Author's Note: Two weeks later and already a new chapter, huh? I'm still so ecstatic about doing a pokémon story. I'm enjoying it so far. Hope you enjoy yourself! On with the show!
POKéMON GO
Satoshi remembered that very day. Someone wise once said to make a choice is a daring move, for it shapes you and the path that your life will go. Forgetting that moment in his life was impossible. It made him what he was at the present time. No one much less himself could ever forget the day that one is destroyed and yet somewhere along the way...renewed.
TOKYO, 1982.
Eyes glued on the screen. He never shifted focus from the screen. His fingers were moving faster than he normally would. The buttons and joystick were basically one with him. In perfect harmony. At the arcade near what used to be the forest he used to go as a child, Satoshi was in his element, he had a purpose. It all had a reason of course. His missing school and disobeying his parents. He just didn't care anymore. Simple. If everything was being taken away from him, desperation drove him to do something else.
The sounds of laser blasts from the game excited him. Pixilated images coming toward him only for him to shoot down them down with ease. He calculated that quickly. The truth was he could stay in the Amusement Arcade all day. It was becoming a home to him. But even he, Satoshi Tajiri, knew the concept of time and because he did, he realized that he had to get home soon so that his parents wouldn't be the wiser.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case when he went back home. He had crawled through the open space in his window that led to his room. Finally getting inside, he found two individuals already waiting for him. Their arms crossed to their chests and the frown from his own father, all the more the signs of disappointment. Satoshi braced himself.
"Did you not think we would find out?!" his father screamed.
"Satoshi. We know you've been skipping school." His mother said.
"Where have you been going?!" his father asked. The menace never leaving him.
"I-"
"Don't bother lying. We spoke to the principal! You never showed up today. Nor these past couple of days!"
Satoshi worked up his courage and faced the man who was always putting him down for most of his life. He prepared himself for what was surely to come. He had to pay the price.
"At the arcade games." he answered.
"Why, Satoshi?" his mother asked.
"You wouldn't understand...like you have for all my life. You don't understand me and you don't understand what it is I really want. I will make something of myself one day. But not in the way you want...ever."
A slap was administered. Satoshi recoiled. His mother had gasped.
"Leave my house this instinct!" his father yelled. "OUT! OUT! OUT!"
TOKYO, GAMEFREAK HQ, 1989
"Satoshi, are you listening to me?"
Snapping back to the present, Satoshi saw his lifelong friend and partner, Ken Sugimori looking annoyed. He no longer heard the echo of what his father had said all those years ago.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"What do you mean 'what'? I'm telling you, Satoshi. Nintendo already thinks we're crazy and desperate. This is not going to work." Ken said.
"I'm saying it is. Ken...if we could turn a mere magazine company into what we have now, we can do this. Anything's possible. I just have this feeling. We're going to win this time. I'm on the verge of coming up with something that will not only become the next Mario, but go beyond Mario."
"You're reaching, that's what it is. The only reason I went along with you this far is because deep down through that insanity that you call intellect, there was..." Ken trailed off before continuing. "I-I-I mean come on! Collecting creatures?" he asked still in disbelief. "What child would want to play that?"
"You'd be surprised." Satoshi said.
Ken gave a scoff. "Not a compelling answer, Satoshi. Just because you 'were' a child years ago, doesn't mean you know what a child or should I say rather 'children', should like."
"True. But I was once a child. Maybe I still am. My mother always said I was destined to be young at heart. I took it to mean that it means I'm still imaginative."
"Why though?" Ken pleaded. "What makes you think that whatever you come up with next won't fail just like the last times. Why this concept?"
"Collecting insects was a passion of mine but it was more than that. These creatures are part of our world. Also because...at the time...I believe they could be something more. Something different." As Satoshi was saying this out loud, an idea came to him. A wonderful, almost ingenious idea. It was what some referred to as lightning striking the brain.
"That's it..!"
"What? What is it?" Ken frowned.
Satoshi took out his notebook and began writing. He even erased some previous ideas he had.
Ken was getting frustrated. "Satoshi, if this is another-"
"Here!" Satoshi had finished and showed his notes to him. "It'd be better if I showed you..."
Ken reluctantly took the notebook and saw the notes. Going over the scribbled information, Ken went from dubious to amazement in just a matter of seconds. His eyes had widened. He could see where Satoshi was going now.
"Well?" Satoshi waited.
"It's something." Ken nodded rapidly. But he tried not to get ahead of himself. "The concept is taking shape now, Satoshi. I can see it."
Satoshi further explained in case Ken truly didn't get it. "Think of it in terms of wanting. Once you get a certain number, it becomes addicting. The more you have, the better you are."
"Yes. Yes. I agree. But it has to be more than just collecting. It needs 'more', Satoshi."
"I agree. I have to figure out more. In the meantime, you must be the one to do the designs of the creatures. I will see what more can be done."
"Alright, I'll go along with this for now. Let me know when you get another workable idea. This is interesting but I'm still not so optimistic. You really think this is going to be the next big thing? But even if we're lucky with this, this idea will take years for it to become a reality."
"I will. Trust me, Capsule Monsters will change not just the world of video games, but our whole entire world."
Chapter 2: The Singularity
NOW
Very rarely did anything exciting happen to Brit, Jack, Jerry and Roger. There were no words to describe this incredible phenomenon they were experiencing. They were in the alleyway with their jaws dropped. Brit tried to be the only one to maintain her composure. She tried to speak but words seemed stuck in her throat.
