Ergggh

Groaning, a man with spiky red hair that extended to his shoulders blinked his eyes disorientedly as he adjusted to the sudden flood of light that overwhelmed his senses. Sitting up, the man rubbed his eyes wearily and put his red, hard hat onto his head securely and looked around. The man judged by the cars bustling by and the pedestrians who were staring at him oddly, he had somehow been teleported out of the Grand Underground.

Hup

Rubbing his chin with his right hand, the man thought to himself as he began to take a look at his surroundings.

He couldn't quite remember what was happening before he had been teleported and when he attempted to recall the last moments before he blacked out, his head began to throb like a pincurchin had attached itself to the back of his brain. All he could remember with certainty was a black shadow possibly in the shape of an Absol at the corner of his eye and then...nothing.

"Strange..." the man muttered to himself while looking down to his wrist where his Rotom Poketch was.

Tap Tap Tap

"Rotom?"

...

"Rotom?"

...

"Rot–"

Bzzt Bzzt Bzzt

"Rotom-etch at your service!"

Phew.

He had apparently dropped his rotom phone when the blackout happened, so if his rotom-etch had been broken too he wouldn't have known what to do.

"Call Grandpa"

If there was a dangerous wild pokemon running amok in the Grand Underground he would need to alert the trainers before anyone got hurt.

"Unable to connect. Unable to connect" bzzted Rotom before the screen turned black.

The eerier feeling creeping at the back of his head made the hair on his neck stand up, and with a drop of urgency in his voice the man called out.

"Call Grandpa"

"Unable to connect. Unable to connect" was all he heard back and now the man began to tap his foot nervously and readjust the red hat on his head.

"Call Professor Rowan"

"Unable to connect. Unable to connect."

Sigh

Reassuring himself that they were probably just both busy, the man tapped at the screen of his Rotom-etch once more. "Maybe it was PokeTalk Sunday already?", he mused under his breath.

"Rotom, what's today's date?"

"Today is Tuesday, September 9th, 2XXX"

Hmm.

As he suspected, two days had already passed since he was in the Underground. Well, if Professor Rowan and grandpa weren't answering then he would just have to return as quickly as possible before the situation got worse.

"Rotom, open up the Map."

"Unable to connect. Unable to connect."

"...?!"

Stunned by the response, the man checked the screen which was indeed black, and even though he had no reason for concern yet, the man couldn't help but feel adrenaline begin to rush through his veins as he hurriedly pulled aside a passing student with earpods in both ears.

"Excuse me, where are we right now?"

"Sorry?"

"Where are we?" repeated the man, resisting the urge to shake her shoulders.

Giving him a look of confusion, the girl shrugged her shoulders and replied nonchalantly, "We're in Akabira City onii-san" before putting her earpods back in and walking away.

Akabira City? He didn't know of any cities named that in the Sinnoh region...

"What the heck is going on?"

The man shook his head as if he could shake away the mist that was clouding his thoughts and decided it was time to take matters into his own hands and find the closest Pokemon Centre. Surely, Nurse Joy would be able to reorient himself on where he was and why his Rotom-etch wasn't working.

"Aerodactyl, come out!"

AEROOO!

Stepping on the grey pokemon's back, the powerful wings lifted the two in the air and the man and pokemon began to circle the skies above the city. The grey skyscrapers certainly reminded him of the buildings in the Sinnoh region, and yet he couldn't see a single sign of a Pokemon Centre anywhere!

No.

Even more strange...

There was not a single sign of a pokemon anywhere...

******

3 Hours Later

"PLEASE RETURN TO THE GROUND NOW OR WE WILL FIRE!"

"I REPEAT. RETURN TO THE GROUND NOW OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!"

After taking a few breaks, the man let out a sigh of relief as he saw a police helicopter asking him to return to ground level and he put his hand with his left and tapped Aerodactly beneath him with his right to indicate they needed to stop flying now.

Then, running up to the woman who had exited the helicopter at a tall building in the centre of the city he asked hurriedly,

"Excuse me, is Officer Jenny available to talk? My name is Roark, I'm the gym leader of Oreburgh City. Here."

Handing her the licence given to him by the Sinnoh Pokemon Association, he recalled Aerodactly back to his ball and waited patiently while the woman looked at his licence with furrowed brows.

"What the hell is this supposed to be?"

