Vajk's mind reeled the creature's words reverberating through his skull like a cacophony of madness. "Tangela? Mt. Silver? Foggy Woods? Pokémons?" The unfamiliar terms tumbled from his lips, his voice a hoarse whisper laced with dawning disbelief.

'Did I hear everything right?' His thoughts raced, a torrent of denial and confusion crashing against the shores of reason. 'Wait, don't tell me... that I'm in... that cartoon?! Or video game if I'm right?' His eyes widened, pupils dilating as the impossible reality of his situation began to take shape. "It can't be... can it?"

A tremor ran through his body, his breath catching in his throat as he fought against the encroaching waves of panic. "I MUST BE SO DAMN DRUNK THAN NEVER BEFORE! OR IT HAS TO BE A FEVER DREAM! THERE'S NO OTHER ANSWER!"

Desperation clawed at his mind, and Vajk's hands flew to his head, fingers tangling in his disheveled locks as he tugged violently, as if the pain might shock him back to reality. But the fog-shrouded forest remained, unyielding, and the seaweed-draped creature regarded him with its unblinking, alien gaze.

A guttural sound escaped Vajk's lips, a primal howl of denial that echoed through the eerie stillness. His hands dropped from his hair, and he stumbled forward, driven by a madness borne of sheer incredulity. His foot caught on a protruding rock, and he pitched forward, his forehead striking the unforgiving stone with a sickening thud.

Pain blossomed across his brow, but Vajk barely registered it, his mind consumed by the maelstrom of disbelief that threatened to drown him. He clutched at his head, fingers digging into his flesh as he rocked back and forth, his body curling in on itself like a wounded animal.

"This can't be happening," he mumbled, the words spilling from his lips in a frantic mantra. "This can't be happening, this can't be happening..."

In his desperation, Vajk's hands strayed to the baggy fabric of his clothes, and he began to tear at the material, shredding it with wild abandon. Tattered strips fluttered to the ground as he clawed at himself, his movements growing increasingly erratic, fueled by a primal need to escape the nightmare that had ensnared him.

The creature watched, its vines swaying gently, as Vajk descended into madness before its eyes. Its alien features remained impassive, betraying no hint of comprehension or concern for the man's plight.

As Vajk's ravings grew louder, his voice rising in pitch and intensity, the Tangela seemed to stir from its silent observation. Slowly, almost tentatively, it unfurled its vines, inching closer to the unraveling man.

"Shhh, shhh," it cooed, the soft sounds emerging like a gentle breeze amidst the storm of Vajk's anguish. "It's okay, you're okay."

The creature's voice was soothing, a balm against the jagged edges of Vajk's frantic despair. It continued to murmur reassurances, its vines swaying in a hypnotic rhythm, as if beckoning Vajk back from the precipice of madness.

For a moment, Vajk stilled, his fingers frozen in his disheveled locks, the tattered remnants of his clothes hanging limply from his frame. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, but the frenetic energy that had consumed him seemed to ebb, tempered by the creature's gentle ministrations.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the tension began to seep from Vajk's body, his muscles unclenching as the Tangela's soothing sounds washed over him. A fleeting sense of calm settled upon him, a respite from the maelstrom of disbelief that had threatened to drown him.

Vajk's eyes widened in a comical mixture of shock and indignation as the Tangela's vines gently brushed against his skin. He recoiled, his face contorting into a grimace of disgust. "D-Don't touch me, you freak!" he sputtered, his voice cracking with a hint of hysteria.

The Tangela tilted its head, its beady eyes narrowing in confusion. It regarded Vajk with a perplexed expression, as if trying to comprehend the bizarre behavior of the tiny human before it. "Freak?" it repeated, its tone laced with a hint of amusement. "I'll have you know I'm a perfectly respectable Tangela, thank you very much."

Vajk's jaw dropped, his eyes bulging in disbelief. "Respectable?!" he sputtered, his voice rising an octave. "You're a talking seaweed monster in a world that shouldn't even exist!"

The Tangela's vines twitched, its eyes widening in sudden realization. "Wha- did you just understand me?" it blurted out, its voice laced with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

Vajk's eyebrows shot up, his mouth falling open in a comical display of shock. "What?" he sputtered, his mind reeling from the unexpected twist.

"What?" the Tangela echoed, its own confusion mirroring Vajk's. Its vines swayed, a gesture akin to a human scratching their head in bewilderment. "A-Anyway, Listen, kid," it drawled, its voice dripping with sarcasm, "I don't know what kind of dreamland you think you're in, but this is reality. And trust me, you're lucky you ran into me instead of some feral wild Pokémon. They would've torn you apart faster than a Scyther slicing through a Caterpie."

