"Darth Raichu stretched out his hand and said, No, I am your father."
"Veno! Venooooonat!" yelled out Venonat.
"That's what Pika-luke said." At least I think so, not quite figured out Venonats language. I have however officially lost track of time in these tunnels. It’s been long enough to sleep twice and get through a masterful retelling of A New Hope and just reach the conclusion to The Empire Strikes Back. Slightly edited of course for my audience of one. Got to make sure you stick enough changes in to make it a parody, after all if anyone is going to successfully chase you into an alternate universe it will be an intellectual property lawyer and their righteous fury. We only have the moss light to go by as my phone died a while ago. It became a slow process trying not to fall and avoiding the sounds of geodudes and other Pokémon wandering around. Ash may be able to befriend the wild creatures of this world but with my luck I will most likely encounter a pissed off prehistoric Onix.
A grumble interrupts story time as my stomach reminds me of its presence and lack of nourishment. I think the last meal I had was after training Ekans. Absentmindedly I rub Ekans’ Pokéball with my fingers as I look ahead into the endless tunnels. We have passed multiple off shoots simply choosing whichever path seemed to lead in any kind of upward direction. It has yet to bare fruit as a method so far.
“Here eat this.”
“Thanks, I’m starving…” I say as I take what smells like a cheese sandwich being passed over my right shoulder. I break half off giving it to Venonat who gives it a quick sniff then digs in as I begin inhaling my half. Wait? I feel I am missing something important.
“No problem but please do continue, Obi-Wan Lucario certainly has some explaining to do.” intoned, a woman’s voice resonating with a peculiar mix of mischief and seriousness.
I turn around very slowly moving away from the magic sandwich supply on instinct. When I complete the turn, I find myself facing audience member two. The Pokémon ranger before me is dressed in a practical yet stylish outfit that balances functionality with the adventurous spirit of her profession. She wears a fitted, earth-toned jacket and matching cargo pants that provide protection against the cool and damp environments of the caves. That looks warm, I wonder if she will trade for a torn, damp shirt and vest combo in the ever-stylish purple. Probably not. The jacket features multiple pockets, each carefully organized to hold various tools and small essentials for her ranger duties. The ranger emblem, a distinct symbol of her authority, is embroidered on the sleeve. I recognise it from the ranger outpost but don’t recall seeing her there. Younger than most of the other rangers I saw, likely in her very early twenties.
After my brain catches up confirming with a quick pinch of my cheek that I haven’t passed out dreaming, an action Venonat imitates by my side, I manage to string a sentence together.
“Hi… Sorry how long have you been here?” I wonder if I can charge her an admission fee.
“Hmm, we started hearing your voice in the distance a few hours ago and started following, we caught up as Yodakazam started training Pika-Luke and it seemed rude to interrupt.” Stated the ranger from beneath her moss spotlight.
“Sand-Sand.” A sandslash I assumed must belong to the ranger nodded in assent to her point then rolled his hand in the universal gesture of “Please do continue”. Not one but two gate crashers, this is underground piracy.
“Well, don’t suppose you know the way out of here I need to get to a poke’center?” I give a gesture in the dim light to our surroundings.
"Lost in the Viridian labyrinth, are we? Well, fear not, young trainer. Pokemon ranger Yasmin at your service to guide you ouuuuu aaahhhh!" She screams at me as she clicks on a torch blinding me for a few seconds as I raise my one good arm to block the light. “What happened to your arm and clothes! Is that blood, Is there anywhere you aren’t bleeding?”
Yasmin drops the torch into Sandslash’s waiting paws as she pulls a backpack off her shoulder in a panic. After a quick rummage she pulls a medical kit from it and all but launches herself at me with bandages in hand.
“I can handle it. It's just a few scratches." I skirt back to avoid her touch as she tries to grab hold of my shoulder. Not sure she believes me. Unfortunately, I trip on a rock behind my heel and fall to my backside. As my butt meets rock, Yasmin swoops down and grabs hold of my damaged arm with a mind to replace my amateur triage attempts with her own professional care.
As soon as I can feel her hand wrap around my wrist, I begin to freeze up. A cold spreading throughout my body my legs refusing to stand. Is the air in this cave getting thin. I take a short breath, struggling to manage the unwelcome surge of anxiety that is gripping me. My free arm moves quickly without my conscious thought gripping Ekans’ ball, thumb hovering over the release button. Yasmins face begins to fade away until there is just a white void where her features should be. What is she? I have to get away, Ekans is in no condition to fight. Memories begin to mix with reality as my mind fogs.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Kid”
The pressure on my wrist slackens and the heat of her touch begins to recede.
