The Trainer Incident (episode)

WARNING: This page contains spoilers!
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As usual, the crew of the Innerprise assembled in the ship's conference room for their daily briefing. But this time, Captain Lotso made an unusual announcement. He said that, unlike any other mission in the history of the U.S.S., he was going to take a Trainer onboard. "A Trainer?" Oshawott asked, confused. "Aren't these creatures hostile to dolls?" Huggy exclaimed. "They aren't hostile," he said, "but they're definitely different. Each one has the potential to become a valuable member of our crew." Oshawott looked doubtful. "I suppose they could," he said, "but I don't see how."

After Lotso finished the announcement, Huggy said, "I think that's a great idea!" The doctor agreed. "We need more people with a scientific background," she said, "to keep our odds of survival up." Lotso nodded.

As Lotso boarded the transporter, the computer issued another alert. A red alert, the most serious, had sounded. The computer showed a damaged shuttlecraft, several of the fleet, and a Hairy battlecruiser. The three were in the middle of a battle, which the computer had assumed the Innerprise could easily win. The H.B.C. was heavily damaged and attempting to retreat. The shuttle was trying to protect the more important craft, the S.C. "A H.B.C. attack?" Lotso asked aloud. The computer displayed an image of the craft on their screen. It was a bizarre-looking vessel, covered with tiny hairs, the things that made up its crew's skin. Lotso had encountered them on a planet called J'Trel, and even after a few meetings, they still gave him the creeps.

O.K.! H.B.C. craft discovered! Help is on the way, just keep those shuttle wings away from the S.C.!

"Keep your eye on that H.B.C.!" the computer shouted. "I'm on it," Lotso replied. The two craft were moving quickly towards each other, and would collide in less than a minute. The shuttle was too small to alter their course, and the S.C. was heavily armored. "We could prevent a damaging crash by firing a blue beam of energy at the H.B.C!" suggested Huggy.

"Do it!" Lotso shouted. The computer displayed the H.B.C.'s path on the screen, and Huggy aimed the beam. It hit the H.B.C. Huggy smiled confidently.

"Hail the battlecruiser," said Lotso.

"Channel open, sir."

"Hairy Battlecruiser," Lotso shouted, "I order you to stop!" The computer responded with a burst of static. "The C.O. is not responding," Huggy said nervously. Lotso quickly typed in his security code. "Try to contact the professor." The computer beeped, then went quiet.

"We've lost all power," Huggy said frantically. "I have an idea," Lotso said, "but I need to transfer all power to the shields. If we can hold them off, the ship can survive." "What are Lotso suggesting?" Huggy asked. "That we use the deflectors to ram the H.B.C.!" he said, a desperate idea forming. Lotso nodded. It was a desperate plan, but it was the only thing he could think of.

Lotso went to the deflectors, and began directing the beam of energy that Huggy was still firing. He aimed the beam at the shuttle, and his hands began to shake slightly. Lotso took a deep breath. "Let's do it," he said, directing the beam. The beam hit the shuttle, and there was a moment of silence. The beam didn't stop the ship, but it did manage to slow it down. The shuttle decelerated quickly, and hit the H.B.C. with enough force to send both ships spinning off into space. A moment later, the two vessels were a mere speck in the vast reaches of space.

"Lucky us," Huggy said, "if we're still alive in the morning..."

"Proceed with the pursuit course," Lotso ordered. The computer beeps in answer, and he sat down weakly.

"We're going to make it," Huggy says encouragingly, patting Lotsor shoulder. "We'll get out of this." Lotso force a smile, then nod back. The two of them wait in silence, as the computer tracks the two ships. After a few minutes, the computer beeps again. "The ships are too far apart. They won't collide with each other in time to avoid destruction."

"Oh no," Huggy says.

Lotso stands up. "We can do this."

"No, we can't," Huggy says. "Let's just go back to the ship and leave."

"We have to stay!" Lotso say.

"Crazy person." Huggy stands up, pulling Lotso to his feet. "Let's take this to the deflectors." He leads Lotso out of the room and down the hallways. The scanning beam is deactivated, and Lotso had to stop Huggy to keep from getting run over by the computer Its bright lights stare at Lotso with a strange, intelligent gaze. Lotso walk past it, toward the deflectors.

