Zack was horrified about what lay before him. The house where he lived, the house where his entire family had been living in for the past twenty years was up in flame. The towering inferno rose above him and it was at least an enormous fifty feet up in the air. The flames danced around the remains of everything Zack had known so far in his life.

Zack was a normal 10 year old boy. So basically he was bit of a brat. The fact that his father was at one point considered one of the greatest Pokemon champions the world had ever seen had made Zack a spoiled brat. Ever since he was born he had wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. He was going to be the world's greatest Pokemon trainer just like dear old dad was. He wasn't the only one in his family who shared this idea. He had multiple brothers and sisters, many of which who tried to become Pokemon experts and masters to varying degrees of success.

There was Matt who became a bit of a slacker after he failed to accumulate more than three gym badges. Then there was Lani, Zack's sister, who studies with Professor Oak every weekend. There was Zack's other sister Jess who did night shifts at the local Pokemon Center. Zack also had his little sister Draca, the only one of Zack's siblings who was younger than him. She was a sweet innocent little thing. Of course, there was Zack's older brother Red.

Red was probably the person Zack hated the most but also the one he respected the most. Red became a Pokemon champion and the person who carried on the family legacy after their father retired from battling. Zack begrudgingly hated the fact that Red got to do what Zack always wanted to do, and the only reason he got to do it first was because he was older. The fact that Red was always distant and at times silent towards Zack didn't help matters.

Every member of Zack's family was in the house when Zack left earlier that morning. Zack thought back to when he woke up that morning. Before his house had become a pile of ash.

The sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue. Zack looked towards the sky and saw a flock of Pidgey fly past. He had a smile as big as a child's on Christmas morning. Today was going to be the happiest day of his life. Today was going to be the day he got his starter Pokemon from Professor Oak. He jumped out of bed and his pajamas and quickly put on some clothes. He wanted to look presentable to the Professor. He raced downstairs to the sweet aroma of pancakes floating in the air.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Zack's mother inquired.

"Oh come on mom. You honestly don't remember what day it is?" Zack replied sarcastically.

The woman look a bit confused at first and then her face lit up.

"Oh of course," she exclaimed. "Today is the day isn't it? Oh my god you kids grow up too fast you do know that right? Have you decided what starter you are picking out then hon?"

"I think I'm gonna finally decide when I get to the Professor's lab."

"You should get a Squirtle," Matt said as he entered the kitchen. "I got one when I was your age and I still have it."

"Yeah too bad he is still only a Squirtle after what, ten years?" Zack quipped.

"As far as I can tell it's better than any Pokemon you have right now Pipsqueak," Matt replied.

"Boys, stop your bickering," Mom demanded. "Everyone let's all eat breakfast."

"Gladly," Matt said as he pulled up a chair. "By the way, Jess and Lani are both upstairs passed out. They had a lot of work last night."

"It's fine. I'll just give them their breakfast later. Anyway Zack, you must be really excited for today."

"Are you kidding me? I am absolutely psyched about today. Today is the day it begins. Today is the day I become a Pokemon Trainer. Just like Dad and Red."

"Don't forget me," Matt interjected.

"I didn't forget you, I left you out on purpose. Today is the day my journey begins."

"I am so proud of you Zack," Draca said as she came up to the table. She was a pretty thing. Only about seven years old, but she had long bushy purple hair. No one exactly knew where the purple hair came from since both Mom and Dad were brunettes but it was an extremely hard to miss feature. She was pretty short and she made Zack, who was short to begin with, seem rather tall in comparison.

"Thanks little sis," Zack looked at the clock and jumped out of his seat. "Oh man, I am going to be so late. Mom thanks for breakfast. Tell Dad and Red that I'm going to be better than all of them when they wake up. Tell them that a new Pokemon Master is going to join this family. I'm off."

Zack sprinted out the door. He enjoyed living in Pallet Town. It was big enough there was always stuff to do and small enough that there was a sense of community. Everybody knew everybody there. The air was always fresh and clean. The sky was always the right shade. Even the river was always cerulean. That's when Zack arrived to Oak's hill.

He ran up the steps almost three at a time before he came to the laboratory. He knocked four times in rapid succession. Oak opened the door and peered down at Zack. Zack had brown hair and brown eyes. He was kind of short and scrawny. A normal ten year old. But his eyes were piercing Oak with joy and wonder.

"Zack, so nice to see you today. I'm guessing you want to get to the main point as quickly as possible."

"Yes, please Professor."

The two of them walked into the Professor's sprawling lab. There was a triangle with three Poke-Balls in the middle of the room. There was high tech machines adorning every wall of the facility.

"So did you decide what starter Pokemon you would like? By the way, since I know that you know all about the Pokedex and Poke-Balls from your father, I'm not going to give you the full spiel."

"That's okay Professor. I think I've decided. The Pokemon I want is...Charmander. I've always wanted a fire type, plus Charizard's are like the coolest Pokemon of all time. They are fire breathing dragons."

"Actually Charizards are not Dragon-types. It is a very common misconception."

"Really? You think they would be. Oh well. It doesn't matter, they are awesome."

Zack gleefully took the ball with the Charmander and stared at it with amazement. He had never felt this much joy in his life. He quickly thanked the Professor and ran out the door and right into someone.

Zack looked up and, surprisingly, didn't recognize this person. It was a girl around his age. She had a white hat on as well as a blue tank top and a short red skirt.

"Excuse me," she whispered. She got up and walked right into Professor Oak's lab.

Zack shook off any confusion and ran straight home. He could not wait to tell his parents and all his family about his brand new Charmander. He was waiting until he had gathered everybody before he finally showed off his fire lizard. He was filled to the brim with excitement. That's when he came home.

Zack couldn't quite grasp what was happening. His house was burning to the ground and no one was in sight. No neighbors, no emergency personal, and most unsettling, no family. He looked and couldn't spot anyone, anywhere. That's when the thought hit him. What if his family was still inside?

He raced down the hill towards his house. He had to go in the house and save his family. He just had to. He was about to run into the fire when someone tackled him to the ground. He squirmed ferociously trying to go into the house and save anyone he could though in the back of his mind he knew he could do nothing.

"Let me go, I need to help them. They're my family, let me go!" Zack screamed at the person holding him.

"You can't. I can't lose you too," the person replied.

Zack violently tried to escape the clutches and he takes a look at his captor. Palmer was holding him down and not letting go. To Zack, there was no way this situation could get any worse.