Pokemon: First Contact - Prologue

Pokémon: First Contact

Chapter 0: Prologue

The year was 2092. The human race's birthplace, planet Earth, was on the brink of destruction. Anti-environmental gas emissions had increased to such an extent over the last century that the average temperature of the weather was thirty-six degrees. In the summer, scores of trees were burnt away by uncontrollable bushfires, and the danger and frequency of all other natural disasters multiplied. Tsunamis, hurricanes, bushfires, flash-floods. These were words taught to children at an early age, and school's dedicated a sizeable amount of time to practising several safety drills.

After much discussion, the greatest minds on Earth decided that their home planet had become uninhabitable.  

The only solution: to find a new home.

At this point in time, the human race had thousands of people living on Luna – Earth's only moon – and Mars, which had become a mining facility in the late 2020s. And across the universe, in other galaxies, small human colonies were existing in environments that they had made hospitable after massive terraforming projects – a reality that would have been seen as mere science-fiction at the dawn of the 21st century.

This was all thanks to a scientist by the name of Haszit al Yachlam, who in 2062 invented the technology that enabled space vessels to travel in many light-years over just several years. Only a few years later, an exploration of a planet outside the Milky Way was achieved. And in 2073, a planet with the same gases and minerals needed to sustain human life was discovered. Before long, test groups were reporting back to Earth on their new lives.

Unfortunately, these planets had not even a quarter of Earth's flora and fauna, creating problems such as insufficient food and other necessities. Shipments of animals and vegetations were sent to these planets (four in total by 2081) to strengthen the long-term living conditions. The results were incredible, and the scientists and governments of Earth agreed to dedicate billions of dollars into the area of human existence in other galaxies. As these decisions impacted on the future of the human race, the men and women at these meetings formed a new World Government.

In 2093, weeks of intense debate over who would have to remain on Earth were kept from the public in order to maintain control. The conclusion was horrible but realistic. Those who did not know how to create, maintain or exist in a First World country would have to stay. This brought the number down to two billion.

Within these numbers were several religious groups and cults that believed if humanity were to leave the home God made for them, they would be removing themself from their chance at a life in heaven. They believed at the eve of Earth's destruction, their saviour would arrive and deliver them to God's celestial house. The World Government carried out a census so that they had written proof by these people that they wished to remain on Earth, despite its extreme conditions.

With hundreds of millions off their list, the World Government now had to find a way to immorally deduct another 1,240,000,000 people, as their interstellar ships could only collectively carry a crew of sixty million. The deciding factor was obvious: money.

Those who could not afford a seat on the space vessels were excluded.

Enter Christopher Pallet, a world famous architect for interstellar vehicles and housing, and among the first and most talented of Space Pilots. He had been consulting with the World Government about their issues while hiding his fear that many of his friends and family, as well as those of his co-workers would be left on Earth to die. Over the following months, while the World Government was preparing the rich for their leave, Pallet organised 1,683 people to come aboard a spacecraft he had titled The Forgotten. They were to secretly follow the World Government's vessels through space to their new home on planet Gaia, located in the Moytsai-Chain Galaxy.

On June 6th in the year 2092, the launch of the first of the World Government's fleet of spaceships was a success. The others followed, with Pallet staying at a safe distance, launching The Forgotten, with all its crew onboard, on August 14th.

The atmosphere on The Forgotten was quiet and tense. Captain Pallet was expected to keep track of the World Government, while also staying out of their radar. If they were discovered, the punishment would be severe. The question on everybody's mind was what would happen to them when they land on Gaia.

They never found the answer.

The Forgotten never landed on Gaia.

September 21st, 2093: the day when Captain Pallet announced to the rest of the ship that their controls had been hacked by the World Government. They had been spotted, and their punishment was to be sent off course. Their future was inevitable. Whether they were hit by an asteroid, dragged into a hostile gravitational pull, or simply ran out of food and water, The Forgotten was doomed. It would take several years before the latter occurred. Until then, they faced a future of drifting endlessly through space.

Lost.

Alone.

Forgotten.

However, they discovered a few months later that the constant feeling of dread and hopelessness that had spread through The Forgotten like a virus only served to heighten the elation when Captain Pallet declared that a planet had appeared on their radar. Of course, the chance of this planet even being the least bit fit for human habitation was almost zero, but it was the sight of the planet's physical appearance that raised hope in everyone.

From space, this planet looked near identical to Earth. It even had a halo of blue light laminating the surface, indicated to Captain Pallet and his scientists that it contained similar gases in its atmosphere. All they had to do was follow the three steps to human settlement.

First, Captain Pallet sent an AIX-MSP (or, the Multi-Spectral Probe) into orbit to scan the atmospheric stratification. The results were astounding: 78.08% nitrogen, 20.96% oxygen, 0.37% carbon dioxide . . . The planet's gaseous composition was almost an exact double to Earth's. What followed was the launch of a Magnetometric Probe to collect mineral samples from the surface. Six weeks later, the SFIV-GBM (a high-tec Ground Boring Machine) joined in to locate rocks and mineral underground and return them to The Forgotten for analysis.

Once again, the planet proved to be an astounding replication of Earth.

The final step involved much larger retrieval units being sent down to bring back an assortment of plant life, soil and water. After many experiments, Captain Pallet and his team realised that this planet was a nirvana. A new beginning.

March 18th 2094: 'Attention all crew members and passengers of The Forgotten . . . Please prepare all your belongings. We are about to begin our descent to our new home. Planet Noah.'