Spectrocide
By SpiffyBalak
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, if I did, there would be an MMORPG of it by now.
Prologue
He certainly had the right to hate them.
Which one caused more pain - consistently getting swindled by fate, or tasting happiness, then having it ripped away from him? He'd take the former.
He treated his Pokemon with kindness, instructing them without barking orders, trained them to hone their strengths and make up for their weaknesses. In return, his Pokemon admired and respected him. This translated to immense power on the battlefield, letting him burn through gyms like a dog chasing cars, except that he succeeded at his endeavor - several times, in fact. He became notorious for rehabilitating the Pokemon of his friends, fitting them with perfect moves, stats, and most importantly, behavior.
So why did his teddy bear of a Gengar do something like that? His first Pokemon, no less!
He winced and made a fist.
His mom and dad announced that they'd like to open a Pokemon daycare center. The poor economy left them with a half-hatched nest egg, and they figured that looking after Pokemon would be an easy source of supplemental income. After all, they become tamer the longer they stay in one place. So he told his parents that they should get some practice first.
"Spiky's tame. You can learn the ropes with him. I'll drop him off, and you can start looking after him tomorrow."
The next day, he called to check on them.
"Hello. Who is this?" A bright voice answered. Not his mom's voice.
"It's Guy Beatty. Is my mom or dad there?"
"Ah, their son. I'm sorry to inform you that your parents are dead-"
"WHAT!? Do you know what killed them!?"
"Please calm down Mr. Beatty. When the temperatures of your parents were taken, they were extremely low. A Gengar was found in their room, and as you know, they absorb heat from other beings. It was released back into the wild to avoid-"
Guy pressed the button on his PokeGear to end the call. He held it down, hoping to end the call for good. Bastard policewoman, declaring Spiky guilty without so much as an autopsy. There was no evidence, only Spiky being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why didn't Spiky come back to him if he heard the roar of the police motorcycles?
Hell, why did Spiky have to suck the life from his parents? Why was it friend versus family? Were ghost Pokemon inherently devious bastards, waiting until you trusted them enough, then finding the nearest warm body and absorbing the drug-like warmth?
Bastard ghost Pokemon.
--
The next few months went by in a blur.
--
"Jason, man, I swear, the world will be better off without ghost Pokemon! Even battling, for you, would be easier, 'cause Psychics are weak to Ghost!"
"I'm on board, Guy. But if the Feds caught us killing ghosts, which we don't even know how to do yet, they'd throw our asses in jail before we could say 'whoops'. We should try to gain influence first by enlightening the public to our cause."
--
They started an organization. Started by speaking at various locations, handing out pamphlets, stuff like that. Guy's fame brought most of the people in at first, then something else brought them in. The two young men confirmed their fear and distrust of Ghost Pokemon, telling them that it was not only normal, but morally right. Ghost Pokemon survived by siphoning energy from human and Pokemon alike. The structure of a ghost was inherently bad for the earth, because they came from a different dimension, the negative world, and negative energy was destructive no matter what it did. Lavender Town had the lowest number of tourists in Kanto for a reason.
And this trainer, who actually started with a Gastly, raised him from low levels to level 100...how did he repay his master?
--
"The only correct course of action," Guy spoke into dozens of microphones, "is to eliminate Ghost Pokemon from the face of the earth. We may not know how yet, but if we learn how, Spectrocide will give us - and our children one less thing to fear in the night."
With each round of applause, the pain dulled a little.
--
Soon, Spectrocide amassed lots of money. This helped Guy, who needed all the money he could get for advertising, research, and the ocassional bribe. This also helped Jason, who needed all the money he could get for food, clothes, toys, and diapers.
When Jack and Sally Tennod died, they left their infant son Pete behind. Jason decided adopting Pete would keep the kid's life as similar as it would be if his parents didn't get in that car accident. Same grandparents, same last name, just different home environment.
Guy bonded with little Pete too, because he would share the grief of lacking a mom and dad before long. However, he thought as he dialed the number of his colleague Gonzap, perhaps he didn't have to feel that pain.
A few minutes later, a small version of the device used to make Shadow Pokemon was set to deliver from Pyrite Town, Orre to Saffron City, Kanto via the Ninjask Multiregional Postal Service.
--
"All their vitals are in order. Now's as good as any time to start the procedure."
Guy handed Jason the nightmarish black mask that resembled the head of a Darkrai.
"No need for him to hurt. No need for him to feel loss. No need for him to cry." Jason whispered, half to himself and half to Guy.
"When he's grown, he can join the cause," Guy smiled at his friend as he lowered the helmet to the wiggling infant's head.