"This is..." Roger struggled to find the right word for what they were experiencing.
"Impossible..." Jack managed to say.
"It's like...this is a dream. This can't be happening." Jerry said.
"It's what I've always wanted." Brit said in a low voice.
"Brit?" Jack frowned at what she just said.
"Huh?"
"What did you say?"
"Nothing." She had said realizing it was awkward. Brit refocused his attention on Red, who still looked confused.
"Why are you guys looking so weird?" the young man Red asked.
The Clefairy was busy going through the garbage bags stationed leaning on the wall of the building.
"Clefairy, would you stop please, we have a bit of a problem here!"
The Clefairy raised its small head and turned towards Red before shrugging and went back to rummaging through the bags in the dumpster.
Red sighed. "Would you please excuse me?" he said to them and then went over to his real-life Pokemon.
"Hey, take your time..." Roger said before finally turning shocked just like the rest of the gang. "OK...what in all that is still good left in this world, just happened?" Roger whispered to the group now huddled.
"Sure, like we have an idea." Jerry said sarcastically.
"Guys, do you think this has something to do with that guy on the app saying there was some kind of mission?" Jack whispered to them while Red was out of earshot.
"Better yet, should we tell him, this cat ain't from this reality?"
"Assuming he's telling the truth." Roger said.
"Dude, he's got an actual Pokemon!"
"Shh!" Jack said.
"But look at him. He doesn't look like Red!" Roger continued in as low a voice as possible.
"That's because he's not animated or handdrawn like in the manga! He's made live-action too." Jerry reminded him.
"We got to find out more." Brit said. "Just to be sure."
They stopped talking when they saw that Red went back to the group. The Clefairy waddling, trying to keep up with him. Brit and the others tried to remain innocent.
"I got to think about what's happening. This is all wrong here. Blue must have something to do with this." Red said rubbing his chin.
"Blue?" Jack shook his head.
"He's his rival." Roger said. "He's like the Gary in the manga version."
Red looked at Roger. "How did you know he's my rival?! And who is this Gary?!"
"Look, obviously you have a lot of questions-" Brit began.
"Which we will explain later. Guys, we have to get out of here. People are coming. They see him and his Clefairy and they're going to freak." Jerry said.
"I don't understand. Why would they freak out seeing a Clefairy?" Red asked. "Clefairies are commonly, well-known pokemon."
"Well, the truth is...the thing is-" Brit began to say until she was cut off.
"Dude, you're in a world where actual Pokemon do not exist!" Roger said quickly. There was some excitement to him.
"Roger!" Brit tried to shush him.
"Way to be subtle." Jack said.
"What? What do you mean they don't exist here?" Red frowned.
"Well, they exist in games, movies, cards and...this." Jerry said held up his IPhone.
"What is that?"
"Well, it's basically a phone and a computer all in one gadget." Roger shrugged. "This is what the future is now, man."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Red asked.
Brit tried to be sympathetic and was the one who began to explain. "You came out of this..." she said holding her broken phone to him. "Somehow, someway...you came to our..." she tried to search the word.
Jack provided it. "Reality."
"I'd say 'universe'." Roger suggested. "You have your universe. We have ours."
"No. I thought this was still 'my' world." Red said. "This has to be 'my' world! I mean...you're saying no Pokémon here? I think you guys are out of your minds. I mean, what kind of world would it be if there were no Pokémon? A boring one. That's what it would be."
"No argument here." Brit nodded.
"I'm sorry. This must be hard to accept much less digest." Jack said trying to be sympathetic. "But I swear we're telling you the truth. There's no Pokémon here."
"I can't believe this." Red muttered. The Clefairy beside him looked sad now.
"But you know about Pokémon? What else do you know? I doubt you know more."
"In the world of Pokémon, any aspiring Pokémon trainer has a mission or rather, missions to complete to become the very best." Brit said. "That's either training, fighting, winning badges at gyms, fighting gym trainers, regular trainers or collecting Pokemon to complete the Pokedex."
"You know about the Pokedex?" Red was in awe at how much Brit knew. "So you do know. You know about something that in your world, doesn't even exist."
"Dude, we told you. We know everything about the Pokémon world." Roger said matter of factly. "And I understand that it's ironic or contradictory or whatever but-"
"Rog. Please." Jerry shushed him.
"Do you..." Jack still cannot believe he was a witness to something that was nothing short of a spectacle. He needed more.
"What?" Red asked.
"...have more than one Pokémon?"
"Well, yes." he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Do you have...pokéballs?" Jerry asked.
"Inappropriate." Jack shook his head.
"You know what I mean! Can we see one?"
Red rolled his eyes and pulled from his back, from his belt rather, a small red and silver ball ball with a button in the middle. He held it between his thumb and finger.
"It's small." Brit frowned.
"Smaller than usual." Jack agreed.
Red clicked on the button in front and the ball morphed into an actual sized ball, now fitting in the palm of his hand. It looked sleek and shiny.
"Looks so cool up close. Nothing like the props or toys." Roger said in awe. "Is there a Pokémon inside?"
"Yes."
"Can we see another one?"
"Sorry no. That's all you get. I'm not someone who will put on a show just for kicks." Red said strictly. Then he turned and pointed the ball in the direction of his Pokémon. "Clefairy."
