Yes, when I woke up, it was still my Birthday, meaning it was still April Fools. Whatever ridiculous prank I was trapped in, it wasn’t over. The feeling of being watched was gone, but I wasn’t very reassured.
For the first time in probably my entire life, I woke up somewhere I didn’t recognize. I wasn’t in my bed, or my room, or my campus, and there was a very good chance that I was no longer in Canada as well.
I woke up on a fucking airplane in mid-flight. The plane was horrendously tacky by the way, with a bright green shag carpet, blue and white seats made of some kind of memory foam fit with armrests, and what looked like armoured light grey walls with rounded square windows.
The strangeness of the plane wasn’t the worrying part, it was the fact that I very much did not fall asleep on a plane, nor did I have plans to board one in the near future.
When I looked down, I noticed that I was in my pajamas, just like when I was trapped in my room in the bear dimension. My purple, blue, and yellow plaid pajamas with matching sleeping cap and fuzzy slippers at least made my surprise travel existential dread experience quite comfortable.
My pajamas had pockets. Searching them, I didn’t have my phone, and I also didn’t have my passport, how the fuck did I get on this plane?
Surprisingly, I do indeed have a ticket. It’s the only thing on me. The boarding pass was a folded up rectangular piece of paper, which felt high-quality. Apparently, I was on flight 0703, it noted the date as being April 1st. The origin city was listed as “Palette Town, Kanto”, and the Destination was apparently “Lumiose City, Kalos”. The airline I was riding was apparently an “Air Altaria” model, explaining the tacky bright colouring.
The pass had purple borders, and between them was a colourful image of a woman sitting in a café with what looked to be a real life replica model of Prism Tower in the background. She had short black hair, blue eyes, pink jewel earrings, and an elegant black dress that made her look a very overdressed for a cafè visit.
Next to the woman was an expensive looking replica of a Floette, that small middle-stage fairy Pokémon from Kalos, holding a red and black flower. The words “Happy Birthday, Oliver Garden!” were printed in small font over the image. A colourful, well-decorated cake with an assortment of candles and a lit sparkler sat on a nearby table. The back of the ticket was identical to the front.
This had to be some kind of bizarre prank, right? I don’t live in the Pokémon world! Where the hell did all my stuff go, and how did I get here!? Where was this plane taking me, and how the fuck did airport security let me through their whole thing with no identification other than this extremely dubious ticket? I wonder if they made me take off my slippers? You’d think I’d remember booking a flight, getting to the airport with no car somehow, and getting on it, much less one to a fictional location!
What’s going to happen to me when this plane reaches it’s destination? If I’m on a real flight, I’m going to have to find my way back home on my own. If this is all a dream, then maybe I can wake myself up! I tried pinching myself, hard, until it left a mark. Nothing happened. I was stuck here, this was real.
I can’t even check if anyone’s trying to reach me or look for me. How long would it take for me to be reported missing? Could I even be found?
How the hell am I making it through customs? I hope I don’t end up arrested for this somehow!
I can worry forever if I wanted to. I don’t want to let my fears control me again, like the bear did. I need to get it’s stare out of my head. It’s not watching me anymore, I can feel it. It can’t get me here, wherever here is.
…
My vision was fine, and I can breathe. I may be breathing a little bit too much actually, but I’ll get it under control.
What if I’m dead? What if I passed away in my sleep on Earth, and I woke up here? Could I really be in the Pokémon world, on a flight to an actual Kalos region?
I always wondered what it would be like if I was a Pokémon trainer. My family and I often found ourselves playing those games, battling each other, comparing our progress, sharing tips, cooking up theories. I can’t count how much collective time we spent in that world.
I was never able to beat any of them when we battled. The games were easy enough that I could build my Pokémon team any way I wanted, which often meant it was full of the silliest of little guys. My younger sister always had some clever strategy I couldn’t quite counter, and my parents didn’t have much time to play with us, but they brought their A-game each time they did. They never held back or gave up a loss on purpose. It was still always fun!
I haven’t played a Pokémon game in a while now, not since I started uni. Too much distraction. If I let myself play one, I’d probably wind up spending too much time on it, and I have responsibilities I can’t neglect. I’ll enjoy more games in the summer, I told myself. If I knew I wouldn’t make it to April, I’d probably say to hell with that, and play the games day and night!
I never figured out if I loved Pokémon for the games and show itself, or because of who I was enjoying them with. Would I get bored playing them all by myself? It would feel a little bit wrong.
If I was in the Pokémon world right now, could I do this? Would everything be like the game? Could I find an apartment, get the money for it, and live my life here? I kind of relied financially on my parents, at least at the beginning, when I got my place. How would I eat and sleep? Could I scrape by? How would I write a resume, I doubt you could reach any of my references from a different world!
The reality of the situation was slowly hitting me more and more, and I felt a feeling I hadn’t in a long time. I couldn’t quite place it. Being lost? Homesickness? The feeling of knowing that you know nothing, and nobody is around to help you. Like the horizon is an endless dark sea. Every wave threatening to send you over the edge, sinking down into the dread and fear you’re trying to float above. What happened to me? I need to calm down.
