Prologue

I’ll never forget it – the day that would change my life forever. Every minute 
of that day, from my waking step to my drift into the world of dreams, will be 
eternally etched into my mind. It was a typical summer day . . . the sun was 
blazing, the sky was a soft, lulling blue, and, every now and then, a gentle 
breeze brushed through the tall grasses. . .it just wasn’t the kind of day that 
you’d expect to be too meaningful.

I can even remember the dream I was having before I awoke . . . I had been 
running from . . . something. I can remember the fear that ran through every 
cell in my body, and I can remember the sweat on my face when I woke up. Lord, 
that was a horrible feeling. I couldn’t fall back asleep after that, so I jumped 
up and headed for the kitchen. There was nothing in the fridge, so I grabbed a 
bag of chips and hopped on the couch, watching a little TV. After a little, I 
heard a knock on the door, and I looked up at the clock. I even remember the 
time – 7:56 a.m. – a pretty unusual time for a visitor. I wiped the chip crumbs 
off of my shirt, and headed for the door. Reaching for the doorknob, I felt a 
familiar energy . . . I knew it had to be my best friend, Diego. With a smile, I 
opened the door, realizing I was right. 

"Hey man," Diego whispered, "the new Pokemon Shop just opened up . . wanna bike 
to it?"

Diego and I were two incredibly different people, almost opposite. He was kind 
of a troublemaker, while I tended to be on the cautious side. He struggled to 
pass each grade in school, and I was an honor student. Even my mom was surprised 
that I would choose someone like Diego as a friend. I guess our one similarity 
was our interest – no, obsession – with pokemon. We were so psyched when we 
heard that a Pokemon Shop was gonna open up, and we’d been carefully checking 
everyday. Now that it was open, I had to go! I ran into my bedroom, scrambling 
to change out of my pajamas, and scribbled a note to my mom. I raced after 
Diego, jumping onto my bike and then desperately pedaling my bike to catch up 
with him . . . to no avail, of course, he was also much more athletic than I 
was. 


When we finally came upon the Pokemon Shop, we sloppily locked our bikes on the 
rack, and stormed into the building. The place was almost magical, as I 
remember. Along the wall, in glass cages, were rows and rows of real pokemon. In 
the center of the room was a big aquarium that stretched to the ceiling, stocked 
with water pokemon that swam gracefully. I smiled. This place was even better 
than I had dreamed. I rushed over to the cages alongside the wall, spotting 
several pokemon I’d only dreamed of meeting: Roselia, Hoothoot, and even an 
Aron. Then I saw her . . . an Eevee that playfully pawed at the glad when she 
saw me. I touched the glass in awe, wanting so badly to just play with her. 

"She’s a real sweetheart, isn’t she?" a warm voice met my ears. I turned to see 
a kindly-looking old man, who smiled at me. "I haven’t seen that look on a 
trainer in years."

I shrugged, "I’m not actually a trainer. I just really love pokemon." I focused 
my gaze back on the Eevee, who still smiled sweetly. 

The man continued, "Well, I can let her out for you. She really loves to play."

I turned to the man, smiling widely, "Thank you, sir! That would be so cool!"

The man smiled, pulling out a key, and unlocked the front of the cage, pulling 
out the small, furry creature and placing her on the floor. She hopped into my 
arms, licking my face. "Diego! Look at this!" I called, excited.

"No, dude, look at this! This Mankey is off the wall!" he called back. I glanced 
over at him, spotting him pressed up against the glass, a Mankey thrashing 
angrily inside. 

The man introduced himself, "I’m Mr. Tamina, the owner of this Shop."

I extended my free arm, the other one holding the Eevee. "I’m Alex Lamonte."

He shook my hand with a firm grip, and then excused himself, heading over to 
talk to Diego. 

I probably would have stayed there for hours if I hadn’t seen what I saw next. I 
looked up from Eevee for just a moment, spotting a man – one that held the lock 
to my bike – take off down the sidewalk, looking like he’d seen a ghost. "My 
bike!" I called out in protest, quickly setting down the Eevee and rushing out 
the door. Just as I came outside, another bike rushed by, almost hitting me. I 
fell back onto the sidewalk, and then jumped up, rushing after them. 

We must’ve run for six blocks, because by the time I saw the second bike rush 
into an alley, I was totally winded. I peeked my head into the alley, my eyes 
taking a second to adjust. When they did, I spotted the bike thief . . . he was 
dangling mid-air, being held up by the guy that almost hit me. Curious, I crept 
into the alley, hiding beside a dumpster. Suddenly, Eevee bounded in, rushing 
into my lap. I hushed her, listening intently. "So, Dr. Desoto," the guy said in 
a slow, calm voice, "you thought you’d rip us all off. You thought you’d take 
two years’ worth of research and keep it for yourself."

 The bike thief, obviously "Dr. Desoto" sputtered, "That research is evil. It 
could result in total chaos. Somebody had to do something."

