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Chapter Text

Where… was I?

I sat up. I was in… some kind of forest.

My head hurt. Everything hurt. Agh.. I tried to get up. "Hello? I-Is anyone there?" 

…

Silence. Only the sounds of the trees. I could've sworn I heard a voice in them… something faint, but sounding like, "What was that?"

I had to.. Get out of this forest. I tried to stand up, but my body hurt too much. It took me a minute to get to my feet.

Everything was spinning.. My legs threatened to give out. I needed to find someone… anyone. 

I tried to walk, trying to remember what happened…

Why was I here? The memories were… fuzzy. 

Something in the trees rustled. I got startled and stumbled, falling down.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have put all my weight on my foot. I had a not-so-graceful landing and pain flared from my ankle. It took a lot of effort not to scream.

Trying to move it, I felt like I broke it. 

I heard sounds coming from the tree…talking? 

I felt woozy… everything started to blur. 

Something came out of the tree.. A person. 

He looked at me. I tried to get a good look at his face, but the pain made it hard to… concentrate. "There… are." He took a good look at me, and then my ankle. "Oh, that doesn't… good. Hold… I'll try…. you." What did he say? 

I was losing consciousness. He looked into the forest and gestured for something, or someone, to come over to me. He stared into my eyes. I still couldn't get a good look.. it was still blurry. "Stay calm… We'll… you back to-"

Everything went black.

…

When I opened my eyes, I was on a bed. I sat up. My ankle was in a cast, and to my right was a desk with a cup of water. To my left was the guy I met in the forest.

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, good, you're awake." He extended his hand. I shook it. His hand felt rough. "Name's Amos. Nice to meet you."

I finally managed to get a good look at him. 

His getup wasn’t exactly familiar to me. He kind of looked like a foreigner, with the orange-tipped scarf and violet kimono-esque (hakama?) garb he wore. 

Apart from that, he seemed nice. He had soft eyes, dark skin and an actual genuine smile. I felt a bit of melancholy in his expression, but he looked like a good guy.

"Good thing you're okay. You'd think falling from the sky would kill you, but we humans are durable, eh?"

"What?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "You fell from the sky. Into Lostlorn Forest. That's where I found you."

That… happened? I guess I wasn't awake for that… or my body decided to forget it happened. "Huh. Maybe that's why everything hurt."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. What’s your name?"

"Er.. Kyohei." I said. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Kyohei."

"Thanks.." I looked around. I was in some kind of medical bay. There were two rows of beds on either side of the room, each with around 7 each. "Amos," I asked, "Where is this?"

"Nimbasa Outpost. Don’t worry. You’re safe here." Amos stood up. "Need a hand up?"

"Wait," I said. "Nimbasa Outpost?"

He looked confused. "What about it?"

"I don’t… remember Nimbasa City having an ‘outpost’."

"You’re kidding, right?" Amos said. He looked like he had no idea what I was talking about. "There’s no ‘Nimbasa City’ anywhere here."

"...What? Hold on." I reached my hand out. He grabbed it and pulled me up. "See for yourself, Kyohei."

Getting off the bed, my ankle hurt a bit. It was healing, thankfully, but I shouldn’t put too much weight on it. Oh, well, I’ll walk it off.

I walked to the exit and opened the door.

This.

Was not Nimbasa.

I remember Nimbasa being a large city with a ferris wheel… a subway.. But looking at it, I didn't see anything. In fact, I think this medical bay was in the same spot as where the ferris wheel would be

It looked like some kind of base camp. Tents were laid in rows, and the people outside were 

I was… confused. "What…"

Amos came out just after me. "Pretty, isn't it? There's a bit of breakage on the western wall, but they'll fix it eventually."

"This is… Nimbasa?"

"The one and only." He smiled, admiring the view. "Folks here only got settled in a couple years ago.. Time flies by, doesn't it?"

"Couple… years ago?"

His smile faltered a bit. He looked like he was putting two and two together. He asked me where I got my clothes.

"Join Avenue," I answered.

"Never heard of that place," Amos replied.

"Really? But it’s just down south of here."

"There’s no ‘Join Avenue’ south of Nimbasa, Kyohei."

He crossed his arms, tapping his shoulder with his finger. "We're gonna have to talk later. For now, though, let's get you to August. I kinda brought you here without informing him."

I nodded. "August is the one in charge of this place?"

Amos put his arms on his hips. "This whole outpost couldn't've been possible without him. Now, come on."

He started to walk towards one of the bigger buildings in the outpost. I followed him.

As I walked through the town, I heard something. I looked around, but didn't see anything. It sounded nice though; a bit like a song.

I didn’t see Amos, but the door was open. I assumed he was already in the building, and walked inside.

The place felt cozy. It reminded me of some houses in Nacrene City. The colors were a bit muted, but the building felt homely. 

Amos opened a door from the inside. "Ah, took you long enough. Come in here."

I went inside. I saw a guy sitting at his desk. He appeared busy. He wore an overcoat, black hair and striking blue eyes. His tie had a red and blue tip. His face seemed to express a singular emotion: boredom. 

He looked at me. "Oh, you must be the one Amos found. Sit."

I pulled out a chair that was opposite him and sat. "H-Hi. I'm Kyohei."

"Hello, Kyohei; I'm August. You're the one that fell out of the sky, I assume?"

"Yes," I replied. 

Amos entered the room. He looked at me, then back at August. "Kyohei here fell from the sky into Lostlorn Forest. Mienshao and I brought him here. Sorry I didn't inform you, it happened so quickly."

"That's fine." August sat up. His eyes moved, sizing me up. "So, Kyohei. You look around… 15 or so. Quite old enough to work for your keep."

"What?"

"I’m kidding," August said, though it didn’t seem like he was. "Anyway. Amos and I talked while you were getting here. You fell from the sky, wearing, quite frankly,  outlandish clothes, and talking about locations near Nimbasa that don’t exist. I have my suspicions about your origin, albeit small."

