A Winkle in Reality

[HankPankylol]

Hello, and welcome to my first story. Fair warning, the first section is kinda heavy and dense, but it gets easier to read.


I've already posted the first 20 chapters of this on other sites, so I'll just post one a day until we catch up, and then go back to one a week.

Disclaimer: Pokémon is the property of Nintendo and Game Freak. I don't own shit.

---

Colors swirled around him in an endless kaleidoscope, each one distinct and yet perfectly blended into the next. Hues that humans had never known teased the edge of his sanity as they flashed in a random pattern, while the complete lack of change threatened to drive him insane.


Land floated by him, great chunks of earth as big as continents and as small as pebbles drifted aimlessly. Trees grew from the clouds while rivers flowed upwards and then started to do loops around themselves. Oceans hung like spheres midair as forest fires raged within them, consuming the planets and stars that dotted them. Fish-like beings walked the land as bird shaped entities swam through the dirt.


It wasn't a world of logic and sense. Consistency here was a crime of the highest order. Up wasn't down and south didn't mean north. Up was purple and directions tasted like mint, gravity was ever shifting and time meant nothing, yet everything at the same time.


He didn't belong there, in that lawless realm. He could feel his soul reject it, the very essence of his being conflicting with his surroundings. He was a being of law and order.


He did not belong there.


The others knew it too. They would poke and prod him, brushing against him and disappearing when he turned his attention to them. Shapeless beings that were mere clouds of vapor, jabbing him with solid limbs, fang filled grins on blank, expressionless faces. They lurked in the corners of his vision, whispering into his ears the sweetest and most foul things he could imagine in languages he didn't understand. One, twelve, twenty, five, combining and splitting without issue. They were there every second of every day, yet left him alone for years at a time.


Larger presences teased the edge of his existence, absorbing everything in their path as they swept through nothing and everything. They fused and divided, a harmony of millions and no more than one, leaving new in their wake to come and bother him.


It was a game to them. Bother the new guy. Bully the outsider. See how much the only solid thing they had ever met could take before it tore into pieces much like themselves.


Though to be fair, he presumed that he was the most interesting, and uninteresting, thing that had happened to that place of chaos in a long, and short, time.


Years passed in seconds, minutes took decades. His resistance was faltering. Little by little, his soul's reluctance to be there faded. Increasingly, acceptance set in.


He wasn't born there. He wasn't made to exist in such a place. A being of congruence couldn't last in a place that prided itself on dissent.


Something had to give. And he was so much lesser than a whole universe.


As the Miasma of randomness seeped into the crevices of his soul, tempting and threatening, the endless feeling of something breathing on his neck halted. For a brief moment and eternity, everything stopped. Movement, space, and even time ceased frolicking about as they pleased and the reality held its breath.


A weight descended upon him.


Cold and heat had long stopped mattering to him. Lifetimes, or millennia, of temperatures of all kinds had numbed him. Neither did gravity bother him after so long with a black hole crushing his feet while his head felt like it was laying on the moon. Only the constant tries to change him even registered.


But he felt the pressure. The Miasma had coerced and beckoned, but the pressure didn't care. It hadn't come to lure him. It didn't matter that he was close to giving in. It wasn't concerned with the fact that in a timeless place like the Randomness, his transformation was guaranteed and was essentially finished.


He was an outsider. And outsiders did not belong.


He barely noticed that he was completely alone for the first time since his arrival, all of his tormentors and playmates having vanished. The pressure kept rising, the weight upon his soul increasing. It felt like sinking deep into the ocean, deep under the waves to a place where life wasn't meant to exist. His form was made of glass as tons and tons pushed down onto every inch of him, his lungs quivering to draw breath, the air thick with power. Like oil it spread throughout his body, assessing him, judging him.


Rejecting him.


A shadow that stretched from horizon to horizon wavered in place as if hidden behind a mist. Gleaming talons disappeared and reappeared throughout the shadow with no set location. Great sheets of darkness rose from its back as wings, giant pinions the size of skies blocking his view as the mere presence sent crystalline fractures through his mind.


Crimson eyes larger than his body hovered before him as his limbs cracked from the strain, every fiber of his being screaming in protest of being so near the incarnation of the Randomness they had been cast into. It was ITs world, ITs very existence that had permeated the realm, ITs will that held Nothing, yet Everything together. IT had built a dimension away from the sickening solidity of the Material World, forced an entire world into existence through sheer force of will and raw power.


And IT hated him for bringing the stench with him.


Fangs the size of buildings flashed as a crooked tear in the Shadow opened to reveal a mouth. A roar that made his cells cry in anguish ripped from the god in front of him as IT lurched towards him, hatred shining in ITs gaze and maw opening wide as IT swallowed him in one bite, teeth ripping through him as he let out a scream and-


-shot up with enough force that I overextended and tipped ass over end, face planting into the dirt. Sand filled my mouth as I sputtered, the last bit of the scream splutering out my throat. Coughing, I pushed off the ground again and made it into a sitting position, heart thundering in my ears.


"What the fuck!?"


I patted down my body as the phantom pain of being devoured alive pulsed through me, but there was nothing. There were no wounds or puncture holes as wide as my torso.


I was alive.


"Hehe", a chuckle broke past my lips as I stared at my clean, non-mutilated flesh.


"Hehe. HahahahaHaHaHaHAHAHAHAHAHA!"


Much more gracefully I jumped back on my feet, managing to stay upright.


"YEEEEEAAAH! FUCK YOU! FUUUUUUCK YOOOOOU, YOU SHADOW BITCH! HAHAHA!" I spread my arms wide while tilting my head back, letting the beautiful, steady, consistent warmth of the baking sun soak through my bones. "YOU THINK YOU CAN EAT ME!? ME!? SUCK MY FUCKING DICK, YOU FORMLESS PUSSY! HAHAHA! I HOPE YOU LIKE THE TASTE OF AIR, DIPSHIT! EAT MY FUCKING ASS! I'M THE FUCKING GREATEST, I'M IMMORTAL, I'M, I'm, I'm-" Panting as the edge of the adrenaline rush from my close call started to settle, I took in my surroundings.


Sand.


And a lot of it.


As in, only sand. Everywhere.


"I'm in the fucking desert."


Why was I in the desert?

---

Sand covered my foot and tried to swallow the entire leg as I put my weight on it. The loose surface shifted beneath my bare toes, threatening to send me back down the way I came. Sweat ran down my face like bullets, darkening the sand for a second before it disappeared as I threw my right leg forward, barely keeping my balance.


Left.


Right.


The sun above only seemed to get hotter and hotter as I finally crested the dune I was climbing, heavy pants heaving from my chest as my knees collapsed. The grains burned my skin as I looked out from my new vantage point.


And what a sight it was.


"AAAAARRGHH!" It didn't fucking end. No matter how far I walked. No matter how many hills I climbed or what direction I tried.


It.


Was.


Just.


More.


Sand.


"COME ON!" The yell tore at my dry throat, but I was so far past caring. My forehead met the burning hell substance that had proven the bane of my existence as I tilted forward, struggling to regain my breath. I didn't understand. It wasn't fucking fair. I survived a different dimension. I got eaten by a fuck-off huge shadow monster, and this was what I earned? Actual, unending, hell?


"I miss the Random. I want to go back." I moaned, uncaring for the shit that got in my mouth. I could already hear the cracking and crunching every time I moved my jaw and felt the rocks between my teeth. It was in my ears and in my nose, it scorched my feet with every step, and I was pretty sure it was multiplying inside my asshole. It had been so nice at first. Sure, it had been warm, but unlike the Random, it was a consistent type of heat and much milder than the extremes I had been used to. The sand had been annoying even then, yet the sheer joy of expecting something, and then getting it, had kept me on a high for what felt like hours.


Until it didn't.


Consistency meant lack of variation. After days, or millennia, of nothing but change, it sounded great in theory. But then you got warm. And then even warmer. You started sweating. Your mouth dried out and your throat became parched. Your vision started blurring and a headache started pounding, your thoughts felt wooly and your skin burned. The occasional breeze no longer offered relief and soon you start longing for the sensation of having your fingers flash frozen while your palms boil.


The beings inhabiting that other place might have had a point.


Rules sucked.


The unrelenting heat beat down on my already sunburned back as I pressed my forehead to my clenched fists before me. Everything hurt. I had even thought about drinking my own piss, just to get some relief, but either the Random World left no urine in the body upon exit, or the hellscape I found myself in had taken that from me as well.


I-... I couldn't keep going. Not forever. Not like that.


"Please… Please. Not like this…"


I closed my eyes as I ignored the aching of my lungs, forcing them to take in deep, slow breaths. My thighs screamed as I forced them under me. A loud, drawn out groan left my lips as I fought to get back up, only for a cramp in my calf to send me right back down. A scream rang out and if there had been any liquid left in my body, I would've cried.


"COME OOONN! COM-.. COme On… Please…"


Second try had me back on my feet. However, a glance at the ceaseless arid landscape in front of me made me want to just sit down for the last time. What was the point of trying if the goal was impossible? I was clearly in the middle of the desert and too far in to make it out on foot. Why make the last moments of my life ones of pain and struggle?


I would forever deny that I let out a whimper as I took a halting step forward.


"Right… Left…"


I survived being thrown into a completely different dimension that was by its very nature hostile to my existence. I made it through the denizens of said dimension using me as a stress ball, poking, and prodding, and stretching, and throwing. I lived through being a chew toy for a giant, spooky, halloween dragon thing.


I refused to lay down for fucking heat.


Time and distance blurred. I would look up to see where the next dune would be, only to find myself halfway up it. I would follow what I was sure was a straight line, keeping the sun on my left side after it started coming down from its zenith, and stumble upon my own footprints going perpendicular. My ears rang and shadows danced across my eyes.


"Ri-Right… Lef…"


And all the while Satan's ballsack hung in the sky, slowly turning me into beef jerky.


Or pork jerky?


Human jerky.


I giggled to myself as I crawled up the last part of the non-stop hills. I was slowly losing my mind. I could feel my grip on sanity slipping. Shit was suddenly so funny. Everything made me laugh, even the most nonsensical bullshit my boiling brain threw at me. Black spots in my vision had turned into full-on hallucinations. I was certain I had seen some of my friends and bullies from the Random floating by me, making faces, yet they all faded within a couple of seconds. Cackles filled my ears, yet there was no mouth to make them. Fuck, I could even see an oasis from my new vantage point, perched like a dying bird of prey on a burial mound of sand.


I giggled again.


I am going to die. The defeatist thoughts of earlier had turned into a bone deep certainty and somewhere in my fading mind, I knew that my brain was pushing as many feel-good drugs as possible to send me out on a dream.


Without realising it, I had shifted to lying fully on my front, cheek pressed into the stupid miniature rocks that had proven to be my doom. Still, I couldn't be too hard on myself. I tried. I really, really tried. I gave it everything I fucking had and yes, it wasn't enough, but I-


-My head shot up like a marionette on a string. My eyes rolled around and blacked out entirely at times, but I finally managed to focus enough to make out a rough outline.


The oasis was still there. A little oval lake with two palm trees next to each other on the shore. A couple of small bushes further out looking to be on the verge of death.


My head fell back down as I took a couple of deep breaths. Twice had I seen a lake, and twice it had been false. I don't think I have ever been more disappointed than when the handful of water literally turned into sand in my mouth.


A second look.


Still there.


Slowly to start and gradually picking up speed, my forearms dragged me forward. Soon my feet were kicking to get me standing, but my eagerness was my downfall. A wrong movement sent me rolling down the side of the dune, sand and dust struggling to find a surface on my body to cling to that wasn't already completely covered. I put out my hand to try and brake, yet that was the one time the cursed fucking sand I found myself in wanted to act like a solid, launching me into a handstand that only succeeded in taking me from rolling sideways to ass over end.


"FUCK, FU-argh, cough, AH, SHIT, FUCK, AWWW!"


Spewing a random assortment of swear words and noises of pain, I finally arrived at the bottom. Springing back up with an energy I hadn't felt in hours, I locked eyes with the swaying palm trees in the distance, barely peeking out over, you fucking guessed it, another sand dune. Although a small one.


And most importantly, the oasis was still there.


I had either finally truly lost my mind, or that shit was real.


Taking off in a stumbling gait, I immediately had to course correct as my wobbly knees wanted me to go to the right, but there was no fucking way I was giving up now.


I had wandered aimlessly for the better part of a day, at least. With a target in sight, I would keep going forever.


"Left. Rig-Right.. Left. Right. Left.."


If asked afterwards, I would not be able to say how long the distance was. Based upon my first view of it, the oasis seemed to be half-an-hour's walk away, if not more. Yet I felt like I teleported. One moment I'm fantasizing about the water I'm about to have, nearly getting hard just from the thought of it, and next thing I know, I'm walking onto some large rocks at the shore.


Not that I noticed.


SPLASH!


It felt like electricity as I was submerged in the cool liquid. Every nerve in my body jumped and panicked at the sudden shift, and for a single point in time, I hung frozen, suspended weightlessly as my mind blanked. For just a couple of seconds, the world stood still in a way that I'd never experienced in either of the


two worlds I'd been to.


Stillness.


Peace.


And then it restarted.


Water filled my unprepared lungs as I inhaled in shock. My legs kicked in panic as I began drowning, my arms flailing around for something to latch onto. Finally, one of my feet hit the bottom and I realised that I could stand up.


I let out a huge gasp as I erupted from the four feet deep water, lungs begging for oxygen. Three big gulps of air and I was down under, greedily sucking in water. Ice spread in my body as it finally got the cool down it so desperately needed. More and more H2O was forced down my throat in an attempt to make up for lost time, my head seemingly becoming clearer with each swallow. Again and again I broke off to suck down air and then shove my head down like a demented ostrich.


Before long my stomach protested the rapid intake and sent it back up. The violent streams of nearly pure water that fired from my mouth had me calming down a little.


After it stopped, anyway.


Dragging myself into a shallower part, my next drinks were slower. Each sip was enjoyed for the life providing act that it was. Full and almost thinking clearly, I laid back to float and soak for a minute.


I sighed.


"That was way too fucking close. No more. I'm so fucking done."


