There is only darkness.
Pitch black surrounds you in every direction, your eyes can't even comprehend an inch in front of you. There is no way to tell up from down, left to right, forward and backward. There is no surface to stand on, nowhere to ground yourself. Moving your extremities feels like they're weightless, yet something is pulling them back with every action. It's like you're trying to swim in some substance both lighter and denser than water at the same time. It's not water though, as you don't feel like you've been drowning for the past who knows how long in this domain. Then you realize that you still haven't been breathing the entire time. Before you can panic, a disembodied voice echoes.
"Ah, it seems that another has strayed between the realm of the conscious and unconscious."
You try to turn around as fast as you can, the sluggishness delaying your rotation. When you finally face the other direction, you only face absolute nothingness. You feel like whatever is watching you is always just out of sight, disappearing when you turn around. There is no telling which direction the Voice came from, it sounds as if it both verberates in your head and all over you. You curse your current situation, the paradoxical heaviness of your body is making movement difficult. You try to talk to the Voice but you realize that you don't even have your own voice. In fact, no noise ever escapes your mouth. The Voice gives an audible, yet soft chuckle.
"There is no point in speaking, as the voice of your thoughts is louder than spoken words. I understand that you want an explanation about all this, yes?"
You try to convey "yes," and it seems that they somehow heard it.
"I will start off by introducing myself. I am a being that helps to mediate those who are unable to transition into the realm of dreams."
You ask what they mean by the last part of their explanation.
"As I have mentioned before, this is the realm of the subconscious," You could somehow feel the Voice motioning to the inky black void. "I believe there is a term for a phase in sleeping called 'REM sleep,' am I correct?"
You answer "Yes."
"From what I have seen from my numerous encounters with both humans and pokémon, many who enter this realm quickly begin to dream when they enter REM sleep. A great number of said individuals forget about this aspect of existence before dreaming but in a few interesting cases, there are a few who remain here. They are unable to conjure an imaginative world from the qualms of reality."
You look around yourself again, beginning to understand just what the voice was explaining.
"You are one of the special few, which is why I am here. I am willing to help you by sharing experiences that I have seen from other dreams to the lost such as you. In a way, I help to dream for the dreamless."
You ask if you will wake up naturally as you don't want to be late for the start of your day. If there was anything you didn't want, it was a broken sleep schedule.
"No need to worry, the passage of time in the subconscious is much slower than the conscious. The end of a dream usually marks the beginning of your rise from slumber. I do not intend to keep anyone here for longer than necessary, I only wish to act as a storyteller for the dwellers of the dreamless space."
As you haven't begun to dream yet, you decide to listen to the Voice and accept their offer.
"Thank you, now let us do a little setup, shall we?"
As soon as the Voice finishes speaking, the once pitch-black darkness that enveloped your surroundings is now illuminated with an array of stars, nebulae, and ultra wormholes. Each celestial body appears to be positioned deliberately as if it were part of a cosmic dance.
"After seeing a particular riolu's dream, I wanted to accurately recreate this scenario similar to how his dream started."
You wonder what they mean by 'accurate' but you brush it off. Since this was a dream, it'd be anything but accurate to reality.
"His dream was an interesting one," The voice continued to speak. "It was much more vivid and detailed than any other. Thanks to him, however, I have found a new and more pleasant method to share dreams with others. You will be the first to see what I mean…I hope Gira won't be angry if they hear this…"
You swear that you could hear the Voice clearing their throat. The oddity is put to the side since a moment later, they begin to speak in a mysterious yet alluring tone.
"Prepare to embark on a journey beyond the ordinary, where creatures of extraordinary abilities roam and mysteries lurk in every shadow. Welcome to a realm where the bonds between trainers and Pokémon are tested beyond the unimaginable."
In the depths of space, you notice a single wooden door inching closer and closer. The voice's introduction continues on as the door becomes clearer into view.
"Step into a realm where the line between reality and fantasy blurs, where creatures of extraordinary abilities lurk in every shadow and mysteries roam. Welcome to... the Distortion Zone."
The door opens and reveals a flash of white. The brightness is overwhelming, brightening up all of the space before being sucked through the door.
----------------------------------------
Something was off in Pinwheel Forest.
What used to be filled with the usual chorus of chirping bird pokémon and skittering Bug-types was now gone. Not even the wind provided any source of noise as the air hung stagnant. His empath senses weren't detecting any signs of life other than the plants surrounding him. The lack of noise was overbearing on Riolu, causing him to talk to himself as he rustled through the bushes, trying to drown out the deafening silence.