The man’s voice showed annoyance, "The little hero, aren’t you? You’re not 
leaving this alley until I have the notes, Desoto."

Desoto groaned, probably fighting against the man’s grip, "Think of your 
actions. This isn’t about Hyper Force . . . this is about the world. Please, 
think about it."

The "Hyper Force" guy’s voice grew more impatient, "Forget it, Desoto. Where are 
the notes?"

Desoto stammered, "I . . . destroyed them!"

"Is that your final answer, buddy?" the voice continued. I heard the cock of a 
gun. My heart started beating faster, and I started crawling away. 

"No, please . . . I’m telling the truth," Desoto begged.

"Too bad." BOOM! I heard a sickening thud, and then bounded off toward the 
Pokemon Shop. I heard a voice yell after me, "Kid, come back here!" I ran as 
hard as I could, but he had his bike. He rode it right by me, knocking me back 
down. He gave me an intense look. "I’m not gonna waste a bullet on you, kid. But 
if you tell anybody what you just saw, you and your Eevee are dead, you hear 
me?"

I didn’t have time to reply, because Eevee bounded onto the guy, angrily clawing 
at his face. He fell back, swiping Eevee off into a wall. Blood streaked from 
the gashes on his face. I grabbed Eevee, taking off once again for the Pokemon 
Shop. The other guy took off in the other direction, apparently escaping.

I rushed into the shop, spotting Mr. Tamina looking quite flustered. He was 
relieved when he saw me with Eevee. "Thank God, I thought she’d run after a 
stranger!"

"Thanks," I said quickly, in between breaths. Rushing to Diego, I pulled on his 
arm, "We gotta go, Diego." 

Diego shook his head, "No, man, I’m looking into this Mankey." 

I tugged again, "Please, Diego . . . I really need to get home."

"So go," Diego simply said. 

I reluctantly left, running all the way home. I was still freaking out, of 
course, but did my best to pretend nothing had happened. My mom saw through it, 
as usual, and warned me, "Alex Lamonte, if you don’t tell me what’s wrong you’ll 
never go on a journey." With my head hung low, I explained the whole story, 
which sent her into tears and murmurs of "Oh when I think of what could’ve 
happened . . . " After a little, she stood up and decided to consult the police. 
She didn’t have to dial a single digit, however, because the police showed up on 
our doorstep the second she picked up the phone. 

They found my bike at the scene, and then Mr. Tamina explained what he had seen 
of me, and so they figured I had witnessed the whole thing. So, once again, I 
had to relive the entire story, and the police made me promise to tell it one 
more time . . . in court. 

The next week, they found the alleged killer and took him into custody. I retold 
the story one last time in court, and, because of my testimony, he was jailed. 
Also, the police now had a new mission: to get to the bottom of the dreaded 
"Hyper Force." That night, my mom and I headed home, only to find a bonfire. The 
words "Hyper Force" were on the blazing wall. After that, we headed back to the 
police station, and my Mom was advised several secure "hideouts" for me. They 
also suggested entering me with the last name "Tambridge," my mom’s maiden name. 
I remember the fear in her eyes . . . it was horrible. I can also remember the 
tears in her eyes as she told me the next part.

"Alex," she said to me, combing my hair behind my ear, "we have to find a spot 
for you to hide until the ‘Hyper Force’ is completely destroyed. I’ve looked 
into a lot of places, believe me, and I think I found one. How would you feel 
about enrolling in a pokemon school?"

"That would be great!" I jumped, along with my heart. Then it sank again. "Does 
this mean I won’t be seeing Diego anymore?"

Mom’s eyes softened, "It’s a boarding school, honey, so you’ll live there. 
Remember, this isn’t forever, so you’ll see Diego again."

I nodded sadly, "So . . . where is this school?"


"It’s in Hoenn . . . a really beautiful town called Stemrod Town. It’s called 
the Hoenn Academy!" I could tell Mom was trying to cheer me up. 

"Well, that sounds cool, I guess. How do I enroll?" I asked, trying not to sound 
so downhearted.

She put an arm around my neck, squeezing softly, "The police force has already 
made arrangements. You do need to pass the test, but, knowing you, that’s no 
problem."

And that was that. The next day, Mom took me to a store, where the kind people 
donated me all kinds of clothes. I even got a brand-new bag with the master ball 
logo. Then, it was time for me to leave.

I looked up at the ship, the S.S. Mary, looking somehow majestic among the 
billowing orange sky. I would be safe here . . . I knew that. I looked toward 
Mom, who was desperately choking back tears. I reached up, giving her a last 
hug. "It’ll be all right, Mom. I’m sure I’ll have a good time."

She kissed my cheek, ruffling my hair, and then said, "I love you, honey."

"Love you, Mom," I said back. With that, I turned around, leaving Kanto behind, 
and boarded the ship, headed for the Hoenn Academy.