1987—A year later, In a town between Vermillion and Fuchsia City

Welcome!

You are about to enter into the world of Pokemon, but…not as a trainer. Before I can let you start, let me ask you a few simple questions!

Please be sincere!

Are you a Boy or a Girl?

BOY/GIRL

Do you like to play sports?

YES/NO

Do you like being alone?

YES/NO

If you saw someone in need, what would you do?

Walk away

Help

Watch

Laugh

Could you walk through a haunted house?

As long as I'm with someone…or two.

I'm game!

…N-No thanks. I'll wait outside.

How do you like to spend your free times?

Being with my friends

Being alone

Reading

Pulling pranks

Playing sports

Playing games

What is the most important thing to you?

Having fun

Being healthy

Being alone

Power

Friends

Family

Huh…you seem to be to yourself, almost isolating yourself from others…But you do hold those you love close no matter what. You may be a quiet and remote being, but your actions speak loudly for you as you leap to your friends' and (mostly) your family's aid.

You have a Bold nature.

Looks like you're a Cubone!

A young boy lay in the dark of his room as he stared at the game screen, completely hypnotized by his new game. He had received it as a goodbye gift from one of his old friends from back in the States. The Gameboy Color itself and the Performance light, which attached to the Gameboy, were from his dad.

Both the game playing device and the game were brand new to stores everywhere.

"So I'm a Cubone. Cool." The boy grinned as he clicked through the messages on his game. The screen changed to a pixelated scene of a forested area. In the center lay a small sprite of a Pokemon, which was probably his Cubone. "These graphics are so cool."

Another sprite, which looked a lot like a Pikachu, trotted over to his sprite. An exclamation point appeared above it's head before it ran over to his sprite's side. "Hey! Hey, wake up! What are you doing sleeping all the way out here?"

The boy's sprite stood up and looked at the Pikachu. His sprite jumped back. "Huh? Wha-? You're a talking Pokemon?!"

"Well duh! We all talk. Did you hit your head or something? We should probably get you back to the village." Pikachu stated as it led his sprite away from the starting area. "By the way, what's your name?"

The boy waited as the game gave him the option to either select a name or enter in his own name. "R-O-W-A-N"

"Rowan, huh? Nice to meet you, Rowan. My name is…"

Another name select screen appeared. Rowan thought for a moment before entering in his old friend's name for the Pikachu. "B-O-B-B-Y."

"My name is Bobby." The Pikachu finished. "What were you doing out in the forest all on your own, Rowan? You didn't faint out there, did you?"

"No. I really don't know how I wound up out here. I'm not supposed to be here in the first place. I'm a human for crying out loud!" Rowan's Cubone stated loudly.

The Pikachu sprite stopped and looked the Cubone sprite over. "Err…you don't look human. You sure you didn't hit your head or something?"

"I'm positive. I was human one moment, and now I'm this. A Cubone!" Rowan's Cubone began following the Pikachu again as they traveled farther away from the game's starting point. "Where are you taking me?"

"Back to the village. You'll be much safer, trust me."

"Ro-Ro, what are you doing?"

The boy looked away from his game to see a young, bed-headed toddler staring at him in the darkness. Her hazel eyes shone with curiosity in the dark. "I thought you were asleep, Marcy. You should be sleeping."

"But…what are you doing?" She repeated with a yawn.

"Nothing. Now close your eyes and go to bed."

"I'm alweady in bed."

"Are your eyes closed?" Rowan muttered as he continued playing his game.

"No." Marcy said as she rubbed her eyes. "Can I watch? Pwease? I promise I won't tell mommy, Ro-Ro."

Rowan ignored his younger sister as he clicked away on his Gameboy. He heard her slide down from her bed and stumble noisily over to his. She tried to avoid some of the moving boxes that littered the floor, but accidentally kicked one over. "Marc, hush! You'll wake mom up. Be quieter!" He snapped in a hushed tone.

"I wanna see what you pwaying." She huffed as she pulled herself up onto his bed. She scooted over to his side and rested her head next to his as she gazed up at the tiny screen. "Who are they?"

