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A human named Gen wakes up as an Oshawott, retaining all his memories. After meeting a Chikorita and a Charmander, he makes a hasty decision, and lies that he is an amnesiac and not a human. As he journeys with the two, he ensnares himself in his own web of lies as he tries to find a way back home. All the while, Pokemon go missing, turning up in strange places, surrounded by shadowy auras.
Cover art by AG_Systems.
Mainly inspired by Gates and RTDX
Takes place post-Super. Contains spoilers for all PMD games.
I would like to request that any reviews aren't too harsh, if that's ok. I also prefer reviews on the story and characters rather than just the prose and grammar, but I'll still accept feedback on those. Line-by-line reactions are perfectly fine, though!
My eyes slowly opened, as I woke up, still tired, not ready for whatever today would bring. I rubbed my eyes, feeling grass brush up against my arm as I moved it.
Wait, grass?! I don’t remember sleeping outside!
I hastily stood up, and gawked at what I saw. A few meters away, the ground ended, and beyond, was a constantly changing sky, of greens and purples and blues and whites, all shifting and distorting with each second. I turned around, hoping that something else laid behind me, and the ground ended just as quickly that way, too. In every direction I looked, it ended the same distance away. I was alone on some sort of circular plateau.
I walked over to the edge, and looked down, to see if there was some way down. I hurriedly retreated in shock, before standing back up. There was nothing but a completely vertical drop into an abyss, that looked exactly like the strange skies above.
This had to be a dream. This couldn’t be real. I pinched my arm, and winced. That pain felt real. This was real. This was happening. Where was I?! How did I get here?!
My mind raced with questions, before I calmed myself down. There had to be some sort of explanation for all this. Maybe if I close my eyes, then everything will be ok. I shut my eyes, and opened them a few seconds later. Everything seemed to be the same as it was before I tried that, except I could now see something red in the corner of my vision. That wasn’t there before. I turned to the left to see exactly what that was.
It was some sort of mailbox at the side of the platform, with a pencil, and a piece of paper next to it. I walked over, and read the paper, which had the words, "Please write your name on this paper, then put it in the mailbox." I picked up the pencil, then hesitated.
What was I even doing? None of this made any sense! Who wrote this, and why should I listen to them?
Did I really have any other choice, though?
After a minute of contemplation, I wrote down "Gen" on the paper, then inserted it into the mailbox. Without warning, it started glowing brightly. I quickly backed away from it. What was happening to it?! As the light flashed even brighter in intensity, I flinched, and closed my eyes.
Suddenly, the light disappeared, and I heard a loud SNAP! I opened my eyes, and saw the top half of the mailbox was gone, a dark, jagged wooden post in its place. I hurried over, and peered over the edge to see if anything snapped it, barely catching the still red top half of the mailbox disappearing into the technicolor abyss. I backed away, shivering. What could have possibly done that?! As soon as I stepped back onto the center of the platform, the darkness in the post started to spread to the platform, causing the grass scattered around it to wilt and disappear, revealing a glassy, mirror-like layer underneath.
Soon, the platform was completely devoid of grass. The entire platform now reflected the ever-changing sky above. Strangely, my reflection seemed to be blurry. What was up with that? As I looked down, I saw something white out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head towards whatever that was, and noticed that there was a white bow on the ground a short distance away.
I walked over towards it, before picking it up. It was the softest fabric I had ever felt. As I rubbed the bow, taking in just how soft it was, I felt an odd sensation throughout my entire body. I faintly heard a voice, though I couldn’t tell what they were saying. Abruptly, the bow emitted an intense light, and my eyesight went dark.
I couldn’t see anything. Did I go blind?!
Soon, my vision started to return. Once my vision had fully cleared, the bow had taken on a blue coloration. I dropped it in surprise.
What kept happening in the flashes of light?!
After a few seconds, I calmed down, and picked the bow back up. As I did so, I noticed that, for some reason, my reflection looked different. I bent down to take a closer look. That looked like an...Oshawott?!
What had happened to me while I was holding that bow?! There was no way I could have become a Pokemon. I had to still be human, right?
I moved my hands in front of my face. They were still human hands. What was that all about? What was any of this all about?!
Why was I here? Why did these unexplainable things keep happening here? Why did I have to be here, all alone?
I threw the bow back down at the ground, holding myself tightly with my other arm.
The platform suddenly shifted from a mirror-like surface to a dark, glassy one. Around the edges of the platform, shadows flared up. I jumped in surprise. What was happening now?!
After a few seconds, the shadows dissipated for the most part, revealing a wide variety of Pokemon on the edges of the platform, all seemingly unconscious, and surrounded by a wavering shadowy aura. I wasn’t alone anymore.
Oddly, there didn't seem to be any Water-types.
A single paper had appeared in the center of the platform. I hesitated, before going over to it, and reading it. I gawked as I processed the message. "Rescue one," it read. Rescue from what?! Those shadows? Why only one?! This didn't make any sense! I grabbed the paper, crumpled it, and threw it. "What's going on?!" I yelled, as I looked towards the many-colored sky.
"What...happened?" I heard a voice to the left. I quickly turned in the direction of it, only to find one of the Pokemon, a Chikorita, starting to wake up, the shadowy aura around it dissipating. The crumpled-up paper was next to it.
Did I accidentally hit it with the paper?
Suddenly, I realized something. All the other Pokemon on the platform had disappeared. Where did they go?!
Wait a minute, was that voice the Chikorita?! No, it couldn't be. Pokemon couldn't talk. Well, there was that one Meowth that was on the news once, but that was just one Pokemon...right?
I began to approach the Chikorita, only for it to open its mouth and...actually speak. "Who...are you?" it said. I froze in complete shock. What was happening?! Nothing here made any sense!
The Chikorita stood fully up, only for my vision to be obscured by a flash of light. Once I could see again, the Chikorita was frozen in place, mouth agape. Did something happen to it?
I walked over to it, and once I was next to it, I noticed the platform start to shift again.
The dark, glassy surface of the platform once more became mirror-like. The Chikorita near me still seemed to be frozen in shock after whatever happened to it. I could see blurry reflections of that Oshawott, the Chikorita, and...something else.
I looked up. I barely had time to scream.
A massive hand was reaching down for us. Pink and black, coming from a spiral high in the sky.
I grabbed the Chikorita and ran to the edge of the platform, hoping to avoid it, only for it to smash into the platform, completely shattering it.
As the platform broke apart, and we fell into the abyss, I could hear my own screams, as well as many more.
I looked over the billboard, full with missing posters, lit by the sunlight that made its way through the clouds above. It’s depressing how small our town has gotten. I recognized Treecko, Sneasel, Morpeko, Orbeetle, Flapple, even Leon. I heard the whole Kecleon clan was looking for him. I haven’t seen Kecky at all since he disappeared. At least my own family isn’t among the missing.
One missing poster in particular caught my eye, struggling to stay attached to the billboard against the breeze, depicting a Chikorita with an autumn-red leaf. That was Saltriv! I hadn’t seen them since school ended for the year. Their family helped run the item shop whenever one of the Kecleon brothers was out, though these days they run it full-time.
I needed to do something. So many people were going missing, and so few were being found. Many of those that were found were shadowy, and had to be taken out of town to get better.
Maybe I could go look for Saltriv. They were the one up there that I knew the best. They were pretty young compared to most of the others on the billboard; if they had gone shadowy, I could probably take them on, especially with today’s fire-type V-Wave.
I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, though.
I nodded to myself. It was decided, then. I’d go look for Saltriv.
I had to do this in secret. There was no way I could find two other people who would agree to making a search party with me. Aron and Rockruff were both still tired after yesterday, and Helioptile was several towns over. Even if that weren’t the case, I doubt they’d be up for a full-time commitment like that. Plus, if Dad or the police ever learned what I was doing, I’d never hear the end of it.
I headed over to the nearest deposit box to get everything I’d need, putting it all in my bag. Apple in case I get hungry, check! Max ether in case I get exhausted, check! A slumber wand to incapacitate Saltriv if they’ve gone shadowy, check! Two oran berries in case I get hurt, check! A tiny reviver seed just in case, check! Connection orb to find where Saltriv was, check! I still had my pecha scarf and looplet on in case they were in a Mystery Dungeon. I was all ready.
I walked out of the main square and off the path to a small stone slab behind the house Flapple lived in before he disappeared. I took out the connection orb and threw it down at the ground. SMASH! The connection orb shattered into tiny pieces on the ground. Hopefully no one heard that. I’ll have to ask PNS-NT later to Recycle it.
I emerged from behind the house and reentered the square. I could see all sorts of lines connecting the Pokemon around the square, some faint, some bold, some green, some orange. The connection orb was already working. I headed towards the Kecleon shop, where Mrs. Meganium and Mr. Torterra were talking to a Tyrogue I didn’t recognize—who soon left with a cheri berry. The pink line between the two was strong, and a blue line just as strong was behind each, both heading in the direction of the forest. Those must be the lines connecting them and Saltriv.
I waited until another customer approached the two. When they weren’t looking, I left the square and followed the blue lines towards the forest. Luckily, it wasn’t too far away.
Eventually, the lines converged, entering a gap in the treeline. Twig Woodland. A Mystery Dungeon. I’d been in one before, though never alone.
Deep breaths. In, and out. Let my tail flame grow, then die down. Burn the stress away.
I could do this. I could do this. I already helped find Patrat. I did it before. I could do it again.
Saltriv was in there somewhere, and I would find them.
As the clouds parted, letting the sun fully shine down, I entered the Mystery Dungeon.
The sound of trees swaying in the breeze reached my ears. Blades of grass pushed up against me as they were buffeted by a gale. I felt a leaf brush against my face as it was carried away by a gust of wind. My eyes opened slowly as I struggled to full awareness.
As I stood up, I noticed that things were very different than they were on that platform surrounded by a psychedelic abyss. The ground seemed to continue quite a ways away, and was uneven, unlike the perfectly flat ground of that platform. There were trees around, and through the openings in their branches, I saw a bright blue sky with clouds strewn about. Twigs were scattered everywhere.
Oddly, these trees seemed much taller than the ones near home. Probably just a different kind. I realized I was in a patch of tall grass. I needed to get out of here before I was attacked by a wild Pokemon. The ground seemed a lot closer than normal, too…
Wait a minute.
Something wasn’t right here.
I took a step forward, only to stumble and lose my balance. I waved my arms wildly as I face-planted into the ground. They felt a lot shorter than they did before, somehow. My legs felt much shorter as well, as if they were barely there at all. Actually, come to think of it, my whole body felt strange.
What had happened to me?!
I moved my arms in front of my face and barely held back a scream. They were short, furry, and ended in nubs.
Those were Oshawott arms. Just like in that reflection in that place.
What.
How did this happen. Why did this happen.
“What the hell is happening?!” I yelled towards the sky.
“Where...am I?”
I froze. I recognized that voice. That was the Chikorita that fell with me after...whatever that hand thing was shattered the platform.
I turned around towards the voice, and saw that same Chikorita as before—the same red leaf and everything. They looked much larger now, though.
They turned towards me, and asked, “Who are you?”
It was still startling to see a Pokemon actually talking, so much so that it was a few seconds before I remembered to respond. “Uh, Gen. You?”
“I’m Saltriv!” A concerned look appeared on their face. “Do you know where we are?”
“Not at all,” I responded, a bit quicker than before.
“Wonder how I got here, then…” they said as they looked around.
I sighed. I was stuck who-knows-where as an Oshawott with a talking Chikorita, with no idea what was going on, and it didn’t seem like they knew, either.
Actually, did they?
Maybe they knew something that could help me figure things out. Or, at least, let me figure out what was going on with them.
“What do you last remember?” I asked them.
Saltriv turned back towards me. “I was walking down the path to visit Burhalla. The next thing I knew, I woke up in this strange place with a weird sky, and there was this tall thing that looked just like the humans of legends! They approached me, and I asked who they were. Then...for some reason I couldn’t move anymore. The human looked up, then grabbed me and ran, just as something smashed down where we were. Then I woke up here. I think that human saved me! Or maybe it was just a dream,” they said, before pausing.
“What do you last remember?” they echoed back.
What do I say? That I was that human? They probably wouldn’t believe me. They were already partly convinced that the whole thing was a dream. I probably would be, too, if I hadn’t tested to see if it was.
Maybe they would believe me, though. Maybe, somehow, they’d believe me, even though I looked nothing like a human anymore.
I opened my mouth, about to tell Saltriv, before I heard a loud SNAP!
I jumped in surprise and heard a startled yelp from Saltriv.
What was that?! Did something find us? I had no idea how to defend myself!
Through an opening in the trees, an orange figure approached, lighting up the forest around him as he drew near. Soon, that light was recognizable as a fire on the tip of a tail. A Charmander. He wore a pink scarf around his neck and had a bag slung around his shoulder. On his wrist was some sort of strange bracelet, with a purple gemstone, and two indentations in the same shape as that gemstone.
I was about to ask who he was when Saltriv ran straight towards the Charmander. “Burhalla!”
Burhalla ran towards Saltriv and tackled them in a hug. “Saltriv! You’re ok!”
Another talking Pokemon? Could all the Pokemon here talk?! Or...was it just because I’m an Oshawott now? How did I hear Saltriv back there, then?
I decided to let the two be as I pondered what had happened.
“Where are we?”asked Saltriv.
This made no sense whatsoever. First, there was whatever that place I woke up in where I met Saltriv, and I could somehow understand them, then the entire platform got shattered by that giant hand thing, and now I was here, in—
“Twig Woodland,” Burhalla answered.
—Twig Woodland, apparently, as an Oshawott, and I had no idea why I was like this. Did that hand do this? Was it me falling into that abyss? Did my friends and family know where I was?
“Isn’t that a Mystery Dungeon? How did I get here?”
Wait, a Mystery Dungeon? What was that?
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain it all when we’re back home.”
Before I could ask what a Mystery Dungeon was, Burhalla seemed to have noticed my presence and was now facing me.
“Sorry I didn’t notice ya. Who are you?” he asked. I could faintly notice small droplets in his eyes. Were those tears? I didn’t know fire-types could cr—
“Hello? You there?” he said, waving a hand in front of my face.
“Right. Gen,” I hastily responded. I had to make sure to pay attention to him.
“How’d you get here?” he asked.
I answered, “I have no idea.” Well, besides maybe falling into that abyss, but I doubted he’d believe that.
“Figures. Where are you from? I don’t remember seeing any Oshawotts around town,” Burhalla questioned.
I froze. What do I say? My hometown? He’d be even less likely than Saltriv to believe that I was a human, since he wasn’t in that weird place. Also, apparently, humans were legends here. I didn’t really have time to process that before, but now...it’s unlikely that my hometown exists here. Even if they did believe me if I said that I was a human from another world, what if they started asking me questions about my world? I doubted they’d react well to knowing about how Pokemon like them were usually treated in my world.
“You still there?” Crap, crap, need to think of something quick!
“I don’t remember,” I blurted out. That was a complete lie, but I had to roll with it now.
The other two were visually shocked. “You don’t remember? Not at all?” Saltriv asked.
I shook my head. “Nope,” I lied through my teeth.
“What do you remember?” Burhalla asked, concern evident on his face.
“Just my name and how to do some things,” I said. I was digging myself deeper and deeper. I hoped they’d lay off the questioning soon, then I could worry about getting back home. .
“...this is very concerning. Saltriv and I were about to head back to Overcast Village. You should come too. Maybe the mayor will be able to help!”
I began to sweat. Maybe I should just come clean now? No, then nobody here would trust me. And apparently Pokemon in this world lived in towns?
I was about to ask about Overcast Village, when Burhalla reached into his bag, seeming to be searching for something, before his expression paled. “...I forgot to bring an escape orb.”
Was that like an escape rope? Whatever it was, it seemed important, as Saltriv’s expression also paled.
Burhalla chuckled nervously. “Looks like we’ll have to go back through the dungeon. Hope you still remember your moves at least, Gen.”
This was really getting out of hand. I had no idea how to defend myself, and I had no idea what this “dungeon” entailed. I looked towards the two, and saw that they were already exiting the clearing in the same direction Burhalla entered it in. If I didn’t hurry up, I’d be all alone!
“Wait up!” I yelled after Saltriv and Burhalla, as I followed them down into the depths of the dungeon.
I walked you through the dungeon, my flipper-like legs squelching against the dirt with each step. Such an alien, uncomfortable feeling. What I wouldn’t give to be me again.
Focus, you idiot! We’re still looking for that Charmander! You thought.
Right, right. Had to focus. We had to find that Charmander.
We entered a corridor, only for me to be immediately tackled by a Poochyena. I felt your grip tighten on what we held. A strange orb with a bright light inside, and an oran berry, both picked up on this floor.
You zapped them with a Thundershock, and they fainted. Something buzzed within my snow. I had completely forgotten about those. You hadn’t.
Forget about that for now! That Charmander’s probably on the next floor by now! You thought.
Bloody Unovan. I thought back, as we resumed down the corridor, and ended up in a wide room.
Your region is the one that manufactures the freaks of nature we’re stuck as! You thought, before we saw the stairs tucked away in the corner, and a Phantump approaching us. Forget about that for now! Go!
I tried my best to run over, internally cursing how slow my new method of locomotion was, as the Phantump grew closer. Just before it reached us, we made it down the stairs.
Twig Woodland B2F
Immediately, we were ambushed by a Sewaddle, who promptly snatched your oran berry and ran. I heard your curses, both internally and externally. I’d make sure it never saw the light of day again.
Idiot! The Charmander is still in here! We have to find it! You thought, as I ignored you, going down a corridor after the Sewaddle, as it got farther and farther away. I didn’t give up, though, as we entered the room it was on the other side of.
Abruptly, a horde of Pokemon dropped down. Now look what you’ve done!
The only thing we had that could possibly get us out of this was that orb. Neither of us had any idea what it did. It could make things worse.
Would you rather just let them kill us? I thought, as the mob surrounded us.
Once we get out of this, I’m strangling you. If we get out of this.
You threw it at a Skiddo right as it lunged for us. A pillar of light enveloped us, and before we could comprehend what was happening, we were lifted up.
“The layout’s still the same, it seems. This shouldn’t be too difficult, then,” Burhalla said, as we emerged into a larger, oddly rectangular clearing bordered by a thick layer of trees, with gaps in many places.
“Hold on!” I yelled, as the two started to walk towards one of those gaps. “What were you talking about with this being a dungeon?”
Burhalla halted for a second. “I’ll explain as we walk. It’s not safe to stay in one place in a Mystery Dungeon,” Burhalla answered, as he continued onwards. I hurried after him, stumbling a few times due to my new body shape. My legs were so short that I almost had to uncomfortably waddle instead of walk. I had to deal with the weight of my tail, too, which had its own set of weird feelings as it dragged against the ground.
As we entered the gap, I noticed that it led into a narrow pathway, still bordered by trees, perfectly straight.
Wait a minute.
That clearing was too rectangular, and this path too straight, to be natural.
Something was up with this. Is this what they were talking about with this being a Mystery Dungeon?
“You really don’t know what a Mystery Dungeon is?” Saltriv asked, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Everyone knows about them!
“Nope,” I said, as I shook my head.
“They’re places where reality isn’t working right. I’ve only been in a few before!” Saltriv explained.
Before I could question further, Burhalla spoke up.
“Mystery Dungeons are places where reality is unstable. They have a certain number of floors, connected to each other by stairways. Each floor is made up of a set of rooms and corridors connecting them. The stairways are never in the corridors, always in the rooms, and with few exceptions, every floor only has one staircase. Every time one goes into a Mystery Dungeon, the layout changes,” he said.
I heard him mutter something about being able to recite it from memory.
This didn’t sound like anything I’ve heard of back in Johto. Really, nothing here did. Reality being unstable in places? Humans being legends? Pokemon that lived in towns without humans? Everything here was so strange and foreign, including my own body.
There was nothing I could do about that right now, though. For now, my only real option was to go with Burhalla and Saltriv.
I did wonder, though. How big was this place? How much longer until I’d be out of here, and could hopefully start figuring out what was up with everything?
“How many floors does this one have?” I asked.
“Four,” he answered.
“When do you suppose we’ll be out?”
“The layout hasn’t changed, so not very long. I remember where the stairs are for each floor. The stairs for this floor are just up ahead,”
Just a little bit longer in this odd place. Just a little bit longer.
Soon, the path opened into another rectangular clearing. These clearings were probably the rooms Burhalla was talking about.
“There they are!” Saltriv yelled, as they ran into the room, Burhalla following after. Not wanting to be left behind, I hurried after the two.
There was a staircase at the side of the room, and a shiny red apple on the ground next to it. Come to think of it, I was feeling a bit hungry, and it did look pretty appetizing. Was it safe to eat, though?
“A fresh apple! The Kecleon brothers have been running low on them. They’ll be happy to have some more,” Saltriv said, as they ran over towards the apple.
I noticed Burhalla’s expression pale, as I wondered who the Kecleon brothers were. He walked over to the apple, and put it in his bag. “I need to tell you something,” he said, looking at Saltriv.
“Huh?” Saltriv responded.
“Let’s go to the next floor first.” He started walking up the stairs, and Saltriv and I followed behind.
What was that all about?
Twig Woodland B3F
We emerged into a square room, with corridors to my front and right. Also to my right, there was a small pink heart-shaped thing, with lighter spots near the point of it, and two green leaves on the opposite side. I’m pretty sure that was a pecha berry. They cured poison, right? Would I need to worry about poison? It would probably be a good idea to take it just in case. I walked over to it as the other two talked, picking it up with the end of my left arm. I didn't have any fingers anymore, yet I could still grasp it, like my nubs were some sort of suction cup almost. It felt completely different to grabbing stuff with my hands.
As I pondered this, Burhalla said, “About the Kecleon brothers...Leon’s gone missing. Kecky and the rest of the Kecleon clan have been searching for him for weeks.”
“What do you mean?! I talked to them just yesterday after the last day of school!” Saltriv responded.
“Saltriv...you’ve been missing for months.”
“W-what?!”
“School ended a while ago. I haven’t seen you at all since then. Just today, I saw your missing poster on the bulletin board. I thought you had gone shadowy, like Patrat had. I thought I was going to have to fight you once I found you. But you’re ok, and I’m so glad for that.”
“B-Burhalla…I've really been gone for that long?”
“You have, but you're here now. Come on. Let's go home.”
This was a lot to take in. First off, Pokemon had school here?! Was there an entire civilization of Pokemon in this world? Leon, whoever that was, and Saltriv had both gone missing for quite a while, apparently. And there was a Patrat that had gone shadowy, whatever that meant, and Burhalla had thought Saltriv did too? Did that have anything to do with that shadowy aura I saw around the Pokemon back on that platform, including Saltriv?
I was about to run over and ask what any of that meant, when I heard something to my right. Once I turned in that direction, I saw a bird Pokemon with black, white, and red feathers as well as a long, narrow beak flying down the corridor towards me. Did that Pokemon know anything about what was happening?
“Hello? Who are you?” I asked it, only to be swiftly answered by it ramming its beak into my forehead.
“GAH!” I yelped, as my free hand immediately went to where it had hit me. I didn’t seem to be bleeding, but it still hurt.
This Pokemon was behaving like the wild Pokemon back home. Did those exist here, too? I didn’t have much time to ponder that, as it tried pecking at me again. I grimaced in pain as its beak collided with my forehead once more.
I had to do something against this. Come on, what moves did Oshawotts know? Water gun? Totodiles can know it, so maybe other water-type starters can as well? How do I do it, though? Do I just say it? Just point at it? Just imagine doing it? Couldn’t hurt to try all three at once. I pointed my free arm at the Pokemon, and yelled, “Water gun!” trying to imagine a stream of water being shot at it.
Nothing happened. It pecked at me again. Ow. I think that one broke the skin.
Ok, so I didn’t know how to do moves. Hopefully just trying to punch at it can suffice?
Before I could try that, a burst of flame flew by me at the bird Pokemon, followed by a leaf going even faster.
“Gen!” I heard Saltriv’s voice beside me. I looked to my left, and saw them and Burhalla there.
The bird Pokemon tried to peck at me again, only for a glint to appear in Saltriv’s eyes, and out of nowhere, a rock crashed down upon it. It crashed to the ground, and the rock crumbled into dust.
“Are you ok?” Burhalla asked. Saltriv looked at me in concern. Both of them had their eyes wet with tears.
“I can manage,” I replied. “What was with that Pokemon?”
“Let’s go down the corridor before we get attacked again,” he said, as he brushed past me and headed down the path the Pokemon that attacked me came from. I followed suit, shortly followed by Saltriv.
As we headed down the corridor, he began, “In Mystery Dungeons, there are many Pokemon that will attack anyone that have entered the dungeon. Very few are able to listen to reason.”
Before I could try to formulate a response, I heard snickering behind me. I turned around, only to see Saltriv seemingly trying to suppress a laugh.
“What is it,” I said.
“You really don’t remember how to use moves, do you? You can’t just yell the name of the move and have it work!” Saltriv answered between giggles.
“I don’t remember how moves work,” I answered. It wasn’t a complete lie.
“Something is seriously wrong if you don’t even remember that. Do you at least know what that is that you’re holding?” Burhalla asked, pointing to the pecha berry I held.
“A...pecha berry?” I tentatively answered. I really hoped they were called the same thing in this messed-up place.
“That’s right,” said Burhalla, as he breathed a sigh of what was hopefully relief. “At least you remember some things.”
We emerged from the corridor into another room, and the stairs were right in front of us. “Let’s go,” said Burhalla as he went up the stairs, me and Saltriv following behind. I noticed a single tear fall to the ground near them as we ascended the staircase. Was Saltriv ok?
Twig Woodland B2F
We emerged into another room, with a single corridor to my front. I was about to head towards it, but stopped as I heard Saltriv speak up.
“Who else went missing?” they asked, the laughter in their voice from before absent.
“Besides you and Leon, Treecko, Sneasel, Morpeko, Orbeetle, even Flapple. And that's just the ones I knew personally,” Burhalla responded, melancholy evident in his voice.
“My mom and dad...are they still ok?”
“I'd have told you if they weren't. I'm not my father. I don't lie about things like that.”
There was bitterness in Burhalla’s voice as he said that.
This was bad. This was very bad. If he found out I was lying about not remembering anything, I'd be alone in this world. I was in too deep now to admit to things, either. He'd never believe me. The only thing I could do was keep up the act and hope he never finds out.
“Is something up, Gen?” Burhalla asked, looking at me now. “Your expression’s a bit pale.”
Crap, he might be onto me! Had to think of an excuse quickly. Come on, come on...
“Something’s coming,” I bluffed without thinking. No! That wouldn’t work, unless I got extraordinarily lucky.
Before he could ask, a small Pokemon wrapped in leaves entered the room we were in through the single corridor. I breathed a sigh of relief, only to be cut short as I was covered in silk. The sensation of the sticky string against my new fur was not pleasant in the slightest.
As I tried to untangle myself, I saw two Embers head towards the Sewaddle, one after another.
Huh?!
I was pretty sure Chikoritas couldn’t learn Ember, so where did that second one come from? I didn’t see anyone else in the room besides me, Saltriv, Burhalla, and the now-fainted Sewaddle. Was that just a move I had never seen before? Double Ember?
To my relief, the silk quickly disappeared after the Sewaddle fainted, just in time for me to notice an oran berry rolling away from it. Those healed Pokemon, right? Maybe it would be able to heal my forehead after what that bird Pokemon had done to it.
I started walking over to it, only to see Saltriv running at me. “How’d you know that Sewaddle was coming?” they asked, an amazed, yet curious expression on their face.
“I just sorta...felt it, I guess,” I lied. I was digging myself deeper, but it was too late at this point for me to be honest.
“Wow! That’s amazing!” Saltriv exclaimed, as I saw Burhalla pick up the oran berry out of the corner of my vision, and put it in his bag.
“Let’s go on,” he said, as he proceeded into the corridor. “We can talk as we walk.”
Saltriv rushed after him, and I followed suit.
“You just felt it coming?” Burhalla asked, his expression one of awe. I shuddered. What excuse could I give?
Before I could think up a reply, the corridor ended, opening up into the largest room yet. The moment we entered it, my eyes widened, and I held back a scream.
It was filled with Pokemon. There was a Skiddo to our left, and a Poochyena a bit farther in that direction. To our right, there was a Weedle next to a brown Pokemon that resembled a Pachirisu. On the far side of the room, there was a small Pokemon I didn’t recognize covered in grass and twigs, and the staircase was to the right of it.
All of them turned to face us.
“Run for it!” yelled Burhalla. I immediately complied, hurrying towards the stairs as fast as I could manage, hyperventilating as I ran. This was terrifying!
Burhalla rushed straight through the room, and did two Embers in rapid succession at the Pokemon near the staircase, running forth as the Skiddo chased after him. Saltriv swerved around to the right, briefly pausing as the Weedle jabbed its stinger at them, but continuing onwards, tackling the Pachirisu-like Pokemon on their way. I tried to keep up, but I was knocked to the ground by the Poochyena tackling me. I tried to get myself back upright, only for it to bite my forehead right where that bird Pokemon had attacked me before. I yelped as pain flooded through my body, amplified as it tackled me once more.
Suddenly, I saw an orb of light shoot into the Poochyena. Its attacks slowed before stopping altogether, and I watched as the Poochyena's eyes closed. I had no idea what that was about, but I’ll take it. I quickly got back up, and continued towards the stairs, seeing Saltriv and Burhalla right before them, the latter holding an odd purple stick that had a zig-zag formation at one end. The Weedle, Skiddo, and Pachirisu-like Pokemon were nearby, still standing.
“Hurry!” Burhalla yelled, before sending a single Ember at the Skiddo as it charged at them.
I ran as fast as my tiny legs could carry me, and soon, reunited with Saltriv and Burhalla in front of the staircase. The moment I arrived, they dashed up it. I quickly followed, not daring to look back.
Twig Woodland B1F
The moment we reached the room at the top of the stairs, I collapsed, breathing heavily. Luckily, the room seemed to be empty save for us, the staircase, and corridors to my left and right. Hopefully it would stay that way long enough for me to recuperate.
Saltriv broke the silence. “Oww...I think that Weedle poisoned me,” they said, before turning towards me. “Do you still have that pecha berry? I need it.”
I looked down at my left arm, and saw that, somehow, I had been able to hold onto it through all that. That made no sense whatsoever, but neither did a lot of things that happened since I woke up on that platform. Either way, Saltriv needed the berry. I nodded, and handed it over to them. The moment it was near Saltriv, they devoured it.
I could probably use a berry, too, of the oran variety. I could feel liquid streaming through the fur on my forehead. Poochyena really did a number on me. Hopefully orans still healed Pokemon in this world. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t, given how bizarre everything here is. Then again, pecha berries still seemed to cure poison if Saltriv was anything to go by.
I looked over towards Burhalla, and said, “I need an oran berry. That Poochyena hurt me a lot.”
He dug into his bag, and pulled out a small, round blue object with a short green top. “Here,” he said, as he gave it to me. I grabbed it with my odd suction-like grip, and stuffed it into my face. It tasted odd, a mild mix of various flavors, with a noticeable lack of sweetness. Not bad. I could already notice my pain disappearing, as it was replaced by reinvigoration.
“Let’s go. We’re almost out,” said Burhalla, as he proceeded towards the left corridor. “This way.”
Saltriv headed after him, as did I shortly after.
“That was terrifying! I never want to go into a monster house again!” Saltriv exclaimed a few steps into the corridor.
“I don’t think that was a monster house. With monster houses, the Pokemon drop from the ceiling. That didn’t happen back there. There weren’t any items there, either,” Burhalla responded. “I think we just got very unlucky. But we’ve made it through that, and we’re almost home.”
“What’s a monster house?” I asked. I wondered what he meant with items, but the term “monster house” seemed a lot more threatening and concerning.
“They’re rooms in mystery dungeons where a bunch of dungeon Pokemon ambush you at once! They’re filled with items to lure you in, then once you’re there, you’re surrounded!” Saltriv enthusiastically explained. “Leon once told me a story about how he had chased a thief into one! Once we’re out of here, I’ll...” they trailed off. Silence filled the corridor.
“It’s going to be ok,” said Burhalla.
The corridor ended, leading into a small room. There were corridors to my front and left, and to my right, was a gap in the trees larger than any corridor entrance I had seen in here, filled with light.
“There’s our exit,” said Burhalla. “Once we enter that, we’ll be out of there, and it’ll just be a short walk home.”
“Wonder how much things changed since I…” Saltriv commented, before trailing off.
As I gazed at the light, I realized something.
I had very little idea what this world was like outside mystery dungeons. I barely had a clue about what life was like here.
Would I need to hunt for food, or did stores exist here? Would I need to sleep outside, or had Pokemon invented houses in this place?
Even if stuff like stores and houses were a thing here, I didn’t have any of this world’s money. Did it even have any, actually? Were goods here provided on some other merit, like battles won or something?
I did not know in the slightest. And if I didn’t wake up back home in Goldenrod tomorrow, I’d need to know.
I needed someone to help show me how this world worked, and maybe get me a place to stay, at least until I get back home.
I looked over towards Saltriv and Burhalla. The two were conversing about something, though I wasn’t paying attention about what.
They were the only two I had met since I arrived here. Maybe they could help me.
Hopefully they’d be willing to.
“Can I go with you two? I don’t have anywhere else to go,” I asked the two.
Burhalla smiled. “Of course! I already offered to bring you to the mayor to see if she could help.” His smile faded a bit. “Did you forget that too?”
Right. With everything that had happened in here, that slipped my mind.
“No, I just...a lot happened,” I responded.
“Maybe you could start keeping a journal to help you remember things!” Saltriv suggested.
I had no idea how a Chikorita would be able to write, or what writing in this world was like, but it wouldn’t be much help for me. It didn’t work out well when I tried keeping one years back, anyways. Trying it again now probably wouldn’t turn out much better. If I really had amnesia, maybe it’d help, but that was just a lie.
Had to keep up the act, though.
“I’ll keep it in mind,” I replied.
I turned back towards the light-filled gap in the trees. Beyond this laid a world completely foreign to me. I didn’t know what to expect, or what to prepare for.
Light flooded my vision, before fading. Before me, was a dirt path leading into the distance up a sunset-lit hill. The trees were much sparser now, no longer forming solid walls.
“We’re out!” exclaimed Burhalla, as I heard something shatter.
What was that?!
Before I could ask what that was, Saltriv started running down the path, before stopping a few steps away, and turning around, a worried expression on their face. “Come on! I want to see my family again!” they demanded.
I could understand their worry. I’d been through something like that a few times.
I shuddered as the memory of the most recent time came back. Listening to the news about how Kyogre and Groudon were rampaging near Hoenn, frantically packing only the necessities before leaving the house, getting lost in the crowd and separated from my family as everyone in Goldenrod evacuated, calling out for help to no avail...If that brawl had made its way to Johto—
“Gen! Come on!” Saltriv’s voice echoed, breaking that train of thought. I had gotten lost in my thoughts again. I needed to focus on the task at hand, that being going with Burhalla and Saltriv.
I ran towards the two, and together, the three of us headed along the path towards the sunset.
No words were spoken for some time. I think we were all just relieved to be out of that place. I know I was.
As we climbed the hill, I started to hear unfamiliar voices, though I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. I slowed my pace a bit. I looked towards the other two, and they didn’t seem to notice them. Was I just hearing things?
Should I tell the others? Would they believe me? Would it be a good idea to keep this a secret from them after what Burhalla had said?
In the midst of me trying to figure out what to do, I saw a trio of figures emerge over the hilltop. I couldn’t tell what they were from this distance, but Burhalla seemingly could, as his footsteps halted.
“Berry crackers. I’ve been found out,” I heard him mumble under his breath.
The figures continued to approach, and I could now make them out. A Typhlosion, a Meganium, and a Porygon-Z.
There was an audible gasp, and the Meganium came barreling at us with a shout of, “SALTRIV!”
This was probably one of Saltriv’s parents, then.
Saltriv ran off from our group with a similar shout of, “MOM!”
As the two reunited, the Typhlosion approached us. Out of the corner of my vision, I noticed Burhalla’s expression pale.
“Burhalla,” the Typhlosion spoke, briefly glancing at Saltriv, before turning back to the Charmander.
“Hi, dad,” Burhalla responded after a pause.
“I understand what you were doing. Really, I do. And I’m glad that you found Saltriv. But you should have known better! You could have gone missing, or worse!” Burhalla’s father roared at him. “What if you had? What would I do? What would Valorch do? I need to have a stern talk with you once we’re home.”
I stood there awkwardly, all alone, as two contrasting conversations played out near me. I looked back and forth between Saltriv and Burhalla, barely registering the Porygon-Z following the rest of their group down the hill.
“Well, se-se-seems like Burhalla’s fine, and they even brought back Saltriv and this Oshawott! All’s well that en-en-ends well, at least!” the Porygon-Z stuttered, bringing me back to reality as I was finally addressed.
I locked eyes with the Porygon-Z, before they leaned towards me. “So what’s yo-yo-your deal? I’ve nev-ev-ever seen you around town before,” they asked.
“I’m Gen,” I responded, taking note of their...odd speech pattern. I remember learning that Porygon-Zs were unstable. Was that still true in this world?
“Where are you from-om-om? My memory banks indicate the Oshawo-wo-wott family not being common on the Thunder continent,” they continued, their tone changing midway through to a more robotic one.
What now? Do I tell them what I told Saltriv and Burhalla, since the two of them were right there? Would the Porygon-Z be able to tell it was a lie? I didn’t remember if the Porygon line were normal-type or psychic-type. Either way, I needed to decide, and quickly, before anyone got suspicious.
“I don’t remember,” I lied, hoping I made the right choice, or at least the best choice I could at this point.
“You do not recall what lo-lo-location you are from?! That’s ve-ve-very worrying,” the Porygon-Z replied, their tone again switching as they spoke.
The conversation between Burhalla and his father stopped, as did the one between Saltriv and their mother.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even notice you. I was a bit...caught up," the Meganium said, with a glance towards Saltriv. “You really don’t remember where you’re from? What do you remember?” the Meganium continued, worry seeping into their voice.
“Just my name, and how to do some things,” I parroted back my response to when Burhalla had asked that question, causing the look of worry on the Meganium’s face to worsen.
“I’m not sure if I should believe you. You’re not faking it, trying to pretend to be another amnesiac human sent to save the world?” the Typhlosion interrogated. “There’s been four Pokemon who tried lying about that just this month.”
My confidence shattered with his words. I couldn’t tell the truth now, after what Burhalla had said. Plus, given what the Typhlosion was saying, they definitely wouldn’t believe the truth. I could ponder this more later, though, for now, I had to reply.
“I’m telling the tru-” I began, before I heard Saltriv speak up.
“It’s true. He couldn’t even remember how to use moves,” they defended.
The Typhlosion looked like he wanted to say something, and began to open his mouth, but Burhalla interjected.
“I saw it too. He couldn’t even remember how to use Water Gun. He never mentioned being a human, either,” Burhalla backed up Saltriv and myself. I shot a grateful look towards him, and he nodded silently in response.
“Can’t we talk about this more once we’re in town?” Saltriv pleaded. “I want to see dad again.”
“That sounds like a splen-len-lendid idea! Le-le-let’s go back to the village,” the Porygon-Z spoke, before floating towards the hilltop.
