It was utter chaos in the laboratory on the night of the riots. Sirens blared and the grand computer monitor flashed and glowed ominously in red and black as it signaled the approach of the military troops. Professor Samuel Oak frantically shuffled around the room as he gathered up as many of his precious tools, gadgets, and research papers as he could immediately find. Time was running out and the troops would be arriving at his automatic, metallic double-doors any minute. Oak had to leave now if he was to have any chance of escaping to the secret passage in time. The elderly professor jumped when he heard frantic pounding on his doors.
"Professor Oak, it's me! Let me in, quickly!" said a familiar voice. Oak acquiesced with a sigh of tremendous relief.
"Finally, I was beginning to worry that you had been captured, Brandon!" said Oak.
"Those amateur recruits are no threat to us. At least, not yet. It's that leader of theirs that we should be worried about. Do you have everything you need? We have to leave right this minute!" Brandon ordered.
"Just about. I've locked all the files away in my secret archive. They'll never be able to find any of it," Oak explained.
"Good. Just make sure you seal the front doors as well on our way out. If they believe we're still in here, they'll waste precious time trying to break in and allow us to put greater distance between us and them," Brandon reminded the professor.
"Already done!" Oak replied. Just then, the back door of the lab slid open and from the darkness, three small creatures emerged. They were his experiments: Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur.
"Mmmmmm….Dad? What's going on?" Charmander asked drowsily as he rubbed the sleep from his eye. Brandon groaned in frustration.
"Professor, why are they not in their containment orbs!? We need to get them out of here!" Brandon yelled.
"I was trying to get them to calm down and rest before our departure," Oak explained. He kneeled down and picked the three of them up in his arms. "Now boys, I'll need your cooperation for just a minute, and then you can go back to sleep," he proposed. The professor carried the trio over to a set of three chairs, placed each one onto a chair, and pulled down one of the helmets hanging directly above to be strapped onto each of their heads.
"B-but, Dad….I don't like that helmet! It squeezes my head!" Squirtle whined. Charmander and Bulbasaur nodded in agreement.
"I know little ones, but this is the last time I'll need to do this. I promise," said Oak. The three small creatures sighed together as they accepted their uncomfortable fate.
"Samuel, we don't have time for this! What on earth are you doing!?" Brandon roared.
"We'll have to make time!" Prof. Oak objected. He pulled a lever that caused his machine to hum and buzz as the coils connecting the helmets to the rest of the machine began to glow. "If they are to ever find a better life out there…then I must cleanse their minds to an empty canvas," said Prof. Oak. His words were drowned out by the wailing of the machine that encompassed the room.
After a few minutes, the machine powered down automatically after completing its task. Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur sat unconsciously in their chairs as smoke seeped out from underneath the helmets. Brandon walked over and frantically removed the helmets from each of their heads. Time was now of the utmost essence.
"Professor, prepare the orbs!" Brandon shouted. Oak removed a small baseball-sized capsule device from the pocket of his lab coat. He stared at the glossy, red and white ball and rubbed his thumb along the linear groove that wrapped around the ball horizontally and segregated the two colors into a top and bottom half. Oak's thumb reached the button on the center of the ball and held it down as he pointed the orb itself at Charmander and issued the verbal command.
"Return!" he shouted. Immediately, a red beam of light emerged from the device through the central button and engulfed Charmander's entire body; dissolving the creature's physical form into nothingness. The scientist did the same for Squirtle and Bulbasaur with two remaining orbs and placed them swiftly in his pocket.
"Hurry!" yelled Brandon, who was already standing by the open doors. Brandon and Prof. Oak sprinted down the winding, polished, luminescent hallway and descended several flights of stairs. At the bottom floor, Brandon pressed against a false wall and revealed the opening to their established secret passage. After wandering through pitch black darkness for a while, the men reached the shining light leaking through a thin crack in the wall: the exit. Brandon and Prof. Oak attempted to cross a desolate street towards the northern city gate when they froze in their tracks upon listening to the echoing "clicks" of reloading rifles. They turned and saw a line of troops with blazing weapons; ready to open fire and vaporize the men where they stood. They slowly rose their hands above their head to signify their surrender.
"Freeze! The two of you are under arrest for attempting to flee across the city boundaries!" One of the guards shouted. But before Brandon and Prof. Oak could submit to custody, a barrage of yellow particle bullets rained down from the sky and struck several of the unsuspecting soldiers; knocking them to the ground. A slender woman dressed in blue landed nearby.
"It's about time you showed up, Jenny!" Brandon remarked.
"Nobody told me you'd take so long to get here!" Jenny argued. "Now can we just get out of here, already!?" Brandon and Prof. Oak nodded. The group began sprinting once again towards the Northern gate. The fallen troops stood up and began firing towards the group.
