Chapter 1: Prisoner 64389
People throughout time have pondered the concept of hell. In reality, hell is not necessarily a place but a state of mind. It is an endless cycle of agony that repeats itself day after day and year after year. And while there are many common hells, each person’s conception of hell differs slightly. Yet while hell is often seen as a plain of the afterlife, it is very possible for it to exist here on earth.
Marie Dantes had found such a hell on earth. Only ten years old and she had been sent to Scorch Gate Prison for an act of grand theft. The prison was located on a dessert island in the furthest outskirts of the Sinnoh Region. Aside from the prison itself, the island was known only to contain sand and rocks, and perhaps a few desert fairing Pokemon. The temperature on the island usually reached the hundreds, and being inside the prison was scarcely better than being out.
Yet the inmates of Scorch Gate were forced to work outside as part of their punishment. They plowed into the ground to find evolution stones, which the island was said to be rich in. That day under the blazing hot sun Marie hulled another wheel barrel full of rocks, as she had done since arriving at the prison a month before. As she pushed the heavy load to the large pile of rocks that had amassed, Marie ran the wheel barrel into another inmate, an older girl who looked to be about sixteen with shoulder-length black hair, crazed-looking light-blue eyes, and a vertical scar on her left cheek.
“Watch it you little brat!” the girl yelled at Marie.
“S-sorry Sharon.” Marie said in a frightened tone. “I-I guess I didn’t see you there.”
This had not been the first time that Marie had had a run in with Sharon. They met on the day Marie had come to Scorch Gate, and quite a few times Sharon and her cohorts had ganged up on Marie and had even beaten her up more than once or twice.
“What, are you blind?” Sharon shouted as she came towards Marie. “How the hell could you not see me standing there?”
“I guess I’m just tired.” Marie responded.
“Yeah? Well I’ll give you a wakeup call you’ll never forget!” Sharon said as she advanced on Marie.
“S-stay back!” Marie warned as she trembled.
“Or what shrimp?” Sharon laughed.
Marie responded by throwing a rock from the wheel barrel at Sharon. The rock hit Sharon right on the forehead, stopping her in her tracks. Suddenly the black metal collar around her neck delivered a painful electric shock that caused her to cry out and fall to her knees.
“Prisoner 64389!” one of the female guards called to Marie. That was after all what Marie had been referred to by the staff since she came to Scorch Guard, for it was the number on the front of the tattered brown rags that made up her prison uniform. “You know the penalty for assaulting the other inmates.”
“But, she was going to beat me up!” Marie tried to explain.
“Yeah right, I was just minding my own business when she suddenly threw a rock at me!” Sharon lied. But after speaking she too was given a painful shock from her metal collar.
“Be quite 33132!” the guard commanded after putting away the remote for the collars. “Get back to your work! As for you 64389, it’s two hours in the box!”
With that, Marie was dragged away by two other guards to one of the hottest places in the prison.
* * *
Two and a half hours had passed since Marie was punished. She had spent two hours in the hot box, after which she was let out and given some water and a short period of rest. After that she was assigned to sort one of the prison’s storerooms. In the distant past, Scorch Gate had originally served as a military fortress. This was shown in the old brick walls that were filled in cracks here and there.
As Marie counted over the various items on the storeroom shelf, shell fell forward a bit due to weariness, causing one of the Pokeballs on the shelf to fall off. She was soon alerted when the ball made a noise as if it had captured a Pokemon, rather than just falling on the floor. Marie looked behind the shelf and saw the ball jiggle on the floor a few times until making the noise that indicated that the capture was complete. After a second’s hesitation, Marie went behind the shelf and picked up the ball.
“Well, I guess I caught something.” Marie said to herself. “Might as well see what it is.”
With that, Marie threw out the ball, and from it emerged a small dark-grey fox. It had red feet, and small red markings above its eyes similar to eyebrows. Its neck was covered in thick black fur, and it had a small tuft of fur on its forehead tipped in red. Marie recognized the Pokemon as a Zorua, a rare Pokemon she had seen in a book once. And it was clear that the little Pokemon was hurt.
“Oh dear! What happened to you?” Marie said with a worried expression as she picked up Zorua. “I suppose you’re one of the rare Pokemon the warden keeps around here and sells on the black market. Or at least that’s what I overheard from the guards. You must’ve gotten out of your cage and come in here. But I guess all that doesn’t matter. Right now I need to help you.”
Marie called Zorua back into the Pokeball and hid it under her uniform. Then she looked around the storeroom for anything that could help heal the little fox’s wounds. Marie was fortunate that the storeroom she was inventorying was used for housing items used for treating the Pokemon used by the guards, as well as the Pokeballs sometimes used to capture any native Pokemon on the island that might be useful to the prison. Marie gathered what she could hide in her uniform without causing suspicion and finished up the inventory as quickly as she could. She then informed the guard, and after that guard had checked over Marie’s work about five times, Marie was returned to her cell.
