Incognito Albatross
Youngster
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona, USA
- Pronouns
- she/her
Summary: My name is Aster, and I'm the Lorekeeper of something, I think. My memories from before the voice and turned me into a Skitty are really hazy. I have no idea what happened to get me stuck in this world with a Charmander who’s scared of his own fire, what that Gengar guy's deal is, or why I dream of a Gardevoir. But I’ve got my own power: tenacity. I'll never give up. Ever.
Content Warnings: Not much, really. Just some violence, implied/referenced character deaths, and swearing.
It’s roaring in triumph, isn’t it? It’s mocking me down here, broken on the ground. Laughing at me for ever thinking a puny little girl could ever go so high.
Screw the sky.
“Aster!”
I fight against a wave of blackness as I hear my name called. My head is spinning and there is dust in my eyes, but I can still see, although I wish I couldn’t.
Fissures.
Rubble.
Fire.
All the signs of a plan gone horribly wrong.
“Aster! Where are you?”
I open my mouth, but my throat burns, and no words come out, only a quiet squeaking noise. Dizziness overwhelms me again, and I gasp, trying to catch my breath, but my broken ribs scream in pain.
The fire draws closer. My hair is starting to smoke. I feel like I’m standing two feet from the sun. I try to move, but my body won’t listen. I’ve broken too many bones for that. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see a pool of something red. Probably blood, but I shift my gaze and try to convince myself that it’s juice.
I can hear footsteps now. “Aster!”
There’s no air in my lungs anymore. Only smoke.
She’s almost here. “Aster, come on, you have to hold on! I’m coming!”
But I can’t hold on. My eyes are closing of their own will. Each heartbeat comes a little further apart.
No. This can’t be happening. Not here, not now.
But it is, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Zinnia cries out my name one more time, but the sound fades as the world slips away.
That’s all I can remember. A vague recollection of disaster. And even that’s getting harder to hold on to. That girl’s face is blurry - did she have black hair or brown? She was wearing a cape, right? No, that was me. Her name was Zinnia, I think. Or was it Aster? The word Lorekeeper is floating around in my head - was it my name? Lorekeeper would be a pretty awesome name, I admit. Especially if it had the word the before it. I can see it now: me charging into battle, looking totally badass, and my enemies screaming, “It’s the Lorekeeper! Please, have mercy on us!”
And then I might have mercy on them, depending on what kind of mood I’m in.
Wait. I need to get back on track. I was trying to remember...what was I trying to remember? Something painful. With Zinnia and Aster and the Lorekeeper, whoever they are. And a roaring sky. And - ooh! The sky’s changing!
This whole time, I’ve been floating in an endless sea of grey, dotted with the occasional cloud of mist. I can’t move. I can’t even feel my - well, my anything. Maybe that’s what happens when you break so many bones. I have no idea how long I’ve been floating here - hours? Days? All eternity? Dunno. But now, the mist clears, and the grey sky turns to a dark blue, adorned with tiny balls of twinkling light. About time something interesting happened.
Welcome.
A gentle, feminine-sounding voice rings out from somewhere, but I can’t see where it’s coming from.
This is the portal that leads to the world of Pokemon.
What’s that supposed to mean? There were plenty of Pokemon in the world I was in. Salamence, Noibat, Altaria...not sure if I’ve ever had a Pokemon, but I can detect a strong bias toward dragon-types in my mind. Which makes perfect sense, because they’re awesome.
But before I can let you through, I must determine the form you’ll take. I have several questions for you. I want you to answer them sincerely. Are you ready?
Yes, I think, and the word sounds out, as if I’d just spoken. Okay, so I can talk by thinking strongly? This’ll be interesting.
Okay… Let the interview begin!
There is a flash of light, and then the sky changes once again, becoming a rippling green color. As soon as I have time to register this, it fades to a light blue, then pink, then red, and so on until I’m wondering if this is the version of Pride Parade wherever I am.
A delinquent is harassing a girl on a busy street! What will you do?
“Go yell at him and kick him in the nuts, of course,” I think-say. “But before I answer any more questions, I want some answers from you: who are you, who am I, where are we, and what the hell is going on?”
I understand and respect your right to ask questions. However, no answers are currently required or will be given. Rest assured that you are doing just fine.
Seriously? First I get my bones broken (or something like that), then I get summoned to another world, then this lady won’t even explain why?
