Before I hopped in the shower, I put Inkay on the bed and stripped out of my dirty outfit, washing the clothes in the bathroom sink. I hung the wet clothes on the kitchen cupboard doors so they could dry faster. I then took the greatest shower of my life, the cool water calming my nerves and releasing the tension in my shoulders.I walked out of the bathroom and jumped back in fear.

"Jesus fucking Christ, who are you?!" I yelped as I almost bumped into someone, almost dropping my towel. In front of me was Calem, Champion of the Kalos region and the main character of the sixth generation of the Pokémon series, X and Y.

He had long, straight black hair that was parted in half along his head. His glasses stopped his hair from getting all over his face. He had a blue windbreaker on, which looked a little tight on his skinny frame. His navy blue pants were tucked into black leather boots. He had a bulky, black bracelet on and a black satchel that crossed his body to rest on his left hip. He wore an amused grin, his eyes showing a playful devil hiding behind a youthful face.

"I see I came at an awkward time, glad you didn't drop the towel," he chuckled out.

"Man, I can’t even shower without some shit happening to me," I muttered exasperatedly.

"It's fine. You gave me a much needed laugh," the young Champion replied. "You should probably change so that we can continue the conversation more comfortably.”

I nodded at that, grabbing a pair of briefs, the cargo shorts, and the blue tee before heading back into the bathroom. When I came back out, Calem was sitting on a kitchen chair.

“Normally, we’d let Officer Jenny and her force handle anything to do with smuggling. You, however, are a strange case,” Calem started calmly. “After everything that happened with Lysandre, the League has been rather… Paranoid. Well, I’ve been a little too focused on threats to the region, but that’s-

“You know what, never mind that,” he stopped himself from divulging too much. “All you need to know is, finding someone who has slipped all of our radars AND was somehow involved with the deaths of two roaming Team Flare grunts was decided to be too much for the police force.

"I... see?"

"Are you wondering why I’m here personally?"

“Just a tad, in all honesty,” I replied. It hasn’t been a full day and I’m meeting everybody.

“Well, let’s just say that I am a little more invested in anything involving Team Flare,” Calem said with a small smile. He looked a bit lost in his thoughts.

“Well, like I told Officer Jenny, I don’t remember much,” I explained what happened in the story before telling him what I remembered about myself. “I work at a school, I’m studying to become a social worker, I have a girlfriend who is getting her PhD in phylogenetic methods, and I was sitting at home reading before I suddenly showed up in the forest.”

Calem was carefully studying me the entire time, giving me a confused look when I mentioned my girlfriend’s academic focus. To be fair, not many knew what that was. Shit, I barely understood it.

“I hope you understand why I’m a bit hesitant to just accept that explanation. Especially with the lack of evidence for or against what you’re telling us. Not being able to readily investigate you also doesn’t look good,” Calem replied, his serious voice making me nervous.

“But, I do have a proposition for you,” he said with a smile. “My trusty partner, Meowstic, is a fantastic Psychic with formidable control over its power. If you’re alright with it, he can go through your memories to verify what you’ve said.”

We looked at each other for a few seconds before I looked away, thinking about it. Did I want someone to have access to my memories?

‘Of course not.’

However, refusing would make them more suspicious of me. Not to mention they could probably do it whenever they wanted anyway. If Meowstic had enough power and control, he could probably do it without me feeling anything… Or noticing.

“What’s stopping you from going through my mind without my permission?” I asked, not bothering to mask my suspicion.

Calem nodded, almost approving of my response.

“The League. More specifically, the established rules that are enforced by people like the professors and champions of each region. Mind reading is a daunting action that can corrupt or destroy a person’s mind if not done correctly,” Calem said, an intensity in his voice that was really unnerving.

“Because of that, the League has made it illegal on almost all levels. The only way to get it done is with permission of the person or for a criminal investigation. Even then, we still need consent and a trained Pokémon certified by the League.”

I doubt that doesn’t stop criminals or high-ranking League members from using such methods, or abusing any loopholes in the actual laws. It would be a great way to clear myself, but then I’d risk being labeled as insane and thrown in a cell forever, or becoming a science experiment.

“Luckily for you, Meowstic is certified and will ensure your safety the entire time.”

“How does it work? The mind reading,” I asked slowly. I had to think of some way to get around it.

“Meowstic will enter your mind through a Psychic link that you’ll need to accept. From there, we’re not too sure. Meowstic has described it as entering a room cluttered with all sorts of items, pictures, people, et cetera. While he has an overview of everything, he won’t be able to see anything in detail until he focuses on a specific memory.”

“While I would love to have it done so I can go do my thing and figure out what happened to me, I’m just worried that…” I stopped myself from outing myself. Ah fuck, that definitely made him more suspicious. Good job, dumbass.

“Worried about what,” he pressed.

I had a Pokémon Champion right in front of me. There was nothing I could do to this guy. And if he’s the Champion, then this must follow the games, right? If so, then Alola and its Ultra Wormholes must be a thing, which means they know about other dimensions. Would Legends Arceus be a thing here too?

