It was Midnight is New Bark Town, and all through the streets barely a sound was heard. The land lay tranquil, silent, peaceful, yet in the stillness of the night a black heart beat in the depths of the town. Team Rocket was awake, and that meant big trouble.
In the warehouse that was the Team Rocket secret lair, Darren, a relatively new recruit stared in awe at the unveiling of a new device.
“This, my friends,” began a sinister Team Rocket scientist, “is our new weapon that will mark Team Rocket as the rulers of crime…even the world!” Darren stared at it in awe. It looked like a small ray gun from a weird sci-fi programme.
“What is it, Abe?” said Kate coolly, her eyes scanning the device intently.
“This, my girl, is the Devolution Ray Gun, capable of returning any Pokémon to its lowest level and form!” Kate looked impressed.
“Nice,” she commented.
“And better than that,” Abe continued, an evil gleam in his eye, “but it will also reduce humans to their primary stage…that is to say, helpless infants!” Darren continued gawping.
“That’s…that’s amazing!” he gasped.
“Amazingly powerful!” grinned Abe.
“One blast and any enemy of Team Rocket is back to potty training…?” whispered Darren, still not really believing it.
“Basically!” said Abe, still grinning. “It takes time to charge between shots, however, but even a lower power shot has some effect.”
“Expensive to produce?” asked Kate.
“Yes, but Team Rocket will soon make up the money!” Abe looked he was going to cackle.
“We could make millions!” said Darren.
“We could rule the world!” agreed Kate. “Imagine turning the army into helpless little kids and taking over!”
“Soon the devolution gun will be standard equipment for all members,” said Abe. “We will soon have mass production underway, but this warehouse must be guarded from intruders.”
“Huh!” scoffed Darren. “That shouldn’t be too hard with this little beauty!”
“This is the only Devolution Ray Gun in existence,” said Abe gravely. “This technology must not fall into…the wrong hands.” He smirked. You couldn’t get more wrong than Team Rocket. As the topic of security was bought up, in the traditional fashion a scuffling sound was heard outside. The Team rocket members crept stealthily over to the window to see who was trying to break in.
A man in a leather jacket was snooping around in an alleyway outside the warehouse. He wore black jeans and a white T-shirt under the leather jacket, and was sporting a pair of shades. The window was ajar.
“Ah!” whispered Abe. “The perfect time to test our the new weapon!” The man, oblivious to their presence continued inspecting a pile of crates in the alley.
“Can I do it?” pleaded Darren. Like all new recruits, he wanted glory.
“All right…but don’t miss!” warned Abe. “If someone find out we have a new weapon in here and is allowed to get away then soon everyone’s going to know.” Darren nodded, not really listening. He reached onto the table and picked up the ray gun. The indicator on the side was full, showed it was at full power.
“One shot, and back to potty training…” he murmured. “Such power…”
“Hurry up already!” hissed Kate.
“Okay!” Darren hissed back. “Give me a chance to aim!” He aimed at the man…the soon to be boy…the soon to be baby! He squeezed the trigger. Somehow he had messed up big time and the shot flew way over the man’s head, chipping a bit off the wall.
“You idiot!” hissed Kate. “How could you be so incompetent?”
“Damn you, boy!” muttered Abe harshly. “Now he’s heard us! He’s going to…he’s going to…hey, he didn’t notice!”
“What?” scoffed Kate “How can you not notice that?” Darren had been standing stock still, shocked that he could miss a stationary target at this range. Kate grabbed the ray gun off him. “Give me that! We should have known a new recruit would mess things up!” Darren only stared out the window at the man. How could he have missed?
Kate waited a minute for the ray gun to fully charge feeling sure the man would spot them or their plot, but he didn’t. It was a miracle.
“Now watch how it’s done properly!” she hissed. The humiliation of loosing face was gnawing at Darren, but he couldn’t wrench his gaze off the man. He wanted to see the effect. The trigger was squeezed a second time, and this time it was a direct hit.
“Ah!” the man groaned as the beam hit him. Then he stood bolt upright, his body giving of a dull glow as the energy from the ray gun was absorbed by each cell in his body.
