My heart pounded loudly as I clutched the poke ball in my pocket. My first trainer battle, and it was going to be a life-or-death one. … okay, maybe that was a little extreme, but I knew my chances on my own out in the wild weren’t good. I couldn't remember much from history lessons about what had happened some three hundred years before my time, but I was pretty sure that wild Pokemon were supposed to be plenty dangerous back then, and it wasn't like I had ever lived on my own. How would I get food or find shelter?

"You want me to battle you?" I asked, my voice sailing into the upper octaves halfway through the sentence. Two of the men exchanged guilty glances, but Michael didn't look phased in the least.

"Not me," he replied calmly. "Hoothoot and I do not battle; we survey the land, act as an inner defense. You will be facing Trainer Richard and his partner." The man glanced over at Florence and frowned. "Take the boy out to the shore; he must be tested directly. I'll follow in a moment. And make sure that Richard understands the severity of the situation."

Florence bowed her head and murmured something in reply, and then I was being tugged away with her bony fingers wrapped so tightly around my wrist that I was afraid she would break it. I barely had enough time to grab Drowzee's ear so I could pull him along. He woke up with a loud bray, making all of the adults (except Michael) jump, then stomped after the two of us with his eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"Leggo'me," I mumbled, trying to tug my hand away as soon as we were out of earshot of the adults. I didn't make any progress in getting free.

"Well, Trainer Monroe, you are doomed indeed," Florence replied, sounding glum. "Trainer Richard is of the second level; you do not stand the slightest chance against him in a fight."

I really didn't care what she was mumbling about, okay? I just wanted to figure out how to stay alive. I started to drag my feet a bit as Florence made a sharp turn, moving away from the collection of huts and towards the beach. "Why're you all making such a big deal about this? I don't wanna take over or anything, I just want something to eat and a place to sleep for the night."

"Trainer Monroe –"

"And stop calling me that!" She looked back at me, eyebrows raised, and I sighed. "Just – just Monroe is fine."

"To befriend a majū takes skill and a pure heart," Florence replied dully as she continued walking forward at a ridiculous pace. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that Drowzee was still following, trying to swallow her words. Me? Skilled? Pure-hearted? "The title of trainer is not lightly earned, and is to be respected. I do not know what definition trainer has been given in your time; do you not think yourself worthy of ours?"

Well, with the way these people went on about it, no, I absolutely wasn’t worthy. I wasn't anything special, I was just a normal kid with his starter. Nevertheless, I decided to keep my mouth clamped shut.

"We make this into 'such a big deal' because if you are possessed or of evil intent you could destroy us all in a single night." I looked straight at her, horrified, but the girl refused to meet my eyes. "Survival goes to the strongest and the most prepared. We are careful people, Trainer Monroe."

"Ah, Florence! What sprout have you dug up, eh?"

Both of our heads snapped towards the right as a booming echo of a voice sounded nearby. Florence squeezed my wrist even more tightly as a very tall and broad man skidded his way down a dune, a wide grin etched on his face.

"Trainer Richard," she said, the corners of her mouth inching upward, and I jumped. This was my opponent? "We have a problem."

Richard was much older than Michael, much more adult-aged, though exactly how old that was, I couldn't tell. He had a short-cut beard, thinning, frizzy brown hair, and dark skin. The man wore shorts that were held up by a frayed piece of rope and nothing else whatsoever. Michael had been put-together and composed, but Richard looked like he didn’t care at all how he appeared to those around him.

"I'll say we do," he agreed, covering the ground between us in a few short steps. "You went and found yourself a Drowzee, eh, girl?"

"Not exactly –"

"And Michael threw a fit over it, eh?"

"No, sir, you see –"

"Well, I still say you'll probably regret it, but you'll make one helluva trainer, girl!"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Richard!" she finally shouted, and I leaned away from her; hadn't she been all about showing proper respect before? "The Drowzee is not mine!"

The man's eyes widened. I risked a peek up at Florence and saw that she was blushing.

"Trainer Richard," she said after taking a deep breath and pushing me forward (to my mumbled protest), "meet Trainer Monroe. At least, he claims to be a trainer."

"And Michael's worried that he isn't." Richard rubbed a hand over his beard as he peered down at me, and I squirmed. Then, without warning, he stepped to the side and picked up Drowzee.