Tilting his head, Roark wondered to himself whether Office Jenny had properly trained the recruit standing in front of him. Every officer in the force should know this was an official licence handed out by the Pokemon Association. Each gym leader was only given one and with tracking, translation and even emergency SOS capabilities, it was a symbol of authority that even officials in other regions should recognise. However, before he could even open his mouth to speak, the woman sighed and muttered,

"Looks like another crazy..."

Then coughing to clear her voice, she motioned with her left hand as she began to walk back to the helicopter,

"Come on, you're coming with me."

"Sure, I was thinking of meeting up with Officer Jenny anyway. Let's go."

One Month Later, Apartment in Akariba City

Oof

Roark dropped the box with his paltry belongings, and turned to Rampardos who was staring at him sadly as they looked around the empty apartment.

"Rampa...Rampa..."

Roark turned around and patted Rampardos atop his blue head and gave the mournful pokemon a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Come on, it's not so bad. We're finally out and who knows, if we search around maybe we can find some hints on how to return to our world."

"Probo...Probo..."

"Ahh, not you too Probopass."

Hearing the sorrowful cry from the giant blue pokemon that was floating above the floor, he reached out to gently rub the pokemon's huge red nose and readjusted the sandy moustache that had begun to droop due to Probopass's gloomy mood.

However, as Roark looked around the apartment, he was only greeted by an empty white that emanated desolation and so he sat down on the floor while Aerodactyl, Probopass, Golem and Rampardos made a circle around him while they hugged each other for comfort. Sitting in the circle of pokemon Roark's head began to spin as he recalled the conversation he had with Officer Nakayama earlier in the day.

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A Few Hours Before

"..."

"..."

Roark looked at Officer Nakayama with eyes that scream fatigued. With deep eye shadows due to a lack of sleep and bloodshot maroon red eyes, he seemed like a shadow of his former self. Meanwhile, Officer Nakayama looked at him with displeasure, confusion and perhaps even...wonder?

"You are...free to go Roark-san."

Jerking upwards from his seat, he repeated her words for confirmation.

"I'm...free to go."

Sighing, Officer Nakayama nodded sullenly and pushed a set of 4 red and white balls at which sight, Roark's eyes filled with elation like a man who was being given water after walking through a desert.

"My pokemon!"

Officer Nakayama watched silently across the table as Roark excitedly began to talk to his pokemon who were likewise overjoyed to be reunited with their friend and continued,

"We have a lot to talk about Roark-san so pay attention..."

"You are no longer in the world you call 'Sinnoh''

Officer Nakayama took in a deep breath as she did her best to prevent her eyes from rolling upwards in exasperation. She couldn't believe that her superiors were making her entertain this crazy man's delusions and releasing him with his dangerous robots or whatever they were. Ugh! If someone was hurt because of this she'd never be able to sleep at night.

Sigh

"You are no longer in the world you call 'Sinnoh'. This is Earth and you are in a country called Japan. Akabira City is in the Sorachi Subprefecture of Hokkaido..."

"Here" said Officer Nakayama as she pointed to the city on the map while Roark bobbed his head in understanding to indicate he was following along.

"There is no 'Sinnoh' region, no 'Officer Jenny', no 'Pokemon Centre' and most importantly 'NO POKEMON'.

Roark watched as she paused as if she were double checking that Roark understood this critical point, and enunciated it with extra force to get her point across.

"After discussion amongst my superiors it was decided that we will register you as a special citizen, meaning you'll be put into the government systems but will be monitored with this" and pointed to his gym licence which had been co-opted into his new tracker "and you will need to do weekly check ups here with me. Of course, you are going to need to keep your robots within the property we're assigning to you unless you ask for special permission. Understood? Break a single rule and I'll personally be coming for your ass" said Nakayama as she punched her fist into her palm, giving off an aura so threatening that Roark swore he could see a hungry Snorlax behind her.

Present, Roark's Apartment

Roark sat on the couch of his living room after finally setting up all of his furniture provided to him by the government and thanked Arceus that he hadn't brought Onix with him to the Underground when he had been teleported. Rampardos, Golem, Probopass and Aerodactyl were already pushing it and there was no way the rock snake pokemon would be able to fit inside.

Roark leaned forward to pick up the remote to turn on the TV so he could watch the news and have some background noise while he tried to organise his thoughts.

...

...

...

Nope. Nothing.