“Hey!” he yelled. “Who’s there? I knew there was something fishy here!” Already, Darren noted, the change was apparent. The sleeves of the man’s leather jacket were slowly creeping down over his hands.
“Now watch,” Abe said with glee, “as the victim rapidly looses age!” Darren looked on in fascination.
The man was now definitely shorter, and the leather jacket sleeves were well past his hands. Also, he jeans were getting a little loose on his shrinking waist as he slipped out of adulthood and into adolescence.
“I said who’s there?” the man yelled again, still unaware of the changes. His jeans were creeping down his thighs now! He reached down to pull them up and found his hands covered in his sleeves. “What the…?” He was now maybe 18, and the process continued. The man pulled the sleeve back from over his hand. A slim, boyish hand greeted him. “What’s happening to me?” he said, a hint of fear in his voice.
Three Team Rocket members looked on at the spectacle, eager to see the full effects. The man’s face was now getting smoother and rounder as his descent continued. He couldn’t have been more than 15 year old now! He was slipping out of adolescence and back into childhood, and at about age 13 he crossed puberty in reverse and his stubbly beard turned peach fuzz retracted completely into his chin!
“What’s happening to me!” he yelled in a cracking voice. He coughed, trying to clear his through and regain his adult timbre, but it was denied to him now. Suddenly his jeans lost their hold on his child’s waist at about age 10 and plopped to the floor around his ankles, dragging his boxers with them! His T-shirt now came down to his knees and the leather jacket looked hilariously large on him!
“What’s happening?” came the whine of a child as the man stared down at his jeans and boxers in terror, as he became a mere child of 8 and the leather jacket slipped unresistingly of his shoulders and began to ride down his back! Darren looked at the pitiful sight of the former man. He look so cute, a little blonde haired kid in too big clothes that were draped over him. Like a kid playing dress up, he mused.
The boy tried to turn and run, hoping to end the transformation with a great distance, but all he succeeded in doing was stepping out of his adult socks and shoes and tripping over his jeans to end up in a heap of clothing on the floor! He now looked to be 6 years old, and his shades dropped off his smooth, innocent face revealing startlingly blue eyes. The eyes showed pure terror as the boy shrank even more, into a young boy, a toddler…his blonde hair grew lighter as he neared his beginning, retreating into the little wisps a baby. The surprised looking infant sat squirming in his former attire, wondering what had happened. “Such power…” thought Darren. “And I didn’t get to pull the trigger.” The other Team Rocket Members looked at the tiny boy that had a minute ago been a full-grown man.
“Wow,” said Kate. “I like it!”
“There’ll be plenty more soon!” said Abe, looking proudly at the effect of his invention.
“Are you sure it’s wise giving one to butterfingers over there?” smirked Kate, turning to Darren. “He might shot it at a mirror, thinking it was someone else and end up back in diapers!”
“Hey, we all make mistakes!” yelled Darren angrily. “We can’t all be shining examples!”
“Speak for yourself…” muttered Kate. Darren stormed out of the building in a rage, glaring at the baby in the alley and the puddle that was slowly growing bigger from under his clothes. It looked like the victim would need a lot of potty training. Abe watched Darren storm off.
“That was a little harsh, Kate,” murmured Abe.
“Well…I’m sure he’ll get over it. Hey, can I have the gun? I want to check round the other side of the warehouse.” She had an evil glint in her eye. “For more victims!”
“Me?” said Abe, his brow furrowed. “I thought you had the gun!”
“No…” said Kate. They both reached the conclusion at the same time and stared off down the alley. It was empty of life except for a little baby who’s bawling drifted across the sleeping town.
The next day, Darren had got over his rage, but not over the ray gun. It was his new toy, and this was a new day. Time for play!
He knew full well the other would be hunting him down, which was the reason he moved so stealthily through the town, hiding in alleys and shadows wherever possible as he looked for a place to play. He needed to prove himself to Team Rocket, to show them he could handle the big jobs. More than anything he wanted to prove to Kate that he could handle it. He had to catch some Pokémon…lots of Pokémon. It would be his gift to Team Rocket, to show his loyalties and affirm his position in the organisation.