“If we don’t start heading back soon, we won’t return before nightfall,” the Meganium said, before following behind the Porygon-Z alongside Saltriv.
The Typhlosion hesitated for a moment, before starting back up the hill. I did the same, Burhalla walking alongside me once I caught up to him.
“You are telling me the truth, right?” he questioned, turning to me, a look of suspicion on his face. “You’re not another Pokemon doing that for attention?”
“I’m not,” I hastily responded. It was true for one of his questions, at least.
His expression changed to a more neutral one. “Ok. I don’t want to have to deal with more people keeping secrets from me.” He turned back towards the setting sun.
He muttered, “Hopefully dad won’t be too harsh once I’m home.” I decided not to comment.
This lie couldn’t end well.
Soon, we reached the hilltop, and the view beyond became clear. I gawked at what was on the other side.
There was a massive clearing in the middle of an even more massive forest down below. In it, there was what looked like buildings, and tiny specks migrating from place to place. The entire area was shrouded in a light layer of fog. Was this Overcast Village?
I wasn’t left with much time to process it, as the group continued onwards, down the hill, forcing me to follow them, lest I be left behind.
For a while, silence pervaded through the group, as we descended the hill. It wasn’t until we reached the forest that someone spoke up again.
“Where did you find Saltriv, anyways?” the Meganium asked Burhalla, as we walked along the foggy path.
“They were talking with Gen at the end of the dungeon,” Burhalla answered.
“Really? How long had you two been talking?” the Meganium asked, turning towards Saltriv and myself.
“Not for long. I woke up, Saltriv was there, we just introduced ourselves to each other, then Burhalla arrived,” I answered.
“I just woke up there, and Gen was the first person I saw before Burhalla had found us,” Saltriv corroborated.
The Meganium took a moment to take in this information, then continued onwards.
Soon, the trees cleared up, and the path stopped at a wide stone circle covered in fog.
“Welcome to Overcast Village!” Burhalla announced to me.
Overcast Village
It didn’t seem nearly as big as Goldenrod, but what it lacked in size, it made up for in wonder. I walked towards the center of the circle to get a better look at my surroundings. Right to the left of where the path ended was a bulletin board, filled with posters depicting many Pokemon. A Tyrogue was looking over the papers on it. Next to it, was a large tent in the shape of a Kecleon’s head, underneath which was an assortment of boxes guarded by a Torterra. On the other side of the path was some sort of strange box with many mechanisms on it. Heading away from it was a Pokemon with short arms, a V-shaped head, and a wispy tail, carrying what looked to be its pre-evolution on its head. There were many stone roads leading out of the circle, lined with houses that grew progressively fainter the further into the fog they were. Down one road that a Leafeon was walking across, I could barely see another stone circle like the one I currently stood on.
It wasn’t quite like anything I had seen before. There were so many Pokemon here, and yet I felt so alone.
I was jolted out of my thoughts as Burhalla’s father spoke up. “Time to go home,” he stated, before starting down one of the roads.
“Wait, but-” Burhalla began, but the Typhlosion interrupted him before he could finish.
“No ‘buts’. We’re going home, now,” the large fire-type said, before ushering Burhalla down one of the roads. Burhalla turned towards me with an apologetic expression, and before I could protest, he disappeared into the fog.
Now what? Burhalla had offered to help me out, and now he was gone, at least for the time being.
I looked over towards the remaining members of our group. The Porygon-Z was already heading down the road Burhalla and his father went down, leaving just me, Saltriv, and the Meganium, the latter two of which were conversing with the Torterra under the Kecleon-shaped tent. I heard a loud shout of “Saltriv!” from an unfamiliar voice. Was that the Torterra?
Hopefully Saltriv would be willing to help. Otherwise, I was in trouble.
I walked over towards the tent, and pleaded, “Can I stay with you all for the night? I don’t have anywhere to go.”
“Of course! Right, mom?” Saltriv answered almost immediately. I wasn’t expecting a response that quickly.
“We’ll have to discuss it first, but I’ll consider it,” the Meganium responded, causing my expression to fall. “You should have told me soone-”
“They helped heal me when I got poisoned in that dungeon! Please?” Saltriv added.
“Why not?” the voice from before spoke up. I realized it was the Torterra, who was now facing me. “We have enough room, anyways. You helped save Saltriv, we should pay you back somehow.”
“Thanks, dad!” Saltriv exclaimed, their expression full of joy. That Torterra must be their father, then.
“Looks like you can come with us then, Gen,” the Meganium stated, as I felt my mouth form into a smile. I had somewhere to live here now! At least, for tonight. I doubted I’d be able to stay much longer, if I was even still here tomorrow, and didn’t wake up back home.
“Let’s head home. Night is almost upon us.” the Torterra said, exiting the tent. The Meganium started towards a road next to an oddly apple-shaped house. Saltriv and their father followed, and so did I.
We walked down the foggy road for a short while, passing by many Pokemon I did and didn’t recognize, until Saltriv broke the silence. “There’s not as many Pokemon around as I remember.”
“There’s been a lot of disappearances since you’ve been gone. You’ve probably already noticed the Kecleon brothers,” Meganium responded, a twinge of worry noticeable in her voice. “Did Burhalla already tell you about that?”
“He did,” Saltriv answered. “Has it really been months since I...disappeared?”
“Unfortunately, it has been,” Torterra replied. “We can talk more about that tomorrow. Right now, you’re back, and that’s all that matters.”
Eventually, the others stopped, as we came to a house that looked like four massive pumpkins joined together, with gigantic leaves topping two of them, and a tree on top of a third.
“We’re here,” Meganium announced, as the three of them entered a wide doorway, and I quickly followed suit.
Saltriv’s Home
It was quite spacious. To my right, there were entrances to the other rooms. In one corner of the room I was in, on the wall, were several cabinets, with small handles that resembled loops more than anything else. Underneath them was what seemed to be a radio on top of a table, yet no chairs. That’s probably to be expected, though. All the Pokemon that lived here were quadrupedal, and I didn’t know if chairs even existed in this world. The left side of the room held a bookshelf, every shelf filled with a colorful assortment of books, piquing my interest. What kind of literature did Pokemon have? I’d have to check that out later, assuming it was in a language I could read.
“Wait here. I’ll get the guest bed,” Meganium said, before heading into another room, Torterra following after her, leaving me and Saltriv alone.
The silence was quickly broken, as Saltriv spoke up. “You really do have amnesia? You’re not faking it like Burhalla’s dad said?”
“I really do. Barely can remember anything,” I lied, before questioning if I really did need to keep this up. Burhalla was away, I presumably wasn’t in danger anymore, and the topic was right. Plus, Saltriv had memories of that platform, apparently. Maybe if I told them my memories of that place, they’d believe me?
“Not even about being a human or something?” they pressed.
“Nope,” I responded after a few moments. I weighed the odds. At best, Saltriv believes me, doesn’t tell anyone, and can help me get back home. However, it was far more likely that they wouldn’t believe me, especially after what Typhlosion said. Worst case scenario, Saltriv’s family kicks me out, Burhalla is told, and I have no one to help me figure out this world.
“Anything in particular you do remember?” they continued.
“Just my name, and a few other things,” I answered. I couldn’t risk it. It wasn’t worth the potential loss.
“What kinds of things?” they asked.
Before I could get a chance to even think how to respond, Meganium poked her head into the room we were in. “Everything’s all set! This way!” she told us, before turning back around. Saltriv ran after her, and so did I. It wasn’t long before we entered our destination.
It wasn’t nearly as large as the first room of the house, but there was still a great deal within it. On the far side of the room, there were two straw mats, a thin blanket and a pillow beside each. Next to them was a wide, plain-looking box, bursting with an assortment of various items, some I recognized, some I didn’t. Among them was a strange gadget with a screen in the middle, and a glowing blue orb at the top. Was that some kind of Pokedex or something? On the ceiling was an open window, letting the last rays of sunlight for the day shine down upon the left mat.
“Your bed is the one on the right,” Meganium pointed out, as Saltriv rushed into the straw mat on the left, lit by a quickly diminishing amount of sunlight. Those must be the beds, then. They didn’t look very comfortable.
“Get along, you two,” Meganium asked the two of us. “I don’t want a repeat of last time.”
“We will!” Saltriv assured. “He saved my life! Of course we’ll get along!”
“Just making sure,” Meganium clarified, before heading out of the room.
I walked over to the unlit mat, dreading what would come next. I braced myself, then flopped onto the bed of straw, finding it...much more comfortable than I expected. Huh.
“You looked like you’ve never seen a bed before!” I heard Saltriv exclaim in bewilderment. “Haven’t you slept at all since you forgot everything?”
“I haven’t. Waking up in that clearing with you is the first thing I remember,” I lied.
“Weird. You should tell me exactly what you do remember! Or you could write it down in a journal! I think I have a spare one somewhere.”
“Can we do that tomorrow?” I pleaded. “I’m tired.”
“Ok! See you tomorrow!” Saltriv cheerfully replied, pulling their blanket over themself with a vine as they laid their head on a pillow.
As I tucked myself in, I thought over everything that had happened today.
There was whatever had happened on that platform in that psychedelic void. There was that mailbox that I put that paper in. What was the deal with that? There also was that really soft bow, that changed colors. Then my reflection turned into an Oshawott, just like I am now. After that was all those Pokemon with shadowy auras, and that note, telling me to save one. Was Saltriv the one I saved? Who wrote that, anyway? Did that have anything to do with what Burhalla said about “going shadowy”? And then there was that terrifying giant hand coming down for me. I’m not sure if I wanted to know what that was. And somehow Saltriv remembered it all? That place had made even less sense than this world did.
Not that this world made much sense, either. I’m somehow an Oshawott now, just like my reflection on that platform. Pokemon lived in towns here, but there were also wild Pokemon, too? Burhalla also did two Embers one after the other back in Twig Woodland. I was almost certain moves couldn’t be used that quickly after each other. There was also that shattering sound once we exited the dungeon. I still had no clue what that was about. Speaking of mystery dungeons, those also didn’t make any sense at all. Something like that happening naturally was an impossibility with the laws of physics as I remembered them.
At least I met Saltriv and Burhalla. They had offered to help me. Saltriv already was, convincing their family to let me stay the night here. I really needed to thank them once I woke up, and Burhalla, too.
They’ve really been a big help so far, even if they might have suspicions that I’m lying.
Why did I even start that lie, anyways? All it’s caused me is trouble, and I can’t come clean now, or I’ll lose Burhalla’s trust, along with likely the trust of everyone else here.
Would they have believed me if I told the truth, though? With there apparently being Pokemon faking being amnesiac humans, not to mention humans being legends here, they probably wouldn’t.
What was the best thing to do?
Was there even a right answer to that?
Why were there Pokemon pretending to have amnesia, anyways? Why was I an Oshawott? Why was I here at all?!
Gah, why was any of this happening?! Why couldn’t I be back home, where things actually made sense?!
What was happening back home, even? Were my family and friends ok? Did they know where I was? Were they trying to find me right now?
I want to go home. I want to go back to my family. I want to go back to the world I know.
I want to wake up back in my bed, like this all never happened.
My final thought before drifting into sleep was hoping that, somehow, despite all evidence to the contrary, this was all just a bad dream.
I heard the gambler curse as the fourth card he flipped over was revealed to be a Voltorb. All 930 coins he won during this game were forfeit. I began to shuffle the cards for the next person in line, when the gambler smashed their fist against the table, causing the Doduo near him to flinch.
“Gimme another go! This time I’ll hit the level 8 jackpot!” he demanded. They never learn, do they?
“You’re back down to level 2,” I told him, as I doled out the cards, making sure to lay out the right amount of multipliers and Voltorbs. After I wrote down the multiplier and voltorb sums at the side of each row, I announced, “Begin!”
I paid little attention to his actions, instead glancing towards the empty table to my right. Gen should have been here for his shift hours ago. Where could he be?
I felt a faint buzz from my pocket. It must be closing time, then. I ignored every expletive the gambler spat at me, as I packed up my belongings and headed out the door. Closing up shop wasn’t my job, anyways.
The moment the door shut behind me, I was confronted by a disheveled mess of a man, eyes widened and eyebrows pulled together.
“Spersua! Have you seen Gen at all? You’re his coworker, right?” he questioned. Right. This was Gen’s father.
“Sorry, sir. He hasn’t turned up today. Something happen?” I asked in turn, raising an eyebrow.
All I received in reply was a cry of anguish, as he ran off.
Ok then. That was odd. Something was seriously up with Gen. Maybe I should leave him a message.
I pulled the rectangle out of my pocket, and sent a quick “U ok?” message to Gen. That should put me at ease for now.
I should get home soon. The sun was setting.
I walked down the street from the game corner, past a telephone pole adorned with a poster of a familiar visage.
I stopped, doing a double take. Yep, that was Gen alright, or at least a picture of him. And on a missing poster, too.
Well, this sucked.
Nothing I could do anything about, though.
I began to continue towards home, before a patch of blue caught my eye. A pristine blue bow, lying on the ground. I immediately nabbed it. It was unbelievably soft, more than anything I’ve felt before. I didn’t want to let go of it.
I’ll keep it. It was my favorite color, so no way was I giving it up. Maybe I could sew it on to my shirt collar or something. I bet that would look stylish.
Whoever lost it wasn’t my problem.
Hopefully Gen would turn up soon. Managing Voltorb Flip all by myself was exhausting.
I floated through the fog, away from the Top Plaza. The sun was almost set. There’d certainly be no customers back at the old recyclin’ shop at this time. No need to take a gander at it before heading home.
I took a sharp right down the alley next to ol’ Flapple’s home. He’s sure been missing for a while now. I miss those times when we hung—
Toucannon can launch plain seeds with enough power to destroy boulders.
I floated through the fog. The distance to the village outskirts was not large.
Within a short amount of time, I reached my place of residence, in the middle of a clearing just outside of the village. Something else was there, though.
Through the fog, I could see a figure that did not register in my memory banks. It was moving erratically. Strange.
I cautiously approached—
I approached it. Soon, I could clearly see what it looked like through the fog.
WHAT IN THE DISTORTION WORLD WAS THAT?!
It was wrong in every possible way. It looked like someone had taken half an Arctoar and half a Ruzolt and stitched them together in the worst way they could. The bottom half was unnervingly still while the top half was shivering like its life depended on it, which I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. The two halves so desynced, it was almost like they were completely separate beings.
The top half almost looked parasitic, like a Poisonous Slowking or a Parasect, as if it was a stem that had grown out of the corpse of an Arctoar. The hands almost seemed like they were tacked on as an afterthought, unable to reach anything. The whole top part looked like it was permanently locked in an ice bath, a frozen glob of snot dangling from its nostrils, almost like that of a Cubchoo.
The snow around its top half shifted as I heard an eerily familiar jingle. I couldn’t quite remember what it was, like its memory file had been overwritten long ago, but still had twinges of its former self. I almost expected the hands of a Cofagrigus to leap out of the snow and grab me, pulling me in, never letting me out, keeping me frozen in there for all eternity.
Yet, nothing happened. All was silent. It was just me, and this...thing, alone in the fog.
Perhaps...did it need help? Was it lost? Did something do this to it?
I floated a bit closer to it, and with as much warmth in my voice as I could muster, told it, “Do you requi-qui-quire assistance?”
“What made you think any of that was a good idea?! We still don’t know why Pokemon are going missing! What if you ran into whatever was causing this? What if you had gone shadowy?! Then we’d have even more missing Pokemon!” my father roared once we arrived home. I winced at the volume. It was worth it in the end. I had found Saltriv, after they’d been missing for months, and got them home.
There was also that odd Oshawott who had lost his memory. Gen. I didn’t get a chance to bring him to Mayor Jellicent to see if she could help, like I had offered. I’d have to do that tomorrow, if I’m allowed to even leave the house by then. Hopefully he’d be able to find a place for the night on his own.
“Did you at least pack the right equipment?” he asked, tone a bit gentler.
I could probably lie here, and escape punishment. It would be simple, and easy. But I wouldn’t be like him.
“Everything but the escape orb,” I told the truth. The flames on my father’s back instantly flared up.
“THAT’S THE MOST ESSENTIAL PART!” he shouted. “You had no way to leave the dungeon if an emergency happened! Twig Woodland has Monster Houses! If you had run into one of those, you wouldn’t make it out!”
And yet, me, Saltriv, and Gen had made it through one, or at least something very close to one. Before I could say a rebuttal, though, the flames on his back died down, and extinguished.
“I’m not going to punish you, Burhalla. You saved Saltriv, and I’m sure their parents are thrilled to have them back. As reckless of a decision it was to go into there, I’m proud of you for saving them,” he told me, in a softer tone.
I smiled a bit in response. That was a relief, unless he was lying again.
“I’m still not happy with what you did, but I’d be a fool to punish you for saving them,” he told me with a soft smile on his face. “I’m not done, though. From now on, any time you even THINK of entering a Mystery Dungeon, I need you to take at least two others with you, and I want you to show me what items you’re bringing. Otherwise, there WILL be consequences. Alright?”
There’s the catch. This will be a hassle whenever I form a search party like I wanted. I nodded, not wanting to be admonished further, even if I wasn’t happy with the result.
“Also, when I say it’s time to go home, it’s time to go home. No buts about it, like I said earlier,” he added.
“But I needed to do something!” I pleaded.
“And what was that?” he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“I told Gen I’d bring him to the mayor, and see if she could help him figure things out,” I answered.
“It was far too late for that, and besides, I don’t trust the Oshawott. He’s almost certainly just another pretender, and just faked not remembering his moves.”
Here we go again. “He didn’t mention being a human, like the others.”
“Why do you trust this Pokemon you didn’t know before yesterday more than your own father?” my father demanded.
“Because he hasn’t lied to me like you do!” I shouted back.
“For your own benefit!”
“Lying to me about my mother isn’t for my benefit!”
“You wouldn’t have been able to handle learning about her death!”
“It would have been better than you keeping me in the dark about it for YEARS!”
“Dad! Burhalla! Please!” Valorch’s voice cried out against our argument. I looked away from my father, seeing the Quilava that was my sister standing in the doorway.
“You have this argument every other week and it gets worse every time! Please just stop!” she pleaded.
Before either of us could respond, I heard PNS-NT’s voice, muffled by the walls. “SOM-OM-OMEONE! HELP!” they yelled.
We all looked at each other in the dim room, lit now by little other than the flame on my tail. “Go to bed, you two. I’ll deal with this,” my father said, before walking out the door. Valorch sighed, before heading back to our room. I followed after her, not in the mood to argue further.
I was walking to Burhalla’s house, when suddenly, I felt something soft hit me, and I woke up in this strange place. The sky was all these different colors, and I was on this dark, glassy platform. In the center of it, there was something tall, with fur only on its head, and two arms ending with five fingers. It looked just like the humans of legends!
Can you believe it? A real human? And not even a former one!
I asked who they were, and the next thing I knew, the human had grabbed me, and I heard something smash right into where I was standing before. I didn’t get a good look at it, but it looked pink and black, and really big.
I think that human had saved me from that thing! Or maybe it was just a dream.
After that, I woke up at the end of Twig Woodland. There was an Oshawott there named Gen. He didn’t know what was going on, either. He asked me what I remembered last, and I told him about that place with the weird sky and the human. I don’t think he believed me, though. I can hardly believe it myself! An actual human!
I asked him the same question, and suddenly, Burhalla came into the clearing! He was really relieved to see me, and told me where I was. Then he started talking to Gen. Apparently Gen couldn’t remember where he lived, or much of anything at all! I’d almost think he was just faking it, or maybe even another human turned Pokemon, but later he said he didn’t even remember being human!
Burhalla had forgotten an Escape Orb, so we had to head through the dungeon backwards. It was pretty difficult. We even ran into a huge group of Dungeon Pokemon! I thought it was a Monster House, but Burhalla pointed out that there weren’t any items in it. We must have just been unlucky. A Weedle had poisoned me there, but Gen gave me a pecha berry to help with that.
Speaking of Gen, he couldn’t even remember how to use moves! He tried shouting out “Water Gun!” at a Pikipek, as if that would do anything! I really needed that laugh after what Burhalla told me.
He said that I’ve been missing for months. MONTHS! All of Summer, it seems. Morpeko, Flapple, and even Leon had gone missing while I’ve been gone. According to Burhalla, Kecky and the rest of the Kecleon clan have been searching for him ever since.
I hope he’s found soon. I miss helping him out with his shop.
At least mom and dad are ok. Once we got out of the Mystery Dungeon, mom was at the top of the hill, with Burhalla’s father and PNS-NT. I was so happy to see her, even if it felt like I saw her just yesterday.
We didn’t have much time to talk, as Burhalla’s dad accused Gen of lying about his amnesia. I couldn’t believe him! We had just gotten out of Twig Woodland, and Gen had already gone through a lot in there. That accusation was too much after all that! Me and Burhalla helped defend Gen, though I do wonder what Gen’s life was like before we met him.
Once we got back to town, Burhalla, his dad, and PNS-NT went home, while me and mom went over to talk with dad. He was so happy to see me! I think the whole town heard him shout my name! We talked things over a bit. He and mom had been running the Kecleon Shop in town since Leon had disappeared. Normally, I’d be ecstatic about this, but it wouldn’t be the same without Leon there.
While we were talking, Gen asked if he could stay with us. I pleaded with mom to let him. She was unsure at first, but after some persuasion, dad agreed that Gen could stay.
Once we were home, mom went to get the guest bed ready for Gen, and dad went to the parents’ room. While we were waiting, I asked Gen if he really did have amnesia, and if there’s anything he did remember. He told me yes, but before we could talk much, mom told us the guest bed was ready.
It was right next to my bed, and Gen just stared at it awkwardly. Guess he didn’t remember seeing a bed before! I suggested for him to keep a journal like I do, to help remember things! I also asked if he could tell me exactly what he remembers. He said he was tired, though, and asked if we could do it tomorrow. I was pretty tired, too, so I agreed. I was so tired, I didn’t even get to write in here before I fell asleep!
Once he’s awake, I’m going to ask him. There has to be something other than his name.
Honestly, I don’t really know why I’m doing all this for Gen. Maybe it’s because he was the first Pokemon I saw since I woke up in Twig Woodland. Maybe it’s because we both don’t remember the past few months. Maybe it’s because he healed me with that pecha berry. Maybe it’s just that he feels familiar somehow, like I’ve met him before. Did we meet each other while I was missing?
Anyways, the sun’s been up for a while now. I should get up. See ya tonight!
~ Saltriv
I wiped away the tear stains, before closing the journal, and laying it back under the blanket with a vine. Looking over to my right, I saw Gen still sleeping. He must be a really heavy sleeper! Mom and dad would be awake by now, and they already wake up pretty late!
I pushed my blanket off of me and stood up, heading to the wide open area of the main room. Mom and dad were already there, getting out breakfast. I think I saw mom breath a sigh of relief as I entered.
“Good morning, Saltriv! Did you sleep well?” Mom asked, as she laid a few berries on the table, which I quickly grabbed with my vines and munched hungrily.
“I did!” I told her between berries.
It was pretty quiet as we all ate, and not long before we were all finished. I’d probably need to explain myself now. Would they really believe me if I told them I saw a human in that strange place?
Couldn’t hurt to try!
“Let’s talk about what happened to you over the morning news. Then we can write a letter to your uncle about what happened,” Dad said, as he turned the radio on. At least some things didn’t change, like dad always listening to the news in the morning.
“To all residents in Overcast Village, stay alert. There has been a report of a strange creature terrorizing a resident. We have PNS-NT, the Porygon-Z who was the victim of this creature’s assault, here for an interview...”
The small, blue house fashioned after a Squirtle on the outskirts of Pokemon Square was packed, with 8 very special Pokemon. A Wartortle and a Meganium were the hosts for this particular meeting, as it was on their home turf, and were standing at the back of the house. A Sceptile and an Empoleon, the only two there that had saved the world twice over, and part of the few who actually deserved to be here, were standing off to the side, near a pool of water. On the other side of the room, on a small wooden platform next to the cyan wall, was the most obscure duo there, a Dewott and a Servine, whose meager escapades on the Mist Continent were not known by many. And near the entrance was the final pair, a Combusken and a Bayleef, the most recent heroes of the bunch, perhaps even the second greatest of the bunch, and the ones who had the idea to begin these gatherings to begin with.
“Everyone’s here. Let the meeting begin!” said the Wartortle, with a strained smile.
All was silent for a few moments, before the Bayleef spoke up. “Did that amnesiac Riolu lead to anything, Pahelia?” they asked the Empoleon, their signature hope in their voice.
The Sceptile shook his head, as the Empoleon, Pahelia, responded. “We really hoped another human had come, but they were just another imitator. They admitted it.”
A wave of disappointment flowed over the room.
“There has to be some kind of lead, right? Gen, did you find out if anyone had disappeared from the human world?” the Meganium asked, looking towards the unkempt Dewott.
“That’s still a work in progress. Nothing of the sort has happened in Hoenn or Sinnoh, but I haven’t checked the other regions yet,” Gen the Dewott told him, before pausing. “By the way, Acacia, was your nibling found yet?”
“...no. Saltriv’s still missing,” the Meganium, Acacia, solemnly responded.
The Servine immediately spoke up. “We’ll find them. It will happen, even if I have to look for them myself!”
Acacia smiled a bit at that. “Thank you, Vernir.”
Things were quiet once more, until the Combusken broke the silence. “We need to take action with this crisis on the Thunder Continent. We can’t just stand by and let all the Pokemon there suffer!”
Pahelia the Empoleon was the first to respond. “We’ve all been trying, Ayueg. Nobody knows what’s going on with the surge of disappearances, or those shadowy Pokemon. Me and Apoyime tried when we visited the Thunder Continent, and we found nothing.”
The amazing Sceptile beside Pahelia, Apoyime, nodded in agreement.
“What if I told you I knew what was causing this?” the Wartortle announced.
A chorus of gasps occurred, until Vernir’s voice rose up and ruined everything. “This isn’t another one of your jokes, Lidequir?”
The Wartortle, Lidequir, gave a sheepish grin. “You got me.”
“This is serious! Now’s not the time for jokes!” Acacia admonished his partner.
“Come on! I bet it would have been funny!” Leviene rightfully backed the Wartortle up. “Besides, we need to lighten up a bit!”
“Jokes aside, most of us have our own things to attend to. Mystery dungeons have been on the rise again recently, and we’ve been having to do the most rescues we’ve had to since the Dark Matter crisis,” Lidequir explained.
“Couldn’t Team A.C.T. take care of those? Or Team Blast, or any of the other rescue teams around here?” Ayueg the Combusken questioned.
“There’s been too many for even them to handle. And the Thunder Continent has its own organization for helping Pokemon. They’re not entirely helpless,” Acacia said.
CRASH!
The entire base shook, knocking some members of the group over as the sudden noise reached everyone.
“What was that?” Pahelia asked, quickly and heroically picking herself up.
“Sounds like it came from outside! Let’s go!” Gen proclaimed, before the entire group hurried out the exit.
Outside, there was a sizable crater next to the path to Pokemon Square. Chunks of dirt and rock were scattered everywhere. In the middle of the crater, was a wooden red mailbox, intact save for its post being jagged and half missing, as if it had been snapped off. Everyone soon crowded around it.
“That looks just like our old mailbox before our base was remodeled,” Acacia pointed out quizzically. “It almost looks like it fell from the sky!”
“Something’s inside!” Vernir, pointing with a vine to a white slip of paper in the mailbox’s opening.
Apoyime gracefully walked through the rubble, and pulled out the paper inside, before immediately frowning, a bead of sweat sliding down their head.
“Gen,” he said, speaking for the first time since the meeting started. “Your name is written here. In Johtonese.”
The Dewott rushed over, and looked at the paper. “Please write your name on this paper, then put it in the mailbox,” he read out loud. “Then my name’s written below that.”
“Did you write this?” Leviene asked, mouth agape.
“No. Even if I didn’t remember writing this, neither part is written in my handwriting or pawwriting,” Gen answered. “I don’t understand. Who wrote this, and why did they use my name?”
“Vernir, do you know anything about this?” Pahelia inquired to the Servine, who looked to be in either deep thought, or had forgotten how to think entirely.
“I have an idea,” the Servine began. “Like Acacia said, it’s almost as if this mailbox fell from the sky, but it looks to be mostly fine. Gen had fallen from the sky when I first met him, and was fine when he landed.”
“Are you suggesting this could mean another human has arrived?” Ayueg asked, eyes widening.
“Yes! Though I have no clue what that paper could mean, or why that mailbox might have been with them,” Vernir answered with a smile.
“YEAH!” Leviene cheered, sparkles in their eyes. “They’re finally here! I can’t wait to meet them!”
“Where are they, though?” Gen questioned. “Why wouldn’t they be here if this mailbox was with them?”
“Maybe they’re back inside the base, and we just missed them,” Lidequir suggested in a joking tone. As Acacia shot a look at the Wartortle, she continued. “In all seriousness, they might be on the Thunder Continent. The crisis is happening there, after all.”
“You have a point,” Ayueg began with confidence. “Most of us humans arrived on continents in crisis. The only exception is myself, and that was a worldwide crisis.”
A quiet “ding” could be heard from everyone’s bags. The group all fished out devices with a screen in the middle, and a connection orb at the top, save for the two newest members, who pulled out an expedition gadget. A news report was on the screen.
“Are you all seeing this?” Acacia asked everyone with a twinge of fear, as he and Lidequir looked at Teem Seedling’s Connection Device.
“The report of a half Arctoar, half Ruzolt creature terrorizing a village on the Thunder Continent?” Gen asked, as he and Vernir looked at their own Connection Device.
“C-could something like that really exist?” Pahelia wondered aloud, looking with Apoyime at their team’s Connection Device.
“It’s like one of those scary stories from back in school, but real!” Leviene mentioned, as they looked at their Expedition Gadget alongside Ayueg.
“Do you think this has anything to do with the shadowy Pokemon?” Vernir pondered.
“We won’t know until we find out more,” Ayueg pointed out.
“We’ll have to send someone to the Thunder Continent to deal with this, and to look for the human, if they really are there,” Lidequir announced. “Who’s open to volunteering?”
Several variations of “I’ll go!” were said by just about every member of the group, aside from the Wartortle, Dewott, and Sceptile. A bead of sweat slid down Lidequir’s head.
“We can’t all go,” she told everyone. “There’s rescues and other missions that still have to be done.”
“Why not just let the rest of our teams work on that while we investigate this? We’ll work faster as a group,” Vernir suggested. “Back when we went to the Great Glacier the first time, Emolga led the rest of our team on missions until we got back.”
Everything was silent for a few moments, until Lidequir broke it. “Oh. I never thought of that.”
The awkward silence resumed, as most of the Pokemon there stared at Lidequir.
“I guess the question I should have asked is if there’s anyone who doesn’t want to go.” Lidequir half-joked, before Gen spoke up.
“I’ll stay behind. I don’t feel right leaving everyone back home without telling them, and I still need to look around in the human world more for clues. We’re not entirely sure yet if the human has arrived yet, even with that mailbox. It could just be a coincidence,” Gen said. “Vernir, you can go without me.”
“We aren’t leaving right away, silly!” Leviene pointed out. “I’m sure we’d have plenty of time to go home and tell everyone what we’re doing.”
“They’re right. We won’t be leaving until tomorrow,” Acacia told him.
“I’ll go, then. I can look in the human world while I’m there. I’ve been wanting to see what the Thunder Continent was like, anyways,” Gen decided.
“So we’re all going?” Vernir asked, smiling.
A chorus of 7 agreements and nods were his response.
“That’s settled, then! We’re going to be leaving for the Thunder Continent tomorrow morning,” Lidequir told everyone. “We’ll all meet up at Moonlight Town, then decide what to do from there. Keep in touch with your Connection Devices. Any objections?”
Nobody else spoke a word.
“This meeting of the Council of World-Savers is adjourned, then. See you all tomorrow!” Lidequir announced with a wave.
Ayueg and Leviene were the first two to leave, heading towards Pokemon Plaza. Inside the former’s shadow, I followed them, thinking back over what had happened.
This was juicy. So they ALL were going to the Thunder Continent. It was a great decision to spy on this meeting.
Keep running. Don’t stop. Don’t let them find you. Don’t let them know what you have become.
I buffeted the Sigilyph with an Ancient Power, knocking it out of the sky. I ran past it, through the alleyway between two abandoned houses. Keep running.
I exited the alleyway-like corridor, coming to a clearing. A horde of dungeon mon dropped down, and yet I felt nothing but fear and anger as I threw a one-shot orb at the Thwackey in front of me.
Once the smoke cleared, I was the only survivor.
There was no time to waste, and I fled through a corridor. Still haven’t found the stairs. I plucked a pure seed from my bag and plopped it in my mouth. I ran up the stairs, yet I felt no sense of accomplishment.
Mossy Town 9F
I kept running, throwing a Foongus in my way into a wall. I didn’t bother to check which kind of dungeon mon it was. I had to keep running. I had to.
Or my clan will find me, and discover what I had become.
Down a corridor. I sent a Timburr flying. I kept running into the next room. A Carnivine stood in my path. An aura of shadow surrounded me, as I rushed it, sending it across the room. I ignored the recoil. Keep running.
I passed by a fresh apple. I felt no desire to sell it, so I ate it then and there as I ran.
I ignored the emera dust coating the ground of the corridor, as I entered the next room.
In there, in the middle of the room, was a gold ribbon. One of those could net us thousands of Poke if sold.
It served no use for me anymore. It would only take up space. I ignored it, and ran down another corridor.
I had to keep running. I couldn’t let my clan find me.
Why couldn’t I feel anything for them, my family? Why did I only feel this fear and sadness towards them? Why couldn’t I feel any sort of fondness for when I ran the Kecleon Shop with my brother? Why was it so uncomfortable to even think of returning to them?
Light shined onto my face, as I opened my eyes, the round orange room revealing itself to me. This didn’t look anything like-
Oh. Right.
I brought a furry, stubby arm in front of my face, and sighed.
It must not have been a dream after all.
I pushed the blanket off of me, and stood up, wobbling on my tiny legs. I was still in that Chikorita’s house. I think their name was Saltriv?
“You’re finally awake!” I heard a familiar voice yell, as a Chikorita with a red leaf ran into the room. That must have been them. I waved awkwardly at them.
“So what do you think of my home? Pretty cool place!” they said, a bright smile on their face.
“Uh, yeah. Pretty neat,” I told them, not sure what else to say.
Their smile lessened a bit, “So, what do you remember?”
I was about to ask what they meant, then I remembered. I had lied about having amnesia. I had to keep up that lie, or else nobody here would trust me.
“Just my name, and a few other things,” I lied.
“Like what?” they asked.
“Types, berries, stuff like that.”
“Oh,” they said, disappointment permeating their voice, before they perked right back up. “Come on! Let’s go!”
“Go where?” I asked, confused.
“Outside! I want to see what’s changed in the village, and mom won’t let me go outside without a companion now!”
I hesitated to agree. Would this be a good idea? I barely knew anyone here! What if they started asking me questions? Then again, I could learn more about this village, and maybe even why I’m here.
After a few moments, I said, “Sure,” to Saltriv’s cheers.
“This way!” they told me, running through the doorway. I stumbled after them, coming to the room with the table and radio. The Meganium and Torterra were in there, discussing something, but before I could find out what, the latter noticed us enter.
“Going outside?” the Torterra asked us, to which Saltriv nodded in response.
“Stay safe, stay with each other, and don’t stray outside the village!” the Meganium told us.
“We will!” Saltriv said, as we exited the house.
Overcast Village
The place was somehow still covered in fog. That was odd, but not the weirdest thing I’ve seen here.
I didn’t have much time to ponder that, as Saltriv ran down the road. I ran after them. As we ran, we passed by a Tyrogue, as well as a Pokemon I didn’t recognize that looked like a cracked teapot. I managed to hear a bit of what they were talking about.
“Did you hear about that monster that attacked PNS-NT?” the teapot Pokemon asked the Tyrogue. A monster!?
“Of course! It was all over the news!” the Tyrogue replied.
“Can you believe it? A creature that’s half Arctoar, half Ruzolt…”
“And attacking that Porygon-Z like a wild dungeon mon!”
“Greetings! I haven’t seen you around town before! Are you new here?” the teapot Pokemon said, turning towards me.
“I am,” I answered. In more ways than one.
“Be careful around here. Lots of Pokemon have been going missing lately,” the Tyrogue said.
“Noted,” I replied.
“Gen! Hurry up!” Saltriv yelled from down the road.
“Sorry!” I yelled back, as I ran towards them, giving the two Pokemon I was talking to a small wave.
Soon, I caught back up to Saltriv. “What took you so long?” they asked.
“I was talking to those two Pokemon back there,” I explained motioning to their figures disappearing into the fog.
“Oh, Tyrogue and Polteageist! They run the cafe in the Tree Plaza!” Saltriv said.
“Tree Plaza?” I questioned.
“There’s three town plazas in Overcast Village! The Top Plaza, which is the highest one, and where the road out of the village is. The Tree Plaza, which is centered around one big tree. And the Riverside Plaza, which is where we’re going!” they explained.
Why were there three plazas?
Soon, the sound of a flowing river reached my ears, as we entered a wide, circular area.
“Here we are!” Saltriv announced.
The place was just as large as the plaza at the entrance to the village. The first thing I noticed was a tent of vibrant reds and blues and pale yellows and blacks, reminiscent of the Porygon-Z I met yesterday. Was that where they lived? It didn’t seem to be, it looked too small to live in. Beside it was a large, hollowed out tree stump with a sign above the entrance, depicting various scarves, capes, and other apparel. On the opposite side of the plaza was a large, dome-shaped building covered with the markings of the Togepi line. Next to it was another tent fashioned after the head of a Sirfetch’d, one of which was inside the tent, wielding their leek as they talked to a Leafeon. Beyond the far side of the plaza, I could see a river running through the forest, almost touching the plaza itself. That must be why it’s called the Riverside Plaza. Next to the river, there was a blue, black and yellow building with an intricate yellow design of some sort above the entrance, and a large blue dome topping it.
“I see Grapploct finally got her dojo running again!” Saltriv said, looking towards that last building.
I didn’t get a chance to ask what they meant, as a familiar Charmander emerged from the entrance to the Togepi-like structure. Saltriv immediately ran towards him with a cry of, “Burhalla!” I hurried after them.
“Saltriv!” Burhalla yelled in delight. “Just who I was looking for!”
“Huh?” Saltriv responded.
“Has everything been ok since yesterday? Since, you know…” Burhalla asked.
“Everything’s been great! Dad was really happy to see me, and Gen’s staying with us for now!” Saltriv answered.
Burhalla smiled in return. “Great! Anyways, I was wondering if-” he began, before noticing me. “Hi Gen! Sorry I couldn’t bring you to the mayor yesterday. We can do that now if you want.”
“It’s...I can wait,” I told him. I wasn’t looking forward to what that conversation would entail.
He gave me a confused look, before nodding and turning back to Saltriv. “Anyways, Saltriv, I was wondering if you’d like to form a search party with me?”
Saltriv’s eyes widened, “Really? Why?”
“So many Pokemon have been going missing lately, and not enough are being found. I want to help. I’ve already helped find you and Patrat, but I want to do more,” Burhalla said. “I want to be like the exploration team that helped me.”
A few moments passed, until Saltriv announced, “I’ll join!”