A few seconds passed. "So," I said, partly to break the silence, "What’ll happen with me?"

"You can stay here," August said.  "This is one of the safest places we have. You can be safe from the Pokemon that are outside of this outpost."

…What? "Safe from… Pokemon?" I asked. "I thought they were nice."

August shook his head. "You’d do well to remember this, Kyohei. Pokemon are terrifying creatures."

He saw my expression, and said, "Kyohei. Pokemon are dangerous. We created this outpost as a way for us humans to be safe. Our professor was making strides so that we could learn more about these creatures, and yet even he got injured."

Amos put a hand on my shoulder. "Come on outside." He locked eyes with August. August nodded. He opened the door and the two of us exited the office. 

As we were walking, Amos explained the situation. "Most people here are afraid of Pokemon. They’re dangerous and mysterious.. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone with, say, a partner Pokemon in this outpost."

"You have one?" I asked.

"Sure do. I found Mienshao while wandering this region, and the two of us have helped each other out a lot. Regardless, I’m one of the few people here who do have one."

"I thought… Pokemon were nice."

"Where you’re from, probably. Some are quite placid. But, in general, most people tend to stay here. This land is simply too dangerous."

He paused for a moment. "Hmm… Let’s take you to Professor Liv. He can explain." He went up the stairs, and I followed him.

I went through a door and saw someone in a lab coat. He had pale skin with green hair-albeit muted- and a tall & skinny body type. 

He turned to face us. His right eye was wrapped up in a bandana; probably the injury Amos told me about. "Amos! I didn’t expect you to come back here so soon. What do you need?"

Amos pointed at me. I waved my hand. "Did you hear about this Kyohei kid?"

"Can’t say I have; though, is this the one that fell from the sky?"

Amos nodded.

The professor gestured at me to come closer. "Hmm… Well, he seems okay, but that certainly wouldn’t be the reason why you came here."

Amos leaned in and whispered something to Liv. "Ah, I see!"

He looked back at me. "So, with your clothes, knowledge and attitude towards Pokemon, you’re probably from a different world."

You know, I probably would’ve been surprised by that, but honestly, I expected it. So many things were off, I wasn’t surprised.

Liv looked at Amos. "I managed to document two more Pokemon today. Here. Kyohei, come here too."

He showed us a sketchpad with two Pokemon drawn on it. One of them was orange, with a red, coiling tail and a round snout. It had a yellow patch on its face. The other was something that looked like an owl, with black triangular patterns on its body and strangely shaped wings.

"Hey… I recognize these ones," I said.

"You do?" Liv crossed his arms.

"Y-Yeah, I think." I pointed at the red one. "That one’s Tepig, and the other is Noctowl."

He smiled. "I’m surprised!" He started to think. "Actually… Hold on, I’m going to talk to Captain August. Don’t leave yet!"

He ran out the door.

"So, you know about Pokemon?" Amos chuckled.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Interesting. I think I might know what Liv’s idea is."

Around a minute later, the professor came back. "So, Kyohei. How do you feel about… assisting me in our efforts to document Pokemon? A sort of… Pokedex?"

"S-sure?" 

Amos elbowed me lightly. "Sure? You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, kid."

Liv shrugged. "Kyohei, the choice is yours; I won’t force you."

"He’s just a kid, Liv," Amos said. "What if he gets hurt?"

Liv thought about it, then it seemed like his eyes lit up. "Let’s find out if he’s capable enough. Come with me, Kyohei, why don’t you?" He motioned for Amos to exit the room. He shrugged and left, closing the door on his way out.

I followed him as he took 3 sphere-like objects out of a box. He threw them into the air. While mid-air, the balls glowed and opened.

Three Pokemon suddenly came out.

"Kyohei," Liv said, "Try to get close to them. They won’t hurt you, probably, but I want to see if you’re capable of it."

I approached one of them.

The first Pokemon looked like a cat. It was almost uniformly black, with red stripes on its limbs. It had two pure red whiskers, and black-red eyes with a yellow sclera. When it saw me, its black tail puffed up and hissed. 

"That’s Litten," Liv said. "They’re not very kind towards strangers, but they’ll warm up to you. Just… give them time. Took ‘em a while to like me."

The next Pokemon seemed like a chameleon of some kind. It was mainly light blue, with a yellow fin on its head. It had darker blue eyes, with blue patches on its body of a similar color. It tried to hide the second I got near it.

"Hey, hey, buddy, don’t cry!" Liv sounded worried. He managed to approach the Pokemon without a fuss. "This one is Sobble. It gets scared rather easily, so treat it with care, won’t you? Also, be careful of the fact it can camouflage, I’ve tripped a few times.."

The last Pokemon looked asleep. It looked like a turtle. It was green, with a jaw and patches on its legs that were yellow. A small seedling sprouted from its head, and it had a brown shell that looked to be composed of soil. When it woke up and saw me, it approached me and looked at me with its yellow eyes.

"That one is Turtwig." He smiled. "He’s nice, isn’t he? He gets more energetic under sunlight. Honestly, of the three ones here, he’s the least problematic of them. It’s nice; these two troublemakers are enough work."

I knelt down and pet the Turtwig. It seemed to like me. I looked at Liv and he made a thumbs-up gesture. "That's a good start," He said. "Sobble and Litten, on the other hand, might be tougher to approach."

I tried to not make a sound as I approached Sobble. It slowly backed away.

"Woah, hold on, buddy," I said, trying to keep my voice quiet, as to not spook him, "I'm not gonna hurt you."

I reached my hand out. Sobble flinched. Then it came to its senses. It approached my hand and let itself be pet.

"Don't worry, little guy, you're safe." I said, trying to reassure Sobble. Sobble smiled.

"You did it," Liv said, his voice also trying to be quiet. 