Vajk's face paled at the thought, his mouth opening and closing like a Magikarp out of water. He shook his head vehemently, his disheveled locks flapping comically. "No, no, no," he muttered, his voice rising in pitch. "This can't be real. I'm not a kid, I'm a grown-ass man! I was just minding my own business, and then suddenly I'm in this crazy world with talking plants and... and... Pokémons!"

The Tangela's eyes widened in mock surprise. "Oh, really?" it drawled, its tone dripping with sarcasm. "A grown-ass man, you say? Could've fooled me with that tiny body of yours."

Vajk's face reddened, his cheeks puffing out in indignation. "Shut up, you stupid weed-face!" he snapped, his adult side rearing its head. "I don't need your sass, I need to find a way back home! Fuck off!"

The Tangela fixed Vajk with a sardonic look, its eyes narrowing as it regarded the diminutive human with a mix of exasperation and grudging concern. "Anyway, let's believe what you said," it began, its tone dripping with sarcasm. "Let's say you really are from another world, and you somehow ended up in this forsaken forest with no idea how you got here or how to get back. What's your grand plan, then? Wander around aimlessly until you stumble across some sort of magical portal that'll whisk you back to your own reality?"

The Tangela snorted, its vines twitching with barely contained amusement. "Oh, I know! Maybe you'll just click your heels together three times and chant, 'There's no place like home,' and poof! You'll wake up in your own bed, and this will all have been a crazy dream!"

Vajk scowled, his tiny hands balling into fists at his sides as he glared at the Tangela. "Very funny," he growled, his voice laced with irritation. "You got any better ideas, or are you just going to stand there and mock me all day?"

The Tangela sighed, its mirth fading as it regarded Vajk with a more serious expression. "Look, kid," it said, its voice softening slightly, "I know this is all kinds of messed up, and I can't even begin to imagine what you must be going through. But the fact is, you're here now, and you're not going to get very far on your own. Especially not in that tiny body of yours."

Vajk flinched, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment as he was reminded of his diminutive stature. "I don't need your pity," he muttered, his voice barely audible over the rustling of the leaves overhead.

The Tangela shook its head, its vines curling in a gesture of frustration. "It's not pity, you stubborn little twerp," it said, its voice tinged with exasperation. "It's common sense. You're in a world you don't understand, filled with creatures that could easily make a snack out of you?"

Vajk's eyes widened, a flicker of realization dancing across his features. He opened his mouth to retort, but the words died on his lips as the Tangela's sarcastic suggestion sank in. "Y-Y-You know what, you fucking overgrown tumbleweed," he stammered, his voice laced with a mixture of frustration and begrudging rebellion, "that's a great idea, a portal!"

The Tangela's vines twitched, its eyes narrowing in disbelief. "Wait, what?" it sputtered, taken aback by Vajk's sudden change of heart. "You can't be serious, kid. There's no such thing as a magical portal hiding in these woods! I was just joking!"

"Figured you dumbass... but this is my last bet getting out of here." Vajk's lips curled into a defiant smirk, his tiny hands planted firmly on his hips. "Watch me, you sentient salad spinner," he declared, his voice dripping with determination. "I'll find that portal and get the fuck out of this batshit crazy world, just you wait and see!"

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With that, Vajk spun on his heel, his tattered clothes fluttering in the breeze as he marched off into the foggy depths of the woods. The Tangela watched, its vines swaying in a gesture of exasperation, as the tiny human disappeared into the mist.

"Hey, wait up, you pint-sized lunatic!" the Tangela called out, its voice echoing through the eerie stillness. "You can't just go wandering off like that! There are wild Pokémon out there that'll make mincemeat out of you!"

Vajk's voice drifted back through the fog, laced with a hint of manic glee. "Fuck off, you walking compost heap! I don't need your help! I've got this shit handled!"

The Tangela let out a groan, its vines drooping in resignation. "Arceus help me," it muttered, shaking its head in disbelief. "This kid is gonna be the death of me."

With a heavy sigh, the Tangela trudged after Vajk secretly, its vines swaying in a gesture of reluctant determination. It knew that the tiny human was walking headfirst into a world of trouble, but it couldn't just stand by and watch him get torn to shreds by the denizens of the Foggy Woods.

Suddenly, the world seemed to freeze, the fog swirling in slow motion around them. Vajk's voice echoed through the stillness, a disembodied narration directed at an unseen audience.

