Decemystery (2022.3) 31: That Time Professor Oak Kidnapped A Child

 

Content warning: this write-up contains mentions of child sexual abuse.

This month has been filled with an absolutely massive amount of weirdness. From space penguins to vampiric caterpillars and tongue monsters to dancing bulls, this December takes the cake as the strangest of them all. Though, as is the case with Decemystery, I’ve saved the oddest story for last. For the capstone of Decemystery 2022.3, I have whatever you can call this story.

Despite being a rather harmless series on the surface, Pokémon has had a bizarrely large amount of controversy surrounding it throughout the years. While nowadays, it’s primarily criticized for the lackluster graphics and, in the case of the two most recent releases, polish, its early days had some other criticisms. From one side, you had PETA lambasted it for animal cruelty. On the other side, you had some religious groups accuse it of being Satanic for teaching evolution.

Today’s story will take us back in time to that time period, a time when video games had controversies that didn’t involve loot boxes and microtransactions. No, it was a simpler time. So to round off this Decemystery, let’s discuss That Time Professor Oak Kidnapped A Child. This one’s going to be a doozy.

Decemystery (2022.3) 25: The 1974 Talladega 500 Sabotage

 

This write-up is dedicated to my closest friends, most of whom I know thanks to my love for NASCAR. To each and every one of you, thank you for being among the greatest folks I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.

I make it no secret that I’m a die-hard NASCAR fan. My late grandfather was a Dale Earnhardt, Sr. fan, and it’s thanks to him that I got into the sport. The very first race I watched—in full—was the 2004 Daytona 500, won by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. I remember being really unhappy because I wanted Tony Stewart to win. My reason was I liked the color orange, and Stewart’s car was orange (he was sponsored by Home Depot). I envy my 8-year-old mind; the littlest things made it happy.

Also, as a random fun fact for those who don’t watch NASCAR: the number in a race’s name refers to the number of miles raced. This fact has no actual bearing on today’s write-up; I just wanted to share it.

Anyway, I eventually stopped watching NASCAR for quite a while; I forget the exact year. However, last year, I spontaneously decided to resume watching it. To my delight, my love never faded as I’ve been following it religiously once more. In fact, I attended my first race this year—the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. It was awesome!

Though, I digress; this isn’t meant to be about the life and times of yours truly. No, we’re here to talk about a mystery—and as you can likely tell, it’s related to NASCAR. It’s one I’ve had my heart set on writing about for the entire year. It’s also one that has an incredibly small amount of documentation; I honestly cannot believe a case like it isn’t talked about much more.

But let’s not delay any further. With the engines roaring with life and the green flag waving in the air, let’s get the show underway. This, dear reader, is the story of The 1974 Talladega 500 Sabotage!

Decemystery (2022.3) 23: Terry Lopi's Disappearing Barn

 

I won’t lie; I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to think of an introduction for this story. I swear, this is the hardest part of these write-ups; it wasn’t always that way. Oh well, I shouldn’t complain too much about my woes because today’s story is one I alluded to earlier this month!

Back when I wrote about The Kentucky Horsewalker, I said that I hoped there were no stories of disappearing barns. Well, surprise, surprise, there are. One of two safe havens for one man in Utah disappeared; that’s like a 50% Defense nerf! But what could cause one man’s barn to up and vanish? Well, come along, dear reader, let’s find that out; it’s time to dive into the story of Terry Lopi’s Disappearing Barn.

Decemystery (2020) 17: The Wrecking Ball Theft

 

This story makes my head hurt. It’s like it was hit by a wrecking ball that was stolen.