Warning for science babies, human experimentation, animal experimentation (Pokemon), murder, poisoning, violence, hybrids, reality ensuing, speech disability, and death, use of the word sex in reference to Pokemon breeding.

Entry Zero

(*Watch that some details were likely recorded by third parties or later interviews, or taken directly from old security footage. The validity of all knowledge is questionable, but that is a consequence of reality. It is your job to decide the story we are going to hear. -a note from Kalos Champion Diantha to Alexa of Lumiose.)

The Viridian Gym Leader was a busy young man. At the age of fifteen, he had taken the Gym Leader test and drawn the unlucky Viridian slot. Of course, it was considered unlucky because of who had run it before him. The young man didn't give two hoots about that, and the rumors she caught in the streets of Pewter implied that he never had. What he did care about was any wasted time. He hated seeing a closed sign on his door, and the hologram having a fight wasn't the same as making his own blood pump in his veins. Perhaps it was the effect of his journey. It was a common ailment of most champions, especially former ones.

Still, Alexa had made this meeting work. She wasn't one of the top reporters of Kalos on her sister's badge after all. Not even Malva had managed this scoop. If this went wrong, not only were all the records of the champion list gone, then so was her job as a reporter.

That didn't quite explain meeting in this tiny, battered Pallet Town house, but it was likely the only physical place to track the person of interest in case they decided to show. When she arrived there, the door was slightly ajar. It was a reclusive little place, surprisingly still standing after all this time, through the whirlwind of publicity and time itself. The windows were dull and the roof had a missing shingles. The door's lock had been battered and broken multiple times.

Alexa didn't leave her car immediately, noting her oddity of an automobile on a dirt road. Instead she sat inside the comforting air conditioning and watched the outdoors. Children ran by a short distance away, dancing in their games and waving sticks and rocks.. Some tails shifted as they ran, ears twitched, games of tag and fireballs and attacks as they played. They were fake battles, harm never truly meant of course, but in Kalos, this would have drawn stares.

In Pallet Town, home of the still reigning champion of Kanto and Johto, half-Pokemon, Birds as the media claimed them, ran free. There was not a single sign of a tracker chip, nor a hint of the scratches of barbed wire. These children had healthy skin, some darker than others. Those with fur glowed in the sun.

It was everything that young woman had supposedly fought for.

Alexa marveled at the carefree air of it all.

Her Holo Caster flickered on. The cameraman was running late. They weren't even sure if they needed one, as it wasn't likely they would get a glimpse of the Champion's Wraith while they were here. She had been gone within the year of her even getting the title from underneath her best friend's nose. The story behind that was nothing but tall tales, so it went. She turned off the voice message with a sigh.

She jumped at the sound of a loud tap on her car window. The black and golden luxury ball in her lap trembled with irritation and she closed har hand over it, pale fingers gripping it tight to calm down.

Emerald Oak, known as Green to the masses since his Gym Leader claim, looked at her with a relaxed sneer on his face. His freckled nose was twisted slightly, another habit formed by many celebrity trainers. Diantha and Cynthia were masters of the paparazzi. Many simply despised them. It did not take a genius to guess why Emerald was the latter.

She rolled down her window. "Good afternoon," she greeted. He raised an eyebrow.

"I've been waiting inside." His voice was dry, a little higher than the videos recorded. "Come on."

Alexa debated telling this teenager to step back into line and wait for the cameraman. Then she turned off her car. Her noivern, in its ball, was still shaking and growling low. She swiped her left thumb over the casing. As she rose to her full height, she saw Emerald Oak for how small he actually was. Puberty and fame had yet to make a giant out of this boy. That was probably a good thing.

She decided not to say so. "My name is Alexa," she greeted, using her less formal smile. "I'm the reporter. I'm really not sure where the cameraman is."

Emerald shrugged. "Probably assumed all the documents and the like were in Viridian City. Considering how much people vandalized this place in the past year, that's not a shocker." He closed his mouth for a moment, then shook his head. "Come on inside." Alexa locked her car and went after him. "I'll be telling you various details as we go," he added. "Most of what you're going to hear is on tape, so feel free to rewind or whatever." He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans, sweat sticking to the orange hair at the back of his neck from the summer heat. Alexa nodded, tablet in hand. At the sight of it, Emerald chuckled. "I forget that Kalos is ahead of us on the technology front."

