"Command, this is the G.F.S. Artemis reporting. We're on a collision course with… something. Something very, very big. We have no idea what this thing is, but it's much bigger than a star. And that's putting it mildly. Whatever it is, it's too big to move away from. And too fast. We were probably good as dead already by the time it came up on the radar. We fired at it as a last resort, but as expected, that did no good. It'll crash into us within the next minute. I hope this message comes through – no one object should be this big, and it'd be a damn shame if this thing killed us and no one even knew. Maybe if you find out what the hell this thing is our deaths won't be in vain. Damn! Here it…. What the…."

That was the last anyone ever heard from the patrol ship G.F.S. Artemis.

Samus Aran finished listening to the transmission one final time, still trying to make sense of it. Deep in space, far away from anything else, she sat at the helm of her golden gunship, inhabited only by her and her computerized former Commanding Officer, Adam Malkovich. The gunship was in the exact location of the G.F.S. Artemis at the moment of its disappearance. Discovering the cause of this disappearance would be worth quite a bounty, even for a bounty hunter whom the Galactic Federation no longer trusted. But without any clues to follow, no attempt to do this could continue.

"No luck," said Samus, after running every scan and test she could think of. "There really is nothing here. Not even a scrap of metal. Whatever crashed into the Artemis took any hint that it and the ship were ever here with it." Though she had known this to be the likeliest outcome, she was disappointed. She had hoped that if she managed to do something useful, the Federation might start being less hostile towards her. They had yet to redeem themselves in the Galactic Federation's eyes for the B.S.L. research station incident, when Samus and Adam had directly disobeyed Federation orders (and blown up the B.S.L. research station).

"I can't say it wasn't expected, unfortunately," said Adam. "Well, there's always next time."

Samus spent the next few months living the life she had grown accustomed to. She went from planet to planet, bounty to bounty, doing whatever needed to be done for however much money she could get from it. Usually, the missions involved petty criminals who needed to be found and captured – nothing even remotely difficult for Samus Aran, and she couldn't help but feel as if her life was becoming routine.

Then came "next time".

"The problem concerns a planet named Pocket," said Adam. "A very Earth-like planet whose colonization began less than sixty years ago. It is inhabited by creatures called Pocket Monsters, or Pokémon for short. You've heard of these creatures, correct?"

"I've heard of them," said Samus. "Can't say I know much about them, though."

"Pokémon research is the primary motive for human colonization of Pocket. But training Pokémon has now become more popular than researching them. Pokémon trainers capture the creatures in devices called Pokéballs, train them to fight to their full potential, and then make them compete against each other in battles."

"That's not very nice of the trainers," said Samus.

"Lady, I would not talk of kindness if I'd blown up as many planets as you have," said Adam. "Anyway, Pokémon can be extremely powerful, and someone who both has mastered this potential and has control over it is not to be taken lightly. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the best trainers could defeat even you in battle, Lady."

"I would be surprised," said Samus. "Are we talking about the same creatures here? Little yellow electric rodents and the like? Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm serious," said Adam. "Do not underestimate the power of Pokémon. Evil groups have attempted to use this power to achieve their own ends, from monetary gain to recreating the universe. It was fear of this power getting into the wrong hands which motivated the Federation to put up heavy defenses around Pocket. Any unauthorized object that comes too close to the planet is automatically shot down by turrets. Even natural bodies such as meteoroids, which are so abundant in the Pokésystem that they've become a vital part of many of Pocket's environments, are only spared from the turrets if they have been previously charted and observed.

"The problem at hand is that a group of Space Pirates seem to have set up a small base on Clef, Pocket's only moon. This moon is just outside of the sphere of space around Pocket protected by the Federation, so Pirate activity there is very suspicious. The Federation, though by all means it ought to have intervened, no longer sees the Space Pirates as a significant threat, at least not such a small amount of them near such a secure planet. They may think of this as only a minor concern, but they are fools – they should realize that any planned infiltration of a target as heavily defended as Pocket would be disguised as a small outpost.

"You know what to do. Go to Clef and investigate. Unrestrained use of force is authorized. Any objections, Lady?"

I first saw Tom Tasby in Professor Oak's lab, right as the kid was about to become a Pokémon trainer. On top of his frizzy brown hair was a red cap with a white flap in front and a white arch above the flap – the same cap that Red had worn. It had been almost ten years since Red had defeated Team Rocket and become a hero to Pocket, and Pallet Town took pride in having produced such a hero. But Tom, I would soon learn, was especially fond of Red – and of everything else relating to the world of Pokémon training. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

He didn't notice me when he came in – a Pokédex is a relatively inconspicuous object. But he did notice that he was not the first one to get to the lab. The tall, long-haired, red-headed Jude Tutino stood waiting near Professor Oak. The two fourteen-year-old boys looked at each other with a loathing that even I recognized, despite not yet knowing anything about them. Apparently Oak didn't notice, though. He raised his bushy gray eyebrows and said, "Thomas! Good to see you here. Exciting day, no? Well, now that you're both here, we can get started. I'm sure you've heard most of the rules you need to know as Pokémon trainers, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't repeat them now to make sure everything is clear to you."