Next question. On a vacation outing, would you rather go out alone or with someone?
Vacation outing? I can’t even remember my last vacation! “Why does it matter?”
For this process to take place, I need to get an accurate reading of your personality in order to place you properly. You don’t want to wind up in a body that doesn’t fit, right?
I’m not sure what kind of body does fit me, but I internally sigh and answer the question. “I’d go out alone. Other people would keep badgering me to stop in those tourist trap souvenir shops, or put on sunscreen, or something.”
Do you like to imagine things to amuse yourself?
“I like to do things to amuse myself.”
It is a pleasant day at the beach. How do you feel?
“Dunno. What am I doing? Beaches are great and all, but you can’t expect me to just stand around at the beach when there’s something better to do. You know, I think I like doing things that have an actual impact on the world.” Honestly, I’m grasping at straws here. I have no idea what sort of things I like to do. Although I’m pretty sure I’m not the kind of person who would sit around and play sudoku all day. What I really want to do is get this over with so that I can figure out what’s happening.
Do you get the feeling that you've slowed dow-
“Nope,” I interrupt. “Next question.”
Do others tell you to watch what you say?
I can’t pin down the specifics, but I get the feeling that people told me that. A lot. “Yup. But I’m going to say whatever I like, thank you very much. I think I deserve it in this scenario.”
Do others often call you childish?
Again, I get the feeling that I've been reminded many times to act my age. However old I am. “Yes.” A thought strikes me. First she asks me about my brain-to-mouth filter, then my mental age... “Wait. Are you trying to make some kind of point here?”
All of these questions are standard personality-gauging questions, and are presented at random. Please disregard any points you imagine I am trying to make.
Is it just me, or did that sound a little condescending?
Moving on. Do you like groan-inducing puns?
Ooh, an acceptable way to be annoying! “You want to know about me? Fine. I don’t trust stairs because they’re always up to something. And I don’t trust atoms, either - they make up everything. Speaking of atoms, one told me he’d lost an electron - guess he should’ve kept a better ion it. Yesterday, I couldn’t figure out how to use the laundry machine, so I threw in the tow-”
That’s quite enough. I understand what you’re trying to say.
“Aww, am I not tickling your punny bone? I’d tell you an unemployment joke, but it doesn’t work.”
Moving. On. What gender do you identify as?
I can’t feel what’s between my legs at the moment, but I have a feeling I’m a girl. “Female.”
I see… You appear to be the hasty type. You like to take charge and get things done. You're a real go-getter.
“Mhm,” I say. I’ve had quite the day - or month, or century, or however long I’ve been in this weird place, and I really don’t want to listen to this lady tell me all about who she thinks I am.
But are you also stressed out? You get irritated when your friends don't show up on time. You get frustrated when things don't turn out the way you expect.
“Mhm.”
Maybe you jab the elevator button if the elevator is slow to arrive.
“Mhm.”
Maybe you keep saying, “Mhm,” because you want me to get this over with.
“W-what? N-not at all! I’m listening!” I stammer. Huh, I didn’t know you could stammer while think-speaking. Food for thought.
Beware—getting too easily irritated just isn't good for your well-being.
And now she thinks she’s my life coach. Wonderful.
A hasty person like you should be a Skitty, don’t you think?
“Wait, what?”
Right, we’re all set! Let’s get you into the world of Pokemon! Go for it!
Around me, the light grows brighter. I feel a pulling sensation, like I’m being kneaded into shape like a piece of clay.
“Stop it!” I scream, but the pulling only gets harder, the light brighter, hotter, engulfing me.
I’m drowning in a sea of brightness.
The first thing I feel is grass tickling my nose. I let out a tiny sneeze and roll over onto my back. For a moment I expect to feel intense pain, but nothing out of the ordinary happens. I stretch out - no broken bones. Why was I expecting my bones to be broken, anyway?
Wait a minute - why am I sleeping out in the grass instead of a bed? For that matter, where am I?
“Excuse me, are you okay?”
I hear a voice - a rather boyish one, but not one that I recognize.
“Wake up! C’mon, wake up!”
I can feel myself being shaken. Well, if he wants me to wake up so badly…
Slowly, I open my eyes.
I’m lying in some sort of clearing, a grassy area in the middle of what appears to be a forest. The trees are tall, taller than any I’ve seen before, even though they just look like normal oak trees. The grass is tall too, and each individual blade looks unusually large. Huh.
