Pokemon: You're the Monster

by robert.williamstn

What if we didn't train Pokemon to fight our battles for us but instead harvested that power to use in hand-to-hand combat between men? Here is the original storyline retold with that notion in mind and some twists as well. With protagonist Red form the video games, we see Kanto through his eyes and a cast of other folks. New chapters should be up every Tuesday!

2. Pallet Town

1

Shew! I made it!

I'm outside of the Oak residence along with the rest of the 10,000 folks from Pallet Town. With such a big crowd, I keep thinking I see people I know, but I'm sure it's either people I've never seen before or have seen and don't know that well. Masses fill the streets with their camera phones and chatter fills the space in between their feet. Behind them I can see handful of men in suits blocking everyone from actually stepping onto the Oak property.

"Oh man!" I remember Oak telling me to bring a VIP card so that I could get in, but I don't that I have it. I start digging into my pockets, my bag, even my hat. Ah, did I leave it? I look up and notice Green making her way to a guard with said card in hand and being allowed up the gravel driveway to the house. We're not the closest of friends, but maybe I could get her attention and they'd allow us to go in together.

"Green! Hey, Green!" I yell as I frantically run towards the house.

"Excuse me."

"Sorry."

"Excuse me."

Uh. I'm feeling nauseas. My face is hot, and I'm really mad at myself for not getting here sooner. I can see Blue making that stupid face as he taunts me.

"Slowpoke, what a joke! Where ya been loser!" he says while making an "L" with his hands.

"Red!?"

I snap out of my daydream as Daisy Oak runs into me causing me to drop my bag and nearly fall down in surprise. She just smiles and offers me a hand up.

Blue's sister has the most stunning Auburn brown her that comes down just past her shoulders, and today she's wearing a light green dress that I can't quit staring at. Sure Blue has the same color eyes and hair, but she's no Daisy.

"Come on!" she says and pulls me forward. With no trouble at all, Daisy leads me through the crowd and security. I look over my shoulder to notice several guys glaring at me now. I try to tuck my chin in and look away. Nope, they're still looking at me. I look up again. Still looking at me, ah, I'm glad about to leave town for a while.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Before I know it, we're halfway up the gravel driveway and the crowd below gets a little quieter. Ahead of me I can see the Oak house and laboratory. The Oaks have a beautiful home, and I've always loved coming over here after school.

The house itself is nearly 200 years old, a white two story building with columns in the front like a plantation home. The house has multiple sunrooms all the way around the base including a breezeway that connects to the very modern and metallic looking lab on the right. I've never been in the lab before today, but I know the house well enough. A lot of it is unused bedrooms and extra sitting rooms that Oak will sometimes leave boxes of who knows what in when he needs some space.

Usually Blue and I spend time sitting in the living room up front watching TV or playing games and eating snacks that Daisy makes for us. In the back of the house is a kitchen form where you can see into the field in the backyard. We used to go to catch Rattata and Pidgey with nets when we were younger out there. I can remember catching wild Pokémon and thinking about going into Monster Training back when we were ten. Apparently that's when a lot of kids started training, but Professor Oak seemed really reluctant to let us get involved in training.

I know that the professor used to be a trainer himself, but he speaks very little if at all about that. The only thing that Oak will usually talk about is Daisy's peach cobbler or sailing. He will sometimes drop a lot facts related to Pokémon, but how does he even know that stuff anyway? "Consult with Bill and Elm" he always says, but who are they? Oak is very friendly but definitely a bit off.

Anyway most of what I know about Pokémon and Monster Training comes from TV and not the elusive Professor Oak. We typically watched a few different programs that highlight Pokémon including Pokesnap, Ability Warrior, and What's That? Each one of course reveals a lot of information into the lifestyle, evolution, and beauty of various Pokémon.

Todd Snapp, host of Pokesnap, is my one of my biggest idols. He travels around the countryside, usually on his own, documenting some of the most bizarre and powerful creatures I've ever seen. My favorite show by him was a three part series where he journeyed to Cinnabar Island right after the volcano erupted. It was truly tragic the damage and loss from the lava and ash, but I couldn't help but marvel at the fire Pokémon there including Vulpix a wolf like animal and Growlithe which looked like a lion-dog.