Roark had no idea where to start. In a world without pokemon there weren't even any legendaries he could seek out for help and without knowing anyone in this world, he couldn't even reach out to Professor Rowan or anyone else in the Pokemon Association that might know something...

Head pounding, Roark had a sneaking thought pop into his brain and wondered for a brief second if he had to resign himself to his fate and just accept a new life in this world.

No.

It was time for sleep, after refreshing his mind he was sure he would be able to think of something or view the situation from a different perspective.

Calling the gang over, Roark snuggled next to Rampardos and the others in his bedroom and looked up at the dark ceiling.

"Who or what had taken him here?"

"What if that pokemon was hurting trains in the Underground?"

"Who was taking care of the gym?"

"What should he do if he was really trapped here forever? Should he get a degree in archaeology like he had planned to anyway in Sinnoh? The regulations in 'Japan' seemed to be stricter than the Sinnoh regions..."

Then, out of the blue, the faces of his parents popped into his brain and Roark felt a pang of loneliness which his pokemon sensed and in response wrapped their arms (or wings) around him so their warmth would calm him down. Thankful at least they were with him, Roark closed his eyes and let the voice calling out to him pull him to the realm of dreams.

One Week Later

RAMpaaaaa....

Holding his stomach pathetically, Rampardos was making whimpering noises while Roark was making retching noises beside him.

That...

Was pretty bad.

Staring at the gooey mixture which radiated a toxic smell rivalling that of a Garbodor and resembled an alolan Muk in colour and appearance Roark's other pokemon looked at the two with a mixture of pity and sympathy as Roark pathetically lamented his lack of cooking skills.

While they were getting by with human food, Roark had done his best to create every possible mixture of pet food to make some sort of food that would be more palatable to his pokemon but...

Clearly he should have paid more attention when Nurse Joy offered to teach him how to make pokemon food.

Today, he had added a cup of large dog food, a cup of crickets, mealworms and other lizard delicacies along with some base ingredients and for some reason it had turned out as poison.

When Rampardos had fainted after eating two bites Roark had thought he was exaggerating and went to take a bite for himself, but if he had taken another bite after that he most likely would have been well on his way to Arceus by then.

Struggling to stand up, Roark jotted a note down in his food journal along with his past failed creations and weakly shouted to Rampardos with fire in his eyes.

"Don't worry Rampardos! I'll definitely make the best Pokemon food you've ever tasted. Just you wait!"

One Month Later

Crash

Probo. Probo. PROBO!!

Rampa...Rampa...

GOLEM! GOLEM!!

AEROOOOOOOOO

Looking at the toilet that had just been crushed to pieces by Rampardos's large bottom, Probopass's three Mini Noses whirled around the bathroom that was quickly flooding while Probopass's moustache began to fly around as he panicked seeing the destruction.

He had warned Rampardos multiple times not to use the human toilet but Rampardos had always insisted that it was fine as long as he was careful and made sure his bottom didn't touch the toilet. Fortunately for the pokemon, Roark had finally found the secret ingredient necessary to make the pokemon food palatable but by adding rocks to the food, Rampardos's poops had turned a bit more explosive than he remembered.

Thus, loe and behold.

As usual, Probopass was right.

Meanwhile, as Probopass was losing his mind with worry, Golem jumped up and down trying to avoid the water and looked up at Aerodactyl who was flying above them and gave Golem a look back as if saying 'What do you want me to do?" to which Golem decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.

Beginning to let sparks fly out, Golem shined with yellow energy which he then released towards the bathroom.

BOOM

Zrrt Zrrt Zrrt

Golem began to light up in the darkness that resulted from the electric explosion and the four pokemon were left staring at each other as they wondered what they were going to tell Roark when he came home.

One Year Later, Ancient Ruins Somewhere

RAMPAAAA~~

Aero Aero Aero!

Putting his hand above his eyes to block the sunlight, Roark looked up into the sky where Aerodactyl was cooing happily while Rampardos smiled at him and nuzzled against him excitedly. It was their first excursion outside the apartment and all of his pokemon were looking forward to returning to what they were used to doing back home.

"Are you sure we can trust your pet bird with scouting Roark-san?"

Roark looked downwards at the tiny man who had a genial face but a slight shadow of doubt as he looked at the pokemon flying above and walking beside them.

Nodding confidently, Roark pledged,

"Of course Professor Kaseki! You can count on them, I'd trust my life with my pokemon. They're the best of the best!"