Well, I suppose I could’ve woken up in a worse place - in a jail cell, for instance. Or near an active volcano. All in all, waking up in an unfamiliar place could’ve been way worse, so I should be - wait, that guy’s talking again, isn’t he?
“-and then I just saw you here, passed out on the ground, and for a moment I thought you were dead! Murdered or something! But then I saw your sides moving, and so I realized - uh…are you listening?”
“I’m listening, really!” I shout, a bit too quickly (I wasn’t really listening). I look up to where the boy’s voice is coming from, and -
“Good! I suppose you might be a bit out of it. You just woke up, after all.”
There’s a Pokemon standing in front of me, a reptilian one with orange scales and a flame on its tail. One of those Kantonian ones? I don’t know. But that’s not the point, the point’s that he’s -
“What happened, anyway? Dehydration? Exhaustion?”
- way too big for that kind of Pokemon to be (I have a feeling that even if I stood up, I’d be shorter than him), and also he’s -
“Uh, are you okay? You look a little freaked out.”
- talking.
A Pokemon.
Talking. In a language I can understand, no less. I don’t remember much, but I do remember that Pokemon don’t talk. They growl, chirp, bark, whatever. But they don’t talk.
The Pokemon reaches out his hand and I jump to my feet - yup, he’s still taller than me. What the hell is going on?
“Oh, good! You can -”
I can’t take it anymore. “What the hell are you?”
The Pokemon looks at me, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head in what I assume to be confusion. “Um…I don’t really understand what you’re saying. But I’m Charmander! And -”
“I’m not asking for your name, I’m asking how you can talk!” I hiss. I’ve had enough of this Tauros-shit. I need an explanation now.
Charmander still looks confused. “Why wouldn’t I be able to talk?”
I sigh - just how dumb is this Charmander guy? Does he not know how the world works? “You’re a Pokemon, and Pokemon can’t talk,” I explain slowly, as if I’m talking to a toddler.
“You can talk, though,” Charmander points out.
I roll my eyes. “Do I look like a Pokemon to you?”
“Yes.”
“Then I guess you’ve never seen a human before! But look at this, I have hands, human hands, see? Opposable thumbs and all that stuff.”
I stick out my hand, except it’s not a hand, it’s a cream-colored paw.
It’s at that moment that I realize I’m on all fours - but not on my hands and knees. In fact, I don’t seem to have knees. My arms (?) and my legs are somehow the same size, too. And my fur -
Wait, my fur?
I somehow have fur now, and I can feel the wind gently tousling it. It’s like I have short hair covering every part of me - oh, wait, that’s what fur is. Right.
“W-what the hell?” I stammer, staring down at my paws - my paws. I wiggle around a little, turning my head to look at myself. Pink and cream fur, four legs, a tail - a tail? How did I not notice that before? It feels natural, too, like it was always there. I shake it a bit, watching the little yellow thingies at the end bounce around.
“Um, are you okay?” Charmander asks. “You look kinda confused.”
All my frustration seems to reach a boiling point. I can hear myself growling - not like a human, either. Partially to stop the growling, I speak up. “Oh, I look confused? You don’t say?”
“Well, you -”
“I’m not supposed to look like this! I’m a human, I don’t have fur, I don’t have a tail, I don’t look like this! And I have no idea where the hell I am, or how I got here, or how I got turned into - into a -”
“A Skitty?” Charmander suggests.
“Yes, a Skitty! Somehow I’m a Skitty, and…and I…”
I trail off as the full reality of my situation hits me. I’ve just been somehow morphed into a Skitty, of all things. A Pokemon. And though I might be able to talk to and understand Charmander - probably because he’s a Pokemon too - it’s unlikely that humans will understand me. I can’t just go home - wherever that is. Where will I sleep? What will everyone think when they stop seeing me around?
Wait, who is everyone, anyway? My family? My friends? Do I even have those?
Shit. I can’t remember, I can’t remember, I can’t -
Something taps my head, jerking me out of my little mantra. It’s Charmander, of course. He’s staring at me with those too-big blue eyes of his, looking concerned. Maybe a little weirded out.
“So,” Charmander begins, still holding my gaze, “you say you’re a human, right?”
“Yeah.” He must think I’m crazy. Who wouldn’t? If a human started yelling about how they were a transformed Skitty, I would think they were crazy.
“That’s…well…”
“An unlikely story, right?”
