Something rough brushed over his face, stirring him awake. He opened his eyes and flicked his head, which was all the leaf needed to fly away again.

He blinked to adjust to the harsh daylight, then paused.

I'm outside. Why was I sleeping outside?

He tried sitting up, but his head ached immediately, making him groan and slump back down. So on his back, he looked upwards. There were trees, enormous ones, obscuring a cloudy sky. He managed to turn his head sideways, but there was just more huge trees, huge shrubbery, some kind of dirt path on the ground. Was this a forest? A forest for giants?

More importantly, what am I doing here, alone? I don't even recognise this place. How did I get here? I don't remember–

He froze. He didn't remember. The strangeness of his situation automatically made him cycle through his memories for some kind of clue, but they returned nothing. It wasn't like a temporary mind-blank; everything had gone. He'd hit a virtual brick wall.

Deep breaths. Breathing itself felt peculiar for reasons he couldn't identify, but he ignored that thought for now. He tried searching again, battering against the mental wall. I can't have forgotten everything. I can't! There must be something–

As if in response, his head suddenly felt like it was splitting in half. He screamed and closed his eyes, heart thudding in his ears like Rapidash hooves. His hands moved of their own accord then, towards the base of his back. They felt something warm and he was instantly a little calmer, his headache receding.

He listened to his surroundings. There were bird cries in the air, a gentle breeze blowing leaves, water flowing from a nearby river. The sounds were so crisp and sharp to his ears that for a moment he was content to soak them up. But then his consciousness bit back at him. Now he was asking: Why can I feel heat underneath me?

He opened his eyes to check, and felt like screaming again.

His body was… where even to begin? Fur covered everything, either orange or light-yellow; his stomach had a weird swirl marked on that he couldn't remove; he felt what was surely claws hidden within his fingers and toes, the itchy sensation making him squirm. Turning on his side and twisting his head, he saw that where his back should've ended there was a stub, whose end was burning with a red-yellow flame.

He stared at the flame. Very slowly, he moved his back an inch. The flame moved with it. He moved a shaking orange arm towards the flame and felt no change in temperature, then pushed his whole hand inside. All he felt was that nice warmth again. He grabbed the nearest thing he could find, a clump of grass, and did the same procedure; this time it charred in the heat and quickly fell through his fingers. So this fire attached to him was real. Was he real?

The river was in his periphery a few feet away. If this was a dream, then my reflection would look funny or something, right? Maybe? Please?

Of course, there was an equal reason for seeking the river. If this really was real, he needed to look at his body properly.

He moved carefully so not to trigger another headache. Yet he still collapsed on his stomach the moment his legs were planted to get up. His centre of gravity felt completely different. He fared better on the second attempt; then he kneeled upon reaching the river until his head poked over the edge. Looking back at him was a terrified, confused creature, whose head seemed as big as the rest of its body combined, with massive ears and eyes and some strange fluff sticking up on top of it. He waved a yellow hand across his face, and the creature did too. He moved it through the water; not only did it ripple but it made his hand sting a little.

He stared at the reflection for some time, as if daring it to go away, to show him something human, rather than…

He paused, and this time a thought did float through his mind, a name. Chimchar. Yes, that's what he was. A Pokémon.

But… but how?! How can this be happening? I don't understand! I'm a human, I've been a human all my life, that's what humans do, they don't just… turn into Pokémon! Why can't–

A sudden gust of wind threw him forwards then, and he squealed in trying to retain his balance. As he scrambled away from the river's edge, something hit his shoulder. He looked up; the sky was covered in stormy, dark clouds. A few more raindrops hit him and they stung like his hand had done. It couldn't be acid… could it? As a painful drop sizzled his tail, he realised. Rain… water! Chimchar's a fire type. I'm on fire! I can't stay here, I need cover!

The rain intensified, and his energy was dropping alarmingly fast. He hurriedly looked around, but all he could see were those huge trees in every direction. Without time to hesitate, he chose a clear looking path to his right and took off.

If I don't find somewhere protected, I'll surely pass out from this rain. And what then? There are probably other Pokémon living here... what would they do to me?