I felt tired again, like when I tried to open that scavenger hunt clue in the bear dream. I felt like I hadn’t slept, showered, hydrated, or eaten in ages. It’s really crummy, would I even recognize myself if I found a mirror?
I found myself staring out of the airplane window. It was sunrise, and the horizon was starting to take on it’s orange-baby blue colour. It was too bright to see my reflection. White fluffy clouds slowly danced across that space like misty fish in boundless tranquil waters. I want my mind to be as clear as the sky.
I don’t know how long I sat like that, wondering if this sky was the one I knew.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by a familiar feeling. There were eyes on me again, I was being watched. The feeling had become ingrained into my very soul after my run-ins with the melted cheese bear. It’s deep void eyes flashed through my head. The feeling of inhuman eyes, silently watching.
In a snap, I turned my head to face it directly. It came from between the two seats in front of me. If the ticket wasn’t enough to convince me that I was in the Pokémon world, the Pikachu just about did it.
The small fluffy creature, who was actually extremely large for mouse standards, gazed at me with deep black eyes and a bored expression. It had probably been looking around the plane, just in case there was something engaging or interesting to see.
When the mouse Pokémon locked eyes with me, it smiled and gave a sleepy little wave before continuing it’s lazy scan. I just sat there and kept staring at it in shock. Not electric shock, just the normal kind. It looked so real.
It wasn’t like anything I’ve seen before. Not from the games, the show, or even the more realistic movies!
It was coated in real yellow fur, with smooth red cheeks, two pointed ears, and a lighting bolt tail! It’s movements were seamless, like I was looking at an actual animal, one with thoughts and intelligence behind it’s filled black sclera and wide white pupils.
The Pikachu looked so real, like it was alive and breathing right in front of me. As if I could reach out and touch it. Accidentally, I did just that, leaning forward in my seat with an outstretched arm.
When you go to pet a mouse that doubles as an industrial sized battery without warning, or permission, you may get more sensation than you bargained for. My hand sparked almost instantly!
“KA!?” squeaked the living thunderbolt, caught off guard. What felt like 1,000 volts coursed right up my arm and coated my entire body with a bright yellow glow!
It sucked, not that I didn’t deserve it! It felt like a weighted, superheated sledgehammer had been slammed through my arm and into my entire body, forcing every muscle to constrict, and every nerve to vibrate. I could swear I was able to see my skeleton at some point, like a cartoon character, as I was forced into multiple silly poses.
“AAAAA HOLY FUCK!!” I screamed as the electricity forced me to dance the robot.
After a second, the shock stopped, and the ringing in my ears slowly began clearing away. I was stunned, but my senses came back to me. It felt like I’d gotten struck by actual lightning, but luckily, the pain went away pretty quickly. They way it affected me definitely wasn’t normal.
I thought my body had been charred to a crisp, but instead I was just coated in a thick layer of grey soot, which I easily shook off. My hair was comically frizzy and stood on end for a while until I could fluff out the static electricity.
In a matter of moments, I looked like nothing strange had happened, if a bit more shaken up and lightly cooked and bruised. At least, as far as I could tell. I could see my arms, legs, and chest, but had no updates on my face.
The reactions of the two people in the seats in front of me gave me a pretty good indication, though.
“Whoa! That was quite a shock! Are you guys okay?” Said the one in the window seat. He had comically spiky black hair, and bright brown eyes filled with light. He wore a blue and white jacket with a plain black undershirt, and a red and white hat with a Pokéball-like design on it. He looked between his Pikachu and I with worry.
I recognized their appearance. He was more real than he was supposed to be, like a high budget cosplay, but this was undoubtedly Ash Ketchum.
“Pikapi! Pika…” I couldn’t understand the Pikachu’s squeaks of, but he said something to Ash, and then looked apologetically at me, rubbing the back of it’s head. I somehow figured out that it was an apology, and was able to respond, like nothing about the situation was strange. Inside, though, I think I was more shocked than when I was hit by the point blank thunderbolt!
“Whoa… uh, no, it was my fault, sorry, Pikachu! I’ve just never seen a real one before. I almost can’t believe it!” I think I held my excitement back well enough to give a genuine apology. I felt bad, I probably shocked the little guy, he was so relaxed before!
Not only could I recognize Ash and Pikachu, but I recognized this entire scene. At the start of the XY season of the show, Ash, donned in his shiny new Kalos outfit, took a flight from his home in Palette Town to Lumiose City. It matched my ticket information. This was that same flight.
The person next to Ash was a taller woman with short sandy brown hair, and a swirled antenna that pointed forward upwards out of a smooth haircut. She had deep olive eyes, golden orb earrings, and wore a fitted pink and black shirt with a popped white collar.
Also visible was the camera case, safely strapped around her back. A small yellow and black lizard peeked cautiously over her shoulder.
It was a second Pokémon, one I’d used myself in my playthrough of Pokémon X. Helioptile, the generator Pokémon, was an electric type frilled lizard that also looked far more real than it’s appearance in the games and show. It was so… scaly and frilly and cool! It stared curiously at me with deep blue eyes and white pupils.
Ash responded to my apology, seemingly receptive, as did Pikachu, deciding that a small lecture was enough payback. I hope I sounded genuine, the more I looked at the merry team, the worse I felt for messing with them.
