Prologue

"Hello, and welcome to the world of Pokemon." I remember that's what used to play on the televisions during the age of humanity. Hundreds of years ago, a great war spread throughout the world, killing effectively all of the human race, save a group of trainers, known as the Great Ones. Their teams were unbeatable, and when the fighting was said and done, the trainers grew weary. After releasing their teams, they died off, one by one until all of humanity was finally gone.

Pokemon no longer could share friendship with humans, who they needed just as much as humans needed them. With humans gone, Pokemon became unruly. Fighting is simply in their nature, but it was the humans that taught them how to hone their abilities. Eventually, Pokemon came to separate as before the age of humanity, eventually all returning to their homes.

The world broken, Pokemon did not speak of other regions, and it was all forgotten. The legendaries still knew of course, but they disappeared completely. This is the story of how Pokemon finally learned to manage without humanity. Unsurprisingly, it begins in the region where the age of humanity started, the Kanto Region, in a very special town, called Pallet.

Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins

Pallet Town was a small and quiet place sitting on an entrance to the sea. There were only about one hundred Pokemon living there, but it was peaceful, and they managed to make it work. Here they lived in the remnants of the human homes, doing their best to keep them maintained.

Pokemon still had not grown fully accustomed to human technology at this point. Homes were dark and required alternate sources of light. Everyone lived off farming and manual labor, but still, they were happy.

For the young mind, however, one may want something more out of life. This was the case for a young Charmander named Vigilance. He had never been outside of the borders of Pallet Town. The village elders had always told him it was a dangerous world outside of the town borders. Pokemon were far more violent out in the wild, and even the other cities were known to be rowdy places.

Vigilance didn't care. He wanted to go out anyway. At least this was the case for the most part. Most of him wanted to go out, but there was that small part of his mind that scared him from ever going out. This would sometimes make him feel as though he didn't live up to his namesake. His friends did not help this matter any.

Benny was an excitable Squirtle who had been planning on his own departure sometime in the future. He was obsessed with history and was always commenting on the ingenuity of the humans, despite not knowing what any of the old tech did. He loved going down to the shore and trying to dig up old fossilized items. "Someday," he would always tell Vigilance. "I'm going to finally go out into the world and write a book. I'll call it 'Historia: A Complete History of the Kanto Region." It was Benny that always made Vigilance more keen on the idea of venturing out.

Darren, on the other hand, was a Bulbasaur who was more calm and collected than Benny. Darren did not enjoy the prospect of leaving the safety of Pallet Town, believing the rural life to be superior to any other life one could possibly want. He was always helping out the townsfolk in any way he could, completely content with his life. "Why would you want to go out there?" he would ask Vigilance. "You have everything you could possibly want here. We have good food, good friends, and a roof over our heads. There's nothing out there except monsters." It was this last thing that always put Vigilance off again.

There were not many that shared Vigilance or Benny's want to go out into the world. Darren's mindset was the more common one, and this made it difficult for Vigilance to decide what to do.

One night after all of his work for the day had been completed, Vigilance went to the shore as he, Benny, and Darren often did after a long day. He had just worked on getting the fields cleared for the next season. He sat down looking out at the waves, and eventually, Benny and Darren joined him. Vigilance started a fire for them as the sun began going down.

"Did you know," Benny started, but he was interrupted by Darren.

"Here we go," Darren groaned.

"Did you know," Benny started again, not in the least bit fazed by Darren, "that somewhere out in that ocean, is an island called Cinnabar? Supposedly the island is teeming with fire pokemon like you, Vigilance, and there's an extinct volcano!"

"And where," Darren asked, "did you hear that information?"

"One of the Pidgeots that sometimes fly into the shop told me," Benny said.

"You got away with that?" Vigilance asked. "Thought Methuselah didn't like that."

Benny worked in the shop run by a cranky Golem named Methuselah. Nobody was really sure where Methuselah came from. The elder said he just showed up one day, asked to set up a store to sell farming goods to the calmer wild pokemon, and then was there for longer than anyone could remember.