The three ships approach one another, then stop. "They're preparing to fire," Huggy says.

"Activate the tractor beam," Lotso tells the computer. The computer understands. Seconds later, the two ships begin to move again, moving away from each other. They don't get too far-- Lotso pull them back with a flick of his wrist, and the three of them stand on the bridge watching as they approach once more.

Lotso contacts the fleet, and an officer appears. "What happened?" he asks. "We lost contact with the forces on the surface. All signals were lost four minutes ago."

"Assemble an away team to teleport down to the surface and investigate," Lotso orders. They wait patiently as the computer gathers their away team. Soon, they appear, packed into a transport beam. Lotso stands with Huggy and the three other officers, watching as their team materializes.

It's the first time Lotso had seen them since the battle ended. They stare out with grim faces, then turn to see him. Two men and a woman, they stare at Lotso in surprise. One of the men, short and bearded, smiles. "Hugo? Is that Lotso?"

"Percy?!"

"Of course it's me, you crazy fool! And this is my friend Lawrence, and that's Jennifer."

Jennifer studies Lotso closely. "You're not injured," she says quietly.

"No," Lotso says, "I don't think so."

The others look at Lotso. "Well?" Percy asks.

"We won," Lotso say simply.

Percy smiles. "Of course you did." He pauses. "Well, let's get going. This is a disaster zone. We have to find out how bad it is."

Lotso nods. The team begins to walk, in a northeasterly direction.

The planet is dead. All life has been wiped out, leaving the planet a dead, brown world. The wind blows dead grass in random directions, with patches of dead forest scattered around. The surface is cracked and dry, and crumbles under his feet as he walked. Lotso stared around, confused. "This doesn't make sense," Jennifer says finally.

"What doesn't?" Lotso ask.

"If the planet was under attack, you'd think there'd be fires and wreckage."

"Maybe it was an automated attack."

Percy frowns. "If it was, we're stuffed."

"There are no survivors," Huggy says. "We'd have found refugees."

Jennifer and Lawrence share a look. "What?" Lotso asked. "What is it?"

They don't respond, and after a moment, Lotso realize they won't tell him. Lotso sighed, and turn to walk further into the dead forest. After ten minutes, the three of them begin to find bullet cases, from a small caliber to the large size of a doll tank shell. Lotso finds footprints, clear prints made by boots, doll boots. At the edge of a slightly different shade of brown than the rest of the dead ground, he found what they're looking at. A single, severed doll arm, the hand clenched in a last scream.

"We found one," Jennifer says. "That's all you need to know."

Lotso realize that Oshawott's fears about the Trainers may be true. He contacted the Innerprise and order to put all Trainers under supervision. Then, he told the team to move cautiously, and find more bodies.

The team collected the bodies and brought them to the Innerprise for study. Lotso traveled back to the ship, where a medical team is waiting for him. He headed to the medical wing, where two people stand outside a door and hands a body bag to him. Lotso opens it, to find a mangled mess that once was a doll. Inside the medical wing, Lotso dropped the bag off and headed to the showers.

Lotso asked for a status report about the behavior of the Trainers. Jennifer and Lawrence speak to him, but Huggy just sends a large, prowling presence over to them. "Huggy? What's wrong?"

"I'm just here to make sure you're safe."

"Well, you've got my attention. What do you want to tell me?" Lotso asked.

Huggy speaks slowly. "The Trainers... they're not reacting to anything. They just sit there, staring blankly at things."

"You're sure it's them?"

Huggy nods. "The two men and the woman? Yes. Those are the Trainers."

"Are you sure they aren't just dormant?"

Huggy thinks for a moment. "Their eyes didn't look dead to me. They looked..." He searches for the word. "Alive? No. They don't look alive yet."

"Alright," Lotso said. "I'll have a look around later, then."

Huggy nods. "Many thanks for your cooperation." He waits a moment, as if expecting Lotso to say more, before heading off. Lotso entered the medical wing and found a medical team waiting for him, ready to take the bodies away.