“No problem! In the future, just be careful. I know Pikachu looks very soft, and it can be tempting to pet a lot of different Pokémon, especially new ones, but you should always ask for permission first!”
“Pika!” nodded Pikachu, who not only regained his composure, but smiled larger than before, the bored look in his eyes fading with a topic of conversation.
“Especially if you come across a mushroom Pokémon! Those ones tend to have all sorts of unpleasant effects!” Alexa added, enjoying talking about information she’s studied before, even if it was only barely on topic to Ash’s point. Her journalism was almost always Pokémon related, from what I could remember.
I couldn’t help myself, and responded automatically like the ridiculous Pokémon nerd I am! “Oh! That’s because of effect spore, right? It happens kinda often in the show, where someone steps on a mushroom Pokémon in a forest, and they’re stuck with a random status until the end of the episode! That ability is so annoying in the games, but… so… good…” At the end there, I realized that I was talking to my favourite duo on TV, who are the protagonists of that very show I was telling them about. If I described their own show to them too well, it would absolutely creep them out big time! Not to mention the games!
Imagine if a gross-looking stranger showed up, or even a clean one, and then described very specific events in you life as if it was a show or a game! I’d think I was dealing with a crazy person! Not a good idea, I should be a bit more careful. I can handle this. They probably thought I’d watched a show on the normal Pokémon TV stations or played a video game something. Did the Pokémon world have Pokémon video games?
That said, my impulsive response didn’t seem to concern the animated quartet at all. In fact, all of them reacted positively, like they were glad to meet someone else passionate about Pokémon! Even Helioptile became interested, hopping onto the armrest by Pikachu. Honestly, their energies were absolutely infectious, and for a moment, I felt freed of my heavy fatigue!
Ash replied first. “Whoa! Yeah, that’s happened to me and people I know a few times! Dealing with statuses can be the worst! I used to travel with people who knew all about the different types of statuses, and the moves and abilities that caused them! By the way, have you been on a journey? Do you have any Pokémon?” The whole time Ash was talking, Pikachu also kept squeaking it’s name at me excitedly. Of course, I didn’t understand it. With every word, the two seemed to get more and more excited and carried away until he snowballed into asking me a flurry of questions directly.
No wonder he was energized, this was apparently a flight headed to a new region and journey for him and Pikachu! A big one at that!
Before I answer anything, with specific details excluded of course, Alexa responded with a calmer tone, deciding to lecture Ash. Was that a common form of punishment in this world?
“Now Ash, this person doesn’t even know our names yet. If you want to ask him for any kind of scoop, you should probably introduce yourself first. You two look around the same age, after all!” Alexa commented with a smile for some reason.
Uh, no we didn’t! I know Ash looked older this season, but he was still 10 here. He’d be 10 for another decade until his story ended! I’m a pretty tall guy, I don’t look THAT young! I decided to introduce myself and mention it.
“Hmm, then should we do introductions? My name’s Oliver, and no, I’m not a trainer, I just… really like Pokémon! Also, I’m 18, as of today, so… are- is your age close to that?” I was very careful about not mentioning Ash’s name, or his age, neither of which I should know without my meta-knowledge. Ash responded with something that even with all my acceptance of this situation, still confused me.
“No way! Is today your birthday? Mine too! We’re 2 years apart! My name’s Ash Ketchum from Palette Town, happy birthday!”
“No chance…” I replied in amazement.
I guess I accidentally hinted at it, and Ash was able to guess that it was my birthday today. Apparently, his birthday was the same day! As far as I knew, he did not have a birthday, as he never aged, and didn’t need one. If I ever learned that his birthday fell on my birthday, I would have remembered it, that would be awesome!
Also, Ash isn’t supposed to be 2 years apart from me! I assumed he meant 16, he definitely didn’t look or sound 20. He had the same voice, if a touch deeper, despite being 6 years older than he should be! What happened to the Pokémon timeline!? He’s never supposed to age!
Alexa replied, introducing herself too. That would make this game of pretend a lot easier. It snapped me out of my train of thought, but I began to suspect that I had less knowledge over this situation than I thought. I wonder if anything else was different than it should be. Then again, I’m not supposed to be in this scene in the first place! I’ll chalk it up to a glitch or something.
“And my name’s Alexa! Nice to meet you!” She replied, with a tone that sounded like something you’d hear before a hand shake. Helioptile said something, but again, I had no clue what.
She continued “Not just anyone knows fun facts like that, what brings you to the Kalos region, Oliver?”
How was I supposed to answer that one? I had no clue why I was here, or even how I got here! Alexa, from what I remember, was a well meaning, adventurous, and even sometimes forgetful character. Her curiosity was enormous, but she wasn’t the prying nosy reporter type.
I was safe to change the subject, and had quite the topic in mind. After all, neither are treated like it in-universe, but they’re both public figures who should be recognized occasionally!
“The food and all the new Pokémon I’ll see there! Also, I think I actually recognize you two! I’ve seen my fair share of your stories in the past, Alexa. And Ash, I could swear I saw you and your Pikachu in the Unova league broadcast! You and your team were amazing!”