"Stop!" Ordered the original guard. "Do not let them escape!" The group continued running as Prof. Oak caught up to Brandon's pace. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the three red-and-white containment orbs, and extended his hand.
"Brandon, take them with you! We'll have to separate once we make it through the gate! Otherwise, they'll surely catch all three of us before long!" Pro. Oak explained.
"No! We're getting them out of here together!" said Brandon.
"It's my fault for taking so long! All that matters now is that they don't get my boys too. You know that as well as I do. They're my children, and they deserve a better life than this. My fate is not important. As long as my children find happiness, then there is hope for this world. I just know it. Please… as my last request. Take them somewhere safe and watch over them," Prof. Oak pleaded as he abruptly stopped in his tracks; short of breath. Brandon stared at the containment orbs for a brief moment, as he absorbed the weight of this monumental task. Brandon took the orbs from Prof. Oak's hand, shoved them into his olive green backpack, and continued running; vowing to himself not to hesitate any longer. He paid no attention to the comrades behind him, or to the following sounds of rifle shots.
"Samuel! Jenny! We'll meet again! I swear it!" He shouted as he kept on running.
Outside a lonesome, modest home dwelled a countryside camouflaged in the darkness of the evening and blanketed under snow. Delia Ketchum was lounging in her living room chair, reading the hours away as she always enjoyed. Her eyes started to burn with fatigue. She stood up and decided to retire to her bedroom. But just as she reached the staircase, she heard a knock on the front door. Upon opening it, she saw no one on her porch. Instead, she looked down and saw a lone basket with a blanket masking its contents and protecting the mysterious cargo from the bitter cold. Delia lifted the delivery and brought it into the warmth of her home; shutting the door behind her.
"Oh, you poor things…," whispered Delia as she carefully pulled the blanket back to reveal three small creatures huddled closely together in their slumber; grasping onto one another in a desperate attempt to stay warm. Delia carefully examined each one slumbering in the basket. Each creature had a colored bandana around their neck with a golden pin attached; their names inscribed on the pins.
The first creature was an orange lizard with the physique of a teddy bear. Its chest was an exuberant shade of yellow, as was the underside of its tail and the bottoms of its feet. But the most exotic feature of all was a small, concentrated flame on the tip of its tail. Delia wondered how such an anomaly could exist without burning anything it touched. The lizard creature had three stubs for fingers on each of its two hands and a claw growing in on each of its six toes; three for each foot. The creature wore a neon green bandana around its neck with a small circular pin that read Charmander.
The second creature curled up in the middle of the basket was a light blue turtle sporting a multi-colored shell around its body. The front of the shell was the same shade of yellow as Charmander's chest, but light brown on the creature's backside with a round, white rim dividing the two colors of the shell between front and back. The turtle's head was perfectly round, mimicking the shape of a ball. Its three stubby-fingered hands and toes were almost identical to Charmander's. Finally, the turtle had a curled-up tail reminiscent to that of a squirrel's. The name pin bound to a pink bandana around the turtle's neck read Squirtle.
The final creature of the group was the most precarious thing Delia had ever seen. Its body structure resembled not only that of a plant, but also an animal. Its skin was a darker shade of blue than Squirtle's and a series of small rectangular spots of an even darker blue decorated the creature's body. It had four legs with three claws on each that were much smaller than Charmander's. Unlike the other two, this creature was a quadruped. But the most prominent feature was a large, green plant bulb attached to the creature's back as if it had grown there from birth. The animal's dark blue bandana carried a name pin reading Bulbasaur.
Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. All bundled together within a basket and wrapped in a soft, fuzzy, golden-yellow blanket. Delia's heart sank at the very thought that someone would abandon three small, helpless creatures on such a cold evening. Tucked into the basket next to Bulbasaur, she noticed a folded slip of paper. She opened it to read the attached message. Give to a good home.
"That basket can't be very comfortable, and it's freezing outside! You're lucky none of you caught a cold out there," Mrs. Ketchum said to herself quietly. The thought that someone would abandon these helpless creatures angered her, but she was cautious to remain quiet so as not to disturb her new visitors. The woman carried the basket upstairs into an empty bedroom and gently removed the three animals from the basket so as not to wake them; removing their bandanas so they could sleep comfortably and placing each one carefully on top of the bed. She nestled them safely underneath the covers with their heads poking out to lounge on individual pillows. Delia gave each one a gentle, loving rub on the head before exiting the room and closing the door behind her.