He was getting more used to his body now, but running on two legs felt extremely clumsy. His arms seemed to push downwards against his will, his back asking to hunch over. He had little energy to try resisting the feelings, but was still shocked at what happened when he gave in. He was running on all fours, and it felt good. Far more balanced and agile with his back legs pushing forwards.

The rain was only getting heavier though, even with the trees offering some protection. He scanned the area again. His sense of vision, much like his hearing, felt enhanced, and enabled him to see the shelter about 200 metres away. A group of fallen tree trunks created a half-roof type structure, which he bet would be enough to shield him.

He was approaching as fast as he could, but the rain continued to pound down. He gritted his teeth, the few of them he had, trying to block out the pain. Just... a bit further…

When he thought he was about to collapse, he reached the shade and dry of the first tree and immediately felt a wave of relief on his chest. He walked a little further until he could be sure he was safe. It seemed the adrenaline, or whatever else was carrying him, was wearing off rapidly, and he collapsed onto his stomach out of exhaustion. He was content enough to lie there in half-consciousness.

After some time he sensed another presence nearby. Shaking off some of the water from his head, he looked up. A furry blue-and-black face with a big muzzle stared back at him. He squealed and feebly shuffled backwards on the ground. Please don't attack me, please don't attack me…!

The Pokémon didn't move, but made a sound like chuckling.

"Hey, I'm not a wild, 'mon," it said. The Pokémon instantly attributed itself as male in his head, though he couldn't understand why. "Even if I was, attacking you like you are now would be a low move."

At first, he didn't really hear what the Pokémon said. This Pokémon just spoke to me, and I understood them? But I guess, if I'm a Pokémon too, it makes sense that I speak their… language? Do Pokémon have a language?

The blue Pokémon frowned at him. "Are you a wild? That why you can't speak? I assumed you were a traveller too, seeing as there aren't any Chimchar around here…"

He didn't know what wild meant, but it didn't sound good. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth. "I, uh…" He cringed; his voice felt completely foreign, too high pitched and childlike. But the Pokémon's eyes widened, amused, and he felt he had to finish. "No. Sorry."

"Mmm," the Pokémon said, smiling. "Well, you have a name, I take it? I'm Ryu."

He paused. My name… do I know my name? Somehow, Ryu's question caused something in his mind to click.

"Yes!" he said aloud. "Fen! My, uh – my name is Fen." If words were inanimate objects, he would have hugged this one with all his might. He looked at Ryu's confused face, and another memory came to mind.

"Wait, Ryu, you're a Riolu? That's why your name's... like that?"

Ryu looked at him as if he was an idiot. "Obviously. You've never heard a name like that before?"

Fen looked blankly back at him. I didn't even know you could talk, how am I supposed to know what you name yourselves?

But he was quickly realising that Ryu was his only grip on this strange, scary environment, and he didn't want to lose that.

"I'd just forgotten what Riolu looked like," he said, half-truthfully.

Ryu nodded slowly. "Alright then."

He took a bite from a red berry in his hand, and Fen's stomach lurched uncomfortably. He was suddenly intensely hungry, so much that he worried he would properly pass out if it wasn't sated. Gathering his courage, he spoke to Ryu again.

"Ryu, what are those berries you're eating? And do you have any spare? I just realised how hungry I am…"

Ryu gave a bemused smile. "Sure but, how can't you know these? They're cheri berries. And we're in Cheri Forest. There's no way you could walk in here and not know what they are..."

Cheri Forest. Fen felt his hopefulness drop another level at the unfamiliar name. He looked sadly at Ryu and just shook his head, a lump forming in his throat.

Suddenly, the Riolu's expression changed from amusement to serious worry. Perhaps even panic. He bent down to Fen's eye level.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. "You're… not okay, are you? Did something happen?"

Fen took some time to compose himself. He might have had very little to hold onto, but refused to break down in front of the first living thing he met.