But exciting as these shows are, Blue and I have been even more intrigued by Monster Training, a discipline of martial arts, law enforcement, and entertainment. It's a little complicated and I don't really understand it all myself which is part in why I want to know more about it. There are people that use MT to gain fame or get attention and others that are constantly using the abilities for crime. It's truly a wild world out there, but typically when I think of Monster Training, I think of people that are part of the Kanto League working on their way through the Monster Trainer Championship. Several people in Pallet Town used to be Trainers including my Dad and Blue's parents before they passed away, but since then no one has been a trainer in Pallet Town for some time, at least that I know of. For nearly 8 years there hasn't been talk about anyone becoming a Monster Trainer from Pallet Town, at least not seriously until two weeks ago.

We were sitting on the couch together in the living room with our eyes glued to the screen. Daisy had made us cookies and was sitting to the side with her friend from out of town, Erica. They were both coloring in a coloring book, but I could tell Erica was more interested in the show than Daisy who would periodically get up and find things to do. She made her way to me with her perfect smile and asked, "You boys need anything to drink?"

"No sis, park it or keep driving!" Blue growled motioning for her to move out of his way. I made a sympathetic face, but she didn't seem to notice and stormed off to the kitchen.

"Who's on tonight? Wait, is that Agatha?" says Erica.

"Yeah, she's one of the Elite Four! Apparently she knew Gramps when he was a trainer, but he quit for whatever reason, and she decided to keep going. I think she may have been Champion at one point, but has started to decline. She's still tough but one of the weaker members of the Elites now."

I see Agatha, an older woman in a purple dress and grey hair. She has what appears to be a walking stick to help her stand. How is this even fair? She can't really expect to fight in her shape. I watch as a young man dressed in black garb much like a ninja from the movies.

"Koga!"

"Who is that?"

"He's the Fuchsia City Gym Leader. I didn't know he was trying to go into the Elite Four," Erica says with a puzzled look on her face. Does she know this guy or something?

"I think Agatha is in trouble. He looks kind of scary to me," I say.

"Nah, I bet he won't last five minutes. Agatha may be old, but she's no pushover. She specializes in Ghost Element Skills," Blue chimes in. "Koga, he uses what…Fighting?"

"No, he is interested in Poison tactics," Erica says with a serious tone. Blue and I give each other a surprised look. I notice she has a Skillfinder on her wrist. I don't think Daisy is into Monster Training, but Erica is at the least. I don't know much about her. Blue hands me the bowl of cookies and with his mouth full points excitedly at the screen.

I watch each combatant, Agatha and Koga, push a button on what looks like watches and see two green bars and 12 red dots appear at the bottom of the screen.

"What just happened? What did they just touch on their wrists?"

"Red, don't you know anything? Trainers use Pokémon Skills to become Monster Trainers right?"

"Yeah? I know that!"

"Well each of them just touched a Skillfinder. The Skillfinder tracks the status of the Pokémon Skills in your body, level, and all that. You need at least one, but can use up to six different ones, and the experts try to level up six unique and powerful Skills so that you can face anybody. Agatha has a focus on Ghost Skills, and I guess Koga uses Poison ones. I think the show can pull up their Skillfinder stats on TV using Bluetooth. They probably have Skillfinder upgrades or something to do that."

I notice Erica smile and play with her Skillfinder as if she knows something Blue doesn't. I start thinking about how I need a Skillfinder myself and try to decide if I'm a leftie or rightie when the fight starts.

Koga makes a mad dash for Agatha trying to Tackle her but he goes straight through her! Wait, what!? Blue leans forward on the couch like he might fall on his face. Daisy holds a cookie to her mouth, but she can't seem to eat it. Only Erica keeps watching without the slightest hint of surprise.

Agatha's body is like a mist of fog. Koga has no hope of hitting her, but randomly she will make her Tackle him back, and I can tell that he can feel her strikes. After only a few strikes, I hear a crack and see a green bar empty and a dot disappear from under Koga's name.

"What just happened?"

"Ah man, he just lost an Element Skill. That had to hurt."

