July 6th was the day of reckoning. The developers of this game decided to wait until 12:00, noon, to release it. Once the download hit stores, people uploaded it to there phone as fast as they could without a second thought. The downloads was so enormous, something happened. Something bad happened. 

So many people downloaded this game in the virtual world, it caused what we refer to as The Great Merge.

What is The Great Merge? We don't exactly know. One second people were downloading a video game, and the next the sky turned silver, knocking every human being on earth unconscious. No one truly knows what happened, but when we woke from our slumber the world was full of real live Pokémon.

The Merge took the world by storm. Governments wanted to destroy these pocket monsters. They assumed the creatures posed a threat to human beings, but humans fought back. They were not going to let the monsters be taken away. One of the most beloved childhood games had come to life. People were to excited to care about the reason behind this sudden appearance of Pokémon. 

Pokémon weren't the only thing to come to our universe. Humans from the series were also here, which was weird in itself. Nevertheless, these humans who crossed over were very helpful. They informed our universe of all the benefits and dangers of Pokémon. Some scientists from both universes teamed up to create poke balls that worked in our world. The poke balls from the other universe had a different magnetic field which prevented their use. Over the course of 9 months, Pokémon had become part of every day life. Some quit their jobs to explore the creatures, becoming full time Pokémon trainers. 

That's were my story begins. Nine months after The Great Merge. 

Hello, my name is Wor. I'm a 25 year old, caramel toned, muscular built Pokémon trainer. When the world became to crazy to comprehend and Pokémon invaded our universe, I was one of those people who wanted quit their job and became a professional Pokémon trainer. Now we're nine months pass the Merge, and today is the day the world is readying itself for one of the biggest events in history. Today was the day to sign up to become an official Pokémon trainer. 

In order to become a Pokémon trainer you had to register with your local Pokémon Gym. Every city had a gym. All you needed to do was find your gym, take two forms of proof of identity, and bingo. They give you a pokedex app code and five poke balls before you start your journey. 

I leaned against a wall, both hands in my pockets as I watched people receive their code and capture devices. On the outside I appeared calm, but underneath my emotionless stare, excitement crawled. I wanted nothing more than to leap with joy, but I was better than that. I do admit a few smiles would curl my lips without my permission. 

No one stood out in this crowd. How could they? My focus was solely on the poke balls only inches away from me. That was until a loud voice boomed throughout the room.

"Sinners! Stop applying for ownership of the devils pets!"

A man dressed in a white robe pushed through the center of the crowd. He stopped directly in front of a registration table then pointed a finger at a tall pale man who was known quite well in this area as being the first official Pokémon trainer and gym leader of the great city of Chicago, Connor Duncan. 

"That's the antichrist leading you all into the pits of hell! If you follow him there will be nothing but fire and torture for all of eternity!" The guy in the robe had gained everyone's attention, even mine. 

These guys again. They were known as The Saviors. The Saviors are a group of religious nuts that did not accept the existence of Pokémon. Ever since Pokémon appeared in our universe, The Saviors have fought their presence by leading the world into the banishment and genocide of all the other universes habitants. 

Duncan withdrew a poke ball from his pocket and tossed it into the air. The ball burst open, casting out a bright silver light which shaped itself into a large lizard type Pokémon. 

A Charizard. 

Everyone gasped in amazement. 

Charizard shot our flames from its muzzle. He flapped his wings, creating a gust of wind. The Savior shielded himself. 

Duncan walked up next to his Charizard and smiled at The Savior. "We already spoke to the police department about you crazy people. They told us if you decided to disturb us on this day we could protect ourselves..."

Charizard lowered his head to be at eye level with the Savior. He then huffed, spraying out steaming hot air to hit the Savior. 

"By any means necessary." Duncan finished.

The Savior could not say anything. The only thing he could do was turn for the door with a look of horror on his face. It served him right. I hated the Saviors. They only wanted to take away what gave this world hope. I guess that's understandable. Their way of life was once what gave people hope. It's only natural for the irrelevant species to fight their evolution. 