"Quite a lot, yes. I woke up in this forest about an hour ago and, well… I don't have any memories. I don't know how I got here, or where this is, or what those berries are, or what a 'wild' is, or who I am – I didn't remember my name until you asked me. There's nothing. I tried to remember, but it's like some kind of wall in my mind, and pushing against it really hurts."

And that's not even the worst of it, he thought. But while losing one's memories sounded just about plausible, he was sure that a human turning into a Pokémon verged on insanity.

Now Ryu was lost for words. After some time, he murmured, "Losing your memory, that's… I didn't think that was possible. Any idea how it could've happened?"

Fen shook his head. "I wish I knew."

"I mean, I'm not doubting your story. You can't have acted like you just did if you were lying. And you're saying you woke up in this forest but, like I said, you won't find any Chimchar in here, far as I can tell. You sure you weren't like, dropped from space or something?" Ryu smiled, somewhat nervously.

Fen didn't say anything. It doesn't sound too outlandish on top of everything else...

"And here, I got plenty of cheri berries earlier," Ryu said. He opened a rugged-looking backpack that was sitting on a rock and pulled out a handful, tossing them over. "There's loads in the forest, so don't worry about that for food."

Fen thanked him, then took one of the berries and had a bite. It had a slightly spicy kick but little else. Still, it was good enough to satisfy his hunger, so he kept eating.

"Do you have any water?" he asked, feeling a thirst as strong as the hunger. Ryu passed him a flask which did the job, and he thanked the Riolu gratefully.

Ryu looked out to the storm. Rain still hammered furiously against their tree shelter. "This is really heavy," he murmured, then turned back to Fen. "So, what d'you plan to do once this is over? Do you... have any ideas?"

I'm surprised you're even asking, Fen thought. There was only one viable plan he could think of, though it was difficult to raise right away.

"Ryu, you said you're a traveller?" he said. "Where are you travelling to?"

Ryu smiled sheepishly. "Heh, good question. I don't really have an end-point in mind, but I think that staying on this forest's path will lead to Sanguin Town. I guess I'll be taking a look around there."

Two things puzzled Fen most about Ryu. Firstly that the concept of a travelling Pokémon, with their own bag and everything, felt utterly bizarre. And second that Ryu had made no hint of a reference to humans so far.

"What kind of a place is Sanguin Town?" Fen asked. "And what does 'taking a look' translate to?"

"Uh… I've never been there, so I can't say much. But I think it's got houses, and there'll probably be jobs to be done, and… I think it's the biggest town on Kyunn, actually. Kyunn is this whole island," Ryu added helpfully.

Fen nodded. "There'll be jobs for Pokémon to do, you mean?"

"Well yeah, of course. Who else would do them?"

Fen made an involuntary gasp. Ryu was surely implying that no humans lived here – on this 'Kyunn' – at all. How could that be? How far away were they from where he used to live? Was it another world entirely, where Pokémon could talk, and they alone had built civilisation?

Ryu was looking oddly at him again. Fen knew now wasn't the time to question this, and instead asked, "Can I come with you, Ryu? Please?" He hoped his tone of voice wasn't too desperate, though it was difficult to hide.

Ryu didn't seem surprised, but he hardly jumped at the idea. "I didn't want to travel with anyone… But, I suppose this is a different case. So, yeah, you're welcome to follow me for a bit. Luckily you're a Fire, and this place has mainly Grasses and Bugs, so you're well covered if we run into any wilds."

Wilds. That word again. "You mean, wild Pokémon?" Fen asked.

Ryu shrugged. "I s'pose so. They're essentially Pokémon that'll want to fight if you come too close."

The mere thought of fighting something was setting off more alarm bells in Fen's head. "I can't fight, though," he said. "Or, I don't remember how to."

"You can't–?" Ryu blinked at him. "Yes, you can."

"I think I'd know if I could," Fen shot back. "I don't remember–"

"It's not about remembering!" Ryu interrupted, jumping to his feet. "It's like – everyone can fight! You don't need to think about it. If you… It's weird to explain this. Your memories really got scrambled, huh? When we get in a fight situation, you'll see what I mean. I'll make sure you see," he added with a wry smile.