A bird let out a cry as I floated around. How long I spent there was impossible to tell.


The sun actually felt comfortable while in the water and for the first time since I could remember, I was actually feeling good.


Unfortunately, that also let my brain catch back up and begin churning.


Letting out another sigh, I sat up in the water and took a glance at the sky. It was on its way down. It would be night time soon.


Night time, my brain helpfully supplied, was as bad, if not worse, than day time in a desert.


Which meant I had to move.


The bird squawked again as I struggled with that world-ending thought. Slowly turning my head, I let my lifeless gaze rest on the offender.


I blinked.


Drifting on top of the water was a small white bird with a enormous head that was at least as large as its torso. Its wings were long and straight, with a v-shaped dent at the end. A blue band wrapped around each one, with each of the three tail feathers having the same. The eyes were thin slits that apathetically looked back at me with barely noticeable black pupils. Its beak was long and yellow, turning black halfway and ending with a hook shape that cracked open.


"Wuack!"


My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head as I stared even harder.


Nope. It was real. Or I had gone so far around the bend that there was no way back.


Because that was definitely a Pokémon.


As if hearing my thoughts, the wingull squacked again.


"Wuack!"


Presented with a mind-breaking realisation, I fell back on what was quickly becoming my favourite words.


"What. The. Fuck."


That apparently offended the wingull as it puffed up its small chest and raised its wings in challenge. It might have been intimidating if its head had been smaller, but it just ended up looking like a particularly vicious stuffed toy. Slightly more scary was the gush of pressurized water that it launched straight at my chest.


"Wha-", was all the protest I had the time for before I felt like a donkey kicked me center mass. My feet left the lake bed and I went sliding backwards across the surface, ending with a backflip that had water rush into my nose and fill my lungs.


Again. Except, this time I was in the deeper part, where my feet couldn't touch the bottom even without panic.


As I hacked and coughed both from the liquid drowning me and the impact, while flailing back towards the shallows, I heard that fucking bird fly above me, chirping with what I swear was laughter.


"Wuack wuack wuack wuack!"


Smart of it to run. If I had gotten my hands on it, we would have found out if that big fucking head could have fit UP ITS ASS!


"Fucking bitch-ass bird… Thinks it's funny… Better fucking run…" I grumbled as I caught my breath, my random flailing turning into actually swimming. The attack had sent me further than I'd thought, almost to the center of the oasis. That had to be at least 15 feet and the leftover ache guaranteed a bruise later.


Which, to be fair, was a minor punishment for being hit with something containing that much force.


Very minor, in fact. I had already been submerged to the waist, so what I presume was a Water Gun, had pushed me through all that water, and it only stung a little? It should've cracked a couple of ribs if nothing else.


Nothing made sense anymore.


And as if the universe wanted to prove a point, once I got semi-solid ground beneath my feet again, my left foot landed on a large, loose rock that sent me falling back.


Again.


That was the straw that broke the camel's back.


"AAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHH! FUCKING SHIIIIIT! FUCK YOU! FUCK EVERYTHING! FUCKING BIRDS, FUCKING ROCKS, FUCKING SAND! FUCKING, FUCK… AAAAARRRRGHHHH!"


It was not my first outburst of the day, but it was the most petulant. I kicked and punched the water around me like a child, screaming every curse word that I knew, and inventing several new ones. It was just too much. First I was basically tortured for an undetermined amount of time, then I almost died in the desert, found out that I'm apparantly in a fictional fucking universe, and then, and fucking then, I almost drown.


Not once.


Not twice.


BUT THREE FUCKING TIMES!


AND I GOT ATTACKED BY A DUMBASS, BUBBLEHEAD, FIRE HYDRANT BIRD!


"ARRRGHH!", I cried my fury to the heavens as my foot hit the same smooth rock as it did earlier. A primal urge to hit and throw shit consumed me as I ripped the blue and white, oval stone from the lakebed and gripped it both hands above my head before throwing it as hard as I could. The rock spun as it travelled, fatter in one end than the other. The blue and white cloud markings twinkled with the last clinging droplets as it hit the blue surface with a splash and disappeared into the depths.


My eyes lingered on the ripples it left with its passing, panting with fury.


"Fuck." I swore and dove after it.


That was not a rock.


The object had hit at an angle, so finding it took a second. Luckily I had thrown it sideways along the shore so the water wasn't too deep. When I found it, I dragged both it and my tired, sore corpus back onto land and took a seat to look the thing over, feet resting in the water to sooth the blisters.


On closer inspection, there was a faint scale pattern to what was now unmistakable an egg. The entire thing was as large as my head, yet oddly light. Not quite like it was hollow, but much lighter than I would've thought something that size should've been.


It was also most definitely a Pokémon egg.


I sighed as I rested my head against the egg. There was no getting around it now.


Somehow, I was in the Pokémon world, a universe that was only supposed to exist in anime and video games.


Which meant that the Randomness I floated in earlier was likely the Distorted World, and the fuck-off big shadow that chewed me up and spit me back out was Giratina.


Which in turn made me one lucky bastard.


I sighed again as I raised my head and looked emptily at the reflection of my knees.


It wasn't the worst thing in the world. I was a fan of Pokémon and knew a fair amount about the franchise. I had played all the games and consumed a great amount of content based on it, though my knowledge of the anime was sparse, so even if the details didn't match precisely, I at least had a decent grasp of the basics. In addition, for a world full of giant physics and biology defying monsters, terrorist groups under every fucking rock, and living gods that controlled the fundamental forces of creation, Pokémon was portrayed as a pretty nice place. Sure, said terrorists had no problem beating up kids, but they were hilariously incompetent at it. The Legendary Pokémon could usually be reasoned with as well, and the average Pokémon seemed to be roughly on par with humans, intelligence wise.


Compared to shit like Marvel, Warhammer, Skyrim, or other death worlds, it was practically paradise.


So, if I had to be transported to a fictional universe, there weren't many better ones.


In theory.


Because that Water Gun had hurt. So had staying in the Distorted World. Pokémon were cute behind a screen and the thought of training super powered animals sounded cool. Traveling across the regions, making friends, saving the world, and catching them all was a great dream.


But living it? Having to interact with monsters that could kill me literally by thinking about it, and not having plot armor? Assholes messing with Legendary Pokémon that control Time and Space? Fucking God!?


That was a very different matter. Not that there was much I could do about it, and to be honest, I realised I wasn't anywhere logical a long, or short, time ago. I didn't even know how I got there, much less how to get back to my world.


My world.


My eyes locked with their reflection and I saw myself for the first time since waking up.


Thick, messy red hair hung down in spikes, covering my forehead, white highlights occasionally intermingling. Almond shaped amethyst eyes sat above a petite nose and were framed by high, aristocratic cheekbones. Full red lips rounded everything out. I looked like an anime character, but a damn hot one if I had to say so myself.


Or, I would look like a damn hot anime character in a few years, as I currently appeared to be around 10 years old.


Between the bangs I saw the lightly tan skin wrinkle a bit.


Had I always been 10? I felt like I was older than that. Maybe not by a huge amount, but definitely older, and I recalled several birthdays…


Huh.


Had I ever had a birthday party?


Purple orbs narrowed in the reflection.


Did I ever have a family?


Come to think of it.


"What's my name?"

---

Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 3 chapters ahead.

 

[HankPankylol]

Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 3 chapters ahead.

Another week, another chapter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun had started dipping into the horizon by the time I found the second thing that wasn't fucking sand. The realization that I remembered nothing regarding my personal life had me stunlocked by the lagoon for quite a while, but luckily I knew lots of different things. Even things about deserts, like the fact that night time in a desert was as freezing as the day time was scorching. Given that the sun had made it a fair bit past the midday point by the time I thought to check, I knew I had to haul ass if I didn't want to become a popsicle, even if the idea of cold had been tempting after so long in the heat.

Brooding about my suspicious amnesia could be done on the move.

And it was suspicious.

Waking up in a different world, with the only memories missing being the ones that anchored me to my previous life? I could remember fucking Wolverine's height, the spawn tank cheat code for GTA Vice City, and every bit of fiction inbetween, but not the people who raised me for 15-ish years? Someone, or more likely something, ripping a fucking hole in the space-time continuum just to drag my nerdy ass through it and dumping me in the Distorted World, yet the semi-beneficial memory loss wasn't their doing?

Pull the other one, it spawns fucking unicorns.

It wasn't impossible as such, as far as I knew anyway. There were many different types of amnesia, and some of them were hyper specific. Hell, it was even possible that it had been an effect of my time in the Spooky Space. I felt that realm grind against my soul, my very sense of self. Maybe it managed to erase just that part of me. There were several feasible explanations without someone intentionallyactively doing it.

Just super fucking suspicous.

It also, as I realised during my second impersonation of Moses leading the Jews through the scorching hellscape, didn't really matter.

As I said, the amnesia was actually somewhat to my benefit.

If I couldn't remember the people important to me in my old life, I couldn't feel the loss of them. The thought of not seeing my parents, hypothetical siblings, and romantic interests, couldn't hurt me if I didn't remember ever seeing them in the first place. It was a fresh start.

New world, new me.

A completely blank slate.

Which was what made it so fucking suspicous.

Still, that line of thought had reached its end without starting to go in circles. I needed more information before I could make any actual conclusions, and at the end of the day, it didn't really matter why or how. It happened and now I had to deal with it.

Besides, I thought to myself as what I prayed was buildings instead of rocks drew nearer, I had a way more important decision to make.

"New world, new me, new name," I muttered, a small smirk pulling at my cracked lips.

"Hmmm, Pokémon names tend to be based on real, natural stuff, like Ash, Oak, Brock, or… Gary…" I trailed off with a mutter, frowning at the last one.

"The games and manga used colors though," my mind drifted through the options as my feet carried me closer and closer to what was becoming more and more obviously a man made structure, "So there are a lot of choices."

I planted my feet wide, toes digging into the sand as my fists rested on my hips, egg laying cozy in a nest of sand. My chin tilted towards the sky while my eyes gained a glint. White teeth gleamed in a grin as I spoke the name that would strike fear in criminals and awe in children.

"Periwinkle."

A breeze blowing with the top layer of sand was the only response. I held my pose for several moments, grinning at the world, before hunching over with an explosive sigh.

"That's stupid. I'm going fucking insane."

In my exhaustion, as I bent down to pick the egg back up I hit it with my foot and sent it tolling a few feet, bouncing sporadically. I let out a cry as I moved to catch it, tripping over myself as I did.

That fumble saved my life.

As I caught myself after a couple of steps, the slight, bowl-shaped depression my left foot had just been in collapsed in the blink of an eye as a large, tan blur leapt up and snapped giant mandibles closed with a horribly loud sound.

CLACK!

The scream that left me sounded like a boiling kettle as I fell on my ass and scrambled to get back. I had a brief moment to take in a huge head the size of my own, made up 90% of a pair of ginormous jaws and a small black eye on the side of its head, before it wriggled back into the sand.

Shivers racked my body as I stared at the spot where I had almost died, shock and disbelief freezing me in place. Several long seconds passed as I remained static, breath stuck in my throat, before rackdolling into the sand with an explosive exhale. A forearm covered my eyes while a choked sob rattled my chest.

"F-fuck."

Again.

I had almost died again.

I'm not sure how long I spent on the ground, focusing on taking deep breaths as my body slowly came down from the adrenaline high and stopped shaking, but eventually I recovered enough to sit up. I wasn't okay by any means, but at this point, I just wanted the day to fucking end already. And that could only happen when I found some shelter.

Which, in turn, could only happen if I got off my ass and kept moving.

When I finally took the first steps to continue towards my previous destination, they came much slower and more carefully, my eyes on swivels, analyzing every single grain before me for more shitty death traps that apparently existed in these parts. Calm enough to think somewhat clearly, I'm pretty sure that had been a trapinch, a Pokémon I actually liked quite a lot, but that did not fucking matter when the fuck was trying to eat me for dinner.

I tried to put my close call behind me by picking back up my train of thought.

"Black and White are taken. So is Gold and Silver. Red, Blue, Green… Tree names seem to belong to the Professor's… Maybe just a regular name then, like Bill, or Paul… No, Paul is taken too… All hail the mighty Champion, strongest Trainer in the world, Bob!... Pokémon is Japanese, I guess, so I could do someth- is that a fucking train?"

I was finally close enough that the blurry blob in the distance had gained detail, and sure enough, it was a train. An old, rust colored, monster of a steam engine sat innocently among the sand dunes, nearly a hundred feet of poorly maintained metal. Large, crooked pipes of the same beaten red emerged from the top of the machine, while the wheels appeared to have been ripped off and scattered around randomly. A ramp had been attached to the back part and led up to a large open door. A dozen buildings, closer to huts of seemingly paint peeling sheet metal, dotted the surroundings, with an ancient gas pump front and center of the cluster.

I turned and looked back the way I came. A lonely tumbleweed rolled across the desert. The right and left of the settlement was similarly empty. No train tracks. No giant grove carved into the landscape from the 100 ton slap of engineering being dragged into place. No indication at all of how it got there.

Just a train in the desert.

"Why is there a fucking train in the middle of the desert?"

Nonsensical or not though, night had more or less officially fallen and the temperature was dropping at a rate that was noticeable minute to minute. The lighting was getting dimmer, making the odds of falling into the jaws of another nightmare bug higher and higher. I didn't care if it was a train, a cave, or a fucking gaint pumpkin, shelter was shelter. And given the two lamps at the front and back of the vintage machine and the light spilling from the wide open doorway, it wasn't as abandoned as it looked.

The sheds seemed deserted as I made my way past, but people may go to sleep earlier around these parts.

Something about it was familiar. I would have thought a giant train in the desert would stick out more in my memories, but there was just a faint tickle in the back of my mind of having seen this before as I traversed the empty bottles and metal parts spread through the sand. The rust behemoth loomed over me, acting like it hadn't been airdropped by giants.

Or Pokémon.

The steel creaked ominously under me as I climbed the ramp. The warm air nearly had me floating inside like a cartoon and I almost fell the second my feet crossed the doorstep. I had gotten so good at ignoring my discomfort over the last day that I hadn't noticed the light shaking of my legs or the blisters developing ontop of my blisters.