The old man really liked to ramble. "To catch a wild Pokémon, you must throw an unused Pokéball at it, preferably after having weakened it. However, if it faints before you have caught it, the Pokéball will not accept it, and catching it will be impossible. Once captured, a Pokémon will regard you as its master – unless you already have a full party of six Pokémon when you catch it. In that situation, simply put the Pokéball in a special slot on your Pokédex and it will be transported to Bill's storage system; you will be able to retrieve it at special computers located in Pokémon Centers. The Pokémon will then listen to you as long as it is part of a party of no more than six, which is the maximum number of Pokémon you may have with you at any time. That's not just a League rule; it's how Pokéballs work.

"You can exchange ownership of a Pokémon by trading with other trainers, but if the Pokémon received in a trade is too strong and the trainer too inexperienced, it may choose to ignore its new trainer's commands. A good way to make sure all traded Pokémon listen to you is to earn its respect by collecting Gym badges. There are eight Gyms in Kanto, the same number as almost every trainer-inhabited region of Pocket. You must collect a badge from all eight Gyms by defeating the Gym Leader each one houses if you want to compete in the Pokémon League. Only in battles against Gym leaders and the Elite Four can you use more Pokémon than your opponent; otherwise, the two trainers must agree on the number of Pokémon they will each use. Once released from its Pokéball, you must wait at least thirty seconds before your Pokémon can be withdrawn. You will know when your Pokémon has fainted by the glowing light at the center of its Pokéball, at which point you should withdraw it into the Pokéball and bring it to a Pokémon Center to heal it."

"We already know all of this, Professor," Jude said impatiently. "It's not like we haven't been preparing for this, you know. Well, at least I have."

"Patience, Jude," said Oak. "We'll get to everything soon enough. Now, on to the selection of the starters! I have three starters with me today: the fire-type Charmander, the grass-type Chikorita, and the water-type Mudkip. Such an odd mix… but maybe not to you, you're both too young to remember a time before the inter-regional starter exchange project." He chuckled. "Somehow, every day I manage to make myself feel older than the last. But enough with that. Who gets the first pick?"

Tom and Jude turned towards each other and put out their fists. "Rock, paper, scissors!" they both shouted. Tom used scissors, Jude used paper. Jude cussed and Tom grinned.

Tom thought for a moment. "I pick Charmander," he said. Professor Oak picked up one of the Pokéballs on the table and gave it to Tom. (I also sat at this table, still unnoticed.)

"Good," said Jude, "I was going to pick Mudkip anyways."

"Yeah right," Tom grumbled. "You just wanted a type advantage over my Charmander."

"What are you talking about?" Jude replied. "I've always liked Mudkips. Hadn't you heard?"

"Settle down, kids," said Oak. "It's time to give you your Pokédexes. And these aren't just ordinary Pokédexes; I have a treat for you. You two are the first ones to try out the brand-new Ultradexes!"

That would be me he was talking about (and my "brother"). Oak picked us up from the table. "The Ultradex," he said excitedly, "not only provides information about Pokémon, but it is a supercomputer with all the information you'll need about the Pokémon world, your own Pokémon, your opponent's Pokémon, and anything that happens during a Pokémon battle. It also acts as a G.P.S., a cell phone, a radio, a v-scholar, has Database access, recognizes vocal commands, and has all of the features of the PokéGear, PokéNav, and Poketch, among other things." He forgot to mention that we were sentient and could talk. Presumably because he didn't know. "It should recognize and have data on your Pokémon as soon as you become its owner," Oak continued as he gave me to Tom and my brother to Jude. "Which reminds me: do either of you want to give your new Pokémon a nickname?"

"Nah, I'm good," said Jude.

"Yes," said Tom. "I'll name him Charlie."

"Oh, Charlie the Charmander, really clever," said Jude. "I bet nobody's thought of that before." (I silently shared Jude's sentiment.)

"Be nice, Jude," said Oak. "Alright, to nickname your Pokémon all you have to do is go to its information page on your Ultradex and change its name." Tom then spent about a minute figuring out how to work with me, under Oak's supervision, and eventually managed to change Charmander's name to Charlie.

