Thud.

It was an unceremonious beginning, especially considering the magnitude and importance of what was to come. It certainly would have been nice and dramatic if there had been a more impressive noise; a bang, a crackle, perhaps the slow, piercing wail of the universe grinding against itself in a way that's definitely not supposed to happen. But the process was silent, so the only noise to begin this adventure was the thud of Absol hitting the floor.

For a few moments, he lay still, practically unconscious. After a time, he regained his senses somewhat. He then lay still for a longer stretch of time, because all his senses told him was a confusing bundle of conflicting, jarring data that ultimately just made him nauseous.

Eventually, Absol gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand upright. His legs creaked and shook, unwilling to support his weight just yet. He sucked in a few lungfuls of air, trying to clear his head. Thankfully, it was relatively successful, and he felt his mind calm itself, his sharp senses focusing, returning to their usual state.

He opened his red eyes, and his pupils immediately reacted to the light which trickled in the broken windows of the small building he was in. Only natural, since it had been dark when... when...

Absol's gaze unfocused and he exhaled slightly in confusion. What had he just been doing? He didn't seem to be able to recall. He tried to remember.

A panic began to rise in him, first creeping around the edges of his being, then gathering momentum as time passed, before firing powerfully through him, rooting him to the ground. As hard as he tried – and in his increasing desperation, he was trying very hard – he couldn't remember a single thing about his past. He couldn't remember what he had been doing five years ago, or five days ago, or even five minutes ago. Beyond when he struck the ground a few moments ago, his mind was empty.

What followed were a few moments of aimless fear and panic, which Absol mostly spent huddled in the corner of the large room he found himself in. Given that little progress was made on Absol's part during this time, now would be as good a time as any to describe his surroundings. He was indoors, in what was once someone's home. There was only one room, which contained a door to outside, a desk with a computer, and a large machine spanning the back wall.

However, the building was in a state of considerable disrepair. The door was still in its frame, but the hinges seemed to be broken, the door leaning lifelessly against its frame. The desk was upturned, and the monitor lay on the floor, its screen shattered. The actual computer itself wasn't in the room. The machine was large and sturdy, and so remained in one piece, but it was clear that no-one had touched it in a long time. In fact, that was true of the entire house – it was obviously abandoned, left dilapidated.

It was after a few minutes of fruitless anxiety that Absol hit upon an idea. He knew nothing of the past, that much was true, but what did he know of the present? He quickly looked around, hoping to see something which would give him an indication of where he was, or more importantly, who he was.

He was in a house. That wasn't immensely useful in of itself. However, he realized that merely recognizing his surroundings as a house was something of a clue. He'd been in houses before then, hadn't he? Was he a Trainer Pokémon? Even if he wasn't, he must have had some relationship to humans.

He tried to determine more. He briefly examined himself. He didn't find any injuries or items, just his own white fur and dark claws. Well, that was something, he supposed. He was definitely an Absol.

At this, he felt something come back to him. His name was Absol. He couldn't remember having a nickname beyond that, but that didn't worry him. He felt as though he had never had one to begin with; he was fine with simply being Absol. Yes, that sounded right.

Absol sighed, feeling at last some degree of relief. He was on the right track. This method at least gave him some information about himself.

Unfortunately, there was not much more information he could extract. He was from Hoenn genetically, but born in Johto. He was reasonably powerful, given that he could easily push around the upturned desk. He had a Trainer, or at least he was used to working with humans... not that he could remember any.

That was probably his best option. Humans were advanced technologically, so perhaps he could find one with the expertise to help him. They had machines that could heal any injury in seconds, so a spot of amnesia would be easy for them to cure, surely.

What was certain was that there weren't any humans in this abandoned cottage, and it was unlikely that any would just wander by. So Absol inhaled slowly, stretched himself, and pushed past the door into the outside world.

The noise of the door falling slowly forward and bouncing off the earth was suitably anti-climatic, fitting nicely with the view. Absol had assumed that it was only the cottage that was ruined, but the outside area around it was similarly decrepit. The grass was trampled and browning, and the pools of water opposite the cottage looked stagnant.

Absol looked around, deciding which direction to travel in. The decision, it turned out, was already made for him by nature. To the south and east was the sea, blocked off by a rotting fence. To his north was a large, sheer rock face. That left west as the only traversable direction.

Absol set off down what seemed to have been a country road. There was something of a maze nearby, formed out of trees. Beyond that, the road turned sharply to the south. When he reached the fork, Absol could see what looked like a human town on the other side of a long bridge over a river. He smiled absently, the first outward sign of happiness he'd shown since arriving.

