been transformed by this reality, allowing them to heal humans as well as Pokemon.

Truthfully I had no idea, as the games didn't show much when it came to human hospitals, but it was a best guess.

"You see," Tina explained, a bright grin on her face. "Studies have proven that accelerated healing works by…"

The rest of it was spent nodding seriously as I tried desperately to follow what she was saying. But basically, both Chansey and Jirachi, as well as my other Pokemon to an extent, can heal or heal themselves by manipulating energy.

What was different was their methods. Chansey only accelerated the healing process and aided in its process, guiding it. Jirachi on the other hand did something closer to magic (They meant that literally by the way), completely reversing the entire incident, which made her harder to declassify.

Despite all this, and the wide range of things they could heal, such as broken bones, cuts, and bruises, their powers could not be widely distributed, making them of limited use to medical science, who prefer results that can be replicated with training and material objects over miracle workers.

I made a note to visit some hospitals in the future.

Chesnaught was just as for me to comprehend, as his Leech Seed and Drain Punch were connected to his physiology, with Leech Seed creating a short range 'bridge' of energy that intercepted the (don't know) of humans, and then transferred the (made up word) in order to heal him thanks to a series of sympathetic (yeah, not going to pronounce that). Drain Punch did the same thing, but only at the point of impact.

I have to say that while the scientists were learning all sorts of cool shit by studying my Pokemon, I was only understanding them in the broadest concepts.

PYJ

"It's more helpful than you think, having a non-scientist with us." A young black man said as he studied Slowbro. Latias was floating above me, watching as we stared at Slowbro.

He looked back at us, most of his body now encased in his Shellder. We were testing Mega-forms, and Latias was up next. He blinked happily at us from inside his shell sleeping bag, head poking out of his Shellder's mouth.

"Slowbro, slow."

The young black man waved a scanner over Slowbro as he measured the energy output. "For example, you have an innate understanding of these Pokemon. Half the questions we've gotten are based simply on you telling us what to look for. And you can never underestimate the importance of having someone who can look at the situation without getting bogged down with what is and isn't impossible."

"You guys deal with that often, huh?" I said sympathetically.

"Oh man, you have no idea. We still have trouble figuring out how Superman or other metas with super-strength can lift up buildings or ships without punching a hole in them, or having the objects fall apart under their own weight."

"Oh, that's tactile telekinesis." I said with a laugh. "You know, they surround it in a force field based on their touch, keeping it together so they can lift it without it tearing apart."

He stopped. He turned from Slowbro, staring at me in shock and amazement.

"…I'm just guessing?" I tried.

Just like that, I accidently accelerated a branch of metascience.

On the other hand, we still had no idea how, and why Mega Evolution worked, because telling them it was based on the power of 'friendship' put very close to the realm of magic.

Baby steps.

PYJ

"These things are impossible." John said, bouncing a Pokeball in his hand as he spoke. Next to him sat Kala Avasti, a friend of his with long black hair, a really beautiful woman. Seriously, every single one of these people were way too good looking. Scientists are not supposed to be supermodels.

No, I was not jealous. Shut up.

He pressed the button and released the sleeping form of Slowbro. When we chose to do test on Pokeballs, Slowbro was the only one to accept, as the others were too active to accept simply getting released and pulled back over and over.

Slowbro just accepted the nap. A zen soul indeed.

"The fact that they only work on Pokemon seems like a safety feature from your world, one we have yet to crack. However the closest thing we have to this sort of technology is the Zeta tubes, and all those do is create an Einstein-Rosen bridge."

"All they do?" Kala asked John with a little smile.

"You know what I mean." He replied with an easy grin. "The Pokeballs only superficially work on similar principles. My best guess is that they turn selected matter, that with the signature of Pokemon, into energy, and stores them in a permanent state of flux. You told us that they each have varying levels ability in catching different kinds, but without wild ones we can't exactly test that. We're still trying to crack the computer controlling them, but the software is elegant."

Kala looks at me. "You said that the software may have been developed with the help of AI?"

"Multiple AI most likely." I said, thinking of the Porygons and their use in the Pokemon universe.

"Explains why it's so hard to crack." John turned to the contents of my bag, which were now spread on the floor. "And then there's this stuff. Which, by the way, is impossible for this bag to hold without being bigger on the inside (Sqeeee). The bike alone, and the way it folds up combined with the lightness of its construction, makes it worth a look. And lets not even get into most of this other stuff, like these evolution stones, the food that heal all ailments, the random junk that makes your Pokémon's moves hit harder…"

"And then we have this." Kala turns and lifts up an object, one meant to be put on a head. "Exp Share. I've only seen something like this once, a creation by a young man I don't like much. It and the TM/HM's are able to download and transfer information, but unlike that young man, the information is permanent."

"Yeah, I might have to leave some stuff for you guys to study." I said with a sigh.

PYJ

"We still need to do more tests, and we're waiting on them to grow, but I have high hopes for the berries." A young blonde woman, a botanist, told me chirpily as we walked through a greenhouse. "We have a chemist looking at the potions you gave us, and it looks like they can be replicated using some of the berries! With enough time, we could replicate dozens of medicines!"

Yep. The berries and the various potions were the most valuable things I owned. They were things I owned that could be truly be replicated, could be used to help people. Enough time, enough work, and more people could be saved by them than anything else I owned.

Just call me the rainforest, because I… bring medicinal plants to people.

Okay, gonna work on quipping.

PYJ

After the week of SCIENCE, I finally got to meet the heroes. Specifically, Wonder Woman intro duced me to a few.

But before any of them, one in particular pulled me into a room, and said the most shocking thing I'd ever heard…

PYJ

"I'm sorry."

"Wait, what?"

I stared at the Batman. The Batman. The Batman. And he stood there, in the small room in a section of the Watchtower, where he'd pulled me into before I could even look outside.

"I am sorry. For the way I treated you when we first met. I acted irrational, and due to trauma in my own life, lost control of myself, tried to force you into a position where you would have been a prisoner simply because of my anger."

He looked down, face briefly filled with something shocking. Shame.

Oh my god.

"W-Why don't I have a camera phone?"

"Don't get used to it." He looks up and smirks. "I have an image to protect. As well you know. But I am sorry, and I wanted you to know I would make up for it. First, with this."

He turned, pulling a case off a desk. He opened it up, gesturing for me to look inside. I went over, and stopped, blinking.

"I heard about the stories you used to tell. About a legendary hero from your world, who was the first to tame creatures like Zapdos. I did my best to match your description, though I added my own tweaks." He smirked. "I imagine the original costume did not include Kevlar thread and carbon nanotube fibers. Theres a manual, to let you get used to it's features. While it won't make you invincible, it's a step above simply praying not to get hit."

I lift up the red jacket with short white sleeves. "This is… damn."

"Trainer Red." Batman says as I swing the red hat onto my head. "Makes for a good codename."