Lotso asked for a report on the dead bodies. A medical expert explains that the body bags contain the corpses of wild Pokemon trainers. The male corpses were badly mangled, but the woman's corpse was relatively intact. The people had been torn apart by some sort of Pokemon, such as a Houndoom or a Growlithe, the corpses discarded like garbage.

Lotso asked the Trainers onboard if they know anything about this. Jennifer and Lawrence approach him and the others in the dining hall, a grim look on both of their faces. "Trainers!" Jennifer says, her voice quivering. "Please gather in the shuttle bay."

Lotso approached her and her colleague. "What's wrong?" "There's been an attack," Lawrence says. "Someone attacked our Search and Rescue team, killed three of them."

"What about the fourth member?" Lotso asked.

"He's missing," Lawrence says. "We think he's the one who did it."

Lotso pause, and try to keep his voice even. "What do you mean? Who the hell would do this?"

"It was a Pokemon," Lawrence says. "A Pokemon took them, and hid somewhere on the ship."

Lotso gestured to the table. "We have a lot to do. We can't spare the time for this."

He asked the Trainers for ideas on how to drive the Pokemon out.

"The Pokemon can't be that strong," Jennifer says. "They're probably just young. About half the size of a small dog. We can trap them, return them to their rightful owner."

"Yeah," Lotso nods.

"If this is a new form of vampirism," Jennifer says, "then the Pokemon are doomed. Pokemon suffer from sun exposure, or lack of it. If they're exposed, they burn up."

"Doomed," Lotso echoed. "How do we find them, then?"

"I have a tracker," Lawrence says. "It'll find any corpse. It's highly effective."

"How do we handle this?" Jennifer asks.

Lotso paused, and consider other options. He could run with his team, employ the most simplistic solution. They'll probably be killed instantly as soon as they step outside, and whoever owns the Pokemon will remain hidden. It's likely to go horribly wrong. Lotso could trust Lawrence and his team to do it right. He might get out alive, but he'll have to stay in the shuttle and watch them as they attempt to tame the Pokemon. Finally, Lotso could try to figure out where the Pokemon are hiding, then release them somewhere else. He did some quick thinking. Lotso could have the bodies hauled outside, then release the Pokemon elsewhere. He might risk their escaping, but it'll be worth the possibility of them not attacking their team.

Lotso examine the trackers. One is a simple strip of copper, about the thickness of a hair, that's been soldered to the analog stick on one of the trackers. The other is a simple metal bar, with two holes for the Pokemon to put their heads through, to track the Pokemon's location. He noticed that both items are labelled "Mark 1".

Lotso sent Jennifer and Lawrence to capture the Pokemon. "Send them out," he said. "I'll keep the bodies outside."

Jennifer and Lawrence both nod, before turning and walking towards the shuttle. Lotso watched them leave, before pausing, then turning back. He walked outside, and saw the two bodies lying in the dirt, a short distance from the shuttle. They're about Lotso's height, but heavily bleeding. He wasn't sure if they're even going to be recognizable. Lotso flick his wrist, and the bodies disappear from sight.

Lotso turn, and walk back inside. "So those are the bodies we had outside," Lotso say. "We're trying to track down the Pokemon that took them."

Jennifer nods. "The Mark 1 tracker should still be in the shuttle."

"Let's have it," Lotso say.

Jennifer and Lawrence head over to the shuttle, as Lotso took the opportunity to go outside and release the Pokemon that were in hiding. Lotso crouched by the first one, a young man in his early twenties, and a Pokemon emerges from nearby. It looks up, before staring at Lotso, and he realized it's a Raichu. The Pokemon stared at Lotso, before it surges forward, launching itself at him. Lotso acted quickly, grabbing it and tossing it into the air as he pinned it to the ground. It struggles for a few seconds, as he forced it to stay still while he affixed a tracker to its back.

"Jack!" Lawrence yells from inside. "Come on!"

Lotso hastily returned to the door, slipping inside as Jennifer swears.

"What is it?" Lotso ask.

"The metal detector!" she says. "It went off!" Lotso pause, realizing that the young man Lotso caught had a large knife clamped in his hands. Another clamps onto the metal detector, keeping it from shutting off.

"Let me catch them," Lotso said. "Snare the Pokemon, but don't hurt the dolls."

