Chapter One: Awakening
Sounds of waves surround him. He opens his eyes, slowly, his throat dry. The sun strong on his skin. Weak and in pain. Someone is speaking at a short distance away. Some mumbling, a few voices, they get closer. He feels cold fingers suddenly, on his neck, the soft touch triggering a burning sensation throughout his body. "He's alive!" The voice of a young man says, this time clear and full of despair. "Be careful how you touch him, his skin looks battered" another voice says close by, this one belonging to an older man. Sirens...I can hear sirens coming. Are they for me? "What happened to you, light?" The younger man whispers. "Back away, they're here!" I want to open my eyes, I want to wake up, I ...just can't, I just need to sleep. There is only silence now.
I hear an echo. Distant voices again. One drowns out the others though...it's a woman...she's screaming. The other voices are getting louder now...another woman...two of them...three? No, I hear men to, everyone is screaming, I can hear the ocean...why can't I see anything, it's all black. Try to focus on the sounds, they're everywhere, movement, everywhere. A howl from above sends a shiver down my arms and back. It sounds massive, angry, some kind of creature, it seems hurt. Someone's grabbing my arms, they're hugging me now, they're speaking to me, I can't make out any words, it's all distorted. Everything is fading, losing myself again. A low beep is all that is left in the darkness.
He opens his eyes slowly, his sight is blurry, he can hear phones ringing nearby and that same faint, continuous beep. Was it a dream? He's laying on a large bed surrounded by a snow white curtain. A sharp burning pain comes from his arms. "What..is this"? He says in a dry, raspy voice, the saliva in his mouth almost non existent. The words themselves feel as if they're tearing through his throat. He tries pushing himself up with his hands, but fails, his arms wobbling, weak and frail.
As his sight becomes clearer, he sees his legs under some white sheets. His brown hair, long and frizzy, covering his sight slightly. The faint ding is louder and faster now as he comes more into consciousness. "What is this?! He begins to repeat. "What's going on?!" He rips out the IV in his arm and moans in severe pain. "Hey, hey you're okay!" A soft voice says nearby. A nurse slides open the curtain surrounding his bed. He starts breathing heavily, eyes wide open in a panic. "You're okay, take deep breaths" she says placing her hand on his chest. "What are you doing?" "Take your hand off me!" "Where am I?!" He smacks her hand away and grips the handles of the hospital bed tightly, trying to breath. A plethora of emotions flood his mind at full speed. "You need to calm down, take deep breaths" the nurse trying everything she can to comfort him.
The air suddenly feels as if it's leaving his lungs. He inhales deeply, let's go of the handlebars and falls back into the bed unconscious. Everything once again fading back to black. A euphoria engulfs him in his silent darkness. He is floating now. The familiar waves surround him, his body moving with their current. I'm okay.
"Sweetie?" a woman's voice asks, almost a whisper, waking the lost boy. He opens his eyes, his head feeling a thousand pounds. This time only slight pain. The nurse beside him is smiling holding a large glass of water. He snatches it from her and chugs it down, water dripping from the corners of his mouth. "Slowly sweetie, slowly!" He downs the glass and looks up at her. "How are you feeling?" He attempts to clear his throat and rubs his head. "Ah.." he wince's. "Careful!" "You're severely sunburned, try not to move to much or touch your face okay?" He looks at her confused. "My name is Lucy, can you tell me yours?" He looks down at the sheets trying to remember…"M-Max?" "Max?" She repeats, asking him for confirmation. "I…yes." He shakes his head, grabs the empty glass and lifts it up in front of him, his weak arm shaking. She smiles and grabs him a refill.
"Well it's nice to meet you Max, can you tell me a little of what you remember before coming here?" "I don't know, I can't remember" he says wiping his mouth after finishing his second glass. "Where are your parents, where's home?" He shuts his eyes tightly trying to pull anything, he looks back at her shaking his head, despair in his eyes. "What does this mean?" His voice cracking. "I...I don't know who I am!" "You know your name, that's a start" she says in a soft, comforting voice. "Your body has gone through some significant trauma, I'm sure this is temporary, don't stress about it, rest." The door to the room opens "Chansey!" It says walking in, pushing in a kart containing some vitamins and more water. "That's a Chansey?" Max asks enchanted by its presence. Nurse Lucy smiles, "well, you can remember the names of Pokémon, that's a very good sign."