I gave my attention back to Duncan and Charizard. The large lizard placed its chin on Duncan's shoulder. Duncan gently rubbed his hand over Charizards scaly face, wearing the same smile from earlier. I gazed over him with so much envy. I wanted that. I wanted a Pokémon. Becoming a Pokémon trainer had been my dream since childhood, and now I was seeing someone live out that thought-to-be impossible dream right before me. 

"Hey." A voice said coming from my left. I looked down to find a male much shorter than myself, looking up at me. "It's your turn!"

I looked at him, then to my right to notice that it was my turn in line. I quickly apologized to the woman at the kiosk, then to the guy behind me. 

"Sorry. Sorry!"

The shorter male looked me in the eye and smiled. He had an unusual pair of eyes. Low and serious, which was a weird combination with his smile. "No problem, bud. That was actually pretty amazing!" 

"I agree..." I said as I pulled out the necessary paperwork for obtaining everything I'll need to become a trainer. I handed it to the lady before turning back around to the guy. 

"I'm Wor, sorry again for the hold up. I know you're probably excited to start your journey."

The guy continued to smile. "No problem. And my name is Erik. I'm really ready to get on the road! My uncle has a farm full of pidgeys. He's giving me one as soon as I'm registered to be a trainer. I'll take the world by storm with flying types!"

I chuckled. He seemed enthusiastic about his future goals. I shared his determination, but so does everyone else here. I was interested in seeing who would make it to the top, and who would fail and end right back in their normal lives. 

"That's awesome man. You seem to be ready for anything that's going to be thrown at you!"

"Yup!"

"Excuse me!" The lady said as she handed me back my paperwork. She also handed me a voucher code that said "pokedex" and a small pouch that contained poke balls. "Here are you accessories. The voucher works on the store your phone developer owns. Once you open it there will be instructions on how to set up the app. A video on how to use your poke balls will also be a available once you download the app. You should know, your official trainer status starts once you download the app, read the guidelines, and agree to all of the conditions. The app will snap a photo once you agree to it, so please make sure your face is in full view, or else you won't be able to move forward. Thank you trainer! We wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you so much..." I mumbled, even though that didn't even express a tenth of how I felt. 

I turned around with all of my items pressed tightly within my grasp. I wanted to set up everything now, but I was scared. This felt like a dream, and if I rushed this dream I would wake up. Pokémon had been on my mind constantly. From the day they entered my life I became fixated. I wanted to know everything about them. I spent thousands of hours researching Pokémon. Everyone knew the world was going to be different when Pokémon arrived, and I wanted to be ahead of the curve. So much so, I began working in one of the Egg Labs, located downtown Chicago. I loved that job. 

Before I knew it, I was outside the gym. I made the decision to wait a little before activating my trainer status. I would have to go by the lab to finish up my time there. Today would be my last day. I wanted to start my journey as soon as possible! 

As I attempted to wave a taxi down, a familiar voice called out for me. I turned around to find Erik walking up with an apparent bounce in his step. I knew that excitement all to well. 

"Have you done it yet?" Erik asked, waving his voucher. He was so excited. I envied those who could freely show their joy. 

I shook my head. 

"Not yet. I will wait until I finish work later. I'm scared if I activate it now I probably will start my adventure at that second."

He nodded. 

"Oh, I understand! There's nothing more I'd rather do right now than start catching Pokémon. But everyone else is doing it. I'd hate for you to fall behind." 

I noticed he smirked after that last statement. I guess he felt like he would beat me in the future. He seemed like a nice kid. I'd hate if I had to break his heart. 

"Are you challenging me?"

Erik scratched the back of his head. The smile never ceased. 

"Well, yeah. I plan to be at all the tournaments. Me and my pidgey will take the world. You're the first trainer I met and maybe we're meant to be rivals?"

I started to laugh. A good laugh. You know, one of those chest rumbling laughters. I didn't mean it as an offense. Everything just seemed so unreal. I remember this in the old video games. The whole rival thing was just to funny. 

"Ha ha. Sure kid. I'll be your rival, but know I'm not going easy on you or your little pidgey."

His smile turned into a sinister grin. His presence was different. Being around him went from pleasant to intimidating in a flash. There was something about him. He had a hunger that need to be satiesfied, and if it's anything like mine, well, he is searching for an endless buffet.