Burhalla smiled brightly, and said, “Saltriv, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!”
Saltriv smiled in return, before tilting their head to the side. “Don’t you need three members to start a search party? Who’s our third member?” They asked.
“I was going to ask Aron and Rockruff if they’d like to join, too. If they don’t…I’ll think of something,” Burhalla explained.
A search party? I wondered what that entailed. From the looks of it, they’d be looking for Pokemon that had gone missing. How often would that happen? I probably wouldn’t be able to see them very much. What would I do then? I would be without my guides to this world. I’d be alone.
I didn’t want to be alone.
“Let’s ask them now!” Saltriv suggested, beginning to walk away.
“WAIT!” I yelled reflexively. Both of them stared at me.
I had just yelled that on reflex, but now I had their attention. Maybe I could convince them not to do this? No, Burhalla seemed really adamant about doing this, and that might turn him against me.
Maybe...
“Could I join?” I asked the two, hoping that I wasn’t making a mistake.
Both of them seemed taken aback.
“You’re serious? You don’t even know any moves!” Burhalla said. “You couldn’t do a thing to that Pikipek!”
Right. I still had no idea how to do moves. That could be an issue. But I had to try to convince them, or I’d be lost in this world.
“I can learn them!” I replied.
Neither of them spoke a word.
“Please? I...I don’t want to be alone,” I pleaded.
A few moments passed, then Burhalla spoke up.
“Are you willing to work out in the Grapploct Dojo and learn moves there?” he questioned.
I barely had any idea what that entailed, though I didn’t have much of a choice. I nodded.
“Are you willing to head into danger with us?” he asked.
I hesitated. How dangerous was this going to be? What if I died out there? Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
No. I couldn’t back down now.
Besides, Burhalla and Saltriv would hopefully have my back.
I nodded.
Burhalla smiled. “You can join,” he answered.
I was filled with joy. I managed to convince them!
Hopefully this wouldn’t be too dangerous.
“Welcome to the team!” Saltriv cheered.
“On that note, what should our team be named?” Burhalla asked.
So we needed a name for our group? Hm...
“How about Team Adventure?” I suggested.
“Too boring,” Burhalla replied. “I say we go with Team Light.”
Drat. “Doesn’t that sound a bit pretentious?” I critiqued. “Team Search, maybe?”
“That’d get confusing quickly,” Burhalla told me. “What if we combine them? Team Adventure Light Search!”
I was about to shut that idea down, before Saltriv spoke up. “That might work!” Quietly, they muttered, “Team Adventure Light, Team Light Search, Team Search Light…,” before suggesting, “Team Searchlights!”
“I like it!” Burhalla said. “What do you think, Gen?”
That actually sounded pretty good. Even better than Team Adventure! And it even combined me and Burhalla’s ideas!
“Sounds great!” I told them. A wide smile appeared on Saltriv’s face.
“Hooray!” they cheered.
“From now on, we’re Team Searchlights!” Burhalla declared. “I’ll mail in everything and tell my dad. We should be registered before midday. Meet me in the Top Plaza by then, and we’ll decide what to do from there. Sounds good?”
Saltriv nodded, as did I.
“Great!” Burhalla said, before walking away. “I’ll see you then!”
“Come on! I need to tell mom and dad!” Saltriv spoke, and we ran back the way we came.
I didn’t truly know what this would entail, but at least I wouldn’t be alone.
“No! Not like that! Calm yourself, then unleash the move!” Grapploct yelled, as I took another hit to the face. I had not been expecting this to be so harsh.
I tried again to form a Water Gun. Calm myself. Feel the breeze, listen to the rushing water nearby. Attune myself with nature. Then attack with its full force.
Nothing happened.
This was my 17th try, and still nothing.
I slapped myself with my glowing right arm in frustration, grimacing at the pain. Why couldn’t I pull off just one move?! Why did I have to do all this just to not be alone?!
Wait a minute.
Glowing?
I pulled my right arm back, and looked at it. It was glowing darkly, as if it had been shrouded in darkness.
What was that?
“It’s not the move we were trying for, but congrats for pulling off Assurance!” Grapploct announced, giving me a strong pat on the back. I nearly fell over from the force of it.
Assurance? Wasn’t that a dark-type move? I didn’t know Oshawotts could learn that. Then again, I didn’t know a lot about Unova to begin with.
“Now, how about we try again for the move you’re actually trying to learn?” Grapploct said, rearing up for another hit. “Come on! Hit me with everything you got!”
A tentacle collided with my head, and I flinched, before another one smacked my ear. Their training was brutal.
How did I pull off Assurance, anyways? I was frustrated at how I couldn’t learn Water Gun, and then…
My right arm darkened again. So it’s caused by frustration! Now I have at least one move I can rely on.
I should test it out, though.
As another tentacle was thrust at me, I thrust my darkened arm at a small cut on Grapploct, knocking them back a bit.
“Excellent! That actually hurt! You seem to know how to use Assurance to its fullest effect,” they congratulated, before an angry shout was heard from outside.
“Sorry, looks like our session has to end. Tyrogue’s waiting for his sparring match with me. Come see me tomorrow, and we can work more on Water Gun,” Grapploct told me.
“Thanks!” I yelled, as I ran out of the dojo. I didn’t learn how the move I wanted to learn, but at least I learned how to use Assurance.
Hopefully that would be enough for today.
Overcast Village
I ran into the fog of the village, and past the Tyrogue from yesterday. Saltriv was waiting for me at their house. I hurried down the road their house was on.
Soon, I came to the familiar leaf-tipped house, and saw Saltriv waiting in the entrance. I walked up to them.
“How’d it go?” they asked, tail wagging rapidly in excitement. “Did you manage to learn any moves at the dojo?”
“I didn’t learn Water Gun, but I learned something else!” I told them. I concentrated on the frustration I felt at not learning Water Gun, and my right arm darkened. “Assurance!”
“Hooray!” they cheered. “Now we’re ready to go!”
The darkness in my arm faded, and I smiled. It was nice to see them happy, even if I’ve only known them for about a day.
Saltriv turned around, and shouted, “Bye mom! Bye dad! I’m going on an adventure with Burhalla and Gen!”
A faint “Have fun! Stay safe!” from Meganium was heard, and we left the area.
We ran uphill, through the fog, towards the Top Plaza. Once we got there, in the middle, I saw a familiar Charmander wearing a pink scarf and bracelet.
Oddly, the purple gemstone in his bracelet seemed to be missing. I decided not to question that.
As we ran up to him, he smiled. “Almost everything’s ready! I checked in with my father, gathered the items we’ll need, and decided who we’re searching for!” Burhalla announced, before his smile disappeared. “There’s just one problem.”
“What is it?” I asked, hoping the answer wasn’t anything along the lines of me being unable to officially join.
“We haven’t gotten approved by SaRO yet,” he explained. “Our certificate, badges, and synchronised bags haven’t arrived yet.”
Was SaRO the one who approved all these search parties? Well, that wasn’t too big of an issue, I think. I didn’t quite know what the synchronised bags would do, but least we didn’t get denied.
Yet.
“Why don’t we go anyways?” Saltriv suggested, to my surprise.
“What do you mean?” Burhalla asked, eyes widening.
“There’s nothing stopping us, is there? You already checked in with your father, I already told my parents, Gen learned a move, we can go!” they answered.
A few seconds passed. Burhalla’s smile returned. “You have a point,” he said. “I’ll triple check to make sure our items are enough, then we’ll begin our search!
“Wait, who are we looking for?” I asked.
“We’re looking for Flapple!” Burhalla told me, pulling a paper out of his bag, that depicted a Pokemon I vaguely recalled seeing before. “He was last spotted near Blistering Shore, so we’re looking there first.”
The Pokemon looked like it had carved out an apple, and used parts of it as wings. I think I saw one of those during one of the Galar gym battles.
I looked back at Burhalla, and saw him digging through his bag.
“Let’s see...five oran berries, an apple for each of us, two max ethers, two elixirs, a rawst berry, an escape orb, a slumber wand, and a tiny reviver seed! Everything’s here!” Burhalla exclaimed, as he closed his bag. I didn’t know what some of those things were, but I could ask about that later.
“Let’s go! Gen, follow me!” Burhalla announced, and with a cheer from Saltriv, the three of us ran down the path out of the village.
Blistering Shore Outskirts
It wasn’t too long before we arrived at the entrance. We had entered a small cave to get there, and the entrance was right at the other exit of the cave.
The entrance was completely shrouded in darkness. I couldn’t see anything beyond it. I had no idea what this dungeon was going to be like, other than what I could gather from its name, Blistering Shore. Going by that, it’d probably be a beach of some kind, or maybe a cliff by the shore.
As for what we’d encounter in there, other than hopefully Flapple, I had no idea.
“Are you both ready?” Burhalla asked, facing the two of us.
“I am!” Saltriv announced with a smile.
“Yeah!” I confirmed, though I wasn’t sure if I truly was.
“Then let’s go!” Burhalla declared, and we all ran into the dungeon.
Blistering Shore 1F
The moment we entered the dungeon, I was confronted with a strange sight.
The sand was black, not the light tan I was used to. I’d never seen anything quite like it before. Steep dunes of it surrounded the area on three sides, with a few corridors that ran deep. Those dunes must be the walls of this dungeon.
On the fourth side, the ocean crashed loudly into the beach, waves lapping against the dark shore. I could smell the ocean breeze blowing past me. A Lapras swam across the sea far in the distance.
The sun shone down brightly on it all. It was causing me to start to feel a bit weak. Don’t water-types not do very great under bright sunlight? This could be an issue. At least Burhalla could back me up in this heat.
Speaking of heat, the sand was very hot. I walked in place to keep my feet from burning, though it was awkward to do so with how short my new legs were. The others didn’t seem to be bothered much by the heat, though.
In the middle of the room was a small, green gemstone, similar to the purple one Burhalla had in his bracelet back in Twig Woodland. He ran over to it, and quickly slotted it into his bracelet.
“Whew! Almost shattered before I got it,” Burhalla stated. “Not a barrage emera, but still great!”
“What’s an emera, and why would it have shattered?” I asked. Seems I still had more to learn about Mystery Dungeons.
“Emeras are items only found within Mystery Dungeons. They have special effects if you insert them into a looplet, like this one,” Burhalla explained, as he motioned to his bracelet. “They shatter if they aren’t picked up quickly enough, or if they are taken out of a Mystery Dungeon. This one’s a big recovery emera. It makes stuff that heals you work better. Barrage emeras are purple, and are the best ones. They let you do two moves in a row!”
That explains what happened to the purple gemstone Burhalla had, and how he was able to do two Embers that quickly back in Twig Woodland.
Looking around the room, I spotted an oran berry half-buried in the sand near the ocean, and next to it, a strange, striped seed that spiraled in on itself. I went over to pick them up, stepping lightly over the scorching sands, and stared quizzically at the seed. “What’s this?” I asked.
“That’s a totter seed!” Saltriv exclaimed. “If you eat it, it makes you confused.”
That must be useless, then. I picked up the oran berry, and was about to give it to Burhalla, until Saltriv spoke back up.
“Why are you leaving the totter seed behind?” they asked.
“Isn’t it useless?” I questioned. “Why would you want something that makes you confused?”
“They’re good for hostile dungeon mon! Throw one at them, and they’ll never hit you!”
Why would the dungeon mons eat them, though? Maybe it’s best not to question it. Either way, this thing had a use to it now. I stepped back, and picked up the totter seed with my other arm, before walking over to Burhalla, and with a “Here,” gave both items to him.
“Thanks for picking those up for me. I’d rather not get too close to the ocean,” he responded, as he tossed the items in his bag.
“Let’s go on,” he said, as he proceeded down one of the corridors. Saltriv followed behind, as did I.
It wasn’t long until we reached the next room. I could see the stairs a bit off to the left. Next to the shore, three Tirtougas laid, one of which was looking right at us. I braced myself for its attack, yet nothing came.
“Aren’t they going to attack?” I asked my teammates.
“Those are Dociles,” Burhalla explained. “They’re a type of dungeon mon that don’t attack if you leave them alone. Hostiles are the kind you have to watch out for.”
So there were multiple types of dungeon Pokemon? How many types were there?
Before I could ask further, Burhalla began to disappear up the stairs with a “Come on!” Me and Saltriv quickly hurried after him.
Blistering Shore 2F
As we entered the next floor, I was greeted once more with the sound of waves crashing against the black beach. I felt water rush past my feet as one particularly large wave hit the shore. The Lapras still swam across the sea, now farther along. How were we still at sea level, even though we just went up a level?
Before I could question that, my attention was taken up by something else.
In the middle of the room stood a strange Krokorok, looking towards the shore. There were several scratches across its lower body. An odd lump protruded from the top of its head. A few of its teeth were missing, and those that weren’t were covered in...was that blood?!
This Krokorok looked seriously injured. What had happened to it? Where did that blood come from?
As I took a step towards it, it tensed up, before turning in my direction. “Crooh-ook! CROOOHK!” It cried, before it lunged at me, and before I knew it, its jaws were around my neck in a Bite. I screamed in pain as what few teeth it had left began to sink in. Was it going to break my neck?!
“GEN!” my teammates cried. I could barely hear them over my own thoughts.
I was going to die here. This would be it. My family and friends would never know what happened to me. I’d never see them again.
...No.
I wasn’t dying here. I’d see them again. I’d make it out of here, and I’d make this Krokorok pay!
My right arm glowed with a dark aura. I thrust it down at the lump on the Krokorok’s head. It cried in pain, loosening its hold on my neck just in time. A few seconds later, its maw would have ended my life.
A Razor Leaf knocked the Krokorok away from me, fully freeing me from its grasp. I shuddered as an Ember collided with the Krokorok. That was close.
“CROOOOHK!” I heard it cry, as it fainted into the black sand. The darkness shrouding my right arm dissipated, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I didn’t want to know where that blood had come from.
“Gen!” Saltriv yelled, as they rushed towards me, Burhalla following. “That looked really bad!”
Burhalla dug into his bag, and grabbed an oran berry, before tossing it to me. I swiftly ate it, feeling the teeth marks around my neck healing.
“I’ve never seen a dungeon mon that aggressive!” Burhalla exclaimed. “Are you ok?”
I thought about it. In truth, I wasn’t. I almost died.
I could ask them to take me out of the dungeon. I could leave the team, and stay in the village. I could never have to deal with something like that again.
But then I’d be all alone again. And besides, even if I hadn’t done that Assurance, Saltriv’s Razor Leaf would probably knock the Krokorok away in time. Burhalla and Saltriv had my back.
I’ll stay with them, then. Hopefully nothing worse than this would happen.
“Yeah,” I lied.
“Are you sure?” he asked with concern. “That Bite looked like it could have really hurt.” He paused. “Please, be honest with me.”
Before I could get a chance to answer, Saltriv’s voice rose up.
“Look! Another Escape Orb!” they announced, holding with their vines a black orb with a bright light shining inside.
Burhalla looked over towards them, then back toward me. “We have another Escape Orb now. You could go back,” he said.
“I’m fine,” I told him. I felt awful for doing so after he asked me to be honest, but it wasn’t like I had a choice, unless I wanted to be alone.
“If you say so,” he said, before turning towards a corridor away from the fallen Krokorok. “Let’s go.”
The three of us headed down the corridor together. Once we entered the next room, I noticed three things that stood out.
The first was the stairs, near the ocean. The second was a seed that resembled a burning fire, on the opposite side of the room. The third was a red hood, laying in the dark sand. At the base were several frills going out, a pale pink stripe on them, and a similar stripe ran across the top of the hood. I walked over to them, before pausing. I picked up the hood, and slid it over my head. I smiled. It felt nice to wear something again.
“Great! You’ve found a Reunion Cape!” Saltriv exclaimed, as they picked up the seed with a vine. “Do you know what that is?”
I shook my head with a “Nope.” I didn’t really care what it was, it was just nice to wear something again, but it couldn’t hurt to find out.
“They’re really useful! They can reunite you with someone, no matter the distance!” Saltriv explained, as they handed the seed to Burhalla.
“Really?!” I asked, smiling widely. This seemed almost too good to be true. Reuniting no matter the distance? Could I go back to my family with this thing?
“Yep! You just need to tap the front of it while touching them, and then every time you tap the front afterwards, you’ll teleport to them!” Saltriv told me, as Burhalla put the seed in the bag.
I couldn’t go home with it, then. My smile faded a bit. That was disappointing. Still, it seemed pretty nice, and useful. It would be amazing to have this back home, but it could also prevent me from getting left behind while I’m here. “Can you change who you teleport to?” I asked.
“Just tap the front while touching a different person!” they answered.
Good. So if I choose a person now, I could still use it back home.
Actually, would I even be able to have it? Burhalla’s the one keeping the items after all.
“Can I keep this?” I asked, internally pleading that the answer would be yes.
“For sure!” Burhalla told me, prompting my smile to return. “You found it, after all. It’s yours to keep!”
“Thank you!” I responded. Now, I didn’t have to worry about being left behind so much anymore!
Now, who to choose for now?
Burhalla was the team leader, but Saltriv was the one who I shared a home with for now. It would be great if I could go with both, but I could only choose one at a time.
My thoughts were interrupted as Burhalla declared, “Let’s go!”
I could decide later. For now, we had to find Flapple.
The three of us headed up the stairs together.
Blistering Shore 3F
The moment we emerged onto the next floor, the first thing I saw was a bright beam of red light, going from the ground right in front of me into the sky. What was that? Was this another thing that was in Mystery Dungeons?
“Gen, look out behind you!” I heard Saltriv exclaim. Turning around, I saw a Sandygast coming towards me. I started to back away, readying an Assurance, but the Sandygast Astonished me, causing me to flinch, and fall into the beam of red light.
Suddenly, the world shrunk around me. It was like I suddenly surged in size! I saw three red clouds swirling around my head. Did...did I just Dynamax, like in those battles in Galar?!
Everything was so small! Saltriv, Burhalla, the walls, the room, the Sandygast, it was all so tiny! I felt so much power within me! It was like I could do anything!
Wait...could I?
I gleefully willed for a surge of water to wash away the Sandygast, and an absolutely massive geyser shot out from me, completely submerging it.
YES! I did it! Hahahahahahaha!
I didn’t take any mind to a familiar voice yelping as I did that move again, the clouds around me starting to dissipate, rain beginning to fall, or a fleeing Growlithe as I completely drenched the entire area. None of that mattered. What mattered was just how much fun this was!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
As the last cloud around me disappeared, I felt the power leave my body, as the world grew back to its original size. That was exhilarating! I finally pulled off a water-type move!
Actually...what even happened back there?
“BURHALLA!” I heard Saltriv yell, and looked towards them to see what was happening.
Oh.
What have I done?!
Burhalla had collapsed, and his tail flame had shrunk to mere embers. Saltriv hurried over to him, a terrified look on their face. I stared in horror. Didn’t Charmanders die if their flame ever went out?
I did that. That was my doing.
I guiltily watched as Saltriv dug an oran berry out of their bag, and gave it to Burhalla, who quickly ate it, and his tail flame grew back to a healthy size. I turned away, not able to look them in the eyes after that.
“Gen...what happened?” I heard him ask.
I had an inkling of an idea what happened, being Dynamax, but not the why, how, or any of those other questions.
“I don’t know,” I guiltily told half the truth, turning back towards Burhalla. I noticed that Saltriv was sheltering his tail from the rain with their leaf.
A moment of silence passed, before Burhalla spoke up.
“You almost killed me! My tail nearly went out!” he shouted as his face contorted in anger. “What were you thinking?!”
“I-I don’t know!” I stammered, telling the truth for once. “I fell into that red light, and I don’t know what got into me there! I shouldn’t have joined the team! I’m sorry!”
Seconds passed. I felt something slide off my face and fall to the ground. I couldn’t tell if it was tears or the rain. Burhalla’s expression started to soften.
“Are...are you crying?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered, looking away. Another drop fell into the sand, blending in with the rain.
I heard footsteps approaching. I braced for the worst. I deserved this, after all the lies I’ve told.
I felt two scaly arms wrap around me, as Burhalla turned me to face him. Was...was he giving me a hug?
“It’s...it’s ok,” he said, sympathy in his eyes. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I’m sorry.”
Why was he apologizing? This was my fault! I was the one who made the mistake here.
“None of us knew what happened there. You’re just as confused as we both were. Maybe even more than us. And I lashed out at you despite that,” he continued. “I should have known better. I shouldn’t have been like my father.”
“Really?” I asked, barely able to believe what I was hearing. “You aren’t mad at me?”
“Not anymore. I understand,” he answered. “Tell me, do you have anxiety? Do you remember what that is?”
Do I tell him the truth? Do I risk this?
I should be honest at least about this, especially after Burhalla’s forgiving me for nearly killing him.
I nodded.
“My sister, Valorch, has anxiety too,” he explained. “I heard it’s...difficult to handle some situations with it.”
No kidding. I fiddled with my Reunion Cape a bit, accidentally bumping my left arm against the front in the process.
“If you want, I can try and get you an appointment with the village therapist. They’ve been pretty busy lately with all the disappearances, but I’m sure they can help,” he suggested.
“And if that doesn’t work out, I can try to help!” Saltriv offered.
Really? All this, for me? I barely knew them for a day!
Still, it was...nice to have people that cared about me, even in this unfamiliar world.
“Thank you,” I told them both, finally smiling again. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to tell them the truth.
“It’s no problem. We’re a team now, and that’s not changing,” Burhalla said with a smile, before letting go of me, and taking a step back. “Anyways, if we see any more beams of red light like that one, we should try to stay away from them,” he suggested. “Let’s continue, and find Flapple!”
We pressed onwards down a corridor, as the rainfall stopped. I felt a little better about myself.
It wasn’t long until we found the stairway to the next floor. We didn’t have any more battles on that floor after what Gen had done.
What exactly did he do, anyways? He fell into that red light, then suddenly he grew really big, and started using water moves I’ve never seen before, nearly extinguishing Burhalla’s tail! Good thing that didn’t happen!
As we navigated the next floor, Burhalla had found a clutch performer emera and put it in his looplet. When can I get a looplet and get to use emeras? I should ask mom for one once we’re home.
Going down a short corridor, we entered the next room. As soon as we entered the room, I could see the stairs, but I was knocked to the side by a Vulpix’s Quick Attack, and a Kingler and Salandit rushed towards Gen and Burhalla. “Watch out!” I yelled to the others.
The Kingler shot a Bubblebeam at Burhalla, connecting with his tail and he stumbled as his flame flickered. Not again! I attacked it with a Razor Leaf, but the Kingler shrugged it off as it Stomped Gen into the sand, and the Salandit spat a cloud of purple gas at him. This wasn’t good! They were overwhelming us!
I ran towards them, but before I could reach them, the Salandit bit into Burhalla’s tail. He collapsed into the sand beside Gen.
No! We needed to get through this! We needed to find Flapple! We couldn’t lose here after making it halfway through the dungeon! I needed to do something! I needed to! But I can’t take them all at once!
The Kingler Stomped Burhalla. I heard something crack.
No! This couldn’t be happening! No no no no no!
NO!
I barely noticed as a shadowy aura surrounded me, or as shadowy tendrils shot out of me towards the sky. I only noticed as they came falling back down towards us, at the dungeon mon, at myself, and even my teammates.
I yelped in pain as they cut through me, but I was more concerned for Burhalla and Gen. They were already pretty injured. I looked towards them, and was relieved to see only a few of the tendrils hitting them. The shadowy aura around me disappeared, as did the tendrils.
What did I just do?
I glanced at the dungeon mons. They were covered in injuries that shadows leaked out of. Did I do that?
“Here!” Burhalla yelled, returning me to my senses. I looked towards him, and saw him and Gen scarfing down an oran berry. A third was being tossed my way. I grabbed it with a vine and quickly munched down on it, before tossing another Razor Leaf at the Kingler. Gen ran by, and delivered an Assurance to it at the same time my attack hit. Together, we caused the Kingler to faint. One down!
I saw Burhalla running towards the Vulpix, and hurried after it as well, and together, we delivered an Ancient Power and Bite combo, causing it to faint, too! Two down!
We all turned towards the Salandit, which began to charge towards me. I hurled a Razor Leaf at it, Burhalla fired an Ember, and Gen hit it with an Assurance. It staggered, then collapsed into the sand.
“We...we did it!” I cheered, smiling, before turning to Burhalla. “Do you know what that move I did was?”
“Saltriv...that was a shadow move!” Burhalla exclaimed, eyes wide. “Shadow Half! How did you pull that off?”
A shadow move? Like those shadowy Pokemon? But couldn’t only shadowy Pokemon do those? “I’m not sure. I was overwhelmed by both you and Gen collapsing, then it happened,” I explained.
“Hold on, what’s a shadow move?” Gen asked.
“They’re moves shadowy Pokemon can do,” Burhalla explained. “We can talk more about this once we get to the next floor. Come on.”
First there was that weirdly aggressive Krokorok, then there was that thing with Gen turning giant, then Saltriv pulled off Shadow Half.
Saltriv couldn’t be a shadowy Pokemon. They acted nothing like what I heard shadowy Pokemon acted like.
Yet, they pulled off a shadow move. It didn’t make any sense.
Maybe...they used to be one, then were purified?
That would explain why they didn’t remember anything about their disappearance.
Gen had been near them when they woke up. Did Gen have something to do with their purification? Had Gen been a shadowy Pokemon, too, and that’s why he didn’t remember anything?
No, then Gen would have to have been a shadowy Pokemon almost since birth, and they only started appearing recently.
Back to Saltriv, where would they have been purified? Wouldn’t the news of them being found and purified have reached Overcast Village? And why would they be purified, and then just dumped in Twig Woodland? Unless they were purified there? Who would have done it, then? None of the Pokemon who could had been in there, as far as I know, and I don’t think they would just leave Saltriv in there. Did Gen somehow manage to purify them, and that cost him his memory? Was Gen secretly a legendary or mythical Pokemon, like Leviene was? Then why didn’t he even remember how to use moves? Was he secretly a human? Then how did Saltriv get purified, and why would he lie about that?
This made no sense.
As we entered the fifth floor, we came to a room with a blue emera in front of me. A power boost y. I inserted it into my looplet, staying away from the ocean crashing against the right side of the room. Once it was in there, I turned towards Saltriv and Gen. It was time for me to explain this.
“Shadow moves are moves that only shadowy Pokemon know. They are super-effective on all other types,” I began.
“All other types?” Gen asked, eyes wide. “All 17 of them?!”
“Yes, all of them. Shadow moves are dangerous to everyone,” I confirmed. “Anyways, nobody’s ever heard of a non-shadowy Pokemon using them.”
“How did I use Shadow Half, then?” Saltriv asked. “I’m definitely not a shadowy Pokemon!”
I wasn’t entirely sure how, but I had an idea. “Saltriv...I think you used to be a shadowy Pokemon, and were purified,” I said.
“W-what?! But I don’t remember being a shadowy Pokemon!” Saltriv protested.
“None of them do,” I told them. “I’m not certain on this, but it’s the only thing that makes some sense.”
“But...but...but...” Saltriv stammered.
“Saltriv, even if you were a shadowy Pokemon, that’s over now. You’re ok now, and that’s all that matters.” I tried to comfort them. “I might even be wrong, and you were never a shadowy Pokemon at all.”
“T-thanks, Burhalla,” Saltriv responded after a few moments, calming down a bit. “How did I end up in Twig Woodland, though?”
“I’m not actually sure,” I admitted. “I think Gen might have something to do with it, since you both woke up there together, but I have no idea how.”
“Me?” Gen asked, as his eyes widened. “How would I get them there?”
“Like I said, I don’t know, but since you both woke up there together, it’s a possibility. Maybe that has something to do with how you lost your memory,” I answered.
A few moments passed, then Gen responded. “I guess that makes sense.”
“Great. Everyone ready to go?” I asked my teammates.
“Yeah,” Gen said. Saltriv nodded.
I smiled. “Let’s go, then!”
I started heading down a corridor. Gen followed, then Saltriv did a few moments later.
Together, we pressed on, into the depths of the dungeon.
I stayed in the back of the group, maintaining a forced smile. As soon as Gen and Burhalla looked away, it disappeared.
No. No no no no no.
I couldn’t have been a shadowy Pokemon. I couldn’t have. I couldn’t have.
But what if Burhalla was right? What if I was?
What if I hurt them? What if I hurt Gen or Burhalla or Leon or mom or dad?
I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t.
I saw shadowy wisps began to form around me. No no no no no.
Keep calm. Calm down. Stop panicking. Maybe then they’ll disappear.
Deep breaths, in and out. Feel the sunshine with my leaf. Let it energize and restore me, physically and mentally.
The shadowy wisps disappeared. Gen and Burhalla didn’t notice.
Keep calm, at least for now. Don’t let them figure out what’s going on. Don’t cause them to worry over you.
We emerged into a new room. I could see the stairs. We were almost out of here. We’d find Flapple soon, and then we can go home.
Then...we purify Flapple, if he’s gone shadowy. Like I was apparently purified, from being a shadowy Pokemon.
No. Stop thinking about that. Focus on the dungeon. Focus on your friends.
My vision cleared.
Gen and Burhalla were crowded around something near the ocean. I heard them talking about something. I headed over to them.
There was a leaf-green gummi in the sand. A grass gummi!
“So these are really delicious to grass-types?” Gen asked Burhalla.
“Yes! There’s gummis for all types of Pokemon. There’s also mysterious, rainbow, and DX gummis, which are delicious for all types!” Burhalla answered. “Rainbow and DX ones can even give you Rare Qualities!”
“And what are those?”
“They’re like emera effects, but even work outside of dungeons, and affect everyone you’re connected with. Some people call them Team Skills. I’ll explain more once we find Flapple.”
Burhalla turned around. “Saltriv! You can have this one.”
I smiled, genuinely. Yes! Even if it wasn’t a DX gummi, this was still great! I hurried over, and chowed down on the grass gummi. Mmmm, so good!
Once I finished eating it, I looked back up, and saw Burhalla approaching the stairs.
“The next floor’s the last one. Let’s find Flapple, and finish this,” he said. Me and Gen followed him.
We climbed up the stairs, and entered the end of the dungeon.
We emerged onto the final floor. We were on a flat, triangular stretch of black sand, bordered by the ocean on all sides but the one behind us. The dunes had completely disappeared. In front of us, there was a flying apple-like Pokemon, staring out into the ocean, looking like the picture on the paper Burhalla showed me. That must be Flapple.
“There you are!” Saltriv exclaimed. “We’ve been looking for you!”
Flapple turned around, and I realized something was off. His eyes were filled with a crimson red, and their green skin was stained a faint purple. A faint aura of shadow filled the inside of their apple shell. Was this what a shadowy Pokemon was?
“Stay away from me!” he shouted at us. “Don’t come any closer!”
“We can help you!” Burhalla pleaded. “You can be purified!”
“No!” Flapple shouted back. “You’ll just make things worse! Get away before I hurt you! I don’t want to hurt anyone else!”
A tear dripped down from one of his bloodshot eyes.
I tried to think of something to say. I had to help somehow, right? But what could I say to help when I didn’t even know what being a shadowy Pokemon meant?
Maybe I could back up my teammates’ pleas.
“Please!” I spoke. “We want to help! Just come with us!”
“I can’t!” Flapple yelled. “You could die! I don’t want that!”
That didn’t work, then.
“Everyone in the village misses you!” Burhalla tried. “PNS-NT hasn’t been the same since you disappeared!”
Flapple’s movements slowed. Did Burhalla get through to him?
“PNS-NT...I…I...” Flapple started, before the aura of shadow around him flared up. His reddened eyes widened.
“No! No no no no no! NO!” he shouted, before the shadowy aura completely consumed him. “RUN!”
I started to back away. What just happened to Flapple?!
The shadowy aura receded enough for Flapple to become visible again, and I gasped once I saw what happened to him.
The colors on most of his body had changed completely. The interior of the apple shell had turned a dark gray, and the exterior had become maroon. His green skin had become a withered brown, and his pupils had completely disappeared.
What the hell did that shadowy aura do to him?!
“He’s in Hyper Mode!” Burhalla explained. “He won’t be able to listen to anything we say! We can still purify him, we just have to knock him out and bring him there ourselves!”
We were going to have to fight Flapple?! Would we really be able to defeat him? Would he really be ok if we did?
Before I could say anything, Flapple began flying towards us.
“Here he comes!” Saltriv shouted.
Immediately, he turned towards Saltriv, and fired a Dragon Breath at them. They couldn’t get out of the way in time, and were hit dead-on. “Saltriv!” I yelled.
Darkness enveloped my right arm, fueled by my frustration towards the situation. I ran towards Flapple, leaped, and delivered an Assurance to a small nick in his apple shell.
As I landed back on the ground, I saw Saltriv rush at Flapple, and deliver an Ancient Power to his cranium. I gave them a small smile as it collided with Flapple.
“Move out of the way!” I heard Burhalla shout. As we both backed away from Flapple, I looked over to Burhalla, and watched as he pulled out the fire-shaped seed from earlier, before eating it. A massive burst of fire shot out of his mouth, and hit Flapple, creating an explosion and a cloud of smoke.
That looked powerful! That must be what those fire-shaped seeds did. Was that able to defeat him?
Once the smoke cleared, I saw that Flapple was shielding himself with his apple shell, which was now covered in various burn marks. He soon took flight again, revealing that the rest of him was mostly unscathed.
I heard Burhalla shout about berry crackers again.
The shadowy aura flared up once more, as Flapple took to the skies. He flew up high above Burhalla, and closed his shell, starting to drop down-
“Burhalla! Look out!” I shouted.
Burhalla looked up, and ran out of the way of Flapple’s descent, mere moments before Flapple collided with the ground where Burhalla stood before. “Thanks, Gen!” Burhalla shouted, before tossing the totter seed from earlier at Flapple.
I heard a gulp, and Flapple began spinning. I didn’t understand why he’d eat it, but I’ll take it!
“Let’s all attack the same spot!” Saltriv suggested. “That might be enough to knock him out!”
“Worth a try. Ready?” he asked us. We both nodded. “Let’s do this!”
Burhalla breathed an Ember at the dizzy Pokemon. A rock appeared from above Saltriv, and was launched right towards the mark the Ember left. I gathered the frustration from this battle, and delivered an Assurance right to where my teammates’ attacks had hit.
Even after that, Flapple was still flying.
“We have one oran berry left. Does anyone need it?” Burhalla asked. I shook my head.
A ball of bright light began forming over Flapple. A Solar Beam. This could be bad.
“I could us-” Saltriv began, before abruptly, Flapple stopped spinning right when facing me, and unleashed the Solar Beam upon me before I got a chance to react. It felt as though my life force was being evaporated. It was agony.
“GEN!” I heard my teammates’ horrified screams as I collapsed into the sand.
I heard footsteps approaching, before Burhalla emerged into view, handing me the last oran berry. “Here!”
I devoured the berry, and felt my strength returning. I stood back up, just in time to watch Saltriv deliver an Ancient Power to Flapple.
As the rock hit, Flapple collapsed into the sand. The shadowy aura flared up once more, obscuring him, before disappearing, leaving Flapple looking exactly how he was when we first found him, aside from the injuries.
We...we did it. We actually did it! We actually managed to knock Flapple out!
Burhalla dug into his bag, and pulled out a purple stick that looked like the one he used back in Twig Woodland. He waved it at Flapple, and an orb of light shot out of it towards the apple dragon.
“That should give us enough time to purify him,” Burhalla said. “Is everyone alright?”
That was difficult. That Solar Beam really hurt. But, we managed to do it.
“I’m fine,” I lied. I came this far. I already nearly died once. One more time wasn’t enough for me to leave the team.
“That Dragon Breath hurt, but I’m ok!” Saltriv announced, with a strained smile.
I could tell they really weren’t, but neither was I.
“Ready to go back?” Burhalla asked us.
Saltriv and I both nodded. I didn’t want to be in this messed-up beach any longer than I had to.
Burhalla took the other escape orb out of the bag. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, before throwing it at the ground, shattering it.
The three of us and Flapple were enveloped in pillars of light, and we escaped from the dungeon.[/ISPOILER]
"How much farther is the town?" I asked, carrying Flapple's tail.
"Not too far. We should be there before sunset," Burhalla answered, carrying Flapple's head.
The three of us walked down the path to the village, carrying Flapple together.
"We really did it! We found Flapple!" Saltriv exclaimed, with a vine wrapped around Flapple's midsection.
"Once we...purify him, he'll be ok," Burhalla said, with a shudder at the word "purify".
"Purify?" I asked, now that I had time to do so. What exactly did that entail, and why was it apparently so terrifying?
"Purifying shadowy Pokemon returns them to normal. There used to be four ways of purifying shadowy Pokemon, but two of them have disappeared. There's only two left now," Burhalla answered with another shudder. "Neither are pleasant, but they're the only ways."
I was filled with questions. Why was purification unpleasant? Why had two of the methods disappeared? Wha-
Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head. You shouldn't think of prying into our affairs, hehehe. I know where you are.
I froze up.
Nope, not continuing that line of thought. Not after whatever the hell that was.
Instead, I decided to ask a question that's been on my mind ever since Burhalla first mentioned "going shadowy" back in Twig Woodland.
"What exactly are shadowy Pokemon?"
"Shadowy Pokemon are Pokemon that can't feel any positive emotions. They can only feel fear, anger, frustration, guilt, and other negative emotions. Nobody knows how it happens, but usually Pokemon go missing, not even showing up with connection orbs for a while, then turn up shadowy in strange places," Burhalla answered.
They can't feel any positive emotions, only negative ones? That explained why Flapple was so afraid back there. Still, that must be awful. What could be causing all this?
Eventually, a large, ornate blue building came into view, covered in ornate designs and patterns. I could see one pattern that looked vaguely like a Kingdra. In front of its entrance were the wispy-tailed Pokemon I saw yesterday.
"Halt!" the larger one yelled. "Why are you here?"
"Nobody enters the shrine without our permission while we're on duty!" the smaller one on the larger one's head exclaimed. "Hey, is that Flapple? And Burhalla! Saltriv, too!"
"Hello, Drakloak and Dreepy!" Burhalla said, looking at the larger one, then the smaller one as he spoke. Those must be the names of those Pokemon.
"We found Flapple!" Saltriv announced with a smile. "They were at Blistering Shore!"
"It was difficult, but we brought them out of there," I added.
"You really found him! That's amazing! You're heroes!" Dreepy cheered. His eyes were filled with sparkles. "Are you all a search party?"
"Yes! Team Searchlights!" Burhalla confirmed, before muttering just quietly enough for me to barely hear him, "Not an official one yet, though."
"Wow!" Dreepy said. "That's so cool!"
"It's really great that you found him. It was getting tiring guarding the shrine all the time, and I missed his company," Drakloak said, before turning towards me. "I haven't seen you in town before. Who are you?"
"Gen," I hastily answered.
"I see. Thank you, Burhalla, Saltriv, and Gen for finding Flapple." Drakloak said with something akin to a smile. "You're here to purify him?"
We all nodded.
"You all know the rules?" Drakloak asked.
I saw Saltriv and Burhalla both nod, but I stayed still. "What ar-?"
Burhalla clamped a hand over my mouth. What was that about?!
"I'll tell him," Burhalla said, removing his hand from my face.