Before I could continue, I watched the four’s reactions to the comments. Alexa seemed familiar with being recognized, beaming in response, but Ash and Pikachu very much did not, though their reactions still looked positive. A combination of shock and embarrassment flushed along their faces. Alexa and Helioptile were the only ones able to reply at first.
“Recognized in the field, huh? Well if you’re interested, check the press soon, I have loads of stories to share. I was just on a scouting trip in Unova up until recently, I actually met up with Ash shortly after that league. Have any favourite stories you recall? I always try to find the best!”
I actually knew that fact extremely well! At the end of the black and white show, Alexa showed up with Helioptile, Gogoat and Noivern, three really cool Pokémon who were revealed a generation early! Of course, all three ended up on my team rotation in-game, I just couldn’t resist, and never regretted it.
I actually remembered a single one of her stories! She probably brought up more in the show at some point, but I didn’t recall them.
“Yeah, I do! I remember one where you told a story about how you met your Gogoat! The one where you had to go down that cliff to get your camera back, and when you couldn’t get back up, it brought you all the way to the top!”
I gave an answer that was more of a personal story than a profession article piece, hoping she’d wrote about it at some point. Her positive reaction probably meant that my gut was right! I wonder what kind of articles she actually publishes, I don’t think we got to see any of them in the actual show. I wonder what strange, obscure lore I could learn if I stayed in this world!
Soon, Ash finally had time to react.
“I… Nobody’s recognized us before, not like this. With so many regions out there, nobody has time to look at much more than the finals, and those watching in-person stay behind when we go.” I couldn’t recognize the expression on Ash’s face as he spoke, but Pikachu shared it, and it looked kind of familiar. He continued.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“So… was it the top 8 match that you saw? The one against Cameron? What did you think?” Whatever was going in in Ash’s head, his voice hid some kind of excitement, a determination, maybe.
He rarely discussed previous league events after they had ended, and practically never thought of them in the next season of the show. I actually don’t know off the top of my head how he’s supposed to feel about his league losses.
In the moments, though, he’s always willing to congratulate his opponent, happy with a good match, and ready to try again, and again, and again, until he finally earns himself that win and follows it all the way to the top! Whatever was driving Ash Ketchum and Pikachu forwards, it was strong, formless, and indomitable. Unyielding.
I felt safe being honest with him, and wanted to know how he felt about it. Not that I hadn’t already thought about this topic. I’d often find myself comparing the league matches of each generation in my head, and deciding that the Unova league was easily bottom 2 if not the worst outright to watch, the final match being notably weak.
“Honestly, it was a bit rough. You both made some basic mistakes, and the biggest one was ignoring type advantages! Switching into weaknesses, not switching out on them, not to mention your opponent only brought 5 Pokémon to a 6 on 6! He was still able to win, it felt like his team was just stronger, but not strong enough to win in the top 4. Not that the fight wasn’t fun, I could tell both of you were strong trainers, enjoying the experience! It just wasn’t my cup of tea.” Honestly, the battle was pretty fun to watch, if I turned my brain off, but it seemed to be a regression of Ash’s skills as a trainer, a problem with the gen 5 season as a whole.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to bring up his experiences in Sinnoh yet, but I greatly preferred that league, and the entire season leading up to it. Now those battles were cool!
Ash looked at me with that same unknowable look, light flaring behind his eyes. “So that’s how it looked, huh… Y’know what? Oliver, I’m on the way to Kalos to start a new journey! I’ve brushed up on my basics, and things aren’t going to end up the same. If you watch my gym matches, or just watch the league, I promise, I’ll prove you wrong!” By the end, the boy and his large mouse had wide grins on their faces. It felt electric, and I found myself smiling too, believing that whatever he was thinking of, he could accomplish it.
I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by proving me wrong. I didn’t claim that he was a bad trainer or said anything questionable. In fact, this league is the one where Ash reaches the finals for the first time, and the Alola league is the one where he wins! What was he going to prove wrong? What did Ash think I was wrong about?
Before I could ask anything further, an announcement came over the plane intercom.
“Hey, passengers! People and Pokémon, we’re starting our descent! Buckle up your seatbelts, hang on to your partners, secure your stuff and all that!”
“Taria!”
The silly informal message was good enough, and everyone went to buckle up their seatbelts, including me. It sounded like a Pokémon joined in the announcement at the end there.
“Well, it was good to meet you Oliver!” Ash said, waving a quick goodbye before focusing an excited stare out the window, along with Pikachu, who had hopped over to his lap.
“I hope you have a lovely time in Kalos! If you need a town map, you can find it and all sorts of guides in Lumiose Airport!” Alexa responded before she and Helioptile waved goodbye and turned back around to face forwards.
“Thanks, I might go get one!” I replied with a small wave before leaning back in my seat.
I let out a quiet sigh. It felt nice, talking to the real versions of characters I knew, even if I was playing pretend as I did it. My situation didn’t really improve any, though.
I was still exhausted, and in need of a total recharge in practically every area! I also had nowhere to stay, or money to buy anything. All I could probably get was the free map, unless she meant that I had to buy one there.