Marie’s cell was fairly small, and had a single barred window that was directly in the sun. There was no bed in the dust covered brick room, only a worn out mattress and a tattered grey blanket. There was also a toilet in the room, as well as a sink with a bar of soap and a cracked mirror. Marie glanced at herself briefly in that mirror as she reentered the cell. Her long blond hair was strung out by sweat and filth, and she had bags under her violet eyes, indicating a lack of sleep.
But Marie did not dwell on her appearance long. She immediately set to work on healing Zorua. She had used every recovery item she had managed to smuggle out and hopped that it was enough. But after a few minutes, Zorua seemed to improve.
“You feeling better little guy?” Marie asked. Zorua responded by making a somewhat happy noise that resembled a bark. “That’s good. You had me really worried there.”
Zorua responded by going up to Marie and licking her hand.
“That tickles!” Marie laughed. “Well, I guess I technically caught you, which makes me your trainer. But none of the guards can ever find out about you or else they’ll take you away. Understand?”
Zorua nodded and made another barking noise.
“Good. Well, I guess you’re wondering what a kid like me is doing in a horrible place like this.” Marie inquired. Zorua responded by tilting its head and quirking its brow. “If you asked anyone around here they’d tell you it’s because I tried stealing something very valuable. But the truth is I was framed…. I guess I should start by telling you where I come from. I grew up in a place called Lilycove City in the Hoenn Region.
“My family is actually quite rich. We even have our own company, which my father runs. Sounds like a pretty good life, right? Well it all came crashing down on my tenth birthday. Two days before, my class and I went on a school trip to the art museum. They had an old relic simply called the Blue Orb on display. It was actually quite beautiful. When my class was done with our tour I stayed and looked at that orb for I don’t know how long. And now I wish I didn’t.
“Later that night, the orb was stolen from the museum. No one had a clue as to where it went. But on the morning of my birthday, the police burst into my family’s home and demanded to look around. They found the orb in my closest, and I somehow ended up being blamed for stealing it. I kept telling everyone that I didn’t do it, but somehow all the evidence said that I did.
“I was found guilty and sentenced to spend ten years in this awful place.” Marie told Zorua, and at this point she was on the verge of tears. “And believe it or not, I know who framed me…”
* * *
One month before being sent to Scorch Gate, Marie was being held in the jail at the Lilycove City Police Station awaiting transport. The trial had only just ended an hour before. As Marie sat in her cell and cried, a young man who looked to be about seventeen entered the room. He had blond hair and violet eyes, and wore a powder-blue suit with a dark-blue tie. Marie right away noticed the young man’s arrival and recognized him as her older cousin Andre.
“W-what are you doing here Andre?” Marie asked in surprised.
“I came to offer my condolences to you little cousin.” Andre said with a solemn expression. “I’m sorry it had to come to this.”
“But Andre, I didn’t steal the orb!” Marie insisted.
“Oh, I know that fact quite well.” Andre said, his expression changing to a cruel smile. “That’s because I’m the one that framed you.”
“You… what?” Marie said with shock and disbelief.
“Yes, I stole the orb and put it in your closet.” Andre bragged. “I also planted evidence and bribed certain members of the police force to make sure you were found guilty.”
“But, but why?” Marie asked. “Why would you do such a horrible thing?”
“It’s nothing personal cousin, just business.” Andre replied bluntly. “You see with you behind bars, control of our family’s company will go to me in the unfortunate event of my dear uncle’s death.”
“But I don’t care about our family’s company!” Marie told him, once again on the verge of tears.
“Well perhaps not now, but one day you might.” Andre retorted. “And I can’t take the risk of you getting in my way. Therefore I had no choice but to send you up the river. Don’t worry though; you’ll be out in ten years. But by then I’m sure uncle will have disinherited you.”
With that, Andre turned and began to leave, but just as he reached the door he turned back to face Marie.
“Oh by the way, I bribed the judge to send you to Scorch Gate Prison.” Andre added. “It’s a bit harsh for a girl your age, but it’s very isolated and I can’t risk having you escape. Farewell cousin.”
With that Andre left, and Marie fell to the floor sobbing.
* * *
“…I tried telling others what Andre had bragged about doing. But of course no one believed me.” Marie said as she finished her tale. “You know I used to look up to Andre, but now I hate him!”
Zorua gave Marie a sad look as she started crying again. Suddenly it looked as if an idea came to the little fox Pokemon. It jumped and span in the air, and in a flash of purple light it had transformed into an almost exact copy of Marie.
