“Catherine! GO!” Robin yells, throwing her Poke Ball.

“Blastoise!” Catherine cries out excitedly. She stares from Charizard to Gary.

“Hydro Pump, NOOOOOW!!” Robin says with big passion and determination.

“USE FIRE BLAST!!” Gary chooses.

Charizard and Catherine both attack. The moves meet midair and Hydro Pump rips through the Blast, hitting Charizard and taking him down.

“Charizard is unable to battle! Robin is the winner!! The Pokemon League Champion is Robin from Pallet Town!!!”

The crowd cheers excitedly, rushing to Robin from the bleachers.

He thanks everyone and signs autographs, one arm around Catherine.

Gorgeous, immodestly dressed, shapely women are fawning over him.

Robin turns to see Gary on his knees, head in his hands, crying miserably.

Gary closed his eyes and shook his head hard. NO! he yelled angrily in his head. That won't happen. It won't! I’ll give the best battle possible! It won't end like that! It won’t! Blastoise, Wartortle, whatever! Now angered, his eyebrows furrowed, he charged forward, pushed on by the urge to prove this thought of his battle with Robin, wrong.

June and Raichu were not too far behind, trying to keep up.

From out of nowhere, a huge stream of fire hit the ground from the air above!

Gary yelled in shock with June and Raichu as they all stopped just several feet from the sudden blaze!

June tripped and landed on her face. She looked up fearfully and managed to get up.

A big fire was blocking them, burning the grass beneath it.

Gary gazed up for the source of the fire and choked, not believing what his gaping eyes were seeing. No... he thought. Impossible! A small smile was starting to creep over his mouth, but the shock of the situation held it back.

It was incredible! A large bird hovered in the air above them. Its body primarily featured the colors of gold and red. It looked down at the kids angrily.

June’s mouth and eyes were in matching, gaping size at the amazing sight. She could only whimper repeatedly, unable to speak.

Raichu also looked awed at the incredible creature. He lowered his sunglasses, taking in the glorious thing.

With a loud cry, the enormous bird opened its beak.

Without a word, Gary grabbed June by her arm and pulled hard, running.

“OW!” June stumbled after him.

Raichu followed on all fours, his sunglasses put into his mouth.

They all ran around the fire as the bird Pokemon sent another Fire attack at them.

June glanced behind her, which slowed her down, and Gary gave a hard tug, making her focus on the path. “GARY!”

“MOVE IT, JUNE!”

The heat of the day meant nothing to Gary as the angry cry of the Pokemon sounded off, warning them of its approach.

“Gary!” June yelled shrilly. “Is that a Ho-Oh?!?!”

“Looks enough like one!”

“What's going on here?!”

“We're being chased by a freaking Ho-Oh and it's burning down the freaking forest! What else?!” he snapped at her.

“WHY?!”

“HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!”

The Legendary bird Pokemon of the Johto region, Ho-Oh, screamed angrily.

Gary heard the Fire hit the grass behind them, burning it, smoke filling the air, making him choke.

“I don't understand why there's a Ho-Oh chasing after us!”

“We're leading it right back to Pallet Town!” Gary realized. “We can't let it get there!” As they kept running, he looked behind him, trying to see where their threat was. He gasped.

The fire was gone!

He stopped running, hitting his chest hard with his fist as he coughed from the thin smoke.

The grass was burnt where the fire had been, fading smoke rising into the air and spreading lightly through the forest. The grass now looked wet.

He looked up into the sky, the sun beaming down on him.

Ho-Oh was gone!

“Where did Ho-Oh go?” June called from several feet away.

Gary turned to her and shrugged. “I dunno.” He then made a slow, complete circle, scanning the area. “I wonder what put out the fire?”

“Maybe something that chased Ho-Oh away?” June suggested.

“What chases away a powerful Pokemon like a Ho-Oh...?”

Something clasped over Gary’s mouth and pulled him.

He could only give a muffled scream.

“SHHH!” his captor whispered.

June’s eyes widened and she ducked and ran over to them, Raichu keeping quiet as he moved with her. A loud cry from the skies made her and Raichu look up.

Why is June following this person? Who has me? Do we know them? Gary wondered with wide eyes, watching June, looking for a sign of any kind.