Benny smirked. "He left the shop to me today. Too bad that was the only story I got. But it is a great thing to put in my notes when I get home."

Darren rolled his eyes. "You're never going to write that thing."
Benny put a hand to his chest as though he were offended. "How rude, Darren. Historia will be the most amazing thing ever written."

"You two," Darren said irritably. "I will never understand why you two are so fascinated with what's out there. We have…"

"Everything we could ever want here," Vigilance said, repeating Darren's old mantra. "We know, but Benny's right. There's a whole lot of world out there if the Pidgeot are anything to go by."

Darren shook his head. "Vigilance, sometimes I can't tell when you will and won't listen to reason. You should stay here. We need you anyway."

That wasn't completely true. Vigilance wasn't the only fire type in Pallet, though he was one of just three. The other two were a Flareon and a Magmar which were hardly in need of a mere Charmander's support.

"You don't need him," Benny said for Vigilance. "The fields only need clearing every few months, and there aren't enough homes that we need three fire pokemon to light furnaces during the cold."

Darren grew quiet, and Benny turned to Vigilance. "You need to make a decision though, Vigilance."

"Well I know that much," Vigilance replied, taken back by Benny's sudden directness. "I'm just waiting for when the time is right, ya' know?"

Benny shook his head. "That's not good enough. By your logic, the time will never be right, and you'll stay here."

"That's probably the right choice," Darren muttered.

"You can't make that decision for him," Benny growled turning back to Darren.

Vigilance sighed as Benny and Darren began yet another argument. He started walking off, but they noticed.

"Hey!" Benny cried. "Where are you going?"

Vigilance shook his head. "I can't do this tonight, guys. I'm going home."

He did not, however, go home. Instead he walked past town and to the entrance to Route 1. He looked out over the tall grass, sighing. Would he ever make the decision to go out? He wasn't sure. He didn't think he'd ever be sure. Maybe Benny was right.

He looked up, startled, when he heard rustling in the tall grass. Methuselah was heading back into town. "O-oh," Vigilance stammered. "Evening, Methuselah."

"Evening," Methuselah grunted. "What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be at the shore with Benny and your depressed friend?"

"They were being butt-headed," Vigilance sighed.

"I see." Methuselah looked outwards. "Benny tells me you speak sometimes of going out into the world."

Vigilance shrugged. "I guess so. I've just… what's it like out there?"

Methuselah had a surprised look on his face. "Hah. I never expected anyone other than Benny to ask that. I suppose it's a mess though. Always has been, and always will be. Pokemon are violent out there."

Vigilance took this to mean that he shouldn't go out in the world. Darren was right. Despite his want to stay satisfied, a large part of him was still disappointed that he shouldn't go out. Methuselah seemed to notice this.

"You do want to go out, don't you?" Methusaleh asked.

"If it's dangerous, then I probably shouldn't," Vigilance replied.

"It's like I tell Benny," Methusaleh said. "Yes it's dangerous, but if you feel as though you can't stay here, then you shouldn't. I left home too to adventure, but now I prefer the solitude of Pallet. That happens when you get old."

"Did you fight then?" Vigilance asked.

Methusaleh gestured to himself. "Do you think I got like this by just sitting around? No, I fought. I fought a lot. You have to out there. It's in our very nature as Pokemon. Here in Pallet, nobody wants to. Everyone ignores their natural instinct, but out there? Pokemon use it."

Vigilance looked at Methusaleh who was now grinning, something Vigilance never saw from the old Golem. "What do you mean?" he asked Methusaleh.

"You go out there, kid," Methusaleh said. "It's stirring within you, that want for adventure. Benny has felt it too. I suppose you didn't ask for my advice, but take it from me. Don't ignore your instinct. You will never feel happy if you don't at least try to go out there."

Methusaleh began walking off. Vigilance wondered what he was doing out there in the first place. He thought about Methusaleh's words for a moment as he continued staring at the entrance. It was much darker now. The only thing that lit up the night was the flame on his tail. Suddenly, he realized that his mind was made up. All it took was one other opinion for him to do so.