My situation did change slightly, though. I wasn’t as worried not having my passport. Ash never had any form of identification like that. Even if he did, this plane wasn’t going to deliver us through one of those tube walkways into the customs terminal. I don’t think we saw a customs area at all! In the show, the plane dropped off everyone in some outdoor lot. I might be in the clear to enter the city!
If that’s the case, then I had a plan. The three things I needed were-
“He appreciated it, you know.” Commented a new voice, one that came from directly beside me.
I snapped my eyes in it’s direction to find a boy sitting in the plane seat next to me. I have no idea how I’d never noticed him until just now. I don’t think Ash, Alexa, Pikachu, or Helioptile addressed or even noticed him either.
“Your answer, I mean. It was wrong, and frankly kinda stupid, but it was yours. Most people would answer with a nice lie, but you decided not to.” The boy’s voice sounded slightly deeper than Ash’s, and he stared up at me with grey, cloudy eyes. They had bags under them, and he looked almost as awful as I suspected that I did.
He was the second glitch I saw that day. Unless count me being here as a glitch of course, that would make this one number 3, Ash’s age being the first. I recognized the guy just as I did Ash.
His outfit was eerily similar to Ash’s. He wore a sleek sweater with the same blue and white pattern as Ash’s jacket, the slight difference was uncanny. He wore a red cap with the exact same design I saw earlier, only missing the white colouring and the Pokéball design. Instead, a pair of sunglasses sat up there. His black hair was straightened, and fell neatly down to his neck. He wore a pair of skinny jeans and slim black boots. I didn’t see what Ash’s clothing equivalent was, but I from what I remember about his design, he has baggier track pants and black and red running shoes.
“Hello? Oliver?” He questioned, I must have gone quiet for a second there. “Oh right, introductions before questions, and all that, my bad! My name’s Calem!” He introduced himself, not that I hadn’t already figured out who he was.
They’re not supposed to coexist, Ash and Calem. Ash isn’t in the games, and Calem isn’t in the show. The brief animated shorts Calem appears in always set him in the distant background, and don’t give him a voice actor. Next to Ash, his outfit was far too similar, you could easily confuse the two for each other. I’m honestly not sure whose outfit was revealed first, but one definitely copied the other!
He most definitely wasn’t supposed to be in this scene of the show, and in the games, I don’t think you ever take a plane ride. The game starts with you living in Vaniville town, and you get through the bug gym in Santalune City before you make it to Lumiose for the first time. You, and by extension Calem, meet Alexa in that Santalune. The timeline is all strange, and that’s if we’re talking about Calem as a player character.
If you chose Serena to play as, Calem is your rival, and that opens up room for even more contradictions! For one, the player character is the one who’s recently traveled to Kalos, and there you meet your new neighbor, your rival who’s been there all along.
Not to mention, in the Show, Serena’s mom is the mom the player character gets in the games, her name was Grace or something. That would mean Calem would have to be the rival, right?
But if he was the rival, he would need to be in Kalos BEFORE Serena got there. But Calem’s on the same flight as Ash, who has to get to Kalos AFTER Serena. The first scene of the season belongs to her, after all, and her backstory includes her growing up in Kalos, a detail only consistent with Serena being the rival in the games. Which would make Calem his player character version from the games, meaning his mom should be the mom that Serena’s supposed to have in the show.
Ugh, it didn’t make any sense! The game/show continuity was a messy tangle at best and completely incomprehensible at worst. Whatever it’s done to the world, it’s created some glitches between what I know to be true about this fictional place, and the real one I’m stuck in now.
Like Ash being 16. I bet that glitch is being caused by this glitch! Serena and Calem are both meant to be the same age. I’m not sure which age, but I always assumed 16 or 17.
At the same time, Ash and Serena are meant to be the same age in the show, where they’re both 10. Mashing both of those worlds together somehow created a ripple that matched their ages. Like folding two mounds of modeling clay into each other. I’ll bet the Calem sitting next to me is 16 here, making him 2 years younger than me, like Ash.
I wondered where this world’s version of Serena is. I kept going too deep into thought as Calem just stared at me, trying to study my face. Eventually, I snapped out of it and just responded.
“Sorry! Just… thinking about a lot. I’m Oliver… like you heard, I guess! What was that about my answer? Which answer?” I replied, a bit confused about what he’d decided to bring up in the first place. Not as confused as I was about him being here on this plane, but still!
“Uh, the important one, duh! About the Unova league! I saw it too. That’s not why Ash lost that battle, not to me at least, but for someone who’s not a trainer, you make some good observations. Plus, you speak your mind, even to someone you admire. It’s refreshing to see, that’s all.” That had to be the strangest piece of praise I’d ever received. Then again, it was peppered with Pokémon world terminology, so make that double!
“Thanks! By the way Calem, what brings you to Kalos? Also, are you a trainer? You kinda sounded like one just now.” I mentioned, wondering about this version of Calem.
“Hmm… if you won’t tell me why you’re flying to Kalos, then why should I tell you?” Calem redirected.
“Oh, my bad, I thought you overheard. I’m going to Kalos to see the sights, and enjoy the food. Nothing special, just a pleasure trip, really!” I said in what a thought was a convincing lie. Calem stared up at me with his grey cloudy eyes.
