The Distortion world had a thing for contradicting natural laws. To be fair, it was pretty fun. The decreased gravity helped a lot with traveling, I could hop tens of feet without a care in the world. It felt like I was an astronaut jumping on the moon, or one of those scenes in a cartoon where the characters were jumping on clouds.
When we came to an area without any floating chunks for us to jump across, Winnie would step up and use some sort of psychic type move to nudge chunks of dirt and rocks over for us so we wouldn’t have to take longer routes.
He struggled with the move at first and would have to concentrate for a few minutes to reach and drag over chunks that were a bit too far away, but with some encouragement and lots of practice, he was able to improve his usage of the move.
It definitely wasn’t Psychic, I don’t think the Hisuan Zorua line can learn Psychic, but they can learn Extrasensory.
Besides the Distortion world’s floating islands, weird colors, there were also these weird bubbles that showed scenes of random places in the Pokemon world. Most were just places out in the wilderness, but I was able to identify a few iconic scenes, like the Spear Pillars, Lumiose tower, and what I think was the battle subway.
I tried experimenting with the bubbles to see if they were portals out of the Distortion world but they somehow always remained just out of reach. Rocks thrown by me and attacks from Winnie didn’t seem to reach or affect the bubbles either, so we quickly lost interest in them and kept moving.
The problem was that there were nothing but floating islands as far as the eye could see. We were just going in some random direction with no real destination and had been for who knows how long.
We made stops every now and then either to take a break or look for a change in scenery that we could explore. After a while, it began to feel like we were just going in circles, I swore that I’d seen certain islands before. Not to mention how the complete muffled silence of the Distortion realm really grated on my nerves.
Winnie’s presence helped cheer me up, he wasn’t super talkative while we were on the move, but during breaks he’d yap to me about what I guess is whatever he was thinking about.
The language barrier didn’t stop me from understanding the basics of what he was saying thanks to how animated he was while he was explaining something.
I’d tell him about stuff too, mostly stuff about the Pokemon world, though he seemed the most interested in listening to me talk about food. I promised him that once we get out and to a city, I’d find a nice restaurant for us to eat at (assuming we had the money for that).
By the time something new came up, my legs were burning from the constant jumping. We were due for a break. A yip from Winnie alerted me to a strange vertical spiral of interconnecting islands appeared in the distance.
There was something strange about the spiral, like when there’s a heat wave and the heat makes the air shimmer. It was a no brainer for the two of us that this was our next destination. I was exhausted from moving for so long despite the breaks, but one last push would be fine, we’d just take a longer break after that.
Steadily, we made our way towards the spiraled islands looming in the distance. Eventually we came to an area with no rock or dirt chunks within Winnie’s reach, the gap between islands we were trying to cross was too big and didn’t have any rock chunks to cross over with.
I was about to turn back to find another route when Winnie tapped my leg with a paw, signaling for me to wait.
“Zorua!” He yipped before crouching down and scrunching up his face in concentration.
Winnie’s eyes glowed blue with psychic type energy and the ground beneath us began to slowly move through the air. I crouched down and grabbed the grass on the chuck to steady myself, as Winie’s Extrasensory propelled us to the closest area with chunks big enough for us to stand on.
“Thanks buddy, I was dreading having to find a roundabout way across.”
“Rua,” Winnie panted, ears and tail drooping from the effort of moving such a large chunk of dirt.
Kneeling down, I scooped the little white fox up, “Here, I’ll carry you and we can stop and take a longer rest at the tower island.”
Winnie grinned and hopped out from my arms onto my shoulders and head, gripping onto my head with his small claws, which made me wince.
After making sure Winnie was in a comfortable position on my head, I continued walking towards the island tower. We had no plans after getting there, maybe make a ruckus and hope that Giratina shows up and lets us out?
I mean, you’re bound to notice a rodent in your house if it gets on top of the counter and begins yelling super loud for help, right?
I slowly followed the trail of islands and floating rocks up and around the tower till we reached the top. My legs were beginning to feel numb from the effort of basically having just jumped up a few hundred flights of stairs, even with the light gravity.
The last jump onto the top of the spiral island took everything left in me to get through. By then my legs were essentially noodles of no energy. Winnie hopped off of me as I let myself fall to the ground and laid down on my back, regaining my breath.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Zorua!” The ghost fox yipped in celebration as he ran a few laps around me and jumped on my face.
“Mgrfph. Yeah, we got to the top.” I replied, the little fox’s soft belly fur muffling my voice.
Winnie wiggled his way off my face and curled up next to my head as I yawned and stretched. I had always been decently athletic and active, but hiking for what felt like hours almost nonstop would make anyone tired.
Come to think of it, besides from getting tired, I don’t really feel hungry or thirsty. And no need for a bathroom either…Eh, a mystery for another time.
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A sharp nip from Winnie woke me up. I blearily blinked and sat up, groaning as I felt a dull aching pain in my leg muscles. Did I fall asleep?
Then I saw the swirling mass of singing Unown surrounding us. There were so many of them they they almost completely blocked out the sky. …And they were singing the same undulating song from that Pokemon Movie with Entei and the Unown in these creepy child-like voices.
“Laaaa~ laaaa~ laaaaa~ laaaa~”
All their creepy little eyes looked at and stayed focused on me, as if they were waiting for something. My heart rate spiked, and Winnie’s fur stood on end as he looked between me and the Unown with wide eyes. I rested my hand on his back and smoothed down his fur before getting up.