There was another scream from the skies as a big wind blew by before everything went quiet.

Gary was released from the smell of hand sanitizer that held his face still and he inhaled hard but silently. Stumbling forward he turned around to face the person. “Huh??” He blinked once hard in disbelief.

“Are you guys, like, following me or something?” Aly whispered, squinting suspiciously.

“Aly! I can’t beli-!” Gary smiled.

“SSSHHHHH!!” Aly angrily pressed a finger to her lips, waving her other hand. She looked above her and then down at Gary. “You idiot, don’t let it hear you!”

“The Ho-Oh?” he whispered back, his heart thudding harshly in his chest. “Why is a Ho-Oh out here?”

Everyone jumped as something loud thudded, making them all turn to the new guest.

A lion? A towering, white lion! With yellow throughout the mane and dark paws, the beast let out a RROOOOOOOOOOAAAARRR!!!

The children and Raichu screamed for their lives and took off at once.

“WHAT IS THATWHATISTHATWHATISTHATWHATISTHAT??!!” Aly wailed.

Nobody answered, too afraid to even waste breath saying they didn’t know what it was and just kept RUNNING!!

There were powerful roars and crashes, smashes and explosions behind them as they ran for all their worth, no one daring to look behind them.

After a while, Gary began to recognize the silence, but he didn’t stop. But it was after a little bit more time, his body begging for a moment to rest, that he looked back, seeing nothing. “Hey!” He slowed down, stopping after several more seconds. “It’s gone!”

“Of course it is!” spoke Aly.

“Chu??”

“Huh??” June and Raichu slowed down and stopped, turning back in vocal confusion.

Gary turned to Aly. “What do you mean?”

Aly stared coldly at Gary. “I’ve been on this route since we last split. I’ve been engaging with the Legendary Pokemon out here and I could have left but I didn’t.”

“Engaging with Legendary Pokemon? What are you talking about?” Gary insisted.

“Keldeo, Meloetta, Raikou, Zapdos, Articuno, whatever that lion was back there,” Aly told Gary. “I know those are all Legendary Pokemon, including that lion, even if I don’t recognize it myself. I’ve encountered all kinds of Legendary Pokemon who just appear and vanish, only to be replaced by another one. I think there’s some kind of phenomenon luring Legendary Pokemon here to Route 1.”

Gary instantly couldn’t help but think of when he and June were traveling Route 7, on the way to Saffron City. An evil Haunter’s powers had lured multiple Psychic Pokemon to the route, which resulted in supernatural and frightening occurrences. Could there be something like that happening here, luring Legendary Pokemon over? “Then let’s try and catch them!” Gary’s eyes were wide.

June stared at him like he was crazy.

Aly just rolled her eyes. “I knew you’d say that. You probably think we’ll find a Mewtwo out here and you’ll just magically defeat it and own one and use it at the League to cheat and sweep everyone, don’t you?”

Gary frowned. “No! I never said I’d find Mewtwo! But even if I did, Legends are allowed! If I caught it, I deserve to use it! Just like the great Tobias of Sinnoh!” Gary began grinning big-time. “I’d love to meet that guy someday and hear of how he met his Legendary Pokemon. To be friends with him and get him to finally reveal his past. His stories! I’d-!”

“Marry the man, I know, I know!” Aly rolled her eyes, sneering. “I’ve heard of your lovely husbando for years, now.”

Gary’s eyes tightened on her as his face went hot.

“Anyway, I’m not totally against the idea of capturing Legendary Pokemon, it’s just, how do you intend to beat them?”

“If we can’t beat any Pokemon, we’re as good as dead at the League. And that’s why Tobias is so great! Losing to him is just saying you need to get stronger. I know people hate him and call him a cheat for using Legends, but the fact is, like any other non-Legendary, powerful Pokemon, if you can’t beat it, you can’t claim to be any kind of a Pokemon Master!”

“What don’t you get about been there, done that? Heard this, heard that. Go fantasize over the man in your spare time.”

“Hey, cut it-!” The rustle in the grass silenced Gary.

Everyone turned and their jaws dropped in disbelief.

Gary stumbled backwards and tripped.

June screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Raichu?” Raichu’s eyes were wide, his sunglasses in his hands.

Aly gasped. “Another one...”

Why? Gary wondered, staring at the familiar Legendary Pokemon, also from the Johto region.

Entei. It took a step forward and growled threateningly.

What does it want? Gary wondered, shaking hard in place. They!

Entei opened its jaws.

With a whine, Gary raised an arm up feebly. Each of his wrists were gripped and his arms nearly torn from the sockets as he was pulled to his feet.

Entei roared and sent out a blast of Fire at him!

“Come on!” June and Aly were both pulling him away.

Raichu was leading the girls Gary was following.

Gary looked back as the Fire move hit a tree which immediately caught on fire. How many Legendary Pokemon are there out here? he wondered in a panic as he turned away. And why are they all here? Why Route 1? Something strange is definitely going on. What’s causing this? The group had been running for a few minutes before Gary noticed that he couldn't hear Entei behind them, and he looked back.

Entei was nowhere in sight.

The fire was gone, smoke now filling the area.

Aly was the first to actually stop, followed by Gary.

June kept running.

Both girls still were holding Gary by the wrists.

He screamed in some pain but mostly anger at their collective stupidity. We can’t stop running! Gary thought. We have to get help. We need to head back to Viridian City. Call the police. We just have to protect Pallet Town! We can’t lead them there! Eyeing the trees, Gary realized that he wasn't exactly sure where they were. What direction was Viridian City from here?

Before he could dwell on it any longer, the ground exploded several feet away from them all!

Everyone flew back and landed on their backs, screaming in terror.

Gary and Raichu sat up fearfully as June and Aly remained on their backs, breathing hard, their eyes closed.

A possible Pokemon, or some kind of monster, stood before them. It looked like it was made entirely of rocks. It had a strange pattern of dots on its face. One dot sat in the middle of two rows of three vertical dots. It made a beeping sound and the dots started to light up in random flashes.

June groaned and got up. “Oh my gosh! I can't believe it!”

Aly was getting up at the same time. “HEY!” she pointed. “A REGIROCK NOW!”

“I don't care what it is anymore!” Gary stood up. “Let's just get out of here!”

A ball of energy charged in front of the Pokemon's face.

Aly shoved June out of the way and then scooped up Raichu and leaped to the opposite side, June screaming as she was pushed aside.

Gary ducked quick and ran, screaming out as a white beam fired at them from Regirock. He hit the ground and scrambled into the trees.

BAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMM!!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!

An entire tree was blasted and collapsed right where they had been standing.

Gary pressed his back against a tree, heaving. “JUUUUUNE!! ALYYYYY!!”

“GARY!” June responded.

“We've gotta lead it back to Viridian!” Gary yelled.

“Where is that? I don't even know where we are anymore!”

“Me, neither! We have to find the way back!”

“What about the Pokemon League, Gary? We’re just gonna run away?” Aly asked from a hidden position.

Gary opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He didn't know what to say. The Pokemon League... he thought sadly. His teeth tightened as he thought of Robin, ten Badges in his possession, ready to compete. Me and my Pokemon have been through too much. This can't stop me. I won't break my promise to Robin. To Aly. To Kiwi! Kiwi... Gary’s eyebrows narrowed, remembering his friend. Where is she right now? “Kiwi...” he whispered lowly. You have to be out there. You are! Winning. Being the very best you can! And I have to, too. I have to prove my worth. We ALL have to show our experience as Pokemon Trainers who have come so far! “I have to be the strongest Pokemon Trainer there ever was. I can't keep running. No matter what the opponent is.” He grabbed Charizard's Poke Ball. “I'm not afraid of you!” he shouted and leaped out from behind the tree and faced the rock Pokemon.

It was gone.

His face fell in disappointment. Why do they keep doing that??

June peeked out from behind a tree a few feet away, wearing worry on her face. “Gary?” She looked around.

“It's gone,” he said, replacing the Poke Ball back on his belt.

“Regirock left, too?” she asked, brushing her hair aside.

“Yes,” Gary nodded. “One of the-”

A loud cry interrupted Gary's sentence, and in the next second, something huge shot past them, the wind from the creature knocking everyone over as if it were a blunt object. A huge, birdlike being ascended into the sky. This creature was very beautiful.