Rowan scowled at her from the corner of his eye. He was growing very annoyed with her rudely interrupting his game, but the only noise he made in response to her was a heavy sigh.

"Sowwy, Ro-Ro." Marcy said softly when she heard him sigh. "Should I go back to bed?"

The boy didn't respond right away. He tapped the back of his game before answering his sister. "I don't care, Marc. Just be quiet. The last thing either of us need is for mom to come in and punish us for being up so late."

"Okay…Who are they?" Marcy repeated as she pointed a small finger at the two pixilated sprites.

"One is my character, and the other is a Pikachu. Now, please, be quiet or go back to your own bed." Rowan snapped quietly.

Marcy, pleased with finally receiving an answer, remained silent as Rowan continued playing his game. She watched curiously as the two Pokemon ventured through what looked to be a Pokemon village filled with stores and hut-like homes. A few textboxes popped up on the bottom half of the screen as the two Pokemon ran into a few Pokemon villagers, but the young girl had no clue what they were saying.

Marcy looked over at Rowan, who was deeply immersed in his game again. She wanted to ask him what the characters were saying, but decided against it. Watching her brother play was good enough for her at the moment.

The Pikachu sprite then led Rowan farther into the village. Shops lined the dirt path with Pokemon standing behind each counter. It was a rather odd, yet humorous sight to see for both children to see.

Pikachu stopped in front of a shop with a sprite of a Kangaskhan standing behind the counter. Another textbox appeared on the bottom of the screen. Rowan's eyes scanned the text, while Marcy watched the sprites move and bounce on the screen.

Marcy glanced over at her older brother again as the sprites continued on through the village. "Ro-Ro?" She asked in a voice that was barely over a whisper.

"What, Marcy?" Rowan asked. He still sounded a little annoyed by the interruption, but his tone was much calmer than it had been before.

"When will we see daddy again?" She asked softly.

Rowan's fingers froze on the controls of his game. He slowly turned his gaze towards his sister. She met his stare with one filled with a childish curiosity. "I don't know, Marc. Dad…Dad is going to be very busy for a very long time. Okay?"

"Are you still mad at him?"

Rowan looked at his game and sighed. He didn't want to talk about his dad, especially with Marcy. There were some things that were going on that he rather her not know about, which involved his dad and many other older males, who had lived in their city.

Marcy continued to look at him as she waited for a response.

Rowan eventually selected the save option on his game before shutting it off and stuffing it under his pillow. "No, I'm not mad at dad, Marc. I'm…upset that he's still back home, and that we had to leave. It's not fair."

Marcy squirmed closer to him and laid an arm across his chest as she tried to give him a hug. "Don't be upset, Ro-Ro. Evwething will get better."

The corners of Rowan's mouth slowly curled up into a small smile. How he wished he could be just as ignorant as his younger sister. She didn't know that their father had been drafted not too long ago, and the reason behind their move to Kanto was much more serious than their mother had let on.

There was a war going on in the world among many of the regions, but so far the States served as the main battlefield. The only region that served as a 'sanctuary' for those who had to flee from the States was Kanto…for now.

Both children knew that there was a war, but unlike her older brother, Marcy understood very little about it. Her mind was too young and naïve to understand just how bad the conditions of the war were. Her teacher, much like many of the other teachers at the children's old school, made sure to keep them well informed on what to do just in case there was an attack, but, at the same time, kept them ignorant to the violence heard about and seen on the battlefields.

Their mother tried to do the same, though she tended to share with Rowan bits and pieces of news that she had heard. She did manage to leave out the more violent information she had learned about from their local news broadcasts.

As for their father, Rowan had been up when the vans came to pick him and many other older males up, along with their Pokemon, from their neighborhood. Both of his parents had thought that he was asleep at the time, but the young boy had been awoken by the sounds of the army vans driving down their old street. He had watched from his bedroom window as his dad, the family Tangela, and many more loaded into the vans and drove away.