Last part. Just needed a place to sleep, I convinced myself as I took a look around the interior of the train turned building, egg clutched to my chest. I'd take the fucking floor as long as it's inside.

In contrast to the dilapidated exterior, the inside was actually rather nice. A long, L-curved counter took up the wall right in front of the doorway. Bar stools were placed along the side facing outwards, while a shelf full of bottles containing different colored liquids covered the left wall. A small kitchen and a bunch of boxes finished the area.

Next to the bar, a large TV displayed an interview with some small rotund guy taking place. Dressed in black shoes, puffy blue pants, a large brown coat that turned pink at the cuffs and collar and finished with a grey vest that was struggling for its life to not pop a button, he was quite the sight. Add in the bolo tie with a giant gold button and three giant puffy ribbons, and he turned into something that required a double take. With the grey hair that left the top of his head bald, growing only on the sides, and was formed into two candy floss shapes, he just became bizarre.

Nice mustache, though.

Besides the screen with the president of Clownville grasping at his chest as he said something that was probably very dramatic, stood an antique jukebox. It looked like it had been used to beat someone half to death and then stored in the jungle for a couple of years, but I'd always had an appreciation for jukeboxes.

They were a glimpse into a different era.

Across the beat up music player were some old school dining tables with pastel green couches framing a slim table. Finishing it all off, bronze pipes ran along the walls and into what I could only guess was an unreasonably big steam turbine in the far wall.

Which was weird, but I guess it was only one among a bunch of confusing shit in the odd steampunk/retro/Fallout building.

It was also completely empty except for a young guy behind the bar.

Semi-long, greasy strands of hair crowned his head like a limp, sand colored mop. The worn, oversized t-shirt and hollow cheeks made him look young but the sparse curly beard hair pecked him as a late teen that was a couple of weeks past his last shave. The dull, unfocused, brown eyes of a minimum wage worker that would rather be anywhere else stared blankly at the TV, sharp chin propped up in spindly arms as he lay with his whole upper body draped across the counter.

There was no bell to announce my entrance, so I took the dozen steps up to him and cleared my throat.

"Ahem."

Nothing. Not even a twitch. I moved to the side to be in his line of vision and tried again.

"Excuse me."

"What?", the sigh sounded like it came from a dying man as he forced it past his lips, eyes unflinching from the screen.

"Do you guys have a room or something I can stay in overnight? Honestly, I'll take the floor at this point, or like a closet. Anything other than staying outside."

"50 Poké for a night." Even though we were exchanging words the rather impressive sloth impression continued.

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly as I gave what I hoped was a charming smile. If there was one benefit to being a kid again, it would be that people tended to treat them better.

Not that this guy seemed to give a fuck.

"About that… I kinda don't have any money…"

"Then fuck off." The completly monotone delivery would have been comical if not for how disheartening it was.

I would like to think that I handled the dismissal like the mentally mature guy I was and gave a perfect, irrefutable compromise, or accepted the decision with stoicism and sophistication.

Others might disagree, though.

"Come on, pleeease!? It's really cold, and dark, and sandy, and there are hungry Pokémon, and cold, and I don't want to! Please let me stay! I'll wash the dishes, or sweep or something! Just please let me stay!"

If nothing else it finally got a physical reaction from the rude bastard in the form of a frown. Not the one I'd hoped for, but it was something as he turned his half lidded gaze to me, realising that I was not, in fact, going to just fuck off.

"What part of 'no money, no room' is so fucking hard to understand? Does this look like a fucking charity? Do I look like a fucking rich schmuck that can afford to waste my shit on street trash fucktards like…"

He didn't even hesitate when he saw that he was talking to a child. If anything my age only made him more annoyed.

The egg in my arms, however, brought him to a stop and a glint entered his eyes.

"... On second thought, I'll make you a deal. You're right, it's going to be extra cold tonight, and I'm a nice guy. Tell you what, you give me that egg, and I'll let you stay the night. Fuck, I'll even throw in some food and drink. I'm feeling generous."

I don't think my face could've been more deadpan had it been carved from stone. I might not have known the precise price for Pokémon eggs, but it sure as fuck was more than a single night in a shitty room, with some bread and water. Did I look fucking stupid? Was the jackass actually trying to scam a child? What the fuck?

Was this normal in the Pokémon world? What fucking region was this?

Not that I was going to say any of that, I was still holding out hope for that room.

"Uhhh, thank you for the offer but I can't do that. I woke up in the desert and can't remember anything. This egg is the only thing I have. Is there anything else I can do? Please Mister."

Again, I was a kid and sympathy was much easier to accrue. Even if this guy was a scumbag scammer trying to take advantage of a child, surely even he would give in to a lonesome 10 year old with amnesia.

"No. Either give me the egg or freeze."

Or maybe not.

He must have thought I was close to caving because he kept going, leaning forward to loom over me. It might have been intimidating if he didn't look like he ate once a week.

"Look, I'm trying to be nice, kid. I know my eggs and that looks like a standard wingull egg. Damn birds are the most common Pokémon in Orre and an egg wouldn't go for more than 30, maybe 40 Poké, so in the end I'm the one losing out here. Nobody is going to give you more than that for it and kindness is rare around these parts. Fuck, most people would have just clubbed you in the head and taken the fucking thing, so stop being a bitch and-"

"Kurt."

I nearly jumped at the gravelly voice suddenly interrupting. The dickhead's, Kurt apparently, eyes had moved to the doorway behind me and he snapped into a straighter stance. I turned to look myself and my jaw hit the floor.

Standing in the doorway, backlit from outside into a dark silhouette, was less of a man and more of a mountain of muscle. His frame filled the opening almost entirely, shoulders at least five feet across, if not six, with a tank-top straining chest that would make a steroid filled bodybuilder give up on life in envy. His smooth head, revealed to be wrapped in an orange bandana as the colossal moved into the train engine, seemed to scrape the over eight feet tall ceiling as his hard, black eyes took in the scene before him. Bulging, scarred arms hung bare, each individual muscle at least the size of my head, as his veiny forearms rested comically far from his ballerina thin waist. Every step from his trunk-like legs felt like they should shake the cart, yet he moved with a graceful gait as he came to stand before me, my head barely reaching the start of the yellow apron wrapped around his waist.

My neck hurt as he met my eyes, which I imagined was the size of golfballs at this point.

For fuck's sake, he was litteraly twice my height and four times my width!

Through my disbelief of the titan of men before me, I heard Kurt stammer behind me.

"B-Bob! Hey, sorry man, I-I was just about to sort the back, but this kid won't leave, and, and-

"Shut up."

Bob's voice vibrated through the air like he had been chasing cigarettes with gravel since childhood as he finally took his gaze away from me and addressed Kurt. It felt like a physical weight had been removed as he did and I felt almost breathless.

Who the fuck was this and how did I get the fuck away from him?

"I told you. I don't want this shit here. Do it again and you're fired. Understood?"

Kurt's head almost blurred with how fast he nodded.

"Yeah, sure, I-I'm sorry that's my bad, I'll just go and, uhh, and sort the back now", he mumbled as he slit out from behind the bar. He moved in a large circle around Bob the Giant, tossing a glare my way on his way out. Maturely, I stuck my tongue out in response.

Fuck that guy. How is it my fault that he gets called out on being a scumbag? You were trying to extort a child, own your shit.

As Kurt slunk out the door, I went back to Bob who had somehow appeared behind the counter in the meantime. Seriously, how was he so quiet?

A silence fell over us, each just looking at each other. Bob had picked up a glass and was wiping it with a cloth he pulled from the pocket of his apron, while I was just trying to figure out how to proceed from there. It was one thing to bother an anemic teenager and a whole other thing with a guy that can flex boulders out of existence.

Honestly, it was probably best to just give up there. Being outside overnight was going to suck, yet better than Bob the Bodybuilder slapping my head off.

"Uhm, sorry to bother you sir, I understand that you don't have room. I'll just go-".

"What's your name, lad?"

I blinked at the interruption, but went with it. Maybe there was still a chance for salvation? Though I hadn't finished coming up with a name yet.

Fuck it.

"Peri, sir."

Another moment of silence and staring. Damn, this guy was intense. Nervousness bubbled up within me and I couldn't stop myself from breaking first.

"It's short for Periwinkle."

There! The corner of his mouth flinched. It was barely a twitch, but was definitely a positive reaction. It was almost worth committing to that stupid-ass name.

"What are you doing out here on your own?"

"I'm not sure, sir, I woke up in the desert this morning, alone. I don't remember anything other than my name. I don't even know where I am. I found this," I lifted the egg in my arms and his gaze flickered to it before returning to mine, "in an oasis. It was really lucky, I almost died. That I found the oasis, I mean. That was lucky. Not finding the egg. Though that was also lucky…"

Finally, something softened in the titan's eyes as he looked at my chest for a moment. His shoulders dropped and he let out a sigh as he placed the glass under the counter and leaned forward on his forearms.

"Sorry to hear that, kid. Wish that was the first time I heard that story, but this far out in the desert is the favorite dumping ground for the gangs. Occasionally we get someone that has managed to survive a Mindbreak. Usually just bodies, though."

Wait, what? My bullshit was an actual thing? Also, Mindbreak?

"Mindbreak?"

Bob nodded absentmindedly as he stared into the distance, seeing things I couldn't imagine if corpses of children were a common occurrence around these parts.

"It's what it sounds like. A Psychic-Type Pokémon does its best to crush your mind, break it beyond repair. Usually leaves you a drooling mess, a living corpse. Body keeps going for a time, but there's nobody home upstairs. Rarely someone makes it through, because of user error or the target being a minor psychic themselves, though that is even rarer. Ghost's can do it too, just takes more effort, in return for less chance of recovery. Dark Types… well, easier and kinder to just kill them off…"

The terrifying speech trailed off to the same dream world as his thousand-yard stare. He seemed lost to the world for a long moment, only to snap back as I went to speak. He cleared his throat as he straightened and with a couple of distance devouring steps stood next to me.

"Follow."

I recognised an order when I heard one and scrambled to follow him outside. Each of his steps through the sand was the same as four off mine, forcing me to jock to keep up. He took us to the rows of sheds and stopped by the second one on the right. Up close it was even shittier than I thought. Five metal sheets nailed to wooden posts with giant gaps in the corners where they didn't fit together.

Fishing around in his apron for a second, he pulled out a rusty key and passed it to me.

"You can stay here. We usually get several passersby's through the day. One of them will take you to Phenac City or Pyrite Town. There's water and rations inside. Won't taste good, but you'll live. Toilet is there," he pointed to the middle shed on the left, "and I'm there, with Kurt there." He finished with the first one on the left, next to mine, and the one across from it. Both of them were at least twice the size of mine and could almost pass for actual buildings.

Perks of living there, I suppose.

I gaped as, without another word, Bob spun on his heel and headed back towards the train.

Just like that?

"Wha-Thank you! Thank you, sir, really!"

Bob raised a hand over his shoulder in acknowledgment, but didn't turn around.

I chuckled to myself as I put the key in the lock, which was just a padlock.

What a nice guy, despite all appearances. Built like a cartoon character, but a heart of gold.

The inside of the shed was as bare bones as possible. A thin cot with a small pile of blankets took up nearly half the space, with a crate filling most of the rest, leaving only a narrow path in the middle to get to and from the bed. A brief peek revealed that the crate was filled with water bottles and what looked like army rations. I downed half a bottle in two gulps as I took a seat on the bed, old springs creaking like they were about to snap. I polished off the rest as I swung my legs up and bundled up in the blankets.

The mattress was filled with lumps, which were almost preferable to the spots where the springs poked through, while the pillow had been compressed into a rock. The blankets were more hole than fabric and the scent of mildew was so strong it could classify as a biological weapon.

It was glorious.

I let out a happy sigh as I laid back, a second bottle at my side, and my egg besides the cot at the head end.

What a fucking day. Torture in the Distorted World, torture in the desert, asshole Pokémon and store clerks, and gentle giants.

Without even mentioning ending up in the Pokémon world. And Orre, as well. As far as I recall, the desert region featured in the Colosseum series, which I had never actually played, so I only had cursory knowledge of it. A shithole without equal in the Pokémon world, it was run by gangs, thiefs, and Teams, while constantly being on the verge of collapse. The population were either broke or criminals, probably both, and no matter what, they were starving and dying of thirst.

Even wild Pokémon stayed away from the shitshow of a region.

There was no way I was staying.

Almost as if in agreement, the egg gave a slight wobble before going still again. My attention glued onto it with laser-like focus, but there was no further movement. Not hatching yet, then. Still, it implied that it wouldn't be too long.

A smile pulled on my lips as I turned to lay on my side. I may have been skeptical and cautious earlier, but there was no denying the rising excitement in my chest. There was so much to learn and see, Pokémon to catch and train, entirely new physics to figure out. Specific goals could be formed along the way, but there was one obvious one.

Become the very best, like no one ever was. Sure, I had been cautious earlier, but it was Pokémon. There had never been a choice. Camping under the stars with my team, beating Gym's, defeating the Elite Four, and crushing the Champion were literal childhood dreams. There was so much to experience and explore, regions and untamed wilderness just waiting to be conquered.

How could I ever refuse?

My thoughts spun and turned through various team compositions. Maybe I should be a Dragon trainer? Dragons were awesome. Ghost's and Dark-Types was kinda edgy but the immunities were worth it. Not that I would seriously choose to be a single Type trainer, but it was fun to think about. And it did lead to remembering various trainers that had techniques worth stealing. Like Wionna's Steel Wing lightning rod thing.

Thoughts of massive roaring figures clashing in land shaking battles filled my mind as I flipped to my other side and closed my eyes to sleep.

Which turned out to be harder than I thought.

I turned to lay on my back again and stared at the ceiling. Despite the VERY long day, I wasn't the slightest bit tired.

I almost died.

Twice.

And even before that I was trapped in presumably the Distorted World for an undetermined amount of time that felt like decades. I may not remember what my life was like before, but I knew damn well it wasn't like that. I felt rubbed raw, numbed from repeated shock without time to process any of it. I felt…

… alive.

