The sun shone through Dylan Imena's bedroom window, and something gave a long trill that awoke him. He sat up in bed, smelling breakfast from downstairs. He pulled on his clothes and ran a comb through his blond hair. Before he went downstairs for breakfast, Dylan paused to grab his backpack from where it lay beside his desk. He hurried down the stairs, hoping he wouldn't get much homework today.
He ran into the kitchen, pausing to tickle his little sister, Mae. She squirmed away, giggling, and poked him in the side.
"Dylan, leave your sister alone and come here," said Dylan's mother. Dylan walked around the counter in the center of the kitchen. "What is it?" he asked.
His mom turned to him. "I can't drive you to school today," she said. "You're going to have to bike." Dylan groaned and began to eat his breakfast quickly. He'd have to leave early to make it on time.
As he closed the door behind him, Dylan yelled goodbye to his mother and Mae. His dad had already left for his job at the SilphCo lab. Dylan biked down the street, looking out through the electric fence at the road. His house was very close to the town border, and every so often he would catch a glimpse of a wild Meowth or Growlithe creeping through the tall grasses on the side of the road.
Dylan turned left at a street corner, and swerved around a pair of the red-uniformed Pokemon Watch, their tranquilizer rifles slung over their shoulders. They turned to look at him, and waved as he passed. Dylan waved back, smiling. He passed his friend's house and saw their car pulling out of the driveway. He waved as he rode past.
A few minutes later, Dylan pulled up at Lavender Town Public High School. He put his bike in the rack and locked the theft-prevention chain. He was a few minutes early, so he looked around for his friend Lily. He spotted her coming through the double doors of the school and walked over to her.
"What's up?" she asked as he drew near.
"Not much," he shrugged. "Oh, wait, what was the Biology homework?"
"Ummm..." Lily thought for a second. "I don't think we got any."
"That's weird," said Dylan. "Usually Dr. Agnam gives us a lot."
The bell rang, and Dylan and Lily headed to their Biology class. Dr. Agnam stood up from her desk, walked to the front of the classroom, and erased the notes that were already on the whiteboard. She brushed her long brown hair back from her face.
"We're going to start something a little new today," she said. "We've been studying the different biological 'Kingdoms', or groups of organism. We've covered the animal Kingdom and the Protist Kingdom, and today we'll move on to the Pokemon Kingdom."
The class straightened up in their seats, interested. This subject was Dr. Agnam's specialty. "So," said Dr. Agnam, "what is the difference between a Pokemon and an animal?" She wrote the question on the board. A few people raised their hands. Dr. Agnam called on one of the students.
"Well, Pokemon have a kind of..." the girl gestured vaguely. "A kind of power, I guess, that normal animals don't."
"That's right," said Dr. Agnam. "Pokemon have a certain degree of instinctive control over a type of energy called Technic energy. We don't fully understand Technic energy even now, after approximately two millennia of studying Pokemon. The greater the control, the stronger the Pokemon. This energy apparently cannot directly affect matter unless it is keyed to certain chemical compounds or other types of energy. One of the compounds that it can apparently be keyed to is carbon-12, the basis of organic matter. At some point in history, possibly the point at which modern humans began evolving for intelligence, certain species began evolving to take advantage of Technic energy. What is so unique about this evolution is that it happened in nearly every species, branching out to include a group of organisms based on their original ancestors, but able to use Technic energy."
Dr. Agnam paused and drew a diagram on the board of the different types of animals: birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. From each group she drew a line to the words "Technic energy." Then she continued.
"The manifestation of Technic energy in each species of Pokemon is different, depending on the ancestors from whose species they split. For example, a Pidgey, which evolved from primitive birds, has a different form of Technic energy than, for example, a Sharpedo, which evolved from prehistoric sharks."
Dr. Agnam diagrammed the different types of Pokemon techniques, from fire to steel. Then she went on.
"The nature of Technic energy is such that it needs to be linked to a preexisting form. This means that Pokemon evolve very slowly—and by evolution I mean the process of natural selection, not the 'evolving' of specific Pokemon. That's a fascinating aspect of Pokemon, and we'll go into more detail about it later in the course."