That had been about half a month ago. They moved from their home not soon afterwards, and, after a few days of staying in a motel, finally moved into their new home the day before.

"He said that he had to leave for work while we were asleep. He promised that he would join us in Kanto when he was done, and that we would eventually be able to return home together. He lied. His job doesn't require him to be a soldier." Rowan huffed as he tried to shrug off the memory.

He didn't dare tell Marcy about their dad leaving. Her blissful ignorance was keeping her happy.

Rowan rolled onto his side and hugged Marcy back. Call it having an older sibling instinct, but even though there were moments when Marcy bugged him to an extreme or he crudely shrugged her off (like he had earlier), Rowan wanted to protect her. He wanted her to retain her ignorance, while he kept the truth about their dad and about the war that was raging on back in their old home a secret. "Thank you, Marcy."

The next morning

"Ro-Ro. Ro-Ro, wake up." Marcy cooed as she poked her brother on the nose. "Ro-Ro!"

Rowan scowled into his pillow and swatted her hand away. He wasn't much of a morning person. "It's too early, Marcy. Go back to sleep."

"But I smell pancakes. Mommy is making pancakes!" Marcy chirped. "Come on, Ro-Ro! Let's go-go!"

Rowan sighed and crawled to the edge of his bed. "Tell mom I'll have three. I'll be in the kitchen in a sec."

"But I wanna push you." Marcy pouted as she waited for her brother to hoist himself into his wheelchair. "I wanna push you, pwease!"

Rowan had been born with the physical disability of not being able to walk, but he had never let that get the best of him. On the basketball courts, his friends knew never to underestimate him. He had quick hands and an uncanny skill of maneuvering himself around agile opponents; one being the old school bully. The bully of a boy, after a long while of mocking Rowan for his disability, had been put in his place after foolishly accepting Rowan's one-on-one basketball challenge.

Rowan was never bothered by the boy ever again.

Rugby, on the other hand, was a completely different story. He loved the sport more than he did basketball, but it was one in which he couldn't play very often with his friends…at least not without leaving huge welts all over their legs from where he would crash into them with his wheelchair.

There had been many times that Rowan had begged his parents to sign him up for a Rugby team. Unfortunately, things such as the war had come up, which in turn ruined any future plans Rowan had for the sport.

"Fine. Take me to the kitchen, Marc." Rowan said as he placed his hands on his lap. "But one thing first."

"What, Ro-Ro?" Marcy asked as she grabbed the back of his wheelchair.

"Do not tell mom about my game playing last night. She won't like it, and might take it away. You want to keep watching me play the game, don't you?"

Marcy nodded. "Will you let me watch you some more?"

"As long as you don't tell mom, then yes, I'll let you watch."

"And will you tell me what they say?" Marcy asked as she pushed him towards the door.

"Yeah. Sure." Rowan agreed as he reached out for the doorknob. He twisted the metal knob and pulled the door open for Marcy.

The little girl grinned happily. She gave the wheelchair a strong push as she guided Rowan through the doorway and down the short hall. They could hear soft humming coming from the kitchen as their mother finished making their breakfast. "Morning, mommy!"

The slender, dark-skinned woman looked over her shoulder at her children and smiled. "Good morning, my loves. Breakfast will be ready in a moment. How did you both sleep?" She asked as she began lifting the golden-brown pancakes from the stove and onto three plates, which also contained scrambled eggs.

Marcy released the back of Rowan's wheelchair and skipped over to his side. "We slept good, mommy!"

"Well, Marcy." Rowan corrected a little too harshly.

"Be nice, honey." Their mother scolded lightly as she carried two of the plates over to the table.

Marcy and Rowan moved over to the table and picked up their utensils.

"Wait for me, please." Their mother said as she walked over to the table with her plate. She placed her plate beside Rowan and took the seat next to him. "Now, we can have our first, official breakfast in our new home. Dig in!"

Marcy didn't hesitate to start shoveling the eggs and pancakes into her mouth. Rowan, on the other hand, drowned his pancakes in syrup before stabbing his eggs with his fork.