"Then it's settled. You and I will battle one of these days. I noticed you in there. You had this aura to you. Like you were studying the entire room. To be honest it sparked a fire in me... A fire that hasn't been this bright since The Great Merge. So let's activate our trainer status. They say one of the features in the app is friend recorder. It takes other trainers information and pings their location if they are nearby and want to battle. It only pings when you are at gyms, so the feature won't be used by creeps or perverts."

I thought about it for a second. Why not? I could use a sparring partner. I had to come up with different strategies if I was going to be valuable in future tournaments. Practice makes perfect, and I could get tons of practice out of this guy.

"Sure, why not! Let's do this!"

"Sweet!"

We both began setting up our apps. After you placed the voucher code in, the app downloads, turning a whole page of your phone into the app. All I had to do is swipe down and the app was opened. Once open, I was greeted by the guidelines page. It listed off () guidelines:

1. Each Trainer Is Allowed Six Pokémon On His Possession At Any Given Time. (extra Pokémon caught will be transferred to a facility where your Pokémon will be held for a fee)

2. Trainers Are Not Allowed To Use Vehicles On Their Journey. Public Transportation Is Allowed Within City Limits. 

3. Trainers Are Prohibited To Pokémon To Harm Humans.

4. Trainers Will Be Punished For Any Abuse To Pokémon. *See Guidelines*

5. Pokémon Battles Should Never End In Death.

6. Trainers Must Be At least 16 Year Of Age (only apply to natives of this universe).

7. Pokémon Are Not To Be Sold By Anyone With A Trainer Status Or Lower. 

I agreed to their terms seeing how I actually thought they were fair. Plus, I heard rumors of the guidelines trainers must follow. This was not necessarily new information. I really hoped the one about trainers not using cars would be one of those myths. 

The app required some personal information, then it snapped my picture. After that everything was ready! I received a trainer code and digital map. I was now an official Pokémon trainer!

"Ok, everything is ready on my end." I said holding up my phone. 

"Likewise. Ready to exchange trainer codes?"

"Let's do it!"

Erik and I successfully exchanged codes. The process was smooth. I don't know if I would give out my trainer code a lot, but it was good to know when I did it would be a quick and easy encounter. Just like I liked them. 

After we placed each other in our new apps, Erik pushed put away his phone before looking up at me and said, "Thanks! You're the first trainer I've met and now we are rivals! I can't wait to run into again once we both have a Pokémon."

I nodded.

"Don't worry. I'll be ready for you the next time we meet." I slipped my phone in a pocket. "There is a tournament here in Chicago. I think it's going to take place in July, on the anniversary of The Great Merge. Hope I see you there."

Erik gave a smile so bright his eyes were squinting. 

"You bet! Don't lose until we meet! I want to be the first to take you down, WOR!" With that, I watched Erik turn around and make his way into the busy streets of Chicago. 

A rival. They were beneficial when it comes to personal growth. There's something about wanting to be better than the next person. It's a drive that keeps us alive, and one that would take the Pokémon experience far. 

I made my way to work. Luckily it wasn't to far from our Pokémon gym. When I made it I walked up to a large, silver building that towered over the streets of downtown Chicago. Placed on the front of this structure read 'Professor Oaks Fruits of Tomorrow' in big red letters. The building looked futuristic, and that was only the outside of it. Inside held devices so far out of my universe's reach. I felt lucky to be apart of Professor Oaks research, even if I never actually met the guy. 

I walked in the massive building, doing what I do every time I come in for work. First I check in at the front desk and receive my ID for the facility. Next I grab my lab coat and make my way to the Incubator Chamber located at the very top floor. I walked up to a pair of automatic glass doors, pulled out my id, and opened it with a bar code on the back of it. The door slid open and inside was a large room filled with incubators. Inside these incubators were eggs almost two feet long and one foot around, floating inside a clear solution. 

