Novels2Search

Chapter One

In front of me stood a figure. It was large, taller than me. My eyes were having a hard time focusing on it because of the rain. And the concussion. At least I assumed I had a concussion, a safe assumption after getting beaten with a bat. It’s not like I even had anything worth a damn in my wallet… That at least made me feel a bit better about it.

But this thing wasn’t the person who hit me. Or anything that I really recognized. Or…no…I did recognize it, but I couldn’t place it. “Get up,” I heard. Well, not so much heard as I knew that’s what it said.

Getting up was no easy task, but as I made the attempt I found it was actually easy, and my headache was gone. And the rain had stopped. And I was now somewhere completely different. “What- What’s going on?” I looked around for a moment, taking in what appeared to be some sort of starscape, speckled with lights.

The figure did not answer, remaining silent.

My attention was brought to it. “Llama?” I muttered, taking in its quadrupedal shape. It was mostly white, gray underside, with gold on its hooves and golden ring around its midsection. I blinked as I suddenly realized what I was looking at. “Arceus?”

That was a Pokemon. That was the Pokemon God of creation, if lore was to be believed. But what was it doing here? Was I having some sort of hallucination in the last moments of my life? Maybe this was death, taking a form that would be familiar to me that I would not cower at. I knew I played too much Pokemon.

“Get. Up.” I heard again.

Which was confusing, because I was standing already. Standing before a Pokemon God. Something that was debatably one of the most powerful Pokemon. That was a debate that I had heard many times, on who was more powerful. Considering that in stories they got slapped by random kid’s Pokemon, it made me wonder how powerful they could actually be.

The llama looked at me, and I realized it was the first time that it had actually done so. “Wake. Up.”

Suddenly everything went dark. There was pain again. My headache returned, but not just that, the rest of my body also hurt. At least it wasn’t raining. “Wake up,” I heard again, though the voice was different this time, “Oh please, wake up. If those Ranger guys find someone dead, they’re gonna blame us.”

There was something nudging my side. “Why would they blame us? They’d probably blame- whatever. What’s he even doing out here?” There was another voice.

“You should go get your mom,” the first voice said. There was the pressure of something on me. “She’ll know what to do.”

“Ugh. Just when we managed to get away.” There was something moving around in front of me.

“Mm,” I managed a small noise before shifting, finally being able to move.

“He’s alive! Let’s get out of here!”

“Hey! Don’t leave me!”

Two figures rushed away. I tried to open my eyes, but one was swollen shut, and the other was pressed into the grass. Trying to move my arms resulted in only one listening to me, the other one hurt too much to even try. Broken? Maybe? Wait…grass? Wasn’t I on a sidewalk?

I heard a distant excited cry of, “Mama! Mama!” But I couldn't tell from where.

Slowly I tried to shift my good arm under me, doing my best to push my face off the ground so that I could look around. I was in…a forest? There were bushes and trees all around, and the grass I was in was quite tall. I rolled a bit to the side and up against a tree, managing to sit against it.

Everything hurt. My arm was battered and bruised, but I didn’t see any bones. It looked like I had…fallen? And tried to catch myself. It didn’t actually look broken now that I saw it, but it just hurt too much to move. I started to try and feel for broken bones, but found none.

“There, there, mama look.” The voice caused me to look over to see…a small blue bipedal dog. A Riolu? And behind it, the much larger jackal dog Lucario. Now I was in pain and extremely confused. That was definitely a Pokemon. Was I a Pokemon? No, my hands looked normal. That’s lame, being a Pokemon would be cool.

“He’s not a Ranger,” Lucario said, looking over at me. I noticed how she was keeping a distance from me, assessing if I was a threat. Riolu was standing beside her, and just next to them was a red insect Pokemon with black markings, a large hump and lots of legs; a Venipede.

“Could you-” A coughing fit interrupted my request for help. This did seem to ease her worry about whether I was a threat or not, and she approached.

I was trying to keep my focus on her, but it was hard. She knelt down in front of me, putting her hand on my chest to steady me as she looked me over. I was suddenly very aware that this was probably a wild Pokemon, and I could be in serious trouble if she decided to do anything. “What did you say happened?” she asked back towards Riolu.

“He fell! Like, zoom crash.” They were animatedly gesturing as they spoke, which made me smile a bit. “That’s the hole he crashed through.” They pointed up and indeed there was a rather large hole through the tree canopies.

We all sort of just stared at the hole for a few moments, before her attention turned back to me. The first thing she did was check my belt. She seemed…surprised? I was more disappointed than surprised, since there were no pokeballs there. “You’re not a Trainer? How did you get here?”

“I…I don’t know,” I managed to say. I was going to have to do my best not to lie, since Lucario’s had that whole aura sense thing. “I got…attacked and robbed…then saw… Then I woke up here.”

There was a moment of silence as she continued to look me over, before seemingly deciding something. “The Pokecenter is pretty far, but I can get you there,” she said before rather unceremoniously hefting me up onto her back.

It was a rather odd experience, being lifted by something quite a bit smaller than me. My head was actually above hers. “Thank you,” I said. Lucario shifted my weight, holding my legs in her arms. My arms were draped over her shoulders, and I did my best not to touch her chest spike.

I watched Riolu get on top of the Venipede. “To the Pokecenter!” they declared, and the little bug simply rolled their eyes.

And then we were off. I’m not sure how far it was, considering I passed out twice on the way there. It was not the most gentle of rides and Lucario was moving quite fast. But eventually we broke out of the trees and onto a road. The sun had gone down, and I could see lampposts in the distance.

I had no idea what town it was, but it was large. Stone streets, and rather modern looking buildings was the first thing that caught my eye, but I didn’t have much of a chance to observe as we came towards the Pokecenter. It was a familiar building, and I was trying to place the style when we rushed inside. Apparently Lucario had been here before. “Wigglytuff!” she called out, before spotting the Pokemon and heading over.

Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff immediately started to rush over. Both of them saying some sort of variation of, “Oh my. Oh dear. Oh my.” Wigglytuff was the first to reach me and immediately helped me off of Lucario, who fell to one knee, panting softly from the exertion.

“What happened?” Nurse Joy asked, trying to help me onto my feet.

“Robbed,” I managed to say, standing was a struggle, but the pink Pokemon was strong enough to lift me to my feet and keep me there.

I was rushed into the back and found out just how fantastical the medicine in the Pokemon world was. Apparently potions worked on literally everyone. Half an hour later, I felt so much better. Wigglytuff was there, taking care of my more serious injuries. “It doesn’t seem to be broken,” she said as she was examining my arm.

“No, I think it’s got a fracture, though,” I responded, and she nodded, carefully wrapping my arm.

“You have very good partners. But we couldn't find any pokeballs?” She looked me over again, for probably the dozenth time.

“I… They’re not my Pokemon,” I admitted, watching as she wrapped my arm.

That caused her to pause and look up at me. “They’re…someone else's?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so… they found me in the woods.” She looked nervous at my words. “It’s alright. Lucario’s got a good personality and took it upon herself to get me here. I doubt she’d cause trouble after that.” I reached out with my good arm and pat the pink balloon on the head softly.

Her cheeks immediately puffed up, which caused me to laugh. She huffed at me before continuing to wrap my arm. “You shouldn’t touch a medical practitioner when she’s working.”

“Aw, but cute Pokemon deserve headpats,” I said, still chuckling softly.

Again her cheeks puffed up, but before she could retort, Nurse Joy came back in. “I’ve contacted Officer Jenny, and she’s on her way.” She had left to make some calls. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thank you.” I gave her a bit of a smile before turning back to watch Wigglytuff. I was still trying to come to terms that I was now in the Pokemon world. And, I had a general idea where I was. “Arceus, why am I in France…” I muttered under my breath. Only Kalos Nurse Joys used Wigglytuff’s as assistants.