"Hey!" I shouted, startled. Drowzee was my Pokemon. What did this guy think he was doing? Drowzee didn't seem happy either, since he waved his arms around a lot and said "Rooooooo!" rather loudly. It wasn't like the man was affected, unfortunately, since Drowzee was a dwarf next to him. "What're you doing? Put him down!"

"I am examining this Drowzee," Richard replied calmly. Drowzee pounded his fists against the man's head ineffectually.

"Well, stop it!" I said more loudly, rushing over to try and tug Drowzee down. I didn't care if it got me into trouble, I wasn't going to let this guy bully my Pokemon for no reason. "You're scaring him, I think, knock it off!"

"Alright." Richard grinned, putting Drowzee down carefully. My starter immediately sat down and started grumbling under his breath. Then Richard held out a hand. "I believe you."

I blinked at him, feeling utterly confused.

"I think an explanation would help, Trainer Richard," Florence said in the background. She sounded amused.

Richard raised his eyebrows as he dropped his giant hand. "Well, Trainer Monroe, I am a practical man. I believe things when I see them. You protected your partner when he was threatened; I say that proved your bond."

"Th-thanks," I replied, startled. So Richard was on my side – that was good. Yet I didn't think I was going to get off that easy.

Florence seemed to agree. "Trainer Michael won't like this," she warned, chewing her lower lip. "He will ask for a vote."

"Good," Richard said, cracking his knuckles loudly. "I've been waiting for an excuse to call him out on his attitude."

"Trainer Richard, you remember the last time you two –"

"I know, girl." The big man pouted, which looked really odd on the grown man’s face. "Must you remind me of my embarrassing moments, Florence?"

She rolled her eyes. "I am just saying, go along with it this time. Go easy on him in the battle, let him tie. Then everyone will be content."

I opened my mouth to argue that I could battle on my own, thank you very much, but my stomach chose that moment to grumble very loudly. Everyone (even Drowzee) looked at me, then Richard crossed his arms.

"I am not going to battle that child until we both have had something to eat."

With that statement, I found myself being carted back off towards the village. When Richard wanted something done, it happened, or else.

'Something to eat' turned out to be an earthy-looking stew that tasted strongly of fish. The village apparently operated on a communal basis; everyone ate together, with one giant meal cooked over the firepit that I had noticed earlier. It felt primitive to me, yet comfortable at the same time. It helped that I was hungry enough to not worry about the actual contents of my bowl.

I had finally decided to return Drowzee, too. He was safely in his poke ball, away from any more crazy adults. I felt a bit guilty about that, since Richard and Florence were under the impression that Drowzee was out in the wild, foraging for himself while we ate. Florence approved of that, since it kept the panic down. Neither of them seemed to know that Drowzee only ate dreams.

I had realized pretty quickly that poke balls probably didn't exist in this new time period I had arrived in. That brought on plenty more questions, most of them derived from watching too many sci-fi films late at night. What if I changed the time stream? Couldn't I cause a paradox just by being here? How had I gone back in time in the first place? Had that green Pokemon done something, and if so, how?

Keeping my mouth shut on most things seemed like the best plan overall.

The people of Enrui seemed discontent, probably due to my presence. Michael had caused a ruckus when Richard declared that he and I would battle in the morning, once we were well rested and fed; it seemed like the two trainers were often at odds. Most of the villagers avoided me, and several of the older kids looked scared.

Richard and Florence stayed near me, though. Richard sat next to me throughout the meal, talking happily about life in the village and sharing several humorous anecdotes. I only half-listened to them, since I was too absorbed with trying to figure things out. Florence was busy flipping through my notebook. She had noticed that I kept checking my pockets (to make sure Drowzee was still safe) and had demanded that I tell her what I was hiding. I'd decided to distract her by pulling out my collection of ideas and sketches so she could browse through them. At least that kept her quiet.

The village retired early, and I couldn't blame them; it got dark quickly without electricity. Richard let me sleep on the floor of his little hut, which was practically empty. He explained to me that he spent most of his time outside, protecting the ships out in the water, since that was where all the men worked during the day. It made me think that his Pokemon was some sort of fish.

I fell asleep quickly with no energy left to worry about my parents, or my future in this world, or the battle I had to face in the morning. I had eaten a filling meal and had the chance to get a full night’s rest; that was enough for the moment.

But that night, my dreams were filled with ideas and thoughts which were not my own.