.."JOLTEON, NO!"

The lightening dog lay motionless on the ground, it's limp body half hidden in the dirt by Onix's slam. The rock snake Pokemon roared victoriously sending unpleasant vibrations around the stadium forcing the few empty seats to rattle in their frames. Unused currents escaped from the Jolteon's sparking fur and skimmed over the arena before dying against Onix's stone hide with no affect.

"Return your Pokemon or my Onix will finish it!"

Jolteon's trainer clenched his teeth, his wild eyes desperately shifting between the Pokemon as his mind scrolled through every strategy he had ever learnt. The crowd began to grow louder, like a God of many voices demanding the trainer surrender. Ty's lip curled into a smug smirk as his opponent released a small whimper out of panic and desperation before finally dropping his shoulders in defeat and returning his injured Jolteon.

"I still have one more, this isn't ov-" The boy shrieked as Onix released another roar causing the crowd to swiftly fall silent before erupting in to laughter.

"Enough, Onix. Return!" Ty shouted, attempting to ignore the disapproving look of the Battle Judge. A red light surrounded the giant Pokemon before disappearing from view.

Ty's smirk shifted into a pout as he cockily pressed his lips against his last Pokeball.

"We got this!" He whispered before throwing the ball into the arena. He waited for the familiar flash of crimson hue before opening his hand, awaiting the return of the empty ball.

"Out Blastoise!" He shouted as the Pokeball slapped back against his palm and minimised.

"Indigo League Champion Richie has chosen Pikachu as his third and final Pokemon. His challenger, Tyler has chosen Blastoise. Richie now has one last chance to defend his reigning championship and uphold the Kanto Region ti-"

Ty shut down his laptop, staring at his reflection in the black screen. His facial features hardly resembled the wide-eyed, cocky 12 year old he had been in the video. His hair was longer, darker, just covering his light grey eyes. His brow and jawline were much more prominent, his arms more muscular and his shoulders broader as what naturally occurs to a boy of 17. Even so, 5 new champions later and he was still recognised and conceded as a minor celebrity, much to his annoyance. When you're 12 years old, you're too excited and naive to deal with the consequences of becoming the Indigo League champion and the unexpected fame that accompanies it. All Ty had wanted to do was what any kid wanted to do, collect Pokemon and win battles and that is what he had done. He had won the ultimate battle and his Pokemon journey abruptly ended.

He sat in a small room in a basement under a Pokemart in Pallet Town. The curtains never revealed the view behind the tiny windows and cardboard boxes lined the floors and walls.

As Ty closed the screen of his laptop and placed it back on his desk. He eyed the letter he had read twice a day since receiving it several weeks ago. Professor oak's invitation lay unanswered, crinkled, spoilt by coffee rings and water marks. It didn't matter that the writing was now smudged and unreadable, it's what the letter didn't say that concerned Ty. The gist of the letter was an invitation from Professor Oak to invite Ty out of retirement and continue his journey to the Johto region. The offer was generous and wording polite yet he knew that Oak had a far more sinister request from him than just completing another Pokedex. He wanted his first. The one Oak handed to him on his 10th birthday on the promise he find and collect the data of every Kanto Region Pokemon. The one Ty had almost completed. Ty certainly didn't think of Professor Oak as a bad guy, no one did, but he would be the last to raise a glass for the old man's achievements.

See, the truth about the seemingly perfect world of Pokemon is the unspoken afflictions. Imagine children as young as 10 being praised and idolised after a long and painful journey of solitude. One day you're begging a rookie trainer to battle for the pitiful prize of their water bottle, the next your name is carved into a Dratini statue in the Hall Of Fame. And once your name is carved into that stone, it is also carved into good minds of the Pokemon world.. and the bad. Even the most sensible of young people cannot reveal the danger masked as a gift and who can make a champion reject it?

The perils of victory and politics were unfortunately not the only issues Ty had to contend with after his first adventure. Puberty changes people in a lot of ways, physically and mentally. The child who was once confident and outspoken can become shy and lonely. The child who everyone compliments and panders over is now insecure and self-deprecating. Ty was no exception to this struggle. Although his tiny basement room was still decorated in dusty posters and magazine covers from his glory days, there was little evidence of his development into a bitter teenage seclusion. After his victory tour was over Ty had given Professor Oak his champion Pokemon for a short term loan, but after 5 years, the Pokemon had all been donated to far more ambitious trainers before they could turn back wild. It had not been Ty's wish but he lacked the motivation to protest.