"No pokémon at all in the forest," He whacked a low-hanging tree branch obstructing his path. "Something scare them all off or something?"
After a short trek through the foliage, Riolu made his way to the outskirts of Pinwheel Forest. One look off into the distance confirmed his suspicions, the roads that the people created to lead them to the colossal bridge were empty. Not a single car drove on the vacant road that split the land between forest and grasslands. At the front of the bridge, he spotted the gate that linked the edge of Pinwheel Forest and the adjacent metropolis.
"I need to know why I'm out here in front of Pinwheel Forest, at least someone's gotta be in there to help, right?" Riolu pretended to ask as he looked to the side. No one was there to answer his question. Sighing, he began his walk to the gate. As he walked down the empty road, Riolu would pause every now and then to look around, hoping to sense someone... anyone out there.
He was met with absolute silence.
Still feeling undefeated, Riolu trudged along the road until he had arrived at the gate. As he stepped inside, he couldn't help but notice how immaculate everything was. The tiled floors were polished to a shine, the walls were spotless, and every detail had clearly been carefully attended to. The inviting atmosphere would have made Riolu calmer if there were people to liven it up. Riolu hopped up onto the empty front desk to get a better view of the gate. There was no sign of anyone passing by, yet the lights were still on, and their large TV screen was continuing to display the time of day and the weather.
"Not a single person or pokémon here... where is everyone?"
Not wasting any more time, Riolu decided to sprint to Castelia City to find any contact as soon as possible. The run across Skyarrow Bridge was a quick one, no thanks in part to the lack of foot traffic. There wasn't any vehicle traffic either, the roads just as barren as the one Riolu followed. The only ambiance that he could hear was the shuffling of his paws as he ran on the bridge and the slight ripples of water hitting against the supporting beams underneath. The little noise eased Riolu, but he wished that there was at least someone to talk to.
He'd even take a flock of wingulls annoyingly squawking overhead over the silence.
Passing by the next gate that was equally empty as the one before, Riolu eventually made it to Castelia City. He had heard that this city was the largest in Unova and one of the largest in the world. The city looked alive, the lights in every building were still on and traffic lights signaled to each intersection.
So where was everyone?
Just like everywhere before, there wasn't a sign of life everywhere he looked. The traffic lights signaled cars that were parked in the middle of the street but no one was inside, it was as if the driver had suddenly vanished. He then looked over at the local businesses with their lights still on, their "open" neon sign flashing red and blue. Their doors hung ajar, waiting for a potential customer that would never enter.
The bakery with a fidough logo held the scent of fresh bread baking in the ovens, but no baker would ever take them out. Shelves of pastries and cakes remained untouched, their colorfulness displaying a stark contrast to the somber surroundings. Gazing into the windows of a nearby coffee shop called "Spinda's Cafe," Riolu could see empty chairs arranged neatly around every table. Each table had a cup of coffee on top, still piping hot and waiting to be drunk. The espresso machine sat idle behind the counter, its steam wand remained motionless.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Beginning to panic, Riolu looked from one building to the next, his eyes scanned more and more frantically with each empty establishment. It was only until he reached a furniture store where he spotted the back of a chandelure floating in the middle. Eager to finally meet someone, Riolu entered the store and began to talk.
"Oh, God am I finally glad to see someone around here," Riolu walked closer to the chandelure. "Sorry if I scared you, but I just can't find anyone in this damn city. I was wondering if you could answer why everyone's gone. You see, I suddenly found myself out outside of Pinwheel Forest and I don't know how I got ther-"
When Riolu saw the front of the chandelure, he realized that he had been talking to a fake the entire time. It was a chandelure-shaped chandelier, its flames lit by small electric bulbs, each one realistically flickering shades of purple. Feeling embarrassed, Riolu walked out of the store, at least no one was around to witness the interaction.
As he continued to walk down Castelia's main street, he noticed the ice cream stand that was famous for their "Casteliacones" shaped like vannilite. Peering into the abandoned stand, multiple cones were left exposed to the heat of the city. Out of courtesy, Riolu slid the lid closed, but not before taking one out himself. He wasn't in the mood for dessert, but he needed something to distract himself from the indifferent silence of the city.
"I must be a very imaginative pokémon," He said as he added sprinkles. "No one could have a dream like this as complete as mine, right down to the last detail."