A red beam of light shot out from the ball and touched the creature, lighting it up and absorbing it, taking it in. It had disappeared.
Brit and the others gasped again. Their eyes widened much to the chagrin of Red.
Red rolled his eyes. "Great...I put on a show again, didn't I?"
"I can't believe this activity, task or whatever..." Brit said in amazement. "...managed to punch a hole into our reality!"
"I know."
"That's crazy! Unbelievable! Stuff like this doesn't happen! Only in movies!"
Brit thought of something. "Guys, do you think that was the old woman was talking about? Warning us of this?"
"What old woman?" Red asked.
"We were at a convention. A pokemon convention. Before we were kicked out, there was this old woman who was screaming at us. That we brought something upon ourselves that we're not ready for. I think she meant her crystal ball getting shattered. I thought she was nuts too. But I think she may be onto something because now, somehow my phone or the Pokemon Go app managed to access Pokemon Go characters. You and your pokemon." she said to Red.
"Access?" Jerry asked.
"A tear in the space time continuum." Jack declared.
"This just went Star Trek, people." Roger nodded.
Everybody looked at him. They were looking annoyed.
"The question is 'how'?" Brit said astounded.
"I think I know..." Jack said thinking.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I saw this dust get on your phone, Brit. That dust must have been-"
"What? Magic? That's insane."
"That's a little too much." Jerry said.
"Yeah and too convenient." Roger added. "Magic can't exist here, guys."
"How else can you explain two Pokémon characters here?"
"When something can't be explained, I always like to say: A 'wizard' did it." Roger said. "Or in this case a 'witch'."
"Wow, you should have your own comedy club, Rog." Jerry shook his head.
"Look..." Red spoke again. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions to answer but I need to go." he began walking away. "You guys can't help me."
"Hey!" Jack said.
"Go where?" Brit cried. She caught up with him.
"I don't know. I need to..." Red struggled to search for the right words to complete his sentence. But it turns out he couldn't.
"You don't know do you?"
"No. I don't supposed you'd understand what I'm going through."
"Going through?" Brit said.
"How would you feel if you arrived on a world that wasn't your own?"
"I know." she said softly. "I know how it feels."
Red looked taken aback. Her answer had seemed so genuine and her eyes told truth. She did understand.
"Let us help you." she insisted. "We can. Really."
"Help me with what? What could I need help on?"
"Your mission."
"Mission? How do you know?"
"This." she held up her phone.
At this point, Red and the gang got back together on the same spot.
"Ummm...we didn't have a...proper introduction." Jack said uncomfortable. "I'm Jack Garnet."
"I'm Brit." she smiled.
"Jerry." Jerry gave a firm nod and looked at Roger. "This is Roger Dodger."'
"Whatever. Just call me Rog." he said shyly.
"So you guys want to help?" Red asked.
"Yes." Brit said. "Yes, we do."
"I'm someone who never has a boring day. I'm unpredictable. Even to myself. You guys have no idea what you'd be getting yourselves into." Red warned.
"I'm used to living on the edge." Brit said.
Jack couldn't help but think Brit was enjoying this too much for her own good.
"Where should we start?" Jerry asked.
"Yeah, where should we? I'm willing to go along with this whole magic thing. If it keeps me out of my mom's basement..." Roger chuckled weakly.
Everyone looked at him in response.
"Don't ask." he said finally.
"How do you know about the mission?" Red asked.
"Well, we don't know anything specifically. On the app here..." she showed her phone. "A strange man we've never seen said that he had stolen an artifact and Team Rocket wants it."
"You guys know who Team Rocket is?" Red asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Even here, we know they're a huge pain in the ass." Jerry said.
"Good choice of words." Red nodded with a smile.
"This strange man. What did he look like?" Red asked. He was trying to be cautious.
Brit went how she saw the man in the app. The description wasn't much. "Old. Lab coat. Long hair wrapped in a pony-tail." she said.
"Gave off Willie Nelson vibes." Roger added.
"So it was him. You 'did' see him." Red said and for the first time he was in awe. He was finally believing.
"Who was he?" Brit asked Red.
"He came to me at first. I don't know how he found me. He was a professor I've never met before and I met many. He said his name was Professor...Root. Professor Root."
"Yeah, that's new news for us." Roger said confused.
"Wait, what about this...amulet thing?" Jack said.
"Yeah!" Brit remembered. "Do you have it?"
"I do. Here. Might as well see it. Besides I've already revealed too much." he took out a metallic orb. It looked so smooth and sleek. Almost the size of a pokeball. "The amulet is inside. I can't open it unfortunately. It can never open."
"You were given that orb without seeing the amulet inside?" Jack frowned.
"Yes."
"Then how do you know the amulet is inside?" Brit said.
"Professor Root said that it was and that the orb is merely shielding its effects."
"Shielding it?"
"What effects?" Jerry said. "Now I'm starting to worry..."
"The amulet is basically a necklace with a strange jewel. Unknown, Professor Root had said. Its power is unlike any other. He says if I ever opened it, it would cause great calamity." Red said. "Destruction."
"So basically you're saying you have a bomb on you?" Jack said. That idea alone caused everyone to panic now.
"No. Not technically. If harnessed correctly, it would be useful, to not just the environment but to the whole planet."