“Marco, I’m sure you have plenty to be scared of. Just finding yourself transported from your home to a forest must have been a terrifying experience, not to mention the near-death experience soon after,” he said softly.

“But right now, I’m worried about whether or not you will be a threat to Kalos. I cannot let you be without finding out exactly what happened to you,” he said, his tone telling me it was in my best interest to cooperate.

“... Can I ask you some questions before I tell you what’s bothering me?”

“Of course.”

“Alola is part of the League, correct?”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“Yes.”

“Did they deal with the Ultra Wormholes?”

Calem’s face tightened immediately. “How do you know about that?”

Shit.

“It’s related to what I’m worried about. Do you know anything about the Hisui region?”

Calem stood up and Meowstic came out of his Pokéball, ready to act.

“That is classified information that no one outside of Pokémon League Champions and Professors should know about. How do you know about it?” Calem said roughly, the friendly air about him gone and replaced by an intimidating aura.

“I… I think something brought me here from another dimension,” I said, unsure of what was going to happen. Calem stiffened, but his intimidating energy dispersed. “I accept the mind reading, but I have to warn you that there might be some things that will shock you.”

Calem nodded, already aware that things were not going to be simple. Meowstic’s eyes began to glow blue and I felt a weird tingling sensation in my brain. The sensation turned to a sort of knocking and then I heard, ‘Can I come in?’

The voice, cool and disembodied, spoke abruptly, scaring me.

‘It’s just me,’ Meowstic waved.

Oh. I knew that.

‘Yeah, you can go through my brain. Just don’t turn it to mush, please,’ I thought. Meowstic laughed out loud, earning a look from Calem.

‘I wish more people were as nonchalant as you. I’m going to start now, you should probably sit.’

I heeded his advice, sitting down in an armchair next to the bed. I felt a pressure all over my head, gradually getting more intense. It then collected itself into a line through the middle of my head and slowly dissipated toward a deep part in the center of my head and the very front. I guess Meowstic was going for my hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, meaning some of the science from my own world applied here. Now I just needed to know what happened to me.

After about 10 minutes of silence, the pressure disappeared and Meowstic moved closer towards Calem. A frown appeared on his face. Shit.

“You’re going to be bringing us a lot of trouble,” Calem muttered. I sat there, confused. ‘What about my memories?’

“What about my memories?”

“Well, Meowstic said you only have the last three months stored in your head. Everything else was ‘packed into boxes,’ and he couldn’t safely access them. Except for one ‘box,’ the one that had information about the world. So, as far as we’re concerned, we only have the last three months to go off. It shows that you’re right, you yourself are not a threat.”

“And that’s it? Even with me being an inter-dimensional or universal visitor? Or that this world was just fiction to me until today?” I asked incredulously.

“Listen, this world is full of crazy events and creatures that can make those things happen. You know this, from that Pokémon video game you seemed to enjoy. What was it, Legends Arceus?”

Meowstic confirmed with a nod.

“Yes, Legends Arceus. In which an unnamed Trainer was sent to the past. Well, here, that was Lucas. Dawn’s rival during her journey. He went to the past, helped the people of the time, and came back with Pokémon from the era.

“Dialga and Palkia, masters of Time and Space. Giratina, controller of antimatter. Celebi, a traveler of time. Xerneas and Yveltal, bringers of life and death. Jirachi, said to grant any wish. Arceus, the creator. There are many ways for you to have been brought here. I’m afraid that your presence in our world is a signal of some sort of crisis. And for that, I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

“I guess it doesn’t sound that crazy when this world has had several world-ending catastrophes. Where does that leave me?” I said and asked. He made a fair point. In fact, he’s recently dealt with a freaking WOMP. I’m sure this feels like just another Thursday. But, that has nothing to do with me and what was gonna happen to me from here on out.

“Well, I’ll discuss your situation with the other regions and see what we’ll do to keep tabs on your situation. But I’ll add you into our database, making it seem as if you’ve always lived. Don’t need everyone finding out you’re from another dimension. As for you, I guess you can join the Pokémon world. I see you have a Pokémon already, but I’ll see what I can do about allowing you to be a traveling Trainer.”

“Trainer?” I asked.

“Well, yeah. What else are you going to do here?”

“Fair. But isn’t it expensive to be a Trainer?”

“I guess, for some,” Calem responded, thinking about something. “Though you probably don’t have anything on you at the moment. If you need money, try the Missions app. There's lots of requests, bounties, and all sorts of missions you can take on to earn some cash. Here's a head start though."

Calem handed me 5000$ before he popped out of the room, having teleported to wherever he needed to go. I sat on my bed, contemplating everything that he told me.

"Well, shit."

I sat down for a moment, lost in thought. Inkay got up, sleepily blinking his eyes as he looked around. I stared at him in disbelief.

“I know I just caught you, but did you really just sleep through all of that?”

0-0-0-0-0

[Calem POV, Kalos League HQ]

I had just finished talking with that guy, Marco. Everything Meowstic told me pointed to me not having to worry about him. But his memories and his very presence in Kalos disturbed me more than Lysandre's plan to kill every human and Pokémon in the world that wasn't part of Team Flare. I had to continue investigating this.