"Good. Be careful in there," Drakloak said, before she and Dreepy moved out of the way.
"I need to be the one to bring Flapple in," Burhalla said. "You can both let go."
Odd, but I lowered my arms away from Flapple's tail. Saltriv's vine retracted, and Burhalla took hold of Flapple's midsection, before turning to face me.
"Before we go in, I need to tell you something," he said.
"What is it?" I asked. Was he going to tell me about what those rules were?
"Whatever you do, BE POLITE AT ALL COSTS," he told me. "Stay calm, don't make many unneeded movements. And don't ask about or touch the statues."
"Wait, what do you mean? Why?" I asked, startled by the sudden demands.
"I can't tell you until after we leave. They'll know. Just follow my lead, and you should be alright," Burhalla said. He hesitated, before continuing. "If anything happens to me, don't react. Calmly exit the shrine."
What might happen to him? Who'd know? Did it have to do with that voice? The more I heard about this, the more fearful I grew of going into the shrine?
"Why do we have to go in? Why can't Drakloak do it, since she knows this stuff better?" I asked.
Drakloak turned to look at me. "You three all found Flapple, so you all have to go in. It's part of the rules of purification here. If I could, I'd take your place, but sadly that's not possible."
"You can do it! You're heroes!" Dreepy encouraged.
"We'll be in there with you," Saltriv comforted. "You won't be alone."
"Just remember what I said, and you'll be ok. We can do this, together," Burhalla said, before turning towards the temple. "Ready to go in?"
Saltriv nodded after a moment.
Could I really do this? I had no idea what would happen if I made a mistake.
At the same time, though, I knew what not to do. And my teammates would be with me. I wouldn't be alone.
And if I didn't go with my teammates, and we broke the rules, who knows what would happen to them?
It'll be ok. I can do this.
I nodded.
"Let's go, then," Burhalla said, as he carried Flapple into the shrine. Me and Saltriv followed.
Water Purification Shrine
I walked into the shrine, and was amazed by what I saw.
The four crystal walls of the temple were a vibrant blue, and coated in several intricate patterns. A sparkling pool of water laid in the center of the room, perfectly still. Two marble pillars were at the back of the room, reaching from the lavender floor to the violet ceiling. On the left and right sides of the room, waterfalls rained down into pits I couldn't see the bottoms of. The entire place was shrouded in light fog.
Scattered throughout the room, I noticed many Pokemon scattered about, unmoving. I saw a Hoothoot, a Gastly, even a Lucario. It didn't even look like they were alive. Were these the statues Burhalla was talking about?
I saw one of them, a Misdreavus, blink.
Oh.
Oh no.
Were they ALIVE?! What had happened to them?!
I felt Burhalla poke me. Right, right. Remain polite, at all costs. Don't draw attention to myself.
What could have happened to those Pokemon, though?
Suddenly, the pool of water began to ripple. Something began to emerge out of it. Something large.
A purple, patterned shell floated out of the water. A fin was on the top of it, and a long, sharp point on the front. Was this a Pokemon? I'd never seen a Pokemon like this before.
Soon, the shell opened, revealing a figure inside. I tried to figure out the thoughts to describe what they looked like, but for some reason they just wouldn't come.
"Greetings, Tapu Fini," Burhalla said with a bow. I followed his lead, and me and Saltriv bowed as well.
That Pokemon must be called Tapu Fini, then.
"Greetings, Burhalla," Tapu Fini responded in an indescribable tone. "Who are your companions? It is rude to not introduce oneselves."
"My name is Gen," I said, trying to keep myself from shaking under the pressure. Stay calm, like Burhalla said. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"My name is Saltriv," Saltriv introduced themself, echoing my words. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"It is a pleasure to meet you both," Tapu Fini greeted. "What are your opinions of my shrine?"
"The shrine is rather nice. The waterfalls compliment the designs on the walls," Saltriv said, tone neutral.
"It's pr-quite fantastic, if I do say so myself," I began, trying to imitate Saltriv's tone. "I enjoy the colors of the walls, ceiling, and floor."
Several wordless seconds passed. I began to grow fearful. Had I been too impolite? What was going to happen if I had been?
After what felt like an eternity, Tapu Fini made a gesture I didn't recognize. "For what reason did you come to my shrine?" they asked.
"We seek to purify the Pokemon I am carrying," Burhalla answered. "Flapple. May we please request that of you?"
"Is that so?" Tapu Fini responded. "Burhalla, place him in the pool of water. I will purify him."
Burhalla took a step towards the water, tightly carrying Flapple with both hands. I could see him shaking a bit. Was it because of the water, Tapu Fini, or both? I couldn't blame him.
Gently, he laid Flapple down in the water. He floated on the surface, above the deep depths that Tapu Fini emerged from.
Once Flapple was in place, Burhalla backed away from the pool, and returned to my side. I wondered just what purification entailed. What was going to happen to Flapple?
Suddenly, the fog began to thicken drastically. Within seconds, Flapple and Tapu Fini were completely obscured. Was this part of the process?
A faint light appeared where I last saw Tapu Fini. It quickly grew brighter and brighter, soon becoming unbearably bright. It flashed even greater in intensity.
I flinched, and closed my eyes.
Suddenly, I heard a large SPLASH, and I felt myself get drenched.
I opened my eyes, and saw that the light was gone. The fog was dissipating as well. Every surface of the temple was doused thoroughly, droplets of water, dripping down.
I glanced over at Burhalla, worried that the water had put his tail out. He was shaking slightly, and his tail flame was wavering, but it still burnt bright. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, but stopped myself.
I turned back towards the pool of water. Tapu Fini and Flapple were visible again. The latter's eyes were still closed, but the shadowy aura had completely disappeared, and his skin had changed from a purple-stained green to a leafy green. Did that mean he was purified now?
"I have purified Flapple," Tapu Fini said. "You may now take him, and take your leave."
Burhalla walked over and picked Flapple back up, then returned to me and Saltriv. Before he left, he turned around, and bowed once more. "Au revoir, Tapu Fini."
"Au revoir, Tapu Fini," Saltriv echoed, bowing as well.
"Au revoir, Tapu Fini," I said as I bowed, following my teammates' lead.
Tapu Fini made another gesture I didn't recognize, before closing their shell.
The three of us turned around, and exited the temple, with a now-purified Flapple in tow.
Outside Water Purification Shrine
We walked a short distance from the shrine, until Burhalla stepped off the path a bit and sat down, setting down Flapple beside him. Saltriv went and stood next to him. I walked over to them, and sat down with my teammates.
"Even after the first time, purification is still terrifying," Burhalla said. "Being so close to water, even getting splashed by it, and the statues, and Tapu Fini themself… Is everyone alright after that?"
"I am! Good thing I had memorized what I was going to say if I ever met Tapu Fini!" Saltriv exclaimed. "I think I'd still be in there if I hadn't!"
That was absolutely terrifying. The strict rules, the moments of suspense when I worried I did something wrong, and the "statues"...it was horrible.
Even so, I made it through it all, somehow.
"I'm fine," I told Burhalla. I tried not to think too hard about what Saltriv had said.
"Great. Let's take a break before we go back to the village. I think we all need one," he said.
I definitely did.
As we sat in the grass and looked up at the clouds, I thought back to what Burhalla had said earlier. Burhalla had mentioned that there was one other method of purification left. What was it? Was it more pleasant than having Tapu Fini do it, even slightly?
Would asking about the other method incur that voice's wrath, though?
Then again, it wasn't interrupting my thinking of this, so hopefully it would be safe to ask?
"What's the other purification method?" I asked Burhalla.
"I don't actually know," he said. "I just know that it's near Moonlight Town."
"Careful speaking about them. You could incur their wrath. Especially her's," Drakloak spoke up, floating towards us.
Hehehehehe.
I shuddered. Maybe it was best if I didn't ask any more questions about purification.
I decided to ask about Drakloak and Dreepy instead. Maybe I could learn a few things about the village from them.
"What do you both do here?" I asked. Presumably, they guard the shrine, but was there anything else?
"We protect the shrine, of course! Us, Flapple, and Drampa guard the shrine in shifts," Drakloak explained.
Who's Drampa? I'd never heard of that Pokemon.
Before I could ask, Saltriv spoke up. "What happened to the third method? I remember there still being three before I…"
"You went missing, right?" Drakloak said. "Strange, I don't remember seeing you get purified here. Or perhaps you never went shadowy at all. I don't know what happened when you were found, after all."
I saw Saltriv wince. Was this about what happened in Blistering Shore? Weren't they ok now?
"Back to your question, Mossy Town became a mystery dungeon while you were gone, and the method there disappeared," Drakloak continued.
"W-what?! Did everyone make it out? Where are they?" Saltriv asked, eyes widening.
"As far as I know, almost everyone," Drakloak answered. "I heard most of them are staying in Capim Town for now."
My mind raced with questions. Entire towns could become mystery dungeons? How did something even become a mystery dungeon? Could it happen to Overcast Village?
I was so caught up in these questions, that I missed what Saltriv had to say next, only hearing Drakloak's response.
"First the method in Coulomb City, then the one in Mossy Town. If Tapu Fini disappears too, we're in far more trouble than before," Drakloak said. "That's why we guard the shrine."
A few seconds of silence passed. I watched the sun begin to set.
"We should wake Flapple up soon. It's getting late, and it'll be a while before he wakes up otherwise," Burhalla said as he stood back up. Saltriv and I did so as well.
"Indeed. I should get back to guarding the shrine," Drakloak said, turning around, before stopping. They floated over to the grass, then with both arms reached down and pulled out some sort of goggle-like thing, before handing it to Burhalla.
The lenses were tinted red, and two arrow-like protrusions pointed diagonally from the center. It resembled the eyes of a Hoothoot. Were these some sort of glasses for Pokemon?
"An Insomniscope?" Burhalla asked. "Why-"
"Here, as thanks for bringing my friend back. I don't need these anymore," Drakloak spoke.
"I...thanks," Burhalla said, taking the Insomniscope and putting it in his bag. Drakloak turned, and started heading back towards the shrine entrance.
I was about to ask him what that was, then I heard Flapple's voice. "Whuh?"
I turned around to where we had set down Flapple, to see Saltriv shaking him with a vine. His eyes were starting to open, now yellow instead of the red they were before.
Suddenly, his eyes opened all the way, and he flew up into the air. "What're you kids doing to me?!" he shouted.
I took a step back, noticing Burhalla flinch, before he spoke up. "We just purified you, sir."
"Whaddya mean? Are you sayin' I went shadowy?!" Flapple demanded. I pulled my Reunion Cape over my face.
"You did. We found you at the edge of Blistering Shore, and...hyper mode happened, and we had to battle you," Burhalla confirmed.
A few seconds of silence passed, before Flapple spoke back up.
"...I'm gonna need some time to process this, but...thanks, lads, and...I'm sorry," Flapple said. "I'll be heading home until my shift. Come with me. I have something to give you."
Flapple started flying down the path, not waiting for a response. "Wait up!" I yelled, as me, Saltriv, and Burhalla ran after him.
Overcast Village
Soon, the four of us arrived at the entrance to the village. I could see Meganium under the Kecleon-shaped tent, talking to the Tyrogue I saw earlier. The Porygon-Z we ran into on the way out of Twig Woodland yesterday was near the bulletin board, talking to a strange, floating pink Tentacool-like Pokemon, with a large head and a crown-like horn on top.
The moment we entered the Top Plaza, the Porygon-Z began to rush towards Flapple, with a cry of "MANZA-ZA-ZAGGLE!"
Before I knew what was happening, Flapple and Porygon-Z had collided in midair, and were now both lying on the ground. "PNS-NT, I'm glad to see ya, but could ya not do that so often? You know I'm not comfortable with people knowing my primary name," Flapple admonished.
I had heard that teapot Pokemon mention PNS-NT earlier, and Burhalla had mentioned it before Flapple went berserk. Was that the name of this Porygon-Z? And what was that about primary names?
"My apolo-olo-ologies, but I've missed you greatly!" PNS-NT exclaimed. "Were you jus-jus-just lost, or were you…?"
"I was. We can talk more in a bit, I need to get something for these three who found and purified me," Flapple explained, before I heard another familiar voice.
"Saltriv!" Meganium shouted as she exited the Kecleon tent. With a worried expression on her face, she headed towards us, before stopping next to Saltriv. "You didn't tell me you were going on a search mission! Are you ok?"
"I'm ok, mo-," Saltriv began, before the Tyrogue spoke up.
“New to this town, and you’re already going out to search for missing Pokemon?” he said, looking at me. “Color me impressed! Next thing you know, you’ll come back with Treecko!”
"Uh, thanks," I responded, not sure what else to say.
"Seems like two of our missing residents have returned," an unfamiliar voice spoke. I looked for the source, and saw that it was the pink Pokemon by the bulletin board. "And one new resident as well. Pardon me, Oshawott, but what is your primary name? If you're not comfortable saying it in public, I ca-"
"My name is Gen," I answered before she finished, hoping that primary name meant what I thought it did.
The Pokemon seemed taken aback. Oh no. Was I wrong?
"Wonderful. I am Jellicent, the mayor of this village. Do you need a residence?" she responded after a few seconds. This must be who Burhalla was talking about back in Twig Woodland.
Before I could say anything, Meganium spoke up.
"Gen's staying with my family for the time being," Meganium answered for me.
"Wonderful. Speaking of your family," Jellicent began, turning to Saltriv and Flapple. "Welcome back to the village, you two."
Saltriv smiled, and Flapple seemed too busy talking to PNS-NT to respond.
Jellicent turned to Burhalla next. "I heard from your father that you decided to start a search party. Thank you for taking this step to protect our village, and congratulations on your first successful mission!" she congratulated warmly, before her tone grew stern. "Although it was unwise of you to leave before SaRO approved you."
Meganium gave Saltriv a stern look, and Burhalla frowned. "Sorry," he said.
"Regardless, completing your first mission is not something that should be punished. It's something that should be celebrated!" Jellicent continued. I saw Saltriv perk up. "I must take my leave now. Welcome to Overcast Village, Gen!" she said, before heading deeper into the fog.
"I should go, too. Congratulations, Gen! We should spar sometime! Let me know when you can. See ya!" Tyrogue said, then walked down one of the roads.
"Now that that's over with, let me get you what I said I would," Flapple said, flying over to the mechanism-covered box. "Give me a minute with the deposit box, and I'll have it." As soon as he was next to it, it opened, and he stuck both of his wings inside. Was that thing called a deposit box, then?
As Flapple did his thing, Saltriv turned to their mom, smiling. "Can we-"
"No," Meganium said, before Saltriv could get a chance to finish. "You know what happened last time you had a sleepover, and I need to have a talk with you after you went out underprepared."
"We had an escape orb, and we found Flapple anyways! Besides, last time was months ago, and Gen's first night with us went well! Please?" Saltriv pleaded.
"...with who?" Meganium asked after a few seconds.
"Burhalla! I want us all to celebrate our first successful mission together!" Saltriv answered, and Burhalla smiled.
"If Burhalla's father agrees, then tomorrow night," Meganium answered, to Saltriv's and Burhalla's cheers. "I was planning on letting you do something like this in a few days anyways to celebrate you returning, but to celebrate your first accomplishment on a search party, you can have it tomorrow." Meganium smiled after that.
A sleepover? I haven't had one of those in years. This might be fun.
"Think this should be it," Flapple spoke up, before taking out one of his wings from the box. 9 large yellow coins were stacked on top of the wing, and some sort of symbol was emblazoned on the top of the coins, though I couldn't quite see what it was. Was that what money was here?
"900 Poké? Great! Tha-" Burhalla began, stopping as Flapple moved again.
Flapple took out his other wing, on which laid the biggest apple I've ever seen. It was almost as large as I was! It was a shiny, glimmering red, and even seemed to be sparkling. A single leaf as large as my tail was attached to the grass-green stem. The most mouth-watering smell I've ever experienced reached my nose. Just what was this piece of heaven in the shape of an apple?
Saltriv, Burhalla, and even Meganium gasped. "A perfect apple?! Real-" Saltriv began. It did seem perfect alright.
"I insist. To thank you for purifying me, and to make up for whatever I did while I was...like that," Flapple said.
Burhalla hesitated, before taking the coins and the perfect apple. "T-thank you, Flapple," he replied, eyes wide. Flapple smiled in response.
"Now le-le-let's go home," PNS-NT said, beginning to float out of the plaza. "You would not believe what happen-pen-pened to me last night!"
Flapple flew after them, leaving the four of us alone in the plaza.
"I'll...go store these for now," Burhalla said, taking shaky steps towards the deposit box.
He opened the box and dumped what he was carrying inside.
What?
Why was he just putting it all right back where Flapple had gotten it from? Moreover, why were Flapple's belongings apparently in this box right out in the open of this plaza?
"Why are you putting that back?" I asked.
Meganium looked at me weirdly, before her expression shifted to one of care. "Right, you don't remember anything. That's a deposit box. Anything one Pokemon puts in can be taken out by only that Pokemon. For everyone else, only their things are inside."
Weird. They seemed to be like PCs, then. I still had one more question about them, though.
"Who made them?" I asked.
"The Kangaskhan clan manages them," Meganium answered. "They created them after-oh, you wouldn't know about that."
Know about what?
Before I could ask, Burhalla said, "I should go home. See ya both tomorrow!" He walked down one of the foggy roads, and out of sight.
"We should get going, too," Meganium told us. "Come with me." She said, walking down the road to Saltriv's house.
Me and Saltriv followed her into the fog.
Saltriv's Home
Soon, we arrived in Saltriv's home. Torterra was in the first room, and smiled as he saw us arrive.
"Welcome back, you three!" he greeted. "How went the adventure, Saltriv?"
"It went great! We found Flapple!" Saltriv exclaimed.
"You didn't tell us you were going on a search mission," Torterra said, frowning. "I thought you three were just going to play in the forest, like your past adventures with Burhalla were."
"You went underprepared, too," Meganium admonished. "You should have waited until your supplies had arrived."
Saltriv's expression fell. Maybe I should try to comfort them? How, though? Would a hug work?
Before I could do so, though, a vine sprouted from Torterra's tree, and laid on Saltriv's back.
"Still, I'm proud of you," Torterra said. "Search missions are no easy feat."
"We're both proud of you for finding Flapple," Meganium comforted. "I just wish you had told us you were, and had been better prepared."
Saltriv's frown started to disappear. "Thanks, mom and dad."
"You're welcome, my child," Torterra responded.
"Can we still do the celebration sleepover?" Saltriv asked, beginning to smile.
"Of course!" Torterra answered. "You deserve a reward after your first search mission!"
"You're not allowed to go on any adventures tomorrow, though," Meganium added. "We might be getting a visit then, anyways."
"Aww, ok," Saltriv replied with a frown, before their expression changed to one of curiousity. "From who?"
"This morning I mailed a letter to Acacia that you'd been found," Meganium said. "We might get a visit from his rescue team soon."
Was a rescue team like a search party? And who was this Acacia?
"What's a rescue team?" I decided to ask first.
"Rescue teams go around and rescue people, like search parties, except without most of the searching," Saltriv explained. "Acacia, my uncle, is part of the best one! Team Seedlings! They even saved the world once!"
They saved the world?! That...that's an amazing accomplishment! From what, though? And I might be meeting them tomorrow...
"Why don't you two go to bed?" Meganium told us. "It's getting late, and you should rest well for tomorrow."
"Ok! See you tomorrow, mom and dad!" Saltriv yelled, before running towards the room we slept in last night. I followed behind.
The room was almost just like how it was last night, aside from the items in the box having been moved around. Saltriv laid down on their mat, as I walked over to the one I had slept in.
"I can hardly believe what happened today! You, me, and Burhalla are a search party now! And we even found someone already!" they said.
"Yeah. There was...a lot that happened," I said, as I laid down. That search mission was terrifying at times, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about being alone.
"I can't wait until tomorrow! I get to see my uncle again, and we have the celebration sleepover!" they continued, tucking themselves in with a vine. "See you then, Gen!"
I pulled a blanket over me, and was about to close my eyes, when I noticed Saltriv shaking under the covers. What was that about? Were they still sad about that conversation with their parents?
I'll have to ask them about that tomorrow.
As I closed my eyes, I thought about Saltriv.
They've done a lot for me, haven't they?
They defended me when Burhalla's father was suspicious of me, convinced their parents to let me stay in their home, taught me about some of the things we found in Blistering Shore, including my Reunion Cape, helped save me from that Krokorok, tried to help me with my made-up memory problem, and offered to try to help me with my anxiety if Burhalla's idea with the village therapist didn't work out.
Speaking of Burhalla, he also helped me a lot.
He offered for me to go with him when he found me in Twig Woodland, taught me about mystery dungeons and more, let me join the team, guided me through mystery dungeons, saved me multiple times, tried to prepare me for Tapu Fini, and comforted me even after I had nearly killed him.
We've already been through a lot together. If not for them, I'd be completely lost in this world. I might never have gotten out of Twig Woodland.
I never did thank them, did I? I should tomorrow. I'm grateful for what they've done for me.
I'm happy to be teammates with them, even if I wouldn't call them friends yet. I haven't even known them for two days.
My friends are back home, in Johto. Most of them, at least.
How were they? Did they learn yet that I was gone? Were they freaking out over my disappearance, or did they think I'd return soon?
And what about my family? How were they taking my disappearance? Were they ok?
I miss them all. Hopefully I could find a way home soon.
You idiot! We needed to move in sync! Now you scared that Porygon-Z off, and it alerted that whole village! I thought.
It's not my fault you jumped the bloody gun! If you hadn't been so impatient, and actually waited for it to get close enough, we could have had it! You thought.
If I had waited any longer, it could have gotten away!
And if you had waited any longer, we could have actually gotten some help! Just because you're the only one of us who can speak like this doesn't mean you can yell at me to do whatever!
You began to walk me further away from the village, through the forest.
Just because I can't walk anywhere like this without your cooperation doesn't mean you get to decide everything we do!
Yes it does, actually! You thought.
I clenched my yellow hands. They barely poked out of your snow. I shivered from your cold.
I heard your insulting thoughts of me. Why did I have to be stuck with the most insufferable Galarian imaginable?!
Why do I have to be stuck with the most aggravating Unovan imaginable?! You thought, continuing to walk me away from the village.
Both of us flung insults at each other mentally, until I stopped.
We need to cooperate. You know this. Neither of us like this situation, but we'll have to deal with it until we find a way to fix it, if there even is one.
We could have already found help if you had been more patient, but I agree. You thought.
We need to find someone who will listen to us. We need to find them while they're alone, and where they can't call for help.
How about that Charmander we saw yesterday?
If we can find it again. You already know we haven't seen it since you pressured me to throw that orb. If I hadn't listened to you, we might have been able to catch up to the Charmander.
If you hadn't listened to me, we might have died from that horde of Pokemon. Unless you got any other ideas, that Charmander is our best shot. And I know you don't have any other ideas.
Fine. We'll look for that Charmander-
As we came to a dirt path in the forest, you stopped walking, derailing my train of thought. I could see a glimpse of something blue down the path. I craned my neck, trying to get a better look without leaving the bushes. You didn't protest.
There was a blue building, decorated with several ornate Alolan patterns. In front of it was a floating Pokemon with short, handless arms, a V-shaped head, fin-like legs, and a wispy tail. On top of its head was a similar, but smaller Pokemon. That's a Drakloak and a Dreepy.
They were talking to an Oshawott with a red hood, a Chikorita with a red leaf, and the Charmander we saw yesterday. They were carrying an oddly-colored Flapple. We were too far away to hear what they were all saying.
There it is! Too bad it's not alone. You thought.
Before too long, the Oshawott, Chikorita, and Charmander entered the building, leaving the Drakloak and Dreepy alone, and vulnerable. This could work.
Now's our chance! Let's get them!
If those three starters exit and see us, they could overtake us. We're waiting.
It's the perfect opportunity! They're all alone!
If they're still there once the starters are gone, we'll do it. Until then, we should plan ahead.
“How much farther is it?” Leviene asked, looking up at the cloudless sky.
“We should be nearly there,” Lapras answered, swimming past a school of Wishiwashi.
“I can barely believe it’s been this long since we’ve been there!” Leviene said, before turning towards me. “Can you, Ayueg?”
“Well, it is the hardest continent to get to,” I pointed out. “Makes sense we didn’t come back after mapping it.”
“Yeah, but we should have come back here sooner anyways! This place was so cool!” Leviene said.
“It was,” I replied. “I wonder how much it’s changed since we were there last.”
“Well, we’re about to find out!” Leviene replied. “Look, we’re almost there!”
I looked out into the distance, and saw that thunderclouds had appeared over the horizon. Not much farther now.
Soon, the perpetual thunderstorm encircling the continent came fully into view. Lightning struck the sea rapidly, and the sound of thunder grew louder and louder.
The only safe way through was the tiny gap in the clouds directly in front of us.
“Hold on tight!” Lapras said, a glint appearing in their eyes as a Protect barrier formed around us.
I grabbed onto one of the spikes on Lapras’ shell with a wing, while Leviene wrapped a vine around the same spike, just in time for us to reach the thunderclouds.
Lightning struck down into the ocean on both sides of us. The thunderclaps were almost deafening. One lightning bolt almost struck Lapras, causing Leviene to shriek. I laid my other wing on their back to reassure them.
Before we knew it, the sounds of thunder had quieted down. We had made it through.
In the distance was the Thunder Continent, now in clear view. Several steep cliffs jutted out, adorned with trees. A river delta poured out into the ocean. Sticking out from it all was a large town just above sea level, with buildings the color of the night sky.
The ocean around us started to grow darker as we approached the town. Stars started appearing in the sky, and the sun faded away. We were entering Moonlight Town’s nighttime veil.
As the docks grew closer, we began to slow down. Just before we stopped, the moon appeared high in the sky.
“We’ve arrived at Moonlight Town of the Thunder Continent!” Lapras announced.
Moonlight Town
I hopped off Lapras with a wave, after Leviene climbed down from their back.
“Thanks for the ride!” I said. Lapras smiled back at me.
I turned away from the ocean, and towards the town. Leviene was already running across the candlelit docks. I opened my beak in a smile as I ran after them.
Leviene was such a joy to be around. Ever since I had met them in Serene Village, I scarcely ever wanted to leave their side. We’d been through so much together. We even saved the world together!
If I hadn’t been able to bring Leviene back after they disappeared, I didn’t know what I would do.
I was so happy to be partners with them.
It wasn’t long before we came to the end of the docks, where Gothitelle waited for us, holding a weathered map in her hands.
“Greetings. Team Travelers, correct?” she greeted, a small smile appearing on her face.
“Indeed! Only the best Expedition Team the world has ever seen!” I said with a wide smile. “It’s nice to see you again, mayor Gothitelle.”
“The same to you both. It’s a pleasure to see again the two who saved the world from Dark Matter,” Gothitelle spoke, looking back down at her map. “You do remember the way to the plaza, correct? I know it’s been a long time since you were here last.”
“Nope!” Leviene said, looking up at the starry sky overhead. “Could you remind us?”
Gothitelle stared intensely at her map for several seconds, before looking back at us.
“Go forwards until you hit a three-way split in the road. Turn around, then take the second road on the left. Make sure to walk on that road, not run yet. Once you reach a dead end, turn around and now run, until you pass by a road that goes downhill. Walk backwards down it. Once you feel the ground turn flat again, look up. If the constellation above is Cresselia, take the road to the left, otherwise, take the one to the right. Once you reach a dead end with a painting of Lunala, spin once, then walk forwards until you arrive in the plaza,” Gothitelle explained.
“With how weird the layout of this place is, you’d almost think it’s a mystery dungeon!” Leviene joked, turning to me. “Did you get all that, Ayueg? I spaced out in the middle of it.”
“Of course,” I said. It was mostly the case, although I couldn’t quite remember if it was the downhill road or the road after the constellation that needed to be walked down backwards.
We’ll just have to figure that out when we get there. I didn’t want to annoy Gothitelle by asking again.
“See ya, mayor Gothitelle!” I said with a wave, before we both passed by her, and entered the lamplit roads of Moonlight Town proper.
It wasn’t long until we reached the downhill road. Were we supposed to walk backwards here, or after the constellation?
“Uh, Leviene? Did you remember if we’re supposed to walk backwards yet?” I asked, hoping that maybe they had remembered that part.
“Nope!” they answered. “You forgot?”
“Yeah...any ideas?” I asked.
They looked around the area a bit, before their eyes stopped on a Zoroark, Morgrem, and Meowstic gathered together a short distance away.
“Team Gibbous!” they exclaimed. “Let’s go ask them! I’ve been wanting to meet them!”
“Never heard of them before,” I said. “Who are they?”
“They’re one of the top search parties of the continent! Pahelia told me about them a few meetings ago, during the one where you fell asleep,” Leviene explained, beginning to walk towards them. “She called them the Team ACT of the Thunder Continent.”
“Hopefully they didn’t chase someone across half the continent like the real Team ACT,” I commented, before following after Leviene.
As we grew closer to Team Gibbous, I heard them discussing something.
“Illanero! Where are you?” Zoroark cried out.
“We’ll find him,” Meowstic said, laying a paw on Zoroark. “He couldn’t have gone too far by now.”
“What if he became a shadow Pokemon?” Zoroark responded, a look of anguish on his face.
“Then we’ll search for him,” Morgrem said. “And shadow Pokemon can still be found with connection orbs, right? Once we manage to get another one, we’ll find and rescue him in no time flat.”
Illanero...wasn’t he that one of those Pokemon who had been pretending to be a former human? Pahelia mentioned debunking him a few meetings ago.
Well, no matter. Even if he was, he was still a Pokemon who needed help.
“Hey! Need one of these?” Leviene said, pulling a spare connection orb out of their bag.
Meowstic’s eyes widened. “Thank you!” she said, taking the orb, before looking us over. “A Combusken and a Bayleef...you’re Team Travelers, right?”
“Indeed! The heroes of the Tree of Life!” I said with a smile, before switching to a more thoughtful expression. “You need any help looking for Illanero?”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Zoroark said, a hint of pride in his voice. “We’ll be fine. We’re Team Gibbous, a gold-rank Search Party!”
“And what did that get you?” I said, glancing towards the scratched up badge Zoroark wore.
“...smaller bags and shoddier badges,” Zoroark said, all pride gone from his voice. “Not our fault SaRO is so backwards with its ranks.”
“Seriously, whose idea was it to give the best equipment to the worst search parties and the worst equipment to the best search parties? Anyways, while we appreciate the offer, we don’t need any more help than this orb,” Morgrem said.
“Once we track him down, we’ll be all set!” Zoroark added.
“You just want to be the one to find him so that he’ll think you’re cooler than humans,” Meowstic said, tapping Zoroark on the nose, before leaning over to whisper to us. “I am thankful that you’d be willing to help us, but Stubborn over here is too prideful to let a world-saving team in on our search. He denied the last one that came through here, too. Team Gardeners, I think they were called? They said something about a meeting as they left.”
Oh, right. The meeting. We should ask for directions like we were going to.
“Well, best of luck! Hope Illanero is found soon!” Leviene said.
“Also, do you know if we’re supposed to walk backwards here, or after looking up at the constellations in order to get to the plaza?” I asked.
“Right here,” Morgrem said, before quietly chuckling. “I thought the legendary Team Travelers would be better with directions?”
I decided not to dignify that with a response, and neither did Leviene. Both of us turned around, and began walking backwards. “See ya! Good luck finding Illanero!” I said, as Team Gibbous disappeared from view.
Soon, we finally arrived in the crescent-shaped plaza of Moonlight Town, illuminated only by the stars, and the light from the Lunala statue in the center. I could see the other teams of the Council waiting for us next to the statue. Everyone but Lidequir was groaning. Another one of her “jokes” must have just happened.
In the corner of the plaza, I noticed an empty Kecleon shop. When would they be found?
“There’s Team Travelers!” Vernir the Servine said once we reached everyone. “Now we can begin the meeting!”
“Has anything happened since our last meeting?” I asked.
“Saltriv was found!” Acacia the Meganium shouted, smiling widely. “They didn’t even become a shadow Pokemon!”
Cheers rang out from every one of us here, save Apoyime, who simply grinned. That was amazing news!
“Where were they?” Leviene asked.
“Twig Woodland,” Lidequir the Wartortle said. “Acacia’s sister sent us a letter that their best friend rescued them from there.” She paused, then added, “She also mentioned an Oshawott with amnesia being with them.”
“Really?” Vernir asked. “Did she mention if they said they were a human or not?”
“If this is another imitator-” I began, before Acacia cut me off.
“She didn’t mention that. Just that he had amnesia,” Acacia said. “I’m hoping that he might be the one, but I’m doubtful.”
Apoyime the Sceptile nodded, as Pahelia the Empoleon said, “I really hope he’s it. That’ll be one less thing we have to worry about.”
“Speaking of, who’s going to be doing what?” Gen asked.
“I’d like to go to Overcast Village to see Saltriv, and see what’s up with that Oshawott,” Acacia said. “Is that good with you, Lidequir?”
“Of course!” Lidequir said, before looking towards me and my partner. “Leviene and Ayueg, I think you two should come with us. We still need to investigate that monster that was spotted near there You’ve trav —”
“No,” Acacia interrupted the pun, before looking at us. “Are you good with that?”
“Yeah!” Leviene exclaimed. “I want to meet Saltriv!”
“If Leviene’s going, then I’m going,” I said. “I’m interested in meeting them too, as well as finding out about that Oshawott.”
“What about us?” Pahelia asked.
“Maybe you could help the search parties with finding and purifying shadow Pokemon?” Leviene suggested. “On the way here, we ran into a search party that was having some trouble. You could help people like them!”
I didn’t think that even Team Sunset could get through to that team, but it was worth a shot.
“Sounds great!” Pahelia said, while Apoyime gave a grin in our direction. Then Pahelia turned towards Gen and Vernir, and asked, “What about you two?”
“I think me and Gen should help look for the next human,” Vernir said. “His name was in that mailbox.”
“That’s settled, then!” Lidequir said. “Let’s—”
A figure emerged from the darkness of one of the nearby roads. A Pokemon with black and grey fur, red eyes, and wide green bands wrapped around both of its arms. A small smile was on their face.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“You may call me Zarude,” they said. “I have something to tell you.”
I lifted the vine holding my pen into the air. For some reason, the words weren’t coming easily today.
We formed a search party yesterday, so maybe I should write that first?
Today, I formed a search party
No, that didn’t sound right.
Today, I formed a search party created a search party with Burhalla and Gen!
That’s a little better, but it still seems off. And I still need to write about that creature that was on the news, and the search for Flapple, and purifying Flapple, and my plans for the sleepover tomorrow, and the shadow…
That’s ok, though! I could do this! Just need to push through.
We decided to call ourselves Team Searchlights! I came up with the name.
No, I didn’t. I combined Burhalla’s and Gen’s ideas to make it. We made the team name together.
We decided to call ourselves Team Searchlights! I came up with the name. We all helped to make the team name.
That didn’t sound good, either…
We decided to call ourselves Team Searchlights! I came up with the name.We all helped to make the team name.
When did writing get so difficult? I was doing fine with it yesterday! What happened? What made me lose my motiva—
Oh.
That.
Back in Blistering Shore. Burhalla and Gen had both collapsed. Then...I felt overwhelmed...and used Shadow Half.
I couldn’t have been a shadow Pokemon, though, right?
But I used a shadow move…
Maybe it wasn’t me, but from Flapple somehow?
No, I saw the shadowy tendrils come from myself. It was from me.
What if I hurt Gen? Or Burhalla? Or mom or dad or—
No no no. Stay calm. Deep breaths, in and out. Feel the morning sunshine on my leaf.
Just focus on the journal entry. Focus on writing.
We decided to call ourselves Team Searchlights! Other ideas we had were Team Search, Team Light, and Team Adventure.
There, that seems good.
We almost had Aron or Rockruff join us instead of Gen, but he asked if he could join.
That sounds a bit off…
We almost had Aron or Rockruff join us instead of Gen. but he asked if he could join. We were about to go look for them, when Gen yelled for us to wait.
That still doesn’t sound good.
Maybe I should write about a different part for now, and come back to Gen joining the team later?
We had just entered the third floor, when we were ambushed by a Sandygast! It knocked Gen into a beam of red light, and he became giant! Then he did a massive water attack and nearly killed Burhalla.
Maybe I should just skip today.
Or maybe I could just try not to think and just write anything that came to mind? That might work to at least get something down, then I could revise it later.
Gen and Burhalla were both knocked to the ground, but the dungeon Pokemon kept attacking them. I felt overwhelmed, then I
I closed the journal.
Herolich made two tracks to be Gen's themes! I'm really thankful to him for doing this!
I opened my eyes, as I felt something plantlike wiggle me. Once my vision cleared, I saw Saltriv standing in front of me, shaking me with a vine.
I'm still here. I'm still an Oshawott.
I wiped away the tears forming around my eyes, as I stood up.
"Good morning!" Saltriv said, smiling as they waved their leaf. They then frowned, looking at me with a concerned expression. "Were you crying?"
Oh no, I had to think of something quick!
"I...still feel guilty about what I did to Burhalla," I said. It wasn't a lie.
I felt Saltriv's vines embrace me in a hug.
"It's ok," they said. "I know you didn't mean to."
I didn't hesitate to hug them back.
"Thanks, Saltriv," I said, as I hugged my friend.
Friend? Were we friends now?
I've only known them for a very short time...but they've helped me so much already…
Yeah, I think we're friends.
After a few seconds of hugging, Saltriv let go. "Let's go! Breakfast is ready!"
They hurried out the door, and I followed after them. Breakfast sounded good right about now.
I exited the room, and came to the table, where there were...four piles of assorted berries.
Oh. Right. Pokemon. Makes sense that they just eat raw stuff.
Overcast Village, Fifteen Minutes Later
The two of us walked to the Top Plaza, where I saw a familiar Charmander waiting.
"There you are!" Burhalla said, smiling. "Look what came!"
Alongside Saltriv, I ran up to him, and saw that he was carrying three bags, three identical shiny objects of some sort, and a piece of paper.
"Our equipment!" Saltriv gasped, their tail beginning to wag.
He handed one of the bags and shiny objects to Saltriv, then handed another one of each to me. Before I could examine them closely, he put the paper up towards his face, and began speaking.
"To Burhalla, Saltriv, and Gen. Congratulations! You are now an official search party registered with the Search and Rescue Organization! Many thanks for signing up for this brave endeavor. Best of luck, Team Searchlights! From, Guildmaster Oricorio," Burhalla read.
As he lowered the paper from his face, I caught a glimpse of what was on the written side. I couldn't make out much of it, but whatever was written on it was definitely not in Johtonese or Unovan.
As much as I wanted to ask about the writing, I wanted to save being taught another language for another time. Learning Unovan was arduous enough. There was one thing I was curious about, though.
"Who's Oricorio?" I asked. "And what's a guildmaster?"
"She's in charge of SaRO!" Saltriv said. "She's the one who decides what supplies are given out, keeps track of how many missions every search party has done, and gives special missions to search parties at the guild itself! Sometimes she comes to Overcast Village to visit or do important things!"
"A guildmaster is the person in charge of a guild, which is a place where a bunch of people on adventuring teams live together," Burhalla said. "Oricorio's the guildmaster of the Pom-Pom Guild in Coulomb City. There's also Wigglytuff, who's the guildmaster of the Wigglytuff Guild on the Grass Continent, and Ampharos, the guildmaster of the Expedition Society on the Water Continent."