"So basically whatever this power is...it's like the equivalent of nuclear energy." Brit realized.
"Root also said if the amulet fell into the wrong hands..."
"Calamity, you just said that." Roger said.
"Right, but if someone who doesn't have the best intentions, had it, he or she would be in control of a very powerful weapon."
"I think if I ever have anxiety..." Jerry began. "This would be how it feels..." he sighed. The thought of a nuclear bomb was too much apparently.
"This is deep." Roger said.
"Then we got to protect it." Brit said.
"We?" Roger looked astounded.
"Yes, we!" Brit said.
"Look, we got to get out of this alleyway now. We got to-" Jack started.
"Go where?" Brit asked him. "We don't even know what the next move is!"
"Well. we can't keep standing here. Maybe once we get moving, the map on the app can point out something."
"True. I'm ready to go too. Besides, I think I saw a rat somewhere." Roger said disgusted.
"Rat?" Red frowned. "You mean a 'Rattata'?"
"No. No. Just a regular rat." Jack explained, calming Red down.
"No Pokémon here except on the Pokémon Go app, remember?" Jerry said.
"Oh. Never mind." Red said straightening himself properly. "Well...I agree with you, umm...what's your name again? Jack. That we should move."
"Well, let me see my phone." Brit sighed and went through the app. Nothing showed. With her finger, she poked the screen frantically. "There's nothing."
"Great." Jerry said.
"Wait..." Brit said as the app began to glow bright white. The app began once more much to the delight of everyone. The map was shown along with its blue indicators. Each representing a landmark.
Brit recognized her avatar along with a small gold dot next to it.
"I'm willing to bet that gold dot is you, my man." Jerry said to Red.
"So the app knows of you." Jack said. "You're somewhat connected to it."
"To me." Brit said.
Jack looked annoyed.
"This is actually our area." Brit explained to Red, who was looking fascinated at what was being shown to him. "The phone takes our geographical location and oftentimes puts Pokémon gyms or other players to battle with."
"But you said they don't exist here in your world." Red said.
"No. But in this application it does. But 'only' in our phone. It's essentially a game. We can create avatars too."
"Avatars?" Red asked now even more confused.
"They represent us on the app. We can customize our avatars to our choosing."
"I don't understand."
"If another player shows up here." she pointed at a random section of her map. "It would just be an ordinary person in our reality. No physical Pokémon on him. But on his phone, on his own Pokémon Go app, he or she has an avatar, a representation of him or her, that would have a list of Pokémon and we could battle. The same thing goes for places here, it could be a Pokéstop or a gym on the phone. All this is possible using umm...uhh."
"Wireless interlinking." Jack spoke for her. "I'll give you an example."
Jack pulled out his phone, activated his app and showed Red a list of his own Pokémon.
"It has its stats, levels, energy and experience." Jack said.
"Interesting device." Red muttered in astonishment. "Puts a pokédex to shame actually. I mean, seriously. A phone actually is something else here. What a universe..."
"I know right?" Roger said.
"Shut up, dude." Jerry said.
"How does it work? The phone?" Red asked.
Jerry spoke up. "Dude, that answer is beyond even us. You have to be smart to figure it out."
"Yeah, see.." the excited Roger began. "...we don't know how it works...we just know how to use it."
"Going back to the matter at hand, what do you got, Brit?" Jack said.
"Nothing's happening. It's just us standing here." Brit said staring at the screen.
"Maybe we have to move, then." Jack reminded her.
"Alright, but I don't know what good it'll do. I don't see anything on the blocks around us." she said.
"Let's entertain this further and go then." Jerry said.
The group got out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk. They began to walk in the direction opposite the location of the convention center.
"See? Nothing." Brit said.
"I think we need to be farther." Jack suggested.
"And if it doesn't work?" Jerry said.
"I don't know." Brit said walking while eyeing her phone.
"Then we look like idiots." Roger said.
The group began to walk further down and Jack took a glance at Red, who seemed enthralled at the lights and stores, which were all new to him. He seemed a bit annoyed whenever he was talking to Brit. But Jack tried to tell himself it was nothing. After all, Red is someone who doesn't exist. But the thing is...he was.
"I take it you're getting some culture shock?" Brit said next to Red.
"I guess so. Adjusting is difficult so far, I'll admit."
"You don't have cafés, seven-elevens or a Jewel Osco in your world?" she smirked.
"You could say we have the...Pokémon version of it." Red said.
"Oh, really?"
"We have stores, restaurants and hospitals but they all have Poké at the beginning of it."
"I figured." Jerry said behind them.
"That's so cool." Roger said behind them.
"What were you doing before you ended up here, if you don't mind me asking?" Jack asked.
"You mean before I didn't go on this lovely mission?" Red asked.
"Sure."
Red was contemplating before he answered. "I was resting. I was living in peace with my Pokémon. Taking care of them. Working a good job. I thought I was done with adventures basically. But...there was a point where..."
"You wanted to get back in the game?" Brit answered for him.
Red looked amazed that Brit put it in that way. He even raised an eyebrow. 'Pun intended?' he wanted to say.
"I mean...so to speak." Brit corrected herself.
"Yes. Helping others. Saving the world. Meeting new Pokémon. That was my destiny. I shouldn't have had to stop. It was a blessing that Professor Root had found me and had me doing this."
"Even though it got you to another universe?" Brit said.