Fen hoped he was joking.

Ryu peeked out of the shelter, which had stopped hammering with rain. "Sky looks pretty clear. We should get going, if you… whoa." Fen saw his eyes widen. "When did that happen?"

Fen followed his gaze. He saw with alarm that the storm had knocked several of the forest's trees, admittedly smaller ones, straight off their trunks and into the path.

Then one of Fen's ears twitched involuntarily, and heard a faint sound coming from the fallen trees. He walked closer, and before he could dwell too much on the strange sensation, he noticed what was wrong. "Ryu! Agh, something... something awful's happened!" He gestured wildly.

"Huh... what d'yo–". Ryu stopped in shock at the sight in front of them. His next words were barely audible. "Oh, Mew…"

Underneath one of the larger fallen trees, there lay a Treecko on its stomach, legs crushed underneath the bark's weight. Its arms were splayed out ahead of it, weakly thrashing about, and it choked on tears as it squeaked semi-coherently, "Please... help... anyone…"

Fen could hardly move. Could this day be any more of a nightmare? He'd woken up as a memory-less Pokémon, barely survived a storm, and now he was watching a Pokémon die right in front of him...

No! Determination stirred within him, enough to break him out of his frozen state. He gave Ryu a shake, as he looked frozen too.

"Ryu, can we lift this?" he asked, gesturing to the fallen tree.

"Uh? Oh… yeah, 'course." Ryu slowly walked up to the tree with him, then they took hold of the trunk and heaved. Fen was expecting a struggle, but to his amazement Ryu's side of the trunk lifted at once, which was enough to roll it away from the Treecko's body. However, even with the tree gone the Pokémon lay flat on its front, unable to move.

It must have been a very young child, being barely half Fen's size, but it knew some language, which made him a little more hopeful for its survival. He carefully kneeled down next to it, conscious to keep his tail flame out of the way.

"Hey," he said, doing his best to sound comforting. "Are you alright? Were you with someone when this happened?"

The Treecko turned its head ever so slightly to face Fen, and spoke in gasps. "With mum. For water... we were going–" she jerked her head left to indicate the direction.

Fen tried to think of what he would do next, but an equivalent scenario of trees falling on humans didn't exist in his mind. "Okay... what's her name?" he asked, hoping the Treecko's mother would at least have one.

The Treecko winced in pain for a few seconds before she could answer. "Tali," she said, before crying out loudly again.

Fen nodded. "We'll find her... it's going to be okay, yeah?" he said, before remembering another crucial detail. "Sorry... what's your name?"

The answer was barely audible. "Eka."

Fen scooped the child into his shaky hands, who didn't resist, and stood up. Ryu hadn't heard their hushed words and his eyes were wide with fear, so Fen explained as calmly as he could.

"We need to find her mum, Tali," he said, then pointed left. "She said they were going this way. Presumably they got caught up in the storm and were separated. We should try calling out her name, heading that way."

After a few seconds' pause, Ryu gave his head a jerk. "Alright."

Evidently this situation was new to him as well.

They ventured off the path and into the recently soaked long grass. Fen hated it not only for its wetness but for the fact it was practically up to his shoulders, making any vision difficult. They walked as quickly as they dared, as the little Treecko was still a substantial weight in Fen's arms, and they wanted to make sure they could be as easily found as possible. As they cried Tali and Eka's names as loud as they could, Fen checked continuously that Eka was still breathing. She wasn't losing consciousness, but still whimpered with pain, her eyes squeezed shut.

It turned out 'left' wasn't a great direction to rely upon either, as they were quickly blocked by some thick brambles. They ended up taking the most viable path that appeared.

At one point, a Pidgey appeared from just above the the long grass to their left, screeching and flying straight for Fen. He yelped with terror, unable to defend himself with Eka in his arms. But as the Pidgey was about to strike with its beak, Ryu materialised in front of him from nowhere and aggressively swiped it away.