Once he had finally rolled out of bed and showered, he stepped into some pants, buttoned up a simple denim shirt and pushed his curly mop of hair under a soft felt trilby hat. He appeared more fashion conscious than he cared to but the hat gave him somewhat of a disguise, as would the sunglasses hanging from the neck of his shirt. He had no shortage of clothes and accessories. Sponsors still spoiled him with their latest stock, most of which still lay untouched, wrapped in plastic and hidden in boxes cluttering the room. There was just one thing he needed before he left, his old Pokedex. Oak had been patient enough. Eventually he found the device under a pile of old battle strategy guides. He paused, brushing his thumb lightly over the scratches and dents embedded into the faded cherry red case. For the first time in a long while, Ty smiled. The largest scratch had been from a wild Charmeleon he recalled. He had tried to catch it single handedly before being saved by his Squirtle's water gun. The cracked corner was when he dropped it whilst racing his Taurus down Route 17 from a particularly dangerous biker gang. His smile soon disappeared with the realisation that declining Professor Oak's offer would also mean parting with a piece of his history. Even so, he placed the Pokedex into his satchel and left the cluttered, dark room.

In contrast, it was a naturally bright morning in Pallet Town though the strong winds higher up caused the clouds to travel faster than usual. The shadows danced gracefully over the meadows and sparse dwellings before quickly disappearing over the hilltops. Fortunately the simple dirt roads were not too busy on such a peaceful day and Ty could travel to Professor Oak's Ranch without fear of interaction. Although Ty rarely ventured outside anymore, the path was familiar. He had taken the same route on his 10th birthday although at a much faster pace, fuelled by the excitement of choosing his very first starter Pokemon. Though the seven year old memory now felt like a different lifetime. How much had changed.

Once he caught sight of the famous turbine behind Oak's lab, Ty followed the path up to the ranch and quietly followed an aid to Oak's office.

"Good morning Professor. I hope I'm not interrupting. Eh, Perhaps I should have made an appointment?" Ty questioned, his eyes flicking towards the flustered aid he had followed in, now tidying some loose papers on Oak's desk before slamming the door behind him.

The silver haired man winced at the sound of door hitting frame. "Apologies Ty. Ignore that. Interns. Mad as a pond of Gyarados, all of them!" He smiled, taking in the teenagers appearance. "It really is good to see you out of the house."

"Is it? I haven't been asked for an autograph yet so I'll delay the celebrations" Ty joked.

The Professor simply nodded not sharing his sense of humour. "Well I'm glad to see you. You're welcome here any time, you know that."

Ty smiled uncomfortably, shifting his attention to one of the windows overlooking the Oak ranch. As if to read his mind, the Professor continued. "Your Onix is doing just fine, I can arrange for him to be collected if you'd like."

Onix had been the only one of Ty's Pokemon Oak could not re-home. The giant Pokemon was far too large and unpredictable to be given to a rookie trainer and the trainers who could tame him reeked of greed and corruption. It would have been professionally negligent of Oak to release such a creature in to the wrong hands.

Ty frowned. "Actually Professor, that's something I came to speak to you about". He raised his hat and ran his fingers through his hair before returning it. "I'm not interested in the Johto circuit. Your offer was generous to say the least but another 8 Gym badges are nothing more than tacky fashion accessories to me. Thanks but no thanks".

Professor Oak tightened his lips, choosing his words carefully. "If that is what you wish. I cannot change your mind. As your mentor, it just saddens me to let such a promising trainer withdraw".

Oak stood to face the wall behind him. It was crudely decorated with Trainer portraits and their teams posing happily with varying trophies and ribbons. Ty counted nine. Nine trainers mentored by Oak and displayed proudly behind his desk. The trainers who didn't make the wall probably didn't even receive a Christmas card from the glory supporting Professor. Oak took Ty's picture from the wall, it hung above Gary's, Oak's nephew. "You trained one of the strongest teams the Indigo League had ever witnessed. Trainers from all around the world still beg me for your Pokemon offering silly money". Oak smiled, probably from the mention of money and took a seat. "Silly. However, I hear all your Pokemon are doing quite well with their new trainers".

"The ones that are left."

Professor Oak tightened his jaw, not wishing to continue that topic of conversation. He had already touched a nerve, though that was hardly a challenge.