My body hummed with satisfaction through the exhaustion, muscles burning from fatigue yet twitching in anticipation. My emotions were all over the place but I was laser focused and clear minded. I felt keyed up, awake in a way that seemed very new, and very addicting. It was-

-the pad clicked as it opened. Everything froze as the door slowly tilted outwards.

The pillow probed up my head enough that I could see the thin streak of moonlight shine through the new crack. The lack of further movement as if it was waiting for my response made it clear that it was not an innocent visit. I narrowed my eyes to slits and slowed my breathing. The focus came back and there was no doubt in my mind. If it was who I thought it was, then I would come out swinging.

There was not a single cell in my body that gave the tiniest fuck.

If Kurt wanted to steal my things, after the day I had, after the absolute fuckwad he had been, I was going to break every crack-addict shaped limb on his skeleton corpus.

The focus, and new bubbling fury in my chest did not make me stupid, however.

Even formed like a literal stickman, Kurt was twice my height. Biding my time was wise.

The wait was excruciating, my heart rate increasing to a point that it became a struggle to keep the rise and fall of my chest consistent. My palms grew sweaty as the intruder slowly pushed the door open enough to slip through. The darkness made it impossible to make out their features, but the tall, reed thin frame was plenty to confirm my suspicions. Even if it hadn't been, the slow beeline they made for the egg at the side of my bed removed any doubt.

The adrenaline pumping through my veins almost had me shaking, yet I kept still as Kurt crept closer and closer. Even as he passed the foot end of my cot, I didn't make my move, closing my eyes fully and focusing on remaining still. He paused as he reached his goal, presumably watching for any hint of me waking, but I didn't give him any.

Patience was the name of the game.

It wasn't until I heard the rustling of his shirt and a slight pop from one of his knees that I made my move. With a jerk, I rolled to the side with a sudden movement, off of the bed and onto his back. I had timed it just about perfectly, leaving him bent over, yet not touching my egg as I hit him. He was a lot older and bigger than me, but the unexpected weight and his bad positioning tipped him over and he hit the sand with a scream that cut off as the impact forced the air from his lungs. Before he had time to regain his senses, I wrapped my arms around his throat and squeezed.

"Trying to steal my shit, huh!? Huh, you fucking bitch!?", I spit out through gritted teeth. He squeaked for air as his fingers scrambled for purchase on my arms, but I was holding the fucker tight. Any other day, I may have been more forgiving, but Kurt had been a pissant from the very start and it had been a long fucking day. I was really not in the fucking mood.

His escape attempts grew more and more frantic as his need for air became critical, throwing his body side to side to dislodge me. He managed to get a knee under himself and struggled upright, which was a mistake as it allowed me to lean back and put my full weight behind my chokehold.

I was panting, my arms burning from the strain, but I ignored it. The grasping fingers of his left hand trying to get under my arms were growing weaker and weaker.

Any moment now he would go down and I would have the chance to get Bob to take care of the asshole. Based on the giant's previous words, he knew Kurt sucked.

It was pure luck, a convenient hole in the roof, that let me see the light reflect off the blade of the knife he pulled from his pocket with his other hand. Holding it in an icepick grip, he thrust awkwardly behind him, trying to plant the weapon in my side. I barely managed to jerk away in time. The blade skidded across my bottom rib, looking for a place to dig in before being repelled, carving a thin grove of fire that throbbed in pain.

My dodge gave him enough room for half a strangled breath to force oxygen into his desperate body before I reapplied the pressure.

I saw red.

Motherfucker…

My leg stepped under his armpit, making his frenzied stabs unable to reach. Before he could adjust, my right hand shifted to the side of his head and I threw my entire body behind pushing him towards the side of the large, wooden crate.

CRACK!

"PIECE!"

CRACK!

"OF!"

CRACK!

"FUCKING!"

CRACK!

"SHIT!"

CRACK!

He went limp in my grasp.

"FUCK YOU!"

CRACK!

Kurt's skull bounced off the corner with such force he flipped over entirely, hitting the cot before slumping to the ground. My chest heaved as I gulped down air, staring down at Kurt as he laid motionless.

Several beats passed without him stirring, something that only pissed me off more. A harsh kick to his ribs rocked him.

"Get up!"

Nothing. I let a second, harder kick fly, turning him over onto his back.

"I said get up, you-!"

A beam of moonlight, the same one that alerted me to the knife, reflected red off the liquid covering his forehead. A large gash running over his temple leaked out copious amounts of blood, dyeing the sand beneath him.

I stared at the body in disbelief. I could hear my blood pumping in my ears, my heavy breathing echoing unnaturally loudly in the tiny shed.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

I-I-...

He was dead. I killed someone.

I was a murderer.

I took a hesitant step towards him, but stopped. I-I had to leave. I had to go, I had to run, grab whatever I could and get the fuck out of there.

Time blurred as I wrapped the egg in a blanket and threw the water bottles and rations in another. Several fell out through the holes in my haste, but I didn't care. There was no time, I had to run, I had to go, had to escape.

The door nearly tore off its hinges as I threw myself through it, leaving the corpse behind. My head darted left and right to see if Bob, or anyone else, had noticed the struggle, yet the palely lit sand was deserted. I didn't know the direction to anything, but anywhere was better than here. My best bet was probably the opposite way of where I arrived from.

As I turned that way, my eyes passed over the larger shed that Bob said was Kurt's.

I… I didn't have time. And it was fucked up besides, but if there was anything in there that could help me survive, I needed it. There might be a map or something.

My shoulder bashed the door open before I had time to think. I barely noticed the

interior as I ripped drawers out of a large dresser, rifling through them at record pace. The first three had only clothing that I scattered across the ground, but the fourth yielded a small roll of paper bills that looked an awful lot like money. Further searching of a closet gave more water bottles and rations, with a couple of packs that looked like jerky of some sort.

The biggest finds, however, were a large dufflebag with some camping equipment and an empty hiking backpack. Shoving everything into the larger of the two, I wrapped the egg in a couple of thick shirts and put it in the back pack. Throwing on a ratty jacket I had found, the bag straps went over my shoulders. The jacket probably looked ridiculous, so large that it reached my knees and I had to roll the sleeves up seven times, yet it was infinitely better than freezing.

A pair of shitty sandals were next to the bed. My feet were sore from the walking, but okay, even after the terrain, somehow. Still, thin and awful as they were, they were better than nothing.

I was just about to haul ass with my loot when I finally registered the thing standing in a corner next to the exit. A beat up, rusty, and all together sad motorized bike that kinda resembled a scooter stood innocently propped up against the wall. I didn't flinch, throwing the duffle bag on the back while hastily shoving the half empty can of gas into it. Grabbing the scooter by the handles, I ripped it outside. My luck continued, the key was in the ignition.

The first turn produced a weak stutter before dying out. The second and third were hardly better.

My frustration and fear got the better of me and I lashed out with a hard kick.

"Come on!"

B-B-Br-Br-Br-BR-BRRRRRRRRRRR

The giggle I let out sounded more than a little unhinged as I threw my leg over the saddle. Thanking god, or Arceus, or whatever, that the thing had the same throttle as bikes on Earth had, I floored it.

A cloud of sand kicked up in my wake as the scooter tried its best to move faster than a brisk walk, but despite its unimpressive acceleration, it was moving. Passing the sheds at faster and faster speeds, I risked a look over my shoulder, just in time to see Bob emerge. Snapping my head back, I focused on squeezing out every last bit of speed the bike was capable of, guilt and regret bubbling in my stomach.

I would make this up to him. He took a risk and showed kindness to a stranger when he didn't have to, there was no way I could leave things like that forever.

As the weird train and the body of the man I killed disappeared behind me, I swore that someday, when I had the means, I would come back and repay my debt to Bob.

My breath misted in front of me as I headed out into the night.

What a shit fucking day. And I'd been so excited to be a Pokémon Trainer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I promise these notes will get more interesting with time.

Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name (HankPankylol), where you can read 3 chapters ahead.

 

[HankPankylol]

Peri back at it again, and this chapter we get our first Pokémon!

---

The full moon hung high in the sky as I blasted across the sand, illuminating everything below in an eerie pale light while the stars painted a glowing tapestry above. Shadow clad sand dunes rose like mountains to the left of me, large outcroppings of stone peaking through to hint at the formations hidden beneath, as I navigated through increasingly rocky terrain. It was still desert, but at least something other than sand.

It had also gotten really fucking cold.

My hands shivered as I struggled to hold the throttle down. I had swaddled them in the overly long sleeves of my ill-gotten jacket, but between the thin fabric and decreased dexterity, it might have been more trouble than it was worth. A spare shirt was wrapped around the lower part of my face like a scarf against the shering winds, yet my ears had gone numb almost as soon as I took off, and my eyes were so narrow and tear-filled that I was navigating purely from silhouettes.

And I had no idea where the fuck I was. I'd hauled ass earlier before I had the time to consult a map, which wasn't ideal. Hopefully I was going in the general direction of civilization, but I would have to pull over to make sure. And to warm up. And sleep. Despite my earlier troubles, my eyelids were drooping as I swayed in the saddle. I'd fought it as much as possible, hoping to get as far away from the scene of my crime as possible, but I couldn't go on.

Which led me to stand in front of the cliff, staring at a pitch black hole in an outcropping that could only be a cave.

I sighed.

It was a stupid idea. Even on earth, walking into random caves in the wilderness was dumb. In the Pokémon world, where literally every single animal was capable of killing you? It went from dumb, to so far past braindead it was actually kinda impressive.

It was also, some-fucking-how, probably my best bet.

If everything was dangerous, camping in the open, in the middle of bum-fuck-nowhere desert, became psychotic. At least there was only one way shit could come from in a cave, rather than a 360 murder zone.

So there was really no choice other than to grip my stolen flashlight tight, nut up, head inside.

The entrance to the cave sloped upwards rather steeply, leaving the upper part free of sand, if traitorous to traverse. I took my time finding my footing as I slowly crawled up with the large backpack trying to throw off my balance. I was nearly at the top when a rock gave away under me and I landed knee first on the stone.

"Fffffuuuuunnnnnggghhhh", a choked curse managed to escape my lips despite my best efforts to stay silent. I'd slid halfway down the slope before I came to a halt and quickly shone the flashlight to the top of the letch, on the lookout for anything I'd alerted. Zubat, in particular. The little fuckers hung out in caves in massive groups, if my metaknowledge was to be believed. One carnivorous flying rat was bad enough, but a swarm could fuck right off.

Nothing. Which was good. That had been a loud fall and if nothing had come to investigate, there was probably nothing at all.

The return climb was even slower than the first time, partly because of even more caution and because my knee throbbed with pain. The coarse ground had ripped a hole in my pants and there were some minor abrasions, yet it was less than I would've thought. Even the pain dulled almost immediately.

I finally crested the top and got a look at my temporary home. The cavern was sixty-something feet wide and around a third of that high. Stalagmites and stalactites rose and fell in random patterns at the sides, at times meeting and creating a cage of rock formations. The back of the grotto extended into the blackness, the light-cone of the flashlight broken by the mineral deposits. All I could see was half-shadowed spikes, boulders, two small circles that reflected the light, and the natural twists and turns of the-

-I widened my eyes in realization at the same time as a yellowish-orange bloomed to life and miniature pellets of flame fired at me like a gatling gun.

"SHIT!"

The embers missed my shoulder by millimeters as I hurled myself to the side, impacting the wall of the cave with the sound of a dozen firecrackers as they punched small craters into the sediment. Hitting the ground with an "OOMPH!" I was forced to scramble towards the nearest stalagmite immediately as the fire bullets re-aimed, shards of rock blasting everywhere as they closed in.

I was on my hands and knees, crawling at a breakneck speed like a demented toddler while the heat grew closer rapidly. I knew it was fucking dumb, but I couldn't help risking a glance over my shoulder right as I reached the stone formation that was my new safety blanket. Sure enough, as I glanced back, I saw the attack strike close enough to me that the debris cut into the bottom of my shoes so hard that I felt it slice up the bottom of my feet.

Desperate, I threw myself behind cover, yet the slight pause proved to be a mistake as a single compact ball of flame hit my knee exactly as I was pulling my legs to safety.

"Ooophmmmm-son of a fuckin-arrrrghhh!"

I clutched the backpack to my chest as vibrations rattled the outcropping against my back. The bullet had hit nearly dead-on my scuffed knee from earlier and had left a neat little circle of pink flesh, like a rug burn. Once again I'd gotten off lighter than I would've thought I would. Hell, even the pain faded at mach speeds, way faster than I'd ever experienced before, or so my gut told me. My feet were okay as well.

Something was off. It wasn't anywhere near as pressing as the pyromaniac animal trying to murder me, though.

In the time it took me to take stock of myself, the scorching barrage had ceased and the cave was left in terrifying silence. I strained my ears for noise, footsteps, breathing, anything. A light clanking of rocks reached me, but whether it was the fallout of the earlier scuffle, or my attacker getting ready for another attempt was impossible to tell.

Air rushed into my lungs as I drew in a deep breath and closed my eyes.

This was bad. I had my back literally against a wall, my mobility was lowered, and I was being attacked by a fire spewing, magical animal while trapped in a cave with one exit.

I was so fucked. Fighting wasn't an option and neither was running.

Leaving no choice other than negotiation.

With a likely starving, territorial, murderous monster trying to eat me.

I hated Pokémon. Dumb fucking franchise for babies and psychopaths.

But fuck it.

"Wait!"

My voice echoced off the walls.

No response. I licked my dry, cracked lips.

"I know that I'm in your home, without your permission, okay? And I'm sorry about that. That's my mistake, okay? So if we all just calm down, I will leave right away. I promise."

Still nothing. Which was understandable, I was talking to an animal, how the fuck would it respond. Hell, I was banking on the anime being right and Pokémon understanding human language. Which was dumb but also my only real option.

"How about this," I continued, pulling a bag of jerky out of my bag pack. "I have some food. You hear that?" I justled the bag around to make some noise. "MMMMHHHH, yummy yummy food."

Anxiety was really setting in as I started talking to it like it was a baby.