"Yeah, that part is going to get some getting used to. But I'll manage."
Jack sighed seeing Brit and Red getting along with each other so well. It upset him, not of Red. But of himself. He was boring compared to the adventurous Red. He took a glance at Jerry walking beside him, giving him a look that said 'I know...'
He couldn't believe he was losing Brit.
"So what Pokémon do you have?" Roger asked with much excitement.
"That again, huh? Well, wouldn't you like to know?" Red told him.
"We do actually."
"Something tells me the less you know, the better." Jack said.
"Why?" Brit said.
"I mean, we get it. Guy comes here from another universe with some creatures no one here has ever seen. It's no big deal." Even Jack himself didn't know where he was going with what he was saying.
"No big deal?" Brit said. "Are you kidding me?"
"I'm saying you should lay off the questions and leave him alone. He's been through a lot so far." Jack said.
"I like you already. You seem like a smart man, Jack." Red said patting him on the shoulder. Jack was a bit miffed by the gesture and merely gave a half-smile.
"Guys, I think we better head back." Jerry said ahead.
"Why?" Brit asked.
"That's why..."
Jerry pointed to a gang of hoodlums ahead roughing up a young man with a backpack. The three thugs were trying to take it from him.
"Let's go across the street." Jack suggested.
"Alright then." Brit said preparing to do so.
"No...wait." Red spoke and walked towards the scuffle.
"Red! What are you doing?!" Brit called after him.
"I can't stand by and let this happen. He needs help." he said while he was continuing to walk towards them.
"Red, no!" Brit called out to him.
Brit from behind, saw Red holding up a pokéball. He threw it to the side of a backyard of a house. uncaringly. Over the fence. In some large abundant bushes where it disappeared. Nobody could see it. Yet, a noise indicating the ball opened was heard. A white flash was then seen inside the bushes. But nobody in Brit's group, much less herself knew what Pokémon it was.
It was for certain that something came out into the yard. It moved so fast, it was a blur. And because it was night with minimal lighting available around the area, it didn't help either. It looked to be a large creature and it was covered in darkness.
"Sleep powder!" Red said as he was getting closer to the scuffle.
"Did he just say sleep powder?" Roger asked Brit and the others, a few feet away from Red.
"I think he did." Brit said.
"I think you want to leave him alone." Red said bravely having arrived, behind the gang.
"Well, look who we got here. A hero." the leader of the gang said with a smirk.
"A cosplayer hero." a thug said.
"Let him go." Red said unamused.
"Dude, do you know who I am around these parts?"
"Humor me." Red said continuing to be annoyed.
"They call me chilly-willy." the thug said sizing Red up.
"Wow, that's a nice name. But I don't care. Let me guess. They call you that because you're ice cold and you have zero regard of the consequences that can ensue should you pick on a helpless individual."
The whole gang scoffed and chuckled.
"So, you didn't sleep through ethics in school, huh? That's cool but at the end of the day, you're a dork, man. Who do you think you are? 'Batman'? Why don't you mind your own business and get the hell out of here? Before you get your ass kicked along with him?"
"Will do. But first as consequence, you have to be put to sleep."
"Huh? Sleep? You wanna knock me out? Is that it?" the thug said getting close to his face. Everybody else laughed.
"In a way, yes."
"Get real. There's a lot of us and one of you."
"I like those odds." Red said.
"Let's find out." the thug said and was about to raise a fist.
Red then turned his head to the right and shouted. "NOW!"
A sprinkle of dust erupted from the bushes next to them. Red got out of the way. But the dust landed on them. The leader coughed. So did the others.
"HEY! What the-?!"
Then his eyes seemed heavy and he began to wobble. So did the rest. Red gave a smirk. They soon fell one by one.
"What just happened?" the innocent boy on the floor asked in amazement.
"They just needed a nap. Chilly-willy especially. He needed to 'cool' down." Red smirked in response.
The boy merely got up and startled as he was, ran in the opposite direction.
Red sighed. "You're welcome." he shook his head. Having jumped over the fence, Red found the pokéball and pointed it at the direction of the bushes. Whatever was in there was reabsorbed into the pokéball.
"OK!" Roger caught up with him. "Awesome. But what Pokemon did you use?"
"Doesn't matter. Those guys are out for the count."
"Come on, man. What was it?" Jerry said.
"Rog, just let it go alright? He saved someone. That's what matters." Brit said.
"That was something. I don't know if it was civil. But it was fun." Jack said.
"We should go." Jerry said.
Red nodded. "This is some world." he muttered.
"We still don't know-" Brit began.
Suddenly her phone shook. It was the strange sensation she experienced when before Red showed up. Her phone was acting up and on the screen, the map showed something up ahead. Something bold and blue. A swirling blue dot, an indicator that told someone that he or she needed to go there immediately, for it was imperative to do so.
"Ask and you shall receive." Roger said stunned.
"It's highlighted." Brit said on her phone.
"We got life signs." Roger said almost as if he were a doctor.
"Is it a lure? A pokéstop?" Jack asked.
"OK, time out..." Red spoke up. "What is a pokéstop?"
"You don't know?"
"Apparently I'm new on the app and here as well. So please humor me." Red said.
"He's got wit too." Roger said impressed.
"A pokéstop is where you get pokéballs."
"On the phone?"
"Yes."
