Searching through the wreckage, Arthur looked for anything he could use, but most importantly, something edible to satisfy his hunger. While the original owner of this body, Art, had been kept prisoner, he hadn't received much food, which had greatly weakened him.
"Where is it? Did nothing really survive?" Arthur muttered as he pushed aside a plank of wood.
After moving the wooden board, Arthur found a sealed barrel. Letting out a relieved smile, he shook it and realized it was full, making him grin even wider. Using the last of his strength, he struggled but finally managed to pry it open.
Inside were round, blue berries, which Arthur immediately recognized as Oran Berries. Though they didn't look very fresh, Arthur thanked God, or should he say Arceus now?
With a big bite, he tore off a chunk of the berry.
'Hm? Quite firm…', that was the first thing Arthur noticed, its firmness making it a little harder to chew. Still, it was worth it. Each bite unleashed a burst of mixed flavors in his mouth, a strange sensation, but a pleasant one.
In short, the Oran Berry was pretty tasty, at least in Arthur's opinion.
After finishing it, he felt a bit of energy seep back into his body. Rubbing his stomach, he began to think about what to do next.
After all, he was in a foreign land. And even though he had memories of the Pokémon anime, games, and manga from his past life, they wouldn't help much, he was at least a thousand years in the past.
That alone posed a problem, not to mention the issues of nobility and knights, which he needed to understand better. After all, he wanted to train a Pokémon, or as they were still called here, Monsters or Beasts.
To do that, he would need a better grasp of his surroundings, since he was a stranger in a foreign land that was only partially familiar to him.
Arthur got lost in thought as he stared at the sky, planning his next steps for surviving in this unknown world.
'First, I need to find shelter. If this really is the Hoenn region, then it's tropical, and tropical regions get a lot of rain. Shelter is priority,' Arthur thought, squinting up at the clouds.
He noticed the sky darkening much faster than he expected, but considering he was now in the Pokémon world, he knew he'd have to get used to its strange, mystical side.
Especially since he was in the ancient past of the world he once knew, if the modern Pokémon world was filled with mystery, then what could be said about its past, when the mystical was on full display?
"Phew…" he sighed, standing up and dragging the barrel closer toward the forest, away from the area that would soon flood once the tide rose.
Exhausted, he still forced himself to carry parts of the shipwreck toward the treeline, using them to build a makeshift shelter. After some time, he managed to stack a few larger planks of wood, just enough to form a small triangular hut. It wasn't much, but it would protect him from the rain and weather typical of Hoenn's tropical climate.
Honestly, it looked awful, just a tiny, ugly triangle of wood. But that didn't matter. It was only temporary.
Dragging the barrel beside the hut, he felt utterly drained.
That was probably too much exertion for Arthur's already weakened body. As soon as he placed the barrel, he collapsed inside his shelter and fell asleep.
…
Within the tall grass near the forest, unnoticed by Arthur, a pair of eyes watched him.
It belonged to a small creature that looked like a mix between a dog and a cat, with brown fur and a fluffy tail tipped in white. Had Arthur seen it, he would've recognized it instantly.
It was na Eevee.
She watched Arthur curiously, as she had never seen a creature like this around here in her short life. The older Pokémon of the forest had spoken of something similar, if Eevee remembered correctly, they were called humans. The elders always tried to tell stories about these humans, about how cruel they were to Pokémon and how they frequently clashed with them.
But this Eevee was naturally curious and bold. She often dared to sneak into the territories of other forest tribes to steal berries, even if it didn't work most of the time, and loved playing tricks on the ever-sleepy Slakoths.
Yet despite these antics with Pokémon of other species, she felt lonely. She had never met another of her kind in this forest and had been alone since the moment she was born.
"Eevee."
Maybe that's why she felt something stir inside her when she saw that this human was alone too.
As time passed and Eevee realized Arthur was deeply asleep, she decided to get closer and observe him up-close. She had done the same with other Pokémon before, exploring like this was simply in her nature.
"Eevuii?"
