"Pokémon are tools of war, nothing more, nothing less." The figure standing in the shadows of the stage said. "If you allow yourself to become attached to them at all, then your not doing you job."
The crowd started to shift, almost as in boredom. The man's eyes seemed to be on fire as he began to talk again. "I guess you think this is a joke, eh? Think that I'm just your crazy boss putting out new rules? Well, this IS real, and you'll start listening, or you'll start losing badly." He said, jumping down from the podium. "You, Winnonia! Stand up."
A woman with blue hair that seemed to go in all but one direction stood up. She looked at the man as if he was crazy, and he then spoke again.
"Give me your Pokémon." He said, holding out his hand.
She gave him an inquisitive look, and sat back down. The man stuck out his hand again, but she ignored him. He then pulled his hand back and slapped her. She shot him a dirty look and fumbled with her coat. She pulled at a lone ball shape, the top being red, and the bottom white. With a flick of her wrist, she threw the ball out and called, "Go! Altaria!"
A majestic bird like shape appeared. Its blue body shone, and the white cloud that seemed to hover under it shed light on the darkness of the crowd. The crowd had all abandoned their chairs, and instead held pokéballs. Each one flicked their wrists and unleashed what was held in them.
Pokémon of all shapes and sizes appeared from the white glows of light. From Alakazam, to Onix, the large room was filled with Pokémon. All trainers seemed to stand, waiting for the man to make a move. Unluckily for them, he did. "Go! Deoyxs!"
From the white glow of his Pokéball, came an almost human as if form appeared. Thin, tentacle like arms quickly brought down the thought of a human. It's head seemed to support two giant ears that only brought fright in the others. The most disturbing part of it was the crystal situated in the thing's chest. It looked beautiful from afar, but
It whipped its arms around once, and half the population of the room went into their balls without being withdrawn. Their trainers just looked confused as the other half began to attack. A barrage of attacks, from the psychic, to the vines of a grass type, sped towards the single pokémon.
All the while, its trainer never seemed to break a sweat. In a voice that filled the room, he shouted, "Deoxys, show them why you're the only one left. Use Coalition!"
The Deoxys brought it's tentacles above its head, and pointed its head upwards. A beam of darkness shot from its crystal and covered the Pokémon in a dark bubble. All attacks just bounced off it, and seemed to float in the air next to it.
As the trainers and Pokémon stared at the effects of the attack, the bubble popped. A very new pokémon stood where Deoxys once did. Its arms seemed to thin out, and stick together, to form two long, flat ones. Its skinny body seemed to gain some meat in the chest area, becoming two times as thick as it was. Its legs also grew, becoming about as thick as a wooden table's leg. Also, the head was more rounded, and the "wings" were gone.
"So, anyone up for trying out Deoxys now?" the man said, laughing. "I want you to all hand over your pokémon right now. Your gyms, badges, and underlings are all being shifted around. You will become new people today. Even your names will change. You will become part of the dream of unity, of freedom."
All the gym leaders reluctantly handed over their prized possession/best friends. Some of the girls began to cry, and the men were taking it hard. It wasn't until the floor fell, that they realized that the man that was talking wasn't who he said he was. Some of them tried to climb up the wall, but the pit was smoothed over, leaving no fold in which to climb with.
As the costume seemed to fly off the man, a flash engulfed the room. Accompanying the flash was the loudest and last roar that the gym leaders heard.
From the News Center in Viridian City
Today, a tragic event has occurred. The world meeting that the Gym Leaders held was blown up. We have no news, but we here assume that all the leaders are now dead. It seemed like a pit had been dug and the leaders all in the pit when the blast occurred….
From the Pokémon Herald, dated 4/5/05
They've come! They want the Pokémon, but stay for the death! We all must run now. Now is the time to get away. We can still have a chance if you heed my warning and run! I make this brief because I want to get it out before it is too late. Please, for the sake of the children and Pokémon run.
From a scrap of paper, most likely a journal
3/8/05
The Pokémon have returned! We rejoice, and hold many parties in their honor.
4/8/05
The Pokémon are zombies! We now are running from them, in hopes of safe haven in New Bark Town. I write while we still pack. I….