"Only because Kalos is not as Bird friendly as the the Tohjo continent." Alexa clicked her tongue in distaste, licking her stylus.

Emerald snorted. "Well, I suppose that does have something to do with it." He led her through rooms of dust to one with a broken window. Alexa examined it as she walked, scribbling notes of bare walls and scorch marks, of a low amount of wood and splintered tables. There was an old refrigerator, halfway stripped down for parts. Emerald ignored it marching straight to a bed which had seen better days. He dug underneath, pulling up tile until there were multiple shoe boxes and an old tape player. Alexa's eyes went wide with surprise.

"And here I thought those had all been to the recycling bin."

Emerald snorted. "There's a few left." His voice gave away exactly what he felt on that matter. "They're still needed to transfer audio recordings from the pre-commercialized Pokedex." He shook his head and sighed low. "Don't think Grandpa ever saw that coming."

"No one really could have, I'm afraid." Alexa kept her voice quiet, trying to rein in her interest. She had only heard rumors. She had only heard stories. Reality was so much more than the words of others. It was hard not to just ask, to sit there quietly and watch him set up a tape in the machine, barely even having to flick through them all. They were so clean, she noted. How many times did Emerald come here to listen to the sound of this person's voice?

"How would you like to be referred to in the piece?" she asked as the radio speakers started to hiss.

Emerald shrugged. "Birth name is best," he said. "Everyone knows it."

Alexa nodded.

"These first couple of tapes were recorded after she got a hold of the system," Emerald supplied. "It's different." That was all he said. Alexa tried to control her smile.

The tape spun and after a few moments of static, a voice filtered from the speaker. "If you are h-hearing this," it began, the speaker's words so vividly unsteady and slurring. "Then Emmy must respect you enough to use my sounds." There was a small pause, as if the person was listening. "Words, 'm sorry."

Alexa paused the playback. "Disability?"

Emerald scowled at her and Alexa took that as a 'yes'. "Don't play the sympathy card now," he sneered. "You're the one getting a money deal out of this."

Alexa didn't comment, merely continued the tale. It was all too often that people confused all reporters with gossip rags. It was easier not to be actively upset.

"I was born nearly fourteen years from mah-king this tape, on a Friday the thirteenth. I say that so you know… how quick-fast this was. How bad this was. I don't understand how these human words come into play, but all the files are hidden somewhere where these are stored. Everything I've ever heard about... about the mess, us, started before my mother was born though, so it might be better just to start and get there."

Her young voice was deep for a girl's, especially one of a fourteen year old. It was low and deep and full of air, somehow.

"About twenty-five years ago, Team Rocket took over Silph Company. They conquered it from the inside-out, like b-balloons grow bigger from the air. By the time anyone had noticed, the League was already being being poked of holes. No one noticed. No one cared."

The girl's slow voice sounded tired. "Not till they were well in it, not till the koffing groups got to be-be-he everywhere. Not before most people didn't know how to change the system. So, they got a hold of Pokemon, capturing, stealing, using. It was like a big pokemart. Then they went to change them."

Emerald paused the tape this time and left to the next dusty room. He returned with a set of files about as thick as the Unova League records, by Alexa's estimation. Then he started it up again, leaving Alexa to leaf through the files. She almost could tune out the words.

"At first, it was minor, from what Professor Oak said. Color changes, sharper claws, bigger teeth, that stuff.. Then it got real big. Stronger hides, less sanity, more=" A pause, and the girl's tongue clicked in likely exasperation "Makin' people listen, forcin' em to evolve. Anything and everything, even for the perverts of the world. It was a niche, but it made money, he said. It wasn't different from ancient days."

The speaker let out a sigh. "In the cartoons they play here at home, that Emmy would show me, there is always a hero who comes in around now, at the point where times are tough. With their legendary teams of Pokemon and their tough spirits, they stop the evil ones. And everyone's forgiven. The bad guys get arrested and everyone is happy again. There are no more bad things. The world is pretty and clean again and I have real ears."

