Day Zero
Machop landed on his butt under the roots of a tree in a hail of berries he'd gathered.
"Ow! Dad, why'd you-" he started.
"Shut up! Stay low. Don't move until I tell you."
The Machoke who'd yelled at him ran off into the forest, to the east where the mountains were. Machop could tell something was going wrong - there were all kinds of bird and bug Pokémon fleeing in the opposite direction.
Dad usually settles fights… But this is… Different. I can't just stay here!
Machop made sure the Oran and Wiki berries he'd gathered were all under the tree and ran off to follow his father. The closer he got to the mountain, however, the more obvious it became that something was wrong. Very wrong.
"サイドン、行け！" yelled an unfamiliar voice. The ground shook and Machop got low behind a bush. He crawled under it, the noise masked by an ongoing fight. When he could see out the other side, he finally understood what was happening.
A Pokémon that was red and black and tan was standing near the slope of the mountain, pointing and yelling at a Rhydon. The Rhydon and Machoke had clearly already been fighting, but neither was tired.
At the smaller Pokémon's command, the Rhydon charged forward and lowered a shoulder. Machoke stood his ground, braced, took the hit, but used the chance to get a hold on the Rhydon. With a Vital Throw, Machoke pivoted and slammed the huge Rock Pokémon to the dirt.
"クソッ！サイドン、ドリルライナー！" yelled the smaller Pokémon.
Rhydon rolled roughly to its hands and feet, then rushed Machoke again. The horn on its head spun rapidly and it roared a threat, but Machoke stayed focused. He side-stepped the Horn Drill attack and used Low Kick as his foe passed to trip Rhydon.
Now both Rhydon and the Pokémon commanding it were getting frustrated. Machop, hiding quietly, celebrated to himself. He'd seen Rhydon on the mountain before and thought them threatening, but his father made fighting one look easy.
"立ってろよ、サイドン！じしんアタック！" yelled the commander through grit teeth, growing more angry by the second.
When Rhydon stood up this time, there was a new look in its eye. Machop watched closely, but he couldn't figure out what would have changed to make it so confident. His father was equally as confused, and they were both taken completely off guard when Rhydon started beating its tail on the ground and stomping its feet.
The mountainside shook under their feet and sharp stones were forced up under Machoke without warning, throwing him off his feet. Trees toppled, dirt jumped, and Machop was nearly crushed under a falling branch. Machop clung to the dirt and tried to resist getting dizzy, but as the attack went on, things only got worse. Rhydon roared as trees fell left and right, before finally stopping at the command of the red and black Pokémon.
When Machop finally dared to let go of the ground and look up, he was awestruck. The landscape had changed most out ahead of him, near his father and the Rhydon, but the surrounding forest as a whole had been devastated.
The smaller Pokémon finally attacked separately from the Rhydon. It threw something at Machoke and Machop watched as his father disappeared into whatever-it-was. It didn't last long, however, as his father reappeared in the same flash of white light.
When Machoke reappeared, the red and black Pokémon started yelling and pointing, then threw something else. A new Pokémon appeared from nowhere and took flight.
"オンバーン、サイドン！このゴーリキーを叩き潰せ！"
The new Pokémon, a black creature with round ears and a red crest on its head, let out an earsplitting sound and lunged forward through the air. Before Machop could see the outcome of its dive, he had to shut his eyes and cover his ears. The sheer volume of sound overwhelmed his senses and he cowered from it.
When he looked up again, it was over. The black and purple Pokémon landed beside Rhydon and they waited as their commander approached where Machoke used to be. Machop could only assume his father was now inside the red and white stone the Pokémon retrieved - stolen.
Machop stayed still and waited as the three left. As soon as they were out of earshot, Machop scrambled from the bush he was hiding in and ran for home.
"Mightyena?! Croconaw?! Mankey?! Anyone!"
Machop ran for the local lake, but was met with silence. The usual crowd was nowhere to be found.
"Machop?" came a tentative voice.
Machop turned and looked up. There was Mankey, shivering and half hidden behind the tree.
"Hey! I need your help! My dad, Mankey! They took my dad away!"
Mankey shrank further behind the tree.
"Mankey! I can't-"
"Would you quit your whining?!" came another voice, this one from the lake. Croconaw had his head above the water, and didn't look happy.
"Jeez, kid, this was bound to happen someday. Didn't your dad ever tell you to steer clear of humans? And now his stupid heroism finally bit him in the butt and he's gone. Serves him right!"
"You take that back! My dad protected the forest! He tried to save us! He did! That thing only took him! We can still save him!"
"Do it yourself," said Croconaw, "I never liked that self-righteous Pokémon anyway."
"What did you call the thing that took my dad?" asked Machop.
"That 'thing' was a human," said Mightyena, approaching with her Poochyena puppies.
"Human? What kind of Pokémon-"
"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" said Croconaw, "It's not a Pokémon! Human! Hu-man! I thought your perfect dad taught you the important stuff?! They enslave Pokémon, stupid. Your dad's gone. For good. Once a human gets ahold of ya, there's no escape unless they say so. Now quit all the yelling, turn your pale blue butt around, and go home."
Mightyena took a step closer to the lake and Croconaw surged forward in the water.
"And don't none 'o you dare touch my water! You think I'm not paying attention to you, Mightyena? That annoying Machoke's gone now - no one's gonna make me give up my water anymore!"
Mightyena looked Croconaw right in the eye and leaned down to drink from the lake. Croconaw swam straight for her, sending splashes of water into the air. While a fight broke out between them, Machop backed away and looked around.
"Are you two serious?!" he demanded. "My father gets kidnapped, a Rhydon destroys the mountainside, and you're still fighting over the only water for miles?! You really don't care?!"
Croconaw held Mightyena's mouth closed against the ground.
"No, kid. No one cares. Now beat i-"
A Poochyena Tackled him away from its mother and the fight continued.
Rather than watch, Machop looked horrified and ran off. Mankey followed, jumping through the trees after Machop. More and more of the forest Pokémon were returning to their usual lives, though most were on guard.
"Hey, Machop!" yelled Mankey from up in the tree.
Machop was busy gathering up the berries he'd hidden.
"What, Mankey?"
"You're not- You're not going after that human alone, are you?!"
"Why shouldn't I? No one else is gonna help me. I'm not just gonna stay here and wait around. Someone's gotta do something!"
"But if you go, who's gonna take your dad's place?!"
That gave Machop pause. He took a moment to let the thought sink in, but he found it didn't change his mind.
"Ya know what, Mankey? You're right. But they don't care about him, so why should I care about them? I'm going after him. Either you're gonna stay up there and squawk, or you're coming to help me."
Machop set the berries down and ripped a broad leaf from a Watmel berry stem, put the berries inside, and tied the leaf off with its own stem.
"I've got food, I've got my dad's training, and, apparently, I'm the only one with any Guts around here."
He picked up the leaf bundle, easily the size of his entire torso, and put it on his shoulder.
"You coming?"
He looked up at Mankey. Mankey wasn't there. Machop looked around and didn't see anyone. He looked down at the tree and thicket that had been his home with his father. The sight only made him angry, so he turned and started off in the direction he'd seen the human going. The Pokémon with a red R on its chest.