A/N: UPDATED: Seeing as how Chapter 10 is out, I decided that these first few chaps went long enough without a few polishing edits! Hopefully these amend a few silly literary woes that I made throughout the story. Don't worry too much, I just fixed a few spelling/grammar mess-ups and changed bits of the dialogue and so on (but nothing that alters the story much). For all new readers, I encourage ye all to read on, and review!

THE POKéMON PROJECT

~ A Pokémon Fanfic By: TheAuthorGl1m0 ~

To my dear cousin Wendel,

How are you? To me, it seemed like forever since we've last been in contact. Even though it has been only been a few weeks in reality... Time flies, I guess. So much stuff has been going on with me lately, and I'm pretty sure—knowing how inquisitive you are—you've been on top of it.

I already explained in my last letter what happened to me, and to answer the question in your reply, it's not as bad as it may seem. Sure, it's harder to do things I could do normally when I was human, but to be perfectly honest, I don't miss many of them. Especially school. Bleck. Sorry if I'm rubbing that in your face, I know you're still in high school and all, heh.

Anyway, I must admit that all this recent attention over that 'incident' earlier is kinda getting to me. What, with nearly every Joe on the block recognizing me instantly and drawing even more attention to me. They're calling me a hero and stuff! Not that I don't like it, mind; I really do like being recognized for doing something good. Me and Lily are going great, and the dealio with Brian is better than me and my new brothers and sisters could ever hope for!

I'm glad to get out of that stuffy facility (for good this time) and trade for a nice, warm, proper house. Isn't that weird, I'm not even human anymore and yet I still want to live in a human house! I do miss the old place though... I met all my friends and whoever else there, and it's also where I...you know...

Well, anyway, I should wrap this up by saying: "Don't burn anything down! ...Unless you have water handy." Worked for me so many times...especially with Samantha always going and igniting some random thing on a regular basis, and with me and Mary having to always deal with it. Worse? We're moving into a wooden house! Wish us luck!

Your distant cousin,

Maxwell

6 WEEKS EARLIER...

My name is Maxwell. No last name, just Maxwell. Always has been. People call me 'Max' as well, if they're too lazy to say my full name. In case you didn't know, I'm an orphan. I never remember having any parents, but these people here say that my real parents were killed years ago in a nasty car crash soon after I was born. Not that it really matters now anyway...

All I can remember of my life is living at this orphanage, with pretty much zero friends and relatives. ...Well, except for my distant cousin, Wendel. I write to him as often as I can, so we like to stay in touch with each other on a regular basis. It helps make me a little less lonely I guess. I know he's several years older than me (I'm 12, he's 16), but I like talking to him through mail. He actually stoops to my level to be 'buddies', and I suppose that's the best I can hope for in this life o' mine.

So, I sound like a pretty decent kid, right? Well, truthfully, I'm not quite so kind. I don't really like any of the other kids here at the orphanage. They like to pick on me a lot, but I'm not really sure why. Maybe because I'm skinny? Or perhaps I act a bit sappy sometimes? Regardless, they don't like me, and I don't like them back. I'm a bit of a recluse you see. I don't "socialize" very well.

Even so, there was this one time when a friendlier-than-usual kid approached me and asked if I wanted to be friends with him. Ordinarily, I would've said "Yes", but I had just come out of a verbal beat-down with some of the other kids, so I wasn't in a very pleasant mood. I told him to go away and leave me alone, then I ran from him. Admittedly, I felt really bad about that incident. That kid only wanted a friend, so why couldn't I just have the proper reasoning to say yes to him? I blamed myself, but I mostly blamed those mean kids for being that way in the first place. Afterward I made up to that kid somewhat by apologizing and explaining my 'mood'. He seemed okay with it, and we hung out for a while until he was adopted a few weeks later. I sometimes wonder how he's doing nowadays...

Er, anyway, back to my point. Nothing a whole lot has happened to me in terms of importance or greatness, but then again, not a whole lot of people end up like that. I'm just a simple, normal, totally human boy. I guess the world just doesn't care about people like me. Oh well, I'm not anything special.

...Not yet, anyway.