He rushed back to the shore, but Benny and Darren were both gone. Vigilance didn't know if that was because of an argument or just because it had gotten too dark. It didn't matter. He ran back into town, and headed to Benny's house. A sign reading that he didn't want his furnace lit that night hung on the door. Vigilance knocked rapidly and Benny answered just as fast.

"Oh, hey," Benny said. "You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Vigilance said excitedly. "I, I've decided I'm going out. Tomorrow. You're right. If I don't go now, I'll never make up my mind."

"Hey, that's great!" Benny exclaimed. "You should come in then. I've got something for you."

Benny opened the door wider to let Vigilance in. "What do you mean?" Vigilance asked as he stepped inside.

"You can't just go out like this," Benny said. "You need money. Out there, you don't just get food for work. Some pokemon expect you to pay using the same system that Methusaleh's shop runs on for outsiders." Benny reached into a box on a table and pulled out some funny paper. "This is real money," he said. "I've had Methusaleh pay me partially in it for awhile now so I could afford to leave without having to worry too much about it. Have some of it."

"What?" Vigilance asked surprised. "I didn't even know you had this, but now you just want me to have it?"

"No, no, no," Benny said, thrusting the paper into Vigilance's hand. "I have plenty. I reached my goal awhile ago. The only reason I haven't left yet is because I'm still missing a few items that I personally want, but I should have those soon. That said though, this isn't all you need."

Benny opened a drawer and pulled out a bag. He put it over Vigilance's head and wrapped it around. He took the money back and put it in the bag, smiling. "You're going to find all sorts of things out there," Benny said. "You'll need this to carry it all."

"Benny, I can't take all this from you."

"Then we'll call it a loan," Benny laughed. "I'll be fine. Really. I'm not too far behind you on this adventure."

"Why don't you just come with me?" Vigilance asked.

Benny shook his head. "I have a goal, remember? We're going to be paced differently. I don't want to keep you behind. For you, you just want to see the world? For me? I want to document it. That kind of thing will bore you, I'm sure."

Vigilance hesitatingly nodded. It would bore him. "You're right, of course."

Benny grinned. "Course. Alright, you're set to go. From what the Pidgeot tell, the first stop is a city called Viridian. Route 1 goes all the way there. From there, it's an adventure."

Vigilance smiled back. "Yeah. I suppose it is."

After a few parting words, Vigilance left for his own home. He was surprised to see Darren there. Darren looked at the bag slung around Vigilance's shoulder. He sighed again, closing his eyes.

"I came to apologize," he said. "Benny and I have been harassing you for awhile. Though it looks like you made up your mind tonight."

Vigilance nodded. "All is forgiven, friend, and yeah. I have."

A small smirk appeared on Darren's face. "There's no stopping you two, I guess. Truth be told, I'm nervous for you guys. You're my best friends, and I never wanted you to leave me."

Vigilance knew that any offer of joining him would just be rejected like Benny. "Is that why you're always arguing with us?" he asked instead.

Darren nodded. "I suppose so. It's a dangerous, dangerous world, but I guess you were always the strongest of the three of us. If anyone can make it out there, it's you."

"I… thanks," Vigilance said.

"Do me a favor though," Darren said. "Make some good friends out there. You'll need the back-up eventually, I'm sure."

"I'll be sure to," Vigilance said. "I promise I'll be careful out there. I'll be back some day." He remembered Methusaleh's words about getting old. "This is still home, Darren. Don't worry."

Darren smiled. "I'm glad to hear."

The following morning, instead of going out to the fields, Vigilance found himself once again at the entrance to Route 1. With Benny's bag and money in tow, he prepared to take his first step. Funny. The route didn't look so scary in the daylight.

He took a step in the tall grass. With one last look back to Pallet, he sighed happily and took another step. He was on his way for a journey that, without his knowing, would change the world of Pokemon forever.