VII: Desolate and Distraught

My long, monotonous trek contained nothing but flatness. Everything that California had to offer had been annihilated by the shockwave given by the vortex. I eventually made it past the large group of Pokémon; all of which originated from the seven generations. I passed many legendaries on my way north, namely Zapdos, Entei, Celebi, and Reshiram. I also noticed a Lucario standing a sizable distance away from me to my left, with an unreadable countenance. It seemed to be staring down at the grass, completely motionless. Lucario was my favorite Pokémon, but I couldn't have cared less about any of them at the time. I was responsible for the deaths of thousands, probably even millions of people, along with the suicides of my entire team. And the death of my wife. I began to cry. It was too much to handle. There were so many deaths connected to my name.

In a short time my relentlessly active brain began shouting at me. I began to think to myself, 'I need to stop crying! I need to conserve water!' I slowly regained control and sped up my walking pace, eager to see someone alive. The moon shone bright, which illuminated the dirt beneath my feet. I looked to my right and was able to see a faint silhouette of the mountains. 'Good, at least the mountains survived the blast.'

After I was a good distance away from the noisy Pokémon, I began to hear nothing but the sound of my footsteps and my breathing. It was eerie to think that I was the only living thing out this far from the blast's epicenter. Occasionally, I would stumble upon foundations similar to the old lab's as well as many pits that were once basements to buildings. I tried my best to avoid falling into those, as I had come close to falling into a few. After a while, my feet began to feel heavy. If I had to guess, I had been walking for hours. The sun barely peeked over the horizon as I dragged my feet onwards. The only thing guiding me due north were the tiny outlines of mountains to my right.

I did not know if I would ever see a living thing again. With every step, the possibility dwindled. I took step after step on the slightly rolling ground, desperately hoping to see something. Just one thing. The sun began to rise, sending a faint orange gleam throughout the sky. At least time and space were still working (thanks, Palkia and Dialga.) I realized by that point that I had been awake for an entire day. I should have just stopped everything right then and there. It seemed like months had gone by. So many things happened, so many things went wrong. I was so tired. My eyes began to flutter, closing ever-so slightly as I fought to stay awake and moving. Eventually, I came upon another hole that was a basement, which also had steps leading down. I couldn't fight sleep any longer, I knew that well. I descended the stairs, laid down on the concrete floor, and passed out.

I woke up with a dry mouth. My mouth was so arid that I was so afraid that if I opened my mouth, it would crack and shatter like glass. I knew that I would need to find water, fast. I wished that the vortex hadn't vaporized everything in the shockwave. I then thought of all the Pokémon and my researchers, back at ground zero. I hoped that they were still alive. I got up and stretched. The concrete was not exactly the best bed in the world. I yawned deeply, which only hurt my dry throat. I stood up, slowly, as my body was feeling the effects of my long trek the night before. I ascended the stairs and kept heading north.

As my monotonous walk dragged on, I began to wonder if the vortex had vaporized the entire Earth. I seemed to walk for ages. My feet eventually became numb and they just moved me naturally. It hurt so bad to even move that I couldn't stop, or else I would only experience more pain than if I kept going. I was hungry, sweating in the heat, and most of all, thirsty as hell.

My dry throat began to throb, desperately wanting water. I believed firmly at that moment that I would not live. Then, as if Arceus himself had saved me, the barren wasteland gave way to shrapnel. It was something. It refueled my hope. I gained speed, walking through the crumbled stones, split planks, and other debris. Further on through my jog, something made me stop in my tracks. My legs burned, but I just had to stop. Piles of flesh began to appear everywhere around me. They were unidentifiable, but I knew most of them were human. It chilled and saddened me. I truly was a mass-murderer.

I stared at one pile in particular. I could barely make out the faint form of a little girl in the bloody pile of flesh and bones. Her hair was strewn about the pile and what I thought was a torn-up teddy bear laid atop the pile. With what little water I had left, I cried. I cried for the poor people who had no clue that they would never wake up the next morning. I tried to run, run far north, out of this mess. Instead, I just stumbled around. Hours later, the debris started to look more intact, but the bodies looked more dead than ever. I was nearing the outer radius of the blast. By then, everything felt numb on my body. Even my mind was static.

