Arcane Pokémon AU
In Piltover, only those who live topside can legally own Pokémon and poke balls. You have to get a license, and they never let people from the undercity get them. However trenchers still have Pokémon, they just can’t catch them, nor do they really want to keep them in poke balls. However this also means topsiders can just take Pokémon from trenchers by catching them.
Most of topside treats Pokémon as glorified pets at best, objects at worst. They are often kept in poke balls unless they need to eat, battle, get a check up, that sort of thing. Some will even include a stasis mode on the pokeball, literally putting the pokemon in a trance until needed.
The undercity views poke balls as a barbaric practice, and hates them. They get their partner by convincing them to join, not forcing them. It’s also not uncommon for a kid to be given a Pokémon at a very young age to grow up alongside. They treat Pokémon as their own people, and there are even a few places where Pokémon run the shop(i.e. Jericho is a slowking). Some humans and Pokémon even marry each other, and will have kids. These kids are the species of the mother. Pokémon have names in the undercity, and when they evolve they will sometimes take a new name.
Silco runs the evil team, team Shimmer, who uses chemicals to enhance their Pokémon.
Vi and Powder are half sisters. Vi is the child of their mother and her Lucario. However, Lucario died when defending their mother against some enforcers who wanted to rape her. Powder is the daughter of her and a human, her husband who she got together with a couple years after the loss of Lucario.
Half pokemon humans can speak any pokemon language fluently. The undercity has its own form of pigeon which is a blend of human and several pokemon languages. Humans can learn pokemon, and pokemon human, but it is difficult. Powder learns though with the help of Vi.
When a half human half pokemon is exposed to shimmer, it alters them. Pokemon aren’t as affected, but humans gain the ability to use pokemon moves, as well as resistances and abilities. Vi gains Aura Sphere, Focus Punch, Meteor Mash, and Protect. Her abilities are Inner Focus and Justified.
The incident that set things off was when they robbed Jayce’s lab, where he was working on megastones, evolution stones, Dynamax Energy, and z crystals. Then later Powder harnesses the energy of the stones, but it causes a massive explosion that kills mylo, claggor, and their partners. Vi and her Riolu, on the other hand, become fused with key stone and mega stone energy respectively, which is how they survive. Vi is then taken away and separated from her partners, Riolu being gifted to the Kirramans as a valuable prize because it knows Aura Sphere. However it never listens to them so they put it in stasis. Powder is taken in by Silco, who begins to manipulate her into helping him while trying to hunt down any of Vi’s remaining Pokémon so they don’t tell her the truth. Vander also became a gigantic lycanroc night form, as his father was one, after a combination of shimmer and the energy he was exposed to.
Caitlyn later frees Vi so she can help her look into team Shimmer. Vi reunited with her old team, the last of which is Riolu as they stop at her mansion so Vi can rest and get some proper food. Vi’s Riolu evolves in a mock battle with Caitlyn’s Lopunny, and they discover that the two can trigger mega evolution because of what happened that night.
Jinx has created a device that can capture Pokémon without needing a poke ball. Her Pokémon are a rotom named Zappers, her first, a zorua named Pow-pow, and a carvanha named chompers which later evolves into a Sharpedo she renamed Fishbones.
VI’s Pokémon are her Lucario named Atlas, a Halucha named Outlaw, and a Electabuzz named Havoc.
Caitlyn has a Lopunny, a Growlithe, and a Dartrix. She’ll eventually name her Pokémon.
Lopunny belonged to Vi’s family when they were young as a Buneary. However she was taken by a topsider when they were young, and was later sold to Cassandra Kirraman who gave her to Caitlyn.
After Vander betrayed Silco, he came to hate all hybrid human pokemon, and he distrusts pokemon as well, largely due to most pokemons’ willingness to follow orders of whoever is their trainer. That’s why he wants Vi to suffer. He knew she was in Stillwater the whole time. During the tea party, Vi starts speaking in pokemon to Jinx, and Silco loses it. He yells that Jinx can never trust Vi as her half pokemon status makes her violent and untrustworthy, and that she needs to be either locked up or put down. He also lets slip that he knew she was in stillwater. This makes Jinx turn on him as she realized that Silco was always the liar. They have one final fight, and Silco is killed by Fishbones to save Vi.
Cassandra has a Delikatty, and Tobias a Chancy.
At the end of the series, Jinx will get a pair of twin espurrs named Kuro and Shiro, Vi will get a meltan named Slug, and Caitlyn will get a Buizel.
Silco uses a Gyrados, Dragalgy, Barraskewda, and Basculegion.
Follow up series, Vi and Caitlyn deal with the new team shimmer under the command of Renata Glasc. Jinx and Lux become girlfriends.
Lux would use a galarian ponyta, sylveon, Sableye, and Shaiman