As I try to figure out what that means, I see something slip out of Koga's hands and splash on Agatha. She starts striking him again and again, and I watch as two more dots disappear form under his name. Three Element Skills gone! Agatha is winning but she isn't smiling. She's gritting her teeth.

Koga drops to a knee and tosses a pouch of Smog towards Agatha causing her to double back. I realize the liquid he threw on her earlier is some kind of Acid and eats starting to burn her arms. Agatha covers her face and we hear another crack but this time a dot disappears form under her name. She lowers her arms and takes in a deep breath.

"WHOA!"

Koga keeps throwing the Smog pellets toward Agatha as she gets up and Tackles him to the floor. Before he can get up, I see the oddest thing happen. She leans forward and gives Koga a Lick to the face! But I can tell this is no ordinary Lick because he yells wildly. The next thing we hear is yet another crack.

"Only two Monster Skills left. Koga is hardly getting to use them before Agatha knocks them out."

"What happens when they all go?" I ask.

"He's unable to fight any longer. He might Struggle but eventually he'll Faint from exhaustion," says Erica. "The Skills and Trainer are linked once bonded. You take down all the Skills, and the Trainer will be sure to follow, too."

Koga stands up tall and claps his hands. A haze engulfs him. Agatha tries to find him in the Smokescreen, but before she can get in a hit he uses Acid on her several more times. A loud crack and another dot vanishes from under her name. The haze vanishes moments later and we a terrified look on Koga's face as Agatha walks toward him. Somehow I know his luck has run out.

Agatha puts her arms out wide, and her body starts to glow. I see the color of her body invert, grey for black, purple becoming white on her clothes. Her eyes glow a light purple, and all the light in the room goes out. A flick of purple energy cuts across the room towards the place where Koga was standing and we hear him scream again.

Crack!

"Nightshade!" Blue says excitedly. "One Skill left."

Light returns to the room, and we see a defeated looking Koga on his knees with Agatha leaning ominously in front of him. She raises her hands and waves them back and forth to the rhythm of an eerie chant. I see Koga's eyes start to close. He reaches for his pouches but can't seem to get his hands where they need to go. He falls forward but Agatha catches him and leans in near his face. She whispers something, and I see what looks like a shadow come out of his face. Agatha lunges forward with teeth that extend like fangs and swallow the shadow hole. Then she lays Koga down gently and we hear the last crack. Koga has lost the match.

"OK! OK! What is that? Did she eat his brains? What are we watching here folks?" Daisy yells.

"Calm down you sissy!" Blue barks. "She used Hypnotize to put him asleep and then Dream Eater to attack his mind. It's Psychic based moves. Have you ever heard of Ghastly or Haunter? They are quite the scary Pokémon and they know all those moves she used."

"Too scary!" says Erica showing a little more emotion this time. I don't think anyone was ready for that last moment. Just as the excitement starts to die down in the living room, the door to the breezeway busts open causing Blue to jump out of his seat. He sits back down staring at the ground in front of him as if maybe that would prevent people from noticing him.

"Oh my goodness. Quite a show wasn't it?"

The Professor pops in wearing his white lab coat, slacks, and purple sippers. We look dumbfounded at one another for a minute before Blue responds.

"Gramps, were you watching the battle in the lab instead of in here with us? And…"

"Oh right! I was watching the match, yes, but I was also busy finishing up something just for you kids…um, that is Red and Blue," he says giving Erica and Daisy a knowing look. I see Daisy and Erica smile back. What don't I know?

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, I'll tell you in a minute, but first of all you're going to have change that tone of voice with me young man, and pick up this living room. I didn't raise an animal, but a boy."

We notice that crumbs have fallen all over the floor from where Blue jumped, so Blue and I dive to the floor to pick them up one by one. Erica and Daisy snicker quietly while Oak grabs a bag and brings it to us.

"Much better! OK, want the good news?"

"Yeah…yes, sir!" we say.

"OK, good. Well I know we've talked about, and you two just aren't going to let this Monster Training stuff go. Well I thought about how important it is to you and well I made you Skillfinders. I have finished getting the parts in order and just need to your Element Skills for your journey."

"WHAT!? YEAH! THIS IS AWESEOME!" we exclaim standing up and jumping around.

