The Road to Catching Them All

Sex, Drugs, Money and Everything Else on
The Road to Catching Them All

A Tale of One Man's Journey for Power and Glory

Chapter 1 - End Of My Childhood 

The road began during a time I remember through the filter of nostalgia, of which only the best moments permeate to the here and now. The filter that causes us to forget everything we sacrificed and the people we hurt for one more level, to evolve beyond mere children, into battle-harden men. I now look back on those times with more experienced eyes and wipe away the spots to reveal the madness. There were one hundred and fifty of them in the beginning, one hundred fifty-one if you were good and could glitch the game, and each had to be obtained at all costs. But we were never told why. That was life. From the moment I could walk, I was fed dreams of grandeur and power, controlling beasts that could harness the power of nature, and the world was densely inhabited by them.

To some people, these creatures were pets, to others they were tools to wage catastrophic fights for pleasure and self-gratification. Each one was different, some passive and friendly, some aggressive and deadly; ranging from being able to be held in your hands, to towering above the trees. How could anyone possibly control such forces? Well I tried and I did and much was sacrificed along the way. They became my friends in a world I sought to defend from evil.. but at what cost?

My mother told me early one morning that all children have to leave the home one day, the TV had told her so. It's disturbing to me now that she took parenting skills from, above all else, the television which was always on the exact same channel showing the exact same program. The world was mad and I felt like the only sane one. I was called to the lab, my mother said he was looking for me; he said he studied them, his name was Oak. He asked me my name, I said Ash. He introduced me to his grandson, Gary.

I've known Gary since I was younger than I was when this journey began. He was a vivacious young boy whom I had always clashed with in some on-going power struggle, though there was very little power to be wielded at that time. However, at that moment I thought it was odd that the professor introduced me to his grandson when I had already known him all this time. There was also a mental stutter when trying to remember Gary's name. He seemed to look to me to fill in what he couldn't recall himself. At least he didn't ask me if I was a boy or girl, that would've been silly. What kind of man was this Oak? He said to me that my own adventure was about to unfold, that a world of dreams and adventures with these creatures awaited. As I look back now, I realize how absurd the whole situation was.

As I walked in, his aides stood parallel in the giant lab, it had looked much smaller from the outside. They both spoke the same thing when I approached them. Two different people almost the mirror image of each other, I was too young to understand what surreal meant, but that's what it was. It's strange though, I never saw these two performing any tasks, just standing in the same spot, always staring, always standing. Through the aisles of book cases, I moved my way to the back of the lab which stood Gary and a table. Even though the Professor had requested my presence, he was no where to be found. I would've had to force small talk with my rival, but I saw it there on the table.

A round, two-toned ball on the table which had a circular plateau along the line where the two colors met. I had seen these before at the market, they were used as capture devices, and these three were full. That meant, inside each ball which was no more than 4 inches in diameter, held a living, breathing creature. The logistics were baffling. Growing weary of these strange surroundings, I left to the grass outside of town. But before I could take more than 3 steps, Oak stopped me. In my haste to venture from this town, I had accidentally wandered into the wild grass which was the prowling ground of these creatures. No sooner had he grabbed me that a wild Pikachu had appeared!

Oak acted fast and threw one of those balls at it. As it struck the creatures body, it flew bad some and beamed out a light which hit the creature, turning it's entire body into the same shade of light as it was draw into the ball which was partially opened and came to a close. I stood there and stared at the ball as it moved around 3 times and then lay still.

Still feeling the haze fear shrouds on your mind, the ground and houses blurred as we made our way back to his lab. Without wasting any time he pointed at the ball I previously noticed on the table and told me to take it. Gary in a selfish act decided it was better for him to snatch it, and so he did. Oak did nothing to stop him. Adults were useless in this world and were just as stupid. Instead he gave me the one that had attacked me. I was now paired with the creature that would've felled me had there been no intervention. He handed me a wild creature-infused ball. Not only was I to work with this creature, but it would act as a defender from the rest of them in the wild. The madness was too much, I had to leave immediately. "Wait!", Gary had said. He demanded that we initiate a battle between our two creatures. Why I thought? These creatures probably didn't even know each other, and I had no personal quarrel to settle. But the battle took place, and Oak remained useless to save me a second time.

Instinctively, these two creatures took position and what ensued was the end of my childhood. I had to tell this creature how to faint another living thing. My hands were stained. Gary had no reservations about battling, but I felt the cold swelling of disgust in my stomach. Gary wanted more, he wanted to become stronger, I wanted to stop but before I knew it, the battle was over, I had won. Gary left to pursue what the world said was right, that power and glory were the only ways to live, I just left.