Calem sighed, and lowered his voice to a whisper, even though nobody had been paying us any mind since the plane started it’s lazy descent. “Yeah, okay, I get you’re trying to blend in and everything, so you’re making up safe little lies. But, even if they can’t, I can see your face. Plus, you look awful. You also smell, like really bad. Like no showers for weeks bad. I was going to call you out when you woke up, but you also look and sound like you’re going to die of thirst and starvation in 2 hours! Pleasure trip, my butt! What in the world happened to you before you got here? Oliver, are you okay?”
That definitely was the question. I guess it wasn’t so easy to hide it from him, his voice had a tinge of concern to it. I still didn’t know what I thought about this Calem. In all version of him, he’s on the side of good, a key player in taking down Team Flare. He also doesn’t tell people that they smell, or like, talk at all. Could I trust him? Would he even believe me? Why hadn’t I told Ash and Alexa the truth?
How long was I going to play this game? Then again, having the prolonged attention of any know main players in this world could prove dangerous as fuck! What if to them, I’m the only glitch here? I could mess up the story and cause something awful to happen, or worse, I could end up directly targeted by some of the world’s strongest. Not ideal. I had to get better at blending in, camouflaging right into the safe background of the story.
I decided to play it safe, at least until I was in a stable position, and wouldn’t have to resort to any crimes like skipping town if the airport required passports for entrance, or sneaking food for myself. With team flare running around, Kalos probably had less time to worry about the petty crimes, other than the silly criminals Ash and his crew battled outside the usual Team Rocket blast off. I wanted my options wide open, and unobserved. Pride and innocence won’t keep me from taking water and a meal.
Also I genuinely don’t think Calem ever eats. Or sleeps or drinks, or uses the bathroom, like most Pokémon protagonists. Ash does sometimes, but I doubt I could mooch a free room out of him. Not that I wanted to, but I was desperate here, enough to worry about it! I don’t think I was desperate enough to start begging for handouts, though. I am still in control. I’ll be fine.
“Hey, no lies here! What, do people not come to Kalos for the sights and food? The region has two local specialties where most regions only have one, and there are plenty of benches in Kalos which let you relax and gaze at a wonderful view! And you don’t look much better than I do. Sorry for not keeping up with hygiene, things have been… rough lately, but it’s none of your business, I’ll be okay. I’ll clean up as soon as I… get to my room. You should do the same. Are YOU alright, Calem?” I said, as genuinely as I could. The game protagonist actually did look a little worse for wear, my worry for him was the only true part of my tangent.
“Tsk… Fine. Can’t blame you for being safe. Just… know that I’m on your side, and that you’re never alone. Now that you’re here, things are going to get more dangerous. Be careful who you trust, Oliver. I hope you find your way back home.” Calem said, a hint of disappointment and acceptance in his voice.
I just stared back at him. What he said was almost complete nonsense to me. What danger? Why should I have to trust anyone? I’d probably be fine, I know the story, I know that Team Flare is evil. That included Lysandre, the main villain, who pretends to be a good guy for the bulk of the story. Extremely poorly, might I add. I caught in his very first interaction in my first playthrough!
The last part was what worried me most. What the fuck was going on? Why does everyone keep bringing up my home? I was literally there yesterday! Were all these people in cahoots with the damn caramel sauce bear from my nightmares!? Yeah, I hope I get home too! Why did Calem word it like that, if he listened to my story, he should have assumed I had a hotel or motel booked. Or, did he mean that he hoped I survived my trip and returned to my home, presumably in Kanto or Unova, where the flight departed from?
Yeah, I’d be fine! This is the Pokémon world. There’s plenty of danger, fair, but biggest disasters are always reversed, and everyone ends up okay in the end. Calem wouldn’t know that though.
This region has Yveltal in it, the Y-bird that’s basically the Pokémon of death! Without Xerneas there to undo his damage, the region would probably be doomed. I guess I should be careful, and stay out of the line of fire, and far away from both Ash’s group, and whatever Calem’s journey would be. They can handle it just fine on their own, I’ve seen their adventures. Why risk my neck, or worse, risk jeopardizing them and dooming this entire region!?
Calem didn’t know about the bear. He couldn’t. The bear couldn’t get me here, he was gone, stuck in the weird version of my apartment. I left it behind, and will never see it’s stupid face again anywhere but in my crummy memories. I had other things to worry about!
“Okay, yeah! Don’t worry, I’ll stay safe. No plans of taking on more than I can-” I tried tell Calem, but got cut off. The plane had already landed and stopped moving. I guess I got lucky, I never felt my ears pop or muffle! I hate that feeling!
The intercom crackled to life “Hey again everyone! Thanks so much for flying with us at Air Altaria! Welcome home! Or, just welcome, if you’re only visiting us here in Kalos! We hope you have a wonderful time! Don’t forget anything on the plane, or to pick up your luggage in the airport! Fly with us again soon!”
“Bree!”
“Vivi!”
I think I heard two Pokémon in that one, and wondered what they were all doing in the plane cockpit. I shuddered at the word “home” being used, but it couldn’t be helped. Three doors along the side of the aircraft slid open horizontally, and staircases were wheeled into place. Fresh air blew in from outside. It felt so nice, even with how horrendous the state of my hair was.