Unfortunately, the town was not brimming with Pokémon as he had hoped. There were lots of people, but no Pokémon. People would be fun as an extra…but he wouldn’t let himself get sidetracked. Work first the play later. There would be plenty of time for play when he was a high up in Team Rocket. “If I ever become a high up in Team Rocket,” he thought miserably. Had all species of Pokémon suddenly become extinct? Then he spotted Kate in the crowd. She was looking around with an eagle gaze, clearly searching for him. He dived down an alley and ran to another area of town, making sure she wasn’t following.
There was no sign of Pokémon here, either. He sighed. This was tougher than he thought. Then he spotted a pokémon. A picture of an amazingly happy Psyduck was stuck on a sign pointing towards the edge of the town. “Trainers’ Park” the sign read. Of course! How could he be so stupid? He set of to the park; the best place for play, and indeed, work.
Darren set foot in the park. It was teaming with Pokémon of all shapes and sizes, and trainers of varying shapes and sizes too. A spectrum of dazzling light danced in the air, as powerful special moves were unleashed. “This,” though Darren to himself, “is a certain proverbial candy store…*
He snuck around to a disused shed in the corner of the park. He had to think this through. With all these Pokémon about, a full on assault would only end in a disaster. Careful planning was needed. He peered through the windows of the shed and out the other side, trying to get a good view of were the weakest trainers were…after all, many of the Pokémon he obtained today would be at their lowest level and earliest for anyway…he would have to go for quantity over quality.
It was because he was crouching down peering through the windows intently that he didn’t here the padding of paws approaching. A shadow fell on him…he slowly reached for the ray gun, concealed in a sack he was carrying. A loud bark echoed in his ears, and he spun round and stood up all at once. There facing him was a large, powerful looking Arcanine wearing a collar with a police badge hanging from it. The Arcanine looked at him sternly. Darren only smiled and squeezed the trigger.
“Good doggie…” murmured Darren as the Arcanine shrank smaller and smaller after the beam hit it. Suddenly the white tufts of hair on its feet disappeared, and its stern expression was replaced by a more friendly expression. The Arcanine had de-evolved into a Growlithe! *Good puppy!” said Darren grinning. The Growlithe looked at him innocently as it shrank smaller and smaller into a young dog and finally into a small Level 1 puppy!
The Growlithe looked around, surprised by what had happened. Moments ago he had been almost as big as Darren, but now Darren towered over him! Darren reached down and scooped the frightened puppy up, cradling it in his arms.
“Cute…” he murmured, tousling its fur as it squirmed to free itself. He set it down and watched it stumble away yelping, its police collar so big on its small body it banged against the floor. Darren watched it go, chuckling. Well, that was the security taken care of.
He returned his attention to the trainers. There were so many…so many varieties. He had to find a weak spot. He saw a small group of trainers standing by a lake away from the rest, isolated. Safety in numbers would not advantage them. They looked like the best bet. He watched the Pokémon they had…Ninetails, Dewgong, Pikachu…nothing special. But then he spotted a pile of unattended Pokéballs lying unattended. What luck! All he needed was a simple distraction and he could make of with the Pokéballs! Easy to carry, easy to snatch, and with a free Pokémon gift-wrapped inside, Darren had struck gold with the Pokéballs. He needed a distractions…and he had just the thing to do it.
“Poli? Poli poli!” The Poliwhirl was listening carefully to Darren’s instructions. Darren had explained quite clearly that if he messed up or tried to run away, he would be hunted down and returned to a Poliwag. The Poliwhirl didn’t think this sounded too bad, actually, but was full of energy and was glad to be let out of his Pokéballs for the chance to actually do something. “Poli poli!” he confirmed.
“Right, so you rush in and cause confusion and general distraction, then I run in and nab the loot. Then we all run. Okay?”
“Poli poli!” said the Poliwhirl, bouncing up and down in excitement.
“Good. Well…off you go!” The Poliwhirl bound off towards the group of isolated trainers and began to mingle. The Pikachu eyed him suspiciously
“Pika pika?”