Wigglytuff looked up at me in confusion, apparently having heard me. “Hm?”

I shook my head in response. “Just talking to myself,” I said.

After a moment she nodded and finished her work. “Okay, so your arm is the worst injury you have. It’s going to take a few weeks before it’s fully healed. So no throwing. You also have a mild concussion, but surprisingly no skull fractures.”

“Weeks?” I mused as I flexed my fingers a bit. My whole arm still hurt whenever I try to move it. “Alright, I can do that. Thank you.” I gave her another few pats.

She puffed up, flailing her little hands to try and bat my hand away. “Stop headpatting me! I am a professional!” she exclaimed, which only caused me to laugh.

“Of course you are. You’re an absolutely amazing professional.” As much as I wanted to continue patting her head, I decided that that was enough teasing and instead fixed her little hat. “You’re a great nurse.”

The balloon gave me a huff in response before turning away to clean up the tools. “You’re really good with Pokemon,” Nurse Joy said as she had been watching our interaction. “Usually Wigglytuff would have been rough with anyone who treated her like that.”

“Well, I love Pokemon. And she’s a cutie that I can’t help teasing a bit,” I said with a smile as I saw Wigglytuff turn back to glare at me for a moment before turning away with another huff. “Such a professional.” I chuckled a bit.

Nurse Joy gave me a bit of a confused look. “Professional? That’s kind of an odd way of putting it.”

“Ah, I’m just teasing her more. After all, it’s what she called herself.” I made a few gestures towards the pink Pokemon.

“Called herself?” Nurse Joy asked, sounding even more confused. I looked at her a moment before we both seemed to realize it at the same time. Pokemon can’t talk. Wigglytuff also seemed to realize that something was off as well as she turned back to look at me. “You can understand her?”

“You can understand me?” Wigglytuff asked nearly at the same time.

Slowly I nodded. “Yes?” I had to think about it for a moment. “It’s like…” I was trying to figure out how to explain it. “I can hear her say things and make noises, but I don’t actually hear that, I hear words.”

Wigglytuff was suddenly in front of me, grabbing my hands. “You can understand me?!” she practically shouted. And I nodded. “Good!” She pointed a flipper arm at Nurse Joy. “Tell her that I want an egg! I have been trying for months to tell her, but she doesn’t understand!”

I blinked a few times, and then laughed. Wigglytuff shook my hands, trying to get me to stop laughing. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, that was just a very sudden request.”

“What did she say?” Nurse Joy asked, moving a bit closer. “I know there’s something that’s been bothering her for a while now, but I just can’t figure it out.”

“She…” I paused, trying to figure out the best way to say it. I cleared my throat. “She wants a child.”

Nurse Joy blinked at me, while Wigglytuff nodded vigorously. “Oh.” Her face had gained a slightly red tinge to it. “That uhm…does explain her fascination whenever someone brings in a Pokemon egg, or a Pokemon who is close to laying.”

I nodded and Wigglytuff nodded along with me, both of us with our arms folded.

“Wait. Wait wait wait. Not that that isn’t important, but you can- you can talk to Pokemon?” Nurse Joy said, shaking her head a bit to try and refocus herself.

I was still nodding, but before I could answer a rather familiar green haired police woman poked her head into the open door. “Nurse Joy? Ah, there you are.” She looked around the room for a moment. “This him?”

“Ah, Officer Jenny, yes,” Nurse Joy said as she turned her attention to the new woman. “This is-” she stopped, realizing there was something important that was never asked.

“Jason,” I offered, “Or Jace for short.”

“Alright, Jason, what happened,” Officer Jenny asked as she came into the room. She looked rather stern, but that always seemed to be how the Jenny Clan looked.

“I- I’m honestly not sure. My memory of…well, anything, is pretty fuzzy. I’m…not sure where I am. I was going to the store for a snack, when I was struck in the back of the head, I think? I remember them beating me for a while and then I passed out. And when I woke up I was in a forest.”

Officer Jenny was writing it down, though there was a look of concern on her face. “Do you have any identification?”

I shook my head. “They took everything.”

“Even your Pokemon?”

“He has some, they’re in a resting room,” Nurse Joy interjected. “But they don’t have pokeballs.”

“Ah, those aren’t mine. They’re…wild I think?” Both of them looked at me, a look of surprise and shock showing on their faces. “I think Riolu and Venipede found me, and Riolu went and got their mother, who carried me here.”

“I think I know the Lucario,” Nurse Joy said, tapping her cheek. “If it’s the same one from a few years ago. She was really beat up, and a Ranger brought her here because he was worried.”

“Do you know which Ranger?” Officer Jenny asked, and Nurse Joy shook her head. “Dang. Well… I’ll put out some bulletins. See if we can figure out where you came from, Jason. I’ve never seen you around, so you’re probably not from around here. I’ll put it out to the other Jenny’s. Hopefully someone will see it and recognize you.”

I sighed a bit, but nodded. I felt kind of bad because I knew that was just going to be a waste of time and resources. “Thank you.” I took a moment to stand, the Wigglytuff immediately moving to help. “Heh, thank you, too.”

“Ah!” Nurse Joy suddenly exclaimed as if remembering. “I need to tell Professor Sycamore!” She moved to leave the room, but was blocked by Officer Jenny.

“About what?” she questioned.

“Him- he. He can talk to Pokemon,” Nurse Joy hurriedly explained, trying to get around the police woman.

Officer Jenny just looked puzzled, but let the pink haired woman pass. “Talk to Pokemon? Everyone can talk to Pokemon?” she questioned, turning her attention back to me.

“No, I mean he has full communication,” Nurse Joy tried to explain as she dashed down the hall.

“Is that rare?” I knew it was a thing that was possible, but I didn’t know how possible it was in this Pokemon world. I had no idea if this was even based on anything or just a random Pokemon world.

“It is. It’s about as rare as a Pokemon learning to talk to us. I’ve only heard rumors of people who could do it,” she said, eying me with some suspicion.

“Mmm I see. Well, I‘m going to go and thank my savior and let her know I’m alright, okay?” The officer nodded and I looked at Wigglytuff. “Could you show me where they are?” She nodded and led me out.

The room that they were letting the others stay in was nice and cozy, some sort of lounge area. Lucario was sitting on a couch, drinking something warm, while Riolu and Venipede were running around the room and looking at all the new things.

Lucario looked up as we entered. “You look much better.”

“Yes, thanks to you,” I said as I moved over, watching as the other two were fascinated by a cardboard tube. There were paper towels everywhere. “Are you planning to stay in the Pokecenter for very long?”

She shook her head. “No, we should head back before morning. I don’t want to have to deal with Trainers…”

I chuckled a bit, nodding. “That’s understandable. You’re a very popular team choice.”

There was a sort of exasperated and sad noise that escaped her as she nodded. “I am well aware.”

“You…really can communicate with them well,” Officer Jenny said, looking between Lucario and me as we talked. “I can only get a general idea of it, but you seem to really understand.”

“Are we leaving?” Riolu said, running over to their mom and jumping onto the couch. “This place is weird.”

“Yes, I can,” I responded to Officer Jenny. She seemed a bit on edge being around the wild Pokemon. “I’m…not sure how or why, but I just hear what they say as words.”

Her expression became thoughtful. “Maybe the Professor will know…”

“Wait. You can actually understand me?” Lucario asked, a bit surprised at that reveal. “I thought you were just good at interpreting.”

