I woke with a jolt as I felt myself momentarily weightless before —.
*THUMP*
"Oof, that hurt."
— dropping on the dirt floor.
Wait, dirt floor?
I stood up in confusion. I was just at home. I was reading and fell asleep on the couch, definitely at home. Except, this definitely wasn't my living room, if the lush green trees, the damp ground, and the weird animals were anything to go by.
What's going on?
A tiny gray bird with a red head zipped by right next to my head, giving me the scare of my life. I fell on my ass, my mind racing. I had definitely seen that animal somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. Come to think of it, I couldn't remember much of anything. I looked all around, the green, fresh area only making things worse. I could feel my heart start racing and soon found myself having trouble breathing.
Focus. Breathe, 2, 3, 4, release, 2, 3, 4, 5
Breathe, 2, 3, 4, release, 2, 3, 4, 5
Breathe, 2, 3, 4, HOLD, 2, 3, 4, 5, relax.
As I steadied my breath, I opened my eyes again. I couldn't remember where home was, but that wasn't important right now. What mattered was I wasn't home. I was out in a forest somewhere with no idea how I got here. I looked all over, trying to find a path. I felt a prickling sensation at the base of my neck and all over my head, but I couldn't figure out what was causing it. Other than the strange bird, I was alone here. I saw a large log a couple of meters away so I walked over and sat down.
Think! Where is home? Where is my family?
…
Who is my family? Who am I?
The realization that I couldn't remember who I was sent me into another fit of hyperventilation. As I once again focused on my breathing, I once again felt the prickling sensation all over my head. I sat behind the log, hoping it was large enough to cover me in case something launched out. The sensation only got stronger until I heard some rustling.
Soon enough, I could hear a pair of voices talking, though not clearly enough to make out any words. I stood up, hoping they would be able to help me. After a minute, I could see two individuals in red suits, bright red hair, and bright red glasses. Their outfits seemed oddly familiar, but I instinctively knew I had never seen anything quite like that.
"Damn, I can't believe that Ranger didn't have anything on him. I was hoping for at least a potion. Deserved to die if he wasn't prepared." My hope quickly died out.
"Don't worry about it, I was able to go through his things and grab some stuff. I got a few eggs and the injured Pokémon, but-."
"Hold up, someone's there!" the first interrupted the other, pointing towards me. Both men grinned widely as their hands moved towards their belts. Both had two red and white balls clipped to the belt, ready to be used.
"Hey," the younger one called out. " If you give us everything you've got, we'll leave you alone. But make it quick, we don't have much time."
I was still stuck on what they had mentioned. Pokémon. Like a dam that broke, information began to flood my brain about the games I had grown up with. With it came the hazy memory of a world separate from this one. This was a world that should not exist. Pokémon should not exist. I grunted in pain as a few lion cubs entered the little clearing we were in. No, not lion cubs. With dark brown fur covering most of its body, beige fur for its face and extremities, and a tuft of red fur on its forehead, they could only be Litleo.
"Damn, he lured us in!" the older Team Flare grunt yelled out as he released the Pokémon waiting inside the Poké Balls. A Magmar and Golbat came out, both being much scarier than the games could ever portray them. Magmar's flames immediately caused the area to swell in an oppressive heat, daring anyone to get closer. Red and yellow currents coursed throughout its body. Its eyes locked onto the cubs, the disdain clear. Golbat, at just over 5 feet, was ready for blood as he flapped his wings, floating menacingly. Its mouth was giant, a nearly four foot hole that should not have been biologically possible compared to the rest of its body. Saliva dripped and pooled underneath the blue monstrosity, burning into the dirt like acid.
The other tried to release his own partner, but a Litleo managed to toast the flying Poké Balls with a Flamethrower before the Pokémon could be released. "Damn, it roasted Scrafty's and Mightyena's Poké Balls!" the grunt cried out. The other man had to protect the two from the six Litleo that surrounded them. Two more ran up to join the rest as the battle ensued.
Magmar made use of several chopping movements, each one glowing with a rusty brown energy. Each chop hit moved through the air with visible force, forcing the Litleo he targeted to dodge or receive major injuries. One of Magmar's attacks hit the floor, cracks forming with a tremor that I could feel in my bones.
The Golbat kept weaving through the Litleos' attacks as it sent slashes of compressed air towards them. Before either could make any meaningful progress against the wild Pokémon, a deep roar reverberated through the area, sending chills down my spine. As I turned around, the prickling sensation grew to uncomfortable levels as two larger lions, Pyroars, jumped out of the trees and landed in front of their cubs.
