I woke slowly, my brain foggy and my thoughts fuzzy. My head hurt, too. Ugh, why did my head hurt so bad? What did I do last night? But every time I tried to think back, a sharp pain shot through my skull, causing me to wince. Oh god, did I drink and go off the deep end? I don’t even like alcohol!

“Hey, are…you okay?” I hear a voice ask. Oh great, Violet, I chastise myself. You also managed to pass out somewhere in public?

“It’s just…” the voice continued hesitantly. “You’ve been laying there a while now, and you’re starting to freak the Krabby out. If you want to nap, maybe you should go home?”

Crabby who? DId I miss a word? Probably. Either way, I’m being kicked out. Pull yourself together and head home, you can wallow later. Bracing myself, I grit my teeth and lift my body. I try to stand up, but the best I can do is sway on all fours, like an animal. Ugh, this is humiliating.

“You don’t look so good,” the voice says, sounding worried. I’m worried too, pal.

“I’ll be fine,” I try to say, but my tongue sticks to my mouth and my teeth feel all weird. Kinda pointy? I don’t know how much I’d have to drink to make that happen, though.

I pry my eyes open, squinting at the bright orange light. A rhythmic sound whooshes in the background, but the sight in front of me makes it hard to focus on anything else.

It’s…a mudkip. A pokemon. Staring right at me. His little orange fin-whiskers are twitching slightly, his blue finned tail whisking the ground anxiously.

And something just as strange is the fact that it’s almost eye level with me. I do have to look slightly down, but from my current position, I’m able to look in its beady black eyes, no problem. With a very slow motion, I glance down to see two small feet, rounded with no real shape to them, tan and fuzzy. I gently lift my right arm and the paw moves. I put it back down, taking in a deep breath so I don’t freak out.

“Do you have anywhere to go?” the mudkip asks me, still concerned. I shake my head, my thoughts reeling. This has got to be a dream, right? Some strange fever dream from playing too much Pokemon before bed, just like my mom would say. Normally, that would make me ecstatic, so why am I so afraid?

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Because this doesn’t feel like a dream. This feels REAL. I can feel the sand crunch under my hands-or paws- and I can smell the salt in the air. Salt, I realize, and turn my head to see the ocean, the exact same ocean that greeted players at the beginning of the Mystery Dungeon game I loved so much.

“What the hell is going on?” I mutter to myself. Even saying those words feels foreign with this new body; the teeth clack together uncomfortably and I bite my tongue at some point. But it’s all background, something I barely notice. I’m just trying to understand what might have happened when something wet splashes my face.

“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry!” the mudkip apologizes frantically. “I meant to splash your feet, but I missed, you just weren’t answering and it’s starting to get dark-”

Oh, it is, I belatedly realize. The sun has been sinking below the horizon this whole time and a cold breeze blows through my clothes-no, my fur. I shiver and look around.

“I…I don’t know what to do,” I say out loud. Tears begin to well up in my eyes at the whole situation and I really don’t want to cry, but everything is so bizarre and strange and I don’t even know if it’s real. A few rapid breaths escape from my mouth as I try to calm myself.

“I-It’s okay!” the mudkip tries to console me. “Hey, it’s alright! You can come with me for tonight, okay? But please don’t cry.” I sniffle and nod, forcing back the tears and emotions both. There’s no way this is real, no matter how real it feels. What’s it called, a lucid dream? Yeah, I nodded. I was lucid dreaming, a small treat my brain was giving me after a very stressful day. I should just accept this and enjoy it. After all, how often did you get to be in your favorite game for real?

“There you go, see?” mudkip cheered up, brushing his tailfin across my side. It felt comforting, like a hug. “We’ll get you some dinner, and we can talk, and maybe in the morning the Guildmaster can even help you with your problem, like they did with me!”

“That sounds nice,” I say, with a slight lisp on the s’s. An odd detail for a dream but I just accept it, too worn out to do anything else.

“What’s your favorite berry?” the little pokemon asks kindly, seeming more confident now that I’d calmed down.

“Uh, Oran berries,” I reply. It’s the only berry I can remember from the game off the top of my head, but the mudkip nods in agreement.

“Those are pretty good. I like Pecha Berries best, but Oran berries have a unique taste that’s very nice. Hopefully they added some of those to dinner today.”

“Thank you,” I tell the pokemon and his orange whisker-fins twitch happily.

“Of course! It’s my duty to help others as a member of the Guild!”

I remember the guild from the game and wonder if I’ll get to see Wigglytuff too.

“So, what’s your name?” the mudkip asks, sounding a little nervous again. “It’s okay if you don’t feel ready to tell me yet…”

“My name is Violet,” I reply, stepping carefully so I don’t slip as we climb. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Ripple,” the pokemon replies. What a cute name.

“Thank you again, Ripple,” I say. “I don’t know what happened to me, but I don’t seem to be myself today. I hope I’ll be feeling better soon.”