“Yeah I can actually understand you.” I felt like I was going to have to repeat this a lot, if even Pokemon were caught off guard by it.

“Then, can you ask that one a question?” She pointed at Officer Jenny. “I’ve seen her with Rangers.”

“Of course.” I glanced at Officer Jenny who gave me a puzzled expression before I returned my attention back to Lucario.

“Where is my mate?” Immediately she sounded pissed off, like a switch was clicked. “That- That trash left me to join some Trainers team!” She was gesturing with her hands. “He left me, just after my daughter was born,” she pointed at Riolu.

“Ah, a deadbeat dad,” I nodded sympathetically.

“Deadbeat? Yeah, I probably am going to beat him to death when I find his smooth, lying, child abandoning ass.” She punched into her hand several times for emphasis.

“Why’s she…so mad?” Officer Jenny asked, I could see she had a hand on one of her pokeballs.

“Her mate- the father of that Riolu- left her to join a Trainer. Is it possible for you to check if any Trainers got a Lucario around here a few years ago?”

“Three years,” Lucario added.

“Three years ago,” I repeated after Lucario.

Her brow furrowed a bit as she looked back and forth from me and Lucario. “I…could check the Pokemon registry, but I probably won’t be able to give out the information.”

“Honestly I think we both would just appreciate you looking,” I said and Lucario nodded from beside me. I blinked, looking at the Lucario who had come up beside me without me having noticed.

Officer Jenny looked between the two of us and then laughed softly. “You sure she’s not your Pokemon? You two seem to get along really well.” Lucario and I looked at each other for a moment before both shrugging. I turned my attention back to Officer Jenny. “Ah, that’s right…you don’t have any Pokemon… You’ll have to come down to the station to fill out a report. Do you remember what Pokemon you had?”

I shook my head with a sigh. “No.” In truth, I didn’t have any Pokemon, but saying that would be weird. Even children had Pokemon depending on what Pokemon universe this was.

“That’s going to be a problem… I’ll have to see what we can do, but I’m sure Professor Sycamore will be able to help you with that. I’m gonna make some calls.” Officer Jenny said before stepping away and pulling out…a Rotom phone? No, just a regular phone with an interesting case.

A slight tugging at my pants leg caused me to look down. Venipede had pulled on them. “Are you okay?” they asked.

I crouched down, putting a hand gently onto their shell. “I’m fine, little bug. Thanks to you and Riolu.”

As if on cue from her name, Riolu used me as a springboard and leapt into the air and landed on Venipede. “Yeah! Team Speed Shell completes another mission!”

I chuckled a bit. “Team Speed Shell?”

“It’s what these two troublemakers call themselves,” Lucario said with an exhausted tone. “I’ve no idea where they got it from.”

“Maybe they should be Team Trouble?” I suggested, and that got Lucario to chuckle.

Riolu looked offended. “You dare?” They took up a pose, pointing at me as if challenging me.

“Team Trouble is a good Pokemon team name,” I argued. “Team Speed Shell is also good, especially with how speedy Venipede is.” I pat the bug Pokemons shell again. “You easily kept up with Lucario as she was going full speed.” They wiggled under my words of praise.

“Veny is the speed, I’m the muscle,” Riolu proclaimed, patting her bicep.

“Oh? Speed and muscle? Who's the brains?”

They both froze and slowly looked at each other. There was a silent argument between them for a few moments. “Neither,” Lucario said with a huff. “If those girls had any brains between them I wouldn’t have to keep such a close eye on them.” I couldn’t help but laugh.

They both gasped, looking at Lucario as if she had just slapped them. “How could you say that mamma?” I laughed harder, and Riolu leapt up, grabbing hold of my shirt. “Dare to laugh at Team Speed Shell? I’ll show you-”

“Rio!” Lucario snapped, and the little pup's grip loosened.

“I’m sorry,” I said gently, putting my good hand on her back to help support her. She was extremely soft and warm. “I’m not laughing at Team Speed Shell. It’s a good team name. It was your mothers reaction that made me laugh, and then your reaction to it that was funny.”

She sniffled a bit in response. I reached up and gently pat her head, which was about all I could manage to do with my injured arm. Lucario gently took her from me. “She’s tired,” she said.

“Am not,” was Riolu’s response.

“I don’t usually let her stay up this late.” I watched as Lucario carefully held Riolu, being careful of her spike. Riolu was one of the baby Pokemon, one of the many strange gimmicks that was used once but then never again. I suppose that had some base of reality here.

With a nod, I reached down and picked up Venipede. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Officer Jenny jolt slightly. Venipede were known to be brutally aggressive and highly venomous, but anyone who had heard the tone of her little voice wouldn’t be worried. “I suppose we could all use some rest. I’m sure you can stay here as long as you need to.”

Lucario hesitated, looking at me as if searching for something. After a moment she nodded. “Yes. Better to stay here for the rest of the night, and leave tomorrow after hopefully getting some information on where that jerk went.”

With a nod, I asked Officer Jenny about accommodations, and was actually surprised to learn that a Pokecenter doubled as a sort of inn for Trainers. And since it was near the end of the League season, and the actual Kalos League would be starting soon, not many would be staying here. That was something that I was interested in. Watching high level battles in person would be amazing.

The room was nice, though very bare. Not quite like a hotel room, more just a place to crash for the night, a desk, and a little bathroom. I set Venipede down on the bed before settling into it myself. To my surprise, Lucario laid down on the bed as well and made herself comfortable. I was too tired to complain, not that I really would have, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

~

In the morning I woke to a pressure on my chest and a lot of weight on top of me. Opening my eyes, I saw quite a sight. On my left was Lucario, having pressed her face into the crook of my shoulder. Venipede was lying on my chest, with Riolu between her and her mother. I could see Lucario’s arm wrapped over both of them. The scene caused a smile to creep onto my face.

A sudden knock at the door caused Lucario to jolt upwards, going from laying to standing and ready to fight in an instance. I didn’t move, letting her get her bearings. Riolu and Venipede hadn’t even twitched at the noise or movement. After a moment she seemed to remember where she was and looked around, seeing me looking at her.

She quickly looked away, apparently embarrassed at her reaction. “Someone is at the door,” she mumbled and moved to go answer it.

“Yes,” was all I said.

When she opened the door, it was Nurse Joy. “Ah, sorry, were you still asleep?”

“No, I was awake. I'm just under a pile of Pokemon,” I said with a chuckle. The movement of my chest and speech roused the other two, who grumbled about being woken.

“Good. Professor Sycamore will be arriving soon. He sounded really excited to talk to you.” She had not come into the room, simply watching as Lucario moved to get Riolu and Venipede off of me.

Once I was freed I sat up. “Alright, good. I wanted to talk to him as well.”

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“Have you…remembered anything?” she sounded hesitant to ask, but as a nurse knew that it was important.

I hesitated a moment, unsure what to say before I shook my head. “No more than yesterday.”

With a nod, Nurse Joy led me to a sort of cafeteria. Apparently Pokecenters were really designed to help Trainers on the journey in every conceivable way. A place to rest, recover, eat, gain information, and from the noises out back, battle. The food was pretty good, though I realized pretty quick that the meat in the dishes must be from Pokemon. Going vegetarian might be a good choice. But it was tasty…

I saw Professor Sycamore before I had finished eating. He was hard to miss. That hairdo was so anime, and the labcoat was a dead giveaway. He was talking with Nurse Joy as I got up and approached the two of them. “Ah, you must be Jason,” he said as he gave me a smile.

I nodded. “Professor Sycamore?” Even if I knew, it was polite to ask.