Morning arrived and brought the first day of spring. The blizzard subsided; the air began to fill with gentle warmth, and light trickled through the bedroom window. As the sunlight reached Charmander's eyelids, the slight irritation woke the creature up. He sat up in the bed and concentrated his blurry vision into focusing on the new surroundings. Charmander was relieved to see Bulbasaur and Squirtle asleep next to him on his left-hand side. Curious and slightly dazed, Charmander climbed down from the bed. But not before brushing Squirtle's face with his tail, waking him up.
"Mmmm…Charmander? What're you doing?" asked the tiny turtle as he rubbed the sleep away from his eyes.
"Just taking a look around. I don't remember seeing this place yesterday. How did we get here?" Charmander wondered aloud as he turned his head left and right to take in all the surroundings. Squirtle turned to Bulbasaur, who was still fast asleep.
"Hey Bulbasaur, wake up," said Squirtle as he forcefully shook the dozing dinosaur-esque creature. Bulbasaur softly murmured a small groan as his only response. "Come on, Bulba. Quit being so lazy and get up already!" Squirtle insisted.
"Mmmm…too tired. Just let me sleep," groaned Bulbasaur without moving.
"Awww, you're no fun," Squirtle complained.
"Yeah, Squirtle and I wanna explore and we're not gonna sit here and wait for you to get up!" Charmander added. Bulbasaur sat up; lifting his eye lids ever so slightly.
"The room will still be here when I get up," Bulbasaur responded.
"Yeah, but it won't be new anymore cuz Squirtle and I will have already seen everything!" Charmander remarked with a giggle. Bulbasaur rolled over in the bed to turn away from all the noise; wanting to sleep more than argue. Charmander and Squirtle turned to each other and nodded mischievously. The duo began attempting to physically pull their companion out of bed by force; the latter resisting. The commotion continued as the voices of childish laughter escalated and filled the room. Once Bulbasaur finally gave in and woke up, the children decided to exit the room and explore the house. Just as they walked out into the hallway, Delia emerged from the staircase below to meet their gaze.
"Oh, good morning, you three! Did you sleep well?" she asked. Awkward silence. The trio was a bit nervous with this casual greeting since they had never met this woman before. Charmander decided at last to speak up.
"Uhhh…hello. Who are you? And where exactly are we?"
"Oh, ha! Would you listen to me! I'm speaking to you as if you've lived here for years. How silly!" Delia laughed. "You can call me Mrs. Ketchum. Welcome to my home!"
"Thanks, but how did we get here?" Bulbasaur asked. Delia hesitated. She didn't know herself. For all she knew, they were abandoned. But she couldn't just come right out and say that, could she?
"Well…I don't know exactly," she began. "Somehow you found your way to my front door last night, so I brought you in and gave you a place to stay for the night."
"That's so strange….I don't remember any of that happening," Charmander objected.
"Me neither. This is weird. I can't remember anything before waking up this morning." Bulbasaur added.
"Well, maybe a nice breakfast will help jog your memories," Delia offered. Charmander and Bulbasaur grinned as their spirits lifted.
"Yeah, that sounds great!" said Charmander.
"Sure does! I'm starving!" said Bulbasaur.
"Wonderful! I'll show you to the kitchen!" said Delia as she led the way down the stairs. Bulbasaur stopped and looked back at the doorway to notice Squirtle standing behind them; motionless.
"Hey, Squirtle, you coming?" asked Bulbasaur. Squirtle was feeling a little overwhelmed by his new surroundings and was reluctant to trust their new host. His confusion and worry had locked him into a trance until Bulbasaur's words snapped him out of it. Shifting back into consciousness, Squirtle shot his head up and turned to Bulbasaur.
"Hmm? Oh…yeah. Let's go," Squirtle finally replied.
"Now what exactly do you three eat?" asked Delia once the group was fully assembled in the downstairs kitchen.
"Hmmmm…y'know, I can't remember what I usually eat..," said Charmander, confused.
"Really? How strange," said Delia. She proceeded to prepare a hardy breakfast for four; even though she was unsure if they could even eat it. To her luck, they enjoyed it.
As the meal progressed, the group discussed their current situation.
"So Charmander, you said you can't remember what you used to eat? Haven't you ever had a meal before?" Mrs. Ketchum felt a shred of fear and sympathy and the very notion.
"Well of course! At least…I think so. I'm not sure," he explained.
"Yeah, same here. Every time I think about anything before waking up this morning, there's just…nothing. It's like this is the very first day I've ever been alive!" said Squirtle.
"Well, that can't be right. You know how to do so much already. It's almost as if you've already been raised," Delia replied.
"It's like all I can remember is who I am and that I recognize Charmander and Squirtle as my brothers. My mind just goes blank after that," said Bulbasaur. "Hey…wait a second, Mrs. Ketchum. How did you even know our names? I don't think we ever introduced ourselves"
"Well, you each came bandannas and name pins when I found you last night," said Delia.
