"Wake up birthday boy!"
My eyes fluttered open. I tried to keep them open as the bright morning sun blasted its way through my window. I tried to recover from the dream that I had. I was dreaming of my dad. I dreamt that he was behind everything, that he was the cause of the world's problems. I knew that was impossible, but it felt believable. Once I had finally shaken myself awake I noticed it was actually a peaceful morning. The grass swayed in the wind and the buzzing of the electrical current of the dome was almost harmonious with the sound of the town working towards expanding pallet. Buildings, stores, attractions, everything trying their hardest to make it more like the city that used to stand around us. A few food stands acted as restaurants for people to go share a bite to eat without having to dirty their kitchen. There is a market that sells basic necessities imported from cities that were not aggressive towards Pallet. Things in Pallet are actually going really well. There hasn't been an accident or a Pokemon attack on researchers outside the dome in a few months. Pallet has been getting better and, leads Kanto in research findings. Some other city's researchers have contributed knowledge outside of our own, but it is rare to see something new from somewhere other than Pallet.
I stumbled my way downstairs where the smell of fresh Pidgey eggs and cinnamon toast circled around me. It was my 16th birthday and my mom was making my favorite breakfast.
"I was worried you were going to miss breakfast" my mom said through a giggle
"Are you kidding, I could never miss your breakfasts!"
We both burst out in laughter. My mom through her towel she had sitting on her shoulder at me. She isn't the best cook in the world. In fact we try to avoid her cooking anything. I normally cook the meals if we don't just go to the food stand in the middle of town.
"I got you something" she said carrying a neatly wrapped box over to the table.
"Thank you mom, you didn't have to get me anything!"
I opened the box and was greeted by the nicest jacket I have ever seen. There was fur on the inside that was warm and comfortable. The outside had very nice, classy leather. I hugged and kissed my mom as she started to clean up.
"Thank you mom, I love it."
"Anything for you Red. Now go enjoy your day. I have some work to do around the house."
I put my plate in the sink, put on my new jacket and walked out waving goodbye to my mom.
Pallet has stayed the same politically over the years since the start of the start of the war. Nothing much has changed in the rest of Kanto either. This luckily means that Pallet has remained neutral through the fighting. Which is thanks to the dome that surrounds the town, keeping us safe from the outside world.
The dome is made of giant posts made of silver and copper, the most conductive of all metals. These posts are about 500 feet apart with every-other post having an electric transformer built into it. An electric current is sent from one post to the other making an electromagnetic field that is actually visible, and since it isn't made of a solid, air can pass right through, keeping fresh air inside the city. These electric currents are very dangerous however. If someone made contact with it, they would be killed instantly. In the beginning, we didn't have to hunt. Pokémon would fly through or run through and die of shock. That is how we got our food. But over time they got smarter and we had to adapt by sending hunting teams beyond the dome to hunt for meat. We also had teams of gatherers that would travel outside the dome with guards. They would gather berries, seeds, and nuts. These gatherers would sell half of their inventory in the market, and plant the other half in their garden, to reduce amount of time outside the dome.
I approached the beach, picked up a rock, and skipped it across the water. The crisp air outside made the hair on my arms stand up. I bundled my jacket up even more to keep me warm. It will be winter soon. The trees are changing color and the mornings are getting colder. Pallet is typically a warmer city being the most southern city, besides Cinnabar. But its winters can be pretty harsh with the moisture from all of the trees and the coast. Watching the waves crashing against rocks and rolling onto the shore is so relaxing and distracting. I could sit here on my big rock platform and watch the horizon all day. It distracts me from all of the anger I have built up inside. If I didn't find ways to occupy my time, all I could do about my problems is sulk. I'm more mature than that though. Why pout and complain if I can't do anything about it. It is better to distract myself and enjoy what I have. I have a job to do and that is to be the man of the house.
Once I am distracted and busy, I am actually happy with my current life. My mom is happy, so I am happy. Pallet is safe and we are learning a lot about the world outside Pallet without getting in any kind of danger.
I left the beach to walk through town to find something to treat myself with for my birthday. People waved and smiled, I waved back. The city square wasn't very exciting today. It is a big day for me, but to the rest of town it is just another day. I wandered into the market. Nothing seemed to interest me too much here either. Except for the news print that lay neatly in the racks. I picked one up and read the headlines. There was an article about how to protect yourself from a Pidgeot attack. I scoffed at the article. I already know how to survive that. Go for the throat. Their necks aren't long enough to reach you without exposing their weakest point.
"Bellsprout, No! Get back inside!"