“What the…?” Marie said in surprise as she got to her feet to face her double. “Wow, you look just like me. How did you do that?”
Marie looked at her double’s back and saw that it was not an exact copy. Right over the copy’s rear was a puffy dark-grey tail. Marie tugged a little on the tail and suddenly it turned back into Zorua. The little fox snickered at its little trick. And suddenly Marie burst out laughing.
“Oh wow! I’ve never seen anything like that before!” Marie said as she started to regain her composure. “I haven’t laughed like that in a long time. Meeting you has been the only good thing that’s happened in this place little friend.”
Suddenly a slot at the bottom of the iron door to Marie’s cell opened and in slid a tray of food and a tin cup of water.
“Well, I guess it’s time for dinner.” Marie observed. “I know it’s not much, but I’ll split it with you.”
Zorua made a barking noise to signal its approval, and the two split the little food and water that Marie was given for the night.
* * *
Rain poured down from the grey overcast sky as Marie ran through the field. It seemed that the whole world had turned grey. Marie kept running until she entered a large field filled with flowers. This as the park that was one of her favorite spots, and it was also where she was going to meet the person who she was going to run away with, the one person who believed that she was innocent. Marie looked around frantically, afraid that she didn’t show up, but it wasn’t long before she saw her standing a few feet away.
The person that Marie had found was a girl who looked to be about ten or eleven. She had long raven hair and green eyes. They were eyes that seemed to cast their own light in that grey world. The girl was also wearing a red t-shirt and denim shorts, though in that world her shirt looked more grey than red.
“There you are Lisa.” Marie sighed in relief. “I was afraid you wouldn’t show up. C’mon, we should get going before they find us.”
“…We’re not going anywhere.” Lisa said coldly.
“What’re you talking about?” Marie asked. “I thought we were going to run away together.”
Suddenly several police officers emerged from the bushes. Some had even sprung out of the ground like weeds. In an instant they surrounded Marie and Lisa.
“What’s going on here Lisa?” Marie asked with a hurt expression. “You didn’t… don’t tell me you brought the police here!”
“You’re a thief Marie.” Lisa said coldly. “And like it or not you have to pay for your crimes. Go Phoenix!”
Emerging from the ball that Lisa threw out was a tall humanoid creature with a red bird-like face and body. It had grey talons for hands, yellow feet, and long blond hair-like feathers that split down the middle like a V. The creature stood about six feet tall. Marie recognized the Pokemon as a Blaziken.
“Don’t!” Marie begged.
“You have to pay.” Lisa repeated. “Flamethrower Phoenix!”
On command Phoenix breathed out a stream of flames that headed for Marie.
* * *
Marie shot up in bed screaming, her brow covered in cold sweat. Zorua woke up soon after as Marie caught her breath. The little fox Pokemon gave Marie a concerned look.
“Sorry I woke you up.” Marie said to Zorua with a troubled smile. “But maybe you were having trouble sleeping too. I know I have…. I’ve had a nightmare every night since coming here. Of course this one was more of a memory, the memory of when I was betrayed by a person I cared about a lot.”
Again, Zorua tilted its head and quirked its brow at Marie.
“…I had a good friend when I was growing up.” Marie began after a moment. “Her name was Lisa Flare. Our father’s worked together closely. I met Lisa when I was five and she was six. We hit it off right away…. Long ago we had decided that we would become Pokemon Trainers and travel the world together.
“The only small problem with that was that Lisa was a year older than I was. A person can’t become a trainer until they turn ten. Lisa told me that she’d wait a year so we could start our journey together, but could tell just how much she wanted to go. So I insisted that she go on ahead and told her that I would catch up. I even helped her pick out her first Pokemon, not that she needed much help.
“If it weren’t for Andre I would’ve started my journey already and Lisa and I would be out on the road somewhere. But obviously things didn’t turn out that way…. After I was sentenced I managed to escape when I asked to use the restroom. Lisa had come back to visit for my birthday, and I managed to get in touch with her. I told her that we should run away together and it seemed like she agreed. But I soon learned the truth….
“When I went to meet Lisa she had brought the police and I was thrown back in jail….” Marie revealed. At this point she was on the verge of tears yet again. “She betrayed me! She sold me out to the police so they could throw me in jail for something I didn’t do! And the worst part of it is that I didn’t just think of Lisa as a friend. In fact I think I really… but that doesn’t matter now. I don’t think I can ever forgive Lisa for what she did. And I know that I can never forgive Andre…. I want to make them pay for what they’ve done to me.”
Zorua made a sad noise and climbed up on Marie’s lap. Marie held the little fox close. Meanwhile from a hole where the wall met the floor, the two were unaware that a glowing light-blue eye was watching them.
