CHAPTER 1 – ISAAC BLOOM'S LEGACY POKEMON

Lavender Town had always been surrounded by death. Pokemon Tower stretched into the sky and earned its status as Kanto's permanent reminder that the partnerships between humans and Pokemon would one day come to an end, one way or another; with the death of a human, or the death of a Pokemon.

It was out back of Pokemon Tower that Isaac sat. There was a constant chill in the air in Lavender Town. And for that reason, Isaac wrapped himself in a jacket and covered his frizzy brown hair with a red and white cap. He stared at the grave in front of him. Here lies the body of Markus Bloom: beloved husband, friend and father.

Three years had passed since the end of the war. But Isaac still didn't know peace. The war had lasted almost a decade. Families had been torn apart. Towns and cities just about remained standing. And the number of Pokemon and humans buried in Pokemon Tower had grown exponentially.

'Gastly.'

The ghost Pokemon had been by Isaac's side since he had entered the gates, but it had remained silent, respecting Isaac's need to mourn. It sounded almost sorrowful when it spoke, apologetic to break the silence. Isaac had never owned or caught a Pokemon before. His father had embarked upon the Kanto gym challenge when Isaac was just a baby and had promised to teach him to train and battle Pokemon once he had collected all eight badges. He was six in when he was called to enlist in the army. He'd never complete the Kanto gym challenge. Any ideas that Isaac had of becoming a Pokemon trainer had died with his father.

Gastly was the closest Isaac had come to befriending a Pokemon. It would be wrong to call what Isaac and Gastly had a friendship, but it was an understanding of sorts. Gastly had watched Isaac visit his father's grave for weeks before he made himself known. And since then, the two had spent hours together in the sadness of their surroundings, most of the time in complete silence. When Isaac left there was a nod in acknowledgement of the time they had spent together and an agreement that they would do the same again the following day. And every day thereafter.

'Isaac!'

A shrill high-pitched voice carried over the air. The thumping of footsteps got louder and louder. The cemetery gate was flung open. Gastly disappeared. A girl raced towards Isaac.

'I knew I'd find you here. You have to come with me,' she said.

'Sacha. What are you talking about? What are you doing back? You're supposed to be in Vermil-'

'No time to explain. Come with me. Now.'

Sacha had dreamed of becoming a Pokemon trainer her entire life. Four years previous she had been gifted her first Pokemon: Cubone. And she'd been travelling Kanto ever since. She was three gym badges into the challenge. And rarely did she return to Lavender.

No sooner had she arrived, she was already on her way again, beckoning for Isaac to follow her. She wasn't joking. She didn't have time to explain. That was worrying. Normally she was happy-go-lucky, determined but relaxed. Not now. Isaac looked around for Gastly. He caught him watching from a window on the third floor of the Tower. He gave him a nod goodbye and ran after his friend.

Isaac sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him and somehow managed to catch up with Sacha who refused to stop or speak for fear that any words would slow them down. Isaac knew the route they were taking. Shortcuts between houses. Jumps over fences. It was the same route they'd always taken as children. Back to Isaac's house.

Something wasn't right. The closer they got, the clearer it became. Flashing blue lights. And then. THUMP.

Isaac stopped. A hand was planted firmly in his chest. He looked at the face of the Machoke it belonged to. There was no way Isaac was getting through. He looked over Machoke's shoulder. The blue lights were right outside his house. Windows smashed. Flames licking at the walls being doused by Squirtle's water gun. And at the centre of it all was Officer Jenny.

'Let them through,' Officer Jenny ordered when the flames were all out.

'Where's mum?' Isaac asked, looking from Officer Jenny to Sacha.

'It's going to be ok,' Jenny replied. Though the tone of her voice suggested she was lying.

'Where is she?'

Isaac had already assumed the worst and the tears began to trickle down his cheeks. Sacha pulled him into her arms and held him so tight that it was uncomfortable. But Isaac couldn't refuse. He allowed himself to lean on her. To cry into her shoulder.