Dr. Agnam paused and surveyed the class for a moment. "So," she said, "those are the basics of Pokemon biology. But can anyone tell me why it's important for us to learn this?"
Dylan's friend Schuyler raised his hand. Dr. Agnam pointed to him. "Yes?"
"Because Pokemon can't be captured anymore," said Schuyler. "They've gotten too strong for Pokeballs to hold. We need to study biology to figure out why."
"That's right," said Dr. Agnam. "Pokeballs work by a very sophisticated process that works on the tuning effect of Technic energy. It keys the energy of the Pokemon to a storage matrix inside the ball. In effect, this compresses the Pokemon to the size of a marble, storing it in the form of pure Technic energy. The Pokeball also has a data-recovery system so that the captured Pokemon can be released—though tamed and obedient to the owner of the Pokeball. But a few generations ago, a gene began appearing in Pokemon that duplicates the effect of a Pokeball—throughout the entire body of the Pokemon. This holds the Technic energy of a Pokemon relatively fixed—canceling out the influence of a Pokeball. By now this gene has spread to nearly every organism that uses Technic energy. Almost no controllable Pokemon remain alive today."
Dr. Agnam regarded the class with a grave look. "This has had huge effects on our society and the world. The Pokemon-training industry, a huge chunk of Kanto's GNP, has vanished. The roads have become unsafe for travel, because in their untamed state Pokemon are aggressive and dangerous. Certain types of near-extinct Pokemon, such as Scyther, Charmander, and Zapdos have flourished in the new conditions. The consequence of a resurgence of such powerful predators has caused species like Sentret and Zubat to dwindle. This has also reduced the preternatural power of the once-legendary Pokemon like Moltres and Suicune. There have been many other consequences, too many to name. But the end result is that a great many of Kanto's cities, the ones dependant on the revenue from Pokemon products, have been deserted and destroyed. That is why we study Pokemon biology."
Dylan wheeled his bike out of the bike rack. He saw Schuyler walk by and called over to him. "Hey, Sky! You want to come over to my house?"
Schuyler looked over and grinned. "Nah, your house sucks," he said in a mock-disgusted tone. "Shut up," Dylan laughed. "Are you coming or what?"
"Aright."
The two thirteen-year old boys biked down the street. "Hold up," said Dylan as they rode past the Tower of Grays. "What is it?" said Schuyler.
"My grandfather died last week," Dylan called over his shoulder. "I have to pay my respects."
The Tower of Grays had started out as a shrine for the spirits of dead Pokemon. During the time just before the uncatcheable Pokemon began appearing, the Tower had been turned into a radio broadcasting station. The people of Lavender had just kept coming to the Tower and mourning their Pokemon like they had done for so many years, and the radio station personnel hadn't had the heart to turn them out. Little by little, the people brought back the Tower they had once known: the shrine, the candles, the double doors. The inside of the Tower, except for the room at the top where the radio people actually worked, changed back to the way it had always been. When the ghost Pokemon began coming back, the radio men had finally given up in disgust and left, building a bigger, better tower in Celadon City. Now Celadon was a ghost town, inhabited by rats and wild Pokemon. But the Tower of Grays continued to stand.
Over the years, the Tower had become a place of worship for the dead of all shapes and sizes. Dead humans, pets or Pokemon, all were mourned in the Tower of Grays. Dylan's grandfather Alexander Imena had died of a stroke last Tuesday, and Dylan had to make an offering in the Tower.
Dylan and Sky walked through the massive oaken double doors, painted a light purple. Somber music drifted from the huge organ set in the wall. The boys took off their shoes respectfully and walked over to the spice room. Inside, massive racks of incense surrounded them. Dylan walked over and picked a light brown stick. "What do you think?" he asked, holding it out to Sky, who took a whiff and wrinkled his nose. "Not that one," he said. "Smells like cat piss."