"Yes, well... I assumed you took receipt of my letter. There is another reason I asked you here".

Ty nodded and retrieved his Pokedex from his bag and placed it lightly on the stack of neat papers. "I know and If I remember correctly, there should be 142 entries in there, almost complete. but I think you're most interested in the last entry though, right?"

Professor Oak sighed, admitting defeat but he remained still, ignoring the device. "Ty, what happened was not your fault, you cannot blame yourself."

"You're right Professor, I don't." Ty straightened his posture. "Somebody should have stopped it. You, the Elite Four, the Pokemon League, anyone. I was twelve years old. TWELVE! and my Blastoise.." Ty trailed off, folding his arms and looking down.

Professor Oak tilted his head slightly to show the boy sympathy. "You're right Ty, but how were we to know, how was anyone? I'm sorry for what happened to your Blastoise, losing a Pokemon is a terrible, terrible thing." Professor Oak circled the desk to place a hand on Ty's shoulder.

Ty shrugged the hand away, making eye contact for the first time since arriving. "You wanted your precious data, you got it." Ty gestured towards the battered Pokedex.

He hadn't come to start a fight but lately his emotions were getting the better of him. That's sadly what happens when you spend too much time alone and withdrawn.

"I think I've sacrificed enough for your flimsy research so you can award yourselves for the work of others without having to go to Johto as well, don't you?"

Oak leant back against the desk, defeated. "You're right Ty, I have asked far too much from you and I'm sorry. However, I'm not asking you to go to Johto for me, I asking you to go for yourself. You wer- are an incredible Pokemon trainer, a League champion for Arceus sake. It's what you're good at, it's what you enjoy and it's your purpose."

Ty snorted "My purpose? Diglett shit!, my purpose was not to be plastered on every Super Potion bottle from here to Cinnabar Island. Paraded around like a Master Ball for people to gawp at. I know what happens when you win now, why would I still want that?" Ty sat down, exhausted. He hadn't had this long of an interaction in quite some time. "I just want to be forgotten."

"We both know you wont be for a long, long time." Oak picked up the Pokedex, flipping open the case. The screen still displayed the last data entry from all those years ago. Ty winced as the chirpy, metallic voice called out the reading.

"Mewtwo, the Psychic Pokémon. It was created by genetic manipulation. However, even though the scientific power of humans created this Pokémon's body, they failed to endow Mewtwo with a compassionate heart."

"Do you still need an answer as to why I don't wish to continue my journey whilst that THING is still out there?" Ty asked, his hands tightening into fists.

"The fears which we do not face become our limits. Ty, you became the youngest champion in Kanto history, you faced each Gym Leader only once and made a mockery of the Elite Four. You did not expect to be stopped by a genetic experiment, none of us did, but that is not your limit."

Professor Oak pulled open a drawer of his desk and retrieved a navy blue, metallic object similar in size and shape to Ty's Pokedex only more rounded and without the battle wounds. He held it out to Ty. "You know now what you have to face and I fear that you're the only one. Think of all the children, naive and blinded by adventure beginning their journeys today who could lose their partner just like you lost Blastoise. They have no idea what's out there and we can't warn them without sufficient evidence."

Ty frowned taking the new Pokedex but lowering his eyes to his old one. "What do you mean, without sufficient evidence. I nearly died bringing you that data!"

Oak pushed the device into a slot on the side of his computer. It clicked into place before he tapped a couple of keys. A metallic voice confirmed his action. "Pokedex history deleted."

Ty's eyes widened yet he remained calm. Some habits died hard and thankfully his intuition to pick his opponents carefully never left. He took a deep breath through flared nostrils. "Why did you do that Professor?"

Oak took the empty Pokedex and placed it into the breast pocket of his lab coat. "My lab is overflowing with know-it-all interns coming and going as they please. There is great evil in the world Ty, we cannot afford for such information to be released to the masses".

Ty faked a look of realisation before forcing a smile. "You're right".

Professor Oak was not right.

Ty was afraid of the unknown but Mewtwo was no longer unknown, not to him anyway. His future was, in that tiny, cluttered dark room wasting away in fear and paranoia surviving on the profits of a child he could no longer remember being. He didn't want that life for himself or anyone else. If Professor Oak refused to deal with this, he would just have to go after Mewtwo himself. In order to do that he would need a strong team and he would need to be back on the radar.

"Actually, I think I would like you to collect my Onix".