"All this yummy yummy jerky could be yours, if we can be friends. Don't you want to be friends? I'm a great guy, funny, reliable. Little bit of a temper, but we all have faults, am I right?" My chuckle could have won a price for least sincerity.

"How about it, huh?", I fished out a piece of the jerky and inched it towards the side of the stalagmite. "Bestest friends in the whole worl-SON OF A WHORE!"

A new round of what I would guess to be an Ember attack barley missed my hand as I yanked it back. The flames kept coming for a few seconds before cutting off again and as seemed to be my default since coming to this world, I felt anger welling up in me.

"HEY HEY HEY! YOU CUT THAT SHIT OUT RIGHT NOW! I DO NOT HAVE THE PATIENCE FOR THIS CRAP TODAY, OKAY!? So you will calm the fuck down, and we will do this again, okay!?" A few deep inhales later and with a quick flick, I threw the jerky behind the rock and out of sight.

The wait was excruciating, reminding me of back in the shed biding my time for Kurt.

The pounding of my blood and the increased focus of potential violence.

Finally, I heard a quiet sniff. Then a second and third one. At last, wet gnawing and smacking sounds as the Pokémon gulped down the meat in record time making me let out a sigh of relief.

So far so good.

"Yeah, I told you it tasted good, right? Expensive brand, made from the real thing," I lied out off my ass. "I have a whole bag of it. Two, actually. Oh," I grabbed my half empty water bottle and unscrewed the lid. "I have water too. I bet you would like that, huh. Stuff's hard to find in these parts," I poured a small amount out beside my cover, where my soon-to-be friend could see it and heard it shuffle closer, sniffing all the while. One last breath and it was time to put on the big girl pants.

"I'm coming out, alright? I'm going to trust you and come out from behind the rock and if you don't attack me, you get food and water, yes? And I swear, even if you do kill me, I will beat the shit out of you first. So let's just be cool. See", Slowly my hand crept out. "There's one. And there's two, okay?"

So far, so good. With one last mumbled "fuck" under my breath, I stood up and stepped out.

Our eyes met immediately. Large brown orbs were narrowed into slits as they took me in, small triangle nose twitching in suspicion. Its small red-brown form was crouched down with its cream colored underbelly nearly scraping the ground, ready to launch itself at me with all six long, flowing red tails spread out behind it, swaying in an almost hypnotic manner. The big cone-shaped ears darted back and forth, its pompadour-esk tuft of hair in between them dangling with the motion.

As we assessed each other, the small fox-like creature pulled back its lips as it bared white, needle fangs at me, small flickers of flame visible in the gaps. A quiet, high pitched growl rumbled forth.

I blinked.

It was a Vulpix. That was… not necessarily good or bad, just not what I was expecting. What did fit my imagination, though, was its condition.

The incredibly fine fur coat was mattered with what I hoped was dirt and sweat. The skin was stretched taut across its lithe figure, each individual rib countable and distinguishable. The graceful tails were filthy and unkempt, tots of hair poking out randomly and large nots visible. On closer inspection, growling wasn't the only reason it opened its mouth, based on the light panting it tried to hide from me.

It would seem that the earlier Ember attack had taken a lot of its remaining energy and judging by the way its eyes darted down to the water and jerky in my hands, it was absolutely starving.

Good. Or, not good, as such, but beneficial to me in that specific moment. I wiggled the jerky, quickly catching its attention.

"There we go, that was easy, wasn't it? We are going to stay nice, calm, and friendly, aren't we buddy? Here you are," I slowly reached in and grabbed a piece, throwing it at the fox's feet. It jumped backwards a little, but the smell had it darting back and gobbling it up in a single bite, eyes on me the entire time, "Told you it was good, didn't I? Have some more."

I dumped most of the bag in front of the large cat sized creature and pulled a small

bowl from the camping equipment I'd kept. The sound of water hitting the porcelain instantly grabbed the fox's attention and I barely managed to place it on the ground before it rushed over and smashed its snout into the vessel, uncaring of the liquid pouring on its head.

"Don't throw up, please", I chuckled, sneaking a glance down under its body, "And a boy, huh?".

The male fox stopped its desperate gulping. He froze at the felling of my fingers gently scratching his neck, but the allure of the water proved too tempting and he quickly dove back in. As I put a little more force behind the petting, I took the chance to scan the cave again. There were a lot of rocks, but it was clean, dry, and there was a hole in the roof to allow the smoke from a fire to escape.

I looked back at the Vulpix.

There might even be an opportunity.

"I know that I said I'd leave, but would you mind if I stayed the night?". He stared

up at me suspiciously. I gave my most friendly smile as I sweetened the deal.

"I'll throw in another bag of jerky."

Vulpix looked back at his half-eaten pile of meat critically and then back at me. We stared at each other for several tense seconds before he blinked and gave a soft "Vip", before turning back to start chomping his way through his rapidly shrinking meat pile again.

I grinned.

"I'll take that as a yes. I'll get the rest of my things, see if I can't find stuff for a fire as well, I guess"

---

Sparks sprung from the campfire as it crackled, wisps of smoke rising before being sucked away into the night. The flames caused light to play with the stalagmites, creating writhing shadows that would've had me on edge if I hadn't inspected it earlier. The egg further offset my paranoia from its place near the campfire, the blue scales dancing with every hue like a disco ball. Finally, the lightly snoring fluff ball, with a slightly distended stomach, enjoying his jerky coma made for a rather cozy atmosphere.

I rubbed my eyes as I put my map to the side and let out a content sigh, reclining on my sleeping bag, somewhat at peace for the first time since I woke up. Even in the shed at the train place, I had been restless and tense.

Which, as it turned out, had been a good thing.

Another sigh escaped me as I let my head fall back.

The whole thing with Kurt had been… a mess. A series of escalations that had gone too far. Farther than I'd ever taken it before. I'd always had a temper, and it was far from the first time I'd been in a fight, I knew that much, even with my fragmented memories. But that rage, that calm, aware, ruthlessly, rage… that was new. Something deadly. And I didn't… I didn't feel guilty. Not really. I regretted that it came to that, but Kurt was a dumb bitch that tried to kill me. He took it there, yet I felt like I should feel more than a smidge of regret for taking a life.

My emotions just felt… off.

I brought my fingers to my side and ran them lightly over the cut Kurt gave me. It was still tender, but not as much as a fresh knife wound should've been. I pulled up my shirt to take a look.

Sure enough, it looked days old, already scabbing over and smaller than I knew it had been.

I dropped the fabric with yet another sigh.

Aura was a thing in the Pokémon universe that I had a vague notion of. I remembered something about Aura Guardians, or something, that could straight up use Fighting-Type Pokémon moves and fought alongside Lucarios. Additionally, there were people like Sabrina, who, depending on the media, was a Psychic that could rival some fully evolved Pokémon. Koga, who was a fucking ninja, and Bruno, who was blatantly superhuman.

And that was just in Kanto.

But I hadn't known that it could influence emotions, or that I'd even have it. It seemed rare. Sure, the average person was way tougher and stronger than back in my original world. And they did seem to be more caricatures, than real people. I'd always attributed it to being a game, or anime, but what if it was because of Aura? What if, in addition to enhancing physical attributes, it did the same with emotion? Or maybe it was because I was in a younger body?

I shook my head and sat up fully.

That line of thought wouldn't get me anywhere while stuck in a cave. A mystery for another time.

Until then, it was something to be wary of and keep in mind, but it was all I could do. In the meantime, maybe I could come up with a better name than fucking Periwinkle.

I considered it for a moment before snorting.

"Naw, already made the mistake. Have to roll with it now."

I reached over to scratch Vulpix's full belly.

"Can't let it get us down, can we?"

The fox jerked his head up with a snort, eyes rolling around trying to see what was touching him. When he saw it was just me, he collapsed back down and gave a big stretch, jaws smacking a couple of times in contentment.

His behavior made me chuckle as I kept up my scratching, making his leg kick back and forth in enjoyment.

"Yeah, just have to take it easy for now and deal with things as they come. All this Aura shit can wait until I've gotten the fuck out of Orre. What a shit place, so far. Other than you, of course," I added with a bit of extra force to the petting. "Actually, speaking of leaving Orre…"

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I sat up properly. This was very different from finding an egg. What did you say to a superpowered animal to make them fight on your command as you ran around random places?

Though winging it had worked so far.

"... Do you want to join me? When I leave, I mean?"

Vulpix sat up again at my words, this time in an actual sitting position, and looked at me. Which was a good sign, right? At least he understood my words.

I felt my words pick up speed as I sweated under his gaze.

"I plan on traveling the world. Do you know what the world is?" The look changed into what I could only describe as condescending, even on a fox. "Right, sorry, of course you know, you're smart. Well it's-it's a big place you know, and, you know, there's lots of dangerous stuff out there. And even if there wasn't I want to be strong, you know? Fuck, maybe even the strongest if I can get that far. And… I would really like it if you… you know, came… with me…"

I trailed off at the end, gazing into the fire rather than facing him. The split second of silence after my words were enough to make me continue my verbal diarrhea.

"It's okay if you don't want to, I get it, this is your home, and we just met, you don't know me, why would you want come, it's fine, it was stupid to even ask-"

I found myself cut off as Vulpix unceremoniously collapsed into my lap face first. He wriggled around for a moment while I remained frozen, before finally ending up on his back, looking up at me. While it was a good sign, I needed confirmation.

"Is-is that… does that mean yes?"

"Vip viiip. Vip."

My grin must've been maniacal at the soft utterances. I'd kinda noticed it with the wingull, but Pokémon didn't say their names, yet it also wasn't quite normal animal noises. Rather, it was somewhere in between.

"Once again, I'll take that as a yes."

I couldn't help myself as I hoisted him up in the air while I laughed like an idiot. He wriggled around to try and escape my grasp, huffing and yipping in annoyance, but my joy couldn't be denied.

"YES! Oh, it'll be magnificent! You and me buddy! We'll plunder the deepest mysteries of this world and learn everything there is to know! We'll decimate the Leagues and leave only smoldering ruins in our wake! Fire and ash will be our legacy and people will tremble at the mere mention of our nam-Uuufff!"

Vulpix finally managed to squirm out of my hands and landed square on my chest mid sentence. He didn't seem to appreciate my enthusiasm as he battered my face with soft slaps from his paws, growling and huffing all the while. I sputtered as I flailed around trying to avoid the furry attack.

"Aarrgh-pleas-ppff-I'm sorry- I won't do it- pppppfff- not in my mouth-"

My apology seemed to do the trick as he stopped with one last huff and curled up on my belly facing away from me. Not far enough, however, that I couldn't reach over and give him some scratches behind his ears.

"I'm sorry, I'm just excited. You're my first Pokémon, you know. Well, other than the egg, but you know what I mean."

All I got was a snort, even as he pressed back into my fingers. I did have one last idea that might do it, though.

"Hey, what about a name? Do you want one?"

THAT got his attention, Vulpix spinning around to look at me with anticipatory eyes. I chuckled as my fingers found his ears again.

"Thought that might do it. Let's see, you're a fox, gonna be a nine tailed fox one day… there's Kurama, if we wanna be weebs, do we wanna be weebs?"

A blank stare was my response, the eagerness dimming.

Which was fair.

"Right, you don't know what that is, why would you… still, I already gave myself a shit name. Should properly spare you the humiliation… uhhh, we met in the desert, something sand-esk, maybe?"

Vulpix grew visibly more and more skeptical as he heard me ramble.

"Okay, okay, hold on, I'm just spitballing, putting some things out there. Hmmm… Ninetales get Flash Fire, I believe. Could go with something cringe like Inferno… Right, not Inferno, got it… also gets Draught, not sure how that works in actual practice, but it makes it sunny… oh, hold on!"

My new partner had seemingly given up and gone back to napping, but a single eyelid lifted.

"What do you think of Ra?"

Giving me his full attention, Vulpix cocked his head.

"He was the god of the sun, in an old ass culture from my home. Think he was like the leader of the gods or something, the most worshipped one, anyway. What do you think?"

He looked into the distance for a moment before shuffling further up my chest to lick at my face.

"Ra it is then," I chuckled, using both hands to pet the newly named Ra's face and ears. My cheeks hurt from the enormity of my grin, but I didn't care.

"Awesome."

I rocked up to sit on my ass, Ra in my lap as I grabbed the map again.

"Okay, I was looking at this earlier and it seems that I've been going in vaguely the right direction since leaving the train, which is called Outskirt Stand, apparently. If we want to leave Orre, and of course we do, then we need to go to what's called Gateon Port."

I pointed to the city at the top of the map so Ra could follow along,

"And catch a boat from there. It's quite a distance, probably a week if not more, and that's with Orre being surprisingly small. Lucky for us, Kurt was a very prepared dickhead. Scooter is filled up and there should be enough food and water for both of us. We also have about 500 Poké. I don't know how much that is, but hopefully it's enough to get us the fuck out. Sounds good?"

I looked down at my first Pokémon, an amazing statement, and got a nod back. Even the egg gave a wiggle. I'd noticed it a couple of times on the ride over, but I couldn't be sure if the time in between was getting shorter or not. Might be, though. I finished my thoughts regardless.

"Then let's get some sleep and head out in the morning. Might take a couple of days to find a ship, but with any luck we're getting the fuck out of Orre in as little as 10 days. After that, shit's gonna be easy street."

---

The metal creature roared under them as they soared over the sand. Ra could move pretty fast on his own, but not for such a length of time, and certainly not while carrying his new human. The mighty Steel-type steed, belonging to the so-called Peri that Ra had claimed as his Trainer, was surely a beast of incredible skill, but seemed simple of mind as it had yet to respond to his calls.

Perhaps it was the toxic liquid Ra had seen his human give the steed to drink that addled its mind so. The smell reminded him of some of the discarded bottles he had found on occasion. The substance had burned his throat in a way not even his fire could and his head had been fussy for half a Light-cycle. He had learnt to stay away from the murky fluid, but it was probably unfair to expect everyone to have the same intellect as himself.

The Steel Steed seemed to be a popular breed among the humans, though, as almost all Ra had seen in the desert had their own to carry them.

