In Canalave City, an eight-year-old boy walked cheerfully alongside a canal to school, looking forward to a rerun of his favorite TV show later. It was cloudy and dry, which was odd, because didn't clouds bring rain? He didn't see any rain!
Come to think of it, he didn't see his classmates around, either. Maybe they were already at school, or maybe they were swimming in the canals... In fact, he saw someone in one right then! That was the uniform, and they looked to be on their stomach... but they were just floating there instead of swimming. He didn't think red was part of the uniform, either, right?
He was worried just enough to run to school to tell someone quickly, but when he arrived, nobody was there, even as he turned the halls and heard loud banging that seemed to be from outside... until he saw a student looking at him from behind a corner, a hand covering their mouth and their eyes wide in fear before they vanished behind that corner with footsteps faster than the boy could pursue.
What was happening? What could he do? He sprinted to the headmaster's office, but even he was gone, and the noises from outside were still happening, though that wasn't his business right now. He wouldn't skip class over it...
Wait. Class? What time was it? There was a clock in the office...
What a fool he'd been! It was time for gym, and surely the headmaster was there! The student in the canal was pretending to swim, and the one in the hall was trying to skip class! He'd find everyone in the gym room, but he would be late if he didn't hurry!
When he got there, he noticed that everyone was there, even the ones who usually skipped. Maybe they were ready to exercise for once, but then why was everyone just lying on the floor unmoving, some on top of other people? Why was everything covered in sticky red liquid? He thought he'd give one of them a push to start them off... but when he did that, more of the red liquid leaked out of their cold body.
He at last realized something, and then only could witness what was before him. He tried to turn his head, but his head refused to allow it, and then another loud noise from outside shook his very being into animation again as he ran faster than he thought possible homeward.
Other people were running outside, too, but most of the time, something struck them from afar, and they fell. A gray haze filled the air and made breathing nigh-impossible, but he could still make out buildings, especially the ones on fire... At least his home wasn't one of those when he got there, but the windows were shattered, and he heard screaming that became quieter every time those loud noises happened until all was silent.
Why were people falling? Why were people bleeding so much? Why were things so different today? He had to ask his parents. He needed them to help him understand. He needed them to stop this, even if he didn't know how, so things could be normal again.
When he went inside, he found his parents, but they weren't moving, either. Puddles of blood were under and around them, and he didn't think anything that had stopped would move again now.
The household Bidoof trembled with him nearby as the television showed the rerun he'd so awaited. He couldn't hear it over his heartbeat, but he knew the story: A rich businessman had become a superhero of old, and in his cavalier missions, he spoke strangely formally. A succinct and persuasive man who prevailed against all his foes, even those who were like himself – he had to help now, if he could. The boy silently begged the man to help, since he was so close, even behind the screen... which was then shattered by gunfire.
It was over. The Bidoof would be next, and then him. He wasn't certain whether he was alive right now, in fact. He saw himself, the Bidoof, and a man with a gun.
As the man took aim, the terrified Bidoof suddenly leapt with a force characteristic of a cannon, crashing into their would-be assailant's chest and making him fall limp as various scattered objects struck the boy, mostly harmless but decisively painful.
The boy believed himself to be alive. He believed it enough to begin screaming harshly, his throat burning as his body was frozen yet violently trembling.
In the following years, rumors spread of a boy living in Canalave's streets. He was said to frequent the local library, and he possessed an ever-growing vocabulary to express himself with an unreasonable intensity.
He also possessed a Bidoof.