"Uh-uh! I will have them ready for you in two weeks, but you're going to have be on your best behavior until then. No shenanigans or skipping chores Blue. Also, you both need to come here with a clear idea of what you're going to do Monster Training for. I want you to write it down and memorize if that helps."

"Ah…Gramps!"

"No whining, Blue! This is important. You don't want to be a Monster Trainer just to be a Monster Trainer. Remember the meaning of your name."

Blue furrows his brows and stares at the floor. We both know what that means, but I can't think about it now. I'm much too excited. Oak seems to know a lot about Pokémon and Element Skills, but he spent a lot of time trying to talk parents out of letting kids go into training. At Blue's 18th birthday, Oak got Blue some clothes but said his big present was on the way. Of course I think he meant to keep it a surprise, but instead Blue pressured him for days until he gave in and told him he was researching Pokémon for ES from the Kanto region. He claimed to have had a researcher looking into some rare Pokémon: Blastoise, Venusaur, and Charizard. Not long after Oak spilled the beans, he promised to give me an Element Skill as well as one to Green.

"I think it's because Gramps pities all the 'Colors' kids and didn't want it to look like he only favored his awesome grandson!" Blue teases.

"That...or maybe he thought that if he offered you an ES first, it might not look bad when he gives one to the people he actually likes as well."

We gave each other a nuggie and exchanged many more bad jokes before the day was over. I remember the birthday like it was yesterday and now here is Oak saying he is minutes away from preparing us for our journey.

For the next 14 days, I struggle to contain my excitement, but Blue actually starts acting like a recluse for some reason. He keeps saying he is "busy" most of the time. I read about Pokémon and watch nonstop shows about Monster training. Staying ay up at night, I imagine my quest across Kanto. I think I might have put off sleep all together for the last three days before it was time to see Oak, and the last night my sleep drive decides to kick back in. I fall asleep earlier than usual and sleep in past my alarm waking up in a panic, but I think I mentioned that part so I'll skip ahead to when I arrived at the lab.

2

Here I am, back at the Oak residence. Daisy opens the lab door and invites me in. I soak in the mysterious lab feeling invigorated. There are books on books, machines look they came out of a science fiction movie, and monitors everywhere. I can't help but notice a set of screens in the back. As I look closely I notice the screens show live footage of the entire property including the kitchen, living room, and perimeter around the house. Oak must keep up on us all the time while he works over here. No wonder Blue can never get anything past him.

"Super lame isn't it Red!"

I look ahead to see a table with three stones on it with Blue standing off to the right, smirk on his face.

"9:01! You snooze you lose. Ah, don't worry slowpoke, I'm feeling generous today! You can still go first."

"Thanks!" I say uneasily. Get here first and you make the first pick. That was the deal. Maybe he didn't want me to think he got the best Skill because he is Oak's grandson. Whatever, Blue, your loss!

As I step forward, Green and Professor Oak come up to the table from another room laughing. Blue rolls his eyes. He can't stand Green for some reason. I'm not sure why, but I think it's in part because she doesn't react to his humor like most people do.

"Red, good to see you!" Oak waves. Green gives me wink and stands off to my left. I don't know if I like or dislike Green myself. She was always kind of quiet in school. Well at least more recently that is, after something happened with her father. I think he got arrested for hitting her mother after the war or something, but Green refused to talk to anyone about it and instead kept to reading books in between classes. With dark brown hair and eyes, and her short green skirt and spotted hat, Green is kind of cute. But cute as she is, Daisy has a more mature and refined feel to her, and not to mention she's the one standing next to me right now. I feel her hand pat me on the shoulder and hold my breath as she leans in near my neck.

"Hey Red…" she asks.

"Yes," I say turning back and staring into her eyes. I can see my reflection in them and her wide grin makes me feel a blush in my face. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't infatuated with Blue's sister. Sometimes I think about taking her on my journey around the countryside. Maybe settling down in the woods somewhere and having a couple of kids. I wake up in a king size bed with her wrapped around my arm and asking to keep her warm.

"Red? Hey, Red?" she whispers to me.

"Yes," I whisper back. What could she want to tell me?