“Poli, poli!” the Poliwhirl replied in friendly tones with a friendly face, which Darren thought was pretty good for a creature with no identifiable mouth. Suddenly a huge Gyarados launched out of the lake. Poliwhirl looked up in surprise and fear at the massive creature. Darren decided that would have to be his first target…but until Poliwhirl instigated a disturbance, he had to remain hidden.
“Poli poli!” said Poliwhirl tactfully. The Pikachu rolled its eyes and started to walk away. The Dewgong yawned and looked at Poliwhirl critically. Poliwhirl looked a picture of innocence, nonchalantly kicking at the grass with his feet. It was time.
Poliwhirl’s first act was a massive water gun that took all the Pokémon and trainers by surprise. He quickly followed with an ice beam, freezing the water and the people caught in it. Then more gallons of water flowed forth like tidal waves from the little Poliwhirl.
Then a beam flew out of nowhere and hit the Gyarados, who was preparing for a hyper beam. The Gyarados looked even more surprised than usual, tried to fire the Hyper Beam with no success and turned into Magikarp who splashed forlornly in the water! A few seconds later, as the confusion reigned, Darren sprang out and ran towards the chaos, ray gun blazing. He hit a boy who was desperately trying to stand on the ice, and he visible shrunk from 13 years old to 8 years old, clutching hastily at his pants and trying desperately to stay upright! Darren reached the edge of the group and snatched up the Pokéballs…then saw some more, a little way off. He raced over the ice…and slid right past them, falling in a heap on the floor.
“Ninetails, Flamethrower!” the recently rejuvenated boy squeaked, and the Ninetails sent a searing hot wave across the ice, melting it. Darren desperately shot at it, and managed to reduce it to a Vulpix before getting to his feet and looking for a way out.
“Ninetails!” a shocked boy’s voice cried. Darren smirked…then realised he was surrounded by angry looking trainers and Pokémon.
“Eep!” Darren said and turned to run, but turned straight into the face of a 14-year-old boy.
“Hello,” said the boy, in calm, calculating tones that made Darren shiver.
“Dewgong, Icebeam!” commanded a female voice. A blast of cold hit Darren, and really made him shiver. In a second he was frozen solid! He glanced a Poliwhirl…
“Poli…poli…” was all the Pokémon could say before fainting from the exhaustion of producing so much water.
“It looks like we have a problem,” said the boy, his eyes a strange colour of purple. “What should we do?” Darren tried to squeeze the ray gun’s trigger, but his finger was frozen solid! It was no good.
“Burn him!” squeaked the little boy.
“Zap him!” yelled the Pikachu owner.
“Crush him!” roared fat girl with pigtails who owned a Graveler. “How sick are these kids?” thought Darren as he tried desperately to pull the trigger. He finally succeeded, with an audible snap of his frozen finger and the beam flew out at the boy.
The boy was taken by surprise, and stared at Darren intently as he shrank down 14 years old to possibly 10, is pants almost falling down.
“You have made a mistake, my friend,” said the boy in the same voice as he had before, and his eyes were glowing purple. He grew back to his full height. The Pikachu jumped forward and zapped the gun. The gun exploded, coating Darren in a full blast of devolution energy. He glowed…the ice melted…he began to shrink.
The surrounding kids watched as Darren stood in shook for a few seconds as he shank down into adolescence. The lead boy smirked evilly.
“A taste of your own medicine should do you good!” Darren looked down at himself, not wanting to believe it. He grabbed a fold of excess fabric on his shirt…no! It couldn’t be happening! But it was, remorselessly. He was only 16 now! The kids were all smirking!
“No…you’re just little kids!” Darren yelled. “You can’t do anything!” The purple of the boy’s eyes showed it all. The kid was a damn psychic! Darren was no the same height as the kid, 14 years old! “No! You’re just little kids!”
“So are you, Darren!” said the boy. “I think I’ll take back our Pokéballs now.” He reached out and tried to take them from Darren, but he resisted.
“I stole them fair and square he!” he squeaked. “My voice!” he screamed. He was growing steadily younger. No longer a man, just a boy, his pants and boxers simply slipped down to his ankles just like what had happened to the man the night before! The boy easily pried opened Darren’s hand and retrieved the Pokéballs. Darren was stunned! A kid was overpowering him! He felt rage build in side him…
“Give them back, you big bully!” he yelled. “They’re mine!” He sounded so childish! The other kids were laughing at him now, laughing at his hollow threats. “It’s not funny!” he screamed. The kids just laughed harder.