Wednesday, June 9 – Genta City Orphanage – Room 213

'Well, another day, another dime,' I thought as I rose from my bed, weary from the previous night's activity. Last night, I had attended a small show in the orphanage's theater. It was a rather boring play written by some playwright from the 16th or 17th century or something, but it actually had a really tragic story.

It was called Romeo and Juliet. I've heard from loose talk that it's some kind of romantic play of the limits of true love and whatever else. I honestly didn't care for it, but they made us watch it anyway. But once I got to see it...well, it was a bit more than just a love story. It's about how the title characters, Romeo and Juliet, both fall in love with each other even though they were of rival families. That didn't stop them, since they got married in secret, but some bad things happened as a result of it. At the end—sorry if I'm spoiling this for you, but apparently everyone already knows so what is there to spoil?—both Romeo and Juliet die (having killed themselves), and their families finally end a seemingly eternal feud by making up at last. Huh. It took the deaths of their son and daughter (one from each family), to finally end a pointless fight like that. Not even considering the numerous others that died fighting each other, too.

In retrospect, it was kinda stupid, but it did make me realize that...not every story has to have a happy ending. That made me start to think about myself more than anyone. Selfish? Maybe. But if you were in my position, then you'd have done the same thing. I thought about my happy ending... My dreams of doing...something meaningful... But... this old play made me realize that, contrary to most movies and books, not every dream was meant to be. I know this sounds sad, but it's reality. Does this means my hopeful future shouldn't happen...? Argh... So many contradictions...

After getting out of bed and stretching my tired limbs, I went to the nearby dresser and slipped on my favorite clothing. It must have been laundry night last night, as the shirt, socks and pants felt clean and fresh. Laundry is usually twice a week, depending how lazy the caretaker lady decides to be. I can't blame her, I mean, who really wants to clean a bunch of soiled underwear that belongs to a bunch of kids? You wouldn't catch me dead doing that. I wonder how much money she makes for having to put up with that...

My usual routine consists of mostly hanging around my room and not doing much else, since I prefer staying away from those mean kids. Occasionally though, one or two of them would come by the door to hassle me. Fortunately, there is supposed to be some kind of sports thing going on in the field right about now, so that pretty much guaranteed my freedom for most of the day.

Bored, I strolled around my room, before finally picking up a book on the shelf, which was hung (semi)lovingly near the bed. Titled "Evolution of Man", it explained a lot of details about how the human race came to be, and (supposedly) how smart it was and is. I swear, if the guy who wrote this ever saw some of the guys I know in action, then he'll have to completely rewrite this book. Still, it was very intriguing to me to learn about the science of this kind of thing... Genetics and all that. I bet I know more than anyone else in my Grade 7 science class would learn in university...

...Okay, that's kind of stretching it, but you know what I mean.

Still feeling rather tired, and with the desire for breakfast very faint (perhaps even non-existent), I lay back down in bed, hoping to fall asleep and be left alone for a while. Sadly, that wish was quashed minutes later by a knock at my room door.

"Maxwell! Maxwell! Are you awake yet?" a voice said, making me jump from my moment of dozing. "You have a visitor! Open up please!"

Somehow, I wanted to ignore this, but the talk of "visitor"—code word for "adopter"—made me get up and open the door. Standing behind the door was both a women and a man. The woman is the "House-Mother" here at the orphanage, an old, frail, yet calm and polite woman with graying hair, slightly short and plump figure, and those faded brown eyes of hers mostly hidden behind a pair of thick glasses.

The man was a person I had never seen before. He was a tall (about 6 foot something), middle-aged man with slightly ruffled brown hair, green eyes, and also wearing glasses, though they weren't quite as thick as the older woman's pair. The man wore a blank white coat, almost like... a lab coat? Just looking at him, he seemed to fit the profile of a typical scientist... though, he didn't seem as cold or unfeeling as most typically are. He looked rather calm and content, and when our eyes met he even held out his hand in greeting.

"Good to meet you, Max!" the 'scientist' said rather cheerfully. "My name is Brian. I work at PokéGene Inc., that's the place where—"

"Where they work on DNA and other medical stuff... I've heard about that place, actually," I said, finishing his sentence.