"But this place seems random. It's blocks from where we are right now." Brit said.
On the map, Jack, Red and the others saw a random point up ahead. By a few blocks was a building of interest.
"I think it's telling us to go."
"You think?" Jerry said.
"It's the only prominent thing on the map. Nothing else. If we go there, we might get some answers. Find out what the next step is." Brit said.
"I'm down. I'm liking this so far." Roger said.
"Let's move." Brit said almost as if it were a command.
It didn't take them long to arrive. The place was a large dark warehouse. Industrial and dirty from the outside. It looked to be the same case inside as well.
"OK...we're here." Jerry said staring at the sight of it. "Unimpressed so far, guys."
"Looks Texas Chainsaw Massacre-ish." Roger said shaking his head at the sight of it.
Indeed the warehouse was not very appealing to look at.
"Alright, we came all this way...let's go in." Red said.
"Boy, you're no cowardly lion, are you?" Roger asked. He was frightened.
"I need answers. You can stay or go." Red went on his way.
Brit and the others reluctantly followed suit.
"Dude, it looks haunted as all hell." Jerry said as he made his way in through the large hangar door. It looked to be a place where large vehicles were kept. Now it was abandoned. Holes in the ceiling were shown above.
"Charming." Brit said as they were in the middle. Everything looked empty. Pillars were all around supporting the weak structure.
"Anything?" Jack asked Brit.
"Nope." she shook her head.
"Wait a minute..." Jerry looked at something ahead.
"What?"
With his finger, he pointed to what he was seeing.
"Is that what I think it is?"
On a brick wall to the left side of them, was a circular symbol. With a line and point in the middle. Light came out of button portion. Light from the lamps outside.
"That's a pokéball."
"Why is it here?" Brit asked.
"You think it just appeared out of nowhere?" Jerry asked.
"Dude, that 'is' a pokéball right there."
"It's a sign."
"It's not." Jack said.
"What are you talking about? It is!" Roger pointed.
"That's lighting from outside, filling the small button circle in the middle. Sometimes old buildings have this circle indicating that the building is to be vacated."
"But it looks like a pokéball, Jack." Brit said.
"It's just a coincidence."
"In my experience, there's no such thing as coincidences." Red said.
"Hold on.."
"What are you doing?" Jack saw Brit was getting close to the wall. She activated the camera on her phone and unexpectedly something came up on the small screen. A notice. But it looked incoherent and difficult to decipher. Then a flash occurred. Just then something like gibberish came up on the screen beside the image of the symbol.
"Did you just take a picture?" Jerry asked her.
"No! A code showed up and suddenly my screen glowed."
Just then, the app reactivated and now everybody was seeing the usual large field with mountains far away on the screen. A man stood beside a tree.
"Welcome everyone!" It was an old man with long hair. The words came out of his mouth and into a bubble.
"That's him!" Red gasped. "That's Professor Root!"
"You have arrived to the very beginning of your Pokémon Go journey. The journey you will take part in will be perilous and dangerous. If you do not know what is going on, I will tell you, the impossible has come to our town, our world. A temporal anomaly has occurred. A portal into another world..."
"Our world." Jack said.
"We in our world have steer clear away from the anomaly. It is located in a farmland. Authorities are posted around this strange phenomena, guarding it. But I managed to analyze it before the police ran me off the area. I had sent a probe in. From what it had gathered, the universe seems to be a mirror image to our own. Similar but with a few differences apparently. This was all I got. No one else has gone in...yet."
"Why don't I like how that sounds?" Brit whispered.
"The anomaly has grown in diameter in the past few hours. I have done many calculations and it is expected to keep growing until it will practically fill up our world, taking everyone in. Unfortunately no one believes me. We're all in great danger! You must help...!"
"How?" she wondered out loud.
"The amulet! I almost forgot! I have given it to a young man. Red. He must protect it at all costs. It is the key to saving our worlds. The amulet contains tremendous power. Power that does not exist anywhere else. Red...I'm going out on a limb here...and hope you're hearing this."
Red got closer to the screen, seeing the message.
"I hope you found the sign. If so, you arrived and you're alive. You must get to Pallet Town. Pallet Town in that world. Find the probe. It landed there. It has something that will aid in your quest. Good-bye, Red. I'm counting on you. The future of the Pokémon World depends on you!"
The screen went dark now.
Brit poked at it. Nothing. She even tried to turn it back on. No life in it.
"It's out of juice." she said.
"Pallet Town?!" Jerry said incredibly. "Where the hell...are we going to find the equivalent of Pallet Town around here?"
"Our version of Pallet Town." Jack corrected him.
"This is like the first season of Stranger Things." Roger shook his head in disbelief.
"Huh? What?" Jack frowned.
"You never watched that show on Netflix? The Upside-down dimension? Sorry, I have way too much time on my hands..." Roger said.
"That's it!" Brit understood. "Yes, the idea is plausible enough."
"You don't think?" Jack knew where she was getting at.
"It's like Professor Root said. The Pokémon world is an alternate one to ours. It's still Earth, remember? Some of the places in the Pokémon world are similar to ours. For example, the Johto, Kanto and Hoenn regions are all based on Japan!"
"What's Japan?" Red asked.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Jack raised his hands to stop Brit. "You're saying we got to go to Japan?!"
"Apparently." Brit said uneasy.