Sobble curled up and went to sleep. Liv picked it up and placed it on his desk. He put a finger to his mouth. "Okay, now, where's Litten?"

I looked around. Litten was perched on top of a stack of boxes. I wasn't surprised at all.

"What if it falls?" I asked.

"It'll be fine," Liv said. "Probably."

I walked towards it. Litten hissed.

"Hey, hold on, we're friends here, okay?"

I reached my hand out. Litten slapped it away with its paw. 

I tried again.

This time, it went a little better. Litten looked at my hand for a bit, and instead of slapping it away, Litten touched it with its paw.

I tried to go further and tried to pet it. Litten moved its head back a bit. It hesitated, then slowly moved towards my hand.

I pet it.

"Aw, now isn't that cute?" Liv said.

I turned around. Litten meowed, probably asking for more pets.

"You seem to be a natural at this," Liv said. "Strange… most people are afraid of Pokemon! But you managed to approach them without a hint of fear!"

Liv seemed to think of something. "Kyohei! You seem to have a bond with these Pokemon. I have an idea."

Liv gathered the three of the Pokemon together.

"Turtwig, Sobble, and Litten. I want you to choose between them. They can be a great partner to have! Plus, out in the field, you can document your partner so we can continue our development of the Pokedex."

I looked at him. "I just choose?"

Liv nodded. "I'll keep the other two here; I'll feed them and keep them healthy, don't worry. You, on the other hand, can aid me with our research with the partner you choose."

I looked at the three Pokemon.

This was it, I told myself.

I thought about it for a minute or two. I looked at Liv.

"Thought long and hard, didn’t you? You going to pick one?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Yeah."

I inhaled.

"I choose…"

Chapter Text

"...Litten."

I knelt down to the cat Pokemon. "You like me, little guy?"

Litten mewled. I took it as a yes.

"Well, isn't that something?" Liv said. "I'll ask for you to be able to get a house here in the outpost." 

He recalled the three Pokemon in their balls- Poke Balls, I assumed- and handed me the one for Litten. He put the other two back in the box. "I'll have to speak with August. Until then, try to familiarize yourself with your Pokemon. Don't worry, they won't hurt you."

He left the room, and I heard his footsteps get quieter. I tossed the ball into the air, letting Litten come out.

I locked eyes with Litten. A few seconds passed, then Litten mewed.

"We're partners now, Litten! That means we help each other out."

Litten meowed in agreement.

Hm... Now that I had my own Pokemon, I would be able to explore Unova… and try to find out why I got sent to what looked like the past. And try to get back home, hopefully.

I wasn't sure if Captain August or the others fully understood the situation. The professor seemed to think I was from a different world. It could be true…

Liv came back. "Great news, Kyohei. If you go west of here, there's a house for you to be able to stay. Feel free to spend the night here; tomorrow we're going to the Driftveil Plateau."

He asked me to exit the office. I recalled Litten and kept the Poke Ball. "See you tomorrow, Kyohei!" He said, closing the door. I shrugged and headed to my house.

It was small, but cozy. It looked like it was actually vacated a bit recently; around a week ago. I didn't feel very comfortable with that, but I was too tired to think of anything. I went to sleep.

I felt… cold. Was this a dream? If so… why did it feel so real?

I was in a dark room. I couldn't see past my own body. I felt cold. 

It felt like something was breathing down my neck. I turned around, but nothing was there. A rumbling sound began to drone on in the room.

So cold… I felt like I was freezing.

There was suddenly a roar; a roar so loud it shook the entire room. It sounded terrifying: like three gigantic monsters roaring as one.

I woke up, sweating, but I still felt cold. I was hyperventilating.

What... was that?

I didn't know... I got out of bed anyway - there was no time to dwell on that. I picked up Litten's Poke Ball and headed outside. 

I stopped. It was a bit colder outside than usual.

...That was just a coincidence, right? 

Maybe.

To the east of me, there was a small gate where a guard was stationed. Liv was waiting for me outside. He saw me and waved.

I then ran towards him.

"Morning, Kyohei. I just got done making preparations. Come down here!"

I nodded, and the two of us walked together to the shore.

It wasn't technically my first time going to Driftveil. I went there quite a bit before... Now, though, I don't think the bridge there even exists; let alone the city itself.

"Hey, Professor," I said, "Is it just me, or is it colder than usual?"

He smiled. "Probably just you. Don't get chills, there's nothing to worry about."

Hm… yeah. It must have been my imagination.

As we arrived, my, suspicions were confirmed. Instead of a bridge, there was a boat. Liv told me he borrowed the boat for the occasion.

We got in the boat and started working it with the oars. Pretty soon, we were moving along at a decently fast pace.

"Don't you just love the feeling of fresh air at sea level?" Liv asked me.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice-"

"Stop the boat!" Liv suddenly yelled.

I stopped paddling. The boat slowed to a halt.

Liv pointed at the water. "Wait for it…!"

A Pokemon popped out of the water. It looked like a fish. It seemed beautiful, with blue and red fins and a red stripe on its black-and-blue body. Its red eyes completed the look, giving it a feeling of beauty when you looked at it.

"That's a Finneon," I said. "Do we have that documented?"

Liv shook his head. "Kyohei. Here, catch!"

He threw a Poke Ball at me, which I barely caught in my hand. "Catch it," Liv said. "Go on, I know you can do it!"

The Finneon jumped into the air and splashed back into the water.

I tried to steady my arm, as the Finneon kept moving.

I threw the ball. It missed Finneon and simply splashed into the river, being swept away by the current.

"Sorry," I said.

"Don't worry, that's natural," Liv said. He gave me another Poke Ball. "Try again!"

Again, I tried to steady my aim. This time, Finneon was moving a bit more slowly. Maybe it was feeling bad for me?

Either way, I threw it at Finneon. This time, it hit the Pokemon, and fell into the water. As it bobbed up and down, steam started to come out of the ball. Liv and I watched with anticipation…

The Finneon was caught, signified by a small firework coming from the ball.