"We're not going to have to live there, right?" I asked, a twinge of worry in my voice. I really didn't want to have to lose what little comfort and familiarity I had here in Overcast Village.
"No, we're staying here," Burhalla said, his voice softening. "Besides, I don't think Saltriv's parents would be very happy with them moving away just after they came back."
"Yep! I'm definitely not planning on leaving them for good anytime soon," Saltriv said.
I breathed a sigh of relief, before looking at the objects I held. The bag was brown, and looked and felt like it was made of linen. A blue strap was attached to the bag, and as I slung it over my shoulder to put the bag on, I realized that it was the perfect length to allow the bag to hang over my scalchop. On the front of the flap of the bag, there was an odd blue symbol with three intertwined circles arranged like a venn diagram, and in the center of it was a hexagon with two triangles attached to its top sides.
Next, I looked at the shiny object. It was about the size of one of my nubs, and seemed to be made of metal. It had an odd, yet appealing design, with two yellow wing-shaped bits on opposite sides of a white circle, in the center of which was a smaller, red circle. Around the red circle were six yellow triangles, four tall ones around the top, and two shorter ones around the bottom.
"They're pretty cool, aren't they?" Burhalla said. "These bags are synchronised bags! Anything you put in one, you can take out of any of them!"
"Like the deposit box?" I said, glancing towards said box over at the side of the plaza.
"Yeah. Here, I'll show you! Look inside your bag," Burhalla said.
I looked into my bag. It was completely empty.
"Now, I'm going to put the certificate in my own bag! Saltriv, can you put your badge in your bag to help me demonstrate this?" Burhalla said.
"Yep!" Saltriv said.
Suddenly, the paper and another one of the badges appeared out of nowhere at the bottom of my bag.
My eyes widened in surprise. I reached in, and felt the objects, to make sure they were really there. Sure enough, they were.
I had no idea how this was even possible without PC tech, but then again, a lot of the stuff here seemed impossible, like mystery dungeons as a whole.
I'd have to ask how the bags work later. I still had one more item that I needed to know about.
"What's this?" I asked, holding up my badge.
"That's your badge!" Saltriv answered. "It lets other people know you're a search party member, and it can be used to bring other people out of dungeons!"
"Really? How?" I asked. A simple badge could do that? Did this mean that we could instantly leave dungeons even if we didn't have an escape orb?
"You just tap the center of the badge to them, and then they teleport to outside the dungeon, like if you had used an escape orb! Though it doesn't work if you use it on yourself, so we'll still need escape orbs," Saltriv explained.
"Oh." Well, that was slightly disappointing. Why not, though?
Before I could say anything, though, Saltriv turned to Burhalla and asked, "Did your dad say you could do the sleepover with me and Gen?"
Oh right, the sleepover! I had forgotten about it. But Burhalla's dad seemed pretty mean, surely he wouldn't agree—
"Yeah!" Burhalla said. "It took some convincing, but eventually he said I could!"
"Hooray!" Saltriv cheered, their leaf waving back and forth with a smile. Burhalla smiled brightly in return, and I saw his tail flame grow slightly.
Seeing both of them so happy, it made me happy, too, and I smiled along with them.
This was going to be fun!
"I'll go get us some treats from the cafe! Gen, what kinds of berries do you like? Or do you prefer chocolate or apple?" Saltriv asked.
"Chocolate," I said without hesitation, my smile growing wider.
"Great! I'll run over and get something chocolatey soon," Saltriv said. "What kinds of games—oh, you probably wouldn't remember that. Actually, do you? What kinds of games do you like?"
"I don't remember," I lied. I didn't think very many of the games I liked existed in this world anyways.
"I'll just have to pick from the games me and Burhalla like, then! There's one of them that I really think you'll enjoy!" Saltriv said.
"Thank you," I said. I wonder what it'll be? Hopefully Saltriv will be right, and I will enjoy it.
"What else should we do during the sleepover?" Saltriv asked.
Burhalla put one of his hands to his scarf for a few seconds, then said, "How about we make a blanket fort? And we can all sleep in it!"
"That sounds fun!" I said. I remember making blanket forts with my brother, and they were always so much fun.
"Yep! I want to do that!" Saltriv said. "We have a lot of spare blankets in the storage room, and lots of stuff we can use to hold it up! Let's do it!"
"Yeah!" I cheered.
"Yeah!" Burhalla repeated.
Saltriv waved their leaf, and then said, "I think I should start getting things ready for it. This is going to be the second best sleepover ever! See ya once it starts getting dark!"
I didn't have a chance to ask what the first was before Saltriv began to leave the plaza. Just before they headed down one of the roads, though, they stopped and turned back towards me.
"I'm going to be busy in my room setting up stuff for the sleepover, so you can't go back in there right now. Sorry, hope you understand," Saltriv said, before disappearing into the fog.
"What should I do until then?" I asked, but they were already gone.
"How about some more training in the dojo?" Burhalla suggested. "It'll help once we get back to doing missions, and one of the games we play needs you to know a move of your type, so it might be a good idea to try again with learning Water Gun."
I didn't exactly want to go back there and get beaten up by Grapploct again, but I needed to learn Water Gun at some point, and they did already help me learn Assurance…
After a few seconds of thinking, I said, "Sure."
"Great! I'll see you at the sleepover!" Burhalla said, before walking off into the fog, leaving me alone.
I sighed, and began walking to the dojo, soon arriving in the Riverside Plaza. As I continued to walk towards the dojo, though, I noticed something in the corner of my vision. A Leafeon emerging from the woods, into the plaza. Looking where they came from, I noticed a small dirt path leading into the forest.
Where did that lead?
I hesitated, but curiosity overtook my fear, and I started down the path.
As I walked down the path, the sound of rushing water grew louder and louder, until I soon came to a small patch of sand by the river, almost like a miniature beach. In the center of it all, there were depressions in the sand in an odd, circular pattern.
It reminded me of the Goldenrod beach, where I used to build sandcastles with my brother, while watching Magikarp swim by…
Maybe I could try making a sandcastle here?
I walked over towards where the river brushed up against the sand, and sat down, digging my arms into the wet sand. I then pressed the sand together as I brought my arms up, trying to make a small tower of sand. It was much more difficult than when I had fingers, but eventually I managed to make a tiny, sandy pillar.
It looked awful, though. Nothing like what I could do back when I was human. And the sand's stuck in my arm fur now, and it feels so uncomfortable…
I really needed to find a way home, and to become human again. I didn't like this at all.
Angrily, I began to swing my arm towards my poor excuse for a sandcastle—
"Oh hey, Gen! What are you doing here?" I heard a familiar voice say.
I stopped, with my arm centimeters away from the sandcastle, and turned around, seeing Burhalla walking towards me.
"Uh…I was just curious where this path led," I said. I really hoped this wasn't a place I wasn't supposed to go to.
"Yeah, this place is a bit out of the way. It's nice, though," Burhalla said, as he continued walking towards me, before sitting down next to me.
I smiled. He didn't seem to be mad at me, and now I wasn't alone here!
"What's this place called, by the way?" I asked.
"Riverbank beach. It's...not really a beach, but a lot of people like to call it one, anyways. I come here to hang out a lot. Lots of Pokemon in Overcast Village do," Burhalla answered. "Kind of surprised that we're the only ones here right now."
"I guess we're just lucky," I replied.
"Yeah," Burhalla said, before glancing at the pathetic excuse for a sandcastle I made. "What were you making?"
"Uh, I was just playing in the sand," I said. It technically wasn't a lie. "Only second time I remember seeing it, and we were...a bit preoccupied in Blistering Shore. I thought I'd have some fun with it now that I can."
"Neat!" Burhalla said, before looking towards the river.
We sat together in silence for a short while, not saying anything, until Burhalla spoke back up.
"You know, you're really strange," he said.
"What do you mean?" I quickly asked. Was he onto me?
"I mean, you woke up in the middle of Twig Woodland with barely any memories, and Saltriv was right there next to you after having been missing for months. There's also when you mentioned that you felt that Sewaddle coming before any of us saw it. I'd almost think you were human, if not for the fact that you haven't mentioned being one," Burhalla answered.
Oh. Well, that's...sort of a relief, but he's still really close to the truth. If he finds out…
I don't want to lose one of the only people I know in this world.
"Yeah, I guess I am pretty strange," I said, trying to stray away from Burhalla's last sentence. "Do you have any idea what might have happened to me?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe a psychic-type outlaw went and erased your memories after you saw them committing a crime. But then why were you in the middle of Twig Woodland, with Saltriv?" Burhalla said, putting a hand to his face. "There has to be something I'm missing here."
I looked down at the ground, frowning. He really believed in what I said. What'll happen when he learns it's all a lie?
Burhalla looked over towards me, a concerned expression on his face. "Hey, it's ok. We'll figure out what happened to you.."
He must have thought I was down about him not knowing what could have caused my "memory loss". Still, I appreciated that he was willing to help. Hopefully we can still figure out what happened to me on that platform...though it's going to be difficult if I never tell him about the platform.
Gah, why did I ever decide that this stupid lie was a good idea?!
"Thanks, Burhalla," I said nonetheless.
"It's no problem. We're teammates now! So we have to look out for each other," Burhalla replied.
It was so strange. We'd only met two days ago, and yet he's already acting like we're close friends.
Are we friends?
Well, if I'm friends with Saltriv already, then surely I'm friends with Burhalla too.
I smiled. Despite everything, I truly did appreciate how much they both care for me, and with me having done so little in return.
I really need to do something to thank them.
"Gen? Is something wrong? You're staring at me," Burhalla said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"It's nothing," I hastily said.
I'll have to think of how to thank them during the sleepover or something.
He gave me an unsure look, before turning back to the water.
"Why don't you go to the dojo and train a bit more? You could definitely stand to learn a few more moves. Assurance is good, but you're a water-type. You should know some water attacks." he said. "I'll stay here. It's nice for sunbathing."
Noticing the fearful look in my eyes, he laid an arm on me, and said, "It's nothing to do with you. You're fine. I just need some time here to myself."
Hesitantly, I began to walk away back down the path, heading for the dojo, but not before tripping over the sad excuse for a sandcastle I made, getting sand stuck in my head and chest fur.
I missed home so much.
Grapploct Dojo, Five Minutes Later
I entered the dojo, and saw Grapploct in the center of the room, waiting for me
"Welcome once more to my dojo!" they said, flexing one of their tentacles. "Are you ready to start training?"
"I am," I said. "I'm ready to learn Water Gun."
"Actually, I have a different training plan for you today. While you did excellent in learning Assurance last time, I thought it might be best to start simple, and give you a near-universal tool to use," Grapploct said.
Oh. Guess I'm not going to be able to participate in that game Burhalla mentioned after all.
"Try and Tackle me," Grapploct demanded. "Put your all into it!"
Wait, what?
"Why a Tackle?" I asked. Wasn't that one of the weakest moves? Wouldn't something like Quick Attack be better?
Could Oshawotts even learn Quick Attack?
"I had heard that you had lost your memories of all your moves, even the most basic ones. I had thought you were simply just inexperienced, but now I know that we need to start with the basics. And one of the most basic moves one can learn is Tackle," Grapploct said.
I...guess that made sense.
"So how do I do a Tackle? Do I just try to run at you?" I asked.
"That is what your body must do. In your mind, you must focus on the move, focus on Tackling me," Grapploct said, before pointing one of their tentacles at me. "Go on, now! Tackle me!"
I lunged towards Grapploct, and collided with them. They didn't even budge.
"No! Not like that!" Grapploct yelled. A tentacle collided with my head. "Put your all into it! Focus on Tackling me!"
I frowned, then tried again, running towards Grapploct as I tried to focus on attacking them. This time, he knocked me away before I even reached him.
"Don't just focus on attacking or running, focus on the move itself. Put it to the front of your mind! In the moment you are performing it, the Tackle is the most important thing to you!" Grapploct said.
Ok. I can do this.
I took a few steps back, then ran at Grapploct once more. As I did, I focused as much as I can on performing a Tackle. Not attacking, not running, not the uncomfortable sensation of the sand still stuck in my fur, only focusing on doing a Tackle.
As I focused, I noticed a white glow envelop my body, and before I knew it, I Tackled Grapploct.
Grapploct actually was knocked back a bit this time! Had I actually finally pulled a Tackle off?
"Congrats! You managed to do a proper Tackle!" Grapploct congratulated. I braced myself for the pat on the back, though still flinched a bit at it. I smiled nonetheless.
"Next, we're going to step away from attacking moves for a bit. Wag your tail from side to side," Grapploct said.
Oh.
"What's this for?" I asked, not looking forward to this. The foreign appendage felt so weird, uncomfortable, and inhuman. All it did was bump into things and drag on the ground. Every time I had felt it move since I became an Oshawott, I was filled with discomfort.
"Tail Whip is another basic move, and while it may not be useful all the time, there's times where you'll be glad to have it," Grapploct said. "Now! Start wagging your tail!"
Suppressing a grimace, I began wagging my tail. It felt...uncomfortably good, in an instinctual way. Like waving this limb back and forth was overriding every bit of discomfort I felt. It was such an alien feeling, and I couldn't tell whether I liked it or not.
"So...what do I do now? What do I focus on to get a Tail Whip from this?" I asked, as my tail continued to wag behind me.
"You're already doing it!" Grapploct said, slight warmth in their voice. "Tail Whip is a move that only requires a want to perform the move. If you wag your tail while wanting to perform Tail Whip, you'll perform Tail Whip."
I looked behind myself, and sure enough, my tail was enveloped in a faint white glow.
"Tail Whip is a useful move for lowering an enemy's guard, so you can strike them more effectively. It's also very useful to know when trying to learn other tail-based moves such as Aqua Tail or Iron Tail. Before you learn those, though, you must learn to harness your own type," Grapploct said. "You may stop wagging your tail now."
Immediately, I stopped my tail, and the discomfort began to fade away.
"Now, let's get back to what you first came to me for," Grapploct said. "Remember, calm yourself, then unleash the move in a stream. Harness the calmness you feel, and expel it through your mouth."
I smiled. Looks like I might still be able to join in Burhalla's game.
Several hours later, I slapped myself with my right arm in frustration, flinching at the pain of the accidental Assurance. Why wasn't this working? I could pull off Assurance fine, I could do Tackle easily, Tail Whip was near effortless despite the discomfort, why not a Water Gun?
Looking out one of the windows, I saw that the sun was starting to get low in the sky. How long has it been?! And I haven't made even the slightest bit of progress on Water Gun in all this time…
"Don't think about giving up!" Grapploct yelled, causing me to jerk my head back up from gazing at the floor. "That will only make it harder for you to calm yourself!"
Right. I had to stay on task. Calm myself, and unleash the move.
I focused on the sound of the nearby river, listening to the water flow and splash. I felt the sunshine that managed to get through the fog shine against my fur. I smelled the scent of an oran berry somewhere nearby.
As I focused on nature, as I attuned myself with it, I felt calm. My whole body felt calm.
As I took a breath, and the calmness shifted, I realized I could mold and meld this calm. I moved it up towards my mouth, preparing to spew it out in a Water Gun. I began to push it out—
TA-KA-TA TA-KA-TA TA-KA-TA TA-KA-TA
CHOOOOOO CHOOOOOO!
The calmness scattered, abruptly fleeing from me. Droplets of water flew out of my body in every direction.
I was so close, and I failed.
But...I still made water, didn't I?
I nervously looked towards Grapploct, hoping I didn't disappoint her. For a few moments, he said nothing. Anxious, I gripped onto the closest thing I could: my reunion cape.
Then, he let out a small chuckle.
"It's no Water Gun, but congrats! You've done a water move!" Grapploct said, having as much of a jovial expression as a Grapploct could have.
"Really?" I said, eyes wide, and beginning to smile. I really pulled off a water move! "What did I do?"
"Water Sport! Good for dealing with any fire-types that are after you," Grapploct said. "Now that you've done it once, you should be able to do it with more ease now."
Oh. That's really not going to be helpful. It's probably only going to hurt Burhalla.
Still...at least it's a water type move! One step closer to learning Water Gun!
Though if it wasn't for that noise, I might have had it now…
Actually, come to think of it...
"What was that loud noise?" I asked, hoping Grapploct knew the answer.
"The Carkol Express, the train that travels all across the Thunder Continent. It's quite the amazing machine. Five years ago I couldn't have dreamed things like it were possible," Grapploct said.
My eyes widened. The Pokemon in this world had trains?! How did that even work with all the different shapes that Pokemon were?
I guess I should have probably expected something like this after seeing the radio in Saltriv's house, but it was still a shock.
"Why don't you go along and see it for yourself?" Grapploct said. "It's almost time for me to head back to the river. We would not get much training done in that time, even if you stayed."
I was getting kind of tired, and I did want to see just how a train would work in a world of Pokemon...
"Ok! Bye, Grapploct!" I said, before starting to head towards the exit.
"Take care, Oshawott," Grapploct said, as I left the dojo.
I don't think I ever could get used to riding the Carkol Express.
Every few seconds, the carriage we were in would jolt one way or another. The bumpy ride was so shaky, it felt like the whole train would fall apart at any moment.
The small Pokemon in the near-front carriage were probably doing fine. Those cubbyholes along the walls were padded and came in enough different sizes that any small Pokemon could fit snugly in one. The jostling wouldn't affect them much while resting in those.
The large Pokemon in the back three carriages were probably doing well, too. The three carriages in the back of the train were like entire houses, large enough to hold a Copperajah comfortably. Anyone large enough to need to ride in one of those carriages would probably barely feel the near-constant bumps.
That just left us medium sized Pokemon, in the constantly shaking middle carriages.
The green metal loops on the floor did help a bit. There were a few snake Pokemon coiled around some of them, and some plant Pokemon with vines wrapped around them, such as myself. But there was only so much they could do to steady us against the jolts.
At least the perches hanging from the ceiling for flying Pokemon seemed like they were doing their job well. The seats on the sides for bipedal Pokemon similarly looked alright. The gray eyedrop wood they were made of didn't seem too comfortable, but they had handles to hold onto, and at least they offered a clear view through the windows.
Almost the whole train was made of eyedrop wood. The naturally gray planks glistened as sunlight shined on them. Even without any paint to accent them, the wood looked pretty, and it was even fireproof!
No matter how good the train's interior looked, it didn't change how much shaking the Pokemon who rested on the floor like me felt. Even with my vines wrapped around the loop, it felt like I was being thrown in a different direction every few seconds.
Who on earth designed this rickety contraption?
… Oh, right. We did.
"Looks like we're almost there!" Lidequir said, looking out one of the windows. "The view in this is pretty great, huh, Acacia?"
"Yep...though it's definitely a lot bumpier than a Lapras for sure," I replied, as the train went over another bump and made the entire car shake. How did the Thunder Continent's Pokemon manage to use this thing daily?
"I dunno, it's certainly less bumpy than trying to ride a Lapras on land," the Wartortle chortled. "Certainly faster too. I don't think there's anyone here who can walk from Moonlight Town to Overcast Village in an hour."
… Lidequir sure seemed to be taking the ride on this contraption in stride. I wonder if she ever rode on any trains when she was human.
When Gen took us on visits to the human world, the trains we rode while there were super stable, but definitely weren't built with Meganiums in mind. The loops to hang onto were on the ceiling, the cold metal floor was uncomfortable to stand on, and there was no sunlight in those underground tunnels. The trains we helped invent here are less stable, but anyone could ride them comfortably. Well, "comfortably" if you could overlook the train doing its best to knock you to the floor every few seconds.
But Lidequir was right. Looking out a window, I could see mountains and hills passing by. They were beginning to give way to trees and a steadily-thickening mist, along with a brief view of a field of flowers in the distance, stretching out for who knows how long. Even if it'd soon be blotted out by the fog that made Overcast Village, the view along the Carkol Express' route really is nice.
"Ayueg? Leviene? How about you?" I asked the Combusken and Bayleef standing across from us. "What do you think of the train?"
"Hrmph, the sooner we get off, the better," Ayueg said, tapping one of his talons on the floor. "It's way too loud."
"Er… yep, there's definitely a lot of noise when riding this train," I said. The racket that happened every time the train jostled was already uncomfortable for me. I didn't want to imagine what being a passenger was like for Pokemon with more sensitive ears.
Suddenly, I heard a loud screeching noise that made me feel like my petals were going to fall off. Most of us lurched forward, and I saw Leviene fall off their feet entirely from the train carriage's jolting. The view outside started slowing down along with the train carriage, until we came to a stop.
"'e're here!" came a loud voice, as Carkoal rolled in from the lead carriage. "'veryone aboard for Overcast Village, it's time to get off! 'e depart for Coulomb City in five minutes!"
"First things first, let's get back on our feet," I said, extending a vine to help Leviene off the floor where they had fallen. The Carkol Express was supposed to be based off human technology... so shouldn't it be able to come to smoother stops? Even if they weren't comfortable to stand around in, I certainly didn't remember any human trains stopping like this.
"Thanks!" Leviene said as they grabbed my vine and I pulled them upright. "That was wild! I can't wait to go on a train ride again!"
I sighed, and my petals drooped at the edges.
"... I know you were Mew before, but I still don't understand you, Leviene," I replied as we all walked out of the carriage, and into Overcast Village.
Overcast Village
As we stepped off the train and into the fog, my antennae perked up, and I felt my petals release a soothing aroma. The buildings about the train station were the same as they always were, but leaves of the tree in the center of the Tree Plaza were beginning to change with the seasons, with a bit of red peeking through the sea of green.
Overcast Village was where my sister Sturece lived with her mate Arbstea and Saltriv, their child. It always felt nice to visit here, especially in the autumn. Though there was something about this visit that felt off to me. I slowed as I looked up at the red-tipped leaves on the plaza's tree, when my thoughts turned to Saltriv. … Right, they'd been missing for three entire months, and had just been found again by a friend of theirs in the village. Even without that potential human in the mix, no wonder why things felt off about this trip.
I should check up on them as soon as possible. Had Saltriv been alright while they were missing? Did they get hurt or scared? Sturece made it sound like they'd been doing alright, but I couldn't help but wonder...
I turned to look towards Team Travelers to discuss what our plan was while in Overcast Village, but Lidequir already beat me to the punch and was already speaking.
"Team Travelers, how about you two go talk to the mayor and see what you can find out about the monster?" my partner said. "Me and Acacia will go see Saltriv and look into that Oshawott."
"Got it!" Leviene said, their leaf swishing from side to side. "Come on, Ayueg! Let's go see Mayor Jellicent!"
"Alright," Ayueg said, with a small smile on his beak, as he and Leviene walked deeper into the fog.
As the Bayleef and Combusken disappeared from view, Lidequir turned towards me. "You go on ahead," she insisted. "I'll go look around and see how bad the shadow Pokemon situation is. We'll touch base in an hour or two."
I blinked for a moment and craned my head back at Lidequir. We did almost everything together as teammates, so why was she skipping out here?
"But don't you want to see Saltriv, too?" I asked. "It has been a while since you two last met."
"Well, yeah, but it can wait. After all, Saltriv deserves to see their uncle first after everything they've been through, and it'd be a bit awkward if I got in the way of them pouring their heart out to you, don't you think?" Lidequir said, giving a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her head. "Besides, I have a joke in mind, and I don't think I could stop myself from blurting it out if I went with you."
I frowned a bit at Lidequir's mention of having a joke in mind. While Lidequir was a faithful teammate, her… sense of humor left a lot to be desired at times. Maybe it would be for the best to take her up on the suggestion.
"Alright, then. If you're sure," I said, before catching myself. I narrowed my eyes, since the thought just occurred to me that there was another reason why Lidequir might want some alone time here in Overcast Village.
"... Though this isn't something you're doing to goof off with your joke buddy, is it?"
Lidequir chuckled. "That obvious, huh? Yeah, I was gonna check in with Togetic. I've come with a few one-liners that are sure to help her put smiles on people's faces."
Lidequir shook her head with a chuckle, before looking back with a more serious expression.
"But I wasn't joking about going to see what the state of the shadow Pokemon situation is," she insisted. "And I did mean all the stuff I said about you and Saltriv. I don't want to ruin your reunion."
I sighed, but was smiling. I didn't know how much I believed Lidequir there given that she was always the joking type, but she seemed earnest at least. "Be sure to say hi to Togetic for me, and tell her that I appreciated the letter she sent us. It was really sweet of her to do that."
"Can and will do!" Lidequir said with a pump of her arm. The Wartortle began to walk into the fog, calling back to me as she faded into the mist. "I'll see you in a bit, Acacia."
"See ya in a bit, Lidequir," I replied, as I began heading towards Sturece's house.
Saltriv's Home, 25 minutes later
"Did Polteageist really bake a cake that big?" I asked my sister, as my eyes widened.
"Yep! For all the Pokemon with family or friends that went missing, and all the shadow Pokemon that had been purified," the other Meganium answered, gesturing the size of the cake with her vines. "She said it was the least she could do after all that we've been through.
"That's wonderful!" I replied, smiling. "It's nice to hear everyone in the village is coming together to help the Pokemon affected by this."
It was always nice catching up with Sturece in person. Letters and connection messages were great, but it just wasn't a substitute for meeting my sister face to face.
"Yep. You've gotta look after each other in times like this. I'm sure you've heard enough about that, though, with being a hero and all," Sturece said, before craning her neck towards me. "Though we've been trying to help Saltriv adjust back to normal life since we found them. So they're having a sleepover with friends tonight!"
My eyes widened. "Really? I thought you said you weren't going to let them have another one for at least a year after what happened last time." I trusted my sister's judgement, but this felt a bit too quick after Saltriv's last sleepover.
Sturece's petals drooped. "Well, that was before they disappeared. They've been gone for so long, and I don't want to deny them this after everything," my sister said, leaning her neck back slightly. "Plus, they've just completed a search mission, and—"
"They joined a search party?!" I interjected, my antennae tensing up. I knew Sturece wanted Saltriv to get used to normal life again, but surely this was rushing things. "So soon after they got back?!"
"Yep. They formed it just yesterday morning," Sturece answered, puffing her petals out in pride. "It's called Team Searchlights, and they've already found and purified a shadow Pokemon!"
"How'd they get their equipment so soon to do a search mission already?" I asked. My mind was racing. I felt conflicted. I was proud of Saltriv for making a search party, and doing that brave work, but also worried about how they'd fare, given they just got back to Overcast Village after going through who-knows-what for three months.
"Well...they did their first mission without telling me or Arbstea, and before they were registered as an official search party," she said, looking down. "I didn't want to punish Saltriv a mere day after they got back, though, so I let the matter slide. Plus, they did rescue Flapple during their first mission. It just wouldn't be right if I punished them for saving another Pokémon like that."
"That's understandable. I don't think I'd have the heart to punish them after such a heroic deed, either. Though hopefully a start like that's a good omen for Team Searchlights becoming a great search party," I said. I still felt conflicted, but if they were able to purify a shadow Pokemon before even receiving their equipment, I had faith in them. There was something else I was wondering, though.
"Actually... who else is on Team Searchlights, Sturece?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Well, Saltriv's best friend Burhalla also joined the team," Sturece said, smiling again. "And...you know that Oshawott I told you about? The one with amnesia? He's the third member."
"Wait, really?" I asked, my petals straightening. If this amnesiac Oshawott had already joined a search party…
"Did he mention anything about being a human?" I asked, leaning closer.
"You know I'm not the type to keep secrets, Acacia. I would have told you if he did," Sturece said, glancing off to the side. "Doesn't seem like he's the next human, unfortunately. Though… there was one thing that has me thinking."
I sighed. Seems like this is another dead end. Unless...
"What was it?" I asked, shaking with anticipation. Hopefully, this could give us at least a clue. "Though whether or not the Oshawott's human, what's his name? You never mentioned it in your letter."
"Well...that's the thing," my sister said, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "He told us his name was Gen."
My eyes widened. That was huge. Thoughts of the Gen I knew and the mailbox from yesterday ran through my head. "Why didn't you mention that sooner?"
"I didn't want to overwhelm you," Sturece said, laying a vine on my neck. "There's already everything going on with the shadow Pokemon, and I'm sure you already heard about the monster lurking around town. I thought with all that happening, it'd be irresponsible not to ease you into what's going on with Gen."
I sighed, but smiled nonetheless. Though it annoyed me that she waited to tell me this, I was glad Sturece was looking out for me. I honestly probably would have gotten overwhelmed if she told me in the letter. Even 35 years on from when Lidequir and I first became heroes, I still get overwhelmed under pressure easily.
"You're just as thoughtful as ever, Sturece," I said, giving my sister a playful brush of her antennae. "Thanks for looking out for me."
"Not a problem, Acacia," my sister said, lightly batting one of my petals. "So… did you and your teammates have any ideas about this Gen?"
"Honestly, given everything we know, I'm pretty sure he must be the Pokémon we're looking for. The only problem is that he didn't mention anything about being a human. Even then, that's not exactly conclusive evidence against him. Why, when Lidequir first came to this world, she only told me she was human at first. Though I suppose nobody asked if she was human until… that moment happened after we first met Xatu," I said, twitching my antennae. "Actually. Now that I think about it, all of the humans we know of had something similar happen to them. Nobody but their partner knew they were human until they were asked."
Sturece shook her head. "I know, and I thought about that, but Saltriv didn't say anything about Gen bringing that up, and they would've told me if he did. And when I asked Gen myself what he remembered, he said he only remembered his name and how to do a few things."
That's true. Saltriv wasn't the type to keep secrets, and surely they would have told that to at the very least their family. And if Acacia had already asked Gen directly about his memories and he didn't mention being human, that almost completely ruled him out.
Unless… "I know it's a stretch, but… maybe this 'Gen' you found forgot he used to be human?" I asked, my petals perking up."
My sister's eyes widened. "I hadn't considered that at all. You know what, that could be it!" she exclaimed.
"Only problem is that every other human remembered being human, though it wouldn't be the first time a pattern with the humans brought to this world was broken," I said, smiling widely. "For example, Ayueg was never sent back to the human world like the others."
"Well, you told me Gengar wasn't either, but point taken," Sturece replied, before glancing to the side. "It's just wild to think that I might be taking care of a human. Though… if you're right and this Gen really is human, would that mean that Saltriv is his partner?"
"I believe they would be. Everyone's partners in the past were the one of the first Pokémon that a human called to this world met," I said, laying a vine on her neck again. "I… know you're probably worried about them, but I'm sure they'll be just fine. Everything worked out for me, right?"
"I know Saltriv would be a wonderful partner, but…" my sister said, looking down. "It's still scary to think my own child might be tasked with saving the world. After all, even your own adventures with Lidequir would've ended horribly if you two weren't such good teammates or hadn't had some good luck at a few points."
I couldn't help but know she was right. Absol showing up to save us from Articuno and subsequently joining our team, and Ninetales stopping Team ACT just before they could finish us off were both lucky breaks that saved our lives. Even that tiny reviver seed Butterfree gave us for our first rescue was crucial in our climb up Sky Tower.
Even so… "Maybe, but I think we're getting ahead of ourselves. We don't know if this Gen is even human to begin with," I said, moving my vine closer to her head. "As much as I'm hoping he's the one, it's unlikely he'd forget about being human."
My sister's antennae drooped. "I don't know… I have my doubts, but…" Sturece trailed off as she looked back up at me. "You're right. Saltriv probably won't need to save the world. And even if they do… I'm sure they'll do wonderfully."
"That's the spirit!" I cheered. I was about to suggest preparations just in case Saltriv really was the next human's partner, when out of the corner of my vision, I saw a red leaf.
"Uncle Acacia!" they said, moments before my vines wrapped around them in a tight hug.
"Saltriv! I'm so glad you're ok!" I said. I felt their own vines wrap around me in turn. For a moment, all my worries about the next human had faded, replaced with the joy of seeing my nibling again.
"How have you been?"
"I've been doing great! It was a little scary finding out I've been missing for months, but everything else has been good!" they said with a wave of their leaf. I saw Sturece's vines wrap around them in a second hug.
"Oh, there you are, Saltriv!" she said, all the worry on her face from before gone. "Did Burhalla's dad agree to the sleepover?"
"Yep! Burhalla told me so!" Saltriv replied with a bright smile. "I'm so excited! I already have so much planned for tonight!"
"That's wonderful!" my sister said, with a smile matching Saltriv's. "Just be sure you three behave tonight, alright?"
My petals perked up at the sight of Saltriv being so happy. It was wonderful to know that they're doing well, despite everything.
"So I heard you made a search party," I said as I let go of them. "How's that been going?"
"Really great! We're called Team Searchlights, and we already found and purified a shadow Pokemon on our first mission! And our equipment arrived this morning!" Saltriv said, before they caught themselves and their eyes widened. "Wait, I mean—"
"It's alright, Saltriv. Your mom already told me about it," I told them, moving my vine back and forth across their head. "Even if you shouldn't have gone off without equipment like that, I'm not mad. I'm proud of you for saving Flapple."
The smile on their face returned. "Thanks, Uncle Acacia."
I smiled warmly down at them. Pokemon's lives were more important than any rules.
"And how about that sleepover?" I asked, retracting my vine. "What kinds of things are you planning to do for it?"
"Lots of things! We're going to have treats, and games, and a pillow fight, and I'm still working out the rest, but there'll be lots more!" Saltriv said, their tail wagging rapidly. "I actually was stopping by here to ask mom to help me get a few things for it."
"Oh, really? What do you need?" Sturece asked.
"Some treats from Polteageist's Café!" Saltriv said, looking up at her. "Can you help me get them?"
"Of course," my sister said, before turning towards me. "I'll go help them get the treats. It shouldn't take too long, we can talk some more when I'm back."
"Alright. See you soon," I said, as the two began to walk out of the house.
"Bye, Acacia!" Saltriv said, waving their leaf just before they disappeared from view.
It was nice to see Saltriv doing so well. I was so proud to hear how they'd been doing well already on a search party. Why from what I saw of them just from our meeting, you'd never have guessed they more or less fell off the face of the planet for three months.
Before long, I heard footsteps approaching, and turned around, seeing a tiny Oshawott wearing a reunion cape looking up at me. This must be the Oshawott Sturece mentioned. He's so small and tiny, almost like a little sprout compared to Saltriv. His name was also Gen, right? Just like our Dewott friend? Talk about your coincidences, but I should probably come up with something to distinguish the two if they're ever together... I think I'll call him Mini Gen for now. After all, the name fits, doesn't it?
"Uh, are you Acacia? From Team Seedlings?" Mini Gen said. I could see his tail quivering behind him. Was Mini Gen really a human after all? If so, it would explain a few things. Maybe he was still feeling frightened about losing his memories. Or maybe he was frightened about being in an unfamiliar body.
Nevertheless, scaring him won't do any good. The poor little guy clearly needs comfort. I extended a vine, laying it on his head. He flinched at first, before looking back towards me, his expression slightly calmer.
"I am. It's nice to meet you. What's your name, Oshawott?" I asked, despite being sure I already knew the answer. It was best to ask him first, so as to not frighten him.
"Gen," Mini Gen said, giving a tiny smile. "Did you really save the world? Saltriv told me your team did."
"That's right, we climbed up to Rayquaza's domain, and helped them find and destroy a falling star that was causing natural disasters!" I said, puffing out my petals in pride. "We also helped a Gengar who used to be a human make amends with a Ninetales and rescue his Gardevoir partner, even after he caused us to be chased halfway across the Air Continent."
Mini Gen's eyes widened. "Really? He was a human?"
"Yep! It's a long story, really, but the gist of it is that he was turned into a Pokemon as part of a curse after touching a Ninetales' tail," I said, looking Mini Gen directly in the eyes. Now would be a good time to segue into what I needed to ask. "Though on that topic… what do you know about humans, Gen?"
Mini Gen looked down at the ground, frowning. "Nothing, really. Just that there's Pokemon pretending to be them."
"That's all you know about them?" I asked, craning my neck towards him. "There's been a lot of Pokemon talking about humans around the Thunder Continent, including rumors that one has come to this world recently. Haven't you heard anything of them?"
"I'm sorry, but that's really all I know," Mini Gen said, putting his arms against the sides of his reunion cape. "I… have amnesia. I don't remember anything from before two days ago."
Huh. I was really sure he knew at least something about humans from his reaction to Gengar... Either he's truly forgotten that he's human, or he really isn't human after all. Maybe the human test will clear things up.
I reached into my bag with a vine, and pulled out a small book, labeled "Human Writing Samples". I held it in front of Mini Gen.
"I'm going to need you to try to read some things for me, ok?" I asked, giving Mini Gen a warm smile. Hopefully that'd make him a bit less on-edge.
"Uh, ok," Mini Gen said, as he looked up towards the book.
I opened it to the first page, which contained a sentence in a human language. "Galarish", Gen had called it. "Do these glyphs mean anything to you?" I asked. "If so, what does this say?"
"Uh, I don't know. I can't read it," Mini Gen said, looking back down.
Figures. I flipped to the next page, a sentence in Johtonese. "How about these glyphs here?"
"I...can't read those either."
I sighed, and we went through the rest of the book, filled with sentences in various other human languages. I asked him the same question, but the answer was the same every time.
As we got to the last page of the book, my petals had begun to droop. No matter what human writing or language I showed him, he couldn't read any of it.
… Maybe he really wasn't a human. But that mailbox made me wonder. Gen's name, in human writing. I had thought it was for the Gen I knew, but now that there's an amnesiac Oshawott here now named Gen, I don't think it could be a coincidence.
Hopefully one of the confirmation questions will help? Gen designed them to be things almost anyone from the human world would know, and we always updated the answers every time we visited the human world. If I asked Mini Gen a few, maybe they'd trigger a memory?
"Do you know who the current champion of Galar is?" I asked, only for Mini Gen to tilt his head at me.
"Um, what's Galar?" he asked in return. No luck there, then. Neither did asking what a gym was, or what rangers do.
Maybe just asking straight up would help? Maybe it'd trigger a memory and he'd say yes. Or he could be unsure, and say he doesn't know, and we could work more closely on helping him figure it out.
"Were you once a human?" I asked, hoping that he'd say yes, or even that he doesn't know, and we can start helping him—
"No," Mini Gen answered, looking down at the ground.
That answers that, then. Though it wouldn't hurt to make sure.
"Are you completely certain? There's nothing at all that's made you even wonder before?" I asked, hoping that there was at least a tiny bit of uncertainty. A chance that the human who had arrived to save the world was this Oshawott, and we could help him immediately.
"No, nothing," Mini Gen said.
That's… unfortunate. If he's absolutely sure he's not a human, then he's almost certainly not one. After all, since when was there a human that was brought to this world that was convinced they'd always been a Pokémon?
… I'd better go tell the others. We'd come all the way out here to Overcast Village and now we had fewer leads as when we first set out. Maybe we could spend some time relaxing around town, it might help us figure out what to do from here.
"Alright. I actually should get going now since my teammate's been waiting on me, though thanks for the help, Gen," I said, before starting to trot away.
Before I could get far, though, I heard a small squeak, and craned my neck to look back down at the little Oshawott. He was trembling, and was holding tightly onto his reunion cape. I could see some moisture on the fur around his eyes. Oh no, was I being too pushy with him? Was he feeling bad for not being able to read or answer any of that?
