Chapter one: Enter the Shaymin Investigator!

In the midst of a vast forest, a small shape was zooming from bush to bush, its pace and appearance barely noticeable to the Pokemon living nearby. There were a few that tried to catch a glimpse of the unknown speedster, but none of them succeeded. The fast figure continued deeper into the lush environment, the wild Pokemon becoming scarcer as it did so. During its swift journey, it never once halted, switching between shrubbery hiding spots to the trees above where it proceeded to leap to the next one.

Up ahead was an unusual sight. A lone robotic Bellsprout that seemed very worse for wear was standing next to an oversized tree stump, its mechanical body gently swaying like its biological cousins. The eyes of the robot were glowing a bright red, occasionally flickering like a faulty light bulb. It glanced around its surroundings, scanning for any life forms that neared its position.

All of a sudden sparks started to burst out of the Bellsprout’s head in a diagonal pattern. After a few seconds, the robot’s head exploded, taking half of its stem-like body with it. The remnants of the destroyed robot slumped to the grass, wiggling like a worm for awhile before finally stopping. The same figure that had been running through the forest landed behind the downed automaton.

“Huh, it appears that it was a 100% artificial machine,” it spoke in a male voice. “I deduced as much. My Air Slash sure made short work of it.”

It was the legendary ‘Gratitude; Pokemon, Shaymin, in his Sky Forme, puffing calmly on a pipe. He leaped up onto the oversized tree stump and ran his hand smoothly against the bark, his eyes examining it very closely. As well as uneven wood, there were traces of sturdy metal in the trunk’s texture.

“If my deductions are accurate, the opening should be right around...here!” Shaymin said to himself, pressing a tiny brown button camouflaged amongst the rough sections of the bark. At that moment, straps of yellow energy appeared out of the stump, wrapping around the Shaymin’s legs. “What is this?!”

The top of the stump suddenly jolted before descending at a fast velocity into a metallic, cylinder-shaped shaft. Shaymin attempted urgently to break free from the energy bonds, but unfortunately they seemed too powerful for even a Legendary. Undetermined by this hiccup, the Shaymin coolly gave one final puff of his pipe before spitting it out. He opened his mouth wide and a small green ball formed in front of it. Wasting no further time, Shaymin fired the Energy Ball directly at his feet.

The spherical assault exploded on impact. When the smoke cleared, the platform was now heavily damaged with the energy bounds frequently blinking. Shaymin attempted once more to free himself, this time succeeding due to the destabilized trap. He hastily kicked off the ground, taking to the air and watched as the elevator descended into the darkness.

“That was a close call,” the Grass-Type remarked. “It seems Clefarious anticipated an intruder taking that entrance. I have to tread more cautiously.”

When the flat lift reached its destination in the dimly lit domain, a small gathering of brittle Bellsprout robots surrounded it. Their emotion-deprived, dull themed eyes were intensively looking at the elevator. Their slender bodies were creaking and sparking in an endless loop. Suddenly, as the appearance of a green blur, the Shaymin landed in the centre of the collection of long-nosed machines.

“Intruder detected!” the Bellsprout brigade monotonously announced. “The suggested course of action is elimination.”

Shaymin ignored the looming threat and picked up his pipe, sticking it in his mouth. He shut his eyes and calmly puffed on it while the robots closed in on him, an ominous glow emitting from their mouths. Their bodies jolted wildly as they simultaneously charged up a beam.

“Must eliminate intruder,” the drones repeated and parroted amongst each other.

Shaymin’s eyes sprung open, unleashing a mighty Earth Power to destroy the flimsy opposition effortlessly. One after another, the Bellsprout robots exploded, parts soaring in every direction; some barely missing the Shaymin.

“Something here is amiss,” the legendary Grass-Type pondered out loud to himself, walking down the only corridor in sight. “From what I have gathered from the townspeople, Clefarious’s robots are supposedly more dangerous than their flesh counterparts.” As he continued to contemplate the situation, his eyes were scanning everywhere, on the lookout for any traps. “Those Bellsprout robots certainly did not meet up to expectations.”

Eventually, a huge metallic door at the end of the corridor crossed his sight, halting his trail of thoughts for the time being. He was about to take a step forward when a thought suddenly popped into his head. Shaymin took the pipe out of his mouth and blew a plume of smoke ahead of him to reveal a grid of infrared beams just steps away.

“Just as I thought,” Shaymin said, jumping through a gap in the lasers. “Nice try yet again, Clefarious.”

The intellectual legendary walked over to the door, discovering it was mysteriously ajar. Naturally suspicious and learning from past near misshapes, Shaymin opened the door just about wide enough to stick his head through. Despite being metal and heavy, he effortlessly moved it without making too much noise. The room on the other side was huge and mostly covered in complete darkness. In the shadows, Shaymin could make out silhouettes of what he assumed were diabolical machinery and dangerous, highly-advanced robotics of some kind.