“What is that?” Gary questioned.

“It’s Latias!” Aly burst out, appearing from her spot and watching as the Pokemon tore through the air at the speed of a jet, disappearing from sight with a bright gleam of light.

June climbed to her feet.

Before anyone else could, there was a twinkle from above, and they noticed something heading down towards them.

June and Gary gasped as the Latias returned.

Its body’s lower half was red, including what seemed to be wings and feet. A blue marking in the shape of a triangle sat on its chest. Its arms were white and red. The upper half of its body was white, save for a red design on its face. Its face seemed gentle and calm.

There wasn't a sound to be heard.

Not a rustling of the grass or trees.

Not a word spoken.

Not a cry uttered.

Silence.

The calm look on the Pokemon's face was suddenly replaced with anger.

“Oh, no,” Gary managed.

The Pokemon opened its mouth and a white ball appeared from it, glowing, a light mist encircling it. Before anyone could move, the ball flew forward and hit the ground right in front of them.

They all shouted out and were tossed back by the explosion.

Weak and groaning, Gary coughed in the midst of the now misty, dirty air around him but sat up, scrambling backwards. The mist faded and he could see clearly again.

The Pokemon was gone.

I've had enough of this! Swallowing hard, building up his energy, Gary pushed myself up to a stand. “June! Aly! Raichu! We're getting out of here, right now!”

June's eyes opened and she looked up at him. “Gary,” she said shakily.

“You mean you’ve actually got a plan?” Aly breathed wearily, laying still. “I mean, we could start by sending out a Pokemon for a change.” She looked at Raichu. “Or attacking with what we have...”

“Then let’s start attacking back!” Gary scooped up Charizard’s Poke Ball again and enlarged it.

“Whoa! Who are you?”

Gary gripped his Poke Ball tighter after hearing a stranger’s voice. He turned and then felt immobilized, giving out short, sharp breaths. The urge to swallow was being combated by a following notion to vomit, fear mixing up his emotions.

Next to Aly stood Gary! It was a kid who looked and was dressed exactly like Gary, holding a Poke Ball in one hand in a different stance. But otherwise, the two were identical! “What kind of prank is this?” the other Gary spoke angrily, his voice lighter than Gary’s.

Aly screamed and leaped to her feet, stumbling backwards, looking between the two repeatedly.

June also screamed, her eyes bulging.

“Who are you? What are you?!” Gary screeched in a panic. It was so weird for him to see himself, right there, in all his perceived ugliness. It was him, and he knew it, and yet, could he really look that bad? He couldn’t believe it was him. Only the voice was off. Lighter. Faster. But the same lisp remained.

“Put down the Poke Ball, you!” the other Gary ordered Gary.

“Who are you??” Gary repeated. “You drop the Poke Ball!!” He could’ve been having a heart attack the way his chest was hurting, but he couldn’t even move to grab his chest.

There was silence between the five, all eyes on the Garys.

Gary found this to be like a standoff between two cowboys in a Western flick with guns pointed at each other, a tumbleweed rolling by. He shook his head. “Then it’s a battle, isn’t it?”

“Don’t do it,” the other Gary warned. “You don’t wanna get hurt. Just who are you?”

“I AM ME!!” Gary exploded. “I know who I am! WHO ARE YOU?? YOU ARE NOT ME!!”

“Put down the Poke Ball, and we can discuss this civilly. But not before that.”

Gary nodded. “I’ll bet. Because you’re bluffing. You don’t have a Pokemon, do you?”

The other Gary’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Yeah. You can’t battle me!”

“Yes I can!”

“Then let’s go! One-on-one! Right now!”

The other Gary nodded. “Come on, then!”

Aly and June eyed each other, unsure of the situation at hand, but both looking frightened.

“Okay!” Gary pulled back his arm, but he was suddenly startled by what happened next and froze.

The other Gary’s entire body was consumed in the glow of multiple colors! His body size changed, shrinking, and the shape of his body contorted, all while floating aboveground! The glow finally faded away.

Aly gasped.

“Rai!” Raichu gasped.

June’s gasp was the most dramatic of them all.

“No way...” Gary whispered.