The resulting battle was even more intense. Mesmerized, I forgot my abduction and watched the Team Flare grunts battle the pack's parents. Each Pokémon used everything in their arsenal. Gouts of fire left me feeling weak, each attack burning more of the surrounding air and leaving me breathless. The Magmar tanked the flames, making room for the Golbat to counter with a horrid purple sludge that exploded upon hitting anything. As the grunt's Magmar and Golbat did whatever they could to take both Pyroars down quickly, the cubs weaved around kiting their enemies with long-range attacks. After several minutes, the two Pyroar began to slow down. The grunt tried to take advantage of this by having Golbat separate the pride of fire lions.
The Golbat let out a loud, disorienting Screech before flapping its wings and whipping up a Whirlwind. Having successfully gotten in between, it grabbed one cub. It dodged attacks from the Pyroar with a long red and yellow mane as it sucked Litleo's blood out. I watched as it visibly healed some of its wounds. Before it could go for another one, I threw a stick at it, completely forgetting that I, as a person, would stand no chance against such creatures. However, it was enough for the Golbat to look at me for a second. A second which the Pyroar used to send a blast of fire and burn one of its wings.
With a shriek, the Golbat crashed. Its trainer shouted out something but was drowned out by a massive torrent of flames that burned the Golbat to a crisp. The Magmar, who was busy fighting the other Pyroar, growled in fury before releasing a flurry of punches and kicks. It quickly overwhelmed the Pyroar until its mate saved it. The female snapped its jaws around the Magmar's nearly nonexistent neck, a dark and violent energy cackling around the lion's teeth. The Magmar flew through the air like a rag doll, a last eruption of dirt slamming into it as it landed, dead.
Without mercy, the Pyroar tore apart the two Team Flare grunts. After making sure all the threats were dead, the male Pyroar, the one with a mane that resembled a shield, walked towards me. I could feel the pressure building as it got closer, almost making it impossible to look at it or even breathe. Before it could do anything, the Litleo that would have been Golbat's snack came between us and cried its name. What felt like an eternity passed before the Pyroar huffed and the pressure I felt dropped in an instant. Pyroar glanced at me, though it looked more like it was looking past me. It then turned around and left with its pack. The Litleo I saved gave me a quick lick on the back of my hand before running to catch up with its family.
I dropped to my knees as I now realized how close to death I was throughout the whole ordeal. It was too much. All of this is too much. Taking deep breaths, I forced myself to think back on what I knew for certain.
Pokémon. Those were real, breathing, living Pokémon. And they just killed two people and their Pokémon.
I couldn't look at the bodies without releasing the bile rising in my throat. The Litleo could have easily killed me, let alone the Pyroar that was staring me down. Once the smell of blood hit me, I couldn't hold it any longer and emptied whatever was in my stomach. I had to sit for a while and force myself to relax. I'd just witnessed two deaths, four including the Pokémon. I still needed to process what happened to me. And the fact I couldn't remember anything about myself…
What the hell am I supposed to do? I have a family. I know I do. I can feel it's true. But I can't remember anything about them. I can't remember myself. The only thing I do know is Pokémon, but none of that will help me if I just die here in the forest.
Oh god, I'm in this forest by myself. I can't protect myself against a little Litleo. Even a Caterpie can end me.
I gotta get out.
With that thought, my mind got to work. I couldn't do anything else if I was dead. It didn't matter if something took me from my home, nor would it matter if I remembered anything about myself. After all, the dead can't be bothered to care about anything.
The two grunts were obviously natives of this world. They had Pokémon and still ended up burned and mangled, even if I did play the tiniest role. I needed to get out of the forest. I needed to find the nearest route and follow it to the next town. I needed things to help me get there. I needed a Pokémon. I needed… I need…
I looked over at the mangled bodies, which made me queasy once again. Saliva gathered in my mouth, the taste of bile coating my tongue. My breath quickened and became shallow. I saw myself standing there, surrounded by carnage. I was shivering, sweat dripping down. I was terrified.
Breathe, 2, 3, 4, release, 2, 3, 4, 5
Breathe, 2, 3, 4, release, 2, 3, 4, 5
Breathe, 2, 3, 4, release, 2, 3, 4, 5
Breathe, 2, 3, 4, HOLD, 2, 3, 4, 5, relax
I closed my eyes, focusing on my breath. All I had on me were my clothes and nothing else to my name. I walked to the grunt who was able to release his Pokémon. His tattered clothes allowed me to see everything he could have been hiding, which wasn't much. The only thing he had was a smartphone, something I was able to immediately remember having at one point. I took it, clicking through different apps. I didn't recognize the language, but I understood it all the same. I could explore it later.