"Yeah, that's me," he said, his tone laced with a mixture of exasperation and bemusement. "I bet you're wondering how I got into this situation. Well, buckle up, because it's a wild fucking ride."

The scene dissolved, the fog-shrouded forest fading away to reveal a bustling university campus. Vajk, in his adult form, trudged wearily through the throng of students, his backpack slung haphazardly over one shoulder.

"It all started on my birthday," he narrated, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'd just finished my exams, barely scraping by with passing grades. My friends, being the brilliant fucking masterminds they are, decided that the best way to celebrate was to throw a rager at some dingy bar downtown."

x-x-x

The scene shifted, the fog-shrouded forest melting away to reveal the bustling streets of downtown of , or Sepsi to be more fancy. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a golden glow over the historic buildings and busy sidewalks. Vajk, in his true form as a disheveled university student, emerged from the imposing gates of Eötvös Loránd University, his backpack slung haphazardly over one shoulder.

"Another day, another soul-crushing exam," he muttered, his voice laced with exhaustion. "But hey, at least it's my birthday. And you know what that means? Time to get absolutely shitfaced!"

Vajk's phone buzzed in his pocket, and he fished it out, squinting at the screen. A message from his best friend, Peti, flashed across the display.

"Yo, birthday boy! Ready to party like it's 1999? We've got the perfect spot lined up. At RP, after the party. Be there or be square!"

The bar was called "The Rusty Pokéball," I continued, with voice laced with a hint of irony. "Apparently, the owner was some kind of Pokémon fanatic. He'd let my friend use the place for the night, probably because he was the only one desperate enough to host a bunch of broke-ass college students.

"Alright, Peti," he typed back, his fingers flying across the screen. "I'll be there with bells on. And by bells, I mean a liver ready to be pickled in cheap booze."

The scene shifted once more, the bustling streets of Sepsi giving way to the eclectic interior of The Rusty Pokéball. The ruin bar was a kaleidoscope of mismatched furniture, colorful graffiti, and twinkling fairy lights with some... I guess pokémon merch. The air hummed with the energetic chatter of partygoers and the pulsing beat of electronic music that was already a bit too much after the main party that everyone from my friends went and enjoyed.

Vajk, now clad in a garish party hat and a t-shirt that read "Birthday Boy" in bold, being forced to wear by Hajnal, one of his friend from classes, glittery letters, sat at a table surrounded by his friends. Empty shot glasses and crumpled beer cans littered the surface, a testament to the night's revelry.

"Alright, alright, settle down," Peti slurred, his words slightly muffled by the party horn clenched between his teeth. "It's time for the main event. Behold, the holy grail of birthday booze!"

With a dramatic flourish, Peti produced a bottle of vodka from behind his back. The label, written in a strange, almost alien script, read "Arceus Vodka" in bold, shimmering letters.

Vajk squinted at the bottle, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Arceus Vodka? What the hell is that? It looks and sounds like some knockoff shit."

Peti grinned, his eyes glinting with mischief. "That's the beauty of it, my dear Vajk," he drawled, his voice laced with a conspiratorial tone. "This isn't just any old vodka. It's a rare, limited edition brew, crafted in the depths of some remote Japanese distillery. They say it's infused with the essence of a legendary Pokémon, whatever the fuck that means."

Vajk snorted, his lips twisting into a smirk. "Legendary Pokémon? In vodka? Sounds like a load of marketing bullshit to me..."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, birthday boy," Peti countered, wagging a finger in Vajk's face. "This vodka is the real deal. It's said to have mystical properties, to grant the drinker a glimpse into another world it hits so hard."

Hajnal, her eyes wide with excitement, leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table. "Ooh, like a portal to the Pokémon universe?" she giggled, her words slightly slurred from the copious amounts of alcohol she'd already consumed. "Maybe if we drink enough of it, we'll wake up in Pallet Town!"

Vajk rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, right. And maybe if we chug enough of this swill, we'll sprout Pikachu tails and start shooting lightning bolts out of our asses."

Zsuzsi, a petite girl with a pixie cut and a mischievous glint in her eye, chimed in. "Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it, Vajk. I've seen the anime, and let me tell you, being a Pokémon trainer would be fucking lit. Imagine having a Charizard as your wingman. You'd never have to buy your own drinks again!"

Peti nodded sagely, a grin spreading across his face. "See? Zsuzsi gets it. And I've played the games, bro. Trust me, you haven't lived until you've caught 'em all and become the ultimate Pokémon master."