Charmander sighs. “It’s just… I’ve never seen a human. Nobody I know has ever seen a human. I mean, there’s the abandoned lab and the old power plant, and I’ve heard stories that they were made by humans, but…”
I narrow my eyes. “Wait. Aren’t we in Kanto?”
Charmander stares blankly back at me. “I have no idea where that is.”
Maybe Kanto is just a human term, and Pokemon call the regions something different? Or maybe… No, that’s too much to think about.
I speak up again. “Humans divide the world into regions. I’m pretty sure I’m from Hoenn - one of the tropical regions. Kanto’s the one with big cities and a lot of organized crime.”
Even as the words fall from my mouth, I realize that I’m being stupid. Kanto is full of humans. Every region is. If we were in any region, Charmander would’ve seen at least one before. So either I’ve been isekai’d to some other world, or I’m in a post-apocalyptic future. Neither option sounds particularly appealing.
Charmander tilts his head. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t understand what you’re talking about. For the record, we’re near Tiny Woods, on the Air Continent.” He takes a closer look at me, specifically staring at my head. “There was an earthquake earlier. You, uh, sure you didn’t bump your head on a rock or something?”
“No, I didn’t!” I snap. “I’m not making this up, I’m not crazy, I’m not hallucinating, I’m not -”
Charmander raises his hands. “Look, I’m not saying that you’re crazy. It’s just…a lot to take in, you know? I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before. Could you at least tell me what you were doing before you got…transformed?”
“I…uh…” I trail off. I can’t remember what I was doing prior to this. Or what I was doing yesterday. Or last month, for that matter. I’m from Hoenn, right? And I…
I can’t remember my life. Not at all.
Charmander’s expression softens. “Do you remember anything?”
“No,” I manage to squeak out.
Charmander is saying something. But I can’t bring myself to listen. This is bad. This is really bad. I’m stuck in a place I don’t know, in a body that isn’t mine, with no one who knows me and nowhere to go. I have no idea how to survive as a Pokemon. I’m going to starve, I’m going to die of exposure, I’m going to -
No.
I’m not going to die, and I’m not going to just give up, either. I’ll try something - everything. I’ll scrounge for berries, drink from rivers - hell, I’ll even sleep in a burrow if I have to. And I’m not going to stay like this forever, either. I’m going to figure out why I’ve become a Skitty. I’m going to find out exactly where I am. And I’m going to remember who I am, too! Whatever - or whoever - did this to me has no idea who they just messed with. I’m Aster, for goodness sake, and I -
Wait a minute.
Aster.
That’s my name!
I can’t help but squeal in joy. I remembered something!
“Uh, you look happy all of a sudden,” Charmander says, giving me a weirded-out stare.
I can feel myself break into a grin. “I remembered my name! Aster!”
“Aster, huh? Like the flower? That’s kind of a weird name,” Charmander replies dubiously.
“Hey, it is not a weird name. It’s a pretty name, just like a flower. And -”
“Whatever,” Charmander mutters. He turns away, towards the west (I can tell by the direction of the sun). “We should get going. Tiny Woods is usually safe, but the Pokemon here have gotten a bit rowdy lately. I’ll try to skirt around the woods. You can walk, right?”
I stare at him, confused. “Wait, where are we going?”
Charmander looks over his shoulder, incredulous. “Did you seriously not listen to anything I was saying? I’m taking you to this healer I know.”
“You’re taking me to a healer?”
Charmander rolls his eyes. “You were just unconscious, and I’m still not convinced that you didn’t hit your head. Of course I’m taking you to a healer.”
“For the millionth time, I didn’t hit my head!” I hiss. “I’m not hurt, I’m not crazy, I’m perfectly fine!” Except for the fact that I seem to have turned into a Skitty and developed severe amnesia, but still.
Charmander’s gaze softens. “I’m being too harsh, aren’t I? Look. You’re clearly in a lot of distress, and whether or not you were really a human, you seem to have a bad case of memory loss. I can’t just leave you. You need to at least get a check-up.”
I deflate a bit. “But…”
Charmander looks back at the trees ahead. “Besides, you don’t have anywhere to go, do you?”
He’s right. Going with him is the best chance I’ve got, at least for now.
“...Okay.”