"Okay!" said Oak. "How about a little battle to test out your new Pokémon?"

The two boys agreed. Tom looked at his Pokéball. It had a white half, a red half, and a small white button between them. When Tom pressed this button the ball opened, and a beam of light burst out of it and onto the floor in front of him. The mass of white light quickly took a bipedal, lizard-like shape while at the same time changing from white to orange; within two seconds, the beam of light had become a Charmander. Jude had released his own Pokémon, and now Charlie and the small, blue Mudkip were standing in front of their respective owners, looking at each other. Tom looked at my screen. I did my job and displayed the moves which Charlie knew. Tom sighed; the only words he saw were "Scratch" and "Growl". First battles are never particularly exciting.

"Are you both ready?" asked Oak. Tom and Jude said they were ready. "Okay, let the battle begin!"

This was the first time I noticed something peculiar: during a match, something about Tom's pulse changed. It wasn't really faster or slower, just different; being a highly sensitive machine, I could feel it from within the hand he was holding me in. Even for such a little match as this, and even for his very first battle, he had a battle "mode" apart from his normal one.

"Mudkip, Tackle!" yelled Jude.

"Use Scratch, Charlie!" Tom said at the same time.

The two Pokémon ran towards each other. Right before Mudkip ran into Charlie, Charlie swiped his claws at Mudkip. Charlie's Scratch made contact, but so did Mudkip's Tackle, and it knocked Charlie a few feet backwards.

Like I said, first battles are usually pretty boring. This was no exception. The same scenario, more or less, played out three more times, and both Pokémon looked more exhausted each time. Finally, Mudkip fell over. "Mudkip, no! Hang in there!" Jude said. But it was too late – Mudkip was no longer able to fight.

"Tom is the winner!" Oak announced. Mudkip became a streak of light again and returned to his Pokéball while Charlie did a victory lap around Tom's legs, snarling victoriously.

"I hope you realize that that was hardly a real fight," Jude told Tom. "Both of our Pokémon were very weak, and neither of them knew enough moves to make strategy count. It was all luck."

Tom didn't say anything; he probably knew that Jude was right, but was too happy at the moment to care. I could feel Tom's euphoria in his sweat glands and his veins and even his breathing patterns. When the battle ended, Tom put me in his shirt pocket, and I could sense his emotions even better from within there.

"Traditionally, the loser is supposed to give some money to the winner," said Oak, "but I'll let Jude off the hook this time.

"Before you go, I'm going to give you these to help you on your journey," said Oak. He then gave each boy five Pokéballs. "Remember not to keep your Pokémon in their balls too often, though. A strong bond between Pokémon and trainer is essential to winning battles. Oh, and I also need to give you these." He gave each boy a plastic card. "This is your Trainer Card. You'll need it to get all the free facilities that Pokémon Centers offer trainers."

"That's all I have to say to you kids. Now it's time to set off! Viridian City, as you know, is right down Route 1; Jude, you might want to get your Mudkip healed at the Pokémon Center there. Well, good-bye, and good luck!"

The two boys said good-bye to Professor Oak and left the lab.

Tom let Jude have a head start at Route 1; he sat waiting for a while at the edge of Pallet Town, with Charlie at his side (made healthy again with a Potion) and me in his pocket (not that he knew that I was aware of… well, anything). When he decided it was safe and that he wouldn't have the misfortune of encountering Jude again, he started walking down Route 1's dirt path. Charlie excitedly followed him, running in loops and curves instead of straight lines. Tom chuckled. "What're you in such a hurry for?" he asked his Pokémon. Then he turned to his side and looked at the tall grass that bordered the dirt road. He hesitated. "Didn't used to be allowed to go in there alone," he said, mostly talking to himself. "Too dangerous without a Pokémon." He looked at Charlie. "But now I have you, right?" Charlie frantically waved his arms and made a bunch of growling and snarling noises in reply, noises which sounded vaguely like he was saying "Char! Man! Der!" over and over again. (That would be silly, though – how could he naturally be saying his species name when said name was given to him by humans based on other human words?) "Then let's go!" said Tom, and he went into the grass, Charlie following him.