He nodded, still smiling. “Yes. I heard you had…quite a bit of trouble.”

Again I nodded. “Professor I… I would like to talk to you, privately, before we discuss anything else.”

He gave me a rather confused look, but nodded slowly. “Of course. Nurse Joy, could we borrow an exam room?”

“Of course,” she said, also a bit confused.

Nurse Joy led us to a small room, and I moved in and sat down before Professor Sycamore had even closed the door. “I take it… you do not have memory loss?” he asked after closing the door.

“I- I’m not sure.” I sighed a bit, rubbing my face as I thought. There were going to be far too many lies to keep track of if I tried, and I knew Professor Sycamore was at least trustworthy. I would have much preferred Oak, or… well honestly all of the professors were pretty trustworthy. “As far as I see it, there are three possibilities.”

“Oh? Do tell,” he said as he sat down.

“First possibility is that I have some sort of memory inventing amnesia,” I wasn’t sure how to explain it succinctly.

Thankfully, the Professor asked, “What is that?”

“It’s… Well I’m not sure of its actual name, I’m just trying to explain it. But it’s like, I have amnesia, but rather than it being blank, my mind filled in the gap with false memories. A life that never actually existed, from a place that doesn’t exist.”

“False memories…why do you think that?”

“Well, that would be more easily explained with the second possibility. That I’m from a different world.” I wasn’t sure if he was silent because he wanted me to continue, or because he wasn’t sure how to word a question. “I have lived my entire life in a world that doesn’t have Pokemon. Well, not in the same sense as here, anyways. They exist, but only in fantasy. Books, games, television shows. They are made up things there.”

“So you think that you are from some other world?” he said carefully.

“Or the first possibility. Or the third; that I’m just insane.”

That actually got a laugh out of the man. “Well, at least you’re aware that that’s an option. But…another world… That would be quite interesting.” He leaned back in his chair for a moment. “Aside from your memories, do you have any proof?”

“I have nothing on me. I didn’t lie about being robbed. But the fact that I don’t have anything, no Pokemon, is another piece of the puzzle. If Officer Jenny can’t find evidence of me in the system, that’s something.” I ran my fingers over my hair. “Honestly, I don’t know what would be scarier, if she didn’t find anything or if she did.”

“Personally I think it would be more worrying if she didn’t find anything. Because that would mean your other world theory would be more plausible.” He rubbed at his chin a bit.

“When I supposedly crossed over… I saw Arceus, or at least I think I did.”

His brow furrowed a bit. “If it has to do with Arceus, I’d have to talk to other Professors…”

“Professor Juniper,” I suggested. “Maybe Oak or Laventon?”

“No, I think Juniper would be the best-” he stopped, looking at me. “You know other Professors?”

I leaned back a bit in my chair, trying to get comfortable. “Like I said, Pokemon existed as fiction in my world. I’m not sure how accurate my knowledge will be, but- Ah, Professor Laventon isn’t from this timeline…”

“I’m afraid I don’t… I don’t know what you mean. I don’t think I’ve heard the name Professor Laventon before.”

“Well, he’s a Professor from a very long time ago.” I blinked, and then snapped, pointing at Professor Sycamore. “There. That’s another piece. If you can find information on Professor Laventon and his Galaxy Team, then it’s true that I know something that most wouldn’t know. It would at least be a strike against option three.”

He chuckled softly, nodding. “Well, that is the most worrying of the options.” He took a deep breath. “Speaking of worrying… you not having a Pokemon is a problem.” I nodded. “I can’t give out any new Pokemon until the start of the next journey, but-”

“Wait. What’s the journey?” I interrupted, that sounded important.

“Ah, right. Well, when a child reaches sixteen, they are given a Pokemon, either by their parents or by the Pokemon Association. Some get it earlier, but they’re not allowed to battle in gyms till sixteen. They go on a journey for eleven months, to try and collect enough badges to participate in their local League. Ours is the Kalos League, which starts next week. After the League, Trainers will either give up on their journey and go on to other things, or continue and try to do better in the next League.”

I nodded slowly. “So that’s how it works here…”

“Is…that similar to what you know?” he asked, unsure if he even wanted to ask that question.

“It’s pretty close. Though in the games there’s no like, time? You can just go do the League whenever you want and challenge the Elite Four.”

His face scrunched up. “That would be exhausting. The Elite Four would constantly be getting battles. Only the top ten in the League get the chance to challenge the Elite Four, and someone has to-”

“Beat all four to challenge the Champion,” I finished his sentence with a nod. “I did that a bunch in the games,” I mumbled.

He blinked at me several times. “You…did what?”

“Hm?” I looked over at him, realizing I had been spacing out. “Ah, yeah. Since they were games, you just trained Pokemon and then beat the Champion. Some of the games had more stuff to do after that, but usually that was the end.”

There was a thoughtful look on his face. “And you… did this several times?”

“Technically? I don’t know how well training video game Pokemon would translate to real Pokemon.” I wasn’t sure how to explain a video game to him, since I had no idea if they even had those in the Pokemon world, and he seemed to not understand what I meant.

“Well, sounds like you’ll be a fantastic Trainer,” he said with a laugh. “But that will have to wait. We need to talk about the reason I’m here. You…can understand Pokemon?”

With a sigh, I nodded. “Yes.”

“Not just, interpret them really well, but actually understand them?” he pressed.

Again I nodded and repeated, “Yes.”

He pulled a pokeball from his pocket. “Go.” There was a red light, and in the room formed a rather large Venasaur, who took up most of the room.

“A Venasaur?” I complained. “Couldn’t you have chosen something smaller?”

“Are you calling me fat?” Venusaur said with a tone of shock.

“Of course not,” I said immediately, “You are perfectly proportioned.”

“He is a bit on the chubby side,” the Professor added, which got a glare from the Pokemon.

I moved over, hugging and patting the Pokemon. “Don’t listen to him. He just doesn’t understand.”

“I am not fat. He’s always saying that.” Venusaur leaned into me, as if finally having a comrade against injustice.

“Is he? That’s so mean. You have incredibly healthy leaves, and your flower is absolutely vibrant.”

The massive Pokemon nodded, huffing. “Maybe I’m a bit out of shape, but if he would let me out more often, I could enjoy some sun.”

“How cruel.” I turned to the Professor. “You need to let him out more. He says he’s not getting enough sun.”

That immediately got the man’s attention. “What?”

“He says you don’t let him out enough,” I said, and Venusaur nodded.

“What…what else did he say?” He was leaning forward in his seat.

“What’s with him?” Venusaur asked, gesturing at the Professor with one of his whips.

“Well, he’s just surprised that I can talk and understand Pokemon.” I gave the big guy a few more headpats.

“Oho? Tell him to wash his socks more often.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “And that I want to be sprayed with a hose more often, that’s nice.”

Still laughing, I nodded. “Anything else?”

The big guy seemed to think over it for a moment. “I wanna see that lady again. The pretty lady who gave me berries.”

I nodded a bit and turned back to the Professor. “He says your feet stink.” I saw the smile on the Professor's face fall, and he cleared his throat as he sat back up. “And he wants you to spray him with the hose more. And there was a lady that fed him berries? He wants to see her more-”

“Okay. Okay.” He put up his hands, trying to get me to stop. “I got it. I can…I can see you can at least understand him better than I can.”

Venusaur and I laughed a bit, the large Pokemons laugh was deep and throaty, causing me to feel the vibrations since I was still hugging him. It was a nice feeling. The Professor cleared his throat. “Return.” The red beam shot out and struck the Venusaur, returning him back to the ball.

I moved to sit back in my seat. “So… Since I’ve proven that, what next?”

