Prologue: The Pokémon of Despair (Part 4)
"Th-th-this is a joke, right?! This can't REALLY be happening!" Bugsy tried to loudly express disbelief at what he was seeing.
In Red's mind, he wished he could avoid believing everything he had seen and heard since he woke up in that strange arena. But deep in his subconscious mind, Red knew the harsh truth: this was real.
"Well, Mr. Monolax… whoever you really are, I must admit I feel a level of respect for your boldness. This little 'game' of yours sounds very intriguing to me. Please tell us more, and I can decide if you are truly worthy of my time." Giovanni stared at Monolax with an intense fire in his eyes as he spoke those words.
"You are truly despicable, Giovanni," said Norman calmly but firmly. "You think that whether a person lives or dies is just a fun little game? It seems that even a child taking down your criminal enterprise could not change the darkness in your heart."
"SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!" boomed Monolax. "Stop with the clever jabs. Only I'm permitted to make those!" Monolax paused for a moment while everyone looked up at the strange creature on the stage. "Just to be clear, that's not an actual rule. But since that nice Giovanni fellow kindly asked me to, I shall now explain the actual rules of the Ultimate Killing Game to you all."
"I don't care about your bullshit rules! We're getting the hell out of here!" exclaimed Flannery, in a desperate act of defiance.
"And how do you plan to escape? There is no escape… except through murdering each other! Pahahahaha!"
"Urgh… damn you…" Flannery couldn't muster up a longer response. There was nothing she could do except stand and listen to this huge maniacal Pokemon.
"Okay, no more interruptions, or there will be some PUNISHMENTS for you all! I could throw you all into the depths of Mt. Chimney if I wished to!" Monolax continued, "In this game, you will each be provided with murder weapons to kill your fellow Trainers. You must aim to kill another Trainer without being caught in the act. Once a Trainer's corpse has been discovered by at least two Trainers, excluding the devilish killer, an investigation will begin. Your must use your wits and talents as trainers to figure out whodunnit! After enough time has passed, you will all be called into Monolax's personalised super-awesome Pokemon Gym! In the Gym, you must discuss as a group who you think the mischievous murderer is, and then cast one vote each. If you get it right, then the murderer will be punished in a most creative and amusing way! But if you get it wrong, then the murderous Trainer escapes without any harm… except perhaps to their own moral code! Pahahahahahaha!"
Red struggled to comprehend the words streaming out of the strangely coloured Snorlax's mouth. While getting his thoughts together, a different Trainer spoke up.
"Well, these rules seem fairly simple," said Cheren. "But what exactly made you think that 'Ultimate Trainers' were the most suitable participants for your twisted murder game? While I may be intelligent enough to solve murder cases, I doubt most here have the mental brainpower required. Nor do most possess the physical strength and dexterity needed to effectively handle a murder weapon. You will be sorely disappointed if you expect all these famous Trainers to stand a choice in this game. Why not devise a game better suited for the talents of the twenty people you have kidnapped?"
Red was stunned by how calm Cheren was while the young man while questioning Monolax. Red was also concerned that Monolax would respond aggressively.
"Pahahahaha!" Monolax laughed yet again. "You think this game is designed poorly? I haven't even explained the best part! Your murder weapons… will be your precious Pokemon!"
A cold chill swept over Red's body. My Pokemon… no… that's too horrible to imagine. They could never kill anyone… right?
"You're a monster!" shouted Marley, shedding her soft-spoken voice from when Red had talked to her earlier.
"There's no way our Pokemon would murder!" exclaimed Norman. "We train them for battles built on mutual friendship and respect!"
Monolax responded, "Oh Norman, so naïve… don't pretend you don't know what Pokemon do in the wild. I know very well… I'm a Pokemon myself, after all. The Pokemon of Despair! Wild Pokemon hunt, they kill their prey, they eat each other, they fight to the death for their own survival. Pokemon murder each other all over the time!
The green-haired young man known as N replied, "No, that's not murder! That is the natural order of the world. But for a Trainer to command a Pokemon to murder… it is barbaric beyond belief!"
Monolax smirked with a creepy grin. "Oh, you pathetic humans. You think you understand the minds and hearts of Pokemon, Mr. Harmonia Gropius? Either you do not understand, or you are lying about what you hear from them. Pokemon love killing! If a human they trust commands them to kill, they will do so without hesitation!"
Red didn't want to believe that… but he did not know if Monolax was lying. He had never once considered the insane possibility of ordering his powerful Pokemon partners to take another living being's life.
"That's enough talk about murder morality! It's the moment everyone's been waiting for; time to choose your instruments of murder! Please turn your eyes to the green door to the right of the stage. Past that door, you will find a Pokemon PC. I have generously placed all of your Pokemon in your private PC boxes, even those you had on your person before you arrived here."
"Oh, now how did you do that?" asked Steven, not expecting a proper answer. "Your resources must be extremely vast if you were even able to hack into our top-security PC Boxes. With access to all our Pokemon, you could potentially assemble the strongest team of Pokemon ever seen. And yet, you choose to pit us against each other in this stupid game? Just what is your goal here?
"NO MORE QUESTIONS!" boomed Monolax.
Red looked at the unassuming green door. If Monolax was telling the truth, he could finally see his friends again, the friends who gave him his purpose in life. But did he really want to see them in this horrible place? Were they better off staying away from their Trainer? Red's feelings of despair had grown even stronger.
"I will call out your names one by one," explained Monolax matter-of-factly. "When I call your name, you will have five minutes to choose exactly three Pokemon from your PC. No more, no less. If you do not choose within the generous time limit I have provided, you will be punished most severely."
"Mr. Monolax… what is this punishment you are referring too?" asked Skyla. "Wait, that's a question! I'm so sorry!"
"Ugh, fine… I'll tell you…," Monolax said as the strange creature rolled its eyes. "Each punishment will be different. In this case: you will have some fun with poisonous gas! You will be trapped in the room while many Poison-type Pokemon fill the room with noxious chemicals. You will slowly lose your ability to breathe as you die a most painful and agonising death from some nasty, vicious Pocket Monsters. But if you don't want to play the Killing Game, then there's one way out for you! Pahahahaha! Ooh, I'm getting excited just thinking about it!"
Red did not want to play in this disgusting Killing Game, but he could never allow himself to die a sad death without seeing his Pokemon partners safe and happy again. Red quickly resolved that he would not let the toxic gases end his life. He accepted that, for now at least, he would have to do as Monolax said. Looking at Monolax's creepy face reminded him of the face of his own Snorlax, who he desperately wanted to see again.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is BACK from the apparent grave! I honestly never intended to leave it behind, but a lot of stuff happened in my life over the past five months (and in my free time, I may have spent a biiiiiit too much time playing video games... *cough*Persona5*cough). The events of recent months included the start AND end of my relationship with a girl; on the bright side, now that we have broken up, I have more time and more motivation to focus, stop procrastinating, and write this story. I promise the next chapter will come out MUCH quicker!
If you are reading this, I would really appreciate you leaving your feedback on this story so far!