[Marco POV]
I was in bed with Inkay snuggled up to me. Now that Calem had added me into the Kalos database, I was able to go through all of the information that was publicly available. I could also create a Bank account, join the Rangers, and pick up some tasks on the Missions app. I noticed that my profile said ‘League Affiliate,’ something that made me think I was definitely going to be spied on.
Oh well, as long as they don’t stop me from building my team and getting strong enough to protect myself in this world. I also looked up some general information about this new world, and boy was I given a heart attack.
Apparently, the Pokémon world was drastically different. There were still twelve months, but each month had an average of about 50 days. February was still a shorter month with 44 days. So, a full year was 594 days. Along with that, each day was a total of 18 hours long.
The Pokémon world is also much more dangerous than what I expected, which I had some experience with. So far, the main regions of the games only constituted roughly 40% of the Pokémon world. The rest was Pokémon territory that was too dangerous to take. This was done by two factors: Treaties and Mew.
The humans that began forming the regions made peace treaties with the surrounding Pokémon, in exchange for help with invasions. This was apparently done way before any of the historical stuff in the game and franchise lore happened. Researchers were only able to find out because Mew explained it to their Pokémon, which brings us to our next reason.
Mew will always intervene when people try to expand and take over more land. It does this to protect the Pokémon living in those areas, as well as making sure that no major war between humans and Pokémon happens again.
Another thing I found out is the technology here is… weird. They have cars, planes, and boats that are not that advanced, at least not compared to the bits that I remembered from my own world.
They do have advanced spatial and medical technology, though. I mean, being able to squeeze an animal the size of a person into a ball that can shrink is amazing. Being able to store tents, grills, food, and tables into a bag the size of a handbag is absolutely mind fucking. Not to mention the fact they can quite easily regrow limbs and organs as long as the human or Pokémon had not died and the wound was no more than three hours old. That was possible through the combined efforts of Pokémon moves and medical advancements, something very few Nurse Joys could actually accomplish. It wasn’t something that could be easily done, or afforded, but it was there.
Humans here are also very durable. Like, naturally brushing off lightning attacks and surviving a several hundred-foot fall. I hope I’ve also been afforded the same type of body. It will definitely help with getting stronger. Aura and Psychic abilities can boost the bodies of these superhumans, so maybe I can unlock one of them as well.
Another thing I learned was that Pokémon trainers are not the largest population of Pokémon owners. That belonged to the Rangers. I guess a lot of trainers see enough people die during their journeys that they become motivated to help reduce those numbers.
From what I could find, this has actually helped a bit; every 5% increase in Pokémon Ranger numbers leads to a 2% decrease in trainer deaths. Not a huge change, but significant enough for the upper echelons of the regions.
That was all I ended up looking up before deciding I should probably go to bed. I lay there for about five minutes before getting up. My mind was racing too much and I had a lot to think about before being able to sleep. I stood up, which woke Inkay up. The sleepy little guy chased after me when he saw I was stepping away from the bed. I rubbed his head and took out his Pokéball.
“Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you behind. I need to go for a walk to clear my head. Do you want to stay in your Pokéball or do you want to sit on my head?”
He answered by floating up towards my head and hastily plopping down to fall asleep again. I chuckled at that before getting dressed. Once I had my shirt, jeans, and shoes on, I walked out. It was currently 7:34pm, very late for the people of this world. The center was pretty quiet, with only a handful of people between the cafeteria and the lobby.
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I walked throughout the facilities, my mind coming back to my old life. From what I could remember, I had developed a routine that I was happy with. Every day, I woke up and went to the gym, dropped off my girlfriend at her university, went to work, picked up my girlfriend, did my work for my class, made dinner, went to sleep, rinse and repeat. I was satisfied with it, but now… I wasn’t sure.
Maybe it was the fact that I couldn’t remember anything else. I couldn’t remember how my girlfriend and I met, when I started my job, my family… Without all of that history, without knowing my LIFE, it didn’t matter anymore. And I felt guilty for it. Especially because I know my girlfriend would be worried about me just disappearing. And my family…
*tch* ‘
This is why I can’t sleep.’
So many thoughts, just racing and popping up. I had already walked through the entire Center a few times and stopped near the kitchen’s ordering counter. There was a glass screen for people to look at the chefs as they worked their magic, but all I could see was my reflection. A reflection of pure exhaustion stared back at me.
Finally being able to get a good look at myself, I could see that I was definitely out of it. I had been putting up a facade for myself to get through today. But now that I was alone, I was tired. I don’t remember what I was tired of, but I know I was. Maybe it would be best for me to settle in. Who knows if I would ever find a way back.