I dropped the paper and turned and faced the direction the scream came from. I sprinted towards the sound, hoping everything was okay, but I prepared myself for the worst. There was already a crowd investigating before I could get there, an angry crowd. They were yelling a slur of words that I could hardly make out. Things like: "how dare you", "you're going to get us killed", "that thing needs to go", some more crude than others but mostly all negative. The woman they were screaming at huddled in the corner of her garden, begging for them to stop. She was clutching a Bellsprout, a plant Pokémon that is grass and poison type. Bellsprout's eyes looked mortified as it burrowed its face into the woman, it was obvious that it belonged to her.
"Stop! Leave us alone! He isn't hurting anyone!" The woman begged the crowd to go away.
I could see the pain in her eyes. She deeply cared for this creature, and this crowd was only getting bigger. I tried to get some people away and told them to leave her alone and to go away, some pushed me away, others payed no attention. I myself am afraid of Pokemon, but we don't know this woman's story, so there is no need for irrational yelling. Oak stepped in suddenly.
"Everyone please step away from the woman and her Bellsprout" The uproar that followed Oaks' statement frightened the woman and Bellsprout even more.
"We will discuss this later tonight at an emergency town hall meeting where she will be put on trial. Until then return to your homes and do not concern yourself with this woman's business!" Oak's voice billowed across the crowd that was by now almost up to a good 50 people or so.
As the crowd disappeared, I could not. I stared into the eyes of that Bellsprout as the woman cuddled it and carried it inside. I have never seen fear in a Pokémon's eyes, only anger. It was almost unnerving to see it in its emotional state. I am afraid of Pokemon for what happened to me. But she is not afraid. I admired her bravery and courage to befriend with a Pokemon. I was curious to see how Oak and the rest of Pallet will handle this new addition to the town. Or if we will not be seeing her or her Pokemon again.
Later that night the whole town, about 500 people or so, piled into a courthouse fashioned out of an old gymnasium. The woman sat on a stand next to Oak who sat at a large desk. The Bellsprout was in her lap.
Oak began his speech.
"This woman is being charged with bringing a Pokémon into her home in the town of Pallet, which categorizes themselves as a neutral state. This party prides itself in not involving Pokemon in their lives other than for research. This research may only be done by research professionals and not individual citizens in their homes. This is to make sure that the war does not come to our doorstep. For the past 10 years that is how we lived. And now this way of neutrality is being challenged. We are here to discuss this."
The majority of the town did not like the choice of the word 'discuss', and had to give their input of substitutions. The other half sat in silence, watching. Oak silenced the crowd before speaking.
"We will now hear what she has to say, please start with your name"
"M-my name is Rosalina" she spoke so softly it was hard to hear her over the loudspeaker.
"I don't think we should avoid Pokemon anymore. They provide so many benefits to us and they can be such loving creatures. Bellsprout has been helping me tend to my garden by keeping insects and weeds away. He is such a good little helper. And he is such a good listener too!". Her words got stronger, louder, more passionate, almost desperate.
"Please don't take my best friend away from me. He makes me happy, he helps me grow my beautiful garden, and if everyone else gave Pokémon a chance the way I do... then maybe there could be an end to all of the hate and fighting. Maybe there can be peace again."
She bowed her head. She was afraid that her words didn't mean a thing. That the whole crowd had already made up their minds. A tear fell from her eyes and landed on Bellsprout's head. A tear almost fell from his eye too. He snuggled up into her and they both let out a cry.
"How do you expect me to live with these things that have killed so many people, and caused a war that is tearing this world apart?" A voice blurted from the back of the room.
Rosalina was immediately very defensive.
"Pokemon are only aggressive if they feel threatened in the wild, and if they are trained to be killers!"
"How did you obtain Bellsprout? I am just curious." Oak interjected.
"I stole a poke ball from one of your offices…I believe that Pallet can't be neutral forever and since they are only mass produced and sold outside of Pallet, I figured if I stole one, I had it just in case." I could see the shame in her words about stealing.
"But one day when I was out collecting seeds right of the dome, I saw Bellsprout crawl out of the bushes. He looked hungry and scared. I approached him with some berries I had and he ate from my hand. I looked around to make sure none of the guards were watching and I gently tossed the ball at him. After the capturing process was complete, I let him out and he jumped into my arms. He was so happy to be mine. To be my friend."
Oak silenced the murmurs in the crowd once again.
"Although I do not condone stealing. I must say that the bond between Rosalina and her Bellsprout is something that cannot be broken and there is nothing that I can do to break them apart... I have actually done much pondering on this subject myself lately. I do believe, in my professional opinion, that Pallet is not strong enough to be neutral forever. So, why wait for that day to come. With that being said, before everyone in Pallet, I announce that Pallet is now a state belonging to the Harmony Party. I will be getting in touch with other members of the party to share the news with them. It will not be mandatory for citizens of Pallet to have a Pokemon, but if you want one. You may have one."