"I can't go to Japan!" Jerry said. "That's using up my whole allowance right there!"
"I don't care how difficult the trek is, I'm going. If you guys can't, I understand." Red said with much determination.
"We're not saying that, Red. We're just saying that this is..." Brit struggled to search for the right word.
"Quite a surprise." Jack answered for her.
"Assuming Japan's where we need to go." Jerry said skeptical.
"You mean we had to walk all the way over here to this crappy ass dump of a warehouse just to be told this?" Roger said. His voice had raised dramatically.
"It's a checkpoint, basically dude." Jerry said now getting annoyed with him.
"It was a way, a sign for the professor to assume I had arrived alright." Red said.
"I'm just saying this was a waste of time." Roger said continuing to rant. "We could have been told this even 'before' we left the damn alleyway. We need more info."
"The phone's out of power, Roger." Jack reminded him.
"I guess in a way..." Brit frowned. "...it was a way for the app to test us. See if we can find this place on our own."
"We should go." Red said.
"What?"
"I mean, we won't get anything done. I need a place to settle for a while. Until I find a way to get to this Japan...I uh...have nowhere to stay."
"Don't worry about that. You can stay with me." Brit said kindly.
That bothered Jack tremendously.
"Hey! Is there somebody in here?"
Brit and the others who had been behind some large boxes hurried around a corner and saw a guard with a flashlight coming in.
"That's our cue to book, people!" Roger whispered to the gang.
They didn't need telling twice and successfully left the warehouse without getting caught. They then made their way to Brit's house. They got to her backyard. Jack couldn't take it anymore. The awkwardness. The feeling that Brit may like someone else. He had to talk to Brit now.
"Guys, I'll be there in a second. I need to talk to you privately." Jack said to Brit seriously.
Brit sighed and looked at the others. "I'll be right there."
"What did you want to talk about? I mean, I got to admit this is not the right time, Jack." Brit asked. "Was this about what Kevin and Clint back at the convention said? Because that can wait-"
"No. This is about you going along with this whole otherworldly strangeness."
"We're trying to help Red, Jack."
"I get that. But why do I get the feeling this is something else? You're so willing to help out Red but you don't know what you'd be getting yourself into."
"And you do?!"
"Why are you so hellbent on this, Brit? What's wrong with you?" Jack asked.
"I have my reasons for wanting to do this. Reasons you wouldn't understand. And also, why should I tell you? You got a skeleton in your closet and you have yet to open the door for me. I think I know what is all about. This whole interrogation. You don't want to partake in this. You want to wuss out. Go ahead. No one's stopping you. I just thought you'd be willing to help. I guess I was wrong."
"Is this about your mom?" Jack asked all of a sudden.
That made Brit amazed. Jack had struck a nerve.
"Look, I get it. But doing this mission for Red isn't going to bring you close to your mom. Your mom was adventurous just like you. And that's great. But I don't want to see you get hurt. Your mom died and it sucks, Brit. But you can't fill that hole in with something that might get you hurt or worse, killed."
That was when Brit gave Jack the hardest slap she could muster.
"Shut your mouth." she said with venom. The two of them went silent for a long while. Brit, almost wanted to apologize. But the anger won her over.
"I still want to help." Jack finally managed to say, not wanting to cry.
She said nothing but merely let him pass to the house.
Jack continued to rub his cheek and sighed as he walked. Things were not going well.
"Why do I get the feeling we made things worse?" Roger had asked pinching the bridge of his nose. They were all in Brit's house, more specifically their basement. The only sure place her dad wouldn't hear. Brit was positive he was asleep. Brit's phone was plugged into a portable charger.
"I've been thinking a lot about this guys." Jack said.
"What? What do you think?" Brit asked.
"We opened a portal, we know that. Not deliberately. It was an accident. Ordinarily this kind of thing would never happen. But it did. Doesn't mean, another portal will ever happen again, of course. This portal happening was basically a one in a million chance. The magic dust or whatever...it caused a tear between our world and the Pokémon universe. Or better yet, it made a gateway to-"
"The Pokemon universe? I still say that's a pretty big leap, Jack." a dubious Jerry said.
"A bridge." Red nodded to Jack in understanding. He too nodded in agreement.
"That's what that guy Professor Root said and how else can you explain a Clefairy here?" Brit said.
"The portal is still open. It's a gateway between your world and ours. Your phone may have something to do with it. It's connected in a way. It was how it all started, you said, right? As long as your device is functioning. One cannot work without the other." Jack said.
"Wait. Wait. Let's back up a bit." Jerry said. "Let me understand 'this' interesting theory of yours..."
Brit and Red looked annoyed but waited.
"If this portal is still open in the Pokémon universe, that means any character or creature that finds it, can go through it and come here?"
"Yes."
"Then we got to destroy Brit's phone." Jerry said eyeing it. "You're right. It's the only logical explanation. It's connected somehow. It might close the portal."
"NO!" Jack and even Red cried out at the same time.
"Why?"
"Physics class and Sci-fi are telling me this." Jack said. "Then 'he'..." he looked at Red. "...gets stuck here. If you keep something or someone..." he looked at Red. "...away from his alternate universe, it could screw up ours, Brit! He's a paradox. He doesn't belong here. His presence violates the natural order of things. He's someone who's not supposed to exist!"
"Nothing's happening though, Jack!" Jerry said. "I don't see us or this world blinking out of existence."