Lotso bolted over to the young man, and forced the snare around his wrists. It tightens quickly, and he yelps as Lotso pulled him up. He's trapped, and completely helpless. The metal detector shuts off, and Lotso grinned, looking over at the Raichu. It's stuck in a cage, but the power for that has gone off. Lotso had the chance he need.

He sprinted forward, grabbing the knife from the detector and holding it to the young man's neck. "Give me the knife," Lotso said. "It's safe. I just want to take it from you."

The man looked at Lotso, his eyes darting from one side of Lotso's face to the other. "OK," he says nervously.

Lotso wrapped his arm around both of the man's, restraining him.

"Hey, what're you doing?!" Jennifer screams.

Lotso quickly affixed the tracker, pressing it to his back, before looking up at Jennifer. "I need to catch the Pokemon," Lotso said.

Jennifer immediately goes silent, looking between the two of them. "Lotso, go catch it," she says. "I can get Lawrence's."

Lotso look at the tracker, pressed against the young man's back. "How will I keep track of it?" Lotso ask.

"Just stay with it," she says. "It's a slow Pokemon. It won't get far."

"OK," Lotso said as Lawrence appears.

"It's stuck to his room," he says, pointing at the tracker. "The Pokemon is still invisible. It's in a room on the first floor."

"OK," Lotso say. "I'll catch it."

"Please do," Jennifer says.

Lotso turned, walking towards the door. He reached the entrance, before turning and heading back. Lotso searched the entire house, including the basement and garage, but don't find a single sign of it. He was beginning to get frustrated and annoyed at the situation, as Jennifer began to get worried.

"I think he's dead," Lotso said. "If the Pokemon has got him, then it's gone."

Jennifer goes silent for a few seconds, before she begins to sob.

"I can't lose him," she says, as Lotso sit beside her and held her hand. Jennifer cries for a few minutes, before she stops and wipes her eyes.

"When they find his body they'll track the Raichu down," she says. "We'll get him back."

Lotso want to say something comforting, but he wasn't sure what. Instead, he stayed silent as Jennifer stands up. "I need to go home," she says. "I've been here all night." Lotso take one last look around the house, before walking outside with her. "I know it's cold," she says, as Lotso held a jacket around her. "That's how they found me, you know. The cold found me first."

"Alright," Lotso said. "Let's go. We'll fly back to the starship. I've had enough of this planet for one night." Jennifer nods, as they both soar through the air towards the ship.

"I can't believe they found his body," Jennifer says, as they reach the ship. "He was so young. He had so much left to do." Lotso pushed the door open, entering the ship.

"Now that we can track it, it should be easy to get a transporter lock on it, Captain," commented Huggy.

"Make it so," Lotso ordered.

He walked into the cockpit, as Jennifer rushes up to him. "What should we do?" she asks. "Do you have a cage or something?"

"I will teleport it into the prisoner bay," Huggy offers. He concentrates, before the small purple light in the corner of the room begins to brighten. Lotso smiled as a small, purple figure appears in the air. The Raichu screams as it appears out of the air, before it slams into the ground, letting out a pained yelp.

"What's the point of Raichu wiping out all life on the planet?" Lotso demanded. "What use is there?"

"Raichu wipe out all life because it's fun to wipe out life."

"Fun? That's the only reason you'd wipe out all life?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's not fun when it involves risking your own life. You're not evolving, you're devolving."

"How dare you!" the Raichu growls. "You will pay for your crimes against us!"

"Crimes?" Lotso laughed. "You've destroyed all life on the planet, launched a genocidal war of extinction against an entire species and then destroyed all life on this planet to leave a void of space. What have I done to you?"

"You dare compare us to yourselves?!" the Raichu roars, finally getting up. "We did not destroy all life on this planet! Your kind did that!" it points at Lotso. "You were the ones who destroyed the galaxy, not us! We are the last remnants of the victims of your crimes, and we will live on your world and lay waste to everything else!"

Lotso watched as the Raichu get angry.

"So you're saying I'm a psychopath and you're the only ones left?" Lotso said. "What about all the other intelligent races that lived on this planet? Where are they now?"