There was an uproar across the room. People were angry, people were happy, it was complete chaos in one building. I am happy they get to be together, It's obvious that they love each other. I can see the need for each other in both of their eyes. They remind me of my mom and I.
"I will hear no arguments. This is an executive order. If you do not like this decision, then do not own a Pokemon. It is that simple. The dome will remain standing to ward off anyone that will try to attack us. I can assure you there is nothing to worry about." The joy on Rosalina's face was inspiring. And Bellsprout I could tell was happy too.
"Did you hear that Bellsprout?! We get to be friends forever!" Rosalina's tears changed from fear, to pure joy as her and Bellsprout embraced as tight as possible.
A bright white light suddenly lit up the room, nearly blinding everyone. The light was coming from Bellsprout as he started floating in the air. The light got brighter until it hurt even if your eyes were closed. The room returned to normal. There was something in Bellsprout's place that started floating back to Rosalina. Oak and the rest of the crowd stood in awe.
"Your love and joy for being able to be with Bellsprout was enough power to cause it to evolve!" Exclaimed Oak.
"I had studied it a thousand times but never actually seen it before. Your Bellsprout is now a Weepinbell, congratulations!"
"Aw! I love you Weepinbell." Rosalina and Weepinbell Held each other close. The happiness of those two was enough to silence the crowd. They couldn't believe what they had seen.
Oak started sending some of his professionals out with people to catch their own Pokemon. Poke balls were now being sold in the market, just like everywhere else in Kanto, so that everyone who wanted a Pokemon could get one. I didn't want one. I was still a little untrusting of them. My mom felt the same way. Weepinbell and Rosalina were happy but neither of us knew how to care for a Pokemon. Plus we had each other and that is all I really needed.
Pallet was in a flourish of new Pokemon living in the town. For the most part everyone was taking the change better than I had expected. My opinions have changed the more educated I've become. I now think Pokemon are interesting. Before, when we first made it out of our bunker, I hated them and wanted them all dead. But I realize now that it isn't all their fault. They didn't ask to become what they are, It just happened to them.
I have been hanging around Professor Oak a lot lately too. He has made me his apprentice, and My mom found a job as a doctor. She doesn't know much about being a doctor. But she is the only one who is certified with first aid and CPR in Pallet. If someone is sick or injured they go to her first, if she cannot help them, the patient is transported by an armed team of guards to the nearest hospital in Vermillion City to be treated. Many of them don't return to Pallet. Which is why my mom is so important to the city to make sure we keep as many people in as possible. This also means that she is away from home a lot.
Oak has always been a father figure to me. I don't love him the same way I love my mom. But I do appreciate all that he has done for us. And admire him as a leader of Pallet. I go to his lab everyday, early in the morning when my mom is leaving for work. I have been studying different ways to categorize Pokémon. Oak thinks I am doing great and I enjoy his feedback on my work. Lately he has been training me using hands-on research with Pokemon to help with documenting physical attributes of each Pokemon that could be encountered. Oak has many Pokémon for me to study, but my favorite is Eevee. Eevee has a great work ethic when getting any kind of task done, whether it be in completing a task or defeating an enemy. His persistence reminds me of myself. I think that's why I enjoy studying him so much. Oak says that Eevee can evolve into several different Pokémon depending the environment that it reaches the experience and strength enough to evolve. This is what I find most fascinating about him, that what it can evolve into helps define its personality and traits. The day Oak let me pet and hold Eevee was one of the most eye opening moments of my life, I had never touched a Pokemon before. I had become less fearful and vengeful towards them the more I studied, but actually touching one was a big line to cross. I stretched my arms out to Eevee. He jumped into my arms and licked my face, It scared me little just because of my conditioned fear of Pokémon. His fur was soft, and his heartbeat and breath against my arms brought me to reality that Pokémon are true living creatures in our world. It dawned on me, not all Pokémon are bad. Pokemon can be loving, friendly beings.
Eevee wasn't actually mine but anytime I went over to the lab, Oak let me take him out of his ball and play with him while we did our research. Oak and I looked up to each other. But he looked up to me in a different way I looked up to him. I admired Oak's decision making ability, and perseverance in making the world and Pokémon coexist without violence. Everyone took a chance in allowing Pokémon into Pallet without revolting. Everyone trusted Oak whether they were conscious of it or not. And we were right to. Pokemon were in Pallet and the earth hasn't caved in. It is baby steps but I think one day love of Pokemon and humans can stop the war. Stop the fighting. But only if people can grasp the concept of coexisting. These are traits I hope to develop from him so that I could one day lead the way he does. Oak looks up to me in the sense that he feels that I can be the one to get the point across to the world. He knows he can't complete the research on Pokemon. But I think secretly he wants me to be the one to complete it for him.