He then heard a scratchy voice from an intercom at the Pokémon Center across the road. Eager to find someone, Riolu placed his ice cream aside and briskly walked through the center's revolving doors. When he was inside the Pokémon Center, Riolu was greeted by no one. The intercom continued to speak in a female voice as he looked around, expecting someone to finally show up.
"Welcome to Castelia City's Pokémon Center, please be prepared to state your reason for visiting. Welcome to Castelia City's Pokémon Center, plea... "
It was a recorded message, and it only turned on when Riolu was nearby. He swore that there was someone, something, watching him. He was either going crazy and his senses were messing up or they were skilled at hiding. Heading behind the front desk, Riolu grabbed the mic and tapped it twice, the feedback played back loudly on the speakers dotted all over the center.
"Testing, testing, one two. If anyone's out there, I am currently at the front desk of this Pokémon Center. Again, I am currently at the front desk," Riolu waited for a response.
A minute passed.
And another.
And another.
But nobody came.
Taking in the futility of the situation, Riolu dropped the mic and left the Pokémon Center. If no one was in here of all places, then everyone, human or pokémon, truly vanished into thin air.
Just as he placed his paw to push the Pokémon Center's doors, he heard a resounding beeping noise from the end of one of the hallways. Riolu dashed to the source of the noise, hoping for someone to be there. What he found in the barren hospital ward was an ECG machine connected to nothing. Upon Riolu's arrival, the machine abruptly changed into a continuous noise, a flatline. He stood still, unsure of what to do as the flatline rang in his ear, declaring the nonexistent patient to be dead. The change unnerved Riolu even more, there was no way that a coincidence like this happened twice in such a short period of time. Ready to leave the creepy Pokémon Center, Riolu walked back to the main street.
After walking out the exit door, he noticed a newspaper stand, still stocked with papers and magazines. Wanting to distract himself again, Riolu grabbed one copy of the news and read the headline. His face quickly shifted as he began to feel more troubled by the words displayed on the paper.
"The Last Pokémon Alive... watch now... " Riolu read in a shaky voice. He ran off deeper into the streets of Castelia to find the nearest theater, his breaths were ragged, sweat dripped down his face, and his feet hurt from the constant running. Riolu's uneven footsteps caused him to trip multiple times, falling on his face and the side of his body, his physical and mental pain was at its peak.
Desperate for an answer, he found his way to Castelia City's movie theater, every movie poster frame hanging on the outside walls showcased the same film. A silhouette of a riolu in front of a crossed-off picture of Earth with the words identical to the newspaper. The parallels between him and his current situation posted all over the wall were digging into Riolu's psyche. Unable to control himself, he slammed the theater door open and made a mad dash to the nearest room.
The film projector was playing empty film onto the screen, there was no sign of any interaction that would have turned it on at the point of Riolu's arrival.
"Where are you!" He growled to the empty audience. "I know someone's around here!"
He then heard a click, the flickering of film tape hummed in the theater as the screen showed a descending counter.
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
The projector beeped, and the screen shone brightly. The theater was displaying an identical version of the room that Riolu stood in, him included. The screen within the screen seemed to unfold before his very eyes—a recursive loop, each one containing a smaller version of itself ad infinitum. In each and every one, it showed one thing.
Riolu's face.
Frozen in fear.
Riolu couldn't take it anymore, running out of the theater's exit and to the middle of the road. He screamed into the sky as if pleading for an answer from above. "Please! Somebody help me! Someone's watching me, please! Help me! Help me, please! Somebody help me...
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"...what are you doing!" The Lead Researcher shouted at the Intern. "Let him out already! The readings on his health are all over the place!"
"S-sorry!" The Intern rushed to the computer and after inputting some lines of code and pressing enter, the pixelated image of a riolu shifted into a pokéball before flying up into the upper border of the screen. A few seconds later, the pokéball connected to the computer beeped, notifying that Riolu's transfer was completed. The Intern quickly grabbed the pokéball and pressed the button, releasing him into the real world in a flash of red. When Riolu fully formed, the group of researchers didn't expect him to be unconscious, as he crumpled to the floor.
"Get him some medicinal pokémon, stat! Make sure he's alright!"
A small group of audino and chansey were on standby, immediately prepared to tend to the unconscious riolu lying on the ground.
"S-sir, I only joined the team recently," The Intern hesitated before finding the courage to speak. "I... I actually still don't know the details of this research as well as the veterans here… w-what was this experiment for again?"