“Well… First off, we need to get you a Trainer’s license. Usually that would require you graduate from a Pokeschool, but I can bypass that.” He rubbed his chin a bit. “And I think I can get you a sort of starter kit for new Trainers? I usually have a few of those around. Pokemon will still be a problem…” He gave me a look. “Unless you can get a Pokemon before that. I hear you have some…friends?”

A shrug was my first response. “I don’t know if they’re interested in that.”

He looked at me for a moment before nodding. “Right… Well, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.” He suddenly stood up. “I’ve got some calls to make, and a bag to go find for you.”

“Before you go, is it possible to get me like…tickets to see the League? I want to see real Pokemon battles.” I was on my feet soon after him.

“Oh, yeah sure I can do that. I have tickets to a booth that I hardly use, you can have those,” he said with a smile.

Opening the door, we found Nurse Joy, who was apparently about to knock. “Ah. Officer Jenny uh… called, asking him to go to the station.”

Professor Sycamore nodded. “Yeah, probably important.” He turned back to me. “If a certain subject comes up, tell her that you talked with me about it and I suggested you not talk about it.”

“Oh good,” I said with a smile. “That way, she can be mad at you instead of me.”

His smile faltered a bit and he sighed. “Yeah.”

There was silence for a moment. “Uhm… So where’s the station?”

The Professor decided to lead me to it, walking through the town as we went. It was actually quite bustling. Apparently I was in Santalune, which was fitting since it was supposed to be a sort of beginning place for Trainers. It was also much, much bigger than in the games, looking more like it did in the anime. Which of course, was more realistic. A city only having like, thirty people was a bit absurd. That’s a village. At best.

The station was pretty obvious, even having a little police scooter outside. Officer Jenny was also apparently not the only person there. There were numerous other police officers. Or wait, this is supposed to be France, right? Weren’t they called something fancy? Un policier? That was for a male officer I think? But then again, they didn’t speak French in Kalos so probably not.

I was about to go up to one of the officers at a desk when Officer Jenny appeared from a doorway. “Ah, there you are. Come on in here.”

With a shrug I walked over, following her inside. “So, what did you want me for, Officer Jenny?”

“Well, a few things.” She sat down at a desk, gesturing for me to sit down in the seat opposite. “Firstly, I need you to describe what events you can remember from the incident, and any bit of information that you can recall.” She pushed a little recording device towards me, an old cassette recorder that was already going.

“There’s…really not much, but I will do my best,” I said as I sat down. “Let’s see…” I thought for a moment, trying to decide where to start. “I remember going outside…to a shop near where…I think I lived? I was staying?” That was a complicated situation that I wasn’t about to get into. “It was pretty late, dark out.”

“Do you remember the time?”

“Mmm no. I think it was after nine?” She nodded. “I wasn’t really paying attention, thinking about what to buy, when I was hit over the head. Someone struck me from behind.”

“Do you know what hit you? Was it a person, or a Pokemon?”

I had to try and not smile at her implying it might have been a Pokemon in my pokeless world. “No, I think it was a person. They hit me with… I think it was a baseball bat?”

“Did you see the attacker?”

That actually made me pause for a different reason. Had I seen them? Slowly I shook my head. “No… I just remember putting my arms over my head because they were continually striking me. Eventually they stopped, took everything I had, and then… Ah, it was raining. Pretty hard. They even took my jacket.” It just occurred to me that I wasn’t wearing it anymore.

“I see…” She was taking notes as well as having the recorder going. Officer Jenny was such a professional.

“Then I passed out. And-” I paused for a moment, wondering what to say.

“And?”

“And I think I saw Arceus?” I said, not sounding very sure. She arched an eyebrow at me. “Pretty sure I was just hallucinating or something. But he was telling me to get up. Wake up. And then when I did, I was in the forest.”

“Is that when you found those Pokemon?”

“Well they found me. I think it was their voices that I was hearing, telling me to get up and wake up. They ran off to get the Riolu’s mom, the Lucario. Who picked me up and carried me to the Pokecenter.” I really needed to find a way to properly thank Lucario for doing that. It really could not have been easy.

“Do you know where you were found?”

I shook my head. “I would have to ask Lucario…but it must have been really far. They ran for a really long time and really fast. I passed out a few times during the trip, so I can’t even estimate.”

She nodded at that. “I’ve sent out a bulletin about you to the other Jenny’s. I’ll let you know as soon as we know something.” She reached over and clicked a button on the recorder before pulling it back towards her. “And about that other thing…”

“Ah, right…the other thing.” I looked at her for a moment, but I felt I already knew the answer.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you any information.”

“I kinda expect that,” I said, nodding a bit. That was unfortunate… Maybe I could help Lucario in some other way? It would be hard to track down a random Lucario amongst the tens of thousands of Trainers, but maybe I could think of something.

Officer Jenny made a soft noise of clearing her throat. “On a completely and totally unrelated note, are you going to be watching the League battles?”

I blinked at her. “I am. Professor Sycamore is going to give me tickets.” So this is how she was going to skirt the rules?

“Good. Good. I…recommend you bring that Lucario. Would be good for her to see some high level battles. Some…very high level battles.” She gave me a look.

Again I nodded. “Oh of course. I’ll…ask her. I’m sure she’ll be very interested.” It was at least something to go on.

“Although…there is a problem with that.” She leaned back in her seat a bit.

“A problem?”

“We can’t have wild Pokemon at the League,” she said flatly.

“Ah. That- that might be a problem. I’ll…have a talk with her about it.” That was going to be an awkward conversation. Although I would like to have her come along, I had no idea how she felt about that. She didn’t seem to like Trainers, but she did seem comfortable around me considering how I woke up this morning.

“You do that. And I’ll get started on looking for clues on your past.” She stood up rather suddenly, and I did the same without thinking. “I really hope that everything works out for you.”

There was a moment of pause as I looked at her before smiling a bit. “Thank you, Officer Jenny.”

With that, I made my way back to the Pokecenter. “Ah, Jason,” Nurse Joy called out with a smile. “Wigglytuff found some clothes for you, so you can get into something clean. She put them in your room.”

It was at this moment that I looked down at myself. My clothes were a mess. “Oh. Right. Yeah. That would actually be great.”

“She’s giving Lucario, Riolu, and Venipede a checkup right now,” she added, answering an unasked question.

With a nod, I made my way back to the room. There were indeed a few sets of clothes, some dark blue colored t-shirts and…what looked like gray cargo pants. They would have to do for now. Thankfully my shoes were fine, though if I planned on trekking into the wilderness I would need some boots. The bathroom was actually pretty nice now that I took the time to look at it, though small. It was at this point that I caught my own gaze in my reflection, my gray-blue eyes looking back at me. It was the first time I’d seen myself since coming here.

The first thing I noticed was that I was younger. Early twenties, if I had to guess, rather than the forty I had been approaching. My hair was still the red-brown I remembered, long and tied back. I didn’t have my short beard anymore, instead I was clean shaven, which just gave me an even more youthful appearance. That was a shame; I thought I looked better with a beard. Not that I would say I was unattractive, but I liked my beard.

At least I looked in much better shape. I had let myself go in the last decade due to depression, but I had never let it get too bad. That was going to be something I would have to watch out for. How was mental health handled in the Pokemon world? Maybe I should ask Nurse Joy? It really seemed like Pokecenters were for both humans and Pokemon. I knew there were human only hospitals, they’d been in the anime, but they seemed rare and only for the bigger things.