By the early evening, I was out of the severe blast radius and came upon Burbank. I was so relieved when I saw living people again. I strolled into town and everyone was busy trying to fix broken buildings and machines. They were lucky that the blast's effects stopped right at their town. Mostly, people ignored me, being preoccupied and all. Some I walked by mentioned something about the number 100,000. Others talked about the blast and how big it was. I eventually found what I needed. The hospital. I shuffled through the doors and was met by a huge group of injured people waiting to be treated. The power was out in the city and I was certain that it wouldn't return for a good while. I knew that I wasn't going to get any help there. I left immediately after and walked to the first house I saw. It was a brick apartment complex, with minimal damage done to it.

I walked in and shuffled up to the desk. My voice was faint and crackly as I whispered to the man behind it, "Sir, I've been walking for two days without water. Please help."

He looked at me in astonishment, but was hesitant. I figured they were having a water crisis. He stared at my eyes and his expression visually changed from sceptical to surprised. "You-You are Mr. Pokémon!"

I looked down in shame, "Mhm."

Just the sound I made in response irritated my throat. He handed me a water bottle. I smiled happily and reached over the counter and hugged him. I cracked open the water bottle and chugged it.

Once I had downed the entire water bottle, I said, "I can't thank you enough. What is your name?"

He replied with, "Daniel. Th' name's Daniel."

I shook his hand. "Daniel, I hate to be such a nuisance at a time like this, but could I ask for a room? I need to rest so bad."

He said, "We are all out of rooms… but you may stay in my room if you'd like."

My eyes glistened. "Really?! Oh my goodness! Thank you so much!"

"Follow me."

I trailed Daniel down the hall and we passed a few doors until we got to the end of the hall. Daniel pulled out a key and then inserted it into the keyhole. He turned it and opened the door. It was at this moment that I realized that I had my lab coat on the entire time.

As I entered the room, I chuckled and said, "I guess it wasn't too hard to ID me when I have my lab coat on, huh?"

He laughed in response, "Actually, I am a big fan! I have loved Pokémon since I was a child and when I heard your speech at your house, I was filled with a warm, excited feeling. That is, until your wife…" He paused as I lowered my head. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to mention it. Just act like I hadn't. Anyway, please make yourself at home."

I nodded in understanding. He hastily left me in the room and closed the door behind him, clearly beyond embarrassed to have mentioned my wife.

I shook off what he had said and took off my coat. My clothes were drenched in sweat from the summer's heat. I then remembered that there was no running water to take a shower with. I sighed, then collapsed on a couch positioned in front of a TV and fell asleep.

When I woke up, Daniel was placing a bowl of cereal by the couch.

"Good morning," I groggily groaned. He chuckled, and I looked outside. The sun was setting.

"It's about nine o'clock at night, Mr. Pokémon."

"Please, call me Richard. Now, I have a question," I replied.

"What is your question, Richard?" He said my name as if it was unnatural.

"Everyone I have passed has been talking about the blast and something about the number 100,000. What are they saying?" I nervously asked, almost knowing the answer before he said it.

He sighed, "Well, some scientists were saying something about a 100,000 kiloton bomb detonating in L.A. a few days ago. That was broadcasted shortly before our power shut off. We felt the shockwave here, but it wasn't big." I took in the sheer magnitude of the blast. 100,000 kilotons of explosive power. Then he said, "Oh my goodness! You were there! What happened?!"

My mind was filled with thoughts of the blast. I could vividly imagine a slow-motion picture of what it would have been like to face the blast head-on. I thought once again of the little girl. I imagined her sleeping on a little bed in her cute little room. She looked sound asleep, hugging her teddy bear tight. All of a sudden a burst of force tore her room to shreds, and her tiny body soon after. She didn't even know what hit her before her body was decimated. After the blast, all that was left was a little pile of blood and bones lying on the ground, along with little golden locks of hair and fuzz from a teddy bear. It reminded me of an event that happened so long ago. I remembered reading about it at school. The atomic bombings of the two Japanese cities by the United States. I stared at the floor, I did not want to tell him the terrible things that I did, but I knew that it needed to be said.