I stopped in front of one of the incubators. This incubator was different from the rest, seeing how it contained two eggs instead of one. I gently pressed my hand against the glass as I gazed over the paired eggs. They were special. I don't know how or why, but they were. What made them so special was their attraction for one another. Whenever we tried to place them in separate incubators, their core temperature would drop dramatically. In order to save these two eggs we had to keep them together. No one understood why they could not be separated; not even professors from the second universe. A few scientist believed these eggs to be rare Pokémon, but the evidence to back that up was transparent. No matter what they are I would care for the Pokémon with every thing I had, even if I could never add them to my Pokémon family.  

You see, our goal here at POFoT is to care for Pokémon eggs that were dropped around the world when the Merge happened. We take care of them up until they hatch only to release them into the wild. That way Pokémon could adapt to their new environments from birth and not be thrown into a new world like the previous generations of Pokémon. 

Unfortunately, those who worked at POFoT were not allowed to home any of the Pokémon that were hatched in the facility. POFoT had one goal, and that was to introduce Pokémon into the wild, where they would hopefully grow and breed to create future generations. I forget how many eggs I had to care for only to see them ripped away once born. In a way, I was glad I'd leave before those two eggs hatched. I always had an unusual bond with them.. 

"I wonder how long you'll have to wait until they hatch?" A voice said coming from behind me. I looked back with my hands still pressed to the incubator only to find a tall, muscular middle aged man with gray hair standing next to another set of incubators. In one hand he held a clip board and in the other was a pen. 

"Hey Professor Willow. How's it going? I turned around to face Willow, stuffing my hands in the lab coats pockets. 

Professor Willow is the CEO of POFoT, and one of the leading scientist in the world when it comes to Pokémon. He knows everything about Pokémon, and I mean EVERYTHING. He is literally a human encyclopedia on all things Pokémon, which is weird because from rumors that float around the office states that he did not come from the other universe and there is apparently no evidence of him being a native from my universe. Nevertheless, he was most knowledgable person I knew, and that was enough for me to study under him. 

Professor Willow leaned down to examine an egg. 

"It going. I'm just making my last lap around the chamber before calling it quits for today. I hear it's your last day."

"That's correct," I said as I nodded my head. "Tomorrow is the day I start my Pokémon journey."

"How exciting! Do you have a Pokémon yet, or will you try to catch one?" 

"The goal is to catch my own Pokémon. I hear some people are giving Pokémon away on certain ranches, but I need to earn it. I want my Pokémon to see how dedicated I am so I can lead by example."

"Wow!" Professor Willow placed his clip board and pin on a table next to him before walking over to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder. We stood at the same height, eye to eye. "That's a great way to start off your trainers career. I do not doubt you will be a Pokémon legend. With your knowledge and background received from working at POFoT, I see you becoming one of the Elite 7."

A blush stained my cheeks from the compliments. His words were inspiring. I could feel my confidence rise through the roof. He always had a way of lifting people spirits. 

"Thanks Professor. That really means a lot. I hope I don't let you down, especially after you've taken me under your wing."

"You'll do fine." Willow walked back to his previous spot and grabbed the clip board. He started to walk out the sliding doors but stopped before exiting and looked over his shoulders to look at me. "Just remember one thing... power win battles, but intelligence... that guarantees victory."

Willow walked out, leaving me to contemplate the great advice he dropped on me. I spent the next few hours observing and taking notes. Not much happened on my last day. I hoped to see a few eggs hatch before I left, but to my dismay I would leave without seeing any of the Pokémon I helped raise for the last 3 months. 

The building was empty. I would be the last person here tonight. Since today was the day people could become official Pokémon trainers, POFoT was a ghost land. Many employees requested off, and over time Willow decided to make the day optional. I believe the only people working today were Willow, the receptionist, and myself. 

As the night aged, the end of my career at POFoT approached. I finished up with all of the reports for that day and had made my way to drop the off in Willow's office. With each step I could feel my stomach flip. I didn't want to leave. I loved it here. Over the course of my POFoT career, this building had become my home. I spent many hours, weekends, and holidays locked in this place; so much people started to think I was a Pokémon egg. 

Once I dropped off the report, I went back to the incubator chamber for one last goodbye. I found myself standing in front of the pair of eggs, lost in thought. I wondered what they could be. Was it possible they are the same type of Pokémon, or maybe the scientists are correct. Maybe these two are extremely rare. I hated that I would never know. The inseparable eggs would always remain a mystery... At least for me.