Roark was very grateful to the older man who had taken him under his wing after enrolling in a university to get his archaeology degree and had finally convinced the professor to allow him to bring his pokemon on one of their excursions to search for ancient civilisations in the Middle East.

Aero! AERO!

"Aerodactyl, you found something?"

"AERO! AERO!"

Following up on the fossil pokemon's cries, Roark called out Golem and Probopass to sense below the ground using electromagnetic wave manipulation in coordination with each other.

"GOLEM!"

"PROBO!"

Finally, turning to Rampardos, Roark just tipped his red hard hat and wagging his tail in understanding, Rampardos began to burrow his way into the ground where Golem and Probopass had indicated.

Six Months Later

"KANPAI!"

Professor Kaseki's cheeks were flushed, peach red after drinking a few glasses too many and pulled Roark under his arm in celebration of their newest research paper regarding the uncovering of a complete tomb of an ancient king of Sumer. Even though they would need some more editing and reviews before it could get published, once it was released it was sure to get attention around the globe amongst the archeological community!

"Let's hear it for our youngest, Roark-san! It wouldn't have been possible without him and his pet dogs!"

"KANPAI!!!"

Not really one for drinking, Roark politely drank a glass or two before slipping out from the party and called out Rampardos after making sure no one was around in his favourite, secluded part of the forest next to the university he studied at.

It was surreal to him that he had already been separated from his home for almost two years now and was even more surprised by how quickly he had adjusted to the new environment. Even though there had been some rough patches along the way, overall life wasn't so bad in 'Japan' and he had even discovered the brilliant world of 'anime' and was a particular fan of Gammamon these days who Rampardos, in particular seemed to like.

"RAMPAAAA"

Lying back to back with Rampardos, Roark looked upwards at the night sky where the stars were twinkling just like they did in Oreburgh City. Though he and his pokemon had make a lot of progress in their career, made new friends, and even started getting along with Officer Nakayama, who Roark still wasn't sure if she believed his pokemon were robots or not, they had still made no progress on how to get home.

But...

Maybe they could make this their second home.

As long as he had Rampardos and the others, he would never truly be alone and his dream had always been to uncover as many new fossils as possible so maybe he could still achieve this dream in 'Japan'...

The pursuit of knowledge and new findings didn't have to stop just because he was in another world after all!

"Rampardos! Let's do it! We're going to be the best archaeologists in the world! Okay!"

"RAMPAAAAAA"

Turning around in his spot, Roark tried to hug Rampardos fondly from behind but felt the wind leave his lungs when Rampardos headbutted him lightly before he could.

Hahaha.

Letting out a cheery laugh, Roark felt a peace in his heart wash away his worries and continued to laugh alongside Rampardos in the forest while the bugs buzzed away under the moonlight.

Two Years Later, TBS Broadcasting Centre, Tokyo, Japan

"Roark-san, good job with the interview today! You're all done, so should I escort you to the waiting room until Professor Kaseki is done with his part of the program?"

"Thank you, that sounds great."

Following the worker who led him away from the newsroom, Roark checked his Rotom-etch comfortably where the news read,

"Young researcher Roark-san with renown Professor Kaseki develop Fossil Reviver and announce plans to open the world's first Fossil Restoration Centre, right here in Tokyo!!!"

Phew

It had been a whirlwind of a two years as they attempted to recreate the portable Fossil Reviver he had gotten in the Galar region and soon they would be able to revive fossils here in Japan! It was unbelieve that they had succeeded and as soon as they had shown a demonstration with something this world called a 'T-rex' thought to Roark it just looked like a smaller Tyrantrum, he and Professor Kaseki had been whisked from news station to news station all begging for an interview with the two hottest researchers of the year.

And while the Fossil Reviver was the biggest headlight, Roark had steadily been making a name for himself and was on a steady path to get his PhD in archeology as he and the team continued to discover new fossils and ruins in the Middle East and Africa at breakneck speed with many calling him 'The Greatest Fossil Maniac' of his generation.

Knock Knock Knock

Putting his wrist down, Roark opened the door and was met by the sight of a petite woman, with light, chestnut brown hair that extended just above her shoulders, a vibrant green top complemented by dark green, cargo pants and boots that showed an emphasis on manoeuvrability.

Smiling at him, she went in for a hug which Roark responded with a hug back and greeted the genial woman.

"Hey Gardenia"