And so we begin to walk in the direction of the sun, heading towards somewhere I don’t know. Still, I can’t help but feel hope blooming in my chest. I may not know what I’m doing, but at least I have a short-term goal, and I can work my way up from there. It’ll be tough, but I’m not gonna give up.
There’s no way I’ll ever give up.
Content Warnings: Not much, really. Just some violence, implied/referenced character deaths, and swearing.
Chapter 1: A Slight Case of Severe Amnesia
I can hear a roaring from the sky.It’s roaring in triumph, isn’t it? It’s mocking me down here, broken on the ground. Laughing at me for ever thinking a puny little girl could ever go so high.
Screw the sky.
“Aster!”
I fight against a wave of blackness as I hear my name called. My head is spinning and there is dust in my eyes, but I can still see, although I wish I couldn’t.
Fissures.
Rubble.
Fire.
All the signs of a plan gone horribly wrong.
“Aster! Where are you?”
I open my mouth, but my throat burns, and no words come out, only a quiet squeaking noise. Dizziness overwhelms me again, and I gasp, trying to catch my breath, but my broken ribs scream in pain.
The fire draws closer. My hair is starting to smoke. I feel like I’m standing two feet from the sun. I try to move, but my body won’t listen. I’ve broken too many bones for that. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see a pool of something red. Probably blood, but I shift my gaze and try to convince myself that it’s juice.
I can hear footsteps now. “Aster!”
There’s no air in my lungs anymore. Only smoke.
She’s almost here. “Aster, come on, you have to hold on! I’m coming!”
But I can’t hold on. My eyes are closing of their own will. Each heartbeat comes a little further apart.
No. This can’t be happening. Not here, not now.
But it is, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Zinnia cries out my name one more time, but the sound fades as the world slips away.
That’s all I can remember. A vague recollection of disaster. And even that’s getting harder to hold on to. That girl’s face is blurry - did she have black hair or brown? She was wearing a cape, right? No, that was me. Her name was Zinnia, I think. Or was it Aster? The word Lorekeeper is floating around in my head - was it my name? Lorekeeper would be a pretty awesome name, I admit. Especially if it had the word the before it. I can see it now: me charging into battle, looking totally badass, and my enemies screaming, “It’s the Lorekeeper! Please, have mercy on us!”
And then I might have mercy on them, depending on what kind of mood I’m in.
Wait. I need to get back on track. I was trying to remember...what was I trying to remember? Something painful. With Zinnia and Aster and the Lorekeeper, whoever they are. And a roaring sky. And - ooh! The sky’s changing!
This whole time, I’ve been floating in an endless sea of grey, dotted with the occasional cloud of mist. I can’t move. I can’t even feel my - well, my anything. Maybe that’s what happens when you break so many bones. I have no idea how long I’ve been floating here - hours? Days? All eternity? Dunno. But now, the mist clears, and the grey sky turns to a dark blue, adorned with tiny balls of twinkling light. About time something interesting happened.
Welcome.
A gentle, feminine-sounding voice rings out from somewhere, but I can’t see where it’s coming from.
This is the portal that leads to the world of Pokemon.
What’s that supposed to mean? There were plenty of Pokemon in the world I was in. Salamence, Noibat, Altaria...not sure if I’ve ever had a Pokemon, but I can detect a strong bias toward dragon-types in my mind. Which makes perfect sense, because they’re awesome.
But before I can let you through, I must determine the form you’ll take. I have several questions for you. I want you to answer them sincerely. Are you ready?
Yes, I think, and the word sounds out, as if I’d just spoken. Okay, so I can talk by thinking strongly? This’ll be interesting.
Okay… Let the interview begin!
There is a flash of light, and then the sky changes once again, becoming a rippling green color. As soon as I have time to register this, it fades to a light blue, then pink, then red, and so on until I’m wondering if this is the version of Pride Parade wherever I am.
A delinquent is harassing a girl on a busy street! What will you do?
“Go yell at him and kick him in the nuts, of course,” I think-say. “But before I answer any more questions, I want some answers from you: who are you, who am I, where are we, and what the hell is going on?”
I understand and respect your right to ask questions. However, no answers are currently required or will be given. Rest assured that you are doing just fine.
Seriously? First I get my bones broken (or something like that), then I get summoned to another world, then this lady won’t even explain why?
Next question. On a vacation outing, would you rather go out alone or with someone?
Vacation outing? I can’t even remember my last vacation! “Why does it matter?”