“What the hell?” I muttered. The mass of Unown’s changed their pattern of movement as I moved.
“Hi?” I said, waving at the living symbols. There was no reaction from them. Ummm, what did they do in the anime again? They granted that girl’s wishes from that Movie with Entei and the wish of another kid in Pokemon Journeys. So maybe I can make a wish?
“Crap. Ok, uh, can I get my bag from my Pokemon Violet game save with all the stuff in it? Including some form of ID. And some extra changes of clothes.”
The Unown immediately changed patterns and violently swirled around, changing from a dome into a conical shape as their chanting and singing became more frenzied. A rectangular red bag materialized out of nowhere and fell down, I grabbed it before it hit the ground.
“Nice, thanks guys.” I said as I examined the bag, it was the exact same one I had in Pokemon Violet from what I could tell. How convenient.
“zorua?” Winnie asked.
“They’re friendly. I think. I’m not sure how they work but they can alter reality while in large groups.” I answered his question as I thought about what else to ask for, probably just a portal out of the Distortion world.
But before I could ask for another wish, the Unown’s singing changed to garbled squeaks of panic and they scattered like a school of fish, disappeared into thin air. Shit, maybe I should’ve asked for the portal first.
An enormous shadow loomed over the two of us as a deep gravelly voice growled out, “Well, well, look at the little pests I’ve found.”
Winnie whipped around and hissed at the owner of the shadow. I slowly turned around, heart rate spiking to another high as I realized who it was.
THE Giratina loomed over us, glaring at us with it’s unnerving red eyes. The anime didn’t do Giratina any justice, it was a massive Pokemon, large enough to eat a double decker airplane with ease.
A single eye was bigger than I was, and the sheer pressure from the power the legendary exuded made it hard to stay standing.
It felt like someone turned the gravity dial up to the max setting. My limbs locked up and I just stared back as my mind went into overdrive, trying to figure out what to do next.
Before my mind could catch up, I stupidly smiled at one of the literal gods of the Pokemon world, “Hey, what’s up?”
There was a tense pause before Giratina spoke again, “There is nothing of note above us. What are you mortals doing in my realm?”
“Ummmmmm. L-looking for a way out. Lunala sent us here by a-accident because of a Necrozma attack.” I replied, doing my best to keep my voice from shaking.
“zor. zorua zorua.” Winnie barked, his voice was a shaky too. I could feel him pressing himself to my leg, I just nodded along to what he said as if I could understand it.
“Hmph. Incompetent bastards. The Ultra Beasts have an irritating tendency of sending mortals to other dimensions, this isn’t the first time one has been sent to mine. ” Giratina’s deep baritone voice rumbled, its eyes narrowed.
“O-oh, that sucks.”
The giant centipede dragon growled and slowly circled the island like a shark circling it’s prey, “You know nothing of it. Having to clean up their mess is irritating at the least.” It snapped, before letting out an exasperated sigh, “Whatever. Tell me where you are from so I can send you back.”
That’s gonna be harder to answer. “Um, I’m from another dimension that’s really different from this one. Like, really different. Pokemon don’t really exist where I’m from, they’re from a video game franchise.”
Giratina leaned in as if to examine me more closely before speaking. I felt a strange chill and shivered as its enormous red eyes focused on me, “That is true, you are not from a world that I or my peers have jurisdiction over. Strange…A world where Pokemon are fictional.” How does it know even know that I’m telling the truth? Pokemon magic?
Its eyes shifted to examine Winnie as well. The little fox ducked behind my legs before poking his head out to growl at Giratina.
“Yet the little white one is from the same place. Interesting… Perhaps that is why the Unown took an interest in you two.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that the little one was brought to life by the Unown while your soul was given a new body.”
“New body?” I asked, so I was right about that.
“Yes. Your original body is in that flying metal tube you humans use for transportation, at the bottom of the ocean. ” Giratina replied.
“You most likely gained a new body from the Unown because you did not have one when you arrived in this universe.”
I stood there for a minute, trying to process what Giratina just told me. And is it normal to not really care that my old body is rotting at the bottom of the ocean? Most people would’ve been horrified, I certainly was not exempt from that group, but I felt strangely apathetic about being dead and then brought back to life by the whims of some sentient letters.
“zorua.” Feeling Winnie’s paw tap my leg. “I’m okay Winnie, this is just kinda weird? I dunno. I guess that explains why Winnie is here.”
“Do not think too much about it, afterall, it is not possible to go back. Think of it as a fresh start with wisdom from the past.”
I sighed, “I’m more confused on why the Unown would help us. Ya know, with bringing Winnie to life and bringing me back to life.”
“No one knows why, the Unown act for unknown reasons. Hence the name.” Giratina said with an eye roll, as if it was obvious.
I nodded at the dragon’s statement. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Giratina did an approximation of a shrug. “You can go contemplate your existence somewhere else where I do not have to deal with you. I will send you two to the region that resembles your original homeland the closest.”
With a lazy wave of a dark tendril, a portal swirled to life next to me, it was pretty similar to the one I entered the distortion realm though, just with more purple and black and somehow even more saturated.
“Thanks Giratina.” I said, the dragon scoffed and made a shooing motion at us to get going. Taking the hint, I stepped through the portal with Winnie at my heels.