But before anything else, I needed a shower. I had dirt and grime in places that I really wish that I didn’t. I hadn’t realized how caked in all this dirt had been. If I was taking a bath, the water would probably have turned brown; it was that bad. At the end of it, I had used all of the soap and shampoo that had been in the bathroom. I still felt like I hadn’t gotten it all off, but at least I looked clean now.

Exiting the shower, after drying off, I looked for a brush for a few moments but that didn’t seem to be something included in the amenities. Nor was there a hair dryer. With a sigh I decided to air dry it, and laid down on the bed. I took a moment to fan out my hair and closed my eyes, relaxing. I was still injured, so I should try and do as little as possible.

I wasn’t sure how long I was laying there before the door opened. Glancing over I watched as Lucario entered, looking oddly exhausted. She walked over and flopped face first onto the bed, nearly impaling my arm with her chest spike. “You okay?”

“That Wigglytuff is…thorough,” was her response. I chuckled a bit as I reached over and gently pat her on the back.

“Where’s Riolu and Venipede?” I asked, noting that they had not come in with her.

“Battling.”

“Trainers?” I asked, a bit worried since they were technically wild and Lucario wasn’t with them.

“Wigglytuff is with them. They need more experience.”

I nodded a bit and gave her a few more pats on the back. “That makes sense… It’s very important to be able to fight against Trainers.”

To my surprise she shifted over and pressed her face into the crook of my shoulder, letting out a huff as she did. “You smell different,” she said after a moment.

“I took a shower.”

“Mmm…” was the only noise she made. Hesitantly I decided to rub her back.

A few minutes passed as we lay there. Eventually, I remembered, “I talked with Officer Jenny.”

Her ear twitched, bapping me in the side of the face when it did.

“I have some good news, and bad news.” I was watching her, wondering what her reaction would be, but she remained motionless. “The bad news is, she can’t tell us who caught a Lucario around here.”

Her whole body seemed to sag slightly, pressing more into me.

“But the good news is she did give me a hint.” It was honestly adorable how her ears swiveled slightly, while the rest of her stayed still. “It sounds like he’s going to be participating in the League. And I have tickets to go, thanks to the Professor.”

She lifted herself up a bit, looking at me. “Then we just have to go, and watch for him?”

I nodded. “But…there’s a problem.” Her head tilted to the side. “They don’t allow wild Pokemon.”

She frowned. “So I can’t get in.”

Again I nodded. “I can keep an eye out, and it sounded like they’re pretty good. But the problem with that is, Lucario’s are a popular Pokemon.”

There was an unspoken solution between the two of us. I knew it. She knew it. Neither of us wanted to say it. While we were getting along really well, and she was being rather close to me, it was something neither of us wanted to bring up.

She wasn’t looking at me, instead she was looking at my shoulder. The place that she had just been laying on. That she had slept on. Suddenly she nodded. “Alright.”

“Are you sure?”

It took another moment before she nodded. “Yes. I… I don’t want to worry forever. About me being captured and taken away. Or for…or for it to be Rio. Or Veny. This way- this way we can all stay together.”

“And I can help you get revenge.”

A smile crept onto her face and she nodded. “Yes. I can finally find that jerk.”

I smiled as well and nodded along with her. “Though it sounds like he’s pretty strong, or at least on a strong team.”

“I’ll see it for myself. I’ve not been slacking in training just cus he’s been gone. And if I can’t… If I can't, I just need to get stronger.” There was quite a determined look on her face, but I could also see that she was more than just angry; she was sad.

Again I started to rub her back. “Well, I can help. I’ll do whatever I can to help, since you’re willing to join me.”

There was an odd mixture of emotions on her face, but before I could really determine what it was, she pushed her face back into the crook of my shoulder. “Yes.”

I chuckled a bit, still rubbing her back. “Though…” I hesitated a moment, but it was something that I needed to ask, “I am curious as to why you warmed up to me so quickly? It really seemed like you didn’t like humans.”

A few moments passed in silence before she spoke. “Your aura is nice… warm… gentle… It’s so soft, but strong. It drowns out all the other auras.” She took in a deep breath. “I hate coming near towns, because so many auras mix together and it’s so loud it hurts.”

I was kind of glad that her face was down, as I could feel my own face getting a bit heated. Auras were a thing I had little knowledge of outside of Pokemon references, but it was honestly nice to hear about my own.

“But your aura soothes that. And when I’m close to you I can hardly sense any other auras. They’re muffled. I can still feel them, but they don’t bother me.” It was at this point, when she finally fell silent, that I realized she had gotten embarrassed and had just started rambling.

The silence continued, and I decided to gently pet her, running my hand up and down her back, which she seemed to enjoy. Honestly I couldn’t blame her, I remember moments of having my back gently rubbed and it always felt good. Perhaps it was a bit too intimate, but she didn’t complain. And the fur on her back was amazingly soft and warm.

As I lay there, I began to zone out in my own thoughts. This was the Pokemon world, or at least a world extremely similar. It wasn’t super important how I got here, though I was curious as to why. Maybe something to do with my mild obsession? Kalos wouldn’t have been my first choice for locations to be dropped into. It wasn’t the worst place, but I would have preferred Alola.

Maybe I could go there eventually? That would be nice. I had only gone to Hawaii once, but it was the happiest I had ever been in my life. Something about being on an island was nice. Even though I’m scared of water. Well, not water in general. But water where I couldn’t clearly see the bottom caused me to panic. Aquaphobia is rough, and I hate that it’s a thing. And no, it’s not hydrophobia, that is caused by rabies or the property to repel water. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it Thalassophobia? That was the fear of deep water and large bodies of water, but not entirely accurate? Phobias are a bit weird.

But it really sucks having it no matter what it's called, because some of my favorite Pokemon are water types. Maybe having a few would help? Would having something so in tune with water beside me help me with my irrational fears? If that’s the case maybe I should get a Spinarak, or a Joltik. That caused me to think about the fact that I was going to need my own team. Who would I have on it? Should I try for some sort of meta build?

Immediately striking off any legendaries, I might be able to get some pseudo legendaries. That would probably mean getting a Garchomp or Dragonite. In the games you could get Gible and Dratini here in Kalos, so that is an option. But… I never built my teams for metas… Would those even apply to real life? I doubt Pokemon would be reduced to only being able to use four moves, and who knows if stats were actually a thing. I would have to pay close attention to the league battles. My game knowledge was only going to get me so far.

If the Professor was going to give me a starter, Fennekin or Froakie were good options. I’ve seen both Delphox and Greninja used really effectively. Though, Greninja just made me think of a Lickitung that watched too much Naruto. There were dozens of Pokemon that I could think of that I knew were good. The problem would be getting them. How do I go about being a Trainer? Did I even want to be a Trainer? I could be a Ranger, or a Researcher, or even a Photographer. I could just wander the world, meeting Pokemon.

That honestly sounded nice.

I’m not sure how long we laid like that, but it must have been some time because I was thoroughly zoned out and thinking about things. However I was brought out of my thoughts abruptly by the door opening. Wigglytuff came in, carrying Riolu by the scruff in one hand, and Venipede by her rear feelers in the other. She looked pissed.

Lucario was on her feet before the door had even fully opened, standing next to the door. Did she just use Quick Attack or Extreme Speed? “What did they do?” she asked with a sigh.

“They were getting too confrontational with the Trainers after losing so much,” Wigglytuff explained, walking in and putting the two down on the bed. Riolu looked…rough, worn out and ragged like she’d just been used as a chew toy. Venipede wasn’t in any better shape. I wasn’t aware that a bug could get a black eye, but she sure had one.

“Did they hurt anyone?” I asked as I sat up, looking over Riolu’s injuries, much to her obvious displeasure.