Tom pushed through the grass, whose blades peaked above his head, for a minute or so before he found what he was looking for: a wild Pokémon. Specifically, a wild Pidgey. Tom acted as soon as he saw the little brown and white bird. "Go, Charlie!" he said, pointing at it. Charlie jumped in front of Tom as the Pidgey turned its head towards them, only now noticing their presence. "Use Scratch!" Tom instructed. Before the Pidgey had time to react, Charlie went up to it and Scratched it. In response, the Pidgey flapped its wings, blowing a large cloud of sand at Charlie. Charlie staggered, half-blinded; Tom decided to act now and threw a Pokéball at the Pidgey. The ball opened and the Pidgey became a beam of light, which retreated into the ball. The Pokéball shook a little, and then… it snapped open. The Pidgey reappeared in a flash of light, and the Pokéball lay next to it, broken – its red and white halves had separated. Obviously, the Pidgey had not been weakened enough. "Scratch it again!" Tom told Charlie. But Charlie still had sand in his eyes. He ran towards the Pidgey, scratching the air as he went. The Pidgey easily fluttered out of the way. "It's to your left! Scratch it!" said Tom. Charlie hastily turned to his left and successfully scratched the Pidgey. The Pidgey stumbled; now it seemed weak enough. Tom threw another Pokéball at it, and once again, it became white light and entered. The ball shook for a few seconds… and then stood still with a click.

"Yes! Woohoo!" Tom shouted in glee. It was the very first time he'd caught a Pokémon. I could tell that this was a big moment for him.

But I had a job to do – and now that I was in Tom's pocket and not Oak's lab, I could finally do it vocally. "Would you like to give Pidgey a nickname?" I asked. Tom was startled for a bit until he realize where the voice had come from.

"Oh, right," Tom said as he took me out of his shirt pocket. "Hmm… it's a female Pidgey, so I'll name her… Pippa!"

That did it for me. "Seriously?" I said. "That's the best you can do?"

Tom did a double take. "Wait, what?" he said.

"Your names, they're dumb and cheesy. Just saying."

Tom gave me a very strange look. "You have… opinions?"

"I sure do. For example, I opine that you have an ugly face."

"Huh," Tom said. "Professor Oak never told me you had AI."

"Well, he didn't know," I explained. "I'm not actually supposed to have it. Whatever clumsy idiot put me together somehow ended up giving me an intelligence chip. I didn't want to know what the old man would do to me if he found out – probably have me sent back, and definitely not handed out to a trainer in any case – so I didn't exactly feel like showing it off in front of him."

Tom thought for a second. "Is Jude's Pokédex alive too?"

"Probably," I answered. "We were developed in the same place under the same procedures, after all."

Tom picked up the Pokéball which Pippa was now in, plus the broken Pokéball, and then put Charlie back in his own Pokéball. Then he secured me back in his shirt pocket, which closed from the top. "Are you sure you're okay staying in there?" Tom asked. "I mean, can you even see from in there?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," I assured him. "You humans and your primitive reliance on visual sensors. I can tell the shape, size, consistency, color, and basically everything else about anything in sight range from echolocation and electromagnetic radiation, among other things. To be honest, you should be more worried about me staying with you than I should."

When Tom got to Viridian City, he went straight to the Pokémon Center. To his relief, Jude was not there; he must have already left. Tom gave his two Pokéballs to the nurse behind the counter and showed her his Trainer Card. The nurse put the balls in a strange machine behind the counter, which rang a short jingle. Within the next minute, Tom already had his Pokéballs back. "That's it?" asked Tom. "That's all you need to do to heal Pokémon?"

"It sure is," said the nurse cheerfully. "You'll find that your Pokémon are in perfect condition now."

Tom took Pippa out of her Pokéball just to be sure, and found that she was indeed perfectly healthy. Not only healthy, but also calm; Tom marveled at how the Pokémon that had just fought with Charlie was now looking at Charlie's trainer admiringly, and all it had taken was one capture in a Pokéball. Then he took Charlie out of his Pokéball and brought his two Pokémon to the Pokémon Center cafeteria, where they were provided with food. Tom himself ate lunch free there, thanks to his Trainer Card (isn't there some human saying about there being no such thing as a free lunch? I never understood that. Perhaps philosophy isn't in my programming).

After lunch, Tom went to the Pokémart. He bought several Potions and Antidotes, and also a few Parlyz Heals and some more Pokéballs. The Viridian Forest was ahead, and he wasn't about to go into it unprepared.

There's actually a Pokémon Gym in Viridian City, but it's the toughest gym in Kanto; Tom could never hope to win that badge just yet. So he had no reason to stay there. Once he had everything he needed where he needed it, he started heading down Route 2 towards Viridian Forest.

"Alright, Dexter," Tom said as he took his first step out of Viridian City, "we've got just a bit of forest to go through, and then it's Pewter City, where we'll stay until I have the Boulder Badge."

"'Dexter'? Really?" I replied. "Could you be less original?"

"You don't like it? I could change it to something else."

"No, go ahead and call me that. It'll give me one more reason to mock you."

"Thanks, Dexter. I think you're going to be a great companion."

"I'll try."