Chapter 12: Sato's First Pokemon
Sato just lies there, recovering from his physical wounds as his mental ones come back. The only person he had been able to depend on since his mother's death was dead, and even after what his rival had done, Sato couldn't help feeling guilty about driving Gary to a mental breakdown and suicide, even if the Society had been the real cause. Not even able to cry, Sato just stays where he is.
After some time passes, Sato finally thinks about the challenges ahead of him. He has to escape from a building crawling with guards, if he can even get the electronic door open, and find some kind of lead on the Pokemon Master and his plan. But he can't concentrate, the deaths are still burned into his mind. Deciding to settle for getting out of the room where they occurred, he goes to the door, but the panel he used to close it doesn't seem to be capable of opening it. With a feeling of disgust, he realizes his only chance is to search Gary's body for whatever he had used to open it. Sato traces the walkway, retrieves his backpack, and finds another opening with a ladder descending to the floor. Sato climbs down, and tries to work up the nerve to walk over to where Gary hit the ground. But as he passes the large basin that houses Missingno, he forgets all about escaping.
"Help… help us…"
Many voices seem to be talking at once, but inside Sato's mind. They continue pleading for help, the voices getting louder as Sato gets closer to Missingno. When he's peering over the basin, almost touching it, fear catches up with him, and he draws back. But fear is also driven from his mind…
"Sato..."
It's April's voice.
"April! April, are you alive?"
"Sato! You are there!" Missingno starts to glow, which seems to enhance its telepathy "I'm not really alive, but I'm still here. We're all here, everyone who became part of Missingno. Our souls merged together, along with the Pokemon."
"Everyone the United Pokemon Society executed? You can talk to all of them?"
April pauses. "No. They're here, but… not really themselves. There's something about the machine we're in, Missingno told me it merges the souls together completely, they become a hive mind. It takes a while, but it will happen to me to."
"No! I won't let that happen!"
"Sato, it's too late for me, save yourself and defeat the United Pokemon Society."
"No, there has to be a way!"
The machine Missingno is in isn't like the others, Sato can't find any controls for it, it successfully mimics the ancient relic for human sacrifices it functions as. Sato tears the room apart, and finds one thing that might work.
"April, I know you're human souls, but you're in the body of a Pokemon, aren't you?"
"I think so, Missingno feels so different though."
"But it's still a Pokemon. I know what I have to do to save you, no matter how ironic."
Sato lifts up the Master Ball he found, which seems to be much more common among the Society.
"The Society won't have you as its experiment anymore. Will you come with me?"
"Yes, of course."
"Thank you. Missingno, I choose you!"
Sato throws the ball into the Pokemon. It opens, and with a blinding flash of light sucks in Missingno. Despite the ball having a 100 percent capture rate and the Pokemon being willing, it does the requisite three shakes. Then with a click it darkens and seals. Missingno has been captured. Sato lets it out again.
"Are you okay? Is your soul itself again?"
"I think so, but it's too late for the ones who already merged."
"But we can still help you, we still have a collective memory." The echo like voice Sato first heard says.
"Do you know who the Pokemon Master is?"
"No, he has never witnessed an execution. Some of us may have met him, but the memory is lost, Missingno hasn't."
"Do you know anything about his plan, or the location of Sinnoh?"
"No. We've heard Sinnoh mentioned a few times, and we're sure it's connected to the Master's plan, but we don't know any details or where it is."
Sato pauses, trying not to look disappointed.
"But we can still help you. We are a computer based Pokemon, we can interact with the Society's machines. We can open the door to this area, and scan their network."
"Thank you."
Sato climbs the ladder, Missingno following him. But before they can reach the door, Sato hears another voice.
"You must be proud of yourself, defeating Gary and stealing Missingno."
"Missingno isn't property, the people in it chose…"
But whoever is speaking doesn't seem to be able to hear Sato.
"I am the Pokemon Master. You have caused far too much trouble, and defeated too many of my servants. In a cave north of Cerulean city, the most powerful Pokemon in Kanto lies in wait of those who would challenge it. I am also there. There is no information on me or Sinnoh in the Kanto headquarters, this is your only hope. Face me if you have the courage."
The voice seems familiar to Sato, but he can't identify it.
"Sato, do you know what's in that cave?" April's voice asks.
"Yes, the strongest Pokemon in the region, Mewtwo."
"Mewtwo is what's known as an uber. Even among legendaries, it is exceptionally powerful."
"I don't have a choice, this is my only lead. And I'm sure I would have to face Pokemon as strong or even stronger no matter what if I battled the Master."
"Okay then, get outside and we'll show you another thing we can do for you." the collective Missingno says.
Sato doesn't encounter any guards as he leaves the building, the Pokemon Master must have ordered them not to bother him. He reaches the outside.
"My Pokemon types are Water and an extinct ancestor of the Flying type, Bird. I can use the move Fly to take you to any place you have already been." Missingno explains.
"Okay, let's go to Cerulean."
Missingno floats over Sato, and grabs his hand. It pulls Sato up, into the sky. With unbelievable speed, they travel northwest to Cerulean, and Sato is set down. Sato returns Missingno to its pokeball, not wanting to draw attention. He heads north, crosses the small stream, and enters the cave where his destiny awaits.