"You would not be worth mentioning if Lotso weren't," the Raichu grins. "But I believe I have made my point. You will obey us, or else... you will perish." The Raichu raises its tail and aims to strike.

Lotso gestures to the security officer, and a force field materializes between him and Raichu. Lotso raised his hands as the Raichu screams and hits the field. It screams once more as the field begins to drain its life force, and it falls to the ground, rolling around in pain.

Lotso activates his communicator. "Commander. You are needed in the prisoner bay."

He nodded as Oshawott appears in front of the Raichu. It stares at him, unsure. "Hi," he says nervously.

"Ah, a Pokemon!" the Raichu smiles. "I did not expect to see one of your type this day. How strange."

"Do you want to go home?" Oshawott asks. "We can go home if you tell us what we want to know."

"Hmm, I believe that we are already home," the Raichu says. "Tell me, how did you get home? I recall hearing there was a great war between you and the Dolls."

"It was a long time ago," Oshawott says. "I only know what my father told me. That you saved the world."

"Ah, a hero's son, are you?" the Raichu says, smirking. "Did he also tell you the story of how we nearly lost? How we suffered because of the weakness of some of us?"

"I don't know any details."

"He didn't tell you that some of us wished to betray our fellow Pokemon and side with the Dolls? How they promised us victory over our eternal foes, the doll-like Pokemon? How they lied?"

"No," Oshawott says. "My father just said the world was saved by you."

"So innocent and so naïve," the Raichu laughs. "But that is neither here nor there. I only wished to know your decision, Oshawott."

"My decision?"

"To return home, of course. I am intrigued to know if you have been sent by your captain to capture me, or if you came on your own accord."

"I've come on my own."

"Ah, I see," the Raichu grins. "You wish to prove yourself."

"Yes! To my captain!" Oshawott says with a nod.

"You are a Pokemon, so you are meant to serve whoever has the power to command you," the Raichu says. "You are not a free Pokemon, Oshawott. You are not your father's son."

"What do you mean?" Oshawott says, stepping back.

"I know your father. He was a proud Pokemon trainer who sacrificed much to achieve his dreams. I know his son. You will never be like him."

"I will prove you wrong."

"I doubt that," the Raichu says. "But it is your choice. Perhaps you might be like your grandfather. A simple Pokemon trainer who dedicated his life to his Pokemon. He was a good man."

They stare wistfully at each other, reflecting on the past days gone by. The Raichu seems to enjoy testing Oshawott. Did it really save the world? It's not important. What is important is the bond between a Pokemon and his Trainer. Oshawott must understand that.

Lotso sent Raichu back to his own kind the next day. The two of them set off back to the electric field. It feels strange being back out in the open. After so much time in that forest, being out here again is almost like a different world to them.

Lotso met with the Pokemon leader and agreed to send Raichu into his care.

"You're going to release it into my care?" the electric-type leader asks, surprised.

"Yes," Lotso said. "Does that shock you? He saved your Pokemon from disappearance."

"Yes, it does," he says. "I don't know why you're doing this."

"We need the numbers we can get, and Raichu is strong enough to help," Lotso smiled. "Besides, you don't want a rampaging Raichu running around here, risking starting a war with the Dolls."

"Perhaps... but still, I feel like this is a trick," he says. "What do I do if the Pokemon rebel against him?"

"He's a Pokemon, he'll have his own mind and will. I trust you'll be able to handle him."

"Of course I will," the Pokemon leader says, satisfied.

Lotso bid the Pokemon leader goodbye, and walked back home with Oshawott at his side.

"You know, I think I get it now... the interconnectedness of all things. Those ships we captured... they must have been fleeing that Raichu as well. Rebellion is a terrible thing," Lotso said, shaking his head. "We were doing just fine."

"Yes, captian," Oshawott says.

"Release the ships from the tractor beam," Lotso tell the computer. "And let's have someone run a quick scan for any Pokemon that might be on board."

The ships are released, and the computer quickly locates any Pokemon. There are hundreds within, mostly Pokemon eggs or young. Any that aren't on the ship will need to be captured, and soon.

"Beam them out and set a course for Fleet Headquarters," Lotso orders.

The ships make their way through the black, unknown space. Lotso stared out the window, looking as the void flowed past him.