"Good bye, little buddies..." I whispered. "I'll find you two one day. Stick together and have each other's back, no matter what."

I turned around to walk out of the chamber. As I exited, the lights shut off, the only thing illuminating the room were small lights inside each other incubators. 

I returned the lab coat I wore, seeing how it was not mine. I also left the name tag on the coat. I figured someone would return it the next day once they saw my coat hanging there. After I finished unloading POFoT's property, I gathered all of my personal objects and began my trek to the exit. I stopped at an elevator at the end of a long hall, pressing a button to call up the vertical transportation. As I stood there, patiently waiting, I heard a crash coming from Incubator Chambers's direction. Hearing this noise caused my heart to drop. 

I shot in the direction of the noise, running at full speed. When I got to the Chambers hallway, I saw two men dressed in all white, both wearing mask you would see in New Orleans on Mardi Gras, and a small Pokémon standing next to the humans in front of the incubator chamber. I used the wall as cover, slowly peaking around to try and make out these two guys. 

One of the guys, taller than the other, standing next to a Pokémon that appeared to be an Abra, stood in front of the room with his hands at his waist and a red container on the floor next to him. He wore a disappointed look on his face. 

"Great, this stupid thing couldn't even teleport us to the right area!" The taller male said as Abra's head lowered from his shameful failure. 

The shorter male shrugged and spoke, "You have to admit, that was pretty awesome. Tell me again why we want to eradicate these creatures?"

The taller guy balled his fist. 

"Shut up! You know exactly why we are doing this." 

"Eh..." The short male walked up to the glass door, cuffed his hands together and placed his head into his palms as he attempted to look inside. "For a group of people who want to slaughter an entire species from another universe, we sure don't mind using said specie to get what we want."

"Are you questioning God's will?!?" The taller guy barked, sending a chill down my spine.

These two seemed to be apart of The Saviors. It was strange seeing them use Pokémon when all they do is preach of their evil nature. I guess their hypocritical attitudes remained, even after the Merge. 

The short male threw his hands in the air as if he was at gun point. "No, no! I'm not questioning anyone. Not you, the church, or God. Let's just get this over with."

The tall Savior nodded, turned to Abra, and demanded, "Abra, teleport us into this room!" 

With that, the two guys and Pokémon disappeared right before my eyes. I could not believe what I saw. Even though the situation was serious, I was amazed by the teleportation technique. Nothing was even close to possible in our universe before the Merge. I quickly snapped out of my awe stricken state and ran for the incubator chamber. When I got there, I saw the tall Savior dumping a liquid onto the floor and incubators. The smell of gas could be distinguished and I knew exactly what was going on. I reach for my ID card, but realized I did not have it. 

"Dammit!" I growled and sent a balled up fist toward the glass, attempting to gain the intruders attention.

"What the hell are you guys doing! Get the hell away from those eggs!" 

Both of the guys looked up at me, neither shocked or scared. The taller guy eventually ignored me and began drowning more incubators with gasoline. 

"Stop it!" I yelled! "I'm calling the police!" 

I jerked my phone out a pocket and began dialing 9-1-1. This didn't stop them, as I watched him continue to cover the area in flammable solution. The phone rang a few times before someone answered. 

"Hello, 9-1-1, what is your emergency?" A female voice said coming from the other end. 

"Hello! I'm reporting a break in!"

"Are you safe?"

The guy had finished emptying the container of gas. His shorter companion looked at me. A smirk curled his lips as if he had won. He retracted a lighter from his pocket, bringing it to his chest. He flipped the lighter open and a flame ignited. 

"Sir, what is your location." The voice from the phone asked. 

I tried to move my mouth, but nothing came out. I was stuck between pleading with the saviors and giving police information. I didn't know what to do, and before I can act, the short Savior dropped his lighter. Before it can hit the ground the two guys had teleported. 

"NOOOOOOO!" I yelled as I dropped my phone. I beat against the glass, knowing that it was bullet proof! I had to save those eggs. All of the work we've done could not just go up on flames! 

Before my eyes, I saw incubators drenched in flames. The fire spread within seconds. The whole lab was covered in fire and smoke which set off the buildings fire alarms. 