That didn't happen. I wouldn't be here if it had. There was no magical hero to rise up in the darkness. Instead, the world rebelled, in its own, small ways. People's backs bent but their heads didn't bow. Instead, they lied, stole, cheated around the little Rockets who made their lives worse and some ended up dead when they ordinarily wouldn't have. I don't know much about that though. You'll have to ask someone else.

No one had factored in sex in the Pokemon experiments. People had forgotten the discoveries made with Pokemon eggs and breeding. That was a mistake. Yes, I called meself a mistake."

Alexa sat back a little, at the rawness of the teenager's voice. The current file slipped from her fingers.

"See," said the young woman, as if she were speaking directly to the reporter. "No one remembers Pokerus."

The tape ended, and Alexa reached to turn it over. Emmy waved a hand and simply pointed to a folder in one of the files. "She's got nothing on this, but the old Silph files have it on record."

Alexa hesitated. She thought she knew what this was. The feeling of the old paper made her almost queasy. She opened the folder and started to read.

Another autumn night passed overhead, but the two scientists didn't glance out the window even once. One man passed by a test tube, observing the shifting colors of the liquid inside. "The nutrient supply is getting low over here," he called.

Without missing a beat, the young intern went to join him from her desk, eyes stuck wide behind her round glasses. She smiled.

"Poor thing," she said with sympathy. "Those running tests must have worn you out, huh? I'll fix a new pod up for you." She scribbled on her notepad app with a musical laugh, humming along to the radio in the background.

"Salem, you shouldn't be so attached." The first scientist scratched on his tablet. "It's unbecoming of a scientist."

She tittered. "Don't be so old-fashioned. They're like our babies, aren't they?" She prodded near the Nidoran's face, which didn't open its eyes. "Pokemon will soon be helping us give birth to incredible humans. We may not even need Pokemon as much anymore. After all, humans and Pokemon once sat at the same table!"

Her companion only scoffed and turned away. Such an idealist she was. She simpered at him, going to the computer and beginning to type. "Great Ball, form!" She whipped her hand in a flourish and with the press of the enter key, a ball dropped from a nearby tube.

"Melodramatic."

"I wanted to be an actress." She took the ball and began to drain the tank. "But family called and duty and honor come first. Heads up, about to open the pod."

"Roger." Never could be too careful, after all. They were wild ones after all. The small knife glinted in the dark.

The pod slid open with a hiss. The Nidoran slumped, trying to rise. Its weary eyes crinkled and it let out small whines as Salem approached with the open Pokeball. "There, there, little fella," she cooed. "The ball is gonna make you feel all better, kay?" She tossed it and prepared for the usual capture.

The Nidoran however, raised its claw and slashed the ball, cutting it in two. The male scientist moved towards the security system, but the Nidoran began to shriek. The wails awoke the Pokemon in their tubes and they began to struggle.

The dull red eyes lingered on both humans before lunging for Salem. The young woman rolled away, laughing at the attack. "How exciting," she squealed, pushing herself to her feet. "They're trying to rebel. Aggie, take notes!"

"As much as scientific curiosity is appreciated," August muttered as he slammed his fist on the security alert. "This is not the time!"

"There's always a time," Salem chirped, fascination running all over her face. "Look at you!" She moved closer to the Nidoran, which had managed to rise up, growling and gnashing its too large teeth. Her form lurched closer.

"Salem, get back so I can spray the neutralizer." August lifted a device like a fire extinguisher.

Salem shook her head no. "But she's just a little worried. It's okay, you know. I'm just gonna put you in a ball and all your little friends will go back to sle-" She let out a sudden scream as one of Nidoran's paws jabbed into her abdomen. Blood spurted, red mixing with purple. Salem fell backwards, face caught in a seizure of her howl. The Pokemon bolted, crashing into one of the pods. It cracked and she tackled another. Her horn cracked one.

By this point, the alarms had been blaring for almost five minutes. Two guards rushed in, guns raised. As the pods began to topple, August went to his fallen coworker. Her breathing was shallow, but her eyes were brighter than before, a bloody smile on her lips.

"Get the results," she breathed. "Get a sample! Hurry!"

August ignored her, focusing on staunching the wound with a heavy cloth.