He crossed the bridge carefully, just in case the aged wood would have difficulty bearing his weight. As he did so, he belatedly realized how crushingly silent the area was. He hadn't heard any indication of Pokémon in the area, which was certainly unusual. He also hadn't seen or heard any sign of humans, beyond the cottage – and that was so old and neglected, it could have been decades since any humans had been by. He tried not to let this epiphany unnerve him. He was probably just in a sparsely populated area. It wouldn't be long until he found someone to help him.

As he traversed the bridge, he noticed a cave across the river to the west. From the outside, it was fairly nondescript; just a small patch of land which contained a jagged hole in the mountain face, large enough for anyone to easily walk in. But although there was no outward evidence to suggest there was anything wrong about it, something about it put Absol on edge. He had a suspicion that it was somehow important. He eventually disregarded it. Chances were, he was still disorientated, and just over-reacting to nothing. Despite his attempts to reassure himself, he was glad to move past it.

The bridge ended, leaving him in the northeast corner of a moderately large town. A weathered sign welcomed him, informing him that the town was name "Cerulean City". There were a few houses nearby, but Absol's red eyes sought out and focused on a specific target – the Pokémon Centre. He broke into a run as he went to the centre of the town, hopping over a ledge to get at the front door. He pushed his way into the medical facility hopefully.

The sight he was met with was disturbing. Pokémon Centres, being medical marvels and the epicentre of most towns, are a far cry from a cottage out by the sea in terms of importance. But, just like the cottage, the Pokémon Centre was completely ruined. The furniture was battered and torn, strewn around the floor. The computer was smashed even more badly than the cottage's. The large, comforting machine which normally sat behind the main desk and provided healing was nowhere to be found.

Also missing was the slightest trace of anyone, human or Pokémon.

Absol probably would have panicked at this point. However, he had already spent a significant amount of his day thus far panicking, so he decided it was an unproductive use of his time. Instead, he lay down on the floor, facing the door just in case, and considered things.

Something very strange had happened. He put aside his amnesia for the moment; there were more pressing matters to deal with now. The humans were missing. A single abandoned cottage was one thing, but an entire city being deserted was another matter entirely. He didn't have to explore the other buildings to know that humanity had left this settlement. After all, if there were any people remaining, they would have at the very least cleaned the Pokémon Centre, if not repaired it completely. No, they were gone – the question was, to where, and why?

He pondered for some time, but being neither a philosopher nor a detective, he didn't succeed in finding a suitable explanation for the increasingly dire and bizarre situation he found himself in. He was a creature less of thought and more of action, and that was the reason he leapt to his feet when he heard a noise outside.

After spending so much time in suffocating silence, Absol welcomed any noise, even the sound of agitated yelling. Yet even his fearful isolation didn't dull his naturally cautious nature, so he didn't rush outside to run straight into whatever was unfolding. Instead, he crept up to the door and peered out.

There were three Pokémon approaching the building next to the Centre, which seemed to be the town's Gym. At the front was a Victreebel, his face haggard and bags under his eyes. He moved slowly, leading the other two. They were a Persian who seemed anxious, and a Ninetails who was glared distrustfully at the Victreebel. Absol noted how close the Persian and Ninetails were walking next to each other.

"Again, I'm sorry about this," the Victreebel was saying, his voice as tired as his face would suggest. "But to pass through here, you must get the permission of the governor. Those are the rules."

"But that's completely ridiculous!" snapped the Ninetails. She was clearly enraged. "All we're doing is passing through. We're not even stopping here!"

The Victreebel sagged a little further than he already was doing. "Look, I don't make the rules here. Please, don't get me in trouble. I'm on thin ice as it is."

The Persian lay a consoling paw on the Ninetail's shoulder. "It's not his fault, Montoya. There's no point in getting angry at him."

Montoya gave a bitter chuckle. "Wise as ever. I should be getting angry at the governor."

The Persian gave a rueful smile. "As much as I love that wit of yours, I can only hope it doesn't get us into any more trouble than we're already in."

"If you'd follow me?" prompted the Victreebel, holding open the door. The Persian and Ninetails shared a final look before entering.

From his vantage point, Absol nodded to himself. So, there was some form of government here. Better than nothing, and certainly a good start to finding out just what he had stumbled into.

Still cautious and wary, Absol softly crept the short distance to the Gym's entrance, and ducked inside.