The Lead Researcher sighed as he looked over at the computer, the screen displaying a background designed like a city, the background before showcasing a forest. "We wanted to see the effects of isolation in the Pokémon Storage System. Riolu has been inside for 484 hours and it seems that he snapped near the end of it."
"S-snapped, sir?"
"Lost control, freaked out, cracked, became insane, what have you," The Lead Researcher stared at the health team as they picked Riolu up and placed him on a stretcher.
"How did we keep such a detailed watch of Riolu in the Storage System?" The Intern asked. "I didn't think there was a method like what we did now."
"Porygons, with a lead Porygon2 to guide them all. With them, we tracked Riolu's heart rate, his respiration, blood pressure, and anything we needed for a physical examination. All that data and it seems we still don't know about his mentality during it all."
One of the Audino waved at him, asking for his attention. "It seems that he's awake now, let's go ask some questions."
The two walked up to the conscious riolu with clipboards in hand, the other researchers following behind in anticipation. The Fighting-type's eyes were open halfway, slightly shaking from the experiment he underwent. When the Lead Researcher approached him, Riolu weakly turned his head and looked up.
"Do you know where you are?"
Riolu nodded, summoning the energy to sit up from his stretcher.
"What was it like in there?" He handed him his clipboard with a pencil clipped on the top.
*Somewhere that I never want to be again.*
"Explain."
*It was a world with no one anywhere. No pokémon, no people. It was as if life had come to a standstill.*
*Am I going crazy?*
"No," He denied. "It seems that living in a virtual environment for an extended duration has caused you to believe it as reality. There's also the case of having no other living creature in the Storage System, which must have amplified that belief. The Storage System can create virtual worlds nearly identical to reality. It can keep a multitude of pokémon in one place without taking up real space. It can even stall basic living requirements such as food and water. Despite all that, there's one thing it can't help simulate, companionship. Pokémon have a hunger for the attention of others, and we have yet to overcome the barrier of loneliness."
*I don't ever want to live in a world without pokémon ever again.*
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"Dreams within dreams are rather intriguing, are they not?"
You witness the final scene of the dream fizzle out as you are transported back to the expanses of space. As you float around in zero gravity, you begin to wonder about the uniqueness of the riolu. They were right about how vivid everything was, your dreams were usually muddied and off-putting. It was the most unique dream that you ever witnessed, as the first thought that comes to mind is how a riolu knows how to write. You don't know why that's the first thing you think of, as everything else in the dream was more concerning. It seems that the Voice isn't questioning your concern as they begin to contemplate to themself.
"It is a strange dream, it captures resentment of being alone while showing a fear of being contained in a large world. What looks and feels like a nightmare to me is a normal dream for him. I should find the riolu and give him a feather of mine now that I have seen his dream again…" The Voice muttered the last part.
You ask what they mean by a feather.
"You will see what I mean, visitor," The stars and nebulae in the background begin to fade away, leaving you back into the black empty void. "Thank you for being a great listener, but it is now time to wake up."
You want to stay a little bit longer to know exactly who it is you're speaking to but it seemed that they wanted to remain unknown. When they finish their sentence, a sensation of gravity hits you, causing you to descend into nothingness. Any attempt to fight back against the downward pull is useless as your body falls faster and faster, the gravity feeling exponentially heavier until-
-Your eyes open wide as your body jumps out of bed, a hypnic jerk wasn't your favorite way to wake up. You take deep breaths, relieved that your lungs are working like they should. Moving your arms is much lighter than it was while you were sleeping. Looking to your side, your pokémon is sound asleep in their own bed, slightly snoring. You then realize that it's a bit chilly in the room, your body shivers from the drop in temperature compared to last night. You soon realize that your bedroom window was left open, allowing the cold wind to infiltrate your home. You get out of bed to lock the window but not before noticing something shiny on the windowsill.
You lay your eyes on a feather, and you can't help but be awestruck. It's unlike any feather you've seen before. You see that it's glowing in the shade, shining as bright as the moon. The tip of the feather is a dark green hue, which gets lighter as you move towards the base. The middle part of the feather has a streak of white that looks the brightest. At the bottom of the feather, you find a tuft of white that feels soft to the touch.
Looking out the window, you see the sun rising from the horizon, and flickers of light begin to spill over the environment. In the corner of your eye, you spot something zooming by in the morning sky. It's hard to make out as it flies away but it looks like a crescent moon before it vanishes.
You smile as you hold the feather, it's not every day that you would have an experience like this.