His fist made no contact, and the Pidgey pivoted around a tree before diving in again. This time Ryu threw his whole body into it with a grunt; the Pidgey hurtled through the grass, nearly dropping to the ground, but it squawked and flapped clumsily towards Ryu once more. Ryu ran and threw his fist at the bird so fast that it disappeared before Fen could fully process the attack.

Ryu looked behind at the two terrified Pokémon he'd defended, and nodded them ahead, a slightly wild look in his eyes.

"Ryu…" Fen gasped, "that was amazing… thank you."

Ryu just muttered something about the Pidgey being weak, then lead another round of calls for Tali.

They had been walking for about half an hour when they arrived at yet another impassable piece of forestry. "TALI!" Ryu cried. He sighed, rubbing his muzzle. "What if the directions she gave us were wrong? This place is too big to–"

He was cut short then as a green tornado barrelled into his side, throwing him several feet. Fen instinctively threw himself to the ground and into a ball, clutching onto Eka, as he anticipated an attack.

He heard Ryu bark, "Hey, watch where you… huh?! Fen! Uncurl yourself, it's okay."

Fen lifted his head up to the slightly terrifying figure of a Sceptile on its knees, staring down at him. It took him a few seconds to make the connection between her and the Treecko.

"Oh, you're... Tali?" he stammered. The Sceptile said nothing, but bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. Fen lifted Eka from his quivering hands towards her body. She very carefully took Eka in her arms, before breaking down in tears.

She said nothing, simply hugging her child. Eka had at least now opened her eyes, though she was too weak to say anything.

"Her legs are... not in the best shape," Fen said carefully. "We think a tree fell on her in the storm. She'll... be okay, right?"

Tali glowered at him then, but she spoke much softer than he would've imagined. "I have no doubt. It may take time, but we have oran berries stored at our home here for situations just like these. We were running to get out of the storm when I must have lost my grip on her. We can deal with rain just fine, you see, but the wind it brought was too much to handle... oh, but if only I had something to offer you both! I would have never expected a couple of travellers to go out of their way like this. With all of my heart, I thank you. If there's anything I can do in return... anything, please just ask. Oh, and Riolu." She glanced at Ryu regretfully. "I was panicked, running in the direction of your calls, and couldn't catch sight of you in time. I am sorry."

Ryu shifted awkwardly. "Heh, s'cool," he said.

He beckoned Fen over then. "Dunno about you, but I'm totally lost in here," he muttered, and Fen smiled, agreeing. They'd never considered in their haste where they were actually going. Fen sensed what Ryu was thinking. "I'd ask her," he said.

"Um, Tali, there is one thing you could help us with," Ryu began. Tali was still on her knees, meeting them at eye level. "We were heading for a place called Sanguin Town at the end of this forest, but we've gotten a liiittle lost out here, so... do you know the right direction to go?"

Tali chuckled softly. "I can help you there. You're not far from Sanguin, actually. The main path to reach there should be, hm, I make it south from where we're standing." She gestured behind her. "You were on the main path before, I take it? So following this way from where you're stood should lead you straight there."

Ryu smiled. "Alright, thanks." After Tali reciprocated, they set off along her route.

"Y'know, Fen," Ryu said when they'd rejoined the path, "I didn't think I'd be saying this back at the tree shelter, but I'm glad you were with me then. I wouldn't've had any clue what to do with Eka on my own. I was frozen; you snapped me out of it."

Fen lifted his head up and saw Ryu's red eyes glowing with a genuine admiration. Slightly embarrassed, he stumbled towards an answer. "I wasn't sure what to do either, but… well, I'm glad it all worked out. I should thank you for protecting us from that Pidgey."

"Oh, that was nothing." Ryu shrugged, then gave Fen a mischievous nudge. "But y'know, they'll be plenty more wilds around here. Guess I should teach you how to fight, unless ya want that to happen again, eh?"

Fen looked at him doubtfully; Ryu definitely wouldn't be dropping this. The concept of Pokémon attacking each other was nothing new to him, but now he was one himself, and there was one right next to him that could talk, he needed some reassurance.

"If I really have to, Ryu," he said, "then there's a few questions I want to ask…"