"You did it!" Liv exclaimed. "You're really good at this, Kyohei!"

"Th-thanks," I said. I began to row the boat again. I was getting tired, but before long, we managed to reach the other side.

We then got off the boat and tied it to the dock. 

"Ah, Driftveil," Liv said, taking in the scenery. "Beautiful, isn't it? There's so much to see!"

"So, what do I do first?"

"What we need, right now, is to document an Eevee. It's a bit hard to find one here, but we can do it!"

He told me to split up and find an Eevee, while he did the same. Once done, we'd regroup back at the boat. He gave me a dozen Poke Balls and I headed out. 

Driftveil looked far different than when I last saw it. The city didn't exist, and in its place was just a field filled with plants, vegetation, grass, and Pokemon. I saw a lot of them too: Riolu, Pidove, and I think I even saw a Whimsicott.

I kept looking. At least, until I heard a roar.

I turned around and saw a Stoutland and a few Herdiers. It looked like they saw me. 

I didn't even have time to scream as I ran away. I ended up scurrying into a forest, and hid behind a tree until they stopped looking for me.

I sighed in relief when I saw they were going away, then I turned back around and saw I was in a forest.

Soon after, I heard a cry. I think it was Eevee's… Well, no way around it, I suppose. I walked further into the forest.

The trees muffled the sounds from outside. It got a lot quieter as I got further and further in. I was trying to listen to the sounds of an Eevee. I heard something and whipped around, but it was only a Sewaddle.

It looked at me, tilting its head.

I threw a Poke Ball at it. Steam only came out once, and soon enough it was caught. I took the Poke Ball with me.

I heard another cry, this time definitely coming from an Eevee. It was a lot further in the forest than I was.

Something rustled in the trees.

I didn't hear any Pokemon, but I followed the rustling.

I went deeper into the forest. There was less light coming in... The trees were getting thicker and thicker. The Eevee sounded really close, might have been a few meters away. All I had to do was come out behind this tree quietly and-

I peeked and stopped. Eevee was there, alright, but it looked like it was talking to…

I couldn't believe my eyes. It looked like a stag, or something, except it was green. It had red eyes, and black hooves on what looked like green boots, with a red tip on the top. It had a black sort of stripe from the tip of its nose to the back of its head. 

It couldn't be… right?

Eevee cried out, facing the deer-like Pokemon. The other Pokemon cried in return; a loud roar that probably would've shaken the whole forest. It then left Eevee and went back into the trees, until I couldn't see it anymore.

My heart was beating out of my chest. If I didn't stop moving, they might've seen me… that Pokemon might've seen me. 

I didn't want to believe it... Then I remembered what I came here for. 'Don't get scared, Kyohei,' I told myself. 'You're here to get Eevee.'

Eevee didn't notice me yet. It kept looking at the direction the stag went. At last, it turned its back, and I threw the Poke Ball.

It hit it from behind, catching it off guard. Steam came out of the ball. If the catch failed, I might've provoked Eevee… and then, that Pokemon.

...Caught. I breathed a sigh of relief, picking up the Poke Ball. At least I could get out of the forest. I didn't want to risk angering that Pokemon.

The image was burned into my mind. If I had Professor Liv's sketchpad, I could've drawn it from memory easily.

I thought about telling him. Yeah, that would be the best thing to do.

Leaving the forest seemed to take a lot less time than coming in. I got lost for a bit, but managed to find my way back. 

I was probably in there for an entire hour, but I still got what I came for: an Eevee. I sprinted back to the dock, to the boat where Liv said to regroup.

When I got back, Liv was already there. "Kyohei! Did you manage to find an Eevee?"

I nodded and tossed him the Poke Ball. I put my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath.

Liv sent out the Eevee. "Great job, Kyohei. Eevee is quite interesting, you know? It has a very unstable genetic makeup, which allows it to evolve into quite a number of Pokemon!"

I nodded. His lesson started to slowly turn into white noise. "...aybe Leafeon?" Liv noticed me. "Kyohei, are you feeling alright?"

"Just… just an adrenaline crash, Professor. I ran into… something."

"Oh? Tell me more about this ' something' ."

I told Liv about the Eevee I found, and the Pokemon it was speaking with.

Liv's eyes widened. "You don't mean…"

"Professor, I'm telling the truth," I said. "I saw Virizion."

Liv got a bit quieter. "Kyohei. Very few people have even seen Virizion. You understand what would have happened if it noticed you?"

"Yes, I've-I've heard the legends."

Liv put a hand on my shoulder. "What matters is that you're alright. I'm sorry for getting you into this, especially on your first day. I really am. But still, I'm proud of you. If you weren't here, my research on Eevee would still be set back weeks! I have you to thank for that."

I smiled. 

"Let's go back to Nimbasa," the professor said. "I'll row. Afterwards, I'll get us some food."

The trip back to Nimbasa was uneventful. We made it back, tied the boat on the dock, and entered the outpost.

Liv got us some food and asked me to sit down.

"Well, that was a great first assignment. You've done great, Kyohei." He reached out his hand and I shook it. "If you're not feeling up to it tomorrow, you can just stay in the outpost. Otherwise, just ask me and we'll head back. Captain August asked me to try to find a Seviper to make an antivenom..."

Seviper… the thought of having to get one scared me. 

We ate in peace. The noise of the folks in the outpost were loud, but I managed to deal with it.

"How's Kyohei doing?" A voice said behind me.

"Quite well!" Liv replied. He moved his head to see the person behind me. I turned around too to see Amos. "Where've you been this time, Amos?" Liv asked.

"Just down south," Amos replied. "Mienshao gets angry if I don't have an Aguav Berry with me, so I picked some."

He ruffled my hair. "How was your time in Driftveil, Kyohei? Got any good stories?"

