No one knows where the pokeballs came from but if one touches you or you touch it, you get changed into a poke-man or a poke-woman. You then have to battle other poke-people to gain your humanity back.

Pokeballs are rare and therefore most people are unaware that they even exist but there is an underground, illegal fighting club that pits poke-people against each other similar to dog fighting or cock fighting.

When first turned into a poke-person, one is naked and has no special powers but one can gain clothes and special powers as one levels up. Eventually, one can even become free of the pokeball prison.