I walked over to the other grunt. This one had a black hip bag. His pockets held a key ring with three keys, a key card, a Team Flare ID card, and red sunglasses. The bag held a small fanny pack, 1100 PokéDollars (1100$), a flip phone, several fruit looking things, a Potion, five Poké Balls, an ID card, and an egg. I stared at the egg.
The egg was a deep metallic silver, practically gleaming in the soft lighting of the forest. Clustered specks of green seemed to shift as I carefully cradled the admittedly heavily armored fetus with both hands, picking it up. The egg itself made defiling the bodies worth it.
An actual Pokémon egg. Right in my hands.
The shell was thick and warm, pulsing with an energy that wafted into the air. The longer I held it, the stronger it pulsed. I put it in the fanny pack and took it for myself. I also pocketed the money, fruits, and Poké Balls. Before I got moving, I remembered one crucial detail: Officer Jenny. Though they were never big in the games, I had no way of knowing whether this world followed the anime, the games, the manga, or some mix of the three. It wouldn't really matter. I had no clue about the anime or manga, but it was still better to not take everything valuable. I didn't need an officer getting suspicious that the criminals had absolutely nothing on them.
I put 200$ back into the hip bag, as well as two of the Poké Balls, the key card, IDs, flip phone, and key ring. If I came across any authority or law enforcement officials, I'd give them the bag as evidence. The rest… Hopefully, I could get away with the rest. Thankfully, my rather oversized flannel jacket hid the fanny pack.
After thanking the two dead criminals for helping me with resources, I looked around to decide which direction I should walk in and saw some dimly flashing lights. Well, I thought I did, because they disappeared immediately. I shook my head and walked away, hoping that I was just seeing things. An odd pressure built in the back of my head, but there was nothing around. I then realized that I had absolutely no idea where I was going. Taking the smartphone out, I noticed that there was no lock screen. I scrolled through the phone and found what looked like a map icon. Clicking on it and zooming out, I read Santalune Forest. I was in Kalos.
Looking at the map, I could see I was close to Route 22, which wasn't too far from Santalune City. From what I could see, I was about a 40-minute walk from the Route and about a 2 hour walk to the city. The phone showed it was currently 11:54. I guess I still had some time.
I began my walk towards Route 22. On the way there, I once again felt an odd pressure, almost like something was trying to enwrap me. Looking around, I focused on any possible hiding spots in my surroundings. I looked around at the trees, feeling a cool breeze pass through. It felt so surreal. My guard was up, but the peaceful forest eventually brought it down again. A green caterpillar crawled a few meters away, moving up a tree until it found a branch with a few blue oranges and nibbled through one. Wait, oranges weren't supposed to be blue. It looked exactly like an orange, but blue. Is that-.
An oran berry!
Whatever small wishes I had that this was just the craziest dream I've ever had dissipated from my head. The citrusy smell of the berry was unmistakable, and the Caterpie eating it looked disgustingly real. I never thought they would be so fuzzy, not to mention the thin trail of slime left behind as it crawled forward.
The pressure started again, this time feeling like I was dozing off. I shook my head to clear it, deciding it was better to keep moving. Soon enough, the forest gave way to a rather large dirt path that stretched and curved down both ends. Now that I was out of the forest, I thought it more important to get myself situated with the smartphone.
The phone had several apps, but I didn't know how to use them. I decided the best thing I could do was reset the phone since that would allow me to explore everything at my own pace. After taking a few minutes to do so, the phone rebooted itself to its factory settings. The fact that everything was going smoothly was a damn godsend.
Now that it was reset, I saw the phone only had four apps: the Maps, Team, Scan, and PokéDex apps. I clicked on the Team app, but I needed some sort of League account in order to use it. The same was true of the PokéDex app. The Scan app opened just fine, but there was nothing for me to scan. With those figured out, sort of, I continued to make my way towards Santalune City with the help of Maps.
As I walked, I kept trying to think of things I could say to help my case. I mean, I couldn't just say I teleported some strange universe that used to be a piece of fiction and entertainment to me just yesterday. Not to mention any suspicion from telling others that Team Flare grunts attacked me and died because of some Pokémon that were around. Would it be believable that the wild Pyroar attacked them and not me? I had no clue, no information whatsoever about the world I found myself in.
I needed to change that. The phone didn't seem to have an Internet option, so I couldn't look up stuff myself. I guess the next best thing would be to go to a Nurse Joy.Hopefully, they're as kind and caring here as they're portrayed in the games. I guess I'd find out once I got to Santalune.