Oddly enough, Brian didn't seem mad about me interrupting him. In fact, he seemed rather pleased. "Well now! You're quite educated aren't you? I like that! It shows much promise."

I stared at him blankly, unsure why he was here to see me. "Ummm... thanks? Nice to meet you...uh...Brian," I said, taking his hand somewhat hesitantly and shaking it.

The House-Mom (let's just called her 'Mother', to keep it simple, even though she clearly isn't my real one) decided now was the time to speak up. "Good morning, Maxwell. Are you doing okay today?" she asked in her usual warm, motherly tone.

"F-fine, thanks," I replied, still looking at Brian. "Uh...why are you here, Brian? And how do you know me?"

Brian chuckled. "The House-Mother has told me all about you, Max," he said. "She told me of your history, life, and other relevant information. I'm very interested in your case."

I was starting to feel a bit nervous. Interested in my case? What's that supposed to mean? Why would a scientist...?

"As for why I'm here," Brian continued, "it's because...well... Mother, could you leave me and Maxwell alone for a minute? I just want to talk to talk to him one-on-one, if you don't mind."

"Oh, I understand completely sir," Mother replied. "I'll just be outside, call me when you are done, yes?"

Brian nodded and the Mother left the room, shutting the door behind her. Me and the scientist were now alone, which made me feel quite uneasy. Brian sat down on a nearby chair, and I sat on my bed, so we were face-to-face.

Personally, I hate confrontations like this, especially if it's about bad news. But the scientist didn't seem downtrodden at all, he actually seemed quite at ease. He removed his glasses, took out a handkerchief, then began cleaning the lens before putting them back on. Brian cleared his throat and began at last.

"So, you have...no family?" he asked, still smiling but his tone quite serious.

I gave him a strange look. "Ummm...? Yeah? That's why I'm an orphan, right? I do...uh...I have a distant cousin, but he lives way far away..."

"I see then. Just wanted to make sure," Brian said, then he started looking through some documents he was holding. I did not care to see what they were, as I thought it had little to do with me.

I scanned the room nervously for a bit while Brian seemed to gather his thoughts. Then without thinking much, I suddenly asked, "What is this about? Why the heck did a scientist like you come here looking for me?"

The scientist's smile slowly faded. "You see... I have a unique proposition for you... But, if you're not interested in my ideals then we will find someone else." He looked back up at me. "You may find this offer startling...maybe even surreal...but I won't lie about anything to you here."

"You...I...what?" I asked, confused. "What do you mean by a 'unique proposition'?"

Brian quietly chuckled, almost as if amused. "Yes, it is indeed. But before I tell you that, I must tell you what we are undergoing at PokéGene Inc. Is that alright? I'll be brief."

"That's...fine, I guess. Just be sure to tell me what's what at the end, okay?"

"Agreed." The scientist cleared his throat and began. "Now then... Ahem... At the PokéGene labs, we have been striving to remove the barrier between Pokémon and Human, both psychologically...and physically. We believe that by doing so, we can learn more about ourselves and someday achieve a great medical breakthrough."

"And...what is that supposed to mean...?" I inquired, starting to catch on to what he was saying, and a feeling of dread slowly rose inside me.

"I was just getting to that. Our initial experiments consisted of simply mixing human and Pokémon DNA, but the results were...so to say...mixed. Heh. Some succeeded and continue to live on today, while others...went the way of the Bastiodon. That is to say, died out."

My mouth dropped open. "Wait...you merged Pokémon...and human...together? Y-you can't be serious..."

"I already said I wasn't going to lie to you. I'm dead serious," Brian said, adjusting his glasses so that they briefly shimmered creepily. "Now then, after the ill-fated 'PokéHybrid' trials, we turned our gaze to inducing complete Pokémon metamorphoses. Much more complicated process, yes...but highly efficient. I have managed to produce a working formula, dubbed CPT-019, that has achieved what we were hoping for. And with the by-products of this technology going to medical research, we could potentially learn something about Pokémon anatomy and function, create more advanced formulas, or even at long last cure incurable diseases such as Cancer and AIDS... Well, truthfully, we've yet to produce such a result, but our CPT formula has smoothed over very well so far. Five others, much like yourself in age and background, have already volunteered for the program. This program...is known as Project Pokémon. I am here to ask you: Are you willing to participate as well?"