"What trauma have I gone through?" "Where in the world am I ?" "Well…" She looks over at the large glass window looking into the room from the main hall. A tall bearded man stands, hands crossed against his chest, leaning against the wall looking in. "I'll have detective Holland explain Max, he's been wanting to talk to you for a while now...the entire world does actually." "What does that mean?" "Not now sweetie, rest, you have some burns throughout your body that need lots of healing so be careful, I'll be right back." She closes the blinds of the large glass window, blinding the man outside.
After a few hours, a knock comes from the door, the tall man from before walks in. He's middle aged, in shape, thick white beard and pearl white, combed over hair. He has on a white button up tucked into his beige pants. He opens a small window in the opposite side of the room; a flock of Wingull fly by. The smell of the ocean air fills the room. "How're you feeling sport?" He asks, his voice deep. Max remains silent, wary of the mysterious detective.
The man sits on a chair beside Max's bed. "My name is H…" "Detective Holland" Max interrupts. "The nurse told me, I'm assuming you know my name is Max." "He speaks!" "Hahaha, that's right I do." "Good, can you please tell me where I am and what I'm doing here?" "You're asking me why your here?" Holland repeats still chuckling. Max stares at him with a helpless rage. "Okay now, don't get to worked up." "You are in a hospital in Cherrygrove city." "Cherry…?" Max thinks, pulling nothing from his memory of such city. "I've never heard of it." "It's a small city in the Johto region, that's where you are now." "You were found by a farmer and his grandson on a small beach nearby about two weeks ago, you've been in and out for those two weeks, in fact, this is the first time you're actually having a conversation with anyone without being in a complete panic." Max's eyes race around the room, his breathing starting to get faster. "I can't remember my parents or my friends or even a home, I can't even remember my last name!" "What am I going to do, is it going to come back?!" Holland raises his large hand in Max's face and snaps his fingers. "Relax!" "We're going to figure it out, your safe now."
He leans back in his chair and scratches his long white beard. He takes a Pokeball off his belt and taps it, expanding it, a light pours out into Max's bed revealing a red shell. Max looks at it and back at him confused.
A shiny, round, blue head slowly pops out. "A Squirtle?" The Pokémon stands up and stares at Max before jumping into his arms. It hugs tightly rubbing its face on his chest. The pain from the sunburn is harsh, Max endures it, hugging the Pokémon back. The embrace fills him with an overwhelming warmth. Oddly enough, it's the first time since he's awoken that he's felt...safe. Holland smiles. "We found this little guy with you along with a few others." Squirtle let's go and sits by Max, continuing to stare at it's friend. "It was the only one in good shape, mostly because being around the ocean comes natural for it, the others need some rest and care, they're at the Pokémon center now, you'll see them shortly."
"People have the right to know!" A voice yells out from outside the room. Max can see two security guards whisk away a man yelling towards the room. He looks back at Holland, concerned.
"You're pretty famous around here" he shrugs closing the door. "Who was that?" "A journalist, I'm assuming, one that found a way in." "What do they wanna know?" Holland chuckles, "your story, it's fascinating!" "These journalists and bloggers will do anything to get it first." "What story?" "Max, you were lost out at sea for who knows how long!" "We find you washed up on a beach with nothing to identify where you came from then you finally wake up with amnesia, you can't make this stuff up." Max sinks in his bed. "Oh hey c'mon now, it's very interesting, but of course we'll be taking our time with everything and make sure to give you the time you need."
