Chapter Four: The One


Diary: Sept. 1

MEWTWO is far too powerful.

We have failed to curb its vicious

tendencies…


I stand outside Cerulean Cave.

Ever since the I read about the Pokémon Mansion journals on Cinnabar Island, it's been on my mind. Haunting my dreams, night after night.

One hundred and forty nine, one hundred and forty fucking nine not out…

I'd tried to be okay with this. Tried to be content with being the most powerful Pokemon trainer in the world.

Dragonite, Lapras, Alakazam... gotcha.

The three legendary birds- all mine.

But- ever the perfectionist- I just couldn't resist.

There's one Pokemon left, one big blot on my near-perfect copy book. Well, there was.

Not for much longer.

The Pokemon in Cerulean Cave are undoubtedly the most powerful wild Pokemon in all of Kanto. The strongest of them all sits at the very heart of the cave. All alone, the Pokemon is, quite literally, an island unto itself. Its power seems to radiate to the other Pokemon, to permeate their very beings. They, too, have grown unnaturally strong.

The Pokemon that lies in The Unknown Dungeon is so strong- yet so tragic- that even the very best trainers refuse to say its name.

We all refer to it only as: The One.

Great trainers have steered clear of The One, even those in the Elite Four. In fact, they actually hired somebody to guard the entrance to the cave, so as to keep the average trainer from stumbling across Pokemon that are so powerful that they would crush him in a heartbeat.

When I asked Lance about The One, he wouldn't even look me in the eye. He uttered just a single word- a word of warning, with perhaps even a hint of menace behind it, too.

'Don't'.

Now, though, things are different. I'm the Pokemon League Champion, and free to do as I please.

As I stand at the entrance to the cave, I select three of my Poke Balls, and toss them into the air.

'Zapdos, Articuno, Moltres', I say, quietly but firmly.

They explode into the air, in a brilliant flash of light. Intuitively, they know what they must do.

As I step into the cave, the three titans form a protective ring around me. Their job is to ward off any potential threats, as well as defeating any wild Pokemon that try and get in my way.

In a brilliant concoction of fire, ice and electricity, I set to work, plotting my way through the maze of rocky, uneven paths.

I have one mission, and one mission only.

Get The One, and then get the hell out of here.

There's an air of finality to this whole trip. I'm under no illusions- my days of being a Pokemon Trainer are coming to an end. A quiet life awaits for me back home, back in Pallet Town. I feel the familiar pang of guilt that I do every time I think about home- about how long I've left Mom there, on her own. What kind of a son am I?

I'm coming home, Mom. I've got this one last thing to do, then I'm coming home. Really.

I couldn't say how long it took me to navigate my way through the cave. There's a timeless quality to somewhere like this. In a place where such an intense blackness envelops every last nook and cranny, who is really checking to see whether it is day or night?

There were so many wrong turns, countless dead ends, not to mention the numerous moments of despair, where I just felt like giving up entirely.

When I get within a certain range though, the path suddenly seems to present itself. All I have to do now is follow the source of the power.

The closer I get to the heart of the cave, however, the stronger the wild Pokemon seem to get. Soon the three legendary birds have become so weak defending me- there is a seemingly unlimited stream of Arboks, Magnetons, Hypnos, all of them twice as large and twice as powerful as they're supposed to be - that I realise I cannot use them in the battle. Not against the most powerful Pokemon in the world.

It would be suicide.

I return the three brilliant, beautiful birds, back to the sanctuary and security of their Poke Balls.

'Good job, guys', I say, as I fix the balls onto my belt.

I take a deep breath.

Well, kid. This is it.

I bring Lapras out. Jump on her back. She then surfs smoothly over to the island.

And there it is. There stands The One.

I pull out a Poke Ball. The first one in my belt. Who else would I use for a battle of this magnitude?

'Char-' I begin- and catch myself. Then, I'm flooded by a wave of pure emotion. My eyes fill with tears.

Why? Why did it have to fucking happen?

I think about his funeral. Now his body lies in the Pokemon Tower, next to Blue's Raticate. I take another deep breath, close my eyes and compose myself.

This isn't the time, Red.

I select Gengar instead.

The battle is breathtaking. Breathtaking, that is, in its brevity.

'Confuse Ray!' I yell to Gengar. Gengar does as instructed, but, somehow, The One manages to reverse the attack. Gengar wanders around the battlefield in a state of shock and bewilderment, repeatedly pounding himself with Psychic and Shadowball as he does so.

I have no choice but to return him. He's in such a terrible way that I can't help but wonder if he will ever fully recover from such an attack.

Now, in a panicked state, I turn to my wildcard- Gyarados. The Pokemon that so brilliantly helped me become Pokemon League Champion.

And yet, this time, the big-game Pokemon seems to let the occasion get to him. When his mighty Hyper Beam misses, Gyarados's confidence seems to shatter. One Psychic is all it takes to wipe out my strongest Pokemon.

I have just Jolteon left. He doesn't stand a chance- and we both know it. Soon it will be just me and The One left and, then, God help me.

And, yet, it seems that me and The One have both made the same mistake. We have both underestimated Jolteon.

Jolteon strikes quickly with a Thunderbolt, before following up with a Thunder Wave. And- just like that- the tables are turned!

The One is paralysed.

I take a moment to gaze upon The One.

In a word- awesome. It radiates power, hell, it just is pure power.

And just imagine how much more powerful it would be under my guidance…

I know I don't have much time. The paralysis will not last long, not on a Pokemon like this. Soon it'll be fighting fit again, and this Pokemon will finish the task of- singlehandedly- taking down a team that only a year ago defeated the Elite Four.

I reach into my bag. I didn't want it to come to this- I would have preferred to weaken The One with my Pokemon, and then use an Ultra Ball to catch it. That would have been a far more honourable course of action. But, given the circumstances, I really feel like I have very little choice.

I look at my Master Ball.

Despite the dinginess of the cave, it glitters, a brilliant purple gleam. I pick it out of my bag and weigh it up in my hand. It's surprisingly heavy. Now, I get ready to throw it.

Somehow, The One seems to sense what is about to come next. And so it knows there's very little that it can do about it. In this brief window of time, it's fantastically powerful body is useless.

Am I mistaken, or is there a look of… desperation in his eyes?

Then, it hits me.

I thought this is what The One would have wanted. I'd always pictured myself as the saviour, rescuing The One from the loneliness and solitude of the cave. I was to be the portal back into the world of light.

But now I'm not so sure. Am I merely forcing The One, against its will, to rejoin the society which cast it out in disgust?

After all The One's been through. The years of pain and torture and downright fucking brutality that led to its creation. When I first heard of this, I couldn't help myself- I wept. The type of tests and experiments conducted on The One, my God, they're ones which you would not wish on your worst enemy.

How could anyone, ANYONE be so goddamned cruel?

It was treated so abhorrently, so inhumanely, that it's had to come here, to the bottom of a forgotten cave, just to be left in peace.

Can I condemn this Pokemon? The proudest, greatest of all of Pokemon- to be caught on a mere technicality? A simple technological trick that allowed this Master Ball to be invented?

My Pokedex said that The One's eyes glowed out of hatred, or to strike fear into an opponent's heart. They're not now.

They're glowing out of fear.

And that's when I realise it. Despite it all, The One is a Pokemon too. No less in value than Gengar, Jolteon or Gyarados. Nor- God rest his soul- my Charizard.

I pull back my arm. And I hurl the Master Ball, with all my might. Past The One- and into the lake behind it.

As I walk away, I turn back. And say what I haven't yet been able to say. The true name of The One.

'Goodbye, MewTwo'.