Still, no one could deny the Steel-type's stamina as Ra's tongue waggled in the wind. He had taken position atop the beast's head to better survey their path, as was proper for the leader. It was his responsibility as the strongest to protect his new pack, to lead from the front, while his subordinates did their part. His human navigated from behind him, guiding their silent companion by grabbing onto its horns and tucking left and right. Even he did not speak to the steed as he did to Ra.

Periodically, the fox would feel those skillful fingers pay tribute with ear scratches and pets, while words half-lost in the wind went ignored.

He talked a lot, his human. Very enthusiastically, as well as loudly. Mostly good things, about training, and strength. His human appeared to understand his role as a servant and spoke of fascinating ideas to help Ra grow even mightier. Many humans he had observed spoke to their Pokémon with arrogance and superiority, as if they were their betters.

Which was silly.

Humans were as weak as newborn Pokémon, or close to it. Their strength lay in creativity, unity, and their minds, if in a different way than the World-Benders. Believing yourself above those that kept you safe was a dumb thing to do and the strongest member was obviously the leader of the pack. That was simply a fact of nature.

It was a good thing that he didn't need to teach Peri that.

Ra would have to train the human to be more respectful of his senses, however. His ears were not only extremely handsome, but also quite sensitive.

At least his Trainer had the foresight to refrain from touching his tails while he kept picking Ra up and throwing him around like he was a newborn kit.

His Trainer. What a strange concept.

He had seen Pokémon walking around with their human servants before, and had even daydreamed of having one himself to groom and feed him, but he never thought it would actually happen. Most humans he had seen came hurtling through on their own Steel-types, or were accompanied by other, stronger Pokémon, so he had always stayed clear of them.

Unless he saw the chance for some food, of course. Humans were so careless with their dens.

Until now. He had finally caught one for himself. Even if it was a strange one. Ra had smelled humans before, and had been to their nests. He was familiar with their scent. Peri, however, smelled more like the shadows in the various ruins scattered about the desert, than he did his own kind, with a hint of something dangerous to it. Something predatory. The kind of scent he only got from especially viscous sandstorms.

Regardless of his peculiarities, however, he was the human Ra had chosen, and the one he would stay with until whatever end came for them.

He had promised Ra strength, food, and head pats, and for that, he had Ra's loyalty.

Eventually they stopped for the day as the Lightbringer dipped near the horizon.

Jumping off the Steed with a quick paw-pad of praise for a job well-done, the fox turned up his head and sprayed out his tails in gratitude to the Great Orb. His mother had told him of the ancient Pokémon and their great sacrifice to bring Light and Life to the world. It was only right to acknowledge their pain at the end and beginning of their journey.

Ritual complete, Ra turned back to his Trainer right as the human finished setting up his collapsable den. They truly were an innovative species, desperate to make up for their weakness.

A quick burst of the flame housed in his chest had the small pile of dried sticks ignited, but as he went to curl up by it, Peri called out.

"Hey buddy? We still have a bit of light left. You mind if we go over your moves real quick?"

Ra cocked his head for a second before trodding his way over. Seemed to be a reasonable request if they were to be fighting together. He didn't have high hopes, with his Trainer's lack of intelligence, but humans seemed to have a knack for strategy and growth. Another way to overcome their own shortcomings.

"Okay, so, I'm certain that you have at least Ember, given our first meeting. Could you give me another demonstration?"

The vulpix stuck his snout in the air as he turned to the open desert. He refused to be embarrassed by his actions. Stupid human invaded his den all sneaky-like while Ra slept. He was in his full right to defend his home, regardless of him only having found it himself a little earlier than Peri did. If stupid human did not want to be burned, he should have either stayed out or announced himself louder.

Still, he fanned his life-flames and let them blaze up through his throat. A truly magnificent and awe-inspiring inferno burst from his mouth, an uncountable number of scorching balls that would give even the strongest Water-types, like those damnable birds, pause. He let it go on for a moment longer, to let Peri bask in his brilliance, before cutting it off and readying himself for his well deserved applause.

"Not bad, not bad. Range of roughly 60 feet before losing coherence, cone-shaped with a width of what seems to be 10-ish feet. Experience says that individually, the embers are not very strong, but I guess if you get caught in the flurry, there is a decent amount of them and they might stun."

Ra could feel his jaw drop at the sheer audacity. Before he recovered and taught the stupid, stupid human the error of his ways, those clever fingers found the sweet spot behind his left ear.

"Come on, bro, don't be like that. It wasn't bad by any means and if you were perfect, you wouldn't have any reason to come with me, would you? We'll get there"

Huffing, he turned back to their practice field, careful to not dislodge the scratching digits. The words made sense, he would postpone punishment for the grievous insult.

For now.

"Right, next up. Could you run out so I can get an idea of your speed and then use Tackle? Pretty sure you know that one."

Ra crouched down with another huff. Of course he knew Tackle.

A spray of sand erupted behind him as he set off. The sand was loose and not great for traction, but he had lived there his whole life and knew how to compensate. Quickly, he reached the spot where his glorious Embers had run out and threw himself forward, shoulder first. There was nothing to hit, obviously, and he tumbled around for a bit, but even his foolish human had to realise his awesome power. The clapping sounds confirmed that he did.

Scrambling up on all fours, he made his way back almost as fast as he left. He felt a little out of breath, yet it was nothing for one such as him.

"There we go, that was great," Peri stopped his clapping so he could return to his proper duties of petting, "I definitely wouldn't want to be hit by that. You're pretty fucking fast aswell, that's great."

Ra's chest puffed out, even through his breathlessness. Finally he got the accolades he deserved.

"But let's see how fast. If you got one more in you, could you show me your Quick Attack? Promise it's the last one for today."

A jerk of his head let him nip lightly at the fingers. Of course he could do one more! How dare the stupid, foolish, ignorant human! To think that he, Ra, would be exhausted by a mere two attacks! The nerve. He crouched down again and drew on the white energy that lived under his life-fire.

If the last launch-off had been a spray of sand, the next was closer to an explosion. A white aura covered him as his speed increased to easily three times what it had been before. In a second, he had blown past his previous turnaround point, so fast his surroundings blurred and he could barely see where he was going. Ra took a wide turn to come back around, careful of sudden change in direction. Experience had seen him lose his footing far too often to make that mistake again.

Unfortunately, he could feel his aura flicker, and by the time he made it halfway he had lost it entirely. His blazing pace turned into a sprint, then a run, a trot, and when he finally arrived back, he was heaving for air and stumbling towards his human. He would have collapsed if not for the hands that quickly caught and cradled him.

Whispered murmurs comforted him as they took a seat by the fire, and nails gently scratched along his spine.

"It's okay, breeeeathe, just breathe. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you like that, you're still recovering. I'm sorry."

He wanted to admonish Peri immediately for apologizing for things that were not in any way his fault, yet it took him several minutes to beat the dizziness and stop panting for his life. By that time his Trainer seemed to have calmed down himself.

Mostly.

"You okay buddy? I shouldn't have pushed for the last one, that's my fault."

Ra batted at him half heartedly, too tired to punish him properly. He was not so tired, however, that he couldn't perk up when his Trainer started pulling more of that delectable jerky and water from his pack.

He kept half-an-ear on his human as he started chowing down.

"Yeah, have some water. That was very fucking good though, VERY fast. Looks like you have problems with quick changes in direction, but we'll work on it. Maybe shorter bursts? Still, we'll focus on your recovery for now, keep the exercise light."

Ra wanted to protest, but exhaustion was setting in fast with the food in his belly.

The delightful fingers found his ears again as his trainer took him into the flimsy den and placed him by the odd human-sleep-sheet. He yawned as he tried to stay focused on whatever Peri was once again rambling about, yet the allure of sleep couldn't be denied.

His circumstances might have changed suddenly and there was a lot of uncertainty regarding what the future held and even about Peri himself, but as he laid there, warm, tired, and safe, he couldn't bring himself to have second thoughts.

It was a pretty good first light-cycle.

---

I really like Ra's POV, that shit is great.

Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 3 chapters ahead.

 

[HankPankylol]

Just a boy and his vulpix, trying to make it in the big city.

---

"Dat's gonna run ye 500."

"WHAT!? 500!? Fuck you mean 500!? That dinky piece of shit couldn't cross a kiddy pool, much less the fucking ocean, and you want 500 Poké for 1 ticket!?"

The sailor didn't seem impressed by my well reasoned retort and puffed up his chest to make himself look bigger.

Not that it helped much. The guy was hardly any taller than I was, and nearly larger horizontally than vertically. His belly comically stretched his cliché white and blue striped shirt, while the legs of his white shorts imitated a skirt with how big the waist had to be. I'd originally been a fan of his salt and pepper mutton chops, even if it was kinda weird with the bald head and chin, but they contrasted horribly with the deep purple color his face was turning.

Whoops. I hadn't meant to slip out of my 'Starving Child' facade, but the outrageous price for a trip on his shitty ship had caught me off guard. Barely bigger than a fucking rowboat and he had the audacity to demand 500 for what was apparently a 1 week trip? I could buy a Greatball for that! If the prices were the same as in the games anyway.

Poké dollars were still a mystery, but that price felt excessive.

Fucker wouldn't even go to Kanto to start, he would be making a stop on something called Knot Island, which was allegedly close to Kanto. I think I vaguely remember it being a part of the Sevii Islands, but that was it. Only afterwards would he head to Vermillion.

Maybe I could still salvage it, though. I widened my eyes and pitched up my voice. Held in my arms, clutched to my chest, Ra hit the captain with his own best efforts as well.

Which, given that he new the move Baby-Doll Eyes, his best was real fucking good.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to yell. It's just, my Mom and Dad are waiting for me in

Kanto. We got separated and-"

"Fuck off lad. Ye reckon ye be the first t' try a sob tale on me? Go on, get!" He lashed out with a lazy backhand that I easily avoided.

"Hold on you fucking scammer. Here take your damn money," I grumbled as I handed over almost all the money I had in exchange for a damp, crumpled piece of paper with a signature. I had sold the scooter for 250 as soon as we arrived in the city, but I didn't want to spend everything at once.

"Good. We set sail in 6 days."

"WHAT! What do you mean 6 days!? Hello!? Don't ignore me!" I screamed at him as the sailor turned on his heel and stepped onto his ship.

"Well, at least we got the ticket, I guess", I sighed as I made my way back into the city proper, letting the Vulpix jump down onto the ground.

Ra growled and turned his head away, snout in the air, as we strolled back up the main street. He really hated using Baby-Doll Eyes.

Prideful little bastard. He got very annoyed if I did anything other than praise him and was reluctant to appear as anything other than the epitome of badass. I'm also pretty sure he thinks he's the one in charge instead of me. Which wasn't a problem as long as we got along. I had never intended our relationship to be anything other than a partnership.

On the other hand, he also kept petting and talking to the scooter like it was alive, so maybe he was just a little dumb.

Which was, again, fine. I'd take the little himbo fox. Just had to give him something to back up that ego. Something I had hoped to start addressing in Kanto, but sometimes you had to play the hand you were dealt.

When you couldn't flip the table and pull a knife, anyway.

I sighed again as I looked at my companion.

"I guess we don't have any choice. We need supplies, and a fair amount of them. I don't know if our funds are going to stretch."

I collapsed onto a bench by the side of the road. Well, bench might be stretching it. It was just two crates side-by-side, with a plank nailed to the top, but it was the best Gateon Port had to offer. Ra jumped up next to me and despite his disgruntlement over our unsuccessful little scheme, crawled into my lap for some pets while we watched the crowd moving.

Even the egg gave a wriggle as if in support. Though to be fair, it did that almost once an hour at this point.

I really hoped it would hatch soon. The anticipation was killing me.

"We, or me, I guess, could get a job to raise the cash. Help out with some stuff. It's not like we need a lot of money, so theoretically, it's doable, just… " My eyes landed on an alleyway across the street, rickety, makeshift houses on either side, with two men in it. Both were dressed in rags, with long, unkempt hair and beards. One of them was curled up in a fetal position on the ground while the other one kicked him repeatedly in the side. As I watched, the kicker apparently decided that his victim had enough and ripped the shoes of the downed man's feet, before grabbing a backpack from the ground and hauling ass down the corridor.

No one said or did anything. Dozens of people walked by as it took place, and I know at least half glanced at them.

And yet.

Nothing. Like blatant assault in broad daylight was a common occurance or beneath their notice because it was homeless people doing it. Never mind that seemingly 1-in-5 of everyone I saw seemed to be homeless, or near enough.

"… Maybe not in this city."

We sat for another moment before getting up and heading to the nearest store. Which was literally every 20 feet in Gateon.

I'd been really optimistic when we set off from Ra's cave. Sure, it had been a rough start, but now I had a Pokémon and a plan. The week of travel had been filled with days on the scooter, hurling through the sand. Most of Orre seemed to be truly barren. It was only in the last 2 days the landscape had changed, and even then it was to rocky, mountainous terrain, with a couple of old-ass ruins scattered around. Though to be fair, grass grew there and we had finally spotted wild Pokémon, other than Wingulls passing overhead and what I swore was a Flygon in the middle of a sand tornado. I'd thought about stopping to battle some of the weaker ones, but getting Ra back into shape took priority.

When the sun had set and the small window of decent temperature arrived, we'd pull over for some light training and socializing. Nothing strenuous, Ra's time in the desert had obviously not been any easier than mine had been for me. Mostly just calling out a series of moves for him to perform, mixed with a bit of cardio before he became exhausted.

Something I was both pleased and proud to notice took longer and longer by the day.

It was as much for me as for him. I'd obviously never directed a Pokémon battle outside the games before, so it helped getting used to calling out the commands and building in some short-hand orders for speed.

It had been a great journey. Everything I'd ever wanted as a kid playing on his GameBoy. Setting up camp under the starts, training with my Pokémon, coming up with strategies, and generally fooling around. Ra was a more serious type and wasn't one for games, but he was easily placated with some petting and praise.

He really was a simple creature and I loved him.

But then…

Gateon Port.

What a fucking shithole.

I mean, it was fucking Orre, so I don't know what I expected, but holy fuck. Being the only port that I knew of in the country, you'd think it would at least be more impressive than Outskirt Stand.

That fucking train might be the most impressive thing on the entire fucking land mass!

