Ash, Pikachu, and their friends, Misty, and, Brock, were as usual on their Pokemon journey. This time, they were in Stone Town, where they were spending time with friends of theirs, the Eevee Brothers, because there was a birthday party for, Mikey, the youngest of the four brothers. The brothers were conversing with Ash and his friends at the table, when suddenly one of the elder brothers, Sparky, noticed someone out in the town square near the entrance to their yard, walking towards them slowly, as if though he was exuasted and weak.

Sparky then said to the group, "Hey, look there."

The others turned to see the young person heading for the gate.

Brock said, "He looks like he's really weak."

Then the young man went on to his knees, and then finally laid onto his back.

Sparky then said, "Rainer, Pyro, let's give him a lift over to a bench."

They both said, "Right."

Then all three of them went over to the young man and brought him to a bench. Mikey, Ash, and the others rushed over.

Misty then said with worry, "Oh no! He's on the verge of dehydration! He needs water and now!"

Mikey then said, "I'll go get some water."

Mikey then leapt for the table to get a pitcher and a cup, to bring it over to Misty for her to give to the young man.

Ash then asked, "I wonder how long he's walking out there for without even taking a drink?"

Pyro provided his input, "Well. I'm no expert, but it seems to me like he's been walking like this, for about 2 to 3 days."

Rainer added, "Yikes! Good thing we got to him as soon as we did, otherwise, he would've dried up."

Then the young man coughed and weakly said, "L-listen to this recording. Listen to it well."

He then weakly pulled a pocket-sized tape recorder out of his pocket, checked the volume, and then after everyone gathered around closely, he pressed the play button.

After some static, a voice came from the recorder, "I am passing beyond the magnification limits of even the most powerful microscopes. These are snowflakes – and yet they seem to grow larger and larger. Or can I be shrinking – shrinking beyond the smallness of a tiny snowflake crystal? Indeed, I am becoming smaller and smaller!"

After a 9 second pause, the voice started playing again, "These tiny bits of snowflake crystal tower above me – like an enormous wall of ice. Can I penetrate this gigantic prism? And yet, this wall of ice only seems smooth and solid. From this tiny viewpoint, I can see that nothing is solid, no matter how it appears."

Another 9 second pause, then the voice spoke again, "And still I continue to shrink! What compelling force draws me into this mysterious darkness—can this be the threshold of inner space?"

24 seconds of no sound, then the voice played again, "What are these strange spheres? Have I reached the universe of the molecule? Yes, these are water molecules – H2O. They vibrate in such an orderly pattern because this is water frozen into the solid state of matter."

8 seconds of no sound later, the voice continued to play, "These fuzzy spheres must be the atoms that make up the molecule – two hydrogen atoms bonded to a single oxygen atom. And I see that it's the orbiting electrons that give the atom its fuzzy appearance. And still I continue to shrink. Is it possible that I can enter the atom itself?"

After 12 seconds of no noise, the voice came back on, "Electrons are dashing about me – like so many fiery comets! Can I possibly survive?"

One 6 second pause later, the voice continued on, "I have pierced the wall of the oxygen atom. I am so infinitely small now that I can see millions of orbiting electrons. They appear like the Milky Way of our own solar system. This vast realm, THIS is the infinite universe within a tiny speck of snowflake crystal."

An 8 second pause and then the voice came back on the player, "And there is the nucleus of the atom! Do I dare explore the vastness of ITS inner space? No, I dare not go on. I must return to the realm of the molecule, before I go on shrinking...forever!"

After a 12 second pause, the voice came to its conclusion, "Ah, how strange! The molecules are so active now! They have become fluid – freed from their frozen state. That can only mean that the snowflake is melting!"

Ash, his friends, and the brothers looked at each other with silence, then to their surprise, the young man spoke, " It's a recording my grandfather made in 1967."

Brock asked him, "But what was all that he was talking about?"

Ash added, "Yeah. What was that about shrinking, non-solid walls of ice, oversized molecules, dodging electrons, being inside an atom, and all that?"

Sparky asked, "Yeah, was he losing his mind or something?"

The young man responded, "Typical of you. I didn't believe the recording either, until I read this letter he wrote to me before he died last month. In it, he told me of how in 1967, he and a group of scientists had finished building a machine called the Mighty Microscope that could shrink a person in a vehicular pod called an Atomobile, to a size smaller than the size of the atom, so they could be able to explore a world they called Inner Space. He was the first human on Earth to be miniaturzed. He saw the interior of an atom with his own unaided eyes. In 1985, though, they shut down the project, more in favor of nano-robot technology. But my grandfather, in secret, transported the Mighty Microscope, the Atomobiles, and all the equipment from the lab, to some unknown place. He has kept this a secret from our family all these years, from even my grandmother and my mother. He must've felt like I was the best person to know about it all upon his death. Along with the letter, came the blueprints for the Mighty Microscope and the Atomobile, and instructions for how to operate them. The last thing that came with the letter was an id card with my photo and this barcode thing that I can't make out."

Misty asked, "So what were you doing walking around without even stopping for a drink of water?"

The young man replied, "I was looking for someone who could help me find where he put all that stuff from his old lab. It was such a meaningful search that I felt like I could not afford to stop for anything. And maybe when I do find someone who can help find the equipment, maybe they can join me on a special adventure."

Ash asked him, "What adventure?"

The young man replied, "An adventure through inner space."

Brock added, "You mean go into an Atomobile and get shrunk by the Mighty Microscope to see the inside of an atom?"

The young man added with calmness, "Of course."

Soon there was an air of curiosity, amazment, and excitement amongst Ash, Misty, Brock, and the brothers.

The young man said, "Of course, we never got the chance to properly introduce ourselves. My name is Simon Bennet."

Ash was the first to start, "I'm Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town."

Misty came next, "My name is Misty, and I'm a gym trainer from Cerulean City."

Brock added, "I'm Brock, and I'm a Pewter City gym leader."

After the brothers introduced themselves, Simon spoke, "Now, my mind returns to this barcode thing my grandfather me. I know that it must have something to do with being able to find where the equipment from his old lab is, but everything I scan it with just doesn't work on it. I feel it would take great mental power in order to decipher it."

Ash then had a brilliant flash of inspiration and said, "I think I may know someone who can help us with that. We'll just have to find him."

Simon added, "Where do you propose we start?"

Ash then looked to Misty and Brock. They knew where he wanted to go and nodded their heads in agreement. Ash then turned back to Simon and said, "Mount Quena. Western Johto."

Simon, although confused, said in agreement, "Well, we've got no place else."

Sparky then said, "We could also help out. We'll come with you."

The other 3 brothers nodded in agreement.

Simon, delighted by this said, "Well, the more the better. It'll allow our search to be more effective. But Ash, before we get going, it would make things simpler if we knew who we're looking for."

Ash then got closer to him and quietly said to him with one word, "Mewtwo."

Simon, albeit confused that it was the name of a Pokemon and not a person, he had to take Ash's word for it and said, "Well then, let's get going."

They all nodded assent and departed for the Johto region. They went on their journey for Mount Quena to find one of the most powerful of Pokemon, known as, Mewtwo. Soon it would all lead to a fantastic adventure through inner space.