While still remaining extremely cautious, Shaymin crept into the darkened lab, his vigilant disposition present during his steady exploration of the ostensibly abandoned underground laboratory. He looked out for any sounds of robot guards that may be lurking in the shadows, programmed to leap out when close. When he neared the far centre of the room, he picked up the faint sound of something clicking. A beam of light shone from the ceiling, highlighting a large computer to the right of him.

“Motion sensor lighting,” he coolly deduced. “This computer still looks like it’s in esteem condition. Hopefully it will have all that I need.”

The pipe-puffing investigator glided over to the swivel chair, placing his front paws onto the keyboard. He proceeded to mastery type, eyes staring rigorously at the monitor, reading every scrap of information that appeared, relevant to his cause or not.

“Huh, it seems the good doctor is scarce on her technology,” the Shaymin discovered, his eyes continuously glancing from side to side at the stream of new information popping up on screen. “The Cyberoid Incident...all the run-ins with Cutey Punny and other heroes...Each one seemed to play a huge role to her shortage...” He carried on with his analysis, unaware of a secret door silently sliding open behind him. “Hold on, what it this...?” For the first time, his expression showed dread. “Is this a...No, she cannot be serious. This isn’t good.”

“You know, it is awfully rude to pry into other people’s dilemmas and agendas,” a sinister female voice softly growled.

Acting on instinct, the Shaymin twirled around instantly on the spot, mouth open to fire an Energy Ball. The moment he faced the opposite direction, a tiny circular-shaped silver and metal-coated microchip was slapped onto his forehead, sticking to it like glue.

“W-What in t-th-the...?” Shaymin mumbled out, taken aback.

He felt his mind quickly growing numb, his keen focus dwindling along with it. It was like a wave of drowsiness had washed over him without the sudden need to sleep. Where he would normally hastily contemplate this situation the Shaymin instead found himself completely deprived of any thoughts whatsoever. After producing a barely audible groan, the eyes of the Shaymin transformed into a pupil-less white void. His pipe dropped out of his mouth, no longer being supported by his lips.
“Nice work, Tony,” the same female voice said. It was the genius villainess, Dr Solaria Clefarious. She was standing mere centimetres from the motionless intruder. “Once again you have proved yourself more valuable than my creations.”

Tony, her Whimsicott assistant, appeared out of nowhere, a wind blowing in his wake.“Ooooh!” exclaimed in astonishment, hopping around the entranced legendary. “It’s a Shaymin, doc! I was so fast putting the microchip on him that I didn’t notice what it was! I’ve always wanted to see one up close!”

Ignoring her helper’s childish behaviour, Clefarious pushed up her glasses while glaring at Shaymin. “Now, tell me,” she began to order in a calm and collective manner. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“My name is C, Mistress Clefarious,” the mind-captured Pokemon spoke in a dull vocal tone. “I am a top investigator investigating you and your sinister deeds.”

“Who sent you?!” Clefarious snapped, annoyed at this reveal.

“Galactic Interpol, Mistress,” C bluntly replied.

Clefarious froze up in fear at the mention of C’s employers. A look of apprehension spread over the evil Clefairy’s complexion. Tony, realizing that his boss had dropped into an eerie silence, turned to face her, giving an innocent beam.

“Yo, doc, what is this Galactic Interpol?” he inquired.

“That is none of your business, Tony!” the flustered scientist shouted promptly in response. “Take this Shaymin to the robotocize machine! He must not be allowed to leave!”

“But, but, doc,” Tony began to reply, nervously twiddling his fingers together. “It’s broken, remember? There is that one machine, but it hasn’t been properly tested yet...”

“Don’t you dare question me, you wretched Whimsicott!” Clefarious loudly snarled. “I do not care if it has yet to be fully tested. I am willing to take that chance! Now do what I say!”

Tony saluted and smiled. “Aye, Aye, doc!” he gleefully replied. “Come on, Shaymin! You got a date with doc’s new machine, yep!”

C remained completely stationary; Tony’s command fell on deaf ears. The detective’s brainwashing limited him to hear and obey the voice of the devious Clefarious. Having forgotten this fact, the energetic Whimsicott waved his two paws in front of C’s face, trying to get his attention.

“Shaymin, follow my assistant into the robotocize machine!” Clefarious ordered, letting out an infuriated sigh.

“Yes, Mistress Clefarious.”

Tony led C through the newly revealed door and into the hidden room. Like the previous room it was shrouded in darkness with ominous machines hidden in the shadows. As the pair walked further, beams of lights shone down, lightening up their straight path. A new one appeared with every step they took. At the end of the room was a tall canister-shaped machine with sturdy glass casing. Tony approached the basic and unimposing piece of technology while digging his paw into neck cotton fluff and taking out a small remote control.

“This may seem like some oversized museum display case, but that’s only because doc programmed it to look less conspicuous, yep! It’s all just some illusion!” Tony explained to C, looking over his shoulder at him. He pressed a button on his remote, making the front of the case swing open. “Hop on in, C!”

“Yes, Master Tony,” C spoke as dully as ever, hopping inside the tube.

Tony blushed and rubbed the back of his fluffy head sheepishly. “Ah, shucks, C, please don’t call me that,” he said. “I am not into that sort of thing; I just follow whatever doc says, yep!”

