Waking up in a hospital bed was probably never a good thing. Even worse was not understanding how they got there. And even worse than that was immediately realizing they had no clue what was going on.

They knew the basics. The place they were in was a Pokemon Center - equipped to handle injuries of both pokemon and, to an extent, humans. So they must have been injured somehow. Next, the thing on the table beside them as they painfully sat up was a trainer ID, with what they assumed was their face on it. They were extremely pale, their hair short, brown, and fluffy, and their eyes… red. Oh boy. It didn't look familiar, and neither did the name - "Chara." But… why else would it be next to them?

It's not like they remembered much of anything anyway. That was concerning.

There was a bag next to the ID, that they grabbed and rummaged through. Six pokeballs with names on them - Eugenie, Freya, Atlas, Marina, Ares, Themis. No clue what the pokemon inside were based on names alone, but now probably wasn't the best time to check. There was also a badge case with a single badge inside, a pokedex, a scribbled note with a word on it that was labeled "PC," and a pokegear. Only two numbers on it, both… famous professors? The map app said they were in Violet City.

Nothing to go off of in terms of what happened to them. Great. They'd have to wait for a nurse or - speak of the devil, as they were stuffing the pokegear back into their bag, the door to their room opened, and in walked a nurse. "Oh," she said, looking up at them from her clipboard, "you're finally awake! How do you feel?"

"Like I was hit by a truck," they confessed immediately, shoving the bag back on the table. "What happened to me, exactly?"

"A battle gone wrong, supposedly." She looked back down at her clipboard, flipping through a few pages, before explaining, "You were brought in about three days ago by a young redhead trainer. They refused to disclose their name or relationship to you, but they seemed really worried. They haven't been back since, and you've been out since you got here."

So the circumstances of them ending up here, even, were left a mystery to them. They didn't mention the amnesia, even as the nurse examined them, wondering if it would help anything if they did. They'd have to stay at least forty-eight hours to make sure nothing was wrong, and then they could leave. So they were stuck in this room until then. The nurse, upon exiting, made a pretty helpful suggestion however: "You should release your pokemon for a bit. They're probably very worried about you, you know!"

Right. The pokemon. Chara reached into the bag to pick out a ball, bringing it out to reveal the name - "Ares." Upon pressing the button, the ball lit up, releasing a fairly small Cynaquil, who immediately seemed to look at its trainer with concern as it let out a quiet, "Quil?"

"...hi there, Ares," they said, petting his head with a small smile. "D'you know how I got into this mess?" The small pokemon tilted its head at them, and they sighed. This was going to be a long couple of days, by the looks of it.

The list of names came down to this: Ares, the Cyndaquil, who upon being released refused to go back in his pokeball, choosing to stay with Chara. He seemed to realize something was off, but they didn't want to break the little thing's heart. Eugenie, the Geodude, who was quiet and for some reason absolutely insisted that Chara hold her in their arms. Considering she was literally a rock this was easier said than done. Freya, the Mareep, was also pretty quiet, but restless. Upon being released after a few days, she kept wandering about the room and… trying to eat blankets. And their pants, at one point. Atlas, the Pidgey, was a bit clumsy in his flight and caused a bit of injury trying to land on Chara's head, only to cuddle them afterward trying to make sure they were okay - this, among everything else, somehow felt familiar. Marina, the Tentacool, only stayed out briefly as there was no water around. However, she did use her tentacles to hug the poor confused trainer, and almost fell asleep wrapped around Chara. This… also felt familiar. And finally, Themis, the Togepi… who made a mad dash for the door as soon as he got out, not concerned at all for its trainer's wellbeing. Ares was the one who went after Themis, only for the little shit to try starting a fight. Chara realized rather quickly it was best to leave him in his pokeball until they were well enough to deal with him.

So, most of the pokemon were… basic. Ares and Themis aside, Chara figured they'd caught all the others along the way to this town. If they knew Professor Elm, according to their phone, they may have come from New Bark Town… On day two, they called each professor on their list. Oak didn't pick up at all, but Elm's phone was answered by an assistant.

"Chara…? The name doesn't sound familiar. How do you know the professor?"

"I'm not sure," they admitted, staring at their trainer ID as they spoke, "but his number was in my phone. I ended up getting injured during a battle, apparently, and I don't really recall some things. Would giving my ID number help?"

"Let me run it, and I'll give you a call back."

After giving the assistant the number, they couldn't help but ask, "Does this mean I can't talk to the professor?"

"I'll ask him if he knows you. If he insists, he'll call you back, but otherwise I can at least get back to you on whether or not you're one of our registered trainers." That was a start. Chara thanked them for their time and hung up, but as soon as they had it started ringing again. "Unknown Number" lit up the screen, and they narrowed their eyes for a moment before deciding to answer it.

"Hello?"

...nothing. There was only silence on the other line. They repeated their greeting, and still met by silence ended up hanging up. Probably just spam. Automated messages trying to sell potions or something? Who knew. Only… a few seconds later, it rang again. Same "unknown number" screen showing up. They answered it immediately, starting with, "Listen, either give your pitch or I'll block your number-"

"Chara?"

The voice on the other end brought on some… emotion. They weren't sure how to describe it, or even if it was good or bad. "Conflicted" was the word that came to mind. "That's… me. Who is this?"

"Who…? Ah… I…" The person on the other line paused, and when they continued their tone went from hesitant to understanding, as they seemingly realized, "Wrong number…" Before Chara could say anything else, saying no, they were probably Chara - the phone clicked. They'd hung up. Chara tried to go and call them back, but the "unknown number" on the caller ID didn't actually give the number. Of… f-cking… course… Slamming the phone down on the bedside table, they couldn't help but mutter a curse, and the Cyndaquil who had fallen asleep being pet looked up at them with a tired "Quil…?"

"Ah… Sorry, Ares. Go back to sleep, pal." He nuzzled their hand for a moment, happily replying "quil~" before moving to crawl into their lap. He was so warm… it was a bit comforting, despite all the anxiety that was piling up. They'd have to figure things out on their own, they figured, until the lab got back to them. Where to start, though…?

Thinking back to the badge… they must've been doing their League challenge? Going back to the gym was probably a good next step, since they already had a badge. If that failed, perhaps they could return to the lab in New Bark Town physically…

No matter what the case, they had to remember how they got here. They had to find the redhaired trainer. They just had to wait a bit longer.

A/N: Lame introductory chapter with a reason! Hello, this is a… sort of special Nuzlocke. Not in terms of rules, but circumstances - my brother-in-law found a copy of HeartGold that had just passed the first gym. None of the pokemon were named, so I had to give them names after the fact, but the protagonist was named "Chara" so it felt like destiny. I have no idea the events that got them to this point, but I wanted to start something with it. So let's hope for the best, including a long journey together! I also want to note that as I'm starting with six pokemon right off the bat, there will be temporary handicaps in place so as not to be cheating.