“Kid”
I can grab Venonat and run. A glance at where Venonat was I see Sandslash struggling to hold the torch in one harm while he holds another in front of Venonat. She isn’t trying to force her way past but has a scared look on her face. Why, why is she so scared what did they do to her.
“KID!”
My face snaps back to look at Yasmin, she has moved a few feet back from me and her face transforms back into her concerned gaze. Her brown eyes as calm as a mountain simply watching, taking all of me in. Yasmin's voice cuts through the haze of panic, her concern evident.
"I'm not here to hurt you. Whatever you're feeling, it's okay. You're safe, and we're in this together." Her reassurance begins to penetrate the fog of anxiety. Yasmin's genuine concern breaks through the panic, like a ray of light piercing the darkness. I release the tense grip on Ekans' ball, allowing my thumb to move away from disturbing my wounded partner. Yasmin nods understandingly, maintaining a respectful distance. I suppose me grabbing Ekans was the equivalent to pulling a gun on her in my old world.
"I get it, Kid. We all have our struggles. But you're not alone in this. We'll find our way out of this cave, together."
“Yeah, it’s the cave, the dark… Just been here too long that’s all. A bit claustrophobic is all.” I shakily manage to get the words out. Yasmin doesn’t contradict me, but her next suggestion makes it clearer she has a better idea of what triggered my little episode. She doesn’t move a muscle remaining where she has been since releasing me.
“We still need to treat those injuries; would it be alright if Sandslash performed the first aid?” I look at the Pokémon with a dubious expression as he is now holding the torch like it was his own personal lightsabre. I guess he is feeling more relaxed now. Venonat is beside him looking more worried than scared. Yasmin must have caught my expression as she defended her partner.
“Don’t worry he is fully certified.” I can hear part of the mischievous tone return to her voice, it surprisingly brings me fully back and I give a slight nod of assent. Sandslash reluctantly swaps his lightsabre for the med kit and slowly begins his surprisingly professional first aid. After he finishes treating me, I move to sit against the wall, Venonat joins me and we just sit with our sides pressed against each other.
After a few minutes Yasmin pulls a bottle of water out of the bag and holds it towards me, close enough to grab but not in my personal space. Yup she isn’t buying the claustrophobia thing one bit. I reach out and take it, downing the whole bottle, if Yasmin minds me wasting the rations she doesn’t show it.
“So got a story to go along with those wounds you feel like sharing kid?” Her tone makes it sound like she is referring to the visible ones Sandslash had treated but her eyes clearly suggested she was referring to other older wounds not visible on my new body. I think I will go with answering the former.
“Cain, not kid.” Suppose it would be polite to at least introduce myself at some point. Also being considered a kid was getting a bit grating. “I was traveling through the forest when a storm hit, nasty one ravaged everything and came out of nowhere.”
“Did you enter the forest a week or so before the storm?”
“No, the day before.”
“Did you go through the ranger outpost?”
“Yeah, Why?” I catch a frown on Yasmins face that she quickly changes back to her more relaxed look as she sits to listen.
“Not important right now, please keep going.” Odd questions, but I’m hardly in a position to press her on it.
“Ekans and I managed to shelter in a cave…” I told the rest of my story without interruption from Yasmin.
“I’m sorry to say I don’t have any potions for Ekans so you’re doing the right thing keeping him in his ball.” At that Yasmin stood and gestured towards the tunnel. “If we start moving now, I can get us above ground and near the north exit of the forest by days end. There is a small centre attached to the outpost in case of trainers leaving with injured or poisoned Pokémon.”
I stood without hesitation the knowledge that I could get Ekans treated, hitting me like an adrenaline shot. I recalled Venonat to her ball entrusting our safety to Sandslash and allowing her to finally get some rest.
“Why where you in the underground anyway?” I asked as we began moving.
“I came in from the north outpost after the storm, I was planning to do a survey of the habitats to see if any of the mess above had disrupted the ecosystem down here.”
“I didn’t even know this area existed below the forest, what did you call it before?”
“The viridian labyrinth.” She smirked as she mentioned it. “We don’t advertise it to the kids.”
“Hey, uncool.” I groaned
“The Pokémon down here are truly wild; they rarely see people beyond rangers or the odd scientist doing some survey or another.”
“Great, so even the level 1 zones have secret level 100 areas.” I muttered.
“What?”
“Not important just complaining about the unfairness of the universe. Let’s just keep moving.”
“Sandslash!”
“Yeah speaking of universe, I don’t suppose you feel like…” Yasmin shamelessly asks as she points towards the lightsabre wielding Pokémon. Fair enough, I suppose leading the way out counts as payment. Best start from the beginning since they missed it.
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...”