3:27 p.m. Tuesday, December 14th, 2047
The harsh wind that came rocketing down Frinton Avenue carried the screams and cries of the approaching destruction. It had been this way for days, though the citizens of Rustboro City had never been given a clear idea of when it would dawn upon them. Though as the screech of footsteps upon the cracked pavement and the clatter of a thunderbolt attack gone amiss, could be heard just a block away, Charlie Weindrich knew that the war had arrived.
The young boy had been tending to his injured zigzagoon when the clamor had broken out just over on Brincoff Drive where his family's home was located. Thoughts of his home being torched to the ground instantly snapped into his mind, accompanied by the imaginary shrieks and wails of his family that seemed so real. This had been the case within the various cities of the Kanto and Sinnoh regions, both of which were currently in a state of destruction and unlivable conditions. Scenes of these places were constantly being shown on public broadcasting stations as a reminder of what the human race had done to the beautiful Earth that they once called, "a safe place to live". But these days, there was no true "safe place", for evil thoughts and plans lurked everywhere.
With these visions burned deeply into his mind, Charlie took off at a full pace run towards the sign at the end of the road marked Central Street. He pressed the zigzagoon close to his chest, taking care not to drop the hurt pokemon as he skidded down the street. The intersection leading toward the main road was just beyond this point, and was surprising empty, probably due to the fact that nearly every family was taking refuge in the pokemon contest hall.
That was where Charlie had been heading when a swarm of crazed beedrill had bombarded him, in a rush to escape the city themselves. In their panic, one's stinger managed to pierce the leg of Charlie's companion zigzagoon, instantly knocking the poor raccoon pokemon unconscious. He couldn't just leave it there, so he had then sacrificed a few minutes of his life to help it. The boy knew that he had little time, for the doors to the contest hall would shut for good at 3:30 p.m. making no exceptions for stragglers, just leaving them on their own to find a safe haven. Glancing down at his poketch watch, his eyes passed over the digital reading 3:27, with the seconds clicking away the time until his sure-to-come demise, which he could only avoid if he started moving, now!
Luckily, the contest hall was within easy walking distance from his location, just beyond the pokemon center that lies smack-dab in the center of Rustboro, exactly one mile away.
Charlie Weindrich was determined to make it to his destination in time, and had his mind set on nothing but it. A reassuring sight had just transfixed itself on the horizon, that is, the pokemon center! A sharp cramp jabbed at his side seemingly determined to stop him from getting there.
Seconds later, as the young Weindrich boy passed the sliding glass doors of the healing center, the contest hall, with its towering walls, and its toast-colored walls, came into view. At this point, it called out to Charlie like a beacon, beckoning to him, telling him that safety was within reach, inside its walls. With the snoozing zigzagoon becoming increasingly heavier and the boy's muscles aching greatly, he took off in one last balls-to-the-wall sprint down a sloped hill, thinking of nothing but entering those doors. That was when he heard those three dreaded words.
"Close the doors!' came the shout of the military personnel atop the roof, waving a rifle in the air. His blastoise beside him then began spraying water in great blasts at the swarm of people in front of the doors, fighting for the right to enter the auditorium. Men, women, children, and pokemon alike were thrown aside like rag dolls from the force of the hydro-pump. Working feverishly through the savage crowd were Charlie and his zigzagoon, hidden by the waving arms and splashing water. "No, please, let me in!" the boy pleaded and cried, with his face turned upward toward the camouflage- clad man. But just as the words escaped his mouth, Charlie felt a gut-wrenching stab at his lower back, and was instantly knocked to the ground, and the zigzagoon plummeted to the earth.
As Charlie Weindrich lie there on his back, gazing skyward, his muscles twitched endlessly, due to the recent case of paralysis taking over his body. The culprit, guilty of doing this to him, then passed over the fallen boy. From his position on the ground, Charlie witnessed a gruff-looking girl; her hair tied back with a bandanna, shrieking commands at her companion toxicroak. It was only two words, over and over again. Poison Jab! Immediately, the fighting frog pokemon leapt through the crowd, its arms glowing wildly, and thrust it into countless victims' backs. Instantly they would drop like a sack of hay, and lie there twitching, with their pokemon looking helplessly at their masters. The mysterious girl however, continued her path of paralysis to the barricaded doors that once served as an entrance. Then, she and her pokemon began throwing a torrent of fists toward the wooden-planks that were meant to block off one's passage.
The army, seeing the horrible riot below them, responded in the only way that they knew how. The group of officers atop the roof screamed out an unheard warning, " Please back away from the doors, or we will resort to physical action." These men had no other choice, because at that very moment saw the torrent of flames billowing up from the West Side of the city, indicating that the enemy forces had arrived, and were currently bent on destroying Rustboro.
The last intelligible word that Charlie heard was, "Fire!" And accompanied by that command came a swirling mass of electricity and flames, emitted by the Jolteon and Rapidash who had been sitting at their general master's feet on top of the contest hall. It twirled and dove among the mob, instantly killing some, and leaving others to die in agonizing pain, However, Charlie would not see any more of this bloodshed, for at the very moment that the attack reached him, his world went black.