“No. But they’ve lost the right to battle without supervision.” She looked at Lucario, also glancing at me. “That means you.”

Lucario nodded, and I did as well, now taking a look at Venipede. While Riolu just seemed frustrated, it looked like the little bug had been humbled at being thrashed. Or perhaps she was stunned. “Ah- she’s unconscious,” I said, realizing what was wrong.

They both looked over, taking a look at the little bug who was completely unmoving. With a sigh, Wigglytuff picked her back up. “Alright, let’s get them healed up. But you-” she pointed at Lucario- “Have to keep them in sight.”

Again Lucario nodded and they all left. I was alone for a few moments before I decided that my hair was dry enough and I was hungry. So I tied my hair back and went to the cafeteria. I was still a bit put off by the…meat. But I did have to admit it was tasty.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. I didn’t see the three Pokemon for the rest of the day, finding out later that they were battling. Even Lucario got the chance to fight a bit, though from the sound of it, none of them did rather well. Fighting against Trainers was very new to them, and seeing Pokemon use tactics and techniques they didn’t know had caused them all to lose their battles.

They didn’t know about type advantage, or weaknesses. At least, they didn’t know the specifics. Lucario knew that certain things were more effective against certain opponents, but she didn’t know many and it was mostly guesswork. Though that had also worked in her favor, as not many people knew she was a fighting steel type. It seemed like not many of the people she fought knew much about steel type, as many had tried poison moves on her. Maybe Lucario wasn't as popular as I thought?

Riolu hadn’t been as lucky and had been hit by poison moves multiple times, which she was very grumpy about. Venipede also had it rough, but she was conscious this time. I took the time to help Wigglytuff clean them up, though the actual healing process was something I wasn’t allowed to watch. It was apparently some sort of family secret among the Joy Clan.

When it was finally time to go to sleep, they all once again piled on top of me. It was an interesting predicament. My mind flashed to a possibility of when Venipede evolved, and became the massive bug horse, that this arrangement could be a problem. But for now it was fine.

In the morning I woke up slowly, finding Lucario warming up. She looked determined to do better this day than the last. Rousing Riolu and Venipede, they decided to join in when they saw what was going on. I did a bit of stretching myself, feeling much better than I had the previous two days. The Pokemon didn’t seem to want much to do with me this morning, so after wishing them luck, I made my way to get breakfast.

Eggs. There were scrambled eggs. I wondered briefly what type of eggs, but pushed that out of my head. They could have been from a Chansey, they had Soft-Boiled, but there wasn’t a Chansey here. So I ignored it and just tried to enjoy the food.

Again, I hadn’t even finished eating when I caught sight of Professor Sycamore again. This time though, he approached me. “Alright, so… With Officer Jenny, and Nurse Joy’s help, we managed to scrounge up things for you.”

He placed a sort of messenger bag on the table, pushing it towards me with a smile. It sounded heavy, and was a sort of black and red style that reminded me of the bags they would have in the video games. Moving my breakfast aside I pulled it closer and took a look inside. Immediately I was surprised at just how massive the inside of the bag was.

“It’s a rather standard Trainer bag, pretty old, but Officer Jenny had it in their lost and found for years, so we figured you could use it.” As he spoke I was trying to take stock of what was in there. I could see notebooks, pens, books, a complete camping gear set, and a lot of other survival things.

“Wow…this is… a lot.” I looked up at him and smiled a bit. “Thank you.”

“That’s not all.” He pulled out a sort of card from his pocket and put it down on the table. “A Trainers license. Temporary. You’ll have to get an official one when the new season starts, but this will work as ID in the meanwhile.”

“Ah, good. Yeah that’s important…”

“It’ll also act as your bank card.” I blinked, looking the card over. “New Trainers receive five thousand dollars to start, but you won’t get that till you officially register.”

“So I won’t be able to do any shopping for the time.”

He nodded. “Yeah, but the Pokecenter will be providing for you in the meanwhile. I’ve included a few textbooks on Pokemon, training, breeding, and general care in your bag. There’s also a cellphone in there. I’ve also put the league tickets in there. And finally…” He reached into his pocket again, and this time pulled out a small belt clip, which contained five pokeballs in their shrunken form. “I was able to convince the Pokemon Association that you would need these.” He put them down. “They’re empty.” He slid them towards me. “Ready to use.”

I nodded, picking up the belt clip. “Right…right… I did talk with Lucario about it.” I took a deep breath, still looking at the pokeballs. “Ah, I should ask…will I be receiving a starter?” There were only five pokeballs, when a full team was six, so it got me curious.

“Unfortunately, no.” He leaned back in his seat a bit. “The starters that would be provided by the Pokemon Association have already been prepared for four months now. It would be half a year before you got one.”

With a sigh and a nod, I replied, “Yeah, I thought something like that would be the case. Shame, I kinda wanted a Fennekin.”

He nodded in turn, but before speaking he put a hand to his chin. “Hrm…actually…there may be a way.”

I tilted my head a bit. “Oh?”

“Well, every region has its own starters, as classified by the Pokemon Association. These starters are the nation's Pokemon. I have Kanto’s trio as well as Kalos’. But there’s a uh… Well, one option. But the issue is that she's problematic.”

“She was abandoned,” I said, posing it as a statement rather than a question. “And she’s aware she was.”

He nodded. “The Association calls her- well I think it’s harsh to call her a stray, but she is a starter from a different region that was… left here by the Trainer of her mother.”

“That’s…pretty harsh.”

Again he nodded, but with a somber expression. “If you’re really set on getting a starter,” he looked at me, and I nodded, “Tomorrow, catch a train to Ambrette. That’s where they’re keeping her. I’ll let them know you want to take a look at her, and possibly take her.”

There was a purposeful vagueness in the way he was talking, but I nodded and decided to ask, “What region's starter is she?”

He gave me a bit of a smirk as he stood up. “Let’s leave that as a surprise, shall we?”

I scoffed. “You think I’d not take her if I knew ahead of time?”

All I got was a chuckle and a shrug. “It’s all you got if you want an official starter.”

I had no idea why he was being so cryptic like this, but I supposed it was just how professors were. They all just sort of gave off that vibe. Either way, I would not say no to getting a starter, especially because it sounded like she was having a rough time.

My breakfast had gone cold. With a sigh, I quickly finished it off and went to the battle field behind the Pokecenter. Clipping my new pokeball belt clip to my belt. After slinging my new bag over my shoulder, I quickly made my way outside. I wanted to see what Pokemon battles were like in person, and this would be a good taste of it.

What I found was a rather impressive sight. There were four fields set up, each one with lines of people waiting to battle. Although they were all children, probably all around the age of ten to sixteen. These were probably kids who had gotten their Pokemon early, or were borrowing their parents' Pokemon.

After spotting Wigglytuff, I walked over. Lucario was sitting on the ground, watching as Riolu fought. However when I got into a certain range, her attention immediately snapped to me and I saw how she visibly seemed to relax. She then looked back at the battle. I sat beside her, turning my attention to the battle as well.

Riolu was fighting a Ledyba. “Bad matchup,” I mumbled. Lucario glanced at me, but didn’t say anything. I looked at the Trainer, a boy about sixteen, probably got his Pokemon recently but he knew his type advantage. “If that Ledyba knows any flying type moves, Riolu is in trouble.”

As if on cue, the little bug used Air Slash. That actually surprised me, as that was supposed to be a move learned at a pretty high level. Did that mean levels didn’t matter for when a Pokemon could learn a move? This Ledyba didn’t look like it was high enough level for that. Levels might not be a thing.

