It still felt like a dream, or at the very least it all felt so surreal it was hard to peg everything as a reality.

Despite knowing that he was very much alive and still within the confines of the earthly plane, Juda had a hard time accepting the facts. Proof or not, the young man came from a world where the most amazing thing an animalistic creature could do was ride a unicycle or do sign language. Now he was expected to run with the knowledge that there was a whole world full of animals that had otherworldly abilities that far exceeded his own limited grasp. Ones that could shoot electricity and blasts of water, others that could shake the ground and even control the very weather, and still others that could end the world if woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

Though that last bit was mainly theoretical according to the book he was perusing.

From the time he had awoken on the rolls of vibrant green grass to the point where he was wandering away from the place he had dubbed the Windmill Laboratory, Juda had gone through so much turmoil and been introduced to so much that it was hard to even BEGIN a proper processing.

Pokemon. Pokemon Trainers. Badges. Pokeballs. Pallet Town. Squirtle. Pikachu. An Abnormally Accommodating Professor. Abilities. Movesets.

The list seemed to go on and on, a whole book of questions seeming to appear behind each and every topic, leaving the youths mind in a jumble just trying to organize it all. Setting aside the incredulity of the situation and how Juda had even ended up in that said world, learning the complexities of the world and it's Pokemon inhabitants seemed like the an impossible task in and of itself. Just skimming through the palm sized notebook the Professor had left in the bag already had the young man's mind twisting into a figurative Gordian knot. It was interesting since the notebook itself seemed to be an extended version of everything the Professor had gone over but sectioned and far more organized than the lecture itself.

On the front of the Notebook, in big block letters, lay the title "Pokemon For Dummies". On the back it said "Yes. That Means You".

"Heh. So he DOES have a sense of humor," Juda muttered as he clapped the journal shut, stuffing it into his pocket. "That guy is alright in my book."

After careful consideration, the dark haired young man decided to completely ignore his own past as well as all the written knowledge for the time being. If he focused too much on any of those at that given moment, he probably would just keel over from the aneurysm it was bound to cause.

"It's best to just learn as I go," the youth muttered, shouldering his backpack. Fishing a small compass out of the side pocket, Juda redirected his own heading, repositioning in the direction Oak had told him to head off to. "Once I reach Veradon....Veralin..... whatever the hell it's called. THAT'S when I can sit down and rest for a bit."

Juda hadn't really retained much information during the Professors lecture, though this was in part due to the fact the youth had still been under the assumption that he had been dreaming. What he HAD gathered from that exchange though was that despite the mysterious and amazing nature of these animals called Pokemon, they were still wild animals. Oak had spoken of them in a way that made them sound wondrous and friendly, speaking of them as if they were cute and cuddly creatures, like Hagrid spoke of dangerous beasts in Harry Potter. He had significantly downplayed how much of a threat a single Pokemon could be, especially with the vast array of unknown variables each and every monster variant possessed in their arsenals.

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Just using Pikachu as an example, a singular, strong blast from it's [Thundershock] could be potentially fatal.

Diving into the depths of the forest lying ahead of him, Juda would not only be forced to combat the unknown but also the variety of Pokemon that made their homes there.

Once he started, he highly doubted he would have time to fully rest.

"Let's see." Juda dropped his bag onto the ground, stopping at the edge of the forest. "I guess I'll be needing you Leonardo. Care to give me a hand buddy?"

Taking out the PokeBall Oak had shown him previously, Juda pressed the button on the very front of it. There was a bright flash of light just like before, an almost blinding beam that quickly took the shape of a bi-pedaled blue turtle with a red shell. A set of curious purplish hues landed on Juda after the freshly emerged Squirtle took as

quick scan of it's surroundings, it's whole body twisting from side to side.

"Hey there man." Juda knelt down and got onto Leonardo's eye level, matching his own gaze. "Pleasure to meet you friend."

"Squirtle Squir," Leonardo replied back, it's miniature hand coming up to it's forehead, as if it was giving a salute. Dissimilar to any other sort of wild animal, the blue turtle seemed more than capable of understanding every word Juda had uttered.

Unlike previously with the Pikachu however, there were no English words repeated in the back of the black haired youths head.

"My name is Juda Unmei, but you can call me whatever you do wish to." Juda shifted from a crouching position into crisscross sitting, folding his arms over his chest. "After a lengthy conversation with the Professor, it looks like me and you will be traveling together for a while."

"Squirtle. Squirt Squirtle." Leonardo gave a small nod, showing that he understood what was being said.

"Given this opportunity I wanted to call you out and see if you were okay with that." The black haired youth tilted his head slightly, his mind wandering ever so slightly. "Ma boi Oak was the one who handed you off and I have no idea who caught you, who trained you, or who had raised you. I wasn't even sure if you could understand me at first because my knowledge on Pokemon in general is utter dogshit. You see, I'm not exactly from around these parts, or even from this world you call home. Where I'M from, the closest we ever got to you was a show called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

Juda wasn't entirely sure why he was suddenly going off on a tangent whilst talking with the Squirtle but for some reason it felt quite therapeutic. Especially since the Squirtle seemed to understand most of what was being said to it, apart from the last bit regarding TMNT.

"I have no idea how anything around here works. Here I am, thrown into a situation where I'm likely to die, either from the elements, Pokemon, or even other people." The blue eyed individual let out a sigh. "I'm about as green as you can get and I'm not exactly a prodigy or anything akin to it so no doubt my growth and understanding won't improve at any astounding rates. I'm young and rash and I'll make a shit ton of mistakes along the way, some that may even get us killed."

"Squirtle." Leonardo nodded in confirmation at the last sentence, as if he had already been expecting as much.

"With all that in mind, I completely understand if you wanna go back to the Windmill Laboratory." Juda held out a hand and closed it into a fist. "But if you're okay with all of that then let's travel together, you and me. Let explore this God forsaken world and find out the mysteries of why the fuck I'm here. Let's do it together, as partners."

The Squirtle seemed to contemplate what Juda had said for a moment, it hues flicking from the outstretched fist to the youths brightly colored eyes. Obviously it was all quite a lot to take in, assuming the small reptile had actually comprehended what had just been said. It was a tossup on whether or not Leonardo would agree to travel alongside Juda, that much was certain, but whichever way the turtle went, the youth was fine with it. He wasn't really a fan of carrying around a creature that held enough intelligence to communicate, let alone making that same creature fight other dangerous beasts. He definitely needed the assistance but there wasn't anything he could do if Squirtle suddenly deserted him in the midst of a fight. It was best to get it out of the way at that moment.

TAP!

The feeling of a small yet cold fist touched Juda's extended appendage, silently startling the youth whom had been completely lost in his own thoughts.

"Squirtle Squirt." Leonardo muttered, his free hand giving another salute. In the back of Juda's mind, he heard the echoing voice of (("Let's do this together then."))