"I've put your picture out everywhere, we've been searching, but no one has come forward claiming to know any information about you, it's a bit of a waiting game now." "We can't quite figure out how you ended up on that beach, the only logical thing that comes to mind is you must have been on a boat that sank, but there hasn't been any reports of that happening anywhere in Johto." "How has no one come to find me?!" "How can I not have a friend or family member anywhere?!" Holland scratches the back of his neck with no answer. "Maybe I don't have any…" Max says softly to himself, losing himself to his own words. Squirtle tugs at his shirt with a concerned expression on its face. It yells out trying to communicate with him. He stares in its eyes as it explains. Max rests his hand on its smooth head, "you know if I do don't you?" "You know me." "Doesn't matter though I guess, it's been what two weeks you said since I was found and brought here?" "If I had someone somewhere, that cared, they'd be here." "I was a lone Lycanroc with no pack." He says trying to cheer himself up, his short lived smile now fading. "Remembering the names of the Pokémon you see is a really good thing." Holland says standing up from the chair. Max lays down and turns away from him on his side. "You still need time to heal, it'll all get figured out, just make sure you don't leave the hospital until it does." After a few seconds, the door shuts, Holland leaves. Max silently cries under the covers, Squirtle curls up next to him and pops back into its shell.
A few days later, Max awakens feeling a warm sensation on his cheek, he scratches it and turns on his opposite side. Again, the sensation now on his other cheek. He wipes it with his arm, "Ah!" He yells out from the burning pain it causes. He opens his eyes to a small tongue dragging up his cheek. He pops up in his bed. "Eevee?" The Pokemon jumps in place a few times before running up to him and cozying up on his lap, alongside Squirtle. "He lives!" A voice yells out. Max grabs his chest, the loud voice startling him. "Oh dude, I totally didn't mean to scare ya." An older gentlemen with glasses and a white beard twice the length of Holland's stands at the foot of his bed. He's wearing a mustard yellow vest and khakis with a black bowler hat and cane. Another person steps out from behind him, this one younger, hair a messy blonde color, shoulder length. He's wearing a white tank top and black swim tights. The younger one walks to Max's bedside, "looking a lot better there light!" He says softly punching Max's shoulder. "OH MY F….!" "Sorry, oh dude I'm so sorry!" The sincerity is clear in his tone, but fails to cover up the laugh he's trying to hold back.
Max takes a second to pull back the tears of pain. "Light?" Max asks. "It's a term of endearment…this is my grandson Dylan, I am Mr. Burke." "Nice to meet you Burke." "MR. Burke" he reiterates loudly. "Pop c'mon" Dylan puts his hand on his shoulder hinting to his grandfather to lighten up. "Light is a beautiful thing in this life man, with many meanings." "You are a miracle, you shouldn't have been alive how we found ya, but you were, that's a miracle, that's a light." Max nods his head somewhat understanding. "The end kinda threw me.." Mr. Burke clears his throat loudly. "We found you on the beach and wanted to check up on you."
The farmer and his grandson Holland was talking about Max thinks back. "I don't even know what to say, but...thank you, I most likely wouldn't be here had it not been for you guys finding me." "No problem light, so the news is saying you can't remember a thing huh?" Max rolls his eyes, sighing. "Not a thing, I've been trying these past few days, doing exercises the nurses keep recommending for me to do, but nothing, just my name."
A wet prickly substance on Max's back freezes him in place. It slowly makes its way up his back. "What's on my back?!" "What's on my back?!" Dylan peaks, "it's just a Pokémon dude." "WHAT?!" The substance makes its way to his shoulder sending a shiver down his spine. "It's…" Max says finding the words. "A Wurmple." Dylan says backing away in fear of the bug type. "A Wurmple, yea but it's purple?" "Yes, beautiful coat on that one" Mr. Burke says adjusting his glasses. "Not the word I'd use" Dylan says from a distance, "thing has like a hundred legs all just moving, pushing it slowly along, all slimey...ugh." Max unphased by the type uses his index finger to rub the side of Wurmple's face, amused by Dylan's reaction. Dylan dry heaves walking to the door. He coughs a bit before clearing his throat and pointing to the ground in front of the bed. Max leans forward and sees two more Pokémon standing still at a distance.