“I stole them, they’re mine!” Darren lunged forward, trying to punch at the boy but succeeding only in stepping out of his adult socks and boots! “Give them back!” The boy smirked at him. Down at him! Darren was below 10 years old now, more like 8 year old, and he was still getting younger! His face had lost all adult definition and was a smooth, innocent little boy’s face! In a last ditch effort he lunged again to punch him…and tripped over his pants tangled around his ankles! The kids roared with laughter as he struggled back up.
“Isn’t he cute!” a larger boy said and tousled his hair.
“Little kids don’t punch big kids!” said another. Howls of laughter rang out across the park. Darren was dazed, disoriented and a little boy, and he was loosing control.
“Give me back my Pokéballs!” he roared with as much conviction as a little boy can muster, which was a comical sight. “You know play fair! You bad boy!”
“It’s you who didn’t play fair!” said the boy, smirking down at Darren. Darren was now just a little boy, and was screaming in a tantrum.
“Give me back! My Pokéballs, give me back!” Darren balled up his fists and flew at the boy, half naked and just a toddler. It was hilarious! “My toys! Give back, me tell on you! You bad!” The boy just reached down and pushed Darren away. Darren stepped forward again, ready to hit the boy again, but fell forward, too young even to walk! He moved into a sitting position as he forgot even how to crawl.
“You bad…ba…baba!” The infant Darren sat on the floor with his shirt draped over him. The kids crowded round and stared at him.
“Anyone got a diaper?” one joked.
“He’s so cute!” said a girl. Darren looked up at all the big faces staring down at him and knew it wasn’t right. He was supposed to be the big boy! A small tear trickled down his cheek.
“Enough!” roared the lead boy. “He has suffered enough. He has learned his lesson. Alakazam?”
“Kazam!” came the voice of the Pokémon. Darren craned his neck to see what it was.
“Kaza!” he mimicked in his baby voice, provoking a wave of laughter. The boy smiled at the baby.
“So innocent now…let’s hope he keeps that trait. Alakazam, hold back the devolution energy so that Darren can grow up again. Hold it back so it may dissipate soon.”
“Kazam!” said Alakazam and focused. The boy waited. The crowd of kids held their breath. Slowly, Darren began to grow. He grew from a baby into a toddler, into a child…he suddenly realised he was naked from the waist down and the shirt wasn’t going to cover him for long. He turned crimson and dived quickly to his discarded clothes, hurriedly pulling his boxers and pants back up. A teenager now, his clothes were beginning to stay on without needing to hold them, then a few seconds later he was his full age. He looked around cautiously. The kids were all looking at him.
“I hoped you learned your lesson, Darren,” said the boy.
“Yes…” began Darren. “I learnt you should never…trust you damn kids!” he yelled, lunging now as a full adult at the boy. They boy did not flinch, and Darren never reached him. With a wave of the boy’s hand, Alakazam had released the energy he had been holding back in one blast and turned Darren instantly into a baby! The amount of psychic energy involved had also caused Darren’s clothes to become simply a cloth diaper, the natural expectation of what a baby would be wearing. The diapered baby Darren sat on the floor, shocked, looking up at the kids. The shock of the sudden change on Darren’s brain caused a keystone of his mind to crumble. His memories of being an adult crumbled and he rolled onto his back, stuck his foot in his mouth and began sucking it! The boy picked up Darren and rocked him gently.
“Maybe next time you’ll grow up in innocence,” he murmured. Darren squirmed, trying to get comfortable against the boy’s chest. “But right now, what are we going to do with you?” said the boy, his face transforming into a smirk along with the other kids’. He held Darren out in front of him, shaking him gently. Darren’s green eyes sparkled innocently as he gurgled and smiled at the boy. It was time for play.
Later that day, after various reports, Kate and Abe arrived in the trainers’ park. They found no trace of Darren, but they did find a Growlithe puppy that lead them to a dazed Poliwhirl holding a diaper that had clearly been ripped off someone whilst still being worn.