“Are you gonna order something?” a chef asked from the other side of the screen. She had several colorful tattoos of the many Eeveelutions all over her arms and neck.
“No, I’m just… Actually, yeah. Can I get some fried Unfezant and waffles? I need something to pick me up at the moment,” I answered.
“Anything for the little one?”
“A Pidgey parmesan?”
“Coming right up,” she said as she walked to the kitchen fridge. I went to the person at the register and had them scan my voucher. Once I sat down, Inkay woke up. It was only 6:34pm, 2 and a half hours until “midnight,” and I was still up. Inkay was groggily trying to sit up, but the poor squid could barely keep his head up. At least, that was before the food arrived.
Once I picked up our dishes and set them in front of us, all the sleepiness from before was washed away. Drool started to peak out of his beak again as he waited for me to tell him which was his. The way he was eyeing the Pidgey, I could tell I was the only reason he hadn’t started digging in immediately.
“That’s your dish, don’t wait for me my guy,” I said as I dipped a piece of the waffle in syrup. Inkay dive bombed the plate, too eager to care about being careful. I chuckled, all of the negative emotions and thoughts replaced by a childlike feeling of contentment and giddiness. I had always wondered what it would be like to be a Trainer.
Would I go to a Trainer School? Would I have the opportunity to get a Regional Starter? A Pseudo-Legendary? I had always thought the best team for me in a real Pokémon would be Slowbro, Galvantula, Growlithe, Krookodile, Tropius, and either Toxicroak or Froslass. A Mudkip, Turtwig, or Torchic would be amazing starters. And for my Pseudo? Metagross hands down.
And now, here I am. In the Pokémon world. With the cutest squid that ever did starve and try to kill me. I was… elated. I got to live the dream that so many people, and degenerates, wished they could. And yet, I still had a family that were most likely scared about my well-being. Was I being selfish?
‘I guess it doesn’t matter now. Here I am, in this world. If I keep this up, I’ll sooner die than make it back home.’
I smacked my face twice, earning me a confused stare from Inkay and the other few Trainers in the canteen.
“Sorry, buddy. I was just letting myself become useless. Is the Pidgey good?”
“Kay!” he chirped, obviously thoroughly enjoying the late meal.
“Nice. Try some of this Unfezant. It’s fucking delicious,” I said as I put a piece on his plate. Inkay stared at the chunk of fried bird, his eyes wide. He looked at me and let out a soft, “Ink?”
“Try it,” I said with a smile. “I want to share my delicious meal with you.”
“Inkay!” he cried out, happily gulping down the piece I shared with him. I smiled, happy that Inkay was enjoying his time with me so far.
“Here, you have the rest of this piece. I’ll have the rest,” I said, sliding the rest of the chunk of meat onto his plate. We both ate in bliss, thankful for the chance to eat such delicious food. As we finished, the chef that made our food walked over to us.
“Did you enjoy the food?” she asked with a smile.
“In, Inkay!”
“Hell yeah, it was delicious.”
“Haha, thank you,” she responded, a wide smile on her face. “It’s very rare to see someone enjoy food the way you two just did. That’s what got me into cooking, and it’s what keeps me going in the job.”
“Well, I might not know much about professional cooking, but I know good food when I eat it. Are you planning on going solo, opening your own place?” I asked. I might have only had one dish from her, but man was it great. The Unfezant was crispy and salty on the outside, but soft and juicy on the inside. The meat was really similar to chicken, but a bit smokey and gamier. The waffles were great, a subtle sweetness in the batter complemented the fresh sweetness of the berry syrup.
“Well, thank you,” she replied, a slight blush on her face. “I’ve thought about opening a food cart in Lumiose City, but I’m not too sure yet. I might go ask Jack, a relatively new food tent owner here in Santalune City, some tips. Watching him and his Growlithe at work has made me rethink my own cooking techniques.”
“Well, good luck to you! I’ll be on the lookout if you ever do decide to open your own restaurant,” I said before saying bye and walking back to my room. I love talking with professionals, no matter what their specialty is. It makes me look forward to my own future and the things I’ll do.
As I got back to my room, I could see the fanny pack moving a bit. I walked over to it, confused. There was so much space in it, and I don’t have anything that can actually move around. Why would it be shaking like that? Wait…
‘The egg!’
I immediately opened up the bag, reaching for the egg. The egg I couldn’t find.
‘How the hell is the bag moving if I can’t even find the egg?’
Then, it appeared.