I debated whether or not to tell Amos about Virizion. I looked at Liv. It looked like he was thinking the same thing I was. He nodded, so I told him.

"...I see." Amos took a chair and sat. "You're very lucky to have seen Virizion, Kyohei, and even more lucky to have lived. Hey, now you have bragging rights!"

I could tell he was trying to reassure me, to calm my nerves. It was working, at least. I managed to finish the rest of my food.

Amos stood up. "Kyohei."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Stand up. I've got an idea."

I stood up, while Amos got a Poke Ball from his pocket. "This Poke Ball contains a Vullaby I found while wandering this morning. I thought to myself, 'Hey, why don't I show her to Kyohei?' But then I had a better idea."

I could tell where this was going. I took a Poke Ball and said, "You're on, Amos."

Liv leaned back in his chair. "Good luck, you two."

"You understand, Kyohei? Good." Amos cupped his fist with his hand. "Well, then! Let's get started!"

I smiled with anticipation. Amos sent out his Vullaby as I brought Litten out.

Litten came out, raring to fight. He took a look at the situation and understood. He looked at Vullaby and hissed.

"Litten, use Scratch!" 

"Vullaby, Pluck!"

Vullaby went into the air as Litten extended its claws and scratched it. It got a good hit in, but Vullaby hit back, pecking Litten in the neck.

"Don't let her just do that! Scratch!"

Litten readied himself and pounced into the air, scratching Vullaby again.

He landed on his feet as Vullaby struggled to keep altitude.

"You can do it, Vullaby!" Amos said. "Use Gust!"

Vullaby whipped up a strong wind, and launched it at Litten. Litten barely managed to dodge it, its back paw getting caught in the wind. Litten staggered a bit, but held his ground.

"Come on, Litten! Use Fire Fang!"

Litten ran up to Vullaby. Vullaby tried to fly away, but Litten was faster, landing a strong bite on her. 

"Vullaby, come on, you can do it! Use Pluck!"

"Finish it with Scratch!"

Even in her staggered state, Vullaby still managed to hit Litten right in the head with her beak. Litten recovered though, and ended the fight with a swift scratch to her body.

Vullaby ran out of energy, and nearly toppled over before Amos recalled her back in his Poke Ball.

"Well, that certainly was unexpected." Amos shook my hand. "You're a lot better than I thought. You'll make a great assistant."

Liv clapped. "Bravo, Kyohei! Excellent work!"

My first battle in this world… I'm lucky I won. It looked like I would've lost if Litten didn't dodge that gust of wind.

Liv grinned. "So not only do you show no fear when it comes to Pokemon, you're also great at battling alongside them! Very fascinating."

Liv stood up and told me to follow him back to his office.

Once in the room, I sent out Litten, and the Sewaddle and Eevee I caught.

The three of them saw each other and began to interact.

"A Sewaddle, too?" Liv tried to go near it and draw it up on his sketchpad. With Litten and Eevee around it, though, it was easier said than done. 

With time, the three of them calmed down. 

"Kyohei, I have to thank you for choosing to become my assistant. Look at the progress we've made! Four Pokemon documented in one day!"

Liv showed me the sketches he made. I flipped through the pages, and every single day there was only around one entry drawn; sometimes two. Today's four new Pokemon must have been quite the milestone.

"Hm… I know!" Liv picked up his sketchbook. "How about we document the moves that these Pokemon can use? Let's go outside."

We exited the building and headed towards a level field covered with sand. It looked like a Pokemon battlefield. 

Liv asked me to let out the three Pokemon I caught and tell them to attack the dummy that he set up in the middle of the field.

Liv took notes as my Pokemon attacked the dummy with a variety of attacks: Bite, Tackle, Quick Attack.

At one point, Sewaddle used String Shot on the dummy, tying it up with string as Litten used Double Kick, completely toppling it over.

I admired the teamwork that the three Pokemon showed. With time, the dummy started to show signs of breakage. "Woah, okay, that's enough!" Liv said. "Kyohei, we have enough documentation of their moves. Thanks again for all your help!"

"What was all the ruckus?" Someone asked behind us.

Captain August appeared, taking in the view.

I bowed. Liv answered for us: "Captain, we were documenting the different moves that the new Pokemon we caught were. So far we have Bite-"

"Yes, yes, I clearly heard it," August interrupted. "Could you try to keep it down? I've had a complaint that the noise was making it too hard for someone to take a nap."

We both nodded. "Won't happen again, Captain," I said.

He walked away.

Liv turned to me. "Oh, look, the sun's setting. I'd call it a day if I were you."

"Sure," I said. "I could use some shut-eye…"

Liv picked up his sketchbook. "I'll be in my office if you need anything. Good night, Kyohei." He left the field.

I recalled my Pokemon and headed back to get some sleep.

I hit the sack and fell asleep almost immediately.

I dreamt that I was in Lostlorn Forest.

The layout was still vivid in my head, despite me only remembering a bit of it. Regardless, I explored the forest, feeling a chill down my back.

I didn't hear anything, but the lack of sound made it scary. In the forest back in the Driftveil Plateau, I could at least hear the sounds of Sewaddle and Combee… here, it was just completely silent.

It was dark… So dark. The trees blocked all light. I was struggling to move. I didn't know what I was looking for, but my body felt an urge to just… go. 

It felt cold, so cold-

And then, every hair on my body stood up. I jumped out of the way just in time as a bolt of lightning hit the spot where I was almost instantly. I would have been fried if I didn't move fast enough.

Even though it was lightning, it felt strangely cold…

Something roared again. It was the same thing I heard last night in my other dream - only louder. I covered my ears, but the volume made my head shake. Everything shook. In fact…

I woke up. I didn't want to, but everything was shaking. Then it stopped.

It was surely just a coincidence, right?

I opened the door and went outside.

Captain August was standing right in the middle of the outpost. He was wearing clothes more fit for winter, with a thick yellow coat and red-and-blue earmuffs.