The center of Gateon Port was actually pretty nice, for what looked like an old naval base. A large square building sat facing the port with a large wall surrounding it, while just off the coast a large tower pierced through the waves, acting both lighthouse and additional defense. It was quite intimidating, if clearly somewhat haphazardly and quickly set up.

That part housed around 1.000 of the most wealthy in the city.

The rest of the city appeared to be mud and rocks stabbled in a rough house shape, or, and I couldn't fucking believe it, MORE SHEDS! AND FUCKING TENTS!

It literally seemed like people walked up to the port, decided it was a nice place to live, and then just plopped down on their asses and built a mud iglo. Crooked three-story buildings were under constant threat from the lightest breeze, while the clown population had put a hundred tents under it. Sheds stood atop sheds in horrific abominations of architecture, forming blocks of monstrous apartment complexes, and there might still be more homeless people than owners of shelter.

Including tents.

It was a fucking nightmare of a slum, that reeked of sweat, shit, and rotting seaweed. I hated everything about it.

Which might be the only thing everyone there had in common. Wanting to get the fuck out.

Which also meant, I noted as I was about to step into a "Frank's Discount PokéMart" and locked eyes with a boy a couple of years younger than me, that no one was going to help you.

The kid looked like a walking corpse. The skin on his face was so tight and thin that his head appeared closer to a purple skull than anything else, large dark circles under his slightly unfocused eyes. His makeshift tunic of three threadbare towels tied together hid his torso, yet the clearly defined skeletal structure of his exposed arms and legs told the entire story.

He averted his gaze when he noticed me looking back at him and disappeared into the crowd as I took the last step into the store, shaking my head lightly.

I really hated this city.

---

Sighing was turning into a unfortunate habit, I noted as I stepped back out, sadly stuffing the last 100 Pokè back into my pocket. Frank, as it turned out, was as much of an asshole as everyone else in Gateon. Fucker had fleeced us. 150 Pokè for 2 gallons of water, 4 rations, and 1 sack of Pokéfood? Actually fucking criminal.

Not that I was all that surprised. Most of the items in there looked like they had been fished out of dumpsters and a lot of it was most likely stolen. Though there was some oddly high-end stuff as well. Multiple TMs, which nearly had me drooling, several rows of Pokéballs, including Greatballs and quite a few Potions and status heals.

It was Disneyland, Christmas, and a candy store all rolled into one.

Unfortunately the price tag matched all those things combined as well.

Even combined with our leftovers from the trip, it was unlikely that the supplies would last us more than 4 days, never mind 6 plus the 7 day trip across the ocean.

Still, we'd cross that bridge when we got to it. I tried my best to put it out of my mind as we made our way back to the outskirts of the city. Seemed to be the best place to put up camp. Hell, we'd fit right in. On the way, I couldn't help but swerve my head around. Even if we'd made the walk through once before, it was still incredible.

If the people and city of Gateon were some of the worst I'd seen, the Pokémon was definitely the best.

Wingulls cried out as they flew overhead, a couple landing on the shoulder of their trainers as they walked. Every alleyway was alive with Rattata and Meowth rummaging through bags and trash, fighting amongst each other for the occasional scrab, and I swore I saw a pair of eyes watching them from the shadow of an overhang.

Trained Pokémon were a rarer sight. Wingulls were the most common, with a singular enormous Pelipper lazily flapping over a large sailor. The bird was bigger than my entire torso, with most of it taken up by its huge yellow beak. It had a small head topped by a streak of light blue feathers and the disproportionately small wings that had barely changed from a Wingull's, had a similar hue on the three finger-like feathers the appendages ended in.

The Pelipper was nothing compared to the beast that stalked the streets, however.

Standing a little under four feet at the shoulder, a monstrous canine parted the crowd before it. Its black paws were huge, its claws nearly as long as my fingers and came to a needle point that looked like it could tear right through me. The main body was thick with corded muscle under the gray fur, a scraggly and wild black overcoat covering the back and leading to a swaying tail that was kept high. Two large ears framed a snout filled with sharp teeth that it bared at everyone that dared to look into its red eyes.

That, I was damn near certain, was a Mightyena, and it was fucking terrifying.

The trainer himself was almost as attention-grabbing as his companion. A pair of headphones was wrapped around the back of his bald head and a pair of small, black sunglasses hid his eye. A red, sleeveless vest covered a black tanktop that led to a matching pair of cargo pants. An oversized pair of gloves and boots finished his assembly.

The most noteworthy detail, however, was his posture. Almost everyone in Gateon walked with a slouch, either due to mood or trying to avoid attention, eyes on the ground before them.

Not him. The trainer walked with a swagger as he kept his head high and back straight. He looked like he was going on a stroll through the gardens rather than the hurried tempo of everyone around him.

I watched as the exact match for what I remembered Team Snagem Grunts looked like from the games passed right by me without as much as a glance and headed into Frank's Discount PokéMart.

I narrowed my eyes.

Huh.

Gang affiliations might explain the expensive shit in there.

Not my problem, though, I decided as I kept walking. While the presence of what were essentially organized thugs was probably not helping Gateon escaping its shithole status, I couldn't blame Frank for doing what he needed to do. A lot of people would jump at the chance to earn steady money and likely protection as well, I mused as I saw the same kid from earlier out of the corner of my eye.

He'd moved into one of the trash-filled side streets, and judging by the even more frantic way he looked away from me, and even scurried further into the alley, he might've been scrounging for food.

I stopped and sighed as he looked over his shoulder and visibly panicked when he saw me still there.

It wasn't a smart choice, but how could I shit talk the inhabitants of the city if I behaved the same way? Abundance was not a thing in Orre. Everyone was struggling.

If I blamed them, then it was only fair that I put my money where my mouth was.

Literally.

"Hey kid, hold up." I called out, moving towards him. To my surprise, he actually stopped and turned to look at me. He was shaking all over so it wasn't a sudden burst of confidence. Maybe experience? Running rarely made a beating better.

He hunched in on himself as I stopped before him and the shaking became so bad he nearly fell over as I swung my backpack around. His eyes stayed glued to the ground, not even glancing as I unzipped the bag and reached in.

"Here."

Five solid seconds passed before he dared to look at the bag of rations I was holding out to him. He glanced desperately between my face and the bag, clearly wanting it, but obviously afraid of a trap.

Again, fuck Gateon. Up close, the kid couldn't be older than seven, maybe a starved eight at most.

His voice trembled as he shook his head.

"I-I don't wa-want any t-trouble, Mister. Pl-please, I'll leave, please-"

He automatically caught the food as I threw it at him.

"Just fucking take it. You clearly need it."

He stayed in a defensive position, ready to bolt at the slightest sign of deceit. When none came, it was like the sun appearing from behind the clouds as his entire face lit up under the dirt. The shaking continued, yet it was from excitement instead of nervousness.

"Really!? You-you mean it, Mister? Thank you, thank you so much! A-are you new around here? I'm sorry, I-I just haven't seen you before…"

"It's fine," I said, waving my hand dismissively and shaking my head, "I just got here, yeah, though I'm not staying. My boat doesn't leave for a couple of days, however, so I'm sticking around for a bit."

"Th-then," the kid licked his cracked lips as he glanced at my bag and Ra, "do you two need a place to camp? I know a great place, real out of the way, almost never any trouble there!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm. He was nearly jumping with excitement.

It was cute.

"Yeah, that'd be good, thanks."

"Then it's right this way, Mister! I'm sure you'll have a good time, especially with such a strong Pokémon! My name is Ralf, by the way, but everyone calls me Rat!"

My chuckle turned into an actual laugh as Ra stuck his nose almost vertically up and swaggered after Rat as he took off down the alley, damn near running as we followed. Kid might need new friends with a nickname like that, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

I immediately lost my bearing as Rat twisted and turned through narrow passages, head snapping back to make sure we kept up, yet I had a vague feeling that we were close to the shore. The intensifying scent of salt and seaweed as the stench of rotting trash faded confirmed that idea, but that was the best I could do. The outskirts of Gateon were a fucking maze of random shit, buildings, and tents, vendors screaming at people that couldn't give less of a fuck as they walked by. I lost sight of the kid multiple times as the crowds grew dense enough that I had to push and squeeze my way through. A fist fight nearly erupted as some dickhead tried to be sneaky and unzip my backpack, but he vanished into the horde before I could give him more than a swift kick.

"This way, Mister! We're almost there!"

Glancing left and right, I tried to see where Rat had disappeared to in what seemed to be a dead end. A hand stuck out from between two buildings I could have sworn were right next to each other. A closer look revealed the kid's beaming face on the other side of an incredibly narrow passage as he started jumping up and down again.

"It's right around the corner, promise!"

Cursing under my breath, I swung my bag off my back. The egg shook insistently as I held it out beside me, sucked in my stomach and started shimmying my way through. Ra, the smug little fuck, strolled ahead of me, glancing over his shoulder arrogantly as I huffed and puffed. Finally I got through, only to once again find my guide missing.

"Kid? Where the fuck did you go?!"

"Over here, Mister! Take the left!"

Sure enough, there was a left turn at the end of the small lot I found myself in. And around that corner, I did see Rat waiting for me.

Standing behind two larger kids around my age.

A crunch of gravel made me peek over my shoulder as another two kids, slightly younger than the others but still older than Rat, cut off the way I came from as Ra started growling.

Ah. I'd been had.

I was a fucking idiot. I'd been doing the 'starving, sad child' routine literally nonstop since I woke up in the desert, and then I just followed some rando into the fucking backstreets of a crime-ridden shithole of a city because he was a kid?

I glared at Rat, who at least had the decency to avoid eye contact.

"You really fucking suck, kid."

"Come on, don't be too 'ard on him. When someone is handing out free food, of course you want to share it with your friends."

The shortest of the two in front of me stepped forward as he spoke.

"Speaking off, since you're such a nice guy, you don't mind giving us some, do you? Sharing is caring, after all, and we're so hungry."

He started laughing in a very cliché way that sounded like he was imitating a mustache twirling villain from a movie. His cronies seemed to like it, or at least had been trained enough to follow their apparent leader's lead as they chuckled along.

How the fuck did I end up in a toddler shakedown? What was life?

"Go fuck yourself Pinocchio. If you're that hungry, your nose is enough food for the entire fucking city."

He flushed, his somewhat above average-nose turning red while his dark, near black eyes narrowed at me. It turned into an outright glare as the ones behind me "Ooohhh"-ed at my insult.

Kids they might be, but I was getting the feeling they weren't the brightest.

"You think you're funny, huh." The leader sneered at me while walking forward a couple of steps so we both were in the middle of the encirclement. He puffed out his chest to try and intimidate me. To his credit, he was kinda broad-shouldered and stocky, a little more meat on his bones than his friends. His bald head added to the thug image as well.

If only he hadn't been the second shortest behind Rat, it might've worked.

He reached into his pocket, making me tense. If they all had knives, it could turn messy real quick, even with Ra on my side. I wasn't sure if guns were a thing. They weren't in the games, but I think there were a couple in the anime.

If they were packing, I was super fucked.

The sneer directed my way twisted into a smirk. "Let's see how funny you are after I kick your ass and take all your stuff!" He said as he pulled his hand out of his pocket. Clutched between his fingers was a small ball, with a red top half and white bottom half, that expanded to five times its size as the kid pressed the button in the middle. He held it out towards me in the kind of stance that looked like he had practiced in front of the mirror.

My caution instantly turned to excitement as Ra walked out in front of me. The other children cheered.

"Kick his ass, Big S!"

"You got this, Boss!"

"Get him, Sharon!"

The so-called Sharon blushed again and yelled back at the tallest one that revealed his name.

"I've told you not to call me that, you idiot!"

I couldn't help laughing, making Sharon spin around to me again.

"You think my name is funny!? What's your name, huh!? I bet it's dumb too!"

I really considered fucking with him some more, but I was in way too good of a mood all of a sudden.

"Periwinkle. Peri for short "

Sharon looked visibly taken aback as the rest of the gang mocked my name. He stared at me for a second, before giving me a nod of what felt like almost respect as he waved the others to be silent.

"You understand my pain, then. Brothers in suffering we may be, but I'm still gonna beat you up! Go, Meowth!"

My cheeks hurt from the size of my grin as the Pokéball arched through the air. Just before the ball hit the ground, it cracked open and a beam of crackling red energy burst out onto the dirt. As the energy writhed and wriggled closer and closer to a definitive shape, I absently noted the Pokeball bouncing back slightly off angle, making Sharon have to run to catch it.

So aim actually did matter. Good to know.

"Alright Ra, just like we practiced." My words made him crouch down a little as the enemy solidified. Red electricity became tan fur with brown markings on the back paws and the curled tip of the tail. Large white eyes with a long slit pupil sat in an disproportionately large head, two whisker-like spikes extending from each cheek. Another two rose from in between a pair of black ears, framing a large golden medallion in the middle of the forehead.

The foot-tall creature rose into a bipedal stance and unleashed its war cry.

"Meooww!"

"Yeah! We don't care what you've practiced! Me and Meowth are gonna kick your butt! Get him Meowth! Scratch attack!"

I didn't have more than a few seconds to take in the cat-like Pokémon, before it crouched back down onto all fours and launched itself at Ra very fast, faster than the Vulpix could move normally. It caught me off-guard as I'd expected a more formal start to the battle, which in hindsight was stupid.

It was a fight in a back alley, not a Gym battle.

Still, the week of practice had gotten me at least somewhat used to fast movements and the Meowth was still slower than Ra's Quick Attack.

"Quick dodge left into Ember."

Meowth was almost in his face when I gave the command. The feline reared back its paw, inch long claws flashing in the light as it brought them hurling down at Ra. It gave a hiss of satisfaction as it sliced through the air, nearing Ra's head-

-only to stumble as a white aura surrounded the red fox and he shot to the side over twice as fast as the cat had moved. The Meowth frantically looked around trying to find its prey, locating him in time to be greeted with an open maw, flickering with flame. A torrent of tiny fireballs were unleashed in a cone-shaped flurry, smacking into Meowth with a sizzling sound as the Pokémon fell back onto its back with a cry of pain.

"Meowth! No!"

