I'm Human

A New Start

1987—A year later, In a town between Vermillion and Fuchsia City
 

Welcome!
You are about to enter into the world of Pokemon, but…not as a trainer. Before I can let you start, let me ask you a few simple questions!
Please be sincere!
 
Are you a Boy or a Girl?
BOY/GIRL
 
Do you like to play sports?
YES/NO
 
Do you like being alone?
YES/NO
 
If you saw someone in need, what would you do?
Walk away
Help
Watch
Laugh
 
Could you walk through a haunted house?
As long as I’m with someone…or two.
I’m game!
…N-No thanks. I’ll wait outside.
 
How do you like to spend your free times?
Being with my friends
Being alone
Reading
Pulling pranks
Playing sports
Playing games
 
What is the most important thing to you?
Having fun
Being healthy
Being alone
Power
Friends
Family
 
Huh…you seem to be to yourself, almost isolating yourself from others…But you do hold those you love close no matter what. You may be a quiet and remote being, but your actions speak loudly for you as you leap to your friends’ and (mostly) your family’s aid.
You have a Bold nature.
Looks like you’re a Cubone!

 
        A young boy lay in the dark of his room as he stared at the game screen, completely hypnotized by his new game. He had received it as a goodbye gift from one of his old friends from back in the States. The Gameboy Color itself and the Performance light, which attached to the Gameboy, were from his dad.
        Both the game playing device and the game were brand new to stores everywhere.
        “So I’m a Cubone. Cool.” The boy grinned as he clicked through the messages on his game. The screen changed to a pixelated scene of a forested area. In the center lay a small sprite of a Pokemon, which was probably his Cubone. “These graphics are so cool.”
        Another sprite, which looked a lot like a Pikachu, trotted over to his sprite. An exclamation point appeared above it’s head before it ran over to his sprite’s side. “Hey! Hey, wake up! What are you doing sleeping all the way out here?”
        The boy’s sprite stood up and looked at the Pikachu. His sprite jumped back. “Huh? Wha--? You’re a talking Pokemon?!”
        “Well duh! We all talk. Did you hit your head or something? We should probably get you back to the village.” Pikachu stated as it led his sprite away from the starting area. “By the way, what’s your name?”
        The boy waited as the game gave him the option to either select a name or enter in his own name. “R-O-W-A-N”
        “Rowan, huh? Nice to meet you, Rowan. My name is…”
        Another name select screen appeared. Rowan thought for a moment before entering in his old friend’s name for the Pikachu. “B-O-B-B-Y.”
        “My name is Bobby.” The Pikachu finished. “What were you doing out in the forest all on your own, Rowan? You didn’t faint out there, did you?”
        “No. I really don’t know how I wound up out here. I’m not supposed to be here in the first place. I’m a human for crying out loud!” Rowan’s Cubone stated loudly.
        The Pikachu sprite stopped and looked the Cubone sprite over. “Err…you don’t look human. You sure you didn’t hit your head or something?”
        “I’m positive. I was human one moment, and now I’m this. A Cubone!” Rowan’s Cubone began following the Pikachu again as they traveled farther away from the game’s starting point. “Where are you taking me?”
        “Back to the village. You’ll be much safer, trust me.”
        “Ro-Ro, what are you doing?”
        The boy looked away from his game to see a young, bed-headed toddler staring at him in the darkness. Her hazel eyes shone with curiosity in the dark. “I thought you were asleep, Marcy. You should be sleeping.”
        “But…what are you doing?” She repeated with a yawn.
        “Nothing. Now close your eyes and go to bed.”
        “I’m alweady in bed.”
        “Are your eyes closed?” Rowan muttered as he continued playing his game.
        “No.” Marcy said as she rubbed her eyes. “Can I watch? Pwease? I promise I won’t tell mommy, Ro-Ro.”
        Rowan ignored his younger sister as he clicked away on his Gameboy. He heard her slide down from her bed and stumble noisily over to his. She tried to avoid some of the moving boxes that littered the floor, but accidentally kicked one over. “Marc, hush! You’ll wake mom up. Be quieter!” He snapped in a hushed tone.
        “I wanna see what you pwaying.” She huffed as she pulled herself up onto his bed. She scooted over to his side and rested her head next to his as she gazed up at the tiny screen. “Who are they?”
        Rowan scowled at her from the corner of his eye. He was growing very annoyed with her rudely interrupting his game, but the only noise he made in response to her was a heavy sigh.
        “Sowwy, Ro-Ro.” Marcy said softly when she heard him sigh. “Should I go back to bed?”
        The boy didn’t respond right away. He tapped the back of his game before answering his sister. “I don’t care, Marc. Just be quiet. The last thing either of us need is for mom to come in and punish us for being up so late.”
        “Okay…Who are they?” Marcy repeated as she pointed a small finger at the two pixilated sprites.
        “One is my character, and the other is a Pikachu. Now, please, be quiet or go back to your own bed.” Rowan snapped quietly.