For this process to take place, I need to get an accurate reading of your personality in order to place you properly. You don’t want to wind up in a body that doesn’t fit, right?
I’m not sure what kind of body does fit me, but I internally sigh and answer the question. “I’d go out alone. Other people would keep badgering me to stop in those tourist trap souvenir shops, or put on sunscreen, or something.”
Do you like to imagine things to amuse yourself?
“I like to do things to amuse myself.”
It is a pleasant day at the beach. How do you feel?
“Dunno. What am I doing? Beaches are great and all, but you can’t expect me to just stand around at the beach when there’s something better to do. You know, I think I like doing things that have an actual impact on the world.” Honestly, I’m grasping at straws here. I have no idea what sort of things I like to do. Although I’m pretty sure I’m not the kind of person who would sit around and play sudoku all day. What I really want to do is get this over with so that I can figure out what’s happening.
Do you get the feeling that you've slowed dow-
“Nope,” I interrupt. “Next question.”
Do others tell you to watch what you say?
I can’t pin down the specifics, but I get the feeling that people told me that. A lot. “Yup. But I’m going to say whatever I like, thank you very much. I think I deserve it in this scenario.”
Do others often call you childish?
Again, I get the feeling that I've been reminded many times to act my age. However old I am. “Yes.” A thought strikes me. First she asks me about my brain-to-mouth filter, then my mental age... “Wait. Are you trying to make some kind of point here?”
All of these questions are standard personality-gauging questions, and are presented at random. Please disregard any points you imagine I am trying to make.
Is it just me, or did that sound a little condescending?
Moving on. Do you like groan-inducing puns?
Ooh, an acceptable way to be annoying! “You want to know about me? Fine. I don’t trust stairs because they’re always up to something. And I don’t trust atoms, either - they make up everything. Speaking of atoms, one told me he’d lost an electron - guess he should’ve kept a better ion it. Yesterday, I couldn’t figure out how to use the laundry machine, so I threw in the tow-”
That’s quite enough. I understand what you’re trying to say.
“Aww, am I not tickling your punny bone? I’d tell you an unemployment joke, but it doesn’t work.”
Moving. On. What gender do you identify as?
I can’t feel what’s between my legs at the moment, but I have a feeling I’m a girl. “Female.”
I see… You appear to be the hasty type. You like to take charge and get things done. You're a real go-getter.
“Mhm,” I say. I’ve had quite the day - or month, or century, or however long I’ve been in this weird place, and I really don’t want to listen to this lady tell me all about who she thinks I am.
But are you also stressed out? You get irritated when your friends don't show up on time. You get frustrated when things don't turn out the way you expect.
“Mhm.”
Maybe you jab the elevator button if the elevator is slow to arrive.
“Mhm.”
Maybe you keep saying, “Mhm,” because you want me to get this over with.
“W-what? N-not at all! I’m listening!” I stammer. Huh, I didn’t know you could stammer while think-speaking. Food for thought.
Beware—getting too easily irritated just isn't good for your well-being.
And now she thinks she’s my life coach. Wonderful.
A hasty person like you should be a Skitty, don’t you think?
“Wait, what?”
Right, we’re all set! Let’s get you into the world of Pokemon! Go for it!
Around me, the light grows brighter. I feel a pulling sensation, like I’m being kneaded into shape like a piece of clay.
“Stop it!” I scream, but the pulling only gets harder, the light brighter, hotter, engulfing me.
I’m drowning in a sea of brightness.
The first thing I feel is grass tickling my nose. I let out a tiny sneeze and roll over onto my back. For a moment I expect to feel intense pain, but nothing out of the ordinary happens. I stretch out - no broken bones. Why was I expecting my bones to be broken, anyway?
Wait a minute - why am I sleeping out in the grass instead of a bed? For that matter, where am I?
“Excuse me, are you okay?”
I hear a voice - a rather boyish one, but not one that I recognize.
“Wake up! C’mon, wake up!”
I can feel myself being shaken. Well, if he wants me to wake up so badly…
Slowly, I open my eyes.
I’m lying in some sort of clearing, a grassy area in the middle of what appears to be a forest. The trees are tall, taller than any I’ve seen before, even though they just look like normal oak trees. The grass is tall too, and each individual blade looks unusually large. Huh.
Well, I suppose I could’ve woken up in a worse place - in a jail cell, for instance. Or near an active volcano. All in all, waking up in an unfamiliar place could’ve been way worse, so I should be - wait, that guy’s talking again, isn’t he?