Floating in the air was an absolutely stunning sight, and the answer to all of the questions of the day. It stared at Gary with its huge, blue eyes and narrowed eyebrows that contradicted an otherwise adorable, harmless face. “Mew!”

“A MEW!” Gary didn’t know whether to grab his Pokedex to prove he had really seen one, or attempt to capture it! MEW! he screamed in his head.

Mew blinked at Gary and cocked its head.

One thousand Pokemon... Gary thought to himself. “I’ll become the greatest Pokemon Master. With my Charmander. And we’ll catch them all. All one thousand, mom. I promise.” He remembered the words he told his mother right before leaving on his journey with Charmander. Gary nodded, each turn building up more bravery and determination within him. This is it, he thought. My promise to my mom. Myself. I can do this. He took a deep breath. “I made a promise to my mom before I left Pallet Town on my journey to become a Pokemon Master,” Gary spoke out, his voice not as loud as he wanted it to be due to nervousness of the situation. “I promised I'd defeat every Pokemon and Pokemon Trainer out there. I promised I'd-”

“Salamence, Crunch attack!” Aly ordered, throwing her Poke Ball.

Salamence roared, released from its Poke Ball, and soared at Mew. Its fangs glowed white and, to everyone’s surprise, Salamence made contact, biting into Mew!

Mew screamed as it was taken down and remained still on the ground, even after Salamence let it go.

“Ultra Ball, let’s go!” Aly threw an Ultra Ball at the easily downed Mew.

The ball hit Mew and sucked it in with a red beam before landing. The button glowed red, blinking.

It shook once.

Twice.

PING!

The red glow remained.

After a moment of silence, the ball then glowed all white and disappeared.

Gary whipped his head to Aly.

Aly was already lit up like a light bulb, a gigantic smile on her face.

June’s mouth was hanging open, staring at the space where the Poke Ball had been.

“Aly...! You-” Gary began.

“I CAUGHT A MOTHAFUCKIN’ MEEEWWWWWWW!!” Aly screamed at the top of her lungs. She then burst out into laughter.

Gary smirked a bit, but in his chest, he felt bitter. “You know, I was about to catch it... I was the one dealing with its Transform attack.”

“Yeah, and you stood there like a total dunce and did nothiiiiiing!” Aly sang. “While you were giving speeches about the meaning of life or whatever, I caught a Mew! I caught a Mew!! I caught Mew!! I own a Mythical Pokemon, BITCHEEEEES! I could take on your husband Tobias, a ha ha ha ha ha!!” She pulled out her Pokedex. “Oh, I just have to verify this capture! I just have to see! Of all the cute cat creatures on this planet, I caught the top cat cutie!”

Gary sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes, giving Aly a dirty look. You lucky ass... he thought irritably. No fair. I was just... His eyes started to water now, so angry at himself and jealous of his friend. Ugh...! I should have reacted faster. I was too nervous! Mew woulda probably been gone by the time I was ready if Aly hadn’t been here. I guess this really was her catch...

“I can’t believe it...” June was shaking her head.

“NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Aly suddenly wailed. “IT CAN’T BE!!”

“What??” Gary’s heart was thumping wildly now, staring at her.

Aly was looking at her Pokedex like it had just reported that all cats had vanished from the face of the planet for no known reason. “It’s not...” She swallowed.

“Aly? What’s going on with your Pokedex??” Gary insisted.

Aly shook her head. “It wasn’t a Mew...” she whimpered.

“What?” went Gary.

“Huh?!” went June.

“Rai?” Even Raichu was stunned.

Salamence grunted and faced Aly.

“Aly, what do you mean? We all saw it! You just caught Mew!” Gary assured her.

Aly kept her eyes on the Pokedex and shook her head. “What I caught... I caught a freaking Ditto!”

Gary coughed up a weak choke, though whether it was laughter or not wasn’t fully certain by anyone.

Everyone else was silent.

“My Pokedex says I’ve just captured a Ditto... No record of seeing a Mew, though...” Aly said blandly. “So... I own a Ditto...?” She looked to her companions and managed a smile. “I mean, hey! That’s cool! I’ve never even seen one in person before. So, I got a pretty cool Pokemon!”