I smirked as the Ember cut off and Sharon's Pokémon rolled around on the ground. Quick dodge was one of the few commands we'd worked on during the trip. It was just a small burst of Quick Attack to the side in order to flank, before following up with another attack, but it appeared quite effective.

It definitely needed work, though. Ra had stumbled for almost as long as Meowth and if the cat had more experience, it would've dodged after realizing what was happening.

Thoughts for later though. Had to capitalize.

"Quick Attack!"

Meowth had barely managed to scramble onto all fours before Ra slammed shoulder first into it like a truck. Anything at that pace would hurt, but as Ra was twice the size of the feline, it was sent flying back into the wall. It bounced off with another scream, laying in a heap as it tried to recover.

"No, please, you 'ave to get up! MEOWTH!"

"Yeah, come on Meowth, don't give up!"

"You can beat that stupid fox, we believe in you!"

The encouragement was honestly kinda cute. Even Rat had nutted up enough to participate. Still it was time to end it. I had loved my first taste of battle, yet I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. Yeah, it was a low level battle, against street rats, but it was so fucking easy.

Might have to wait until Kanto before finding anything that could actually challenge Ra and I. Though at our current pace, we'd be the Champions within the month.

"Finish it with a Tackle, buddy. Let's wrap it up and stop bullying the children."

With his customary swagger, Ra approached the downed opponent, slowly picking up speed. I'd have preferred finishing it quickly, but I couldn't begrudge him his celebration. For once, he'd earned that confidence. I also knew he was more tired than he let on.

He was almost there anyway, at a decent jog. Meowth had started stirring, struggling to push itself into a seated position as it watched Ra charging towards it.

"Fake Out!"

My eyes widened.

"Sto-"

It was too late. As Ra lowered his head and prepared for impact, the Meowth twitched with its left paw. The movement drew Ra's attention enough that he hesitated in his attack while looking, only to get clobbered by a smack from the right that sent him skidding to the side, hitting the wall himself.

"RA!"

"YEAH!" Sharon screamed over me, thrusting one hand in the air triumphantly. "THEY FELL FOR IT! NOW MEOWTH, END THEM WITH PAYDAY!"

"DODGE!"

Unfortunately, Ra was still shaking off the impact as the cat reached up to its forehead and ripped the gold medallion off and hurled it at him. Fortunately, Meowth had taken even more damage and its aim had the medal smack against Ra's shoulder rather than his head. He let out a pained yip regardless, but he wasn't out.

"QUICK! EMBER!"

"DODGE MEOWTH! WE GOT 'EM!"

The world slowed down as both Pokémon started executing their orders. The speed advantage I'd noticed earlier, combined with exhaustion and the difference in difficulty of the two commands, reared its ugly head again. By the time Ra had built up the necessary energy, Meowth was already on its feet and ready to react. Luckily, there was one thing they had overlooked.

There was only one way to go with a wall blocking one side.

"He's going left! Adjust!"

"No! STOP, MEOWTH!"

It was too late. The feline had already lept the only way it could, and a little backwards as well. All it took was a minor twist of Ra's head and the fire once again started scorching the tan fur. Meowth was sent sprawling one more time and came to rest in front of Sharon. Ra panted as we waited to see if it would get back up.

But no. Despite Sharon's, and the gang's, cries, Meowth's eyes remained closed and it refused to move. It wasn't long before the red light of its Pokéball hit it and sucked it inside.

I let out a huge sigh of relief. That had been a little too close at the end. But we'd done it.

A grin overtook my face as I started laughing, running to go pick up Ra and hold him aloft, spinning around in circles.

"WE DID IT! WE WON! Ahahahahahahaha, you were fucking amazing, buddy! That Quick dodge was superb!" I praised as I rubbed our cheeks together. Normally Ra would be batting at my face by that point, but he seemed as high on victory as I was and gave as good as he got.

I couldn't believe it. We'd won our first battle! Sure, it was against a scrub-tier fighter, but it was still a huge deal!

Speaking of scrubs.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

Sharon, Rat, and a third tall, reedy kid froze from where they'd been trying to sneak off while I was distracted. Sudden scurrying from behind told me that the other two had seen their chance as well. A thumb announced that one of them had fallen over, but I didn't care about them.

Sharon hid behind the tall one I decided to call Reed, while holding his hands out to ward me off.

"Hey, Hey, it's cool, man. We're gonna go and we'll never bother you again, I promise. It was real nice to meet you, though, we should do this again-"

"Fat fucking chance. Empty your pockets, bitch. Come on, you know how this works."

Sharon hesitated as I placed Ra back down on the ground. The vulpix began growling again, eyeballs locked on their prey as he started slowly prowling forward.

Which was all it took.

"You suck," Sharon grumbled as he started rummaging around in his pants. A couple of bills and what looked like a protein bar hit the ground.

I gave a smile in response.

"Litteral skill issue. You started this, motherfucker, don't be mad at me for being better. Now, the rest." He shook his head in denial, but I wasn't having it. "Don't fucking try me, I'll take it myself if I have to."

He glared at me as he pulled an old, rusty pocket knife out from his oversized, dirt covered vest and threw it at my feet. I kept smiling as I turned to the one that truly started it all.

"You too, Rat. Cough it up."

"I-I don't ha-have any-"

"Right, you were hanging out by Mainstreet all day with nothing to show for it. Give it. Now."

The kid was shaking and staring at the ground as he pulled three wallets out and tried to toss it next to Sharon's pile. His trembles made him miss and the bag of rations made it barely half the distance the other stuff did, but that was fine.

Ra kept his eyes locked on them as I crouched down and inspected my loot. The wallets had a total of 300 Poké Dollars, which was pretty good. The knife was shit, but having a weapon wasn't a bad thing by any means. I stood back up and looked at them as I grabbed the protein bar and started stuffing the rest into my pockets.

Scared, shaking, and starving, it really hit home how young they were as they cowered in front of Ra. Their antics may have been at my expense, but I couldn't blame children for trying to stay alive. I couldn't say what they would've done if they'd beaten me, yet they had a knife. They could've shanked me as I turned the corner. Instead, they gave me a Fighting chance.

I sighed for the millionth time that day. I was way too nice of a person.

"Ra, enough. Here." I said as I tossed 100 Poké Dollars on the ground. "You can keep the rations too. Is there a different way outta here than the one I came from?"

Stunned silence was my only response as they stared at me incredulously. They kept gapping until Ra gave a loud yip, which funnily enough spurred the least brave member into action.

"Th-There is a l-ladder over there," Rat stuttered as he pointed at one of the buildings. Ladder was a strong word. It was more like half broken rebar hammered into the wall at irregular intervals.

I gave them one last nod as I patted the top of my backpack towards Ra. He ran at me and with one big leap, grabbed onto the bag. I felt the egg wriggle wildy for longer than usual but it settled back down as I started climbing up the 40 foot wall.

I'd just made it to the top when a shout reached me from down below.

"DON'T THINK THIS IS OVER, YOU HEAR!? FROM TODAY ON, YOU AND I ARE RIVALS! I'LL WIN NEXT TIME, PERI!. ME AND MEOWTH ARE GONNA TRAIN AND BEAT YOU UP, YOU'LL SEE!"

It was such a fucking anime moment that I started laughing again.

"TRY ME PIPSQUEAK!"

"PIPSQUEAK!? YOU GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE, YOU SON OF A BITCH, I'LL RIP YOU APART! I'M GONNA-"

His screams faded as I turned and walked away, taking stock of my surroundings. I found myself on top of one of the highest buildings in the immediate neighborhood, almost at the edge of Gateon. The ocean was very close, as I thought, no more than a couple of streets. A lower roof led downwards in that direction, to another roof, and then another, before an actual staircase led down to the ground.

Ra hopped down as we took in the sight. From this high, Gateon was almost pretty. The different architecture, broken up by colorful camps of tents, blended together in a pleasing way, when you couldn't see the people or smell them. In the horizon, sand bordered the endless stretch of water that glittered in the sunlight.

"What do you say? You want to go to the beach? You did a great job in that fight, you deserve to take the rest of the day off."

Ra peered at the sea curiously and took off without a word, leaping down to the next building as I rushed to keep up.

As we made the landing for the third time, the egg shook again. I didn't pay it much mind. It had started doing it more and more, but nothing had come from it yet.

But then it kept shaking.

And shaking.

And shaking.

To the point where there was no way to ignore it anymore.

"Wait, wait, hold up buddy. Something might be happening!"

I quickly dug the egg out of my bag and placed it on the tile as Ra trodded over. He sniffed it in curiosity, jumping back as it rolled around, vibrating almost violently. We stared at it in anticipation. Was it finally time?

It stopped.

The complaint was on the tip of my tongue when it gave its most extreme jerk yet.

CRACK!

A large crack split the shell from the top down half way.

"EEEEEEEEEEE!."

I'd forever deny the high pitched squeal that left me. No matter how judgingly Ra looked at me. The whole last week, every night I dreamt of what was inside. Fantasies of mighty Dragonites soaring through the sky or ferocious Kingdra commanding the sea had filled my imagination.

And now it was finally time.

The cracking continued and soon it looked like a spider had spun a web across the entire thing. With one last mighty shake, pieces were sent flying as my new baby Pokémon fought its way free from its confinement and emerged into the world, falling to the ground, ready to take on all comers and stand by my side atop the world.

My purple eyes locked with its own white ones.

"Feeeeeeeeehhh."

The large light brown fish, maybe a little over a foot in length, flopped around as it looked at me. Its thick pink lips gaped open and closed while its blue fins and tail waggled uselessly as it tried to find purchase. Darker brown spots littered its body and a large hollow triangle fin sat atop its head.

"Feeeeeeeehhh."

I didn't even blink as I picked up the Feebas, a wheezing sound emitting from it like the air escaping a balloon. As I touched it, its flailing ceased as we stared at each other, its eyes blank and mouth hanging open in a very derpy expression.

"You know," I started slowly, "you're not what I expected. However," a smile overtook my face as I hugged my new Pokémon close to my chest, "you are perfect nevertheless."

Feebas sighed into me and wriggled a little in response.

Then a thought struck.

"Wait a second. Do you need water!?"

We locked eyes again. There were no difference in its expression, but it was almost completely limp in my grasp.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD! RA COME ON! HURRY!", I screamed as I took off for the ocean. I swore I heard Ra sigh as he ran to catch up.

Still. Winning our first battle and getting a new Pokémon.

Not a bad day.

---

The driftwood sputtered and cracked as the flames licked it, thick smoke pouring off it. It had taken multiple Embers from Ra to set the damp material alight and it was still struggling.

Not that I'd let it get me down.

We'd found an empty spot down by the beach to set up the tent, not far from where I'd frantically thrown Feebas into the sea, terrified that she would suffocate in my arms.

Turns out, not a problem.

Feebas sat in the sand, staring into the fire with blank, dull eyes. Intermittently, she would slowly blink and return to look at the flames.

Everything she did was kinda slow. Even when I'd splashed water over her form, it took several seconds before she seemed to notice.

She also didn't appear to really care. Air or water, she was equally unbothered.

I'd also decided that she was a girl. I had nothing to base that assumption on but she'd eventually evolve into a Milotic and that was a feminine Pokémon. Not impeccable logic, but I'd stick to it until corrected.

Ra was curled up by the fire, happily snoozing away. I'd been worried about their first meeting, yet it was incredibly anticlimactic. Ra had sniffed at Feebas, Feebas had stared and that was kind of it. No instant bond between teammates or hostility from a predator to what could easily be a part of his diet.

So, not great or terrible. I'd take it though.

"There you are."

I flinched at the sudden voice, Ra jumping to his feet as well. A shape emerged from the darkness of the night, holding up its hands as it slowly approached. The flickering light of the campfire slowly crept up the short, stout body and revealed the face of the leader of the child gang I'd encountered earlier in the day.

"Fucking shit! The fuck you doing, creeping up like that!? You back for round two!?"

Sharon lowered his hands and shook his head, though that didn't stop him from firing back.

"Please, you think you're worth the effort? I was going easy on you earlier. If I was serious, I'd crush you."

"Oh yeah? How about you put your money where your mouth is, bitch."

He shook his head with faux disappointment. "Such a thug. 'ere I came all this way to make sure you're good and this is the welcome I get?"

"What? Why?" He'd attacked me and I took his shit just a few hours ago. What part of that indicated a positive relationship.

Hands stuffed into his pockets, Sharon spoke while avoiding my eyes.

"Rough part of the world, this. Rat would feel bad if you got shived in an alley, even if you're a weakling."

Before I could point out the incredible irony of that statement, he quickly switched the topic, pointing towards Feebas with his chin.

"New Pokémon?"

"Yeeeah." I said slowly, put off by the sudden change in demeanor from our first meeting. I hadn't expected this. "My egg hatched right after I left your broke ass behind."

He scowled, yet let it go.

"Feebas, huh? Tough luck. At least Magicarp evolves."

I kept my face neutral while my mind started whirring.

Did people not know that Feebas evolved into Milotic? Or was that just Sharon's Orre street-rat upbringing.

Probably a decent bet that it was just Sharon.

"Not that I giv' a damn about your dumb fish. It won't save you in our next battle!"

I'd have responded with a stupendously witty retort, but Feebas got there first. For the first time since she hatched I saw an emotion other than uninterest on her face. I thought so anyway. It would take some time before I was confident in my ability to judge fish facial expressions. Her eyes slowly narrowed as she looked up at Sharon, cheeks puffing out even slower. The other boy backed up at the clear sign of aggression and I leaned forward to try and stop her, recognizing the signs of a Water Gun.

Too late.

SPLASH!

Water dripped from her lips, falling limply to the sand a couple of inches from her mouth.

We both stared for a moment before Sharon started laughing.

"Just hatched, right. 'ad me sweating a bit, I'll admit. But like I said, that ain't gonna help you. Later dipshit."

I didn't respond as he retreated into the shadows, merely picking Feebas up and holding her in front of my face. I couldn't be sure, but I'd swear there was a hint of shame in her eyes.

"We have a lot of work to do."

---

Nobody sees the Feebas inquisition coming. I love Feebas, though. Derpy ass fish.

Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 3 chapters ahead.