Vajk's friend Bence, a lanky guy with a perpetually confused expression, scratched his head. "I don't know, man. I never really got into that Pokémon stuff. I mean, isn't it just a bunch of cute animals fighting each other? Sounds kinda fucked up if you ask me..."

Peti shook his head, a look of mock disappointment on his face. "Bence, Bence, Bence. You poor, uncultured swine. Pokémon is so much more than just cute animals fighting. It's a way of life, a philosophy, a—"

"A load of bullshit," Vajk interrupted, snatching the bottle of Arceus Vodka from Peti's hand. "Look, I appreciate the effort, but I don't need some mystical, "universe-hopping" vodka to have a good time. I just need enough alcohol to forget that I'm another year older and still stuck in this soul-sucking university."

Réka, a curvy redhead with a wicked sense of humor, raised her eyebrows. "Wow, Vajk. Way to get all existential on us. I thought this was supposed to be a party, not a goddamn philosophy lecture."

Peti nodded, a sly grin spreading across his face. "You're right, Réka. We should be celebrating, not contemplating the cruel mockery of existence. And what better way to celebrate than by getting absolutely shitfaced on this rare, mystical vodka?"

Hajnal giggled, her face flushed with alcohol. "Yeah, Vajk. Don't be such a buzzkill. It's your birthday, for fuck's sake. Live a little!"

Zoltán, a quiet guy with a dry sense of humor, finally spoke up. "I don't know about living, but if we keep drinking this stuff, we might end up in a different world after all. The afterlife."

The group erupted into laughter, the tension broken by Zoltán's morbid joke. Vajk shook his head, a reluctant smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Alright, alright, you bunch of assholes. You win. Let's crack open this bottle and see if it lives up to the hype."

Peti let out a whoop of joy, grabbing a stack of shot glasses from a nearby table. "That's the spirit, birthday boy! Time to get Arceus-faced!"

The group huddled around the table, watching with bated breath as Vajk cracked open the bottle of Arceus Vodka. The liquid within seemed to shimmer and swirl, as if imbued with otherworldly energy.

Bence, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and curiosity, leaned in closer. "Dude, is it supposed to glow like that? It looks like it's gonna give us superpowers or some shit."

Peti grinned, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Maybe it will, Bence. Maybe we'll all wake up tomorrow with the ability to shoot fireballs or some shit."

Réka rolled her eyes, snatching a shot glass from the table. "Or maybe we'll just wake up with the world's worst hangover. Only one way to find out, right?"

Vajk nodded, a determined look on his face. "Right. Bottoms up, you bunch of bastards. Let's see what this mystical vodka is all about."

The group raised their glasses, the shimmering liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rims. Vajk took a deep breath, steeling himself for the unknown.

"To another year of not knowing what the fuck I'm doing with my life," he declared, his voice ringing out over the din of the bar. "And to you assholes, for being there to drunk-cry with me through it all."

With that, the group tipped back their shots, the Arceus Vodka burning a fiery path down their throats. For a moment, the world seemed to tilt on its axis, a strange, otherworldly energy thrumming through their veins.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the moment passed. The group blinked, shaking their heads to clear the fog that had settled over their minds.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Réka muttered, setting her shot glass back on the table. "I don't feel any different. Do you guys?"

Bence shrugged, a goofy grin spreading across his face. "Don't make me laugh... Wait you guys beside Vajk really thought something's gonna happen?"

Vajk sighed, a rueful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Told you so, you bunch of gullible fucks. But hey, at least it got us good and more drunk, right? I hope my brain cells do not commit suicide after this."

Zsuzsi giggled, her words slightly slurred. "Yeah, and who knows? Maybe the real magic was the drunken memories we made along the way."

The group groaned in unison, pelting Zsuzsi with crumpled napkins and empty beer cans.

"Hey now, if we do get KO'd by this shit it is his fault he ordered this weird vodka for us!" Bence slurred while pointing at Peti.

"Hey don't blame me, I just wanted to give something cool for our birthday boy who looks like shit after passing barely on the exams! Just enjoy it while it lasts!"

Everyone yelled in agreement as the world seemed to slow down around Vajk as he watched them drink and slowly blackout one by one as the strange vodka began to take effect as they drank more, even though he was struggling to stay awake.

As the last of them fell with a thud on the table while Vajk tried his best to at least get up from the table to finish the business that his stomach couldn't he saw a figure in the doorstep of the RP bar walking towards them. The figure was too fuzzy to make up details due to his blurry vision, as the figure touched his head, all he could hear is "Shush now, let this experience guide you..."

"Who the fuck are-" then the world went black... with a loud thud.

- TO BE CONTINUED -