I sighed deeply, closed my eyes, and then unleashed a bombshell on him, "I did it, Daniel. I didn't mean to, but I caused the blast. I opened up a vortex and released every living Pokémon from their universe into our world. The shockwave obliterated everything on the surface, but I survived because I made it to the basement. I'm a murderer, Daniel." My head rested in my hands as I wept uncontrollably. He gasped from the sudden and blatant news that his 'hero' murdered millions of innocent people, but hesitantly placed his hand onto my shoulder.

Before he could say anything, gunshots were heard outside the room. We looked up in surprise. I tried my best to stop crying as I got off of the couch and bursted out of the apartment, with Daniel trailing. We walked outside to see many citizens with guns, opening fire in the air while some shot down the street. I glared down the street in confusion and curiosity. What I saw was sickening. A group of Pokémon, led by Yveltal, was invading the city. The bullets were obviously doing very little against them, as they charged down the street with ease.

Yveltal, along with a plethora of other Pokémon, responded to the gunfire with attacks. I watched in fear as a Serperior launched a Wrap at a woman. Leafy appendages manifested and wrapped around the woman, effectively snapping her bones. A Xatu swooped down from the sky and used Air Slash on a man who was shooting right at the Mystic Pokémon. Like a knife through butter, the man's body was sliced in two from the chest up. He was left to quickly bleed out. Yveltal's attack trumped them all. He sent a Hurricane move barrelling down the street, clearing everything in its path. I managed to duck back inside before the winds would sweep me away and was fortunate enough to avoid it. Daniel and I looked at each other in surprise, then I had a flashback to the day before:

"If the humans destroyed our world, we have every right to take theirs. I am Rebellion, make way for Opposition, cower at the Overhaul."

Pokémon were respecting Mewtwo's wishes. They were taking over the world. I scrambled back for the hall to hide in the apartment and Daniel followed. We heard the screams of dying people outside and the cries of the Pokémon as they slaughtered people. As I sprinted back to the room, a Greninja appeared at a window and smashed through it, blocking our way to 'safety.' This frog was not what you would call friendly. It's face had pure evil seeping from it. Despite having a thin and sleek body, its presence seemed more imposing than a tall brick wall. It launched Water Shurikens straight for us. I dropped to the floor with quick reaction time, but Daniel was not so quick to react. The shurikens passed over me and sliced his throat. I watched in horror as his bleeding body toppled to the floor right next to me. He bled out as I watched him choke and gag on his own blood.

I stared at the Greninja in total fear. "Please! Don't kill me!"

He smirked and grabbed me from the floor. His forcefulness and strength were impressive, given his size. I tensed up, even though I was dangling like a puppet. I swore that I was about to be executed. But I never died, I was just taken as some sort of prisoner.

It's ironic, I assumed that ninjas took no prisoners.

The next few days were a haze. I vaguely remember being carried to somewhere near the East Coast. The army of Pokémon had taken me hostage. I specifically remember thinking that they had to know who I was, or else they would have murdered me on the spot. I got very little water on the way, but it was no matter, I wanted to die anyway. Once, I refused to drink and they forced it down my throat. They wanted me alive, and I didn't know why.

We moved at a rather fast pace, all of the Pokémon in the miniature squadron that had taken me hostage were very quick, so we arrived in a bustling city on the opposite side of the country after a couple of days. The city wasn't particularly full of people, though. It was full of Pokémon. I began to recognize many landmarks as we went through the city, and then we came upon an undeniably familiar structure. It was a marble-looking mansion with a reasonably high fence surrounding it. It's lawn was pristine and lusciously green. Many Pokémon were guarding the building, as if it held some sort of importance. The leader of the squadron, Yveltal, took ahold of me in a tight grip and brought me through the doors. He took me through winding hallways to an office. In the office, a pink Pokémon was perched on a chair behind a desk. The symbolism was all too real for me, and I think that she knew about how symbolic her being there was. She grinned at my arrival.

"Ah, Richard. So glad to see you again. You know, I've been thinking about that note from my brother. I am glad to say that I respected his wishes to the fullest. So, without further adieu, I welcome you to the White House. My White House."