"What do you think of Green? She's pretty right? Have you tried to ask her out!?"

"Uh…um…I don't know!"

"Oh, my gosh! You guys would be so cute together! And both with the color names, too. I know you've thought about it."

"Yeah…I know…"

"Hey Red!" says Green. I turn around in a daze and look at her solemn face though she might be trying to force a smile. I can't tell.

"Hey, you get first pick today. We're all curious what you chose?"

"Hurry up already! I got it," I say with an uncomfortable laugh.

"Now hold on, you all remember the deal," Oak intervenes. "You have to put on the Skillfinder first then tell us what your motive for becoming a Monster Trainer is, then you can use an Element Skill."

"Ah Gramps! We know that, we just want to know what he is going to pick."

"Huh? Well OK! Which one was it Red? There are three evolutionary lines. The green one belongs to Venusaur, a Grass type. Red is Charizard, a Fire type, and blue is Blastoise, a Water type."

I won't say that I want Charizard because we are both red, Red being my name I mean or the meaning behind my name. I won't say it's because I like the color red though I do. I won't say it even necessarily has to do with the fact that I know Charizard is the faster and stronger of the three despite Blastoise's high defense stats and Venusaur's high special stats. It's not even the fact that Charizard is a cool looking, fire breathing, and flying dragon creature. Actually it's about all those things combined

"I pick Charizard line."

Oak hands a red crystal to me, and I look at it carefully. Inside I see flames like a campfire and feel a peace come over me. I raise the crystal above my head, quickly removing my hat, and crack it like an egg. I close my eyes as what feels like warm water coats my hair and drips down my face. In my head, I can see Charmander, an unevolved Charizard standing quietly in the woods. It stands upright with an ember burning atop its tail. Without a warning, Charmander growls and begins scratching at the sky and breathing flames in all directions. I feel heat in my throat and strength in my muscles. For a brief second I see my fingernails grow like claws before returning to normal.

"Man!"

Crack!

I turn to my right to see Blue cracking the blue Element Skill without a word. I see his muscles start to flex wildly under his brown shirt and blue jeans. His face tightens and eyes flicker blue. He is now filled with the ES of the Blastoise line.

"Ha! You dummy. Of course I let you go first so I could pick the one with the natural advantage. Water beats Fire, baby! Yeah!"

Crack!

We both turn to see Green following suit with the Venusaur line crystal. She holds her hat in both hands and begins to shiver as if a cold wind were in the room. I see her eyes flicker green and notice her legs and arms twitch. She groans and takes a few strained breaths before looking up at Blue.

"And Grass beats Water right?"

"Whatever…" Blue grumbles as he looks at the floor.

"To be honest, I was hoping that no one would pick this one because Venusaur grows a beautiful flower on its back. I mean if I have to pick an Element Skill from a Monster it might as well be a pretty one, right?"

We both groan.

"I'm only kidding. Well, partly that is, but come on. We all know that the reason we're here is because of our family legacy. I'm Green because of my father, and I would feel weird to pick anything other than a Grass Element Skill for my starter. Same goes for you two. You don't would have picked Red if that was your family's color Blue," Green adds.

"Whatever!" Blue yells.

"Hey you three!" Oak interrupts. "Don't forget your Skillfinders. Without these you can't monitor the status of the Element Skills in your body," Oak says as he hands them out. It looks like a metal chain watch with some very modern looking buttons on the side. I strap it on my wrist and notice a red button on the top of the face of the watch. The screen is blank so I guess it's not on yet.

"Push that button, Red," Oaks instructs. "But it will hurt for a moment, just so you know."

Hurt? I hit the red button and feel metal like teeth on the back of the Skillfinder dig into my wrist. I cover my mouth as pain courses through my body like an electric current until it stops and leaves a slight tingling in my toes. I notice that the screen on the face has turned on showing a single red dot and beneath it a green line. If I hit different buttons, numbers come up to the side of the red dot with abbreviations. I recognize the first one, BPM or heart beats per minute, and the number 65. I think that's good. Then other stats come up: HP 39, ATK 52, DEF 43, SP. ATK 60, SP. DEF 50, and SPD 65. I believe these pertain to the ES now synced to my body.