Approaching him, the first thing Eevee noticed was the bluish color of Arthur's hair. Sniffing his face, she caught the strong scent of the sea, likely because he had spent so much time in the water. Fascinated, Eevee sniffed all over Arthur's body, trying to understand this strange creature in front of her.
With her curiosity about the human satisfied, her gaze shifted to the barrel. Eevee had seen him pull na Oran Berry from that strange wooden stump, or at least that's what it looked like to her. Whatever it was, she felt certain there were Oran Berries inside.
She walked up to it and sniffed, the familiar, sweet scent confirmed her hunch. Climbing on top, she began thinking of how to open it. After a moment, she shoved the barrel onto its side, then dug at the lid with her sharp claws. Using all her strength, there was a loud snap as the lid popped off, sending her rolling backward.
"Eevuii."
With her head covered in sand, she quickly checked if Arthur had woken up. Seeing that he hadn't stirred, Eevee let out a soft sigh and shook herself, scattering sand from her fur.
With her fur mostly clean again, Eevee dashed to the barrel, staring at the berries with sparkling eyes. She had never seen so many up close before. In her mind, only powerful Pokémon like Slakings or Ursaring, whose territories were filled with berry trees, could gather this much.
In the territories of other strong Pokémon like Gardevoir, Exploud, and Manectric, the berry trees were much farther apart, which was why Pokémon like Murkrow would sneak in to steal snacks, something Eevee had done herself a few times.
She bit into na Oran Berry and savored its taste. Eevee hadn't eaten in two days, this beach area was shared by many weaker Pokémon, which meant fierce competition over food, and as a young Pokémon she wasn't strong enough to win against the older ones.
Farther inland lay Manectric territory, unlike the gentle Gardevoir, they weren't kind to outsiders, and unlike the lazy Exploud, they actively patrolled their lands. That made it nearly impossible for Eevee to steal from them, which is why she had gone hungry for two days before daring to explore closer to the beach.
After eating a few berries, Eevee felt satisfied and lay down in the sand, watching Arthur. Suddenly, her fur bristled, she sensed something, some instinct from deep within. Eevee had always relied on this instinct to survive whenever she stole food from others, and once again, it was warning her now.
Looking up at the sky, Eevee realized what had made her fur stand on end, rain...
She never liked rain; it always forced her to find shelter and stopped her from going on her little adventures. When she couldn't find cover in time, she would end up soaked and sometimes even get sick if she couldn't dry herself fast enough.
Raindrops began falling quickly, and Eevee, not fond of getting wet, desperately searched for shelter. Looking back and forth, she saw that the only viable option nearby was the small hut Arthur had built.
Her body glowed with a white light as she swiftly dodged the droplets starting to fall.
Once inside the tiny shelter, Eevee sat near the entrance, watching the rain pour down from the sky.
BOOOOOMMM
Suddenly, a loud boom echoed in the distance. A bolt of lightning had struck somewhere in the forest, making Eevee shrink back with a whimper, ears pressed low, she was afraid of thunder.
"Eevee... Eevuii..."
BOOOOOMMM
More thunder rumbled across the forest, frightening her even more.
'Thunder?' Arthur wondered as he heard the sound in the distance. Opening his eyes, he saw flashes of light coming from the forest's direction.
'Wait… what's that?' He suddenly noticed a small figure curled up inside his shelter.
Confused, he studied the tiny shape, until he spotted the brown fur, the fluffy ears, and the unmistakably bushy white-tipped tail.
That figure trembling inside his hut was one of his most beloved Pokémon, it was na Eevee.
Arthur sat up and glanced outside, noticing the heavy rain pouring down.
'I knew it would rain. Good thing I built this shelter,' he thought, relieved that he'd had enough strength to make it despite his weakened state. Getting sick now would have been dangerous.
Tilting his head, he noticed berries scattered at the entrance, clearly Eevee had opened the barrel and eaten some. Smiling softly, he leaned a little closer to the Pokémon.
"Eevui?"
Eevee's ears twitched at the sound. Lifting her head from where it had been buried in her tail, she saw the human staring at her with a strange look, immediately putting her on alert.
Realizing she was now aware of him, Arthur tried to soften his expression as much as possible.
"Ah? Hello, Eevee?"
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