“-and then I just saw you here, passed out on the ground, and for a moment I thought you were dead! Murdered or something! But then I saw your sides moving, and so I realized - uh…are you listening?”
“I’m listening, really!” I shout, a bit too quickly (I wasn’t really listening). I look up to where the boy’s voice is coming from, and -
“Good! I suppose you might be a bit out of it. You just woke up, after all.”
There’s a Pokemon standing in front of me, a reptilian one with orange scales and a flame on its tail. One of those Kantonian ones? I don’t know. But that’s not the point, the point’s that he’s -
“What happened, anyway? Dehydration? Exhaustion?”
- way too big for that kind of Pokemon to be (I have a feeling that even if I stood up, I’d be shorter than him), and also he’s -
“Uh, are you okay? You look a little freaked out.”
- talking.
A Pokemon.
Talking. In a language I can understand, no less. I don’t remember much, but I do remember that Pokemon don’t talk. They growl, chirp, bark, whatever. But they don’t talk.
The Pokemon reaches out his hand and I jump to my feet - yup, he’s still taller than me. What the hell is going on?
“Oh, good! You can -”
I can’t take it anymore. “What the hell are you?”
The Pokemon looks at me, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head in what I assume to be confusion. “Um…I don’t really understand what you’re saying. But I’m Charmander! And -”
“I’m not asking for your name, I’m asking how you can talk!” I hiss. I’ve had enough of this Tauros-shit. I need an explanation now.
Charmander still looks confused. “Why wouldn’t I be able to talk?”
I sigh - just how dumb is this Charmander guy? Does he not know how the world works? “You’re a Pokemon, and Pokemon can’t talk,” I explain slowly, as if I’m talking to a toddler.
“You can talk, though,” Charmander points out.
I roll my eyes. “Do I look like a Pokemon to you?”
“Yes.”
“Then I guess you’ve never seen a human before! But look at this, I have hands, human hands, see? Opposable thumbs and all that stuff.”
I stick out my hand, except it’s not a hand, it’s a cream-colored paw.
It’s at that moment that I realize I’m on all fours - but not on my hands and knees. In fact, I don’t seem to have knees. My arms (?) and my legs are somehow the same size, too. And my fur -
Wait, my fur?
I somehow have fur now, and I can feel the wind gently tousling it. It’s like I have short hair covering every part of me - oh, wait, that’s what fur is. Right.
“W-what the hell?” I stammer, staring down at my paws - my paws. I wiggle around a little, turning my head to look at myself. Pink and cream fur, four legs, a tail - a tail? How did I not notice that before? It feels natural, too, like it was always there. I shake it a bit, watching the little yellow thingies at the end bounce around.
“Um, are you okay?” Charmander asks. “You look kinda confused.”
All my frustration seems to reach a boiling point. I can hear myself growling - not like a human, either. Partially to stop the growling, I speak up. “Oh, I look confused? You don’t say?”
“Well, you -”
“I’m not supposed to look like this! I’m a human, I don’t have fur, I don’t have a tail, I don’t look like this! And I have no idea where the hell I am, or how I got here, or how I got turned into - into a -”
“A Skitty?” Charmander suggests.
“Yes, a Skitty! Somehow I’m a Skitty, and…and I…”
I trail off as the full reality of my situation hits me. I’ve just been somehow morphed into a Skitty, of all things. A Pokemon. And though I might be able to talk to and understand Charmander - probably because he’s a Pokemon too - it’s unlikely that humans will understand me. I can’t just go home - wherever that is. Where will I sleep? What will everyone think when they stop seeing me around?
Wait, who is everyone, anyway? My family? My friends? Do I even have those?
Shit. I can’t remember, I can’t remember, I can’t -
Something taps my head, jerking me out of my little mantra. It’s Charmander, of course. He’s staring at me with those too-big blue eyes of his, looking concerned. Maybe a little weirded out.
“So,” Charmander begins, still holding my gaze, “you say you’re a human, right?”
“Yeah.” He must think I’m crazy. Who wouldn’t? If a human started yelling about how they were a transformed Skitty, I would think they were crazy.
“That’s…well…”
“An unlikely story, right?”
Charmander sighs. “It’s just… I’ve never seen a human. Nobody I know has ever seen a human. I mean, there’s the abandoned lab and the old power plant, and I’ve heard stories that they were made by humans, but…”
I narrow my eyes. “Wait. Aren’t we in Kanto?”