"Would you like the pepper, Rowan?" His mother asked as she handed him the small glass container of pepper. She knew that he like coating his eggs in pepper.

"Thanks, mom." He said quickly as he took the pepper.

His mother's expression fell slightly as she watched her son finally start digging into his food. She could tell that he was upset. "Honey, are you alright?" She asked softly.

Rowan nodded and shoveled a mouthful of soggy pancake into his mouth.

"Rowan." His mother pressed. He wasn't meeting her gaze. "What's bothering you? Please tell me."

"Nothing, mom." Rowan replied. He made sure to make eye contact this time and maintain a light tone in his voice, but his mother knew better. After eleven years of being her son, there was very little that Rowan could hide from his mother.

She looked at him with a concerned raised eyebrow. "Really? Marcy?"

Marcy looked down at her plate and stuffed as much egg into her mouth as she could. She may have been young, but she knew better. If she said anything to her mom, Rowan may not let her watch him play his game later. On the other hand, if she lied she would surely get into trouble with her mom. Silence was her best option.

Their mom looked back at Rowan. "So, you're alright about the move? You're fine with living in this new region?" She knew him too well.

Rowan pushed his food around with his fork.

His mother placed a hand on his and squeezed his hand gently. "It will take some time to get used to, but this is our home now. See it as an adventure! You both have a new home, a new region to explore, new friends to make, and even a few new Pokemon to learn about. Doesn't that sound exciting?"

"Yeah!" Marcy cried through a mouthful of food.

Rowan looked down at his mother's hand on his. She was trying to make the adjustment easy for them…for all three of them. "Okay."

Their mother smiled and released her son's hand. "I want both of you two, once you're done eating, to get dressed, go outside and meet some of the other kids here. I know I saw some yesterday when we arrived. Marcy, I'll do your hair once you're dressed."

"Pigtails, mommy. Pigtails, please!" Marcy beamed.

Rowan nodded as he swallowed a bite of pancake. "Yes, mom."

A few minutes later

Marcy ran for the front door, but waited as Rowan wheeled himself over to her. A wide smile was on her face. "Open the door, Ro-Ro."

"Be patient, Marc. The kids aren't going anywhere, alright? They may not even be out this early in the morning." He pointed out as he unlocked the front door and pulled it open.

"Oh. Umm…if nobody is out yet, then can we go explowing?"

"Exploring?" "Might as well. I can't think of anything else to do…other than play my game." Rowan brushed a hand over his hoodie pocket and felt the large bulge of his Gameboy Color. He had snuck it in his jacket before leaving the house.

Why?

One, he wanted to continue from where he had left off last night. And two, there was a want to show all of the other kids his game. If it had caught both his and Marcy's attention as well as it did last night, then maybe it would do the same for many of the other boys living on their street.

"Ro-Ro! Earth to Ro-Ro!" Marcy giggled as she clung to the side of his chair.

"Sure. We can go exploring."

Marcy scanned the street for anyone who was out and playing. Rowan let his gaze wonder the street as well. The only person he spotted was an elderly man sitting on his porch enjoying his morning coffee. "So mothers, young children, and the elderly were evacuated to this region. I wonder if it is just him living on his own…"

"Look, Ro-Ro! There are kids!" Marcy cried as she pointed towards the lawn across the street. Low and behold, there were two boys laying out on their lawn. Marcy raced over to them, not bothering to check for oncoming cars, and stood over them. "Morning!"

Rowan saw both of the boys flinch at the shrill sound of the young girl's greeting. "Marcy." He quickly wheeled himself across the street, first checking to see if it was clear, and stopped behind Marcy and the two red-haired boys. "Sorry about my sister."

"No worries, buddy." One of the boys said as he stood up.

"We were just waiting on the others to wake up and come outside. I think both of us were about to fall asleep when your sister came over." The other boys said as he too climbed to his feet. "Thank you for the wakeup call."

Marcy's eyes shifted from boy to boy and giggled. "Are you two twins?"