"Tch, to think a 17 year-old like would be worrying about such a complicated matter."

"Meowstic?"

"Sorry buddy, I'm getting lost in my frustration. Can you do me a favor?"

"Tic, meow-meowstic!"

"Thanks. Go ahead and call everyone. I'm gonna need their help for this."

I walked over to the meeting room, already pulling up the file on Marco and typing everything I learned into another document. Soon, the others began showing up. The Champions and their advisors: Satoshi and Oak, Ethan and Lyra, May and Steven, Dawn and Cynthia, Rosa and Alder, Elio and Kukui, Gloria and Professor Sonia Magnolia, as well as Professor Sycamore. Once they were all here, we sat down to start the meeting.

"So, you've finally decided to show up for a meeting by sending us an emergency meeting. Must be quite the situation you have," Ethan said in a relaxed manner. They did not get along well, but respected each other's capabilities.

"Yes, he's right," Cynthia chimed in. "You've yet to show up unless absolutely needed. What's going on?"

I sighed as they began to chatter. Clearing my throat, which got their attention, I pulled up Marco's trainer profile and the information Meowstic gave me. This included some videos that Meowstic was able to translate into data with the help of a Porygon.

"Today, it was brought to my attention that someone popped into the Santalune Forest that was not in the database. Not only was he not in the Kalos database, he was in the databases of any other region."

This got everyone to focus intently.

"I had Meowstic go through his memories, and it seems as if he comes from another universe, one in which our world is just fiction."

"You invaded his mind without permission?" Professor Oak asked, concern etched all over his aged face.

“No, I received consent. Meowstic gives you and Alakazam to go through his memories,” I responded, Steven interrupting what I was going to say next.

“Never mind the mind reading. Did you just say our world is just fiction to him?" Steven brought everyone's attention to the main problem. "How can this be possible?"

"I'm not exactly sure," I replied. "But we do know that time and dimensional travel is possible, as Lyra and a few others can attest to."

Lyra nodded at this, confirming my words.

"We also know that Arceus has the ability to do just about anything, which Lucas can confirm."

"Yes, we know that Pokémon can travel through time and dimensions. What does this have to do with the newcomer?" Rosa pushed.

"It means the newcomer was brought here from some other dimension or universe. I'm worried that his presence means another crisis or chain of events is going to happen. If he was brought over by Arceus, or Palkia, or some other legendary, why? Why bring some seemingly random guy from another dimension?"

I paused for a moment. "But that’s assuming one of the legendaries we know of brought him. If they didn’t?"

At these words, everyone caught on to what I was trying to say. What if there was another universe out there that could interfere with ours? If this was the case, what would happen next?

"How do we investigate that?" Alder asked.

"I'm not sure, but there has to be something we can do," I told him.

"..." Satoshi hummed for a moment. "What if we ask the legendaries? I can meet with Mewtwo, ask him if he has anything he is willing to share."

"That's a good idea. I can ask Celebi if he can go back and find something about when he arrived," Ethan offered.

Dawn and Cynthia looked at each other, probably thinking the same thing.

"We can ask the Lake Trio to talk with Dialga and Palkia," Dawn shared.

"Ok, thank you everyone for the help," I said loudly. They all nodded, probably in agreement that this was something that should be done by everyone in the room. After I finished giving all the information I had to everyone, they began to leave. Satoshi, Professor Oak, Professor Sycamore, and Professor Magnolia stayed, probably wanting to talk about the mind reading.

"So," Prof. Oak started, "you read his mind. Are you sure he gave you permission?"

"Yes, he did. As soon as I was told about a person's profile not being linked with anyone from any database, I knew this was something that needed to be investigated. But I wasn’t in such a hurry as to forget about the consequences of a forced mind intrusion" I told him. I then looked at the other two, not bothering to hide the fear. "I am very worried about the implications of his existence."

"I understand, my boy," Prof. Oak responded warmly.

"I..." I sighed. "I’m also worried that he’ll be unwittingly bringing something to us, something that is inherently connected to him. So I want to have some Trainers keep tabs on him"

Profs. Oak and Sonia frowned at that while Professor Sycamore glanced down. Satoshi spoke up.

"Keep tabs on him? Why not just give him a friend or traveling partner?"

"That would also be spying on him, and it might be better for this to be a little more covert," I said.

"No," he shook his head. "I mean, why don't you give him an actual friend. Someone who has his back, like you and Serena."

My face hardened at Serena's name.

"I'm sorry, that was out of place. But you know what I mean," Satoshi apologized.

"It's ok, I understand," I responded. "I just think it would be bad if he finds out his friend is actually spying on him for us. At least with our agents, he'll understand that we are just doing our jobs."

"Maybe," Prof. Sonia started, "we can introduce him to some trainers his age. Since we will introduce them, he'll have an understanding that they are working with us and inform us about what he's doing. But since he gets to meet them and make his own decision on who he befriends, he may be more okay with it."

"That's a good idea," I told her. Prof. Oak, Prof. Sycamore and Satoshi agreed as well. With that, we decided to introduce him to some other trainers. This way, he'll also be safe in case something happens.

From my experiences, something always happens.