They finally selected a dark red incense whose smell vaguely reminded them of autumn. They walked across the floor, feeling the grain of the wood on the bottoms of their feet. When they reached the ever-burning candles that ringed the massive shrine, they kneeled on the purple cushions laid on the floor. Dylan lit the incense on the closest candle and placed it in the tray at the foot of the altar. As the scented smoke surrounded him, Dylan closed his eyes and prayed for his grandfather's spirit. While he waited for the incense to burn away, he thought about Alexander Imena.
Dylan's grandfather had been a warm, but rather imposing man. His personality had been one of quiet respect and friendliness. Most people who didn't know him thought him stiff and unfeeling, but anyone who spent some time with him came to enjoy his soft-spoken courtesy and accepting personality. The only thing that Alexander Imena would not tolerate was injustice in any form.
His personality was just right, Dylan reflected, for a Pokemon trainer. Pokemon would only work their hardest for a certain kind of person, and Alexander Imena had the perfect combination of firmness, gentleness, and respect. He had never told Dylan why he stopped training. Dylan knew his grandfather could very well have beaten the Pokemon League if he hadn't stopped.
But now, of course, the Pokemon League was gone, just another lost remnant of a happier time. The number of people who still possessed controlled Pokemon was pitiful even compared to the early days of training, so what was the point of maintaining the League? There were barely enough trainers left to even fill all the gyms. Even if they did still have a League, they would probably get about one challenger every two months.
The last of the incense burned away, and Dylan stood up, watching the last puff of red smoke drift up through the hole in the ceiling. The hole was a relatively new addition. It extended up through each floor, and out through a pin-sized opening in the ceiling, through which the burned incense was emitted in a thin stream. Sky looked at the hole, too, and was struck by a sudden thought. "Hey!" he said, turning towards Dylan. "Let's go upstairs!"
Dylan gave him a funny look. "We're not supposed to go up there." Sky rolled his eyes. "We're allowed to; it's just that nobody does."
"That's for a good reason!" said Dylan. "There are ghost Pokemon up there." Sky raised his eyebrows. "There's nothing the channelers can't handle, if it comes to that."
"Well..." Dylan thought for a second. "I guess it's safe enough. But why do you want to? What's up there?"
"I don't know!" said Sky. "That's the point! It's the only place in this tiny little town that we've never been to." It was true. Sky, Dylan, and Lily liked to explore Lavender, and they knew most of the secrets and shortcuts there were to find. The three of them had invented games to use their knowledge, ranging from taunt-the-Rocket-and-run to Hide-and-go-seek with the whole town as a playing area. They prided themselves on knowing all of Lavender's secrets, and they were better at getting past locked doors than the few burglars in the town. It had never occurred to Dylan that the upper floors of the Tower presented a potential new area to explore.
"Besides," continued Sky, not realizing that Dylan was already convinced, "Haven't you ever wondered what's up there that's so much more interesting to Ghost Pokemon than down here?"
"Alright," said Dylan. "But we should go and get Lily first."
"Fine." said Sky. "But let's go quickly, please."
The two boys walked outside, heading over to the bike rack. As Sky wheeled his bike out and undid the lock, Dylan noticed three sneering Rockets leaning against the wall of the Tower.
Team Rocket was not nearly as dead as many people had once believed. The disappearance of the near-legendary Giovanni had weakened them for a time, but ultimately the crime syndicate had gained back any of its lost strength. In fact, there were even rumors that Giovanni had returned after a few years, but nobody was sure that was true.
Whatever the case, the Rockets had done quite well in the new conditions. They had once been an organization devoted to Pokemon, but they were nothing if not flexible. As a crime group, they existed to release the lowest urges of humanity. When people were troubled by the near-collapse of the economy, the destruction of Kanto, Jhoto, and Hoenn's biggest cities, or the simple fear that one day a Moltres would fly by and burn you to cinders, they drowned their woes in Rocket-made casinos, drugs, and brothels. As if that weren't bad enough, Team Rocket had begun recruiting from teenagers. There was some kind of appeal for teenagers that Dylan didn't understand. It was the new form of "punk cool." Whatever it was, the black and red Rocket uniform was fast becoming a status symbol.
And that was bad for everyone—especially Dylan and Sky.
Because the three Rockets were walking right towards them.