        Marcy, pleased with finally receiving an answer, remained silent as Rowan continued playing his game. She watched curiously as the two Pokemon ventured through what looked to be a Pokemon village filled with stores and hut-like homes. A few textboxes popped up on the bottom half of the screen as the two Pokemon ran into a few Pokemon villagers, but the young girl had no clue what they were saying.
        Marcy looked over at Rowan, who was deeply immersed in his game again. She wanted to ask him what the characters were saying, but decided against it. Watching her brother play was good enough for her at the moment.
        The Pikachu sprite then led Rowan farther into the village. Shops lined the dirt path with Pokemon standing behind each counter. It was a rather odd, yet humorous sight to see for both children to see.
        Pikachu stopped in front of a shop with a sprite of a Kangaskhan standing behind the counter. Another textbox appeared on the bottom of the screen. Rowan’s eyes scanned the text, while Marcy watched the sprites move and bounce on the screen.
        Marcy glanced over at her older brother again as the sprites continued on through the village. “Ro-Ro?” She asked in a voice that was barely over a whisper.
        “What, Marcy?” Rowan asked. He still sounded a little annoyed by the interruption, but his tone was much calmer than it had been before.
        “When will we see daddy again?” She asked softly.
        Rowan’s fingers froze on the controls of his game. He slowly turned his gaze towards his sister. She met his stare with one filled with a childish curiosity. “I don’t know, Marc. Dad…Dad is going to be very busy for a very long time. Okay?”
        “Are you still mad at him?”
        Rowan looked at his game and sighed. He didn’t want to talk about his dad, especially with Marcy. There were some things that were going on that he rather her not know about, which involved his dad and many other older males who had lived in their city.
        Marcy continued to look at him as she waited for a response.
        Rowan eventually selected the save option on his game before shutting it off and stuffing it under his pillow. “No, I’m not mad at dad, Marc. I’m…upset that he’s still back home, and that we had to leave. It’s not fair.”
        Marcy squirmed closer to him and laid an arm across his chest as she tried to give him a hug. “Don’t be upset, Ro-Ro. Evwething will get better.”
        The corners of Rowan’s mouth slowly curled up into a small smile. How he wished he could be just as ignorant as his younger sister. She didn’t know that their father had been drafted not too long ago, and the reason behind their move to Kanto was much more serious than their mother had let on.
        There was a war going on in the world among many of the regions, but so far the States served as the main battlefield. The only region that served as a ‘sanctuary’ for those who had to flee from the States was Kanto…for now.
        Both children knew that there was a war, but unlike her older brother, Marcy understood very little about it. Her mind was too young and naïve to understand just how bad the conditions of the war were. Her teacher, much like many of the other teachers at the children’s old school, made sure to keep them well informed on what to do just in case there was an attack, but, at the same time, kept them ignorant to the violence heard about and seen on the battlefields.
        Their mother tried to do the same, though she tended to share with Rowan bits and pieces of news that she had heard. She did manage to leave out the more violent information she had learned about from their local news broadcasts.
        As for their father, Rowan had been up when the vans came to pick him and many other older males up, along with their Pokemon, from their neighborhood. Both of his parents had thought that he was asleep at the time, but the young boy had been awoken by the sounds of the army vans driving down their old street. He had watched from his bedroom window as his dad, the family Tangela, and many more loaded into the vans and drove away.
        That had been about half a month ago. They moved from their home not soon afterwards, and, after a few days of staying in a motel, finally moved into their new home the day before.
        “He said that he had to leave for work while we were asleep. He promised that he would join us in Kanto when he was done, and that we would eventually be able to return home together. He lied. His job doesn’t require him to be a soldier.” Rowan huffed as he tried to shrug off the memory.
        He didn’t dare tell Marcy about their dad leaving. Her blissful ignorance was keeping her happy.
        Rowan rolled onto his side and hugged Marcy back. Call it having an older sibling instinct, but even though there were moments when Marcy bugged him to an extreme or he crudely shrugged her off (like he had earlier), Rowan wanted to protect her. He wanted her to retain her ignorance, while he kept the truth about their dad and about the war that was raging on back in their old home a secret. “Thank you, Marcy.”