I felt the cold the second I opened the door. It wasn't snowing… yet.

"Captain? What's going on?"

Captain August noticed me, but kept his eyes on the clouds, darker and thicker than usual. "This isn't a normal winter. This might be one of the legends I've heard before."

"Legends? Captain, what's happening?"

"I have a suspicion, and I'm really hoping it isn't true."

August gulped. He turned towards me.

"Kyohei. Have you ever heard of Kyurem?"

Chapter Text

"I… can't say I have, Captain."

"Consider yourself lucky," August said. A cold breeze blew through the air, making me shiver. 

"Let's hope this is just a normal winter. If this is what I think it is…" He saw my expression. "Don't worry, Kyohei. Uh… I think the Professor might need help."

He asked me to go to his office, but in truth I think he just needed some quiet. He didn't even turn around as I ran towards the headquarters.

Kyurem… Truth be told, I did know some legends about it. I didn't want to say it, though. I didn't know why, but part of me thought something would go wrong. 

Kyurem, the Boundary Pokemon. Its power was overwhelmingly strong, but kept in check by the extreme cold it emits. The legends of it were terrifying. If Kyurem was the cause of this cold…

I tried to reassure myself, to tell myself that it was just winter, that nothing bad was happening. Before I knew it, I was already in Liv's office. I must've zoned out.

Liv didn't seem to notice me. He was looking at one of the past sketches he made. 

"Professor?" I said, making him flinch.

"Kyohei! I didn't expect you to be awake so soon!" 

"Well, I kinda got woken up by the earthquake…"

Liv raised an eyebrow. "Earthquake?"

I told him about my dream, and how my house continued shaking after I woke up.

Liv shook his head. "If there was an earthquake, there would have been a lot more commotion. Your nerves are probably just fried."

Then he thought about the rest of my dream. "A bolt of lightning, cold to the touch… A roar sounding like three monsters at once." He closed his eyes and muttered what I could assume was a prayer. "Hopefully, it was just a dream."

Liv picked up his sketchbook. "Let's get your mind off it. There's nothing we can do about the winter; best not to dwell on it." He showed me a page.

"How about you and I try and catch a Charmander?" Liv proposed.

I blinked. " That's a Charmander? "

"Yes? I'm not sure how to answer that?" His voice gave me the idea that he thought I'd never seen a Charmander before. I have, but not the one I was currently looking at.

The Charmander I knew was smaller. It didn't have the markings on its tail and eye, had a uniformly orange color, and at the tip of its tail was a flame… not a firework.

Liv must've picked up on my expression. "This Charmander seems to differ from other Charmander due to the conditions of Unova, as opposed to the ones it's used to from other regions."

"So, like a regional form?"

"I'm glad you understand," Liv said. He closed the sketchpad. "Follow me."

As we left the headquarters, I noticed it began to snow. Normally, I would've liked it, but after the dream I had, I was eager to stay well away from anything cold. I noticed the residents of the outpost didn't seem to notice anything wrong. Probably the only ones who were suspicious were me, Professor Liv, and Captain August.

Instead of going towards Driftveil Plateau, we headed south. 

"Strangely," Liv remarked to pass time, "The Castelia Marshlands are home to a few Fire-type and Electric-type Pokemon. I've yet to discover why."

The cold of Nimbasa was contrasted with the heat of the desert just south of it. It was quite jarring to feel. As we walked through the desert, Liv started to cough. I couldn't blame him; there was a sandstorm. It wasn't bad enough for vision to be obscured, but I had to be careful so the stuff didn't enter my eyes.

I ended up having to squint my eyes to protect them from the sand, which was a mistake, as I couldn't see what I was stepping on and ended up tripping on a rock.

"Ow!" I blurted out.

The rock cried out in return.

…

Wait, what?

What looked like a hermit crab came out of the rock. It was orange, with large, sharp pincers. It looked angry.

I took out Sewaddle's Poke Ball and threw it. Sewaddle appeared. The two bugs locked eyes.

Dwebble struck first. It lunged at Sewaddle and slashed with its pincer, Sewaddle barely dodging the strike.

"Sewaddle, Bug Bite!"

Sewaddle opened its mouth to attack, but Dwebble retreated into its rock shell. The bite missed it, grazing the shell.

"Kyohei, Dwebble won't expect it! Catch it!" Liv said. 

I nodded, throwing a Poke Ball at it, just as it came out of its shell to attack Sewaddle.

The Poke Ball hit it right on its shell. Dwebble went into the ball, and it fell on the sand.

As steam came out of the ball, Sewaddle readied itself if Dwebble managed to escape. Luckily, it didn't, and a small firework came out, signifying a successful catch. Sewaddle smiled.

"Good job, Sewaddle," I said. I knelt down and pet the Pokemon. "You did great." I called it back into its Poke Ball.

Liv smiled. "I never fail to be surprised at how adept you are with Pokemon, Kyohei."

"Trust me, Professor, it's nothing," I chuckled. "Really."

We left the desert rather quickly after that, the sand only entering my eyes twice. I wondered when safety goggles would be invented.

When we arrived at the marsh, we saw Amos looking at the horizon. Next to him was a young woman in a long white dress. Her green hair tucked neatly in a ponytail made her look serene.

"Amos!" I exclaimed. "How are you?"

Amos turned around. He said something neither me nor Liv could hear. He seemed to realize this, and shouted, "Come over here!"

Liv and I walked towards the two.

Amos pointed towards the woman. "There's a small village here, where this girl comes from. Her name's Thea."

Thea smiled and waved at me. I bowed. "I'm Kyohei. Nice to meet you."

Liv reached out his hand. She shook it. "Professor Liv Harmonia. Pleasure to meet you!"

Thea let go. "Kyohei." Her voice was soft, but firm.

I looked at her. "What is it?"

"What do you think of Pokemon?"