I walked back over towards Mini Gen, laid a vine on his head again, and gave him a soft smile. I thought about the wonder I first felt when I met Lidequir, focused it in my petals, and released an Aromatherapy to soothe him.
"You don't need to feel bad, Gen. You didn't do anything wrong," I told him, moving my vine across his head. "You actually were really helpful!"
"I was?" Mini Gen asked, looking up with wide eyes.
"Yep! Now we have a better idea of who you are, we'll have a better idea of what we should do, and we might even be able to help you recover your memories!" I said. Always look on the bright side, Lidequir always told me. Even though Mini Gen wasn't a human, at least we knew for sure now and we could better focus our efforts for finding the next human. And since we understood Mini Gen's situation a bit more now, it might help us with recovering his memories!
"...thank you…" Mini Gen said, before waddling closer to me, and hugging one of my front legs. I smiled brightly. He's so adorable!
"It's no problem! It's our duty to help!" I replied, wrapping a vine around him to return the hug. We hugged each other for about half a minute, before I spoke up again.
"Now, I need to go talk to my partner so we can continue helping the Pokemon here," I said, retracting my vines. "We'll do what we can help you recover your memories soon, but for now, I need to go. Ok?"
"Ok. Thanks, Acacia," Mini Gen said, letting go of me.
"I'll see you around, Gen!" I said, before trotting out of the house to tell Lidequir the news.
And we were back to not having any leads on the next human besides that mailbox. But at least Mini Gen was really sweet!
What could be up with him, though? There were so many signs that pointed towards Mini Gen being human... but if he isn't one, then what is he?
He had amnesia, no one ever saw him before, and we found his name in the mailbox. The former two were things that most past humans brought to this world experienced, and the latter raised my suspicions even further. But Mini Gen was adamant he wasn't one, and couldn't read a human language or answer any of the questions. He couldn't have even forgotten about being human, because he was completely certain he wasn't one.
Could he be lying? No, that wouldn't make no sense. What possible reason could he have to lie, especially with Burhalla around? If he woke up in a completely unfamiliar body, wouldn't that be one of the first things he would point out?
There was that whole thing when we were saving the world, though, with everyone in Pokemon Square thinking Lidequir was the cause of the disasters because he was human… and then there was what Gen and Vernir said they discovered about Munna's gang hunting down humans during the crisis of the Bittercold…
But even so, all of the humans at least told the first person they saw that they're human. Even Gengar did that with Team Meanies. Surely if Mini Gen was human, he'd have at least told Saltriv and Burhalla.
Perhaps I was looking at this from the completely wrong angle.
… It was admittedly a bit of a stretch, but could he be the partner of the new human? And the human wrote down their new friend's name, and that's why it was in the mailbox?
It wouldn't be the first time both members of a human's team had amnesia. After all, Leviene didn't remember anything about being Mew, and it seemed like a more likely scenario than two humans sharing both a name and species. It wouldn't be very much of a stretch for there to be other Oshawotts floating around out there with Gen's name. After all, I've met Chikorita sprouts in person who were named after me by their parents, even if every time I meet one makes me feel a bit weird about it. Even if the Gardeners aren't nearly as known as the rest of the world-saving teams outside of the Mist Continent, it's definitely possible that was a Samurott out there who really admired Gen, and named their pup after him.
But if Mini Gen was the next human's partner, why would he be separated from his human partner and wake up in the middle of Twig Woodland? And what happened to the human, then? And wouldn't the human have left at least a trace if they were so close to the village? Humans and their partners never showed up far apart from each other. It's so much of a stretch that it just doesn't make sense.
Maybe he's just a regular Pokemon who had his memories erased by something? Maybe that monster we heard about caused it? Hadn't that happened to the Porygon-Z it attacked?
But then why was he next to Saltriv in Twig Woodland?
None of this was adding up right. Every explanation I could think of had holes. He couldn't have forgotten being human because he was certain he wasn't human. He couldn't be lying about not being human because he had no reason to. He couldn't be the human's partner because the human would have turned up by now if they had been so close to Overcast Village. And he definitely couldn't be a regular Pokemon with amnesia because he woke up next to Saltriv, after they had been missing for months.
I stopped trembling, and breathed a sigh of relief, my tail flopping onto the floor. The entire time, I hadn't even realized it was tensed up.
That was really close. I thought that Acacia would find out my identity for sure.
What on earth was all that about, anyways? How did they already have suspicions I was a human before even meeting me? They even had some Johtonese and Unovan writing, too…
What's going on?! What does Acacia want from me?
And there's been more people than me who used to be human, like that Gengar. But that was apparently from a curse, and I hadn't been cursed… or at least I think.
Still, there were other Pokemon than just me here that were humans. Was Acacia also one, and that's why he had human writing and knew stuff about my world?
And what did all this have to do with those Pokemon who were apparently pretending to be human? Why were they doing that? Why would they want to do that?
Everything about that meeting was so confusing. I had gotten some answers from it, but also a bunch more questions that made me feel even more lost than before.
I just want to go home… I miss the bustle of Goldenrod City, talking with Spersua, stargazing in Ilex Forest, just being with my family, visiting the flower shop just down the street...
Suddenly, my nose twitched, as a familiar aroma reached it. Chocolate chip cookies. They have those in this world? They smelled so good, just like the ones from home…
Though I couldn't see any source nearby for the smell. Where were they? I looked all around the front room of Saltriv's house, but I couldn't find them anywhere.
It wasn't until a minute later that Saltriv arrived from outside, carrying into the house a wooden platter of chocolate chip cookies. At least ten of them, baked to perfect chocolatey goodness. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into them!
… But how did I smell the cookies from so far away, though?
Oh. Right. I'm an Oshawott now. I guess they must be able to smell better than humans can. … I'm not sure how to feel about that.
"Hi, Gen!" they said, waving their leaf as they set the platter on the ground. "I brought us some snacks for the sleepover!"
"Thanks! They look great!" I said, beginning to reach for one, before pausing. "... Er… I can have one, right?"
"Not yet," Saltriv said with an apologetic look. "I want to wait until the sleepover begins. You can have one as soon as it starts, though!"
I frowned, and stepped back away from the cookies. It wouldn't make any sense getting on the bad side of my host, guess I'll have to wait a bit longer until I can savor them.
"Hello!" I heard a familiar voice shout, and looked over to see Burhalla walking in. "Where's your parents? I thought they'd be here."
"Oh, hi Burhalla! Mom's talking with dad at the Kecleon Shop. She'll be home soon, and she'll have some more treats when she arrives!" Saltriv said, their tail beginning to wag.
"Er… hey, Burhalla," I greeted, smiling at my teammate. He smiled back.
"You're ready for the sleepover, Gen? I've been ready since last night!" Burhalla said with an eager grin. "I even put everything I'm bringing in my synchronised bag, so we should all be able to use it!"
"Yeah! I'm ready," I said. I was ready as I could be, aside from not knowing Water Gun. I hoped Water Sport would work for that game Burhalla mentioned, the one that required me to know a move of my type.
Though first things first. Before we could start our game, or anything else, the sleepover had to begin.
"Uh, can we go in your room yet?" I asked Saltriv, glancing in the direction of it.
"Of course!" Saltriv exclaimed, beginning to head towards their room. "Come on in!"
Many questions still swarmed my mind, some big, some trivial. Why did Acacia suspect I was a human? What stuff did Burhalla bring? What's been happening back home while I've been gone? What kinds of games did Pokemon play? How long until I could taste those chocolate chip cookies?
…. And how long until I can finally go home? I really hoped it wouldn't be much longer.
For now, though, I hoped I could enjoy this sleepover, even if I was currently a Pokemon. I pushed my questions from my mind, and together with Saltriv and Burhalla, I walked towards Saltriv's room, ready to have some fun and forget about my troubles for a night.
Hello! Today is the first anniversary of when Eternal Shadows was initially conceptualized! It's gone through a lot of changes since then, but it has improved so much, and is still a story I hold very near and dear to me.
Thank you so much to Spieful Murkrow for betaing this chapter, and to Team Ion for looking over it! Also, special thanks to Sudmensch, Herolich, and Theprinceofpuddles for supporting me. I couldn't have gotten this chapter out without their help.
And to you all, thank you all so much for sticking with me this far, and for those of you who are new to this fic, thank you for checking it out.
I still have a LOT in store, so look forward to that! I'm really excited to show you all what I have planned!
Also, I've recently started some non-canon askblogs for some of the characters in this fic, particularly Team Searchlights and the World-Savers' Council! You can find them at ask-team-searchlights and ask-world-savers-council on tumblr.
Again, thank you all so much for reading, and I hope to see you again soon with chapter 12!
As I walked into Saltriv's room, I instantly saw how different it was from how I'd remembered it this morning.
There were a lot more pillows and blankets in here than before. There was a whole pile of them heaped up near the beds that was twice as tall as I was, filled with a bunch of different colors and designs. I saw one that was orange with leaf designs, and another that was turquoise with bubble designs. Near them were a couple stools, some of them stacked on top of each other, while others had stacks of books on them.
Strewn across the floor I could see a bunch of what appeared to be board games. Some, like a checkers set, I could recognize. Ohers, like one with 18 different colored pieces with different symbols on them, were completely foreign to me. I could also see a deck of cards, with a Squirtle, Chikorita, and Absol drawn onto the back of one of the cards.
Where there used to be two beds, there were now three, one for each of us. Mine and Saltriv's were where they were before, but now there was a bed for Burhalla to the right of mine. There was a pen and a blue book sitting right next to mine near where I normally rested my head, with writing on the cover that I couldn't read. Or at least I was pretty sure it was writing. I assumed it was from the neat organization, but it oddly seemed to resemble… Pokemon footprints?
And off on the wall on the far side of the room from the door, there was a drawing that'd been hung up on a small hook. A Chikorita with a red leaf, a Charmander with a pink scarf, and an Oshawott with a red hood all together. Saltriv, Burhalla, and…me. It took me a second to recognize that as myself.
That…was pretty cute. Did Saltriv make this for us to see tonight? I opened my mouth to ask, only to see Burhalla gape up at the picture and around at the room's furnishings, before shooting an awed stare at our Chikorita teammate.
"You really went all out with this!" Burhalla exclaimed.
"Yep! I spent all day working with mom and dad to get everything perfect!" Saltriv answered, curling their mouth up into a bright smile as they adjusted their vines' grip on the platter of cookies they held. "I wanted this to be the best sleepover ever!"
"Well it certainly shows! Thank you, Saltriv!" I said. I could feel myself beginning to shake… for once it wasn't from worry or fear, but with... excitement. It'd been so long since I'd been at a sleepover… even if I wasn't quite the way I'd hoped I'd be, this was going to be fun!
"Let the sleepover begin!" Saltriv exclaimed, setting the platter of cookies down. Immediately, my attention was focused on the chocolatey goodness.
"Can I have one of those now?" I asked, already beginning to walk towards the platter.
I'd been waiting since the moment I smelled them to have a chance to have one of those chocolate chip cookies. And it took all of my willpower to not just dig into the platter in front of Saltriv and Burhalla. Fortunately Saltriv seemed to pick up on my eagerness, and gave a playful smile before reaching for the platter with a vine.
"Yep! Have as many as you want!" they said, before picking a cookie up and taking a bite out of it.
Yes! Even if everything else about this place that was different from what I knew, at least there were still chocolate chip cookies here. Why, with how good it smelled, I'm sure it tasted every bit as good as I remembered.
I quickly picked up a cookie and bit into it, excited to savor that sweet chocolatey delight. It was still warm, and I could feel the cookie break up into crumbs over my tongue when I suddenly froze.
Something was wrong. Saltriv was insistent these were chocolate chip cookies, but this didn't taste like chocolate at all! Instead of that rich and sweet flavor I remembered with a hint of bitterness, it was…almost fruity, sweet with a hint of dryness.
I mean, it wasn't bad, but… it wasn't chocolate.
Was the chocolate here different from the chocolate I remembered? I remember there were fruit-flavored chocolates back in my world, but I couldn't remember the last time anyone had used those in cookies. Had Saltriv done that here? Or was this just some sort of weird, otherworldly chocolate?
I took another bite. I wasn't just imagining things, it really did taste different from real chocolate. I…could actually faintly feel the taste of real chocolate now that I was focusing so much on the taste of this, but it was so warped it was almost unrecognizable.
Actually, now that I think about it, it wasn't just the chocolate that tasted off. The berries I'd been eating tasted a bit different from what I remembered how they should taste like. But why? They looked just like the ones that I remembered!
Is… Is it because I'm an Oshawott now? Do things just taste different to Pokemon?
… actually that made sense. I never tried to eat Pokémon food back home, but it didn't exactly look appetizing to me. They're so different from humans, so even if we ate the exact same food, why wouldn't the way they tasted be different, too?
So then as long as I was stuck like this, I couldn't even taste things like how I used to anymore...
I really, really hoped I could go back soon.
"What do you think? Are the cookies good?" Burhalla asked, taking a bite out of a cookie of his own.
"Yeah!" I said, before taking another bite out of my cookie. It really was good, just…not what I was hoping for.
Soon, we had all eaten a couple cookies each. Saltriv's leaf began drooping, and Burhalla's tail flame flickered as he fidgeted with his scarf. "What now?" I asked, glancing across the room.
"Let's make that blanket fort!" Saltriv suggested, swaying their leaf towards the pile of blankets and pillows. "That's one of the things I want to do first for this sleepover! As soon as we get that fort built, then we can play games inside it!"
"Sure! Let's do it!" Burhalla said, his tail flame brightening.
"Uh, yeah!" I said, smiling a little bit. Though was it really a good idea to build a pillow fort with Burhalla's tail flame swishing around like that? It wouldn't set fire to the fort or anything like that, right?
…nobody I've seen had been even slightly worried about him setting fire to things, though. And there's other fire-type Pokemon living in this town. I'm probably overthinking it, since surely the villagers here make things in mind for their own bodies. Everything's probably fireproof, so it should be fine.
"Everything we need is right over here!" Saltriv said. They were already walking towards the pile of pillows and blankets, giving it a brief glance before grabbing a stool with their vines. "Let's move the stools first, then we can put the blankets on and then the pillows inside!"
"Sounds good!" Burhalla said. He took a stool of his own and dragged it behind the beds. I took one soon after, and began dragging it next to my bed. It was surprisingly difficult to move it, though with my current body, it probably weighed as much as me now.
Before long, all the stools were in place, and we began moving the pillows and blankets. Saltriv was the only one of us who could reach the tops of the stools to drape the blankets onto them, so me and Burhalla just focused on carrying the pillows inside.
"And there!" Saltriv said, as they draped the last blanket over the stools. "It's done!"
I stepped back from the fort to see our handiwork.
Blankets of many different colors were draped around five stools positioned around our beds, covering them from almost all sides. There was a small opening between two orange blankets in the front, from which I could see pillows of a similar range of colors as the blankets all around the inside, as well as our beds.
Even if it was more work than I expected, it looked pretty nice, and really cozy to boot!
"I think it turned out really great!" Saltriv said, their tail rapidly wagging. "Thanks for helping me!"
"Not a problem. It was fun!" Burhalla said with a bright smile. "Now, let's go in and get back to having fun!"
"Sounds great! But, um... what are we going to do next?" I asked, beginning to walk inside the fort.
"Well, we could play a game or two… how about One Night Ultimate Human?" Burhalla suggested, following me inside. My eyes widened at the name. 'O-One Night Ultimate Human'? Wh-What the-? Did Burhalla know somehow? Was this game going to reveal that I'd been lying to my teammates all this time?
"We'd need more people for it," Saltriv replied. They shook their head, before joining us inside the blanket fort. "And I don't want to play it without Acacia, since his team is the focus of the game. It wouldn't be the same without him playing."
Before I could ask what Saltriv meant by that, they spoke up with a counter-suggestion, "Hm... How about playing Quick Moves instead?"
Burhalla's tail flame flared up, and he smiled. "Yeah! Let's do it!" Burhalla said, before pausing, then turning towards me. "Actually, wait. Gen, did you learn Water Gun yet?"
I looked down guiltily, dreading what might come next after what I was about to say.
"No. I tried, but…I could only do a Water Sport."
Burhalla's smile disappeared and his tail flame dimmed briefly. He gave a small sigh and looked back at Saltriv with a small shake of his head.
"Oh. I don't think we can play Quick Moves like that, then. We can't do it without an attacking move of your type," he murmured. "Sorry, Saltriv."
I gripped tightly onto my reunion cape. I can't even do a simple Water Gun. The one, single thing that would have been fun about me being like this, and I can't even do that. And I couldn't play that game with Saltriv and Burhalla because of that, either…
Agh! I was ruining everything here! Did they even still want me at the sleepover now? Ever since we'd finished the pillow fort, all I'd done was just get in the way of their fun!
"I'm sorry," I said, trembling. "I shouldn't have—"
Before I could finish, I felt a pair of scaly hands wrap around me. I looked up, seeing Burhalla hugging me.
"It's ok," he said, softly smiling at me. "You didn't do anything wrong. As long as you're trying, I'm sure you'll get it eventually. And it's just one game we can't do, anyways."
"Yep! There's plenty of others we can still do!" Saltriv said, waving their leaf. "How about charades?"
"I'd be down for that! I love charades!" Burhalla said, his tail flame burning brightly as he looked towards Saltriv before turning back to me with an insistent smile. "What do you think? You ok with that, Gen?"
Not quite prepared for the sudden question, I stumbled over my words. This was the charades I was thinking of, right? I wasn't about to join a game that was really something completely different, was I?
"I, uh—"
Before I could get a chance to fully answer, he said, "Oh, right. I should explain what it is. It's a game where you pretend to be something, and everyone else has to guess what that something is! It's really fun!"
I already knew what charades were. I'd even played it a couple times with my family. But I appreciated Burhalla's thoughtfulness nonetheless, guess he really wasn't upset about not being able to play Quick Moves.
"Sounds fun!" I said, smiling as I sat down on a pillow, before making some adjustments so my tail wasn't uncomfortable. "Let's do it!"
The game was simple enough, not that Burhalla's explanation left much room for confusion. Except… I had no idea how I'd play it with an Oshawott body.
"Alright! I'll start!" Burhalla said, before letting go of me and stepping a bit away. He moved his head forward, and his tail flame grew large. He held his arms to his sides, and began moving them up and down methodically, almost like flapping.
A large fire…and flapping…could it be…
"Moltres?" I guessed, and Burhalla smiled, stopping his flapping.
"Was it really that obvious? But yeah, that's right!" Burhalla said, walking back to a pillow. "I guess I should have gone with something more difficult. Who wants to go next?"
"Me!" Saltriv said, waving their leaf. They stepped back from their pillow, and swayed their leaf so it was over one of their eyes. An Ancient Power rock formed in midair next to their midsection.
…I had no clue what that was supposed to be.
"Uh, Magcargo?" I said. The guess was probably wrong, but it was the closest thing I could think of. I just couldn't think of any Pokémon that'd have one eye covered that'd also have rocks or something by their midsection.
"Nope!" they said, adjusting their leaf slightly.
Burhalla stared inquisitively for a few seconds, before his eyes widened. "Amaura!" he exclaimed, and Saltriv nodded.
"Yep! It was tricky to make it work, but you got it!" Saltriv said, going back to their pillow.
'Amaura'? I'd never heard of a Pokémon by that name before.. Was it a Pokemon from a region I didn't know a lot about? Or were there Pokémon that only lived in this world but not in mine? Maybe it'd make sense to ask—?
"Your turn, Gen!" Saltriv said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Oh, right, I was next.
What should I even try to be…Xatu? No, my arms were now too short for that. Mr. Mime? I didn't exactly have proper hands anymore… At this rate, maybe I ought to be a Magikarp. Since I was about as useless as one right now. Though then again, I don't think I'd even be able to flop like one with how my limbs are.
Let's back up a bit. What can I do with two nubs for arms and a tail… Psyduck? That might be possible. I just need to put my paws to my head and pretend I have a really bad headache.
I stood up, stepped back from my pillow, and put my arms on my head, before beginning to waddle back and forth, a pained expression on my face.
Burhalla and Saltriv stared at me, looking completely bewildered. That meant I was doing well and making them think hard, right? Or... had my charade somehow come out wrong?
"A very sick Piplup?" Saltriv said, trying to stifle a giggle.
"Uh, no," I answered, before beginning to shake my head as I waddled.
"A Psyduck that went days without darkness soothing?" Burhalla said, looking straight at my head.
Well, my charade had come out good enough if Burhalla could figure it out.
"Yeah, that's right! Though it was just supposed to be a Psyduck," I said, walking back to my seat, sitting down, and adjusting my position. "Um, what's darkness soothing?"
"It's a type of treatment where Topsy-turvy is used on a Pokemon who's having trouble with psychic powers," Burhalla answered. "It really helps if their powers are causing them pain."
Huh, interesting. I never heard of anyone doing that back home. It sounds like something that'd be useful, especially for a Pokémon like Psyduck. Maybe I can tell others about it when I get back home!
… I really hope I can go home soon.
"Uh, who should go next?" I asked, looking between my teammates as I began to smell…pecha muffins?
"I ca—" Saltriv began, but before she could finish, Meganium's head peeked inside the blanket fort.
"I brought more snacks for you all! Come and take some!" she said with a smile. "Also, Lidequir stopped by to visit. Why don't you take a break from that pillow fort to spend some time with her?"
Lidequir? Who was that? I saw Saltriv's eyes widen at the mention of that name. Was that another friend of theirs from here in Overcast Village? If so, how come they hadn't introduced me yet?
"Yay! Thanks, mom!" Saltriv said, their tail wagging as they hurried out of the blanket fort. Me and Burhalla soon followed, and I caught a look of awe on his face as we exited the fort.
I was greeted with Meganium holding a wooden platter of pink muffins with a vine just outside the fort's entrance, along with a Wartortle wearing a red scarf.
"Heya!" the Wartortle said, grinning at us.
"Hi Lidequir!" Saltriv said, running up to her. The Wartortle gave a hearty laugh, and pat Saltriv's leaf. She seemed awfully close to Saltriv for a Pokémon that I was just finding out about... what on earth was her story?
"Good to see you again, sprout! I missed ya!" she said. "You holding up alright?"
Saltriv smiled brightly, and gave Lidequir a brief hug with a vine. "Yep! I'm part of a search party now! Team Searchlights! It was Burhalla's idea!" they replied, pointing with their leaf towards Burhalla.
"Well, how 'bout that!" Lidequir said, before walking over to Burhalla and giving him a pat on the back. "Thanks for keeping them safe."
"Not a problem!" Burhalla replied, beaming.
I just stood there, wondering who this person was and how she knew Saltriv, before she turned towards me. "Gen! It's nice to meet you!"
Wh-Wha-? H-How does she know my name? I began trembling, clutching onto my reunion cape. "How—?"
"Aw, don't sweat it too much. I used my human powers to read your mind and figure out your name!" she said with another hearty laugh.
My eyes widened, and my grip on my reunion cape tightened. Human powers? Since when did humans have special powers? Did that mean she was human too? Did she see that I was human? Was she going to tell everyone? Was—?
"Just joking! Acacia told me about you. He's my partner," she said, giving a soft smile. I saw Meganium give her a disappointed look, and Saltriv giggling quietly.
That wasn't funny… Lidequir really scared me there! … Not that she would know, and frankly it was for the best that she didn't.
I slowly let go of my reunion cape, and looked up at Lidequir. "Uh, hi. So you're also on Team Seedlings with him?"
"That's right!" she said. "We saved the world together and all that jazz."
"How's the sleepover been going?" Meganium asked, stepping closer. "Are you all having fun?"
"Yep! We're all having lots of fun! We were just playing Charades!" Saltriv said, walking up to their mom.
"We also made a blanket fort! Though I guess you could already see that," Burhalla added, glancing at the fort.
"Glad you're having a good time," Meganium replied, giving them a brief hug with their vines.
I smiled at the sight, before feeling a clawed hand on my arm. I looked up, and saw Lidequir standing over me.
"Hey, why don't we go talk for a bit?" she asked, giving me a gentle smile. Before I could say anything, she added, "Don't worry, it's nothing bad, and it won't be long."
I hesitated, trying to figure out what to say in reply. If I said yes, then she might figure out that I'm human, and then tell everyone, and Burhalla would hate me for lying to him, and remove me from the team, and then I'd be away from Saltriv most of the time, and I'd be all alone. But if I say no, I'd put more suspicion on myself, and saying 'no' might not even be an option anyways. I hesitated a couple of seconds, before making a decision that I was sure I was going to regret...
"…ok."
Lidequir grinned. "Let's go, then! Follow me," she said, before walking out of Saltriv's room. I took a brief glance at my teammates, hoping that they'd speak up in protest and reel me back in so that way I'd have an excuse to not go with Lidequir.
"We'll wait for you!" they said, smiling back at me.
...No luck. Looks like I was going to have to make it through this talk on my own.
"Thanks," I said, before following after Lidequir.
We went through the hallway and back to the main room of Saltriv's house. After we entered and got to the table, Lidequir turned around towards me. "Sorry to pull you aside in the middle of your fun with your pals like this. There's a few things I gotta ask you about, and they're best brought up in private."
I nodded, my ears flattening against my head as I trembled. My mind raced with possibilities of what this could be about, almost all of them terrifying. I hesitated, then said, "Ok."
"I know you have amnesia, but what does the word 'human' bring to mind for you?" Lidequir asked, giving me an inquisitive look.
My family and everyone I knew back in Goldenrod. Having hands, no fur, and no tail. Having my food taste the way I expected it to. Watching TV at home with my family. Trying to cook something new. Doing the things that I love.
"Pokemon pretending to be one, and that Gengar Acacia told me about," I lied, looking up at Lidequir. Her ears twitched, and her eyes narrowed slightly in response.
"That's all? No idea what they look like?" Lidequir asked, and I nodded. Her eyes narrowed further.
"And you've never met a real human? One that became a Pokemon?" she added, laying a hand on my shoulder.
Acacia's words from yesterday ran through my head, all the info about my world he couldn't have known if he was just a normal Pokemon.
"I…don't think so," I said, beginning to tremble.
Lidequir's tail twitched, and she gave me a look of reassurance. "Hey, it's ok. There's no need to be scared. We don't bite. Well I do, but that's because I know the move and I'm good at it," she said, giving a small laugh at the end.
I tried to step away, but Lidequir's hand was still on my shoulder. I looked up at her, eyes wide with fear.
"Hey, lighten up a bit," she said, smiling softly at me. "It's just a joke."
I breathed a small sigh of relief, my tail flopping back onto the floor from being tensed up. "That wasn't funny…"
"Sorry 'bout that. Just couldn't resist," Lidequir replied, moving her hand from my shoulder to my head.
"Back to the point. You don't know? So you think you might have met one?" Lidequir asked, looking me in the eyes.
I- I really didn't want to be here right now. Terrified thoughts of what would happen if Lidequir found me out rushed through my head, screaming at me to just run away. But that'd just make things worse, and I'd be all alone.
"…I don't know," I answered, shrinking back against Lidequir's gaze.
She frowned at me, and said, "If it helps, I used to be human myself. Whoever your partner is, I'll be on their side."
My eyes widened. So she was human, too? Was that how Acacia knew all that stuff about my world? Because Lidequir told her? Nevermind that, how on earth did she become a Pokemon in the first place?
My mind raced with question after question after Lidequir's explanation. Did she wake up in that same weird place I did? Does she know how to go back? But if she knew, why wouldn't she have gone back already? And if she did and chose to stay here for whatever reason, would she even tell me? Would she still tell me even if she knew I'd been lying?
And 'partner'? What was she talking about!? What partn—
"Hey, hey, it's ok," Lidequir said with another soft smile, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You can trust me. I promise, whatever's going on, I won't judge you for it."
Maybe I should just try to stick to my story.
"I…don't know. I don't remember anything," I lied, looking down. "I might have met one of those humans, I might not have, but… I just don't remember right now."
"I see. Well, thanks for telling me, you've been a good sport for all of this," Lidequir said, taking her arm off of me. "And good luck with your search party! I'm sure you and Saltriv will do great on it!"
"Yeah…you're welcome," I said, looking back up at Lidequir. Thank goodness she bought that. I dunno what I'd have done if she found out my secret and blurted it out in the middle of my team's sleepover. I felt something scaly brush my head and looked up to see Lidequir patting me with a reassuring smile.
"I'll let you get back to your sleepover. That's all I wanted to ask," Lidequir said. "It was nice meeting you, Gen!"
"…nice meeting you too, Lidequir," I said, as I walked back to Saltriv's room.
I hurried off and let out a relieved sigh once I was confident Lidequir couldn't see me. That entire episode could've ended a lot worse than it did. I tried not to think too hard about it and came back to see Burhalla in the middle of chowing down on a muffin, and Saltriv having just finished one. Meganium was smiling at them.
"Gen! You need to try a muffin! They're really good!" Saltriv said, pushing the platter towards me with a vine. Honestly, I could go for one right now, I needed something to get my mind off that interrogation Lidequir put me through.
"Uh, sure!" I said, before picking one up and biting into it. Like the cookies…it wasn't how I remembered them tasting. Still good, but…
"I'll let you three get back to your sleepover," Meganium said, before beginning to walk out of the room. "Have fun, and stay safe!"
"We will!" Saltriv replied, just as Meganium disappeared from view.
"It's been a while since I've had a muffin this good!" Burhalla said, after taking another bite of his. "What do you think of them, Gen?"
It was more bitter than I remembered. Not enough to ruin it, but still noticeable. Burhalla didn't need to know about that though, not when it'd risk him and Saltriv asking questions. I tried to think of something to say back but kept drawing blanks until I finally forced out the first words that came to my tongue.
"…it's tasty," I said, taking another bite out of mine.
"Good!" Saltriv said, their tail wagging a bit.
"Hard to believe it's only been two days since we met you, Gen. Feels like it's been so much longer," Burhalla said, finishing his muffin.
"Yeah…same here," I said, setting my muffin down.
Had it really only been two days since I ended up like this? I could've sworn it'd been longer…
"It's just hard for me to wrap my mind around sometimes," I said. "There's so much that happened over the past couple days."
"Yep! Going through Twig Woodland, forming Team Searchlights, finding and purifying Flapple," Saltriv said with a bright smile. "We've already done so much together!"
Burhalla also seemed to be in high spirits, and I could see him smiling at me too. You'd never know from that expression that I almost killed him the other day, or that we went into that creepy shrine with all the… statues. Place makes me shudder still just thinking about it.
"I'm really glad you joined our team, Gen," he insisted. "It wouldn't be the same without you."
"…thank you, Burhalla," I said, smiling back. "I…I'm so glad you let me join the team. I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't."
Being all alone for hours on end, with nobody I truly knew to turn to…I really don't know what I'd have done without these two. And I didn't want to imagine what having to go through that would've been like.
"It's a pleasure, really," Burhalla said. "After all, it's not every day that you get to put a search party together with friends!"
I felt my eyes widen. He thought of me as a friend already? Even after what happened in Blistering Shore? I considered him one, but…
I…
"Gen?"
I looked up to see Burhalla staring at me. He was quiet and looked somewhat concerned at me. Had my reaction really been that visible?
"Is something wrong about that?" Burhalla asked. "You…are ok with us being friends, right?"
… My eyes felt damp. I could feel a few tears streaming down from my face. But, for the first time in these two long days, they weren't tears of sadness, or pain, or fear... but ones of happiness.
"…yeah. Yeah, I really am," I said.
"I'm glad to hear that! " Saltriv said with a wave of their leaf. "Since I see you as my friend, too!"
I hesitated, then stood up, and walked over to Saltriv and hugging them, before doing the same to Burhalla.
"Thank you…thank you…" I said, my tears splashing onto the floor. I felt a pair of scaly arms wrap around me, followed by a pair of vines wiping away my tears.
For the first time since I arrived here, I didn't feel alone at all.
After a few seconds, I felt my friends relinquish their grasp on me. I looked up to see Burhalla and Saltriv smiling brightly at me.
"Feeling alright, Gen? If so, how about we go back inside and get back to having fun?" Burhalla said, his tail flame burning brightly.
"Yeah. I'd love that," I said, wiping away the remaining tears on my face.
We all walked back into the blanket fort, and I sat back down on my pillow. Right, we'd been playing charades… where did we leave off at?
"Whose turn is it now?"
"I'll go!" Saltriv said, before swaying their leaf to the side of their head. "Just you two wait, I'll be sure to beat you two with my next charade!"
Saltriv's Home, 1 hour later
I flopped back onto my pillow with a quiet sigh. Burhalla had correctly guessed that I was pretending to be an Axew. Not sure if I felt more disappointed that my charade got figured out so fast, or relieved that I was still pulling it off well in this Oshawott body. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Saltriv beginning to yawn.
"Tired already?" Burhalla asked, laying a hand on the Chikorita. I felt myself start yawning.
"Yep…" Saltriv said, eyes half-lidded. "Still tired from yesterday."
"Yeah…" I said. "There was…so much that happened. And training…was exhausting, too."
Burhalla was yawning now himself. Guess yawns really were contagious, either that or it was much later than I thought it was. I watched as Burhalla laid down on his bedding, carefully slipping his tail flame away from it as he shifted and tried to get comfortable.
"Come to think of it, I'm starting to feel a bit tired, too," Burhalla said. "Was there anything else we still wanted to do right now?"
"Maybe…we should sleep, and do more in the morning," I suggested, starting to have trouble keeping my eyes open."
"Sounds good…" Saltriv said, curling up in their bed. "Goodnight, Burhalla. Goodnight, Gen."
"Night," Burhalla said, closing his eyes.
"Goodnight," I said.
I laid down and rested my head against my pillow, and pulled my blanket over me. I must be getting used to this bed quicker than I thought, since it felt strangely comfortable. Not as comfortable as my human bed, but it was comfortable nonetheless. Before I could close my eyes, though, I heard Burhalla speak up.
"Hey, Gen? Why don't you sleep against your scalchop?" I heard him ask. I looked over towards him, to see him with his eyes just barely open. "Don't Oshawotts normally do that?"
Crap. I didn't know that about Oshawotts. What do I say?
"Um…I…didn't remember that that's a thing Oshawotts do," I said. It wasn't entirely a lie. "Am I supposed to be doing that? It's not unhealthy for me to sleep differently, is it?"
"Dunno. Just found it a bit odd," Burhalla said, closing his eyes again. "Though come to think of it, I don't think I've seen you use your scalchop at all. You should probably start relearning how to use it again. It'd be really handy in dungeons."
"Uh, ok," I said, gripping onto my blanket. "I'll, um, start on that tomorrow."
"Night, Gen," he said, his tail flame beginning to dim.
I lifted my blanket up, to look at the shell on my belly. It was such a weird thing, it felt like both a clothing accessory and a part of my body at the same time. It wasn't as weird as the fur, or the ears, or the tail, or my arms and legs, but still.
I couldn't wait to be human again and be rid of it all.
Until then, though, maybe it was a good idea to try to start learning how to use my scalchop. I didn't know how long it'd be until I could find a way back home, and it could be useful until then.
I definitely don't want to start sleeping against it, though. That didn't sound comfortable at all.
None of this was comfortable.
I had lost so much. My home, my family, my ability to do many things, even my body. All I really had left right now was my memories.
…I didn't want to imagine losing those, too.
But that wasn't entirely true, was it? I had Saltriv and Burhalla. I was happy to have them, at least. I couldn't imagine having to go through this all without them.
But what if they find out about my lies? For all I knew, there was some way they could put two and two together that I didn't know about. And if they did, wouldn't they want nothing to do with me afterwards? And then…I'd be all alone.
I just…need to keep up this lie, just until I find a way home. Then I can go home, return to my life, and put this all behind me.
But then I'd lose Saltriv and Burhalla, wouldn't I?
It'd be worth it, though. I'd be home again, with my family again, and be human again.
Even if I missed them, it'd be worth it.
It'd still be nice not to choose, though.
Maybe…they could even come with me somehow. As disorienting and unpleasant as things had gotten since I became a Pokemon, the two had been genuinely nice to hang around. Who knows? Maybe they would find my world interesting since it was full of beings they'd never seen before.
My eyes began to open, and I yawned. That was such a fun sleepover! Such a great time!
Huh, it looked like it was still dark. I couldn't see very far, but my tail flame helped illuminate things a bit.
I began to stand up, and walk over towards where Saltriv was. "Morning, Saltriv!" I said.
Except I couldn't find them. I looked where I remembered their bed being, but there was just empty space on the floor.
Where did they go?
Ah, they must have gotten uncomfortable sleeping in the pillow fort, and moved their bed outside. I didn't see Saltriv as the type to do that, but they are quite a bit bigger than me or Gen.
I guess I'll just greet Gen, then. The pillow fort shouldn't have been any less comfortable for him than it was for me.
I walked over to his spot, but... wasn't here either.
"…Gen?" I asked.
I held my tail flame out to look around in the darkness. No sign of him either. Guess he must have gone outside with Saltriv. … or at least I think he did.
I began walking towards where the exit of the blanket fort was, but after several seconds of walking, I still hadn't reached it.
Alright, this was getting weird. Something was definitely up. There was no way the blanket fort was this big. What had happened while I was asleep?
I continued walking, until I came to a wall of blankets. I lifted my tail up to try to illuminate the top, but there didn't seem to be any top to the blankets.
No… no, it couldn't be…
Out of the corner of my vision I spotted something lavender. I didn't hesitate to walk over towards it. There on the ground, near the blanket wall, was a sleep seed.
I hopped out of bed, and got dressed. Same old bed, same old dresser, same old bookshelf.
It was so good to be home at last.
I made my way down the hallway to the kitchen, and everything was just as I remembered it. Were the past two days just a bad dream? Wonder what school would be like today. Hopefully the Game Corner wouldn't be too rowdy when I clocked in.
… I think I'll make myself some pancakes for breakfast today. I think I have time.
As I walked to the kitchen, I saw a familiar Chikorita and Charmander lounging in the living room on the couch, watching a movie sitting alongside my brother. I smiled, and waved at them. I was so happy to be friends with them both.
"Hello, Gen!" Burhalla said, waving back at me. My mother's Flaafy baaed, curled up next to the couch. She'd been a part of my family for as long as I could remember. It was nice to finally see her again.
"Gen…"
I entered the kitchen, and looked up at the stove. It was an older model, with the same drab, yet polished finish it had. But something was different about it this time. It was so high up...it would be difficult to turn it on. The stovetop must've been a full three times my height off the ground, who on earth built it like that?
Wait a minute… why was I so small to begin with?
I looked down at myself, only to see tiny white arms, blue fur, and a scalchop on my chest. What?! What was going on?! What was wrong with my body?! Why was I still an Oshawott?!
"Come on, Gen!"
Around me, streaks of rainbow cut through the house, the stove, cabinets, floor, and walls dissolving away into a mesmerizing, colorful void. I screamed as the floor tiles below me disappeared.
"Gen, hurry up and save the world already!"
A giant, pink and black hand reached out for me. It grabbed me and—
Blanket Fort 7F
My eyes shot open. It was just a dream. Just a dream.
I was still an Oshawott. I was still stuck here, stuck like this.
What was with that dream, though? It started off normal, but then my teammates were in my house back in Goldenrod…and there was a voice talking to me about…something.
Already I was having trouble remembering anything about it. I tried to focus on my dream, but the details wouldn't come.
…hopefully it really was just a dream, and not something like a vision of the future.
