Chapter 1: Waking Up
I woke, opening my eyes slowly, my vision blurred at first. I was staring through a see-through plexiglass wall and when a tried to move, I realized I was bound to some sort of chair by what appeared to be handcuffs attatched to the armrests of the chair, tubes and cords running from my arms and my forehead and my feet, through small holes in the plexiglass, to machinery outside of my ‘holding cell’.
Where am I? How did I get here?
The room I was in had machinery and cables and tables with stacks of paperwork all around it. A man in a labcoat stood by one of the tables, filling out something on a clipboard. I noticed him and shouted, “HEY! Where am I? Who are you?”
He looked up after a few seconds; first at a machine, then looking at me in excitement, his eyes going wide. I saw him hurry to an intercom on the wall outside my holding cell and say something excitedly into it. I’m not very good at reading lips, but I saw the words, “He’s awake!”
I tried to think as hard as I could how I got here, but I didn’t remember at all. I didn’t remember anything. I just remembered waking up.
The man at the intercom pressed a button on the machine neareast to him and spoke into the intercom again. This time, I heard his voice from a spreaker on the roof right above my holding cell.
“Kid, you’re okay. Breathe slowly…”
“Who are you?” I screamed, resisting again, but the handcuffs were too strong.
“Breathe slowly,” the man said. “How did the battle go?”
I shook my head fiercly, trying to remember. “What battle…?”
Again, he didn’t seem to hear me, ignoring my question. “How was the first test?”
I started looking around for a means of escape. My legs were cuffed too.
The man was, thankfully, patient. “Tell me how you and your Pokemon fared.”
“Me and my what…?”
I heard footsteps outside of the room coming closer and noticed my own ragged, unsteady breath as I prepared for what would happen next.
Suddenly, a bunch of other people burst in, looking from different machines to me and then back again.
I heard the man’s voice again on the speaker, “Okay. You've pretty much emerged unharmed. That’s good news. That means your Pokemon didn’t turn on you and try to kill you or something. That’s a good sign. Testing’s going beautifully thus far.”
He obviously didn’t realize that I had no idea where I was or what Pokemon were. He talked as if I knew what was going on.
Suddenly, I saw one guy pointing at a screen on one of the machines and motioning for everyone to come over and see. The man at the intercom left to see what the other guy was looking at and they all stood watching.
The machine was facing opposite me so I couldn’t see what it was that was being shown on the screen. I had to wait there for a short while until the same guy came back and talked into the intercom.
“Okay, I’m going to turn you on now. How much do you remember?”
“Where am I?” I screamed.
“You’re in the Team Rocket Scientific Research Facility,” the man told me calmly.
“Please refrain from shouting.”
He paused a moment and then said, “I’m guessing you have no idea what’s going on?” he said.
Thank God! I thought.
“Yes!” I exclaimed, annoyed. “I have no idea where I am, who I am, who you are, or why I’m here.”
The man seemed to be thinking, stepping away from the intercom and whispering something to another scientist guy. He came back and let out a sigh. “First and foremost, my name is Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket. You are here because you were chosen to help us with our research of the strange creatures we recently discovered known as Pokemon.”
“So, what, you knocked me out and brought me here?!” I exclaimed. “Because I didn’t agree to any of this…”
“If you’ll allow me to explain more without interrupting,” Giovanni said, sounding a little annoyed, “then I might be able to clear things up for you.”
He was about to continue, when someone walked up and tapped him on the shoulder. He covered the intercom with his hand and listened to what the guy had to say. Giovanni nodded as the guy left and uncovered the intercom, saying, “We need to send you in again.”
“Send me where!?” I demanded. Why won’t he listen?!
“During the last test you were hit with a move called Confuse Ray that the Pokemon known as Zubat tried to use on your Pikachu. Your Pikachu dodged it and it hit you instead. That’s why you’ve lost your memory. That move’s a new one. We haven’t seen it before during our research. It had fascinating effects. To think that move can erase a human’s memory…”
“You're crazy!” I screamed.
“During the next simulation, you will be battling another test subject with a different Pokemon this time. We’re giving you a Psychic-type Pokemon this time because we think it’ll shed some light on just how powerful their abilities can be. Remember, this is just a simulation; an image we’re going to put in your mind. You’ll still be here physically, so you can ask me anything. But, mentally, you’ll be in a colosseum setting, battling another test subject. See those cords and tubes attatched to your body?”
“Duh.”
“Those are so that your nerves can feel whatever your Pokemon feels. That’ll give us a better perspective of how the Pokemons’ abilities work and how humans and Pokemon might be able to bond in the future.”
He turned to someone else in the room and said into the intercom, “Send him in in five, four, three…”
“Wait!” I pleaded.
“Two, one…”
I lurched back in my chair and blackness shrouded my mind.