To Riolu’s credit, she managed to dodge. She even tried to counter it with a Vacuum Wave, but it hardly did anything to her opponent. “Riolu, don’t use fighting moves,” I called out, “That bug has a heavy resistance to them. Use Quick Attack, close the distance, and follow up with Metal Claw.”

Everyone turned their attention to me. “And who the hell are you?” the other Trainer called out, obviously annoyed at me giving advice. “Don’t interrupt my battle!”

“You call this a battle? This is just you bullying a child,” I retorted. “Also, you shouldn’t take your eyes off of a battle.” Riolu had hesitated, but when the Ledyba had turned its attention towards its Trainer, not knowing what to do next, the little dog had followed my instructions. Riolu closed the distance, hitting it with a little fist, and then following up with a glowing swipe from the other hand.

“Agh! Ledyba!” The other Trainer looked at his Pokemon, who had also not been paying attention.

However, Riolu also made the mistake of looking back at Lucario and I, a proud expression on her face. “Counter,” I said.

Just as I spoke, the other Trainer called out, “Mach Punch!” And immediately realized his mistake as his Ledyba turned and swung one of its arms. “No! Wait! Stop!”

But it was too late. The Ledyba struck Riolu, making contact with the side of her face. And then it happened, the blur of movement, and the little dog absolutely flattened the bug into the ground.

There was a moment of silence as Riolu staggered back, reeling a bit from the hit she had just taken. “Good job,” I said with a smile, looking at the rather stunned Riolu, who was looking at her paws. I had no idea if she would listen to me, or if she could take the hit, but it was her only chance. The two strikes had been almost enough to drop the Ledyba, so I could guess even with its resistance to fighting, Counter would be enough.

Suddenly she jumped up, raising her hands in the air and shouting, “Yeah! I did it! I won!” She ran towards Lucario and jumped. At least, I thought she was leaping towards Lucario, until she crashed into me and knocked me flat on my back. “I won! You see that?” She was standing on top of me, pointing down at me. “Team Speed Shell wins!”

Ah, she was still holding a bit of a grudge from the teasing. With a chuckle, I reached up and pat her on the head. “Good job.”

She was absolutely beaming, a huge smile on her face. I realized that must have been the first time she had actually won. “Hey, what the hell is your problem?” the Trainer said, having come over. “You’re not allowed to interfere with other peoples battles.” He looked absolutely pissed.

I grabbed Riolu, passing her to Lucario as I sat up. “I’ve nothing to say to some punk bully.” Looking past him, I could see his Ledyba, still on the ground. “You know some stuff, but you’re an awful Trainer.”

He stepped up, grabbing hold of the collar of my shirt. “Do you have an idea who I am?” How cliche.

“You’re the type of Trainer who leaves their beaten Pokemon unconscious in the dirt to go and yell at someone,” I said, still looking at his Ledyba.

There was a pause, before he slowly followed me gaze to the little bug laying in the dirt. “Ah! Ledyba!” He let go of me, quickly running to his Pokemon.

I looked over at Wigglytuff, who had a rather sour expression. Then I turned to the other three. “I think that’s enough battling for now. I want to talk to you all about something.”

With a nod, Lucario stood up, holding the still beaming Riolu. I reached down to pick up Venipede, who looked like they had been in a battle just before, but had been healed up a bit. Wigglytuff nodded and made their way over to help the Trainer. The four of us went back to the room, and I set Venipede down on the bed. Lucario sat down as well, placing Riolu at her side.

I didn’t join them on the bed, instead I pulled out the chair that was tucked under the desk and sat down. “First… I want you all to know that this is your choice, and I’m not going to force any of you.”

“What-” Riolu began, but her mother put a hand on her shoulder, which stopped her.

I fiddled a bit with my new belt clip, and pulled off three pokeballs. Bending over, I expanded them and put them on the floor. Riolu looked a bit stunned, probably having not even thought about this, but Lucario nodded. “I want to go on a journey,” I explained, “I want to see this world, meet Pokemon, make friends, and just…have an adventure. And I’m asking if you want to come with me.”

The silence felt like it dragged on for several minutes. I knew Lucario’s answer already, but we were both letting the other two decide for themselves. Suddenly, to my surprise, Venipede hopped off the bed, and made their way towards me. “Veny-” Riolu started.

But Veny interrupted her. “Rio, I want to get strong.” There was a moment of silence. “I used to think we were already strong. But… How many battles did we lose yesterday? More importantly, how many did we win? We didn’t win a single one. It was…so frustrating.”

Riolu didn’t have a response.

“But then, with just a few words, a bit of guidance, you won.” She turned to look back at Riolu who was still on the couch. “I want to win. And the only way that’s going to happen is if we get a Trainer. And- and he’s nice. He’s not afraid to touch me, or pick me up, or let me sleep on top of him…” I could see tears welling up in her eyes.

A thought occurred to me, as I realized a common ability for Venipede was Poison Point. That would make anyone hesitant to touch her, even other Pokemon. Riolu and Lucario must be the only ones not afraid to touch her. Slowly I moved down from the chair, sitting on the floor. “I can’t promise you won’t ever lose again,” I said softly. “But I will do everything I can to help you get stronger, so that you can win.”

She crawled over to me, and gave me a little nod. “I…I want to come along.”

I smiled and picked her up, putting her in my lap. “I would be happy to have you come along, little bug.” Gently I began rubbing her shell. I wasn’t sure what ability she had, but it wasn’t Poison Point.

“I’ll get stronger, right?” Riolu suddenly said, standing up on the bed.

I nodded.

“And I’ll win more battles, right?” she continued.

Again I nodded.

“Is mama also comin’?” She didn’t look up at Lucario, but I could tell that most of her focus was there rather than on me.

Lucario nodded. “Yes. We discussed it yesterday, but we both felt you two needed to make the decision for yourselves.”

There was a pause as Riolu seemed to think it over, staring at the pokeballs. “And… and you’ll pet me, too?”

I blinked. “Hm?”

“You pet mama, and Veny. And you pat my head when I won. I want to be pet, too.”

It was a real struggle to not laugh; such an adorable request. “Alright.” I held out a hand. “Come over here.”

She hopped down, looking quite embarrassed as she made her way over to me, staring at the floor as she did.

Reaching out, I gently began to rub her head. “You did a very good job.” She reached up, putting her hands over mine and began giggling with a big grin on her face. “Do you two want to go on an adventure with me?” I reached over and picked up two of the pokeballs.

They looked at each other, and both nodded. “Yes,” they both said.

“Fantastic. I’m Jason, but you can call me Jace. And from now on, I’ll be your Trainer, and we’ll grow strong and go on lots of adventures.” I held the pokeballs in front of them.

“I’m Rio,” the Riolu said with a grin. “I’m the brawn of Team Speed Shell.” She tapped the ball with her paw, disappearing into the ball in a bright red light.

“I’m Veny,” the Venipede said, looking pleased, though it was a bit hard to judge her expression. “I’m the speed of Team Speed Shell.” She bapped the ball with one of her antennae and vanished in a bright light.

Both balls only wobbled once before making a rather familiar sort of pong noise as they successfully locked. I looked up to see Lucario stand up, and walk over to me. “I’m Cara.” She had a rather small smile on her face. “Please take care of us.” She picked up the pokeball and gently bapped herself on the shoulder, quickly being absorbed by the red light. Her ball didn’t even wobble, immediately making the noise and locking.

I took a deep breath, looking at the three pokeballs for a moment before I nodded. I quickly released all three of them, watching as they appeared in the room once more. They seemed a bit disorientated, but I figured that would be the case until they got used to it. Rio looked down at herself, and then up at me. “That was weird.”

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