"The Skillfinder measures the quality and power of the ES in your body. Without you the Skillfinder ceases to operate, but when attached to your nervous system and heartbeat, the Skillfinder takes data of your condition. We can use it to track your progress as a Trainer with each ES skill, sure, but I have developed a newer one. One that can do much more than that! These machines will monitor your breathing, heartbeat, hormone levels, white blood and platelet count...They can even be used to communicate global positioning systems and blue tooth technologies. What's more, you can connect them to a device like a cell phone and call anyone by touching the buttons on the Skillfinder directly."

"Gramps, you just attached a smart watch to our nervous system! Isn't that like illegal or something?"

"Why do you think it took so long for me to get this device to you? I didn't know how to make it! Ha! No, it took a lot of convincing and trial studies before I could get this device approved by the Elite Four. Agatha in particular gave me a hard time."

"Why did she give you a hard time? Is there something wrong with these things?" Blue asks looking his Skillfinder over carefully.

"No! There's nothing wrong with your Skillfinder and there's no time to waste talking about that old hag! Why don't you three get out there and start your journey already!"

"Sheesh Gramps! Forget I asked."

"Hey Blue, hold on. Don't you three need to say why you're becoming Monster Trainers today before you leave?" Daisy chimes in. She looks at me with her sweet smile, but I don't feel like smiling back.

"Sure...I mean Green is right. My father has a lot to do with why I am the person I am and why I want to be a Monster Trainer. But I don't want to just do this because he did, I want to make a difference in Kanto. I'm going to travel across the country and work my way up to Elite Four. By that time, I hope to be strong enough to help in a way that truly matters."

"Great job, Red!" Daisy cheers. I can't help but smile a little.

"Boo! That story stinks," Blue pipes up. "Here's an idea, Red. I'm going to spend the next several months trying to be better than you. I'm going to beat the gyms before you get to them and learn Element Skills before you, and beat you before you get to the Elite Four."

"Blue that's not very nice. I know this is more important to you than that..." Daisy starts to say, but Blue sticks out his tongue and keeps walking.

"Yeah, yeah. Enough talking and more doing Red. Smell ya later!"

And just like that, he's off without me. What a jerk! I notice Professor Oak's face light up several shades of red before turning around to pat his coat and collect himself.

"Green, is there anything else you want to say before you go?"

"Yes, I mentioned that I am doing this out of respect for my family, but now I'll also state that I want to dispel all the rumors about my father. I don't want people to feel ashamed of Monster Training. This is all about discipline and hard work. No one who does the right thing should ever second guess themselves and I want to do what I can to make other people that strive for peace and harmony feel safe to practice what they believe in."

I don't know what she means exactly and judging by Daisy's and Oak's faces, they don't either, but I can relate to wanting people to respect family and honest work. I feel the same way, and that's why I even use the name Red, but I'll get into that later. I know Blue does feel the same way, but he is letting this Training stuff get to his head for some reason.

We say our good byes to Oak, Green and I, and head for the door. Daisy hands us each a small metal box.

"Open it."

We do and out pops a hologram of Kanto complete with 3D imaging, business and town names, and various roads.

"If you hold it next to your Skillfinder when you turn it on, the Town Map should register your location and zoom in to things nearby, but the buttons at the bottom will let you zoom out and see any place you want to go. Good luck!"

"THANK YOU!" we shout.

She gives us each a hug and off we go. Before we get very far, Green turns to me and says, "Hey Red, why don't you go ahead. I forgot some things before I got her and need to run home."

"Huh? I mean hey, I can wait on you. I'm not in a hurry like Blue."

"No that's OK. I kind of want you to go ahead of me to scare off some of the wild Pokémon for me. You understand right?" she smiles and gives me a slight punch on the shoulder before running back into town.

Well, I guess I'll head out on my own. Maybe it's better this way. I'll head through the woods behind Oak's toward the trail that leads to Viridian City for my first Gym battle. Oddly enough, just taking the Element Skill into my body has given me idea of how to fight even though I've never really fought anyone before now. That being said, I don't have much experience with training at all, mostly watching on TV, so maybe its best no one is around to see me until I get a little better.

"Viridian City, here I come!