"Uh-huh." One of the twins grinned before pointing towards his brother. "This is Flynn."

"And this is Sora." Flynn smirked as he jutted his thumb at his brother.

Rowan studied both of the twin's faces, hoping to find some sort of facial feature that he could use to distinguish the two from each other. The only things that he could use were their eyes; Sora's being blue, while Flynn's were green.

"Where are you guys from?" Flynn asked curiously.

"We're from Alabama. Tuscaloosa to be exact." Sora added.

"Glenwood Springs, Colorado." Rowan replied. "How long have you guys been here in this region?"

"Eh…about three weeks or almost three full weeks." Flynn said as he tried to recall the exact day they had moved to the new region. "I think three full weeks."

"It's been three weeks and two days, brother." Sora corrected.

"You guys have been here for such a long time." Marcy commented. "How many more kids are here?"

Sora and Flynn looked at each other as they silently counted. "Not a whole lot, but we can introduce you to some of the kids we have made friends with if you want. They're around our age; eleven."

"Not all of them, Flynn."

"I said around our age, Sora!" Flynn rolled his eyes. "Elen is nine and Aaron is fourteen. Happy?"

Sora looked back at Marcy and Rowan. "You'll get to meet them later. They may still be asleep or something. Mind you, Elen tends to speak her mind, so if she comes off as rude at first try not to take it to heart. Okay?"

Rowan nodded. "Alright."

"But no one is my age?" Marcy asked pitifully.

Flynn knelt down to her level and gave her a smile. "How old are you?"

Marcy held up a hand with all five of her fingers held up for the older boy to see. "I'm five years old."

"I don't think we know anyone who is five like you…but that doesn't mean you can't hang out with us. I'm sure Elen would love to have you around with us."

Marcy's eyes widened. "Really?" She looked over at Rowan with a hopeful expression. "Please, Ro-Ro, can I?"

Rowan nodded. "Sure."

"Ro-Ro?" Sora and Flynn asked in unison.

Rowan cringed slightly. Having the two boys call him by the nickname his younger sister had given him sounded weird and almost too childish. He had received the nickname Ro-Ro from Marcy when she was learning how to speak. The name Rowan was too difficult for her to say at the time, but eventually stuck as a nickname for him. "My full name is Rowan, but Marcy calls me Ro-Ro."

"Alright. So does that mean you want us to call you Rowan, or do we have permission to call you Ro-Ro as well?" Flynn asked.

"Only I can call Ro-Ro Ro-Ro." Marcy declared. "Nobody else!"

The twins chuckled at Marcy's childish reaction, but quickly regained their composure. "Okie-dokie. So Rowan and Marcy…what do you two want to do while we wait for the others?"

Marcy glanced over at Rowan curiously. Her gaze slowly locked onto his jacket pocket that held his game. "Ooh! I have an idea! Ro-Ro, your game! Can we play your game? Can we make it into a game that we all can play?"

"What game are you talking about, Marcy?" Sora asked as he and Flynn slowly turned their gazes towards Rowan for a better explanation.

Rowan smiled. "Thank you, Marcy." "One of my friends from the States gave me a Pokemon game as a parting gift. Marcy was watching me play last night."

Both Flynn and Sora looked at him intrigued. "Is it that Pokemon game where you get to be a trainer and catch Pokemon? We heard about that one."

"Is it at all as fun and awesome as everyone has been claiming it to be? Don't leave us hanging. Tell us about this game!"

Rowan and Marcy looked at each other with wide grins. "It's better. Instead of being a Pokemon trainer, you get to be a Pokemon yourself!"

The twins' eyes widened. "Really? Do you get to choose which Pokemon you play as or…"

"There's a quiz at the beginning of the game that determines which Pokemon you become for the rest of the game." Rowan explained. "Apparently you were once human, but something turned you into a Pokemon."

"And you're trying to find out how to reverse it?" Sora asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Cool!"

"Can we play it?" Marcy asked. "I wanna be Butterfree."