I said nothing. Most sane people would've spat a big, fat, NO on the spot, but it was safe to say I wasn't normal. I considered this proposition with actual interest. If what I am hearing and assuming is right, they are wondering if I want to willingly become a...Pokémon? What should I say? I could refuse, but then what would I do with my life? Live a boring, non-purposeful existence? Like heck I would.

...But then again, becoming a Pokémon is a one-way journey, I'm assuming, so there would likely be no going back from it. Human interaction (as in talking) would be pretty much knocked down to zero, that's for sure. But it's not like I have anyone to interact with anyway...

Brian looked at me expectantly, but when I responded with nothing more than a totally flabbergasted expression he sighed. "I understand that this proposition is rather shocking, yes, but I must explain my case."

"You...you do that," I said almost mechanically, feeling weirdly hollow from shock.

"Very well... A-hem... We are fully aware that this project may not appeal to some...but, in the name of science, it must be done. Please bear with me, this whole operation is barely legal as it is. We've had to wait for FDA approval on the latest batch of formula for a whole of several months. We've been asking around child orphanages lately—"

"Hold up," I interrupted. "Why just...kids? Why can't you use grown-ups or whoever?"

Brian adjusted his glasses again, coughing a bit. "Yes, well, you see, children and adolescents are more responsive to our CPT formula than adults are. I could explain the science behind it, but you're just a kid, Max, so I can't really expect you to know that." He arched an eyebrow and smiled. "...Or could I? I have looked at your file you know..."

I shrugged, the shock of Brian's proposal starting to wear off...kinda. "I probably would, but...well, you don't need to explain it, it doesn't really matter to me," I told him, then I bit my lip. "...Um, does it?"

"Well, in hindsight, not really. I'll just say it has something to do with still-developing bodies, less-complicated cell structure, and easier 'molds' to work with...so that should give you an idea."

...Actually, it doesn't. Well, not an idea that sounds very nice, mind you...

"Anyway, as I was saying, we've been asking around orphanages to find potential volunteers. We don't just randomly ask, we do a lot of research on potential subjects, like I've done with you."

Curious, I decided to ask, "What have you found out?" I know this question may seem a little dumb, or perhaps unnecessary, but I had to be sure.

The scientist smiled a tiny bit. "Well, a lot of things. I know about your habits, your life here at the orphanage, your parents—sorry that you never got to know them, my condolences—and your little, shall we say, social troubles?"

I winced at this. When those mean kids would pick on me, it was usually (if not always) embarrassing. I would rather those memories have a lid on them at all times, but knowing it was on record stung me a little bit. Which begged the question, "How did anyone find out about that?"

"A little bit of sleuthing," Brian said with a little wink. Odd, this man never would've struck me as the nosy type. "And some 'connections', if you catch my drift," he continued. Odder still, he even seemed a little bit shady...

"I...think I do," I said slowly, staring at the scientist with a look that screamed, 'What the heck?'

Brian laughed—laughed, for God's sake—and adjusted his glasses once again before switching back to his 'serious' look. "Okay, jokes aside, I really need to know. Would you rather come with me and join history in the making...or do you want to stay here, be ignored, and left to a potentially bleak future? ...It doesn't matter what you decide, I won't force you. No pressure, or anything. This is a free country after all."

Holy crap. If this was a joke, I was buying it one hundred and ten percent. What do I do? ...Alright, pros and cons time. Pros: I get to be a Pokémon, and I get to escape from this place—and those kids. Cons: ...Well, I suppose it'll vary depending on exactly which Pokémon they make me into. Do I at least have a say in that?

"Umm, do I get to choose which Pokémon? You know...to...become?" I asked, somewhat afraid of asking this.

Brian suddenly seemed to brighten up, possibly thinking I was going to accept his offer. "Of course you will! Granted, they will be a few restrictions, such as availability and complexity and such. For example, we can only induce a transformation into a base-level form of a Pokémon—anything higher on the evolutionary scale aren't compatible. And only certain kinds can be done. For now, at least. And another thing to note is that there's no going back from a CPT procedure. Given the nature of the formula, it is possible to use it to change back... But, the genetic and molecular structure in your body would be unable to handle that stress, and you'll more than likely not...well, y'know. I'll explain it all in more detail later, if you're still interested of course."