"Yet." Jack added.
Brit seemed to consider this herself and remained silent, thinking. She placed her phone back on the table to charge.
"This could just be a one time thing. Doesn't mean, all major characters will be arriving." Brit said.
"I hope so. We already handling this guy over here." Roger said. "No offense."
"None taken." Red said looking away appearing annoyed.
"I need to check something." she said.
Brit got her laptop working now. It was on the table. She sat down and went to do some research.
"What are you onto, Brit?" Jerry asked.
"Gimme a minute." she said typing away. Everyone waited patiently. Eventually she stopped.
"There." she pointed at a geographical map that filled up the screen. It was a map of Japan. "According to what I just found, Machida...is Pallet Town."
"What?! How?!" Jerry was now more frustrated.
"Makes sense and get this...Machida was Satoshi Tajiri's hometown. According to his history, he was born there and he himself said in the article that he based Pallet Town on Machida." she showed everyone the article.
"Damn." Jerry said.
"Damn right." Brit agreed.
"Uh...guys?" Roger said looking at his own phone.
"What?"
"Check this out..." he showed everyone his phone.
On a random social media app, someone had recorded something at the convention. On the screen, an announcer on stage was talking.
"POKéMON Go will now be having all human characters from every source, every adaptation, every version, you name it. They're coming, people! This world has just gotten big." The audience cheered in the background. "It's a whole new world we live in! It's a whole new place to be!" the announcer was singing badly.
"I don't get it." Brit said as soon as the video ended.
"Well, remember when they said Red here...was coming to Pokémon Go?" Roger asked them.
"Yeah?" Jerry said.
"He didn't appear in the app before then, did he? Course not."
"Not following, Rog." Brit was getting frustrated.
"I do." Jack said.
"What?"
"That means more are coming." Jack said realizing.
"More?"
"More Pokémon?" Brit asked.
"And human characters from that world and every version of them. This is bad."
"Why?"
"Characters from every Pokémon source material inserted into the app!" Roger nodded.
"From what I can tell..." Brit was checking out her own social media on the laptop. "No one else knows what's going on in the app except on mine. There's no mention of Professor Root or Red anywhere here." she said looking at the messages. The feed was abundant. "I think it's just us."
"Why only us?" Jack asked.
"Maybe..." Red who was busy rubbing his chin finally looked around at each and every one of them. "...you were all chosen."
"Chosen for what?"
"Don't know yet." Red shrugged.
"Also found something else out." Brit said, looking back at an internet page.
"Here's the kicker, guys. You know the character Ash Ketchum?"
"Yeah?" Jerry asked.
"Who is Ash Ketchum?" Red asked. He looked interested.
"Ash Ketchum is Satoshi in the animé. If we find Satoshi, we find a solution as to how to close the gateway. No one knows Pokemon better than him."
"Along with finding Pallet Town. I mean, I mean...Machida." Jerry corrected himself.
"Satoshi Tajiri?! The man who invented Pokémon?! You think this guy has something to do with this too? The man is a God, Brit. He's an important person. You can't just walk into his corporate office and request an interview with him!" Jack said.
"We'll find a way." she said with a tone that meant intimidating Jack.
It worked. Jack said nothing.
"This Satoshi Tajiri...invented Pokémon? I can't believe it. I need to sit down." Red said in wonder. He looked beyond shocked.
"Don't let it get to you, brah." Jerry said.
"We have quite a crisis to fix, guys." Roger said.
"Yeah. We get it, Rog." Jerry shook his head.
"I'm saying that there is no limit as to what kind of characters might pop up now." he said.
"What do you mean?"
"We got to be ready, yeah..." Brit tore away from her computer to look at everyone. "Anyone or anything could come. Manga, app-related, or even..."
"Animé." Jack replied.
Unbeknownst to the group, behind them on the table, Brit's phone was vibrating on its own accord. Suddenly a large purple stream shot up. Soon the phone lay calm once more.
"Can you believe all the Pokémon we got?" Kevin said. They had just exited the convention. They were in the parking lot.
"I got a lot too."
"Who cares what you got? I got you beat." Kevin said.
"That chick Brit sure got you beat."
"Hey!" Clint grabbed Kevin's arm harshly. "Shut up about that."
Kevin tore his arm away. "Jack is who she wants. 'I' say, she ain't thinking straight. After what happened that day in the bathroom, I'm gonna make sure Jack Garnet pays."
"She doesn't know, dude." Clint added with a twinkle in his eye. "The truth about that day."
"No, she doesn't." Kevin said with an idea forming. "Imagine how it would feel when she finds out."
"Tell her."
"Oh, I will."
"Hey...what is that?" Clint asked looking at a flying purple strip of mist ahead.
"What the hell is that?"
The strip went through another level of the parking lot. Kevin and Clint, curious for their own good, followed it. They went to the lower level where they saw the purple strip burst. The two were taken aback by the huge gust of wind. Through the flash, it was impossible to see. But the light soon dissipated.
Kevin and Clint saw as two characters materialized. Along with something else. Something that made them want to run away. Yet, they remained. A man with hair that seemed as if it were dyed purple and a woman with red hair were fully revealed. A red R to each of their white uniforms.
"What the-?!"
"Who-who are you?"
The two otherworlders merely smirked at them.
"Prepare for trouble...!"
"And make it double...!"