I opened my eyes further, stretched my arms and legs, and—
…why was everything so dark? Shouldn't Burhalla's flame keep things lit?
I gazed around, and felt my eyes widen in horror. I could barely see what was around me, but I could tell one thing.
My teammates were gone.
I was alone.
No. No no no no no!
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. They had to still be nearby, right?
Immediately, I clutched tightly onto my reunion cape, as I looked for the exit to the blanket fort. Something about clutching onto it made me feel less alone, and safer. It felt comforting. Hopefully Saltriv and Burhalla had just woken up early…they were probably just off eating breakfast.
Why were the walls so far away? And so tall, too…I knew I was really short now, but they couldn't have been this tall before, right?
I hesitated, then stood up, before walking over to one of the blanket walls. I tapped it, but it didn't move at all.
What's going on?! This wasn't how things were when I went to sleep! What happened?! Where were my teammates?!
"Burhalla? S-Saltriv?" I asked, glancing around. No response. Just me, the straw bed, and a bunch of blankets I could barely see in the dark.
"Please? P-please be there…please…"
I-I couldn't be all alone, right? Right? I could see my surroundings a bit better now. There were some patterns on these blankets that weren't on the ones we used. But there was no one else here. No one but myself.
No. No no no no no. Wh-What on earth even happened here? Where were we? Were we even still in the house? Did the blanket fort somehow become a mystery dungeon? Did Saltriv and Burhalla abandon me? Did they decide I was just a burden?
Wooosh.
I felt a breeze sweep past me, and noticed a Shuppet in the corner of my eyesight. Was that a person? Or a dungeon Pokemon? Either way, I felt uneasy about it.
"Um, h-hi…" I said, gripping tightly onto my reunion cape. In response, a deep magenta aura surrounded the Shuppet, then the aura erupted from the ground around me.
The aura surrounded me—
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts!
So much pain. It was like every centimeter of my body felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand knives! I whimpered, trembling as I tried to back away from the Shuppet.
W-Was this...what some moves could feel like? What did that Shuppet just do to me?! I looked back towards the Ghost-type and felt my blood run cold. The Shuppet was still there, worse, it was floating closer.
I screamed, running away from the Shuppet as fast as I could through the pain.
The Shuppet only grew closer. Everything hurt. It hurt so much. I was so, so scared. I just wanted to go home. To be anywhere but here.
I felt something soft press up against my back. I was up against the wall. I was cornered. I was going to die. I was going to die.
In the back of my mind, I noticed that I had instinctively pulled my scalchop off my chest, and was now holding it in my right paw. A pale green glow surrounded it.
The Shuppet Screeched, and I screamed. I turned around, and cut at the blankets in the wall as fast as I could. I needed to get out of here. I needed to.
I ignored the sound of fabric ripping and tearing, continuing to hack away at the blankets. I managed to tear a hole in the blankets big enough for me, and before I even saw what laid beyond, I leapt through, away from the Shuppet.
As soon as I tumbled out through the tear in the fabric, the pain began fading, and I could focus again. Immediately, my eyes widened in surprise, and I yelped, as I realized that there was no ground beneath my feet.
I was falling through a rainbow void, just like the place that platform was on. The one I woke up on before I became an Oshawott.
There was no platform this time, though. All that was there was the abyss I was falling in, the colors racing past me as I plummeted. I probably ought to have been screaming, but somehow, I was too wrapped up with the colors of the void.
What was going to happen to me now? Was I going to be sent to a completely different world again? Was I going to go home? Would I just fall forever this time? Would—
Suddenly, I felt myself slow to a stop, leaving me floating in the void. I gripped tightly onto my reunion cape. Just what was going on?! This was almost as weird and scary as the platform itsel—
There was something in front of me.
It was…horrific. It was like the skeletons of an Aerodactyl and Kabutops merged together, with a cruel, ghostly grin, surrounded by garbled, flashing lines of light…
Wait…garbled, flashing lines of light…no, no it couldn't be! M-MissingNo was supposed to be an urban legend! There were just two major Johtonese legendaries, not some phantom third one like the cheap tabloids in the grocery store sometimes claimed! MissingNo wasn't real!
And yet here it was, in front of me.
And it was reaching for me.
I screamed, and tried to get away, but I could only flail in place, as it reached a tendril towards me.
"HELP!" I shouted into the void. But nobody came. MissingNo only screeched a garbled noise in response.
I clutched tighter onto my reunion cape. Was this it for me? Would I never see my family again, and be subjected to whatever fate Missingno wanted?
Wait, my reunion cape! "They can reunite you with someone, no matter the distance" Saltriv had told me. Could it get me out of here?
I didn't know if it had a connection…but I had to try. I had to. I had to. Or…
I tapped the bow of my reunion cape, hoping with all my heart that it had a connection.
In the blink of an eye, MissingNo and the rainbow void disappeared, and I felt myself hurtling through who-knows-what. I spotted a speck of orange—
I waited at the table, with breakfast ready for Saltriv and their friends. Arbstea was still sleeping, but even so, the table shouldn't have been this empty. Saltriv should've woken up by now.
… Did a repeat of last time happen? That would explain why they're taking so long. I really hoped not, though. I didn't want to have to reprimand Saltriv only days after their return.
I should go check on them. I trotted over to the entrance of their room, and stuck my neck in.
"Saltriv? Are you awake?" I asked.
Everything seemed alright. There was no signs of a disturbance, but I couldn't see into the blanket fort. There was nothing but darkness inside—
I froze, as my mind turned to the stories of Mossy Town. After it had become a mystery dungeon, all that anyone had found of it from outside was an entrance that couldn't be seen through. My breaths started to come in and out in a panic. I could see the darkened entrance as clear as day, the blanket fort had become a mystery dungeon!
Oh, nonononono. No! Not Saltriv! Not after just getting them back after so long! And their friends! I couldn't see hide or scale of them! Did that mean they were also in…?
There was no time to waste, I reflexively made my way to the entrance of the Mystery Dungeon, only to catch myself at the entrance. It'd been so long since I went dungeoning… and I had no idea what on earth I'd find going into it on the other side.
I hesitated a moment. I really, really hated not going after Saltriv right then and there, but I knew enough about Mystery Dungeons to know that I couldn't do this alone. Plunging headfirst into an unexplored Mystery Dungeon wasn't a walk about Overcast Village, much less trying to do that with nothing but a satchel of pecha berries to help me while inside.
A-Acacia and Lidequir. They had done this sort of thing before. And they were both still nearby in town, I needed to get them over here immediately!
The wisps around me dissipated, and I continued down the narrow corridor in the blankets. I felt my leaf brush up against a grey one as it swayed. Where on earth did all of these come from anyways? We couldn't have used more than a half-dozen blankets at most when building our fort, and somehow this Mystery Dungeon had created what must've been hundreds of them!
I don't want to use that move, ever again! And if I just stay calm, it won't happen!
I… I just need to not get overwhelmed.
Where were Burhalla and Gen? It's been at least an hour, and I've seen no sign of either of them at all.
They were probably alright. We're in a blanket fort right now. How bad could it be as a Mystery Dungeon? We'd surely all find each other and get out of here soon!
I just need to keep moving, and never give up! No matter how scary or dark things get.
I missed the sunshine.
I walked into a room, and my left foreleg bumped into something in front of me. I looked down, trying to see what it was in the darkness.
Two rectangular objects… books? No, journals! My journal was there! I thought I had lost it forever after our fort became a mystery dungeon! And the journal I had gotten for Gen was right next to it!
I smiled as I placed the two journals into my bag. Once we're all out of here, I can show Gen his journal! I even got him one the same color as his chest fur!
I tensed up against a wall, as a Wooloo rushed at me with a Headbutt. I spat an Ember at a Wooloo, knocking it out just before it could reach me. A Stufful was next, and I barely dodged out of the way of its lunge. It collapsed onto the ground, defeated, and my heavy breathing began to return to normal.
Th-That was way too close.
Everything had just been battle after battle, since just after I woke up. I could hear myself pant and my breaths come out ragged. With how little time there was to recuperate between each fight, I was starting to feel exhausted. I must not have slept well either before waking up, since I felt like I was going to fall asleep at any moment. I could see my tail light flicker and dim, though I didn't need to look back to tell it was wavering, I could feel it.
N-No! I couldn't just fall asleep here! I had to keep going, and get us out of here! Saltriv and Gen might be in danger right now! I had to keep myself awake, but… how?
… Wait a minute, Drakloak gave us an insomniscope. I was pretty sure I never took it out of my bag. If it was still in there, I could use it.
I reached into my bag, and saw those Hoothoot-like goggles. I took them out, and stuck them over my eyes. I didn't have any horns yet to fasten the sides around like Drakloak could, but luckily this model of insomniscope came with sticky sides, allowing me to stick them to the sides of my head.
Already, as I went on that train of thought, I could feel my tiredness slipping away. Good. One problem taken care of…many more to go.
I peeked back inside my bag, and spotted two blue books that weren't there before, one labeled "Saltriv" and the other "Gen".
I smiled. Looks like Saltriv had gotten that journal for Gen...though I wish we could have given him it together.
No time to think about that, though. We were separated, and lost in a mystery dungeon.
At least the journals being in this bag meant that either Saltriv, Gen, or both were safe. But where were they—
SMACK!
I yelped as I felt something crash down onto me from above. I wobbled, then my head hit the thankfully soft ground with a thump. What was that?!
I stood back up and looked around, and looked up to see...Gen? He was trembling, breathing in and out rapidly, and clinging tightly onto his reunion cape.
Berry crackers, was he having a panic attack?
"Gen!" I called, leaning down and laying an arm on him. "Where were you? What happened to you?"
He didn't say anything, only whimpered and clutched onto my arm. What on earth had happened to him?! I couldn't remember ever seeing him this much of a nervous wreck since we met. Was he really that terrified of being alone?
Whatever happened, he clearly needed some comfort.
I put my arms around him and pulled him into a hug, slowly rubbing a hand against his back. That always worked well to help calm Valorch's anxiety, maybe it'd work here too.
"It's ok, it's ok. You're safe now," I said. "I'm here. You're not alone anymore."
Gen's breathing began to slow, and his trembling started to subside. "B-Burhalla…" He said weakly, before hugging me tightly.
"We'll get out of here. It's going to be ok," I said, moving my tail flame closer to him, trying to provide some comforting warmth. He leaned closer to it, whimpering, an anguished look on his face.
"I'm scared…I'm scared…it hurt so much…" he said.
My eyes narrowed. What hurt so much? What did this to him?
"Gen…what happened to you?" I asked, loosening my grip on him.
"I-I think a S-Shuppet did something to me me. I r-ran into one, and there was a pink aura, a-and-" he answered. I could see a few tears run down his face. He looked really shaken.
"I-It really hurt, Burhalla! E-Everything on my body felt like it was getting stabbed!"
Berry crackers! He got Cursed?! No wonder he was such a wreck! Immediately, I dug into my bag and pawed through it. Something felt off about the contents though. I looked down into the bag and froze for a moment with a horrified gasp.
I-I never put any heal seeds in there before coming to Saltriv's!
H-How on earth did I-? Deep breaths. Deep breaths. We could still make this work. There were still oran berries in my bag, and there was a tiny reviver seed if things came to it.
I grabbed one of the orans, and thrust it at Gen. He hesitated a few moments before eating it. His trembling began to subside.
"Thanks, Burhalla," Gen said, before hugging me again, tightly.
Huh? What the-? How was Gen hugging me? He shouldn't have enough energy for that while Cursed.
… Was he lying to me?
No, he'd never do something like that. We're friends. He hasn't lied to me yet, and he was so scared after he'd hurt me. I trust him.
He must have healed the Curse on his own. Yeah, that was probably the explanation.
"Are you feeling better now?" I asked Gen, and he nodded.
"Alright! Let's find Saltriv, and get out of here!" I said, raising an arm into the air.
Me and Burhalla trudged down a corridor, side by side. I huddled close to him as we walked to the next room of this floor of the mystery dungeon. The patterns on the blankets were getting increasingly bizarre, I just saw one with splotches of orange and brown patterned with Bidoofs.
Burhalla was with me. I wasn't alone anymore. We were safe. I was safe.
What had even happened back there? Burhalla had told me this had become a mystery dungeon. This place, this place I thought was safe, had become just like Twig Woodland and Blistering Shore, and that terrified me.
Even so, that still didn't explain the rainbow void or Missingno.
It was Missingno, I recognized the garbled lines of light and skeletal appearance from the covers of fantasy stories… Did… that mean the legends were really true? Were there really three major Legendary Pokémon of Johto long ago? Lugia, Ho-oh, and Missingno?
I could worry about that later, once we were out of here. Once we were far away from any Shuppets.
There was something else that was bothering me, though.
"How are there Pokemon in here?" I asked, walking by a pink spotted blanket. "We're still in Saltriv's house, aren't we? So how could a bunch of Pokémon suddenly have gotten into this Mystery Dungeon?"
"...I don't have any idea. Nobody does," Burhalla answers, his tail flame flickering.
Wait, what?! Nobody knew?! Surely that couldn't be right. Mystery dungeons sounded like such a common thing here. Someone had to know how, right?
"Huh?! What do you mean?" I replied, glancing behind myself.
"Nobody knows exactly what dungeon Pokemon are. There's usually just the normal Hostiles and Dociles, but then there's stuff like that really aggressive Krokorok in Blistering Shore, and there was even one found a few months back that was like you and me, even if he couldn't talk, and he joined the team who found him!" Burhalla said. "He's an Oshawott, just like you, and they found him with a Treecko that was also like him. Almost as if the two were made to be partners with one another. I heard they're living in Moonlight Town now, helping Jolteon with dungeon research."
"How…" I trailed off. All of the Pokemon in these dungeons seemed like wild animals or particularly hostile wild Pokemon in my world, so if there was one that was sapient like Burhalla...
"Point being, there's no real pattern to them. They just...appear," Burhalla said, his fire dimming. "I wish I could tell you more."
I felt even more confused than before, but nonetheless, I said, "Thanks."
Maybe I should go talk to that other Oshawott. Maybe he could give me some advice on how to get by as one until I found a way home...and maybe I could get some answers about what happened to me, too.
Soon, we arrived in the room, only to come face-to-face with a Flaafy. I really hoped this was a docile. I didn't want to have to fight one, it'd be like fighting my mom's Flaafy. I don't think I could bear hurting it—
"AAAAAAAAH!"
Electricity surged through me, and I screamed. Not docile! Not docile!
Burhalla had a horrified expression on his face. He breathed an Ember at the Flaafy before running towards me. It cried out in pain, and I winced.
All I could see was my mom's Flaafy getting hurt.
I tried to tell myself that this wasn't them. This was just a wild Pokemon, not a Pokemon I've known for most of my life.
But the mental image wouldn't go away—
Pain surged through me, as it shocked me once again. Burhalla arrived at my side, but not before Scratching the Flaafy.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you attacking?" he asked me, a concerned look in his eyes.
"I…" I began, unsure how to explain it without giving myself away. Before I could give an answer, though, I screamed as I saw the Flaafy lunge at me, terror filling my body. No longer did I see my mother's Flaafy, there was just something bleating and sparking that was coming towards me far too fast.
I grasped at my scalchop, and frantically slashed at the Flaafy. Again and again and again, until I saw the Flaafy faint. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and tried to calm my nerves.
As I pulled my arm away, I saw that my scalchop was glowing the same pale green color as when I cut through the blankets. What was that? Did I pull off another move?
Burhalla walked over, and when he looked at my scalchop, he smiled. "Ah! That was Fury Cutter! Congrats on pulling it off!"
Wait, Fury Cutter? But isn't Fury Cutter a bug-type move? But Oshawott are water-type Pokémon, since when did they learn Fury Cutter?
… I guess I knew a lot less about Oshawotts than I thought.
Though…if water-type moves needed calm to happen, what sort of emotion did bug-type moves need?
… Yeah, I'll wait until we're out of here to worry about that.
"The stairs!" Burhalla shouted, pointed towards a hole in the floor, where a set of stairs descended. "Come on, let's go!"
Before I headed over, I looked down at the Flaafy fainted on the ground. I felt a twinge of guilt, as I thought of the Flaafy I had known for most of my life.
… No, this wasn't the same Flaafy. This wasn't the one I knew.
I hurried over, and together, we proceeded to the next floor.
I walked through the corridor, past the multicolored walls of blankets. It feels like it's been hours since I woke up in here. Was I even going the right way?
I had to run into Burhalla or Gen soon, right?
This was a nightmare…the blanket fort we built became a prison.
Nearly everything that happened recently was a nightmare. I went missing for months, and when I came back I was apparently able to use a shadow move!
Both Leon and Wilsa had gone missing in my absence, too…just how many more Pokemon were going to disappear into the shadows? I was worried about Wilsa especially. Leon was one of the strongest Pokemon I knew, but Treeckos like Wilsa weren't the toughest.
I hoped she'd be ok. I hoped everyone would be ok.
I really, really hoped things would get better soon… Pokemon going shadowy and mystery dungeons popping up more often, this had to be another crisis.
A human had to have come in reaction to all this, right?
As I entered the next room, my eyes widened, as I saw two Meganiums and a Wartortle talking.
"Mom!" I shouted, running towards her and Team Seedlings.
"SALTRIV!" mom yelled.
Before I knew it, I was wrapped in her vines. Acacia put a petal against my leaf as he sighed in relief, and Lidequir was smiling even brighter than during her jokes.
"You're alright, you're alright, thank Tapu Fini you're alright…" mom said, rubbing my back.
"You're not hurt, are ya?" Lidequir asked, laying a hand on my leaf.
"N-Nope, I didn't," I answered, my leaf beginning to lift back up. "I didn't run into any hostiles. I…I'm ok."
"I was so scared we wouldn't find you…" mom said, trembling.
Oh no, I really worried her… I tried my best to force a smile, to try to cheer her up.
"It's ok! I'm safe now!" I said with a wag of my tail.
"Let's get out o—" Acacia began, before catching himself. My uncle looked at me briefly before turning his attention off around our surroundings, frowning. Was… something the matter with me right now? I thought I was fine, but…"
"Saltriv, do you know where Gen and Burhalla are?" he asked, giving me a concerned look.
Oh. Right.
"I…haven't seen them since I fell asleep," I answered, my leaf drooping.
Lidequir exchanged a worried glance with Acacia, and mom's petals tensed up.
"... We need to find them soon, they couldn't possibly have prepared well for this place," Acacia said, his antennae flattened against his head. "Stay close to us, Saltriv. We'll go look for them."
"Right! Lead the way!" I answered, trotting closer towards my mother, uncle, and his teammate.
Before I reached them, though, I heard the sound of something growling. I froze.
"Saltriv! Look out!" mom said, pulling me to the side, and my eyes widened in horror as I saw a Bewear charging at us!
Mom twitched her petals, and a Protect barrier wrapped around us all. The Bewear bonked into it, but the barrier shattered as it did so. Berry crackers, this was really bad! But mom, my uncle, and Lidequir could handle it, right?
"Stay behind me!" mom shouted, and I darted behind her. The Bewear roared, before smashing an arm into Acacia with a Hammer Arm. I heard him cry out in pain as something cracked.
"U-Uncle Acacia!"
Acacia slumped over onto the ground, breathing hoarsely as he tried to right himself. No, no no no! Th-This couldn't be happening!
Mom gasped, and twitched her petals again. Reflect barriers surrounded us all, as Lidequir rushed towards the Bewear, his head glowing for a Skull Bash.
"I'll be fine! I've dealt with far worse!" Acacia said, reaching into his bag with a vine. The Bewear swung its arms directly at Acacia's neck—
NO!
I felt something surge from me, and watched as shadowy tendrils shot at the Bewear…as well as mom, Acacia, and Lidequir. Nononono! Not this move again! Not with my family! Not now!
I heard several cries of pain, and both the Bewear and Lidequir were knocked to the ground. I saw patches of skin on both mom and Acacia turning a withered tan, and there were cracks in one of the plates of Lidequir's shell. The Bewear stood back up, fury in its eyes, before a Solar Beam from Acacia knocked it back down.
It was over…but I hurt them! I hurt my family!
I rushed out of the room, trembling. I heard mom calling my name, but I didn't care. I couldn't let them see me again, after seeing me use that move.
How could I ever face them again after doing that?
As we entered the next room, Burhalla's eyes widened, and he ran over to something reddish on the floor. "Hey, come look at this! I've never seen a seed like this before!" he said, and I hurriedly waddled over.
It was an odd object, looking a bit like a gigantic sunflower seed, even bigger than the blast or totter seeds I've seen. Around it were three red protrusions... They looked very similar to the red clouds that had swirled around me when I stepped into the pillar of red light in Blistering Shore! Right when… I lost control of myself.
"What do you think it is?" I asked, cautiously tapping it with a foot.
"I dunno…but it's definitely a seed. And something about those red plumes look familiar," Burhalla said, picking it up and turning it over, before placing it in his bag. "I'll keep it in our bags. It might come in handy."
Suddenly, something green and red knocked into Burhalla. I yelped, before breathing a sigh of relief, recognizing them as my Chikorita roommate.
Saltriv's eyes widened, they took a step back, and they hesitated briefly. My ears twitched, and I wondered if something was wrong, but before I knew it, a smile found its way onto their face.
"Burhalla! Gen! You're both ok!" Saltriv exclaimed, sprouting four vines, wrapping them around me and Burhalla in a hug as their tail wagged. "You're ok!"
Burhalla chuckled, hugging Saltriv back, and I joined in. Now that we were all together, I felt so much safer.
Burhalla let go of Saltriv, and said, "Now we just need to get out of here—"
SHOOOOOOM!
My eyes widened, and I hurriedly looked around for the source of the strange noise, before spotting a beam of red light shooting from the ground into the air, just a short distance away.
Just like the one that made me Dynamax.
Burhalla put a hand on me, and another on Saltriv. A worried look was on his face, before turning fierce.
"Let's stay far away from that," He said, with narrow eyes. I nodded. I didn't want a repeat of last time.
"Vee? Eev Eevee!"
I looked around again, spotting an Eevee emerging from one of the corridors in the room. I put an arm on my scalchop, getting ready for a fight.
"Voi?" it said, backing away from us, before looking around.
"Just a docile, no need to worry," Burhalla said. "Now, let's—"
"Eevee!" the Eevee cried, crouching like it was ready to pounce.
But it wasn't looking at me, Saltriv, or Burhalla.
It was looking directly at the red beam of light.
Before any of us could react, the Eevee took off running and dashed towards it.
"STOP!" Burhalla yelled, spitting an Ember at it, but it was undeterred. The Eevee entered the beam of light, and its fur began bristling as its ears rapidly twitched. Burhalla looked on in horror, and Saltriv put a vine on each of us, their leaf quivering.
I watched in horror as it grew bigger and bigger, and also…fluffier? As the Eevee grew in size, the mane around its neck enveloped its torso as well. It would be adorable if it wasn't towering over all of us and able to squish us by rolling over.
As it stopped growing, three red clouds appeared around the Eevee's left ear, nearly identical to the protrusions around the seed we found.
"VOI?" it said, looking down at itself, before touching its mane with a forepaw. Its eyes lit up, and a wide smile appeared on its face. "VEE! VEEVEVEVEVEVEVEE!"
Crap, it dynamaxed! Is it going to go berserk like…like I did?
I glanced over at my teammates, huddled up against each other. Burhalla's flame was wavering. "We need to get out of here!" he exclaimed.
That… would be easier said than done. There were only two exits to the room and the Eevee was blocking both of them. … We were trapped.
We needed to wait it out.
"VOI VOI VOI!" It exclaimed, and I felt the ground rumble. Cracks began to spread throughout the ground, spidering towards us and centering around—
"Saltriv! Move!" I shouted. Their eyes widened, and they leapt away, just before the ground erupted beneath where they were before, and a beam of energy shot up into the sky.
I didn't want to know what that would have done if it had hit Saltriv.
"What was that move?!" Burhalla exclaimed. "It looked normal-type, but—Ack, Gen! Watch out!"
I felt the air start to get colder, and looked up. I screamed as I saw several massive chunks of ice falling towards me.
I hurried out of the way of one, only for a shard of it to strike me, knocking me to the ground. Another was falling straight for me, and there was no way I could escape in time. I closed my eyes, trying to brace myself.
The ice crashed into me, and I screamed out in pain. Less pain than I was expecting, and I didn't feel anything break. Silver linings, I guess?
Pokemon are supposed to be pretty resilient, after all. I guess it made sense I wouldn't get hurt too badly by a move now that I'm one.
I looked up, and saw that there was only one red cloud left around the Eevee's ear now. They were almost all gone. It was almost over.
"VEEEE!" the Eevee exclaimed, as three stars fell from above, landing next to me, Saltriv, and Burhalla. They sparkled, and before any of us could scream, they exploded into energy, and I yelped as pain flowed through my body.
I don't think I'll ever see Galarian Pokemon battles in the same way after this ever again. I'm not sure if I'd want to see one of them ever again.
The final cloud dissipated, and the Eevee yelped. It began to shrink, its body gradually returning to normal and the extra fluffiness of its mane disappearing.
Soon, there was just a regularly-sized Eevee, looking completely confused. It looked around, before yawning and lying down, closing its eyes.
As the Eevee fell asleep, I breathed a sigh of relief, before collapsing onto the ground. It was over. It was over.
I looked over at my teammates, also both lying on the ground, breathing heavily. They seemed shaken from the encounter, and so was I.
"That was terrifying…I thought we were done for!" Saltriv said, twitching their leaf.
"We made it, though," Burhalla said, before taking out three orans and an escape orb from his bag. "Let's heal and get out of here."
I nodded, standing up and waddling over to his side. I took one of the orans and ate it, savoring it. After everything that had happened, it tasted so delicious.
Burhalla ate one as well, and Saltriv grabbed the last one with a vine and ate it, too. We stood there for a while, before Burhalla raised the orb into the air. "Ready?" he asked.
"Wait, not yet!" Saltriv exclaimed, running up to us. "Mom and Team Seedlings are in here! They're looking for us!"
"Let's go look for them—" Burhalla began.
"SALTRIV!"
A large, green blur suddenly entered the room and rushed over to Saltriv. Burhalla and I jumped back as we watched a Meganium barrel in, snatching up Saltriv with a pair of vines and holding them with a wide-eyed stare down at them.
"There you are!" The Meganium said. "I was so worried after you ran off from us!"
Saltriv… ran off from them? What on earth happened to them while we were separated?
Two more Pokemon entered the room, a Wartortle and another Meganium, both with scarves. "What's gotten into you? Why would you run off on your own in a Mystery Dungeon like that?" The Wartortle, Lidequir, asked.
"I…" Saltriv's smile disappeared, and their leaf quivered.
Acacia stepped closer to Saltriv, and said, "If it's about that move, nobody's mad—"
Their eyes were wide with terror, their leaf quivering. Burhalla's eyes widened.
What move? Was…was it the shadow move they used back in Blistering Shore?
"Please…not right now," Saltriv interrupted.
"...I understand," Saltriv's mom said, setting Saltriv back down on the ground. Burhalla laid a hand on their back, a concerned look on his face.
What had happened with them before we reunited?
Lidequir looked towards me and Burhalla, and smiled. "Hey, glad to see you two are alright as well!"
I tried to force a smile, and said, "Uh, thanks. How long were you, um, looking for us?"
"We can talk more once we're out of here," Acacia said, glancing at Burhalla. "Let's escape this dungeon."
Burhalla nodded. "Let's get out of here!"
He threw the escape orb at the ground, and it shattered. Pillars of light enveloped us all, as we escaped the blanket fort.
In, and out. In, and out. Deep breaths, feel the sunlight on my leaf. Let it revitalize and energize me.
The sunlight from my room's skylight never felt so good.
We had made it out of the blanket fort. We were safe. We were safe.
"Are you all alright?" Acacia said. I looked over at him, and saw him lying down, neck draped over Lidequir near a scattered board game.
"I am!" I said, with a wave of my leaf. Truth be told…I wasn't entirely sure. But I'd manage!
I glanced over at the picture on the wall I drew, of me, Burhalla, and Gen. The sleepover was just last night, but with everything that had happened it felt like it was ages ago. I hoped they were doing alright.
"I…think I am," I heard Gen say. I glanced over at him. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing heavily. Our episode in the Mystery Dungeon must have really shaken him…I can't imagine what this would all be like for someone who barely had any memories.
"I'm still in a bit of shock. If our blanket fort became a mystery dungeon, then…" Burhalla said, trailing off. What was left unsaid didn't need to be said. We all knew what it meant.
At least we'd be able to demolish the blanket fort easily. If the entire village went the way of Mossy Town…
"It'll be ok. We just need to find the next human, and then we can fix all this," Lidequir said, his usual joking tone gone.
"Kids, don't worry. We'll make it through this," mom assured us, a gentle smile on her face. "This is just another calamity. We—"
I heard shouting from the main room. Before I could react, Drakloak rushed into my room, looking panicked.
"Team Seedlings! I need your help! It's terrible!" she stammered, her tail lashing from side to side.
Wait, why was Drakloak here in my room?!
"Drakloak? What are you doing here?" Mom asked, looking down at the dragon. "Shouldn't you be watching the shrine right now?"
"I…I…"
"Calm down, what is it?" Acacia asked, his petals tensing up.
"Th-the monster…it took Dreepy! And I can't go look for them myself, I have to watch the shrine soon!" Drakloak shouted, shaking her head.
The monster had attacked again?! First PNS-NT, now Dreepy! Someone had to put a stop to it!
"We'll go find Dreepy!" Burhalla shouted. "We found one of your coworkers once, we can do it again!"
Right! We were a search party now, we could look for them ourselves!
"Wait, us?! But we just got out of the blanket fort!" Gen protested. I looked over at him. He didn't seems hurt, but he was reacting to the idea of going off to find Dreepy like he'd just been cut by a Leaf Blade. Considering what we'd all been through, it was hard to blame him. But now wasn't the time! Dreepy was in danger!
I laid a vine on him. "It'll be ok!" I said, smiling. "We found Flapple the day after we found you you, we can do this too!"
Gen hesitated a bit, before sighing. "I…ok," Gen said, though he remained frowning. I hoped he'd be ok.
Acacia put a foot forward, petals tensed up and eyes wide.
"Are you sure about this?" Acacia said. "I know you're excited to be a search party, but you just got out of there!"
"Yep! I'm sure!" I said. Plus, if I stayed here, then they might ask about…
I wasn't ready for that yet.
"Yeah! It'll be our first search mission since becoming an official team!" Burhalla cheered, digging into his bag and raising his badge into the air. "Team Searchlights, to the rescue!"
Acacia still seemed unsure, while Lidequir looked at me with a warm smile. Mom's petals drooped slightly as she let out a sigh.
"...alright, good luck, all of you," mom said, patting my leaf with a vine. "Stay safe, and if things get too much for you, come back immediately, alright?"
"Here, take this," Lidequir said, handing Burhalla a connection orb. "I'll have PNS-NT Recycle it after you go out."
"Thank you!" He said, before smashing it on the ground. Gen flinched and I put my vine on his shoulder. He was so jumpy! I wonder if he was like that before he lost his memories, too.
"Let's go!" I said, beginning to walk out of my house, with my teammates by my side.
Our first search mission since becoming an official team. Part of me was nervous about it, for Dreepy, and how we'd do fresh out of one Mystery Dungeon, especially when there was the monster involved.
But we'd already come far in just a couple days. We could do this! We had to, for Dreepy's sake!
What was Burhalla following? And what was that orb? It didn't look like an escape orb. It looked more like a Pokeball than anything else. But if it was a Pokeball, then why did he shatter it? Why would Pokemon even have Pokeballs at all?
I wanted to go home. I wanted to be back where I felt safe and things made sense.
But here I was, dragged along for another adventure not even an hour after escaping from that blanket fort.
Was this just going to keep happening? Maybe I should quit the team—
No! No, I couldn't do that! If I did that, then Saltriv and Burhalla would probably hate me, and I'd probably be kicked out of Saltriv's house, and then…
I'd be all alone. Just like… then. I couldn't go through something like that all over again.
I just… I just needed to hang in there and endure this. Endure this weird, uncomfortable body, endure these terrifying adventures, endure the constant fear of losing my only friends here, until I could finally go home.
But would I even ever go home? The entire time I was here, I was no closer to finding out how I came here, or how to go back. Lidequir was apparently human and she'd been here for years. Was that going to happen to me too?
…no, I had to hold onto hope. If I was brought from my world to here, then there had to be a way back, too.
I just…needed to find it.
Burhalla weaved around a building, and headed into the forest. A flurry of smells assaulted my new nose: orans and pechas and cheris and many other berries. But what I was most curious about was what Burhalla was doing. It was like he knew exactly where to go, almost like he was following some sort of guide.
"Um, Burhalla? What are you doing?" I asked, scratching the side of my head.
… It couldn't make it past my new whiskers. I missed being able to reach my forehead.
"Following the connection lines!" Burhalla answered with a grin. "They're lines I can see for a while after shattering that connection orb. They—"
"Woah, there's something weird up ahead!" Saltriv interrupted.
I looked ahead of us, and saw…a dome of darkness. I couldn't see into it at all.
"That's…huh. Never seen a mystery dungeon entrance look like that before," Burhalla said, frowning. "And last I checked, Twig Woodland was the only mystery dungeon this close to the village."
It looked like the entrance to Blistering Shore, except instead of being like a wall, it was…this.
…this was a mystery dungeon, wasn't it?
"Are…we going in?" I asked, glancing over at the dome.
"Of course! We should investigate and tell everyone all about it so no one accidentally wanders in! Plus, the connection lines lead here, so Dreepy is probably inside!" Saltriv said with a wave of their leaf.
"Yeah! And we have an escape orb in case it's too much for us," Burhalla added.
Another mystery dungeon, so soon after the blanket fort. More of those confusing passageways and mazes. More of those horrid dungeon mon attacking me and ambushing me when I least expected it. I… didn't think I was ready for that.
But…it was at least better than being alone.
I took a deep breath, and said, "O…Ok. Let's go."
"That's the spirit!" Saltriv cheered, before darting into the dome with Burhalla.
I hesitated for a few seconds, before following after them.
Illusory Grotto 1F
As we walked into the dungeon, I looked around. The walls were made out of blankets, and—
No, no no no no! Not here! Not this place again!
The pain it hurt it hurt it hurt I remembered it so clearly the Shuppet and the Curse and Missingno and it's all flooding back.
I wanted to go home. I wanted out of here. I wanted to go back. I wanted to go. I wanted to go.
I let out a wail. I tried to run back out the entrance. I stumbled over something. I landed on my stomach.
Help help help I needed to get out of here I needed out I needed out I needed out—
Something warm and scaly wrapped around me and I screamed and thrashed in its grip. No no no! Help me! Help me—
"Gen! Gen, it's just me!" Burhalla said, and I realized that the warm scaly things were his arms, hugging me. "It's ok, nothing bad happened!"
"B-but the blanket f-fort…and…and…" I whimpered, feeling myself tremble. I saw Burhalla and Saltriv glance at each other with concerned looks on their faces.
"It's ok. If you don't feel safe here, you can go back ahead of us. We won't judge you. I know you went through a lot back in the blanket fort," Burhalla said, rubbing my shoulder.
"N-no! I…" I managed to say between rapid breaths. I couldn't stay here. I couldn't go back or I'd be alone. I couldn't. I couldn't I couldn't I—
"Let's go back," Saltriv said, leaf drooped over their back. They were shaking too. Were they also scared right now? "Gen, you can stay with mom and Team Seedlings while…we explore here."
"NO! I…" I hesitated, then said, "I…I want to stay with you."
I needed to endure this. I needed to endure this or I'd be alone.
For a moment, stopped shaking, and frowned at me.
"Are you sure? You look really scared…" Saltriv said.
"I'm…I'm sure," I said. I didn't know if I really was, but it was either this, or being alone without my only friends in this world.
I'd choose this in a heartbeat over being alone.
"...alright, if you're sure," Burhalla said, letting go of me.
I took a deep breath, then, clutching onto my reunion cape for comfort, I stood back up.
Just…endure it. Just endure it. I just needed to endure it all. It wouldn't be forever. It couldn't be forever.
There had to be a way back. A way away from all of this and back to the safety of my home and family…
"Wait, why does it look like the blanket fort anyways? It's all the way back in my room!" Saltriv said, looking around, and I followed their gaze. There were blankets of every color I could think of, reds and blues and greens and yellows and it was almost like I was right back in the rainbow void—
No, I had to stay calm. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
"I…have no clue. This is really weird, now that you mention it," Burhalla said, before staring at something near my feet.
"Um, what is it?" I asked.
"Gen…look down," he said, with wide eyes. I looked down, and saw a green orb with yellow spots. There was a pure white silhouette in the center, looking almost like some sort of sprouting seed. That must have been what I stumbled over. What was so special about it, though?
Saltriv's leaf kept twitching as they stared at the orb. "That's…that's a Revive All Orb!"
"Uh…wh-what's that?" I asked, tapping the orb with my foot.
"It's an extremely rare orb! They're only rarely found with really strong dungeon Pokemon!" Saltriv said, before looking around. "But I don't see any dungeon Pokemon here at all…"
…those strong Pokemon were right around the corner, weren't they?
"We'll have to brace ourselves for a really tough time here…unless…" Burhalla let out a gasp. "The rumors must be true!"
"What do you mean? What rumors?" I asked, trembling.
"'There's said to be strange, illusory dungeons that appear from time to time.' Ones that also have revive orbs in them, but without strong Pokemon," Burhalla said, pacing back and forth. "They're called Illusory Grottos, and they take the appearance of other mystery dungeons. I always thought they were just a bunch of made-up stories, but if this dungeon looks like the blanket fort, and we found a Revive All Orb here…"
"Then this must be an Illusory Grotto!" I realized, my eyes widening. "Um…h-how dangerous are they?"
"Not very dangerous at all. They don't even have dungeon Pokemon…at least, according to the rumors," Burhalla said, frowning.
"Wait, but are we sure this is an Illusory Grotto? Don't those only appear to those who have recently suffered a great loss?" Saltriv asked, swaying their leaf to the side.
"Yeah, that's what all the stories about them say," Burhalla said, picking up the orb. "That's why I thought they didn't exist. None appeared to me after…mom died."
I saw his tail flame dim a bit. Maybe we shouldn't continue this conversation.
"Um…can we continue on?" I asked, glancing around at the blanket walls. "I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to."
"Sounds good to me, really. We can talk as we explore," Burhalla said, heading towards a corridor to the left. Me and Saltriv followed after him, and I saw Saltriv glancing towards me, head tilted.
"Gen, do you think the great loss is something that happened to you?" Saltriv asked, and I felt myself tense up.
"What do you mean by a 'great loss'?" I asked, fidgeting with my reunion cape.
"Something really bad happening to you, like losing a loved one," Burhalla answered, swishing his tail.
…that…sounded a lot like what happened to me. Being ripped away from my family and world and forced into this body was really really bad.
"And you think…that happened to me?" I asked, looking down at myself.
"Everything seems to be pointing to it, at least. And you did lose your memories… something bad could have happened to you before we met you," Burhalla said. "Maybe… you lost your family? It'd explain why you were all alone."