"So, you mentioned earlier that you found us outside, right? Does that mean…you're not our mom then?" asked Squirtle sadly.
"Well, no…" Delia paused. Her heart sank. "But I'm sure she's out there somewhere. And of course you're welcome to stay here as long as you need to. It's no burden to me at all, "she added reassuringly. Charmander let Mrs. Ketchum's words sink in as he pushed his chair away from the table and climbed down from the table; turning and preparing to make his exit out of the kitchen.
"Well, thanks. That's pretty nice of you. But I think maybe my bros and I should get going," said the orange lizard.
"Brothers? So, you're all boys then?" Delia guessed.
"Yeah…why? What else were you thinking?" asked Bulbasaur curiously. Delia's cheeks flushed slightly red.
"Oh…well, I just thought that Squirtle's pink bandanna meant..." Delia trailed off. Squirtle blushed in embarrassment.
"What!? No! I'm a boy too!" he shouted in frustration. Bulbasaur and Charmander's eyes met and the two burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Ohhh that's rich!" Charmander wailed as his eyes watered.
"Well, now that you mention it, he does have the pink bandana!" Bulbasaur added as he flailed about on the floor in hysteria.
"Stop it, guys! It's not funny!" shouted Squirtle in anger.
"Of course it is!" replied Charmander, enjoying his brother's torment. Upset, Squirtle folded his arms across his chest and turned away from the mocking laughter. Delia kneeled down to Squirtle's level and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned to face her.
"I'm so sorry, Squirtle. I didn't mean to embarrass you like that. Can you forgive me?" she asked him softly. Squirtle's tense muscles loosened. He sighed.
"Yeah…I guess so," he replied as he settled into the soft, gentleness of Delia's embracing hug. With the joke having run its course, Charmander and Bulbasaur settled down and proceeded towards the front door.
"Well, come on guys. Let's head out," Charmander directed.
"And where are we goin exactly, Charmander?" asked Squirtle. Charmander stopped at the door with his hand on the knob.
"Well, Mrs. Ketchum has been nice to us, but don'tcha think we should be out tryin to find our way home? I mean, we gotta have real parents somewhere, right? So this place is just a temporary stop," he reasoned. An awkward pause followed. Bulbasaur glared at Charmander. "What's with the face?" he asked.
"Mrs. Ketchum gave us a bed to sleep in and a meal, and that's all this place is to you? Just a temporary stop? Like some cheap motel?" Bulbasaur asked. He was a little annoyed at how blunt and ungrateful his brother was acting.
"Well…no but-"
"None of us can remember anything so how do you know we aren't supposed to be here?"
"Because Mrs. Ketchum doesn't know any more about what's goin on than we do."
"But she's doing so much for us as it is and you're being pretty rude and-"
"That's enough, boys," Delia interrupted. "It's true that I don't know where you came from or how you got here, but that's not important to me. As I said before, you being here is no burden to me. In fact, it was nice to have others join me for breakfast for once…." The boys glanced at her together in silent intrigue. "I'm not your mother so I can't stop you from leaving; not when I don't know your situation. But I don't want you boys to be strangers. My door will always be open for you," she promised.
Delia put as much weight as she could behind her words. The truth of the matter was that she couldn't stop thinking about him as she spoke of offering care and her desperation was beginning to surface. She missed him deeply and she saw him when she looked into the eyes of each of her guests. She wondered where he was or why he wasn't at home with her. She wondered why she couldn't even remember his name. At the root of it all, Delia was desperate to remember him; to remember anything more than just the existence of his relation to her. She would give anything to recall any sort of memory that would bring him closer to her; bring him back into her life. All that remained were disconnected thoughts and fragments of scattered recollections.
Charmander's eyelids narrowed in wholesome understanding and he nodded. "Hmm. Well, if we really do belong somewhere else, I think we owe it to ourselves to find out where and what happened. But, we'll remember you though. Hey, we might even come back to visit!" He promised with a humble smile. "Thanks again for everything, Mrs. Ketchum." Bulbasaur and Squirtle echoed their gratitude towards Delia as well.
"You're welcome, boys," Delia acknowledged with a smile of her own. Brimming with optimism, Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur said their good-byes and strolled down the dirt pathway through Mrs. Ketchum's front yard; passing the white picket fence towards the bottom of the hill and preparing for the lengthy trek along the stretching path that extending out of sight into the edges of the mysterious world that awaited them. Delia stood at her doorway; waving and watching until the three sweetest and most wondrous boys she had ever met walked out of her sight into the horizon.