I know it isn't my responsibility to stop the war and research Pokémon. But I would absolutely love to hold that title. I want to get away from Pallet and train Pokémon to be my friends. I want to abolish the hate around Kanto and bring this war to an end. I dream of making an electronic encyclopedia of all Pokémon and their statistics, typing, and any other facts that could want to be known about that Pokémon. This will help people become educated on Pokemon and be less afraid, just like me.
I have also been taking up exercise and strength building to pass time. It allows me to safely let out aggression and it helps keep me in shape, in case I ever had to go to war. It distracts me in a different way than going on walks does. It allows me to overcome mental struggles that I have and puts me above them. I become psychologically better than my weaknesses and I use them to my advantage to make myself a better person.
It has been about a month since the arrival of Pokémon in Pallet. I was going through my morning routine of taking the long way to Oak's lab, walking down the beach and through the neighborhoods. I always appreciate my walk down the beach. I enjoy seeing families swimming with their pet Poliwag, a tadpole Pokémon. Or seeing a Butterfree, a butterfly Pokémon, pollinating my neighbor's gardens. Everything was even more peaceful in Pallet now that there isn't an unknown threat around us about Pokémon. Everyone is getting a better understanding about which Pokémon are aggressive in the wild, ones that are beneficial to the town, and ones who make incredible pets.
I approached the lab and saw Oak and a few of his aids outside gawking at a rather large poster on the side of his building. The image was offensive. It was a propaganda poster that plastered Rosalina dead in her garden with Weepinbell over her, covered in her blood, with the most horrifying expressions. At the bottom of the poster it read:
'Your Pet Will Be Your Downfall: Kill All Pokemon'
"Extinctionists? In Pallet?" one of Oaks aids shared his confusion out loud.
"What is this?" I asked walking up to join the group.
"It appears we have a threat living in Pallet. Someone please go to Rosalina. Assure that she does not get hurt and that her Weepinbell is also safe. It seems as though even though Pallet is a Harmony state... There are snakes in town."
I could see the fear in his eyes. He knew what this meant. There was an underground rebellion of the Extinctionist party starting in Pallet. And this was their first strike.
The party system in Kanto is facing some changes. The Survivalist Party and the Harmony Party joined together as one and combined their already similar ideals to double their size as a party. The Extinction Party still remained the same. And the Traditionalist Trainers Party grew in numbers as promises of power to each member spread like wildfire in Kanto. They also changed their name to the Elite Party. This leaves only three parties left in all of Kanto. The Harmonists, the Extinctionists, and the Elitists.
"What are we going to do about this?" I asked Oak as he bowed his head in front of the poster.
"We wait for the uprising. And do what we can to survive. The Extinctionists are a radical group. They don't stop unless they succeed and get what they want, or die trying. They don't necessarily want Pokémon dead solely out of hate, most do, but not all. Some just think that the world would be better off without them. I'm afraid the Pokémon we have in Pallet are not strong enough to survive an uprising. And Extinctionists have no problem killing humans that protect Pokemon." Oaks words fell out of his mouth as if he was afraid of this happening when he changed the state of Pallet.
"It's not your fault" I reassured him in a low voice. "And I think we can stop this."
He said nothing as he walked towards the door of his lab.
I had a delay following behind as I tried to take the poster off the wall but it wouldn't budge. The adhesive they used was too strong to remove it.
I ran into the lab with enough time to see Oak slam his office door behind him. He let out a yell that almost shook the door to his office. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards the sound. There was crashing from inside the office, the sound of glass shattering, wood splitting, the door flew open and papers were flung out the door.
"How could I allow this to happen?! How could I let my city down like that?! I was supposed to create a safe environment for them, and I fucked everything up! Why do people have to be so difficult! How could I have let my reputation fall in such a way?" He stormed out of his office radio in hand.
"Attention Harmony Party affiliates." He was tuned into the Harmony Party frequency "Pallet is in a state of emergency. There is an underground Extinctionist movement in Pallet. Please do not send in reinforcements. We will try to handle it alone to keep the casualties low. I just want to warn everyone that our party might be overthrown." he let the radio fall to the floor. He walked back into his office and slammed the door.