The question came out of nowhere, but I tried to answer it as best as I could. "Well… they're pretty dangerous, but I think if we can document them, we can get to know them better."

"I see." Thea said. "Amos told me the same thing. What about you, Professor?"

Liv crossed his arms. "I could say the same thing. Pokemon are dangerous; you can look at my face and determine why I think that. Still, I believe that humans and Pokemon can coexist."

Thea nodded. "Fascinating." She looked at me. "So, you're the one who fell from the sky? The one Amos was talking about?"

I nodded. 

She looked away and back at the horizon. A breeze started to blow. Something fell on my hand. When I looked at it, my eyes widened.

Thea must've noticed. "That's strange… it almost never snows here."

But it was. It was slow, sure, but one couldn't deny that it was snowing.

Liv locked eyes with me. Don't tell them , he seemed to say. Don't make them worry. How he managed to convey that, I wasn't sure, but I know that was what he was trying to say.

"So," Liv said to break the silence, "Kyohei and I are going to be finding a Charmander. Have either of you seen one near the marsh?"

Amos and Thea shook their heads. "They never show up where humans are," Thea said. "They're scared of us."

"Which is why we do this," I answered. "If we can treat Pokemon correctly through learning more about them, we can help each other. We don't have to be scared of them; they don't have to be scared of us."

"I couldn't have said it better, Kyohei," Liv said. "In an ideal world, we can coexist together. In times like these, we must hold on to our ideals. It's the only way we can make progress."

He coughed. "Regardless, we should find a Charmander."

We headed further inland.

It was snowing more. If it got too cold, the Charmander might not show up out in the open. It is a Fire type, after all…

I heard footsteps coming from behind us. I turned around to find Thea.

"I'll come too," she said. "I might be able to help."

"Sure!" I said.

We kept walking. The heavy snow was accompanied by a soft sound, a bit like a song. It sounded oddly familiar to the one I saw in the outpost.

Liv shivered. He probably disliked the cold just as much as I did. Meanwhile, Thea didn't mind the cold at all. 

We didn't see much of note. The marshlands were home to a wide variety of Pokemon, but I didn't see a Charmander anywhere. Maybe it really didn't want to go outside, because of the cold.

I tried to be careful where I stepped so I didn't get covered in mud and peat. Thea did the same thing, but wasn't as lucky. Her dress was a bit dirtied.

We kept looking for a Charmander, but I didn't see one at all. All I saw for miles were Oddish and Ferroseed. 

Over time, my hopes began to dwindle. Maybe the Charmander wasn't here after all. I tried to look, but still didn't see anything.

I didn't hear anything. From the drawing I saw, it looked like the end of Charmander's tail was a firework, rather than a flame. All I heard though was the wind, my footsteps, vines slowly growing to grab onto my leg…

Wait… What?

I couldn't move my leg. Something was grabbing it… Something in the grass. 

Liv looked behind him to check the noise I was causing. His eyes widened. "Kyohei, look out! "

I turned around and saw a ball of sludge coming right at me. I ended up taking off my shoe and diving to the right so I wouldn't get hit. Some sludge still hit my shirt, though, covering it with violet gunk.

From the grass, a rose-like Pokemon came out. Its hair was made of white petals, and held a bouquet of roses in each hand: one red, and one blue. It had yellow feet, and red eyes staring daggers at me. 

It looked like it was about to use Sludge Bomb again. Thinking fast, I chucked a Poke Ball right at it. It entered the Poke Ball and it fell into the grass. As steam erupted out of the ball, I half hoped it would stay, but it didn't look like it was going to. Once the Roserade broke out, I sent out Litten.

Roserade tried to disregard Litten and ran towards me, but Litten used Fire Fang, biting it on its left arm and burning several of the roses in its bouquet. Roserade kicked Litten away and jumped backwards, out of the grass, which was now starting to burn a bit.

"Litten, use Ember!" I said. Litten pounced and spewed flames at the Roserade. It just barely grazed the ember, but part of its hair was caught. It put it out, leaving its white petals a bit more gray. Roserade retaliated, and used Absorb. It attacked Litten and drained it of energy, taking it for itself. Its charred bouquet was beginning to recover a bit.

As the two battled, Liv sneaked up behind Roserade, clutching a Poke Ball. As Roserade gathered leaves around it to attack Litten - Leaf Storm, if I saw it correctly - Liv struck Roserade from behind. Catching it off guard, it went into the Poke Ball and fell onto the ground.

Steam burst, as Litten readied itself…

Caught. " That's how it's done, Kyohei."

I noticed Thea frozen in place. When I made eye contact with her, she seemed to realize it was safe and walked over. "Are you alright, Kyohei?"

"Yeah," I said, "I'll be fine. Might need new clothes, though."

Liv patted me on the shoulder. "I'll get you some new clothes once we're back. They'll look far better than what you're wearing right, now, I'd say."

I smiled. I looked back at Thea, who was sitting down looking at Litten.

I came over. Thea looked like she'd just got done with a conversation, which seemed strange.

"What'd Litten say about me?" I said jokingly.

Thea frowned. The joke probably wasn't very funny. "He said that your 

outfit couldn't be worse. Once you two get your Charmander, you should change immediately."

I chuckled. Litten walked over to Thea and purred. Thea scratched behind his ear.

As Litten mewed in relief, Thea nodded. It was like the Pokemon was talking to her, if you looked at it from the outside.

Thea looked at me for a second, then back at Litten. She stood up and wiped some dirt off her dress. 

I recalled Litten back in his Poke Ball and went over to Liv, who was drawing a sketch of the Roserade. He said words of encouragement as Roserade made different kinds of poses. 

He turned around. "Let's keep going?"

I nodded. I gestured for Thea to follow us. We kept walking, Liv's Roserade staying out of its Poke Ball to act as a bodyguard of some sort. My right foot felt weird, walking around without a shoe. Hopefully once we got back, I could get a new pair.