Charmander stares blankly back at me. “I have no idea where that is.”
Maybe Kanto is just a human term, and Pokemon call the regions something different? Or maybe… No, that’s too much to think about.
I speak up again. “Humans divide the world into regions. I’m pretty sure I’m from Hoenn - one of the tropical regions. Kanto’s the one with big cities and a lot of organized crime.”
Even as the words fall from my mouth, I realize that I’m being stupid. Kanto is full of humans. Every region is. If we were in any region, Charmander would’ve seen at least one before. So either I’ve been isekai’d to some other world, or I’m in a post-apocalyptic future. Neither option sounds particularly appealing.
Charmander tilts his head. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t understand what you’re talking about. For the record, we’re near Tiny Woods, on the Air Continent.” He takes a closer look at me, specifically staring at my head. “There was an earthquake earlier. You, uh, sure you didn’t bump your head on a rock or something?”
“No, I didn’t!” I snap. “I’m not making this up, I’m not crazy, I’m not hallucinating, I’m not -”
Charmander raises his hands. “Look, I’m not saying that you’re crazy. It’s just…a lot to take in, you know? I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before. Could you at least tell me what you were doing before you got…transformed?”
“I…uh…” I trail off. I can’t remember what I was doing prior to this. Or what I was doing yesterday. Or last month, for that matter. I’m from Hoenn, right? And I…
I can’t remember my life. Not at all.
Charmander’s expression softens. “Do you remember anything?”
“No,” I manage to squeak out.
Charmander is saying something. But I can’t bring myself to listen. This is bad. This is really bad. I’m stuck in a place I don’t know, in a body that isn’t mine, with no one who knows me and nowhere to go. I have no idea how to survive as a Pokemon. I’m going to starve, I’m going to die of exposure, I’m going to -
No.
I’m not going to die, and I’m not going to just give up, either. I’ll try something - everything. I’ll scrounge for berries, drink from rivers - hell, I’ll even sleep in a burrow if I have to. And I’m not going to stay like this forever, either. I’m going to figure out why I’ve become a Skitty. I’m going to find out exactly where I am. And I’m going to remember who I am, too! Whatever - or whoever - did this to me has no idea who they just messed with. I’m Aster, for goodness sake, and I -
Wait a minute.
Aster.
That’s my name!
I can’t help but squeal in joy. I remembered something!
“Uh, you look happy all of a sudden,” Charmander says, giving me a weirded-out stare.
I can feel myself break into a grin. “I remembered my name! Aster!”
“Aster, huh? Like the flower? That’s kind of a weird name,” Charmander replies dubiously.
“Hey, it is not a weird name. It’s a pretty name, just like a flower. And -”
“Whatever,” Charmander mutters. He turns away, towards the west (I can tell by the direction of the sun). “We should get going. Tiny Woods is usually safe, but the Pokemon here have gotten a bit rowdy lately. I’ll try to skirt around the woods. You can walk, right?”
I stare at him, confused. “Wait, where are we going?”
Charmander looks over his shoulder, incredulous. “Did you seriously not listen to anything I was saying? I’m taking you to this healer I know.”
“You’re taking me to a healer?”
Charmander rolls his eyes. “You were just unconscious, and I’m still not convinced that you didn’t hit your head. Of course I’m taking you to a healer.”
“For the millionth time, I didn’t hit my head!” I hiss. “I’m not hurt, I’m not crazy, I’m perfectly fine!” Except for the fact that I seem to have turned into a Skitty and developed severe amnesia, but still.
Charmander’s gaze softens. “I’m being too harsh, aren’t I? Look. You’re clearly in a lot of distress, and whether or not you were really a human, you seem to have a bad case of memory loss. I can’t just leave you. You need to at least get a check-up.”
I deflate a bit. “But…”
Charmander looks back at the trees ahead. “Besides, you don’t have anywhere to go, do you?”
He’s right. Going with him is the best chance I’ve got, at least for now.
“...Okay.”
And so we begin to walk in the direction of the sun, heading towards somewhere I don’t know. Still, I can’t help but feel hope blooming in my chest. I may not know what I’m doing, but at least I have a short-term goal, and I can work my way up from there. It’ll be tough, but I’m not gonna give up.
There’s no way I’ll ever give up.
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