"That's a Ralts I know that, I'm not sure what the other is called." Ralts peaks up at Max from her tilted head, and quickly drops it back down after making eye contact with him. "Shy huh?" Max asks. "Come here little guy." Ralts keeps its face hidden. He slides his legs off the bed, about to make his way to her. She backs away. "Best take your time with her, she seems to have a few trust issues, that's normal" Burke assures. "The Orange dude doesn't move much unless your really close and when it does, it's to take a bite out of ya." Dylan warns. "It's known as a Trapinch, common in the Hoenn region." Burke clarifies. It stands as still as stone, unfazed as it's spoken about.
"Oh I almost forgot, these were found with you as well." Mr. Burke pulls a bag up from the ground onto a table. He unzips it and carefully pulls out two small eggs. He hands them to Max. They feel smooth, heavy and warm. "Pokémon?" Max asks in excitement. Burke nods with a smile. Eevee begins to sniff all around them. One with a silver coat, the other a faded light blue. "They're both healthy, don't you worry." "You know, it seems as if you were an established trainer, you have quite a diverse team at your disposal." "Yeah" Max says in disbelief.
He's definitely right, one day I'm drowning in loneliness, the next I have a full set of Pokémon with me. "I really can't believe it." Max looks around at each one in awe. "Well listen, I know it will take time for your recovery, you can stay at the farm with us until your situated, it's nothing fancy, chores are a requirement of course, but it'll be just until you're on your feet." "Oh...no B...Mr. Burke I couldn't do that, that's a burden and a half." "I make the decisions on what I choose as my responsibilities, it's already decided." He says with his eyes closed, hands together behind his back. Dylan watches with a smile. A loud gulp can be heard coming from Max's throat in the silence that follows.
"Chansey!" The healing Pokémon walks in pushing a smaller bed with three Pokémon sitting on top. "Are these Pokémon with me to?" Mr. Burke and Dylan glance at each other. "Yes and...no." "You see, all these Pokémon we brought you first, have their Pokeballs, they were found inside them on your belt, these three however, were found out on the beach right along with you, with no Pokeballs assigned to them." "Strange thing is, when scanned with a Pokédex, it shows them as already belonging to a trainer."
A Meditite sits up right on the bed, it's eyes closed and hands together, a small white egg sits on its lap. Suddenly a long thin bed sheet rises off the bed slowly. "Oh nah..." "nope!" Dylan backs up into the wall behind him covering his ears. "I don't do ghosts, I'll take on a Ryhorn over a Gastly any day!" The sheet flies across the room stopping about a few inches from Max's face. He inches backwards terrified, his skin a pale white. It hovers in front of his face as if it were examining it. He shakingly pulls off the sheet. Everyone sighs in relief. A Castform floats up and rubs its cheek against Max's face, "you know me to?" Max laughs and looks back at the small bed, the white egg...no longer just an egg. A small Pokémon stands on the hand railing of the bed staring, meeting Max's stare.
"What kind of Pokémon is that?" He asks. "This little breakfast delight is called Togepi" Dylan says walking over to it. He reaches his arms out to grab it and is met with a karate chop, slamming him face first onto the tile ground. Mr. Burke chuckles, "I warned you Meditite is very protective of it, you can only touch Togepi if it chooses to interact with you first, otherwise Meditite will attack." Togepi runs into Max's arms crying in happiness. He hugs tight and comforts it while keeping an eye on Meditite in the distance who is watching carefully. "I mean no harm, I can't remember a thing, I'd love your help to remember who I am." Max says to it who now closed one eye while in meditation, keeping the other locked on Togepi. "Interesting bodyguard" he says to Togepi, tickling it.
"Dylan, Mr. Burke, thank you, seriously thank you both so much for helping me, checking up on me and bringing all these guys here." "I don't feel as alone now, I can actually start to get to know everyone." "Not a problem, I already asked the nurse to bring two incubator's for the eggs; I left our contact information on the table there if you need anything from us" Mr. Burke says, grabbing his hat, he holds it to his chest and takes a quick bow. "Get better fast Light, we'll hang soon!" Max cracks a smile. "Right on" Dylan says shutting the door behind him. Max looks around, all eyes on him. Friendly faces, others wary and nervous, and some, Max looking at Trapinch, just blank.