Ash and Pikachu took off like a bolt, with Alexa and Helioptile behind them. Calem stood up, but before he went for the exit, he left me with one last thing.
“Gotta run! See you Oliver, and by the way, check your ticket. Think about joining if you want, I’ll be there! Maybe it’ll calm your horrendous breathing rhythm! Geez, don’t enter the city like that. Breathe.” I hadn’t realize just how heavily I’d been breathing until he said something, and slowed the hyperventilating back to normal as best I could. How long had I been like that? I needed to calm down.
I patted down my pockets again. The ticket was still there, and I pulled it out, expecting it be the same as before. It wasn’t. I had no idea where my actual ticket went, but it had been replaced at some point without me noticing.
The new piece of paper could be unfolded to a much larger size. It was some kind of poster or flyer, and it read “Official Ditto Day Festival Tournament! Beginner Bracket Location: Bleu Battlefield. Beginner Requirement: 0-2 Badges. Free entry, rental Pokémon will be provided to those without one.” I had to grin at that. I had no clue what the hell Ditto Day was, but I assumed it was April Fools, it being on the same day and all. Maybe it’s the Pokémon version of it like the Gourgeist Festival to Halloween! I kept reading, just to make sure I could really join this before I celebrated too soon! A rental Pokémon! Imagine that!
I focused on the beginner category, but this tournament seemed pretty huge! Intermediate level and up had an entry fee, not that I planned to join those, I had no Pokémon to use! It went intermediate for 2-4 badges with a P$500 entry fee, expert for 5-7 badges with a P$2,000 entry fee, and hardcore for 8 badges with a P$10,000 entry fee.
I think Pokédollars or whatever this currency is called is based on Japanese yen. I tended to estimate it by dividing by 100, meaning this would be around $5, 20, and 100 in CAD. Or a little lower, I think. You’re actually supposed to divide it by 111.111 or a silly number like that! No clue if it was accurate, though, I needed to find a grocery store, or maybe a Pokémart, to price check. Being in a Pokémart would be awesome!
Anyways, I kept reading. To summarize the format, the tournament was split into 2 phases. In the qualifier, you’d be doing battles on a 2 lives system, meaning 2 losses, and you’re out! Each win nets you a little prize money, and if you get 3 wins in time, you get to join the ladder section! The size would apparently be decided by the number of participants, and each win moves you on while one loss sends you home! The expert and hardcore brackets skipped right to the ladder phase! So, it was pretty much like my regular idea of a tournament. You had to pre-register for them, I think.
The rules felt pretty understandable to me. The other brackets were held at different places around Lumiose City, all labeled as “battlefields”, each named after the plazas of the city. I went on to read the prizes.
“Beginner Bracket Prizes: Qualifier: $P300 per win. Tournament: Top 64: $P500 + Pokéball Bundle. Top 32: $P700 + Pokéball Bundle. Top 16: $P1,000 + Pokéball Bundle. Top 8: $P1,500 + Great Pokéball Bundle. 3rd Place: $P5,000 + Pokéball Boutique Bundle. 2nd Place: $P7,500 + Pokéball Boutique Bundle. 1st Place: $P10,000 + Pokéball Boutique Bundle.”
It kind of amazed me that the entry fee for the hardcore bracket matched the first place prize money of the beginner bracket! It looked like joining the others had a chance of you leaving with a loss if you struck out early, but joining the beginner bracket had few to no downsides! It was likely meant for new trainers.
The Pokéball bundles would prove very helpful in catching new team members. The beginner bracket was all 1 on 1 battles, so you only need one Pokémon, or a rental, to join. intermediate needed 2, expert needed 3, and hardcore needed 4 but the top 8 were 6 on 6!
The rewards for the other brackets were pretty ridiculous, the top prizes for the hardcore bracket were full of Stone Emporium bundles, with the top prize winner earning themselves a key stone fitting! Plus, a jaw dropping $P10,000,000 which was around 90 thousand dollars! I bet a lot of people would be tuning into that one, geez! The intermediate bracket bundles were from the Juice Shop, and the expert bracket bundles were from the Super Training Storage.
I’m pretty sure those last two didn’t exist in the games. Then again, this tournament, and a “Ditto Day” didn’t exist in the show or the games. Maybe that meant Ash wouldn’t be attending? I’m not sure. Either way, this tournament sure looks real to me! It sounded like an event that would drag people in from all over Kalos! I wonder how many people will be watching, especially the high brackets!
The ticket prices were listed as well. The beginner and intermediate ones cost $P300, the expert one cost $P1,000, and the hardcore one cost $P5,000, or just under 3, 10, and 50 dollars! The actual prices varied based on distance, though, the front rows and certain areas costed double or more, and something called “Skybox View” was over ten times the cost! I wonder if they made money on this, and how food sales were. That and merch are usually the big makers at these kinds of events, right?
How big were these battlefields? Did they have stadiums? If they could fill 50k people each, that alone might pay for a good chunk of the monetary prize rewards here, and I’ve seen stadiums with double that! How much were the items worth, though? And the setup, planning, staff and everything else?