It was snowing less. The clouds parted a bit, allowing more sunlight to come through. Hopefully, that would mean we could see the Charmander sooner.

After around another half hour of looking, we heard a loud pop! noise coming from somewhere. "That sounds a lot like a Charmander," Liv said. He asked Roserade to go to where the sound came from. Roserade ran to the origin, and Liv gestured for us to follow him.

We went up a small hill, and at the top, Roserade was hiding in a patch of grass. It seemed to tell us to hide too, so I crouched down into the grass. Liv and Thea did, too. I peered over the hill to find the Charmander setting a tree ablaze. It lifted up its tail and fired a small rocket at the tree. It exploded, causing a larger fire and probably causing a sonic boom. It was painfully loud.

Liv looked at me. "We need a distraction so we can get closer to that Charmander."

"The heck you want me to do?" I  asked. "Run straight at it screaming?" 

"No, no. It would probably work, to be fair, but I wouldn't want to subject you to that." Liv told us the plan.

Charmander ran over to a different tree and began attacking it. At the same time, I sneaked over the hill, trying not to make a sound and let the Charmander notice me. While I was trying to sneak up behind the Pokemon, Liv's Roserade went up to the Charmander, acting flustered.

As I got closer, I slowly managed to see them interact more clearly. Charmander noticed Roserade coming towards it and bared its fangs. Roserade put its arms up in a sort of I come in peace gesture and came slowly forward. It saw me and tried to stall for time.

I got closer, watching my steps, trying not to step on something and provoke the Charmander. Roserade finally approached it. Not knowing what to do next, it forced itself to blush. Roserade took a deep breath and plucked one of the roses from its bouquet and gave it to Charmander.

Charmander took a step back in surprise. It probably wasn't expecting the gesture. As Charmander reached out to receive the rose, I threw a Poke Ball at it, hitting Charmander square in the back of its neck. 

The Poke Ball fell into the grass. Roserade readied itself, a green orb of energy starting to appear as steam came out of the Poke Ball.

Luckily, the fireworks coming out of it signified a successful catch.

I picked up the Poke Ball. "Nice job, Roserade!"

Roserade closed its eyes, putting its arms to its hips in triumph.

Liv and Thea ran over. "Send it out!" Liv said.

I tossed the Poke Ball, calling out the Charmander. It came out of the ball staring at me with an annoyed expression.

"Uh… sorry?" I said.

Charmander sighed. It turned around to look at Roserade. It picked up the rose that was dropped on the ground and held it up. Roserade pretended not to notice.

"Come on, Roserade, be nice!" Liv said. Roserade came up to Liv and showed him its cape, seeming like it was emphasizing something about it.

Thea looked at it. "Roserade says it's a male. If you look at his cape, it's a bit shorter than usual. Maybe that's why he's having some problems."

Thea walked over to Charmander. As she sized it up, Charmander smiled and lowered its head. Thea patted it.

"Charmander's also a male," she deciphered.

Liv laughed. "Must've been quite the trouble for Roserade to do." He sighed in triumph. "Well, we got what we came for! Feeling better, Kyohei?"

"Well, I'll probably be," I answered, "Once I get a new change of clothes."

Thea smiled. "You seem to have a great bond with Pokemon, Kyohei."

I nodded. "Thanks, Thea. I'm also kinda surprised that you understand so much about Pokemon. Like, how you managed to get what Roserade was saying."

Thea looked away from me. "It's… nothing." She muttered something under her breath, then looked back at us. "Well, shall we go back?"

"Yeah," I said. "Plus, it's getting kind of dark." Looking at the sky, it wasn't really, but the sun was still beginning to set. It was going to get dark eventually , anyway.

We headed back. We encountered a family of Cottonee that pestered us a bit, but Charmander and Roserade managed to shoo them away. The rest of the trip was a breeze.

While we were walking, the snow had practically stopped. I was glad. I hoped that the fact it was snowing today was just a coincidence, and it seemed true. 

At last, we made it back to where we first saw Amos and Thea. Amos was nowhere to be found; he probably left a while ago.

Thea looked back at me and Liv and bowed. "I must be going now. You two will come visit every once in a while, right?"

"Of course," Liv said. "It's been a pleasure to be with you, ma'am."

Liv and Thea shook hands again, and she left.

"Come on, Kyohei." Liv said. "If we run into another Dwebble, we'd still have Roserade and Charmander protecting us."

Unexpectedly, we didn't see any Dwebble. The sandstorm wasn't raging as bad as it was earlier in the day, but I wasn't taking any chances. Before long, we managed to leave the desert. Liv recalled Roserade and instructed me to do the same with Charmander.

Heading back to the outpost, I went into August's headquarters and into his office. 

"Goodness, Kyohei, what on Earth happened to you?" August asked.

I probably looked like a mess. There was sludge and dirt on my shirt, blades of grass on my legs, and I was even missing a shoe. "Stuff. Do we have any spare clothes…? Please?"

August got fresh clothes and told me to put them on once I got back to my house. I thanked him and left.

When I got back, I changed almost immediately. I was glad to finally have new clothes. A white shirt and beige slacks, with green shoes. There was also a lab coat in the outfit, which I would probably wear when helping out the Professor. I set it on my desk. Feeling immensely tired, I laid down on my bed and immediately went to sleep.

The dream I had was at least less cold than the others. It actually started off quite normal. I was standing in the middle of Driftveil Plateau, hearing the ambience of the trees, the air, and the Pokemon around me. I heard the same song-like breeze I heard a few times. I tensed up a bit, readying myself for the inevitable dream-going-wrong cliche, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. At least depending on your standards. Out of the trees, Virizion came out of the forest. It looked around, seeming to sense something. The Pokemon in the plateau stopped in their tracks, looking at Virizion. The Pokemon narrowed its eyes. It looked skyward and roared. 

It might've been my imagination, but two - no, maybe three - roars answered it, the roars coming from far, far away.