A few hours pass, Max snores fast asleep, it's midday. A crowd of people outside the hospital can be heard through the open window. "It's him...I have no idea" a woman's voice says, waking him up. He rubs his eyes making out a woman standing a few feet from his bed holding a phone up to her ear. She wears a small dark red skirt with a black top. A loose tie hangs around her neck. She has on black, knee high boots. Her hair in a high ponyta tail, with her long brown hair falling down to her skirt. "Oh he's up!" "I'm gonna call you back, sweets." She says while chewing gum. She hangs up the phone careful not to damage her long, sharp, red nails. "Hi sweets!" "Excited to see me?!" He blushes, "Who are you?" She giggles. "That's cute, I'm actually intrigued, how'd you do it?" "I mean, we were thorough, you weren't on any manifest, you were nowhere to be seen, was it a plan?" She runs her fingers down her long ponyta tail, chewing her gum, waiting for a response. "Look I can't remember anything on how I got here, okay?" "I don't know if your serious or if this is a game to get some information from me, but I don't have anything for you." "If you're one of those journalist, you can leave now, I got nothing." She stands still, squinting her eyes. She locks them on his, studying them.
"Oh my...you're serious?" "Well what luck." She once again giggles, menacingly. "And here I thought starting in this very dirty, horrid room that I was going to have to destroy this hospital." "Just wipe it off the map." She giggles some more, continuing to play with her hair. "Yeah, funny, I think you should leave." Max points to the door. She sucks her teeth and spins around. "This is not as fun as I thought it would be, but it works out I guess."
She walks to the door and stops right in front of it. "If by chance something does come to mind sweets, remember these words...everyone is gone, you have no one." "Don't get any ideas, just give up, I'm warning you now, okay?" A dark, evil feeling looms over Max after the statement. He waits patiently for her to leave. "What's this?!" She says aloud, poking the incubator of one of the eggs. "Hey, I said leave." Max repeats in a more demanding tone. "It's so cute, did your brother give you this?" Max shakes his head in confusion and anger. "I always wanted to be a mother, children...they disgust me, I couldn't bother with that." She looks over at Max, explaining as if both were partaking in the conversation. "But a Pokémon...I could be a mother." "Leave!" Max gets up from his bed and starts to walk over to her. She stops chewing her gum and looks at him from the corner of her eye.
A shadow inconspicuously hidden in the corner of the room, suddenly starts to move, heading quickly across the wall. Max and the three Pokémon not of his team look on as it stops right beside him and starts to materialize, coming out of the wall.
Max falls backwards on his butt. The all white Pokémon, gets right up to his face, it's eyes large and a dark purple, it terrifies him. The woman giggles. "This is my baby now, okay." "You're nuts" Max whispers to himself. "Think of it as payment for all the mess your brother caused Theory." She backs away slowly with the egg in hand. "No!" Max says reaching his hand out as she disappears out the door. The ghostly Pokémon suddenly expands in size, it's face widening. It's just an illusion Max, it's not real it's just some type of ability, it's a trick. He closes his eyes.
It launches a loud, blood curdling screech just a few feet from his face. The glass of water shatters. The attack is so powerful, a gust of wind fills the room, blowing the sheets on the ground, chairs and tables flip over. Meditite blocks Togepi with its body as things start to slam against the wall. The Pokeballs containing his team are tossed around the room. He covers his ears, curling up into a ball on the floor. He can feel things flying over his head, smashing all around the room. After about a minute, it's now silent. He lifts his hands slowly from his ears and opens his eyes. The apparition is gone, so is the woman.
A few seconds later Holland barges through the door. "What happened?!" He yells. Max, trying to catch his breath, looks behind him through the open door, down the long empty hallway. He puts his hands on his head and then looks back at Holland in shock. "How did you not see her?" "See who?!" Holland asks kneeling down putting his hand on Max's shoulder. "Get off me!" Max stands up straight and backs away from the detective. His confusion quickly turns into one of doubt. A helpless feeling starts to sink in as he stares at the detective. Not only is he now being hunted, he's starting to realize, besides his newly reconnected team, he might be a lot more alone then he thought in this new, frightening reality.
Chapter One ~ End