I thought about the subject intensely. Those restrictions seemed pretty reasonable to me, as it only makes sense, but the fact that there's no turning back from such a change was a little disturbing. But...that's just me being paranoid again. It certainly couldn't be worse though, right? Brian was eying me expectantly, and so the pressure was turned on high, and building.

I stared the man straight in the eye and took a deep breath. Praying silently this was the right thing to do, I finally answered his question. "...S-Sure, I'll do it." Here goes nothing...

"Y-You will? Great! You have my thanks, Maxwell," Brian said, rather overjoyed at his success, but still somehow managed to keep his composure. "I will go ahead and make the necessary release forms, then we'll go to the facility at once. I would suggest getting your things together while I go talk over things with the Mother. I'll be sure to tell you everything there is to know later. See you in a bit, then!"

He left out the door, and met with Mother outside in the halls. I paid no attention to their chatter, and instead began rummaging around my room, getting whatever junk I had and tossing it into a little bag. Truthfully, I had very little possessions of worth to my name. All I had was a small, teardrop-shaped silver charm, a tiny blue baseball cap (I had it since I was three, couldn't let go of it...), a couple of books (including "Evolution Of Man", which I elaborated on earlier), and a broken PokéGear (I never can take care of things like that...).

Once my things were stuffed away (I also managed to sneak a couple of my favorite blankets in the bag, thank goodness no one noticed), I took a final look at my "home" of twelve years, then went into the hallway...only to find that no one was there anymore.

I figured that they had gone down to the office, where all the paperwork stuff is done, so I began trekking down the empty halls of the orphanage by my lonesome. I peeked into a few of the rooms on my way down, and as I suspected, pretty much everyone was gone (as they were at the sports event). Occasionally, I'd pass a room with a kid who's more interested in reading books or playing games or whatever, but either they never noticed me, or did notice me but chose to ignore me. Feh, nuts to them.

At last, after traversing the maze that was the orphanage, I arrived at the office door. I reached for the knob, but at that very moment it suddenly turned and the door swung open. I jumped back in surprise, but then saw that the person behind the door was none other than Brian.

"Max! Well isn't this a surprise?" he said, seeming surprised by my, um...'surprise' appearance. "I was just coming to get you, since I just had those forms filled out. You got your things?"

With a somewhat forced smile, I nodded.

"Great! I suppose you can consider yourself 'adopted'!" Brian said, smiling.

Adopted... That's a word I've been waiting to hear for a long time. Sure, I'm only being "adopted" just because of some crazy experiment and whatnot that Brian here had cooked up, but it didn't really matter to me. For once, I was wanted. That alone made me happy. He even had mentioned "five others just like me". If that's true, then could we all possibly be friends? Family? I could only hope, as I had no idea what to expect from this point on.

I followed Brian out the front double doors, turning back to wave goodbye at the Mother, who was waving as well. If there was anyone at all in that place that I liked, it had to be the House-Mother. She was always supportive of me, and really helped keep me going through the years. Though I do feel bad about saying this, I wouldn't want to stay just because she is there to help make things easier. She can't stop those bullies every time you know.

As I stepped into Brian's car (on the passenger side), he struck up a quick conversation.

"So, before we head on down to the lab do you wanna stop off at a fast-food place?" Brian asked as he clicked his seat-belt.

I was quite taken aback by this. I hadn't been "adopted" for more than a few minutes and the man was already offering me a free meal! What a guy. I hastily accepted and we drove off.

At this point I began to wonder... what kind of Pokemon should I be? There are, if I remember correctly, more than 600 kinds in the world. That should give plenty of options I guess! But then when you consider restrictions... Well, I had no idea which to be, but I had to make that decision fast, and it had to be absolute. Like Brian said, there's no going back from this choice...

...Hm...how foreboding...

A/N: And that's the updated first chapter, readers new and old! There isn't much to say that hasn't already been said, so I'll just say, 'Review where it's due, osha!'

Until next update, fare thee well!

-TheAuthorGl1m0