'Machoke, get these people inside,' Jenny motioned to the watching townsfolk who turned away at the sight of Machoke marching towards them.

Isaac lifted the police tape and crawled through. His home, his possessions, his entire life had been destroyed in the fire. He flicked on the torch and shed light on the damage that had been done. It was devastating for him to be there, right in the middle of it, but it was where he needed to be. His father had died during the war, now his mother had died in a tragic accident. He was left to contemplate what remained of his life.

'You shouldn't be here.'

'Neither should you.'

Isaac turned and shone the torch in Sacha's face. She reached out and lowered it slowly. They stood in silence and stared at one another. Sacha searched desperately for something to say but there was nothing. Nothing she could say would make anything better.

'Come home,' she said.

'I am home.'

'Isaac. You can't be here. This won't help.'

'What will?'

And, to that, Sacha had no response. Their friendship had been strained since Sacha had left on her journey to become a Pokemon trainer. Something that the two of them had always dreamed of doing together. They were still friends, sure, but it was tinged with jealousy. Made all the worse when Sacha's father returned from the war with his life intact.

'I think we should-'

'Stop,' Isaac said.

'Yes. Let's go.'

'No. Stop,' and Sacha remained still under Isaac's instruction. 'Can you hear that?'

She listened hard. Somewhere in the house there was a noise. An ever so slight banging. A rummaging. Constant.

Isaac, with a newfound optimism, bounded up the stairs. Sacha close behind. At the top, he stopped again. Listened carefully. Then, left.

His mother's room. The bed was thrown up against the side. Drawers and bedside tables had been smashed. Holes had been punched in the walls and picture frames fallen from their fixtures, the smashed glass littered the carpet. Isaac turned to Sacha, both thinking the same thing.

'This wasn't just a fire,' Isaac finally said.

'Why would someone do this? Who would do this?'

'I don't know.'

Isaac trod carefully across the glass to the other side of the room. The bed was on its side, blocking his mother's bedside drawers. He looked down the gap between the mattress and the furniture and there it was: the source of the banging. He watched as the bottom drawer opened against the mattress and bounced shut again. This happened over and over and over. Each time the drawer opened it opened more forcefully than the last and sprang shut even harder. A growl of frustration came from within the drawers.

'Over here.'

Sacha ran towards Isaac and grabbed the other end of the bed. Together, they moved it away, laid it back down on the floor. They both stared at the drawer. It didn't open again. Sacha unclipped a Pokeball from her belt.

'Beedrill, I choose-'

Isaac grabbed her arm before she could throw. He shook his head.

'Leave this to me.'

He shone the torch on the mysterious drawer and approached cautiously. He wrapped his fingers around the handle and prepared to pull. He looked at Sacha who nodded her approval. And just as he went to pull, the drawer sprung open. It whacked Isaac in the shin. He fell back. Then a shower of leaves cut through the air. Sacha ducked behind the bed. One of them struck Isaac's chest. It drew blood. Then a vine whipped across his face.

'Bulba.'

'Bulbasaur!' Isaac shouted, a sudden glee in his voice. He forgot the pain and stared at the Pokemon in pure amazement. Bulbasaur forgot his anger. He ran into Isaac's arm and wrapped his vines around him.

'Isaac?'

'Bulbasaur was my dad's. I thought he died with him.'

'So what is he doing here?' Sacha asked.

Isaac ran his hands over Bulbasaur's bulb. He was unharmed during the fire. Or the fight. Whatever had happened. And suddenly Bulbasaur crawled back towards his drawer.

'Hey, Bulbasaur. It's ok. It's me. Don't be scared. Remember me?'

But Bulbasaur wasn't retreating out of fear. Bulbasaur's vine stretched back into the drawer and pulled a piece of paper from within. Handwriting hurriedly scrawled across the page. Handwriting Isaac recognised, but he was unsure where from. Until he read the message.

Don't believe them. Don't trust anyone. They have your mother and I. I couldn't stop them. Mount Moon. I'm alive. I love you. Dad.