The Nidoran shrieked again over the sound of breaking glass and lunged. Gunfire exploded and August shouted. "Idiots! Don't fire in an enclosed area!"

By that point, however, his words were wasted. More glass cracked, and though a couple bullets hit, the Nidoran and other Pokemon were too frenzied to care. The Nidoran leaped, her fangs sinking into a guard's arm. He shook it off and it hit the nearby wall. Before the guard could raise his gun again, the Nidoran fled with a squeak out the open door.

That was perhaps the cue for the other groggy monsters to go and they did, out the broken window or trampling their guards.

Saffron didn't panic properly for another hour. By that time, however, the howling had begun and so had the destruction.

Alexa almost put the folder down, only to see a sheet of looseleaf with faded, squiggled text. She squinted at the page, but Emerald tapped the recorder back on, and it started to play.

"Someone said to me that Pokemon and humans have had an unspoken truce since ancient times. The experiments broke that truce. Of course, both parts of the ecosystem were aware that it was not all of humanity. For Kanto and Johto, however, that truth was irrelevant. The results were clear.

Pokemon bred, the new traits becoming more and more possible. They breathed the Pokerus in, and humans grew weak. They fell like stalks of wheat, and the once semi-worn routes of journeys past grew unruly and awful. There was barely a road to the Victory Road anymore. In turn, the humans retaliated, deciding to take the Pokemon's traits as their own. The only way they knew how to create an overwhelming weapon was to be that weapon.

Salem Rune, the first victim of those events in Saffron, was the most outspoken advocate of this plan. She proclaimed it was the patriotic duty of Kanto and Johto adults to donate their babies, their youth, their embryos, to the experiments. To reclaim their homeland, they could do anything."

This was the history everyone knew. This was what led to the Ceremonial Lockdown those years ago. But to hear it was entirely different, even if it was just someone reciting off the facts left on the advertisements.

Many, many people did, almost all of Pallet Town, almost half of Saffron, many, many of Johto's cities, who were only safe from the blockade of Tohjo Falls.

Professor Oak and his family did not. Lavender, Azalea, Olivine, Cianwood, they didn't either.

Viridian wasn't given a choice.

But Salem Rune did choose, for a lot of people, and if she had not, perhaps I wouldn't have had to tear down those fences, the new Pokemon League regulations wouldn't be around. Perhaps I wouldn't be here, for she would have had no need of me, or of the others.

Or I would have grown up much worse.

There is so much to this story, and for me, it is important that you know as much of it as I do. Because there's a lot of lies and accidents that happen here, and there's a lot of pain too. I cause some. Emmy does too, and I'm not really heroic.

"For those of you who don't know, my name is Scarlet Rune. I am a Pokemon League Champion and I am also a murderer."

Emmy turned off the recording, and stared with no small amount of disdain at the computer, then at Alexa. "She would center it around that, of course. And everyone said I was the drama queen."

He let out a small sigh. "Come on. We don't have all day."

Author's Note: So... I am slightly masochistic. But hey aren't all writers. So! This is my first attempt at a nuzlocke story, already played through the game. There are a few divergences here and there to account for the setting, and also because Pokemon Yellow is ridiculous in a lot of ways and I love it to pieces, but I still wanted to incorporate some Gen II and III mechanics, which admittedly altered the battles a tad at the end. So, I won't repeat the rules as most of us already know them (and they cause a little bit of story and game segregation)! And also note that I did not know some of them when I did my run (like the gift one!) so that might seem a little inconsistent. Sorry guys, the future stories will probably know the rules much better than I did at first. Anyway, let's get started. New warnings will apply to each new chapter, otherwise you are safe to assume that all previous warnings and tags could apply. This will be 72-75 chapters so get ready for the long haul.

All that in mind please review if you've gotten this far, it really helps me as a writer. I also currently am taking fanfic commissions (anything requested up front to be over 10k will be slightly slow to post due to my other projects and college life but please don't let that stop you!) Thank you guys so much and thank you for giving this a click, as always. It means a lot!

Challenges: Anime/Manga Diversity Writing M2. alternate timeline (book 1 of said alternate timeline), Epic Masterclass Games List alternate timeline, Advent Calendar day 26. write an AU, and Song Time Challenge for Yoru by Vistlip.