The workers in the lab that did not know about the poster outside were shocked and murmured among themselves. It was still early enough in the morning that not enough people are out of their houses yet for anyone to notice the poster. Oak came out of his office with a blowtorch. He shoved the door open. I followed him to help clean off the side of the building. He blasted the poster with the torch and watched as it fell to the ground in front of him in a heap of embers. He didn't seem to care that some landed on him. The physical burn he got from them was probably unmatched by the burning fear he had for the fate of his city. Luckily he destroyed the poster before anyone could see it. I picked up the burned remains and stomped them into the dirt. I lost touch and stomped hard, pounding my foot into the ground. My anger took over. Just as things were settling down, someone has to go and ruin everything. Why can't people just get over their differences?!
I stared into the dirt. It had grey mixed into the soil from the ashes of the poster that could lead to the destruction of the city. Oak and I were approached by a young man, a bit older than me, who was short of breath from running.
"You have to see this" he huffed.
He took off. Oak and I followed right behind him. Once in the town square we saw that smaller, pamphlet sized, versions of that poster were everywhere. On people's doors, on light posts throughout town, spread out on tables, tossed on the floors. People were wandering into the square with them in hand and a troubled look on their faces. Oak stood on top of a table in the middle of the square and addressed the crowd.
"Everyone please listen. There is an underground rebellion of Extinctionists in Pallet. I advise that you all go home and protect yourselves, your families, and your Pokémon. We do not know how many people are in the rebellion and we are unaware of their goals or intentions other than to kill your Pokémon."
The crowd lashed back with comments about 'what does he expect them to do'. And 'there is nowhere for us to hide'. They were right. If these people were already in Pallet, hiding would do no good. They would attack regardless and there is nothing we could do.
From the back of the crowd a voice boomed over everyone elses with the aid of a mega.
"KILL ALL POKEMON!" this voice was followed by many more after a while there was a significantly large crowd of people marching into the town square, chanting these daunting words. These people were holding torches, knives, bats with spikes. A few had guns. One of the men took aim with his rifle. He pulled the trigger and the Butterfree that I had watched tend to his flowers hit the ground, his blood pooling around him. Butterfree's lifeless eyes stared into my soul. I couldn't comprehend what had just happened, it happened all too fast. Regular citizens lashed back with their Pokémon and whatever they could pick up off the ground to use as weapons. I watched, frozen, as the man who fired the first shot was impaled by a wooden stake from a fence that someone had used as a spear. I couldn't move. I had flashbacks to the first night in Pallet when that Pidgeot attack us. But this time it was other humans killing each other. Pokemon and Humans were dying left and right. Just like the Saffron Massacre, people and Pokemon were lying bloody in the street. People were unable to get to their homes and hide from the mass fighting going on in the Pallet square and protect themselves. I snapped out of my daze and deflected a few blows that came towards me, I punched back, sending a violent extinctionist protester back a few feet, buying me enough time to deflect another. I shielded Oak who was defenseless and helped him escape. Oak and I ran to the fire escape of his building and climbed to the roof. From there we hid and watched as people scattered. I tried to count the bodies. About a quarter of the town lay dead in the middle of the square, both Extinctionists and Harmonists, Pokemon included.
Where is mom? Where is she? I was frantically trying to find her. I was scanning the entire horizon trying to pick out her face in the sea of fighting and fleeing. I finally spotted her. She was taking cover on the side of a building.
"Mom!"
I quickly climbed down the side of the building, Oak trying to stop me. Once I was low enough to not hurt myself, I jumped to the ground and sprinted towards her. Luckily there was less fighting and more fleeing from both sides of the fight. It felt like an hour had past but it had only been about 5 minutes. I grabbed my mom by the wrist and led her with me to safety. We couldn't run with me holding on to her, I let go of her hand and kept running hoping she could keep up. She couldn't. I turned to see that she was too far behind me. I should have kept holding onto her. As I started back towards her I saw a man with a heavy hatchet cock his arm and take aim at my mom. My eyes went dark. My voice went hysterical.
"Mom look out!"
She fell to the ground. My whole world went silent. There was not a sound I could hear. 'My life is over' was all I could think. I lifted my head. Tears swelling in my eyes. I expected to see the most horrific sight I had ever seen. But I did not. My mom was okay. When I saw her fall it was because she tripped trying to dodge the man's hatchet. But she did not move. Neither did he. The whole city fell still and silent. That's when I realized the reason behind the silence.
That man's Hatchet had missed my mom, but it hit one of the transformers keeping the dome activated. The transformer was destroyed. The silence I heard was not out of fear or shock clouding my senses. It was of the silence that was caused by the absence of the hum of the electrical current keeping our city from the outside world.
There was an uprising in Pallet, and there was no longer anything protecting us from the outside world. The Dome had failed.