Pokemon 2024

~The Long Game ~

Chapter One

What Happened In Pallet

THEN

PALLET TOWN

THE CHAMPION'S HOUSE

"I'm so glad you came back to visit Red. It's been so long."

The Kanto Champion grinned broadly as he walked with his mother outside of their house and he pulled her into a long overdue hug.

"Too long. I'm really sorry mom. I should have came to visit a long time ago. I've just been so busy. Luckily, I was called back to Town by Professor Oak. He sent me an e-mail and asked for me to come as soon as possible. Speaking of which…I'm sorry but…"

His mother smiled and nodded. "I understand Red. A champion's work is never done."

Red grinned. "Thanks mom! I'll be back a lot sooner this time!"

She hugged him one more time before turning to go back into the house and smiling at him once more.

Red wanted nothing more than to stay with her. Tell her of all he'd seen. All he'd done. But he knew he couldn't. He had to call the Professor and let him know he was on his way.

Red pulled out his cell phone and called the Professor as he walked away from his house and down the street. It was much harder to leave the place than he thought. After all, his entire journey had begun with a single step out that front door. The house brought back wonderful memories and his mom had even kept his room exactly as he'd left it…he was forced to stop his reminiscing however, when he heard a voice on the other line.

"Red?!"

"Hey Professor! I'm on my way to your lab now!"

"Really?! What brings you to Pallet after all these years?" The Professor sounded unexpectedly surprised.

"You e-mailed me to come see you, remember?"

The Professor was clearly confused. "No. I have no memory of sending any such e-mail. I know there are much more important tasks for you to complete as Champion for me to summon you for anything short of an absolute catastrophe."

Red was completely lost by now. "No. You did. I got an e-mail clearly asking me to return to Pallet along with a suggestion to see my mother again after our long time apart. Thank you for convincing me to return home by the way."

He looked back behind him at his house, still visible in the distance.

The Professor was now obviously disturbed. "Red. Listen to me. I didn't tell you to return home!"

Red stopped in his tracks. "But—then…who did?"

At that moment a huge gust of wind nearly knocked him off his feet as if an object had run past him at the speed of light. Or a Pokemon had used Extreme Speed and ran past him…

Once he regained his composure he looked down at his hand. His phone was gone. He whirled around to look behind him to see the object still speeding down toward…his house?

After a few years as Champion, Red had a feeling this meant trouble was about to happen.

He had no idea how right he was…

Without even thinking, Red sprinted back toward his house and when he was just a few hundred feet away, the object had disappeared.

Red frantically looked around. After a minute he figured he had just been imagining disaster after not having had to deal with it for so long.

Then, just as he turned his back on his house, he heard a deafening roar…followed by the even more deafening sound of an explosion.

Red whirled around to look behind him as he was forced to witness the complete and terrifying destruction of his home as it burst into roaring flames.

Red ran back down the street to his home as he was helpless to do anything. Because deep down he knew there was nothing to be done.

But that didn't mean he would give up.

"Blastoise! HYDRO PUMP!"

With a flash, he released his Blastoise from its pokeball and it immediately shot a huge burst of water at the burning and crumbling house and was astonishingly enough, able to extinguish every bit of flame in a matter of seconds.

But the disaster was not over yet.

Red ran into the wreckage, so fast his feet barely touched the ground.

He frantically grabbed all the pokeballs off his belt in terror and released all his pokemon to his side.

"GUYS! HELP ME SEARCH THE WRECKAGE!"

By now, dozens of bystanders that had been forced to also bear witness to the terrible fire, began to all dash into the wreckage to join their region's Champion and his Pokemon in searching the wreckage.

Red lifted debris after debris as he fought back terror and tears but knew he would find nothing. Everything had been destroyed. Absolutely everything. The house. And whatever…and…whoever was in it…There was nothing to be found anymore. But he still had to try. He had to.

"Mom? Mom? No. No, no…please! Please don't let this be happening. Not you…NO! MOM?! …No….

MOM!"

NOW

Ash's eyes shot open.

"What?"

He was laying on the grassy floor of what looked like a forest as he groggily looked around him.

Right about now he had so many questions. But there was one that stood out from all the rest…

"Where am I?"