My eyes widened, and I felt my breaths begin to speed up. Was… was that why this dungeon appeared? Because I got separated from my family? Did that mean that I'd never see them again? There had to be a way back, right? Right? What exactly was the criteria for a "great loss" to cause an Illusory Grotto? Would just me being temporarily separated from my family count? It had to, right? Wait, did this mean the dungeon knew what happened to me? Was it alive somehow? Was it being controlled by someone? Did whoever was controlling it know I was human? Was—
"Burhalla, don't you think you're overthinking it a bit? Maybe this loss is just Gen losing his memories?" Saltriv suggested, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"I… don't think so, Saltriv," Burhalla said, scratching his forehead. "None of the humans encountered Illusory Grottos soon after waking up. Why would it be different for a normal Pokémon who lost his memories?"
Wait… did the other humans lose their memories? Was…was that why Acacia and Lidequir thought I might be one?
Oh no.
They were onto me because of my lie about being amnesiac.
This… I'd really gotten myself into a big mess, hadn't I?
"Oh, there's the staircase!" Saltriv said, as we entered another room. Just like they said, there was a staircase, and a sprouting seed that looked very similar to the silhouette in the Revive All Orb.
"Oh, nice, a reviver seed!" Burhalla said, picking the seed up and putting it in his bag. "Let's go!"
Together, we headed up the stairs, as my mind raced with thoughts about how screwed I was.
As we trekked through the Illusory Grotto, my mind raced with thoughts about what sort of great loss could have caused it. The allure of the reviver seeds we kept finding did little to stave those thoughts away.
It couldn't have been mom's death. That was two years ago.
Could it have been from Saltriv having shadow powers now? I still didn't know what to think about that, though they were definitely still my best friend. Maybe that was it, though it still seemed a bit far-fetched. They didn't seem that bothered by it after the initial shock.
It most likely had something to do with Gen. I still knew so little about the mysterious Oshawott. He lost his memories, he has problems with anxiety, he doesn't like being alone, and he woke up next to Saltriv in the middle of Twig Woodland. That's all I knew about him. For all I knew, he could have suffered a great tragedy before I found him. Nobody said you had to remember your great loss for an Illusory Grotto to form, right?
It honestly worried me sometimes, having a teammate that I knew so little about. Still, I didn't regret letting him on the team or being friends with him one bit. Sure, he was cowardly and struggling with moves, but he was kind, I could see he was trying his best, and he hadn't lied to me at all.
What could have happened to make him lose his memory, though? He couldn't have been a human, or he'd have mentioned it long before now, like all the other humans. Could whatever happened to him to cause that also have something to do with whatever that great loss was?
Gah, I had no idea! There's so many pieces of the puzzle, but none of them fit together, no matter how hard I try!
There has to be a solution, though. There has to be a way to make it all make sense! I had to figure it out, I had to! I told Gen we'd uncover what happened to him! If we can't do that, then…
I had to find out. For my new friend.
"Um…maybe the Illusory Grotto didn't form for us? Maybe it appeared for someone else, and we just…found it?" Gen suggested, glancing around at the blanket walls.
… I suppose it'd be a possibility, but…
"That seems unlikely. Illusory Grottos are said to only last a couple hours. We'd have to be incredibly lucky to stumble upon one for someone else," I said, flicking my tail.
"Maybe it was for Drakloak?" Saltriv said, swaying their leaf to the side. "This was on the way to Dreepy."
That…was a good point. They had just lost Dreepy, after all.
"That's true…" I said. I hoped not, though. That almost certainly wouldn't mean anything good for Dreepy.
"The staircase!" Saltriv exclaimed, and I looked up. There it was! I wondered how many floors this would be.
Nonetheless, we had to keep going! We had to find Dreepy!
This was a safe place. There were no dungeon Pokemon here. Nothing was coming to hurt me. I wasn't going to get hurt. I wasn't going to get hurt.
I needed to keep going, or I'd be all alone.
My eyes kept glancing around at the blanket walls. With all their different colors, it was almost like…
Like the rainbow void.
No no no no no stop thinking about that stop stop stop no no no I wanted to go home I wanted to go home help help help—
"Are you sure you're ok?" Burhalla asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I took a few deep breaths. I couldn't let myself be left behind.
"...yeah. I am," I said. I needed to keep going. I needed to.
"Alright," Burhalla said. He picked up a seed off the floor, and we pressed on.
Soon, we came to an open room. I could see a light at the back of it. That must be the exit. We were almost out. We were almost out—
I yelped, as something started to appear in front of us. It looked to have three ferocious heads, ragged, three-part wings, and a torn tail.
Oddly, though, it seemed…translucent?
Nevermind that, how were we going to beat a Hydreigon?! Aren't they super hostile and aggressive?!
"I thought there weren't supposed to be dungeon Pokemon here!" I screamed, clutching tightly onto my reunion cape.
"There aren't!" Burhalla said, getting into a fighting stance. "We can take it, though! We're almost out!"
I braced for battle, and saw my teammates do the same. I didn't feel confident, though. Dragon-types resisted all three of our types…
Wait, why were Saltriv's eyes wide?
"Wait…I think that's the Voice of Life!" Saltriv exclaimed.
Wait, what? Did that mean it was really powerful or something?
"Voice of Life? What do you mean?!" I asked, trembling.
The Hydreigon looked straight at me. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest! But…it only gave me a sad, sympathetic look.
Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it faded away, like it was never there to begin with. My grip on my reunion cape only got tighter. What just happened?! Was it still there, or was it gone? Was it going to attack?
"What…what was that all about?!" I asked.
"I…don't know," Burhalla said. "I didn't know that the Voice of Life could appear in these places. Then again, I didn't even know these even really existed until we entered here."
"Was it something to do with Gen, maybe?" Saltriv suggested, and my eyes widened in fear. Did that Hydreigon somehow know I was human? Was it going to tell my teammates, or anyone else?! If it did know that I was human, how? Could anyone else figure it out?
"Let's discuss it as we go on. We have to find Dreepy!" Burhalla said, and Saltriv nodded.
"Let's go, then," I said, letting go of my reunion cape. Finally, we'd be out of this place.
But what just happened? Why was that "Voice of Life" looking at me like that? What was the "great loss" that made this place? What did this all mean for me?
I'd have to worry about that later. I didn't want to spend another second here.
Together, the three of us exited the illusory blanket fort.
As we exited the Illusory Grotto, I couldn't help but worry about Gen. He looked really shaken up from being in a copy of the blanket fort mystery dungeon. More than usual, anyways. I started to turn and check up on him, when I caught a glimpse of something yellow and blue in the distance. That must be the monster!
"We're almost there!" I called out, and began to run towards the monster as fast as I could!
"Saltriv! Wait up!" Gen protested, as I heard his hurried footsteps.
I slowed my pace, but kept running. We couldn't let the monster escape with Dreepy! I watched the greenery rush by, only to stop as I heard my best friend shout.
"Saltriv! We could be going into a fight! We need to be prepared," Burhallla said.
"But the monster is right there! We can't let it get away!" I said, gesturing towards it with my leaf.
"It'll get away if we're not prepared," Burhalla said. "Come back, let's get ready."
I trotted back towards Burhalla. He dug around a bit in his bag and pulled out a Max Ether. He dumped its contents into his hands, taking a small amount for himself, before offering the rest to me.
As I ate my portion of the Max Ether, I focused on the wonder I felt at seeing a real Illusory Grotto, and felt my Grass energy be restored. I felt refreshed, energized, and ready to take down the monster!
"Let's go!" I said, hurrying forth further into the woods, towards the monster. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Gen stumbling as he tried to keep up. I made sure to slow down for him.
I hoped he was ok. He hasn't stopped trembling since we saw that Hydreigon. What had terrified him so much, even more than his experiences in the blanket fort?
I hoped he knew we were here for him. We were his friends, we're here to help him!
No matter what!
As we walked forth towards the monster, I saw it twitch, and heard a voice. Was it…talking?
I saw a glimpse of something green and red flickering over the monster for a brief moment, translucent at one end. That must be Dreepy!
They looked…normal, though. Calm. Not afraid.
Wasn't the monster scary, though? Why would Dreepy be so calm near it?
We were almost there, though. I supposed one way or another, we were about to find out.
We continued through the forest, approaching the monster, and soon, I could make out what it and Dreepy were saying.
"Are you sure this'll make them believe you?" Dreepy asked.
"We don't have any other choice! Just look at us!" an unknown voice retorted. Was that the monster?
What was happening? They were just…talking! Wasn't the monster something that attacked on sight?
I tried to approach, before I felt something furry tugging on my side. I looked over, and saw Gen holding onto me. He was visibly quivering, and his face looked almost as worried as it did back when we entered the Illusory Grotto.
"I…I don't think we should get too close," he said. "What if it's too strong for us?"
"But we need to rescue Dreepy!" I protested, before hearing a startled yelp. I looked over towards Dreepy and the monster, and they…they were looking straight at us!
I felt Gen's trembling get worse, and I laid a vine on him, as Dreepy began floating towards us. Yet the monster stayed still?
"Team Searchlights? What are you doing here?" Dreepy asked, flippers held together.
"We…we were looking for you," Gen said. "We…thought you were in danger."
Dreepy wiggled their tailtip as they looked down.
"Oh, I'm not…I was just…exploring! Yeah, I was explori—" Dreepy said, before being cut off.
"Don't lie to us."
Burhalla stepped forward and scowled over at Dreepy with narrowed eyes. "Clearly something is up."
"What, uh, what do you mean? Nothing's wrong!" Dreepy said, smiling sheepishly.
"We saw you talking with the monster. What is going on here?" I asked.
"Uh, nothing important!" Dreepy said, frantically waving their flippers. "Really! It's nothing you should worry about!"
Burhalla glared at Dreepy, stomping closer to them. "Tell us the truth. Now."
"Really! It's noth—" Dreepy began, but they never finished their explanation before I felt the blistering cold of a Powder Snow freeze my scales. I looked over behind Dreepy, and felt my heart skip a beat. The monster was right there and approaching us!
"It's coming!" Gen said, eyes wide.
"Hold fast! We can maybe take it down!" Burhalla said, flicking his tail.
I held steadfast, launching an Ancient Power at the monster. It was enough to make the monster flinch! "We can do this!" I cheered.
"Hey, woah, woah!" Dreepy said, waving their flippers around as they held up their tail. "It's okay! You don't need to—!"
It snarled, before charging at Gen, electricity crackling around it! It looked like it was about to attack! So why was Dreepy so hesitant about us attacking it if it's clearly hostile?
But before it did…its own tail smacked it in the head, and the electricity dissipated. What was that about?!
"Hey, calm down!" Dreepy called out…towards the monster?
Just what was going on? Dreepy didn't seem scared of the monster at all!
The monster screeched, and electricity thundered around it, interspersed with hail. My leaf draped onto my back, that hail would be a problem for me…I flinched with each pellet of ice that crashed into me. I couldn't keep fighting long in this weather.
So the monster was Ice and Electric-type. That…wasn't good. Burhalla was the only one of us who could hit it hard with his fire, while the rest of us were weak to its attacks.
Dreepy too, for that matter…but whose side were they on? They were just hovering around the monster, seemingly trying to calm them down.
Burhalla spat an Ember at it, and I swung my leaf, an Ancient Power crashing onto the monster. It tried to bring its arms up, but the attacks hit true, and it stumbled backwards.
The monster reared back, and charged for Gen again, who was frozen with his eyes wide with fright. There was no time to cut the monster off, and so I did the one thing that reflexively came to mind:
"Gen! Look out!" I shouted.
He frantically tugged at the scalchop on his chest and pulled it free as the monster stomped over, electricity gathering around his beak. He finally got it free just as the monster came upon him and swung it wide with a pale green glow...
That looked like a bug-type move of some sort! When did he learn that?!
Before he could attack, though, the monster lunged for him, its beak crackling with electricity. Gen screamed as it rammed into his head, and he crumpled to the ground, twitching.
Dreepy gasped, and cried out, "Stop!" but I didn't care. I needed to help Gen!
After Burhalla blew an Ember at the monster, it stumbled backwards away from Gen. An opening!
"Gen!" I yelled, running over as I dug into my bag, pulling out a tiny reviver seed and pushing it into his mouth. His eyes widened briefly, but it did the trick, as he stood back up.
"Wh-What was that?" he whimpered, clutching onto his reunion cape. "It really hurt…"
"Looked like a Bolt Beak," I said, laying my leaf on him, trying to suppress my panic. Maybe we shouldn't have brought him along for this…he's been through so much already, and now he just…
"Guys, need some help here!" Burhalla called, and I ran towards his voice.
He was breathing fire at the monster, but it didn't seem to be affecting it much anymore. Electricity was crackling around it…was it Charging?
It let out a screech, and it seemed like it was going to attack with a Discharge…but then it glanced at Dreepy, and it went for a Thunder Shock on Burhalla instead.
What was going on with these two?
Burhalla yelped, stumbling backwards as the monster lumbered towards him. I ran towards him to help, but then something none of us were expecting happened.
It stepped back, and spoke, "Go. Away."
Me, Burhalla, and Gen all stopped and stared at it. It…talked. So…was it a Pokemon like us? Not a monster?
"Did…you just talk?" Burhalla asked, tail lashing.
"Yes, we—" it began, before its tail rose up, and smacked its beak. "Hey, watch it!"
My leaf drooped, and I tilted my head. What was this creature?
Dreepy sighed, tail lowering. "I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore…"
Gen clutched onto his reunion cape, and I tensed up.
"Er…they're—" Dreepy began, raising a flipper, before the monster interrupted.
"We're both human, and Dreepy is our partner," they declared.
Me, Burhalla, and Gen all stared in shock. They were human?! How?! Really?! Why didn't they say anything before?!
"What do you mean, you're human?!" Gen exclaimed. Though why was his tail wagging?
"Wait, 'both'?!" Burhalla asked, crossing his arms.
"You're their partner?!" I added, looking at Dreepy as my leaf swung around.
"Well…you see…" Dreepy began. They nervously flicked their tail and looked more like they'd rather be in the Voidlands than here.
"Do you have ears?" the monster said, eyes narrowing. "We're human, Dreepy is our partner, and we're here to save the world."
Burhalla's eyes narrowed in turn. I didn't blame him. Pokemon claiming to be human were much more common than Pokemon who actually were human.
But this was a Pokemon none of us had ever seen before, who looked almost like they were stitched together from two others. And they kept saying "we"...
Something was definitely up with this Pokemon.
"...do you have a name?" Gen asked, taking a step towards them. My eyes widened, and I expected him to be swatted away.
But before I could dash in to help, the monster said, "Arctozolt."
Burhalla shook his head. "No. You're lying."
The creature…no, Arctozolt, stomped towards Burhalla. "What?"
"You're lying. Just like all the other Pokemon who pretended to be human!" my best friend snarled, tail flame blazing.
Gen's eyes were wide with terror, and he was trembling. Must be the first time he's seen Burhalla this mad. "B-Burhalla…" he stammered.
Burhalla looked back at Gen and his expression softened a bit.
"Get up, 'Arctozolt'. We'll take you into town, for the nearest World-Saver to sort you out," he huffed. "They'll make it clear for everyone to see that your story's all an act like all the others."
I trotted over towards Burhalla, and pressed up against him in an attempt to comfort him. Today's been rough for all of us, and it's only just begun.
"Why, you—" Arctozolt began, before Dreepy rushed in between them and Burhalla.
"Hey, hey, calm down, please! We'll do as you say!" Dreepy said, fins pressed together.
"...fine," Arctozolt said, seeming to relax slightly. "Lead the way."
This was a huge waste of time, you thought as you saw the forest give way to buildings.
Are you daft? I was just doing what you were saying! I responded as I walked through the town, trying to ignore the stares you saw.
Whatever. We're finally not living in the wilderness anymore.
I still don't know why you were so insistent on not being seen until we found a partner.
It's what the giant pink hand said we had to do to save the world. And I don't know about people like you who abuse Pokemon, but I actually want to help Pokemon.
Team Yell doesn't abuse Pokemon!
Yes, you do! Not only by participating in Pokemon battles, but I've seen the stunts you pull on TV, with sabotaging gym battles so your precious Marnie can win.
Pokemon like battling, you bloody Plasma!
Do they like being forced into it and being exploited for mindless entertainment?
I raised my tail, and smacked you in the snout again.
Would you stop doing that?!
Not until you—
"Why do you keep doing that?"
You looked down, seeing the Oshawott staring at us. We were in the middle of town now, and you saw all sorts of Pokemon staring at us, including our partner.
I wonder what was going through Dreepy's mind. They've been silent the whole walk, fins pressed together.
"What?" you asked the Oshawott, ignoring me.
"Uh, hitting yourself with your tail. Why do you, um, keep doing that?" the Oshawott asked.
See what you've done? You thought.
Just tell him and get it over with.
You sighed, and told him, "Look, we're…actually two people. I control our upper half, and she controls our lower half. And we hate each other."
The Oshawott shuddered. A few seconds later, he asked, "Is…it uncomfortable?"
"...yes, very."
Before we could react, the Oshawott had attempted to hug one of our flippers. Eugh, no! I raised our tail to swat him away—
DON'T YOU DARE!
Why not?
First of all, that's cruel. Second of all, that'll ruin any goodwill we have. Third of all, do you have ANY empathy?
…fine, I thought, and lowered our tail.
"Gen, are you sure that's a good idea?" the Chikorita asked, tilting their head.
"Yeah, it did just attack us," the Charmander said, frowning. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"...ok," the Oshawott, Gen, said, and let go. Finally.
I tapped my talons against the ground impatiently, as I looked around the Treeside Plaza. Acacia had told me about a newbie team's excursion to investigate the monster, and I was just waiting on Leviene to get back with supplies so we could go and make sure they were alright.
Just as I was about to go off to make sure Leviene wasn't getting harassed by fans, I noticed some figures approaching from the fog. A Charmander, a Chikorita, an Oshawott, a Dreepy…and…
The monster?
Did they actually do it?
As the quartet approached me, Pokemon started to gather. I couldn't blame them, the monster with them was weird.
The Charmander stomped up to me, tail lashing. "We found the monster. They're claiming they're human, but I'm pretty sure they're lying. They say they're two people? Which makes it even more impossible that they're human."
…ah.
Of course even a freakish abomination would claim to have been human. Why not? Why couldn't my job ever be easy?
I sighed, and pulled out The Book. The Book that contained passages from various human world books in every human language we could find.
I wasn't counting on things panning out, but if it did…then it meant we'd finally found the next human.
…or humans, I suppose. I still didn't fully understand how they could be two humans with only one head between them, but those questions could wait until we find out if the 2467th time is the charm. First, I should see if they're human at all.
"Let's get this over with," I said. I opened the book, and began to flip page after page, showing each to the chimera.
As I flipped to the pages with the passages in Unovan and Galarish, the chimera's tail began to swing, and they spoke.
"The left page is from On the Gray Road: Seeking Truth and Ideals, and the big blue idiot stuck to me says that the right page is from The Hero of Sword and Shield."
I was so shocked, The Book dropped from my wings. My eyes were wide, and my beak was agape.
It was true.
We finally found the next human.
My feathers were fluffed up in excitement and relief. Finally, we didn't have to worry so much anymore! They're finally here!
I took a deep breath, and shouted at the top of my lungs, "THE NEXT HUMAN HAS BEEN FOUND! SOON, THEY'LL SAVE THE WORLD!"
Cheers erupted from every Pokemon around. Finally, we could see the light at the end of this tunnel.
Though, for some reason, the Oshawott with the reunion cape seemed…terrified.
At first, I was relieved that I wasn't alone here. That there were other humans here who had no idea why they were here.
But now I learned why we were here.
Humans are brought here to save the world.
Was…I brought here to save this world?
No, no, no! That couldn't be true!
I couldn't be a hero! I couldn't! I couldn't!
Everywhere around the plaza, I saw Pokemon cheering, happy, relieved. Saltriv's tail was wagging a mile a minute. I tried to force a smile to fit in, but I just couldn't.
"I can't believe it! That 'Arctozolt' Pokémon really are the next human! And we found them!" Saltriv said, voice full of joy that felt like a stab to my heart.
"Yeah, me neither…really thought they were lying, but I guess not," Burhalla said, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin.
I was doomed.
"Gen, what's wrong? Shouldn't you be happy?" he asked. "We found the next human! The world's going to be saved soon!"
Oh no. He must have noticed I was unhappy.
Quick, think of an excuse!
"Sorry… it's just… really, really loud," I said.
It was technically true, and the noise was overwhelming, too, especially with my sensitive new ears.
Burhalla tilted his head, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Are things too loud?"
"Yeah," I said, nodding. "It's too much for me…I just want to get away from it all until it calms down…"
Saltriv stepped closer, and hugged me with their vines. "That's ok! This human- er… humans, aren't going anywhere fast. We can go somewhere else for a while."
"Yeah!" Burhalla said, flame blazing brightly as he began walking. "I have just the place in mind, too!"
"Wh-what is it?" I asked, as me and Saltriv followed after him.
Burhalla turned back towards me, grinning. "Eternal Meadow! It's just the sort of place that would help you unwind from everything!"
Here we were, on the Carkol Express, in all its rickety glory. How long had it been since I was last on a train?
Pretty sure the last time was right when they were first introduced. What had it been… two years ago now?
Around the same time…mom died.
…now wasn't the time to think about that. My tailflame wasn't supposed to be dim right now. We were supposed to have fun! We were gonna have a picnic in Eternal Meadow!
And we even found the next human! Or… humans, I suppose. So everything would surely be ok now!
I looked over at Gen next to me, where he was clutching onto his reunion cape for dear life. I suppose I couldn't fault him, he probably didn't even remember what a train was, and the Carkol Express could be nerve-wracking the first time around.
I scooched over to him, and laid a hand on his shoulder. Maybe he'd feel a bit better if he knew someone was there at his side.
"Hey, don't worry!" I said. "Even if trains like these are a bit bumpy, they're super safe!"
"But it's so shaky…it wasn't like this in…" he says, before trailing off, looking at me with wide eyes.
"In where?" I asked. What was with that reaction anyways? Did he remember something?
"...I don't remember," he answered, looking down.
Drat. So much for that. We were no closer to getting Gen's memories back and no closer to the truth about who he was. Other than that wherever he was originally from, whatever he used to ride around in wasn't as shaky as the Carkol Express.
That didn't exactly narrow things down much. He could just be from someplace that had a lot of carriages.
I looked out one of the windows. We were almost there, I could see Estrue Town in the distance, and the Eternal Meadow beyond it.
It was just as beautiful as I remembered it.
Flowers as far as the eye could see, stretching past the horizon. It was like a rainbow spread across the ground.
I couldn't wait for us to have our picnic there!
I glanced back over at Gen. He was still shaking and looking down, not paying attention to the scenery at all.
Hopefully this visit to the Meadow would help him unwind.
After depositing most of our items in one of those deposit box things in Estrue Town, we were on our way to the Eternal Meadow. Thankfully, I got to keep my reunion cape.
It felt really comforting to wear, like reunion was just around the corner. I hoped that was true.
"Gen, we're here. This is Eternal Meadow."
I looked up as Saltriv nudged at me. It surprised me a bit as to how quickly we arrived at the meadow…
My jaw dropped. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before back in Johto.
There were flowers everywhere. So, so many flowers, as far as I could see in every direction, spread out before me like a rainbow colored carpet. Roses, tulips, daffodils, sunflowers, gracedias… there were even flowers I didn't recognize, such as massive tree-like flowers, and pairs of yellow and blue flowers connected at the stem.
I could see a pair of Pokemon nearby having a picnic as a fox sniffed at them, and a trio of rabbits hopping through the flowers. The gentle breeze felt strangely nice against my fur.
It was a mystical place, the most beautiful I've ever seen.
Except, I just couldn't stay excited about being there. As wonderful as the place was, it didn't even come close to making up for losing my family, home, and humanity.
Why did I have to be here? Why couldn't I just have been left at home, not ripped away from everything I knew?
I couldn't be a hero. I couldn't save this world.
I just wanted to go home, and no amount of flowers could change that.
"So? What do you think?" Burhalla asked, walking through the flowers. "Isn't it a great place?"
"...yeah," I said, looking down at the flowers on the ground.
"Something wrong?" Burhalla asked, stepping closer to me.
What on earth was I supposed to say? Any attempt at trying to explain my feelings would backfire. I couldn't just say something like "I'm terrified that I'm going to have to save this world and I just want to go home. Oh, and I'm also human and I've been lying to you this whole time".
I knew how Burhalla felt about liars. He'd probably hate me the moment the words left my mouth for lying to him. Worse still, once others knew that I was human, I'd surely be forced to stay here until I saved this world. Nothing would—
"Gen?" Burhalla asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Um, uh, I'm just…still scared about the Illusory Grotto," I said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind.
Burhalla's expression didn't change. Did he believe me?
"Well…that place is probably already gone by now. And the 'great loss' thing probably was for Dreepy, not any of us," Burhalla said. "And for the pillow fort mystery dungeon, all we have to do is take apart the pillow fort, and it'll be gone. Nothing to worry about."
"Alright," I said, trying to force a smile, walking along through the meadow. "Thanks, Burhalla."
I just needed to keep lying and not make it obvious I was lying, at least until I find a way home.
… But what would happen to everyone here? What would happen to Burhalla and Saltriv if I just let this shadow disaster fester?
No, I couldn't do anything about that. I wasn't some hero like the World-Savers thought I was. Even if I really could do things like that, I didn't want to spend any more time here than I had to. I didn't want to be stuck in this body that drove me crazy every time I stopped and thought about how things weren't the way they were supposed to be in it.
I just wanted to go home.
Besides. There's Arctozolt. They were human. Two of them, even. Surely they could save this world, better than I ever could.
…I'll miss Saltriv and Burhalla when I go home, though. But that can't be helped. I couldn't imagine never cooking with dad again, or mom never giving me a hug again, or never watching a movie with Nisa again.
I missed them so much.
"Looks like we're not the only ones here!" Saltriv said.
I looked around. There was a Flapple and a Porygon-Z in the distance. It looked like they were having a picnic. Was that PNS-NT and Flapple? Or Manzaggle? Or… whatever they wanted to be called by. Names were weird here.
"Want to have our picnic out in the open, or under one of the eternal blooms?" Burhalla asked.
"Eternal blooms? Which ones are those?" I asked in return.
"Those!" Saltriv said, pointing with their leaf towards one of the big tree-like flowers. "That's an eternal bloom."
It had a stem that was as thick as a tree trunk, and several meter-long maroon petals. If I wasn't separated from my family, home, and humanity, it would probably be a breathtaking sight.
But I was indeed separated from all of those things. So my interest in the giant flower waned pretty quickly.
"Huh…um…I, uh. Don't really know," I said. Honestly, I didn't really care which.
"Let's go next to one of the eternal blooms, then! You'll love it, I'm sure!" Burhalla said, running towards the nearest one. Saltriv followed close behind.
"W-wait up!" I called. I tried to hurry after them, but it was difficult with my stubby little legs. This body was so weird.
When I arrived, Burhalla and Saltriv had already set out a picnic blanket, and were taking out the food. Still mostly berries, but there was also a donut for each of us.
I sat down, moving my tail a bit to get myself comfortable, before taking a berry to nibble on. Pecha. It tasted pretty good, but it would be better in a jam.
… I missed sandwiches. Did they have those in this world? Probably not anything like the ones they have in Paldea, but surely they had something, right?
Not like I could ask without the risk of revealing myself as human, though.
As I looked down and nibbled on the pecha berry, I listened to Burhalla and Saltriv's conversation with my strange sensitive ears.
"Haven't been here since last year!" Burhalla said.
"Yep! Been a while for me, too!" Saltriv said.
"Missed seeing all the flowers," Burhalla said. "There's nothing quite like it!"
"Oh, that reminds me!" Saltriv said. "I wanted to tell you something."
"What is it?" Burhalla asked.
"Just before I woke up in Twig Woodland with Gen, I had this weird dream," Saltriv said.
My fur immediately began to stand on end. Was Saltriv going to tell Burhalla about the platform in the rainbow void? What if he figured out that I'm the human from that? No, no no no!
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. I had to stay calm. I had to not give anything away.
"R-really?" I asked.
"Yep! I even told you about it, before Burhalla found us!" Saltriv said.
Oh, right. They already told me about it, first thing after we woke up. I should have said something different!
"What was it about?" Burhalla asked.
"I was on a strange platform in a weird rainbow space, and I saw what looked like a human!" Saltriv said.
Oh no, no no no no! Was this it? Was Burhalla going to figure out the truth about me?
I tried to control my trembling, as I continued listening.
"Really? A human?" Burhalla said.
"Yep! I asked them a few questions, then I couldn't move. Then, the human looked up, and then grabbed me and ran, just as something crashed down where we were," Saltriv said. "Then I woke up next to Gen in Twig Woodland!"
"Yeah…I r-remember you telling me that now," I said.
I clutched tightly onto my reunion cape. How I wished it could take me home right now.
"That almost sounds like you were part of a Summoning. But why would you be there?" Burhalla said. "Especially since we know who the next human…or, well, humans, are, and who their partner is. Arctozolt and Dreepy."
"Yep…I actually thought Gen was that human," Saltriv said, and I dropped my pecha berry. "At least, until he told us he wasn't."
I looked up, seeing both Saltriv and Burhalla looking towards me. I couldn't breathe.
"Yeah…everything would make more sense if Gen was human," Burhalla said, looking back towards Saltriv. "It'd explain his amnesia, why he woke up next to you, and some other odd things."
"Yep…but he's not," Saltriv said.
"Yeah…would be cool if he was, though," Burhalla said, looking towards me. "Imagine if you actually were human! That'd be so cool!"
"Y-yeah…imagine…" I said, trying to stop hyperventilating.
"Hey, don't worry," Burhalla said, giving a soft smile at me. "Arctozolt is going to save the world, we're going to help you find your lost memories, and everything will be ok."
Would it, though? Would you say the same things if you knew I was human?
"I hope so…" I said, picking my pecha berry back up.
They were so close to figuring it out. It felt like only a matter of time now.
I needed to find a way home soon. I needed to. I needed to before I'd be left all alone.
I continued nibbling on the pecha berry, as Saltriv and Burhalla continued talking. Thankfully the subject had shifted from hypotheticals about "if I were really human" to some sort of scientific advancement. Something called a 'magnagate'? I couldn't make sense of it.
Eventually, I began to hear footsteps approaching us. My ears pricked up, an incredibly strange sensation, and I looked towards the source.
It was some sort of black-furred monkey-like Pokemon, with green bands wrapped around its arms. It was far taller than me, at least compared to how tall I was as an Oshawott.
"Greetings, I am Zarude," it said, turning to face me.
"Oshawott, I realize that this may be a bit sudden, but may I speak with you for a moment?"
"Huh?" Burhalla asked, looking towards Zarude. "We were having a picnic together, can you wait a bit?"
I scooched over towards Burhalla. What did this strange Pokemon want with me? Was it going to out my humanity?
"I'm sorry, but I would prefer not to wait," Zarude said, taking a step closer.
"Why?" Saltriv asked, tilting their head. "Do you know Gen somehow?"
"You could say that," Zarude said, and I felt my fur stand on end again. Just who was this Pokemon?
"Gen, I'd like to take you to see my daughter," Zarude said. "She said she wanted to see you again."
Daughter? What was that about? Was she one of the Pokemon I met in Overcast Village? Or…did she somehow know me as a human? Did she know why I'm here in this world?
"I mean, it's a bit unexpected, but we can make time for it, Gen," Burhalla said, beginning to smile again. "If you knew Zarude's daughter before losing your memory, she could remind you of who you are! Maybe she'd help you get your memory back!"
"Yep! And we can come with you!" Saltriv said, wagging their tail.
Zarude took a step back.
"I'm sorry, but my daughter wants to meet with Gen alone," Zarude said. "You two will have to stay here."
Alone. Alone. I didn't want to be alone, but…could this give me some answers?
"I dunno…but it's your choice, Gen. Do you want to go with Zarude?" Burhalla asked.
"Um…" I was unsure what to do. I was scared of going with this stranger, but Saltriv and Burhalla had also been strangers when I first woke up here.
It dawned on me that as scary as this felt... maybe it would be for the best to go along. If I went along with Zarude, Burhalla and Saltriv wouldn't question things that I brought up since I could claim that 'my memories returned to me'. Maybe I could even reveal that I was human without making Burhalla and Saltriv hate me.
... I wasn't too sure on that last one, especially with the way that humans were assumed to be heroes in this world. But at the very least whatever Zarude's daughter had to say to me would give me a cover story. And until I decided what to do, I could use this to keep my facade on a bit longer.
I nodded, and said, "I'll go with you."
"Good," Zarude said, before turning to Burhalla and Saltriv. "I'll bring him back before long. Now, Gen, follow me."
I finished the last of my pecha berry, then after waving at Burhalla and Saltriv, I started waddling after Zarude.
It was a pretty long walk through the flowers, but eventually, I started to see something strange on the horizon.
It was...I wasn't sure how to describe it. It was a creature, and it was really, really big. Bigger than any Pokemon I'd ever seen, besides the giant pink hand.
Speaking of the giant pink hand, the creature had the same colors as it. Pink and black. It looked draconic, and almost skeletal, with some sort of ball of light in what I could only assume was its chest.
Was it somehow related to the giant hand?
As we drew closer, I realized that Zarude was guiding me towards the creature. That thing…wasn't his daughter, right?
Soon, Zarude called out, "Eternity, he's here!"
The creature began to stir, and lift off the ground. My heart began to race. It was…terrifying.
And then, it drew near, near enough for me to see just how gigantic it was, and spoke, in a voice that sounded like many speaking at once. It sounded exactly like the screams I heard when I was falling through the rainbow void.
"Hi! Nice to meet you again!" Eternity said.
I was frozen in shock. What was this thing?! And it sounded so cheerful, nothing like what I thought it'd sound like. What was going on?
"Cheerful as always, I see! Glad you're doing well," Zarude said, stepping closer to…Eternity, and rubbing its…face? Something face-like.
"Don't worry, she's very sweet. Now, I'll leave you two be for now," Zarude told me, before stepping away, leaving me alone with Eternity.
What do I say to this thing? How did it know me?
"...um. H-hi," I said, gripping tightly onto my reunion cape. "Uh. What are you?"
"Papa says I'm something called an Eternatus!" Eternity said.
A what? I'd never heard of a Pokemon like that before…then again, I'd never seen anything like Eternity before.
"I…I see," I responded.
As I looked closer at Eternity, I noticed that her tail was…wagging.
Huh. Was this thing really that happy to see me?
"I wanted to make sure you were ok!" Eternity said. "I was really worried about you when I tried to help you and the platform broke and you started falling."
I almost tapped my reunion cape right then and there. Eternity was the giant pink hand?! And she was trying to help me?!
What should I even say?
Wait, oh no, she saw me in the rainbow void! That meant she knew I was human! She could maybe tell others about it!
Gah, I had to think up something! But what?!
"Um…c-come again?" I said, trembling.
"You know, the realm between here and the human world! When you were human!" Eternity said.
"Um…" I began, but she interrupted me before I could figure out what to say.
"I thought you'd be lost to Ultra Space, but you made it here and you're ok!" Eternity said, doing a twirl in the air. "And now I'm getting to meet a real human again! Yippee!"
"...you were trying to help me?" I asked. I had thought that the giant pink hand was trying to crush me or squeeze me or do something bad to me, but…was she really just trying to help?
"Yeppers!" Eternity said. "I was trying to bring you here, but you made it here safe and sound by yourself!"
Anger rose up in my chest.
"Wait…you were the one who ripped me away from my home?!" I cried. She was the reason I lost everything?!
"Huh? No, that wasn't me," Eternity said, curling up a bit. "I just saw you there all alone, and I wanted to help you!"
And the anger began to dissipate. My breathing slowed back down.
So it wasn't her who did this to me…but…
"Why didn't you just bring me back home?" I asked.
"Isn't this your home now?" Eternity asked in return.
My tail began to lash, and my right arm glowed darkly.
"No, no, not at all!" I shouted. "I hate this! I hate everything about this! Every moment of this is suffering! I lost everything! My home, my family, even my humanity! This body is so weird and wrong and uncomfortable! I feel so, so alone! This is not my home! It'll never be my home! I want to go home! To my real home, in Goldenrod City!"
Eternity looked away as her tail drooped towards the ground. "Oh…" she whimpered.
Great, now I felt terrible for upsetting her. Sure, she was terrifying, but she also seemed to be really childlike. She was like a big Growlithe. A really, really big Growlithe.
"...look. I'm sorry for snapping at you. I'm just…scared. Really scared," I said, looking up at Eternity.
Then an idea struck my mind, and I could feel my own tail begin to wag.
"Wait! If you could bring me here…could you bring me back home?" I asked.
She had brought me to this world, hadn't she? Could I finally go home at last?
Maybe she could even let me visit sometimes, to see Saltriv and Burhalla again. So long as it wasn't permanent, only for a little bit at a time. That would be perfect—
"Nope, I can't do that," she said, crushing my hopes. "I don't have enough power for that."
Oh.
"Not enough power? What do you mean?" I asked.
"It took a lot of my power to go to that realm in the first place," she explained. "It'll be a while before I'm strong enough to go there again."
"Oh…" I felt my tail flop against the ground. "Well…when you have enough power again, could you bring me home?"
She seemed to be in thought for a few seconds, her…fingers? Finger-like things. Whatever they were, she was tapping them together. Then, she stopped, and said, "I'm not sure. I gotta help save the world first! I wanna be a hero like the humans!"
And there's that again, about how humans were supposed to be heroes. I clutched tightly onto my reunion cape. "I…I see…"
"That reminds me! You're human, too!" Eternity said, suddenly getting way too close for comfort. "How's your world-saving coming along? Did you beat up any bad guys yet? I bet you've made lots of friends, too! You're so cool!"
That sinking feeling of dread returned, as my eyes drifted down at the flowers on the ground.
"I…I c-can't," I said.
Eternity tilted her head, tapping her finger-things together again.
"What do you mean you can't?" she asked. "You're human! You can do anything! I even summoned two humans myself, and they can help you!"
Two humans…was that Arctozolt, or another pair?
…it didn't matter right now.
"I can't. I'm sorry. I can't," I said.
The revelation that Arctozolt might have been summoned by Eternity should have shocked me, but I was too scared to care right now.
"But you have to!" Eternity pleaded, reaching an arm-thing out to me. "Humans always save—"
I couldn't take any more of this. I tapped the bow of my reunion cape, and felt myself be whisked away, back to Burhalla.
As I landed back on the picnic blanket that my teammates were at, I felt a pair of vines and a pair of scaly arms wrap around me in a hug.
"Gen! What happened? Why are you crying?" Saltriv asked.
I didn't even realize I had been crying. But…it made sense, given what I had just learned.
"Did something bad happen?" Burhalla asked.
Something very bad, but I couldn't tell him. Not without making things even worse.
"I just…they were mistaken. I wasn't the person they thought I was," I said. I realized it was one more lie that'd make Burhalla hate me later, but right now I just couldn't care.
"I'm sorry…we'll figure it out. We'll find a way to restore your memories," Burhalla said, stepping my way with arms outstretched.
"Yep! We're both here for you!" Saltriv said, wrapping a pair of vines around me.
"...th-thanks," I said, accepting their embrace.
Even with my two friends in this world hugging me, I didn't feel any better.