The Pokémon League probably helped with some of the setup and funding. A logo that looked suspiciously like the Pokémon World Coronation Series logo from Journeys, with a Pokéball, a gold shield and crown, multicoloured flags, and stylized black leaves sat in the bottom left corner! Next to it sat a similar logo depicting a Pokéball overtop a deep blue shield covered by yellow four pointed stars. I swear, I’ve seen it somewhere before, probably in the show. I’d bet it had to deal with Kalos specifically somehow.
Next to those other two was a logo that almost made me audibly gasp. Team Flare’s logo.
“Fuck…it’s them.”
This tournament seemed to be partially sponsored by an actual criminal organization, which was intent on setting off an ultimate weapon to destroy the world! What the hell! I know they’re fictional, but in this world, they’re real! I’ll bet playing nice to get funding is one of their tricks, the team flies under everyone’s nose until, like, Ash reaches gym 7! He only figures out that Lysandre’s evil after he already executes his plan!
Calem sniffs them out sooner in the games, I think. The first battle with the grunts is just before gym 2, and Lysandre reveals himself around the same gym count as Ash. In the games, Lysandre is defeated before gym 8, but in the show, he’s defeated in one final, climactic arc after the Lumiose Conference, the final league, ends!
Either way, they do get stopped. I know what happens in the story, so if I stay out of their way for now, I won’t be a threat, and I’ll be safe. Can’t do much against an evil team without a Pokémon! Team Flare’s plans are different between the show and games, but I got the gist.
Was it still a good idea to go to the tournament? Yeah, I think so. Especially the beginner bracket, I’d be getting in for free, giving them nothing and causing a little extra prize money to generated for myself or whoever takes my lives! Besides, I didn’t have a better way to make money right now.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready to help the fight against Team Flare. Maybe I would. I’m stuck here now too, unless I can afford a plane out someday, or figure out how to get home before they strike. Either way, sticking it to an evil team sounds fun, especially if it’s as backup to one of the real hero parties in this region! I certainly know I don’t want to help an evil team’s cause by feeding them money for their evil schemes!
No, I was going to this tournament, determined to get at least one win.
The rest of the logos seemed to be for the places in the bundles, and one resembled the gym badge Clemont would give out. I wonder what he was up to, and which version of him existed here. His role in the show was pretty major, going traveling with Ash and all!
Another logo I recognized was for trainer PR videos, or in the show, Pokévision, which was basically a social media video sharing platform. Maybe they were in charge of something related to broadcasting or advertising! The logo depicts a person walking down a carpet or runway with a dark circular background and a transparent sparkle pattern.
There were a few more logos I didn’t recognize, but I didn’t pay them much mind. One of them was literally a psychic type energy from the card game, I wonder what it means. One logo was literally just a smiling ditto, or maybe it was just a decal on the poster for Ditto Day, I wasn’t sure.
The plazas were so small in the games, with no room for a battle! what was the city going to look like when I left the plane? Where were these battlefields?
My thoughts were interrupted by a powerful blast of warm air stronger than the cool breeze from outside. I glanced up, folding the poster back into my pocket. I quickly realized that everyone had already left, and that I was the only one on the plane!
I stood to get up, and noticed that I wasn’t really alone. Just in front of the open cockpit doors stood who I could only assume to be the pilot. He surprisingly looked around my age, if just a bit older.
He wore ancient looking pilot goggles, and a pilot cap with a logo on it that looked like an Altaria soaring among clouds, with a large puffy cloud as the background. I recognized it as one of the smaller logos on the Ditto Day poster.
He wore a zipped up bright blue coat with cloud-like white fur atop it, which together, resembled the sky. He wore slim black pants that didn’t quite make it all the way down his shins, and brown boots topped with some more white fluff.
“Hey, yo! Oliver Garden, right? We already gave the announcement, all good to go? Happy birthday again by the way! Man, two birthdays on one flight!” He said with his voice, which sounded a little bit different than when he spoke over the speaker system. He practically sing-talked through half of his words!
In what felt like a literal gust of wind, he was at my side, reading the poster I had put away a second ago. I tapped my pockets on instinct, how the hell did he do that!? Did everyone here know pocket-based magic tricks?
“Dude, breezy stuff! The Ditto Day event’s gonna be bustling this year, what with that top place prize! I’ll be flying in the hardcore bracket myself, you a pilot, or a passenger?”
“Uh…” I was tempted to say passenger, but I picked up what wordplay he was throwing at me.
“A pilot! Just in the beginner tournament, though, I’ll be using a rental Pokémon I think! It’s my first tournament, and I’m kind of excited! Thanks for the flight by the way, and good luck out there!”
“No problemo, best wishes to you as well! I gotta clean this place up, and fly! If you need directions, take a chart from the main building! Watch your step, but feel free to watch the sky too, there’s loads of Spritzee out there in the loading bay! Welcome to the Brightest Star, Kalos!” He handed me back my poster, which I folded away again safely.
“Alright, I’ll give you some air, see ya!” I turned while waving goodbye, walking towards the nearest exit staircase. I had a feeling I recognized that pilot from somewhere, but couldn’t place it. It sounded like he recognized me as well, did I actually get on this plane legitimately? With no time to waste, I quickly approached the new world that waited beyond the veil of cool swirling wind and early morning sunlight.