The writings ran off here, with a stain of blood on the bottom.
The child shut off the computer. He had more than he could take already. Even if it wasn't real, it still scared him to think about it. How anyone could think up such a horrible thing, and then try to sell it surpassed even his mind. He pulled his card from the tower, and left the library.
He walked through the city, to the outskirts, where his grandmother lived. She was a historian, and a supposed crazy person. It had taken a lot of the money his parents made in a year just to keep her in society. He liked to talk with her, because she told the most interesting stories about the Pokémon.
They were little monsters that ran around the world, just wanting to be caught by "trainers" that brought them up, and helped them to "evolve" into better monsters.
To him, it was magical. It was his place away from home, where he caught and made new friends. He could go there anytime things seemed bad, and become happy again. From getting beat up, to being neglected when sick, that world was.
Today, he went to take her some food, and nothing more, for at night, weird things have been happening. Kids around ten have been disappearing, and not coming back. All that people can find are slips of paper explaining that the kid ran away.
After about six kids, people started getting suspicious. Now, there is a curfew for the whole city, and there are patrols of police officers everywhere.
He turned one more corner and walked up to a shabby red building. The roof was missing in some places, and paint hung off the sides, but to him, it seemed like home. He smiled at the man that stood at the door, thinking he was a door attendant.
The entrance hall was not any better than the front, but al least the paint stayed on the wall. The entire room looked as if someone had taken the ash of a fire and scattered it around. Some parts were entirely black, while others were covered in grey dust. Every time he passed through, he would take a deep breath to inhale the scent. To him, it smelled of a battle of Pokémon.
As he climbed through the stairwell, he began to think of ways to get home fast. He thought of running through the Uler's yard, but last time he did that, his parents fined him. So, he was stuck with the most indirect route ever created.
When he knocked on the door, he got no answer. He knocked again, but still nothing. He knocked a third time, and his pulse began to pick up. When it echoed, he decided that it was time for him to use the key his parents gave him. As his heart rate began to soar some more, he put the key into the lock. As he turned it, it felt like the whole world could hear what he was doing. The lock clicked, and the door swung open.
He cautiously walked into the room, fearing that someone or something was still in there. From what he could tell, his grandma was already dead or gone for whatever reason.
His first clue was her front room. Everything on the shelf was knocked off and scattered to random places around the house. Her TV screen was broken. The hole in it looked as if someone had smashed his or her fist into the screen instead of the usual bat. Her window was also broken; the glass spread in one little pile under the window.
As he continued the search of the apartment, one thing stuck in his mind. Why would there be a pile of glass under the window? Did his grandma have time to sweep? Then why would the rest of the apartment be out of order? He decided to investigate everything after he got home.
The night air slowly began to settle as he walked through the streets. The sun was leaving its last bits of light, in a pretty shade of pink. The boy admired the sky as he briskly walked along. It was nice to see that not everything in the world had gone astray. He continued to pickup the pace as the sun sunk farther down the horizon. The wind suddenly began to pick up almost to help the boy as he continued to run through the streets. It seemed like he was running through the same streets and the fear of being lost started to nestle next to him.
He stopped to take a breath and think. He looked at the street sign to find out where he was. Kaneisth Street was only two over from where he lived. He grabbed the pole and took a deep breath. It was going to be an all out sprint from here. He tightened the straps on his backpack, and tightened his grip on the basket he was carrying. He began to jog slowly, picking up speed as he went. He passed the only street that stood in his way, and began to run the homestretch.
As he ran up to his lawn, he noticed that the neighborhood had grown silent. There was no sound of the usual crickets and grasshoppers, or the sounds of cars traveling down the street. He put more force behind his run and stopped on his front porch. His mother opened the door and gave him a look of relief and anger. She hugged him close, then shooed him inside.
He went into the bathroom and washed his hands, trying not to think about his grandmother. He wondered whether he should tell his parents. If they found out, would they blame him? The fear of another fining held steady within him, and he decided to leave it as it was. If they asked questions, he would lie, and try to solve this puzzle on his own.
He went to the table and ate his dinner. For him, the adventure has just begun.