I woke, opening my eyes slowly, my vision blurred at first. I was staring through a see-through plexiglass wall and when a tried to move, I realized I was bound to some sort of chair by what appeared to be handcuffs attatched to the armrests of the chair, tubes and cords running from my arms and my forehead and my feet, through small holes in the plexiglass, to machinery outside of my ‘holding cell’.
Where am I? How did I get here?
The room I was in had machinery and cables and tables with stacks of paperwork all around it. A man in a labcoat stood by one of the tables, filling out something on a clipboard. I noticed him and shouted, “HEY! Where am I? Who are you?”
He looked up after a few seconds; first at a machine, then looking at me in excitement, his eyes going wide. I saw him hurry to an intercom on the wall outside my holding cell and say something excitedly into it. I’m not very good at reading lips, but I saw the words, “He’s awake!”
I tried to think as hard as I could how I got here, but I didn’t remember at all. I didn’t remember anything. I just remembered waking up.
The man at the intercom pressed a button on the machine neareast to him and spoke into the intercom again. This time, I heard his voice from a spreaker on the roof right above my holding cell.
“Kid, you’re okay. Breathe slowly…”
“Who are you?” I screamed, resisting again, but the handcuffs were too strong.
“Breathe slowly,” the man said. “How did the battle go?”
I shook my head fiercly, trying to remember. “What battle…?”
Again, he didn’t seem to hear me, ignoring my question. “How was the first test?”
I started looking around for a means of escape. My legs were cuffed too.
The man was, thankfully, patient. “Tell me how you and your Pokemon fared.”
“Me and my what…?”
I heard footsteps outside of the room coming closer and noticed my own ragged, unsteady breath as I prepared for what would happen next.
Suddenly, a bunch of other people burst in, looking from different machines to me and then back again.
I heard the man’s voice again on the speaker, “Okay. You've pretty much emerged unharmed. That’s good news. That means your Pokemon didn’t turn on you and try to kill you or something. That’s a good sign. Testing’s going beautifully thus far.”
He obviously didn’t realize that I had no idea where I was or what Pokemon were. He talked as if I knew what was going on.
Suddenly, I saw one guy pointing at a screen on one of the machines and motioning for everyone to come over and see. The man at the intercom left to see what the other guy was looking at and they all stood watching.
The machine was facing opposite me so I couldn’t see what it was that was being shown on the screen. I had to wait there for a short while until the same guy came back and talked into the intercom.
“Okay, I’m going to turn you on now. How much do you remember?”
“Where am I?” I screamed.
“You’re in the Team Rocket Scientific Research Facility,” the man told me calmly.
“Please refrain from shouting.”
He paused a moment and then said, “I’m guessing you have no idea what’s going on?” he said.
Thank God! I thought.
“Yes!” I exclaimed, annoyed. “I have no idea where I am, who I am, who you are, or why I’m here.”
The man seemed to be thinking, stepping away from the intercom and whispering something to another scientist guy. He came back and let out a sigh. “First and foremost, my name is Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket. You are here because you were chosen to help us with our research of the strange creatures we recently discovered known as Pokemon.”
“So, what, you knocked me out and brought me here?!” I exclaimed. “Because I didn’t agree to any of this…”
“If you’ll allow me to explain more without interrupting,” Giovanni said, sounding a little annoyed, “then I might be able to clear things up for you.”
He was about to continue, when someone walked up and tapped him on the shoulder. He covered the intercom with his hand and listened to what the guy had to say. Giovanni nodded as the guy left and uncovered the intercom, saying, “We need to send you in again.”
“Send me where!?” I demanded. Why won’t he listen?!
“During the last test you were hit with a move called Confuse Ray that the Pokemon known as Zubat tried to use on your Pikachu. Your Pikachu dodged it and it hit you instead. That’s why you’ve lost your memory. That move’s a new one. We haven’t seen it before during our research. It had fascinating effects. To think that move can erase a human’s memory…”
“You're crazy!” I screamed.
“During the next simulation, you will be battling another test subject with a different Pokemon this time. We’re giving you a Psychic-type Pokemon this time because we think it’ll shed some light on just how powerful their abilities can be. Remember, this is just a simulation; an image we’re going to put in your mind. You’ll still be here physically, so you can ask me anything. But, mentally, you’ll be in a colosseum setting, battling another test subject. See those cords and tubes attatched to your body?”
“Duh.”
“Those are so that your nerves can feel whatever your Pokemon feels. That’ll give us a better perspective of how the Pokemons’ abilities work and how humans and Pokemon might be able to bond in the future.”
He turned to someone else in the room and said into the intercom, “Send him in in five, four, three…”
“Wait!” I pleaded.
“Two, one…”
I lurched back in my chair and blackness shrouded my mind.