I had to do something, so I ran to get my ID. By the time I returned, flames had covered even more area. I quickly scanned the code, but nothing happened. I did it again, same results.

"Shit! Shit, shit!" I cried as I attempted it again and again. "Please god, help me. Let me save them, please!"

I was in full on panic mode. What was I to do? Even if I got in, there was no way I can save all the eggs. All of that research would be for not. Every thing Professor Willow and I have worked for would be gone. I could not let that happen! I continued to swipe the code. Over and over I tried, and when my will to fight started to dwindle, I looked up to see an incubator. The incubator that contained two eggs in one. Tears started to roll down my cheeks as the realization of this event set in. There was absolutely nothing I can do. I was going to sit here and watch the things I love the most die, right in front of my eyes. 

I slowly fell to my knees, hopeless and emotionally wrecked. My hand remained near the code scanner, but i didn't swipe it any more. There was nothing I could do to save them, and as much as I wanted to battle that fact, logic proved stronger. I was starting to be filled with self doubt. One question kept playing over and over in my distorted mind.

'How can you be a trainer if you can't even protect the Pokémon you care for so strongly?'

I tried to shake those thoughts out, but they were right. I wasn't capable of being a trainer. A trainer cares for and protect his Pokémon. They look at him and expect a leader; a provider; a safe haven. Day one of being an official trainer and I let down dozen of Pokémon. 

"I-I'm so sorry..."

I muttered. Tears continued to flow down my face. Memories of observing, caring, and loving these creatures, or Pokémon in general flooded my head. I just sat there, motionless. I had given up completely, when all of a sudden the glass doors slid open. 

It took me a second to realize what happened. To be honest I didn't know how this happened. I prayed for a miracle and somehow it found me. I jumped to my feet and rushed into the chamber. I immediately darted toward the spot we keep our fire extinguisher, but unfortunately it was surrounded by flames. I looked around for anything to help, but I fell short. After all of this I still could not do anything. 

My eyes continued to glance around the room. I had to leave the chamber room soon, if I didn't I would suffocate from inhaling to much smoke. Left and right. Forward and backwards. I searched for a helpful tool. My time was running out! 

The two egged incubator seemed to be the only one that had the least amount of flames around it. I ran over to them. If I couldn't save all of the eggs, I would at least try to save these two. They beat so many other odds, this would not be an exception. 

I quickly removed my shirt and wrapped it around my hand before balling it into a fist. I then hit the incubators glass. Nothing happened. I did it again, but this time a small crack appeared. I repeated my actions, punching as hard as I could, until the glass finally gave in, releasing all of the gooey contents onto the floor. Without hesitation, I grabbed the eggs and ran out of the incubator chamber, not looking back. 

I decided to take the emergency stair case, seeing that it was designed for this exact situation. Escape was the only thing on my mind, well that and getting these eggs to safety. As I ran down the stairs, I missed a step and one of the eggs flung from my grip, hitting the ground with a thud. 

"Nonononono!" I said with worry dripping from each 'no'. I picked it up to find a small crack on the side, but nothing seemed to be leaking from the incision. I had to worry about that later. Right now I would focus on leaving this building and getting these two to safety! 

Once I made it out of the building, I could breathe. The alarm was no longer penetrating my ear drums, so now I was able to think. The staircase dumped me out in an alley beside POFoT. I leaned against a nearby wall, next to a dumpster, sliding down it until I was seated on the ground. That was intense, even for me. I looked down at the two eggs. I felt a sense of self-gratification. I had helped these Pokémon escape a terrible fate. My first day as a trainer and I almost died for my Pokémon...

My Pokémon. They weren't mine. The two eggs still belonged to POFoT. They would probably take them away from me the first chance they get. The mere thought of them doing this was infuriating. I couldn't let these two be placed back in one of those facilities. What if those psychotic Saviors returned? I couldn't allow them to have a second shot at my babies. It was my responsibility to keep them out of danger, just like I have done in the past. 

I stood up, with both eggs on either side of me. I walked in front of the dumpster, opened it, and placed the two eggs inside. Before closing it, I whispered, "Don't worry little buddies. I will be back for you as soon as I can."