“I guess that explains how you dropped it in just one hit.” Gary burst out laughing. “That thing must be underleveled as heck!”

Aly was fuming, her face getting red with anger and embarrassment. “Still a Pokemon you didn’t catch, right?”

Gary stopped laughing but he still held a huge smile, snickering instead. “Yeah. True. But, still, ha! We all thought you had taken down and caught a Mew for a second. That’s pretty good.”

“That Ditto may not be that strong, but it’s gotta have time on its hands,” June muttered.

Everyone looked to her.

“What do you mean, June?” Aly asked.

“That Ditto can speak English. And I mean, naturally,” June went on.

Aly and Gary wore matching faces of shock.

“A Ditto can copy almost anything, but it can’t just copy the natural traits perfectly without practice,” June told them. “A novice Ditto can only Transform but so much. Usually the face is the telling sign of an immature Ditto, since they don’t get it completely right. Ditto can copy another Pokemon and do the voice, but not a human being’s. Not unless the Ditto knows how to speak English, something most Pokemon can’t just physically do. It’s not unheard of, but I have more fingers than the number of known Pokemon who can pull off such a feat.”

“Wow.” Aly was grinning again. “So, this is really something, huh?”

Gary nodded, unable to hide the disappointed look on his face. He looked down at the Mewtwo embroidered on his jacket for a moment. Not long after, he could feel his eyes watering. He closed them and wiped at them for a bit before opening them again and smiling. “You know, I think I found the answer to a question I kept close to my heart for almost a year now. I understand what happened when my journey first began, out here on Route 1, almost a whole year later.”

“What?” Aly asked.

Gary looked up into the sky. “Before my journey as a Pokemon Trainer began, the same morning I was going to receive my first Pokemon from Professor Oak, I saw a Rattata. It had a strange glare in its eyes. It vanished and I saw something else disappear into the trees. I chased after it and found a Spearow with a suspicious look in its eyes, like Rattata had. I tried to grab it with my bare hands, but it got away. As it flew away, it did some kind of strange metamorphosis in the air, but I couldn't see it clearly. It had gotten too far away. Ever since then, I wondered what that Pokemon was. I think I finally figured it out.”

“A Ditto,” June said gently.

Gary turned to her and nodded. With a snicker, he said, “a Ditto.”

June, Gary, Aly, and Raichu turned to look up into the sky together.

“I didn't know Ditto could just Transform from memory like that,” June said wistfully.

“They Transform from memory?” Aly cut off Gary before he could ask a similar question, no one looking away from the bright, afternoon sky.

“Yeah. If it kept on Transforming like that, into all those Legendary Pokemon, it must have been going off of memory. All of those Legends weren't really here for it to stare at and copy.”

“Hm...” Gary muttered, still squinting upward.

“That Ditto has seen a lot of Pokemon in its lifetime,” June mused. “It's seen Pokemon you and I haven't encountered yet. A lot of Legendary Pokemon.”

Gary looked down at his jacket again and stared at the Mewtwo on it. His hand pressed against it and then he shoved his hands into his jeans. He inhaled sharply at the wetness he felt.

“What now, Gary?” Aly asked.

Gary swallowed and rubbed his hands inside of his pockets for a second. He then raised one hand slowly to his nose and sniffed.

“Gary? Is something wrong?” June inquired. “Please, what’s up?”

Pee? Gary’s eyes widened. When did I...? How did pee? He forced his hands to his sides, remembering when the lion had roared at them. With no concrete evidence, he was at least one hundred and one percent sure that that Pokemon’s roar had scared him enough to make him piss his pants! “Uh... I think I can see Pallet Town from here!” Gary made up. “Last one there’s from Unovaaaa!” Gary ran as fast as he could away from them all, desperate to keep his distance.

“Gary, how can you see anything? There’s nothing but trees!” Despite her complaints, Aly returned her Salamence and took off after him.

“Gary! Wait! Guys! Come on, Raichu!” June ran with her Pokemon, desperate to not be left behind.

Truth be told, the group wasn’t far from Pallet Town, though perhaps further than Gary would have desired, considering his current predicament.

Though, considering his current predicament, perhaps the group was closer to Pallet Town than Gary would have desired.

Truth be told.