“Tony!” Clefarious snapped, emerging from the shadows. “Time is short, as is my patience, so quit your lollygagging and activate the machine!”

The Whimsicott nodded and pressed a button to close the door on C. More parts of the robotocizer materialized, the cloaking device deactivating upon activation of the machine’s primary purpose, including a bulky, eyesore metal box with a ball-tipped rod sticking out of the top. The glass casing also gained a thick metal cover which closed around it like a sliding door.

“Those fools may be the best technical minded in the universe, but are lacking in the design department,” Clefarious noted in slight abhorrence.

“You mean you didn’t build this, doc?” Tony inquired, activating the machine via a second button.

The Clefairy narrowed her eyes. “Enough of your questions, Tony,” she demanded as she turned around to walk away, placing her paws behind her back. “I have to finish wiping the database clean.”

Tony saluted and faced the bizarre machine, plopping his bottom down just in time to see a glow seep through the door crack. Inside, C was still remaining perfectly motionless, unaffected by anything that was transpiring around him and the danger he was now in. The chip fizzled, a faint burning smell coming from it. With the sound of a circuit breaking, the miniature mind control device fell off his forehead.

C blinked a few times, his senses and mind returning to him gradually. “W...What...?” he muttered, placing his paw against his head. “What the heck just hap-“ he stopped, his eyes, which were now normal, swiftly adjusting to his troubling surroundings. “Where am I?”

The metallic walls around him wavered, as if it was just a mirage fading away, leaving only the thick glass casing to be visible, allowing Tony and C to see one another. Tony had his finger pressed against one of the buttons on his remote. He looked up and gave the trapped Shaymin a wave.

“What is the meaning of this, Whimsicott?” C snapped, breaking his standard composure. “I have no time to play any juvenile games! Explain to me what this is! Why is it glowing?”

“You’re the detective; you figure it out, yep!” Tony quipped, poking out his tongue.

“Your humour eludes me,” C stated, sighing petulantly. “Didn’t I just inform you that I am in no mood to-“

His sentence was cut short as a strange feeling overcame his body. There was no pain, just a powerful tingling sensation that ran through his entire body. It was like a surging thunderbolt without the electrical sting. C wanted to move, but couldn’t. He tried to look down, only to discover that he can’t even move his head. His body became stiff and immobile like a statue, his fur coat following suit. It soon lost its gleaming tone, turning into an unattractive grey, hardening like steel.

“W...What is...this....?” the Shaymin thought to himself, feeling fearful for the first time in awhile.”Is this... how Clefarious...turns others into robots...?”

Bolts appeared on certain parts of his body, specifically his connecting joints. C’s lifeless, hard as steel grey fur suddenly glimmered as it transformed into shiny silver. An impressive sight when compared to the poor excuses of Bellsprout robots that lay in ruins thanks to C. A brand new mouth had been given to the Shaymin. It was sealed off by some material that resembled glass from fluorescent light, curled to form a mouth shape feature.

C’s eyeballs protruded outward similar to that of a camera lens for a couple of seconds before retracting. C felt afraid, fearing for his wellbeing. It was an emotion he rarely showed, especially when in the presence of others. Tony watched in awe, his jaw hanging ajar. It was the first time he saw an organic to artificial conversion in progress right before his very eyes.

As much as he wanted to scream, as much as he wanted to fight back, not even a powerful legendary such as himself could stop another alteration that was happening simultaneously with his body. His emotions were being pacified and his free will along with it, his brain converting into something similar to a CPU. The ability to think for himself felt like a foreign concept. A notion he didn’t feel like following.

“Is it still not finished yet?” Clefarious asked, re-entering the room, placing something into her lab pocket.

“I think it’s almost done, doc, yep!” Tony cheerfully replied, enthralled by the transformation.

Clefarious snatched away her assistant’s remote and pressed the button to release the robotic Shaymin from his cylinder prison. “They said this was state-of-the-art,” she stated, walking towards C. “Well above anything I ever created. It shouldn’t have taken this long to create the perfect robot.”

“It looks like all the other Pokemon you turned into robots to me, doc,” Tony pointed out, travelling just above the ground on a flow of wind.

“Shaymin!” Clefarious shouted, disregarding Tony’s words. “State your name and programming!”

The eyes of the metalized C emitted an eerie red glow as he moved a couple of steps forward out of the machine. “I am Pokemon Robot S-492, SF Model, also known as Shaymin_Bot_SF,” he replied in a robotic version of his original voice. His mouth did not move as he spoke, instead, it flashed and lit up a pleasant light green colour with each spoken syllable. “Unit is programmed to serve and protect its creator, Dr. Solaria Clefarious.”


- To be continued-

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I had no plans on uploading this story up on here, but then I thought, why the fuck not? Anyway, this is the first chapter of my new story series, Soul Of the Machine, which was originally a one-shot request.


C the Shaymin owned by  mrtherandomguy42

Pokemon is owned by Nintendo.


Icon by  kotiaku