Alister dragged his exhausted body through the surf and finally reached the shore.
Collapsing onto the sand, he looked back toward the sea.
In the distance, the wreckage of a small passenger plane was sinking fast, swallowed by explosions and crashing waves.
"Thanks for the invitation. I'm on the island and just got off the plane," he muttered.
"Cursed luck." He stretched his limbs out, drained, and lay motionless on the beach.
The memories from earlier hit like a tidal wave.
Just two and a half hours ago, he had arrived in the Pokémon world, imagining a bright future ahead.
A peaceful start. A beginner's Solosis. Earning gym badges one by one, working hard for every victory…
Alister had even been daydreaming about a fantasy game scenario like "Pokémon Legends: Hypnotic Dream."
But before he could get too far into that dream, two men in black suits had suddenly appeared at his side. The bold red R on their uniforms snapped him back to reality.
"Agent Alister, your mission in Alola has been completed. Report back to HQ immediately."
"The organization has arranged a luxury plane for your return. Get moving."
He had barely processed their words when fragmented memories began surfacing in his mind.
An orphan. A street thug. A rising Team Rocket agent. His work in Alola had earned him a junior officer role. His orders were to help the team expand its operations there.
He fit the mold of a typical background villain.
Then he remembered what longtime Pokémon fans always joked about:
"Huh?!"
And just like that, still dazed, he boarded Team Rocket's luxury jet.
It was luxurious. The fireworks show from the explosion? Also luxurious.
…
After catching his breath, Alister checked the gear he had managed to hold onto.
As a self-proclaimed senior agent in Alola, he had access to Pokémon suited for battle.
The three Poké Balls clipped to his belt held his top-tier team. He had examined their contents while still onboard the doomed flight.
"Let's go. Kingler!"
"KING~!"
"Ekans!"
"SAA-!"
"Morelull!"
"Gummilu~"
Kingler and Ekans were both caught in Kanto. Morelull was a more recent addition from Alola.
"Tch." Alister clicked his tongue, eyeing the trio.
A hulking crab with jagged claws, a thick-bodied purple serpent, and a trio of drowsy, bioluminescent mushroom Pokémon with dazed expressions.
They looked like total NPC squad material. Of the three, only Kingler showed promise.
In other words, they perfectly matched the kind of lineup a low-level Rocket member might have.
The crash had been too sudden. Alister hadn't released them in time and had to swim ashore on his own strength.
Scanning the surroundings, he found no buildings, no signs of human life. Just another nameless deserted island.
They had been flying for over two hours. He was far from Alola now.
He reached out to touch Kingler's massive claw.
"Solid shell."
One squeeze and it could probably snap a head clean off.
"It's huge. Almost as broad as my chest," he muttered, studying the sharp spines on the crab's carapace.
He wasn't a hardcore Pokémon fan, but he had watched the original anime growing up.
Kingler had put in some serious work back then.
"Gurgle, gurgle~"
Kingler stared at him, a sleepy bubble forming at the corner of its mouth. Alister popped it with a finger.
"Go check the wreckage, see if you can find any supplies. Bring back anything useful—food, gear, whatever."
It was time to start thinking about survival.
"Ekans, come with me. We'll search the coastline."
"Morelull… Never mind, back in the ball," he sighed, returning the sleepy mushroom.
"Alola has tons of special Pokémon. Why'd my past self catch this one?"
Kingler and Ekans had some name recognition. Morelull? Total filler to him.
As Kingler dove toward the wreckage, bubbles trailing behind, Alister started walking the beach with Ekans.
Surprisingly, there was no trash anywhere. Maybe the population was sparse. Or maybe environmentalism in this world actually worked.
He picked up a few pieces of driftwood and continued surveying the shoreline.
The island wasn't huge—maybe five kilometers of coast in total.
Its highest point had a small patch of green. Whether there was fresh water up there was another question.
As for wild Pokémon, he only saw a few Wingull circling above, probably drawn by the explosion.
"Let's go. We'll check Kingler's haul first before climbing that hill."
Carrying two planks of driftwood and with Ekans dragging a chunk of rotted wood, they returned to their landing spot.
…
"Whew. I'm beat."
Dropping the wood, Alister saw Kingler returning from the sea, gently bobbing in the waves.
Smart crab.
Kingler had a net bag clutched in its claws—probably salvaged from the plane's cargo hold.
"Nice job, Kingler." Alister patted its spiny head.
"Gurrl!" Kingler squinted and blew a satisfied bubble.
"Let's see what you found…"
He untied the net eagerly.
"Airline cutlery… canned beans… fire extinguisher… life jackets…"
A weird mix, but there were some useful supplies in the pile.
"Ooh—injury medicine. This stuff looks premium."
He held up a silver spray can marked with a red cross.
"And Poké Balls—but they're empty."
He found a boxed set of six: all collector-grade—Luxury Ball, Friend Ball, the whole lineup.
Probably the captain's personal stash.
"Well, no Pokémon inside… but still useful."
Alister scratched his head.
The memory of the crash came back again.
A beam of light… the plane's nose gone in a flash…
"Hope the rest made it." He shrugged and continued searching.
Ten minutes passed.
"Not bad. Got a set of Poké Balls, some food, three bottles of healing spray, an antidote, and two Water-type energy cubes."
He laid everything out.
The energy cubes were clearly meant for his own team, though the others, likely for Poison and Grass types, had been lost in the crash.
Unfortunately, these cubes were ration-sized. One serving fed Kingler for just a day.
The original flight plan had been a short one: from Alola to a satellite base near Cinnabar Island, then a boat to Team Rocket HQ in Kanto.
But a short flight meant limited supplies.
"Return, Kingler."
He fed the crab a few cubes and recalled it.
Then he sent out Ekans again—better suited for hiking.
It was time to climb to the island's summit and see what came next.