"Eh…I rather you not play, Marcy. Plus, you still can't read…and it's single player."

"Noo! Not like that, Ro-Ro." Marcy whined. "Can we all play…like, can I be Butterfree, you be your Pokemon, and Sora and Flynn can choose their own Pokemon. We can all play as if we're in your game."

The three boys looked at one another. "That sounds like fun."

"I wanna be Butterfree!" Marcy cried as she bounced up and down.

"Alright, Marcy, you can be Butterfree. I'll play my Pokemon character, Cubone." Rowan said before looking at his two new friends. "What about you guys?"

"I'll be Nidoran." Flynn declared.

"And I'll be Meowth."

"I call being a Clefairy!" The small group of kids turned to see a pixie-cut, pink haired girl walking towards them.

"Elen!" The twins beamed. "We were starting to wonder when you and the others would wake up."

Elen snickered. "I don't get up as early as you two do, nor do I have a sibling to wake me up at the crack of dawn."

Rowan stole a humored glance at Marcy who grinned sheepishly at him.

"Hey! Ya'll are new to the street. What are your names?" Elen asked as she stood in front of Rowan and Marcy. "My name is, of course, Elen."

"I'm Marcy, and this is Ro-Ro."

"Rowan." Rowan corrected.

Elen looked at him with her bright green eyes. "Marcy and Ro-Ro. Nice to meet you two. I take it you guys arrived in Kanto a few days ago and finally moved in yesterday, huh?"

"Eh, Elen, only Marcy can call Rowan Ro-Ro." Flynn pointed out before Rowan or Marcy could say anything.

"But I like the name Ro-Ro. It's cute!" Elen chirped giddily. "Can I call you Ro-Ro? To phewie with it! I'm calling you Ro-Ro!"

"Cute?" Rowan thought with a small grimace. He didn't want to be known by a 'cute' name. "I rather you call me Rowan."

Elen pursed her lips before crossing her arms across her chest. "But…Rowan sounds like such a serious name. Rowan…such a strict name. Ro-Ro sounds kinder."

"But Ro-Ro is my nickname for him." Marcy pouted.

"Mmm…alright, but do I have to call you such a soldierly name? Can I call you Ro?" She asked. The girl seemed pretty determined not to call Rowan by his name.

"Why?" He asked bluntly.

Elen shrugged. "I just think your name is too…stern. Rowan. General Rowan. Do you get it now?"

Rowan cringed at the titles Elen was listing out for him. "That's not what my parents had in mind when they named me."

"So?" Elen pressed.

"Elen, you're being rude again." Sora interrupted before the young girl could continue.

"You're not making the best, first impression for our new friends." Flynn added. "Aaron wouldn't be happy with the way you're behaving."

"Oh, oops. Sorry. Change of subject then?" Elen asked in an apologetic, yet bubbly tone. "How were the States when you guys left? We haven't been told a whole lot by our moms or anyone. I've been here for about a month and I haven't heard anything about the war back home."

"Uh…" Rowan shot an uneasy look at Marcy. "She couldn't have chosen a better topic to talk about?" "Umm…it's alright?"

Elen and the twins frowned. They looked from Rowan to Marcy, puzzled by the older sibling's hesitation.

"Did your daddies have to stay behind as well for work too?" Marcy asked after a long moment of silence. "Our daddy said he would meet us here once he was done working, but we don't know how long that might take him."

"Oh…" The twins and Elen gasped. "Eh…yeah. They're…working."

Marcy looked at them with a puzzled expression. She hadn't missed the pause in their words. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Marcy." Flynn replied.

"We…We just miss our dads." Sora explained slowly. It was the best excuse he could come up with, although, it wasn't a complete lie. They all missed their dads and the friends that they had to leave behind.

"They'll come for us soon." Marcy said to her friends with a broad smile. "We just have to wait for them. Right, Ro-Ro?"

Rowan nodded solemnly. "Uh-huh."

"No more sad faces!" The little girl beamed with delight. "We've got a fun game to play!"