Chapter 1: Displacement
A naïve, young, and male bunny was hopping as quick as he could along the pathways of the town he lived in. Normally, the townsfolk would shove his tiny body off with a kneejerk, but his very worried face and repetition of, "Miss Meowstic! Miss Meowstic!" pardoned his running.
Right next to a calm waterfall called Tranquill Falls was Miss Meowstic's house. There was a strip of purple at the bottom of the house, but the rest of it was a bleached white. There was no door, just like the rest of the town of Sokieti. The little boy hopped right in, almost bumping into the arm of the chair someone was sitting in.
The chair moved away from a desk. A bipedal, humanlike female cat with apathetic eyes rose. Her body was mainly white with accentuations of blue, such as her tail, legs, arms, and at the top of her head. Despite the lack of emotion her yellow eyes showed, the little bunny knew she was caring.
"Miss Meowstic!" he shouted, jumping up and down, his ears barely reaching the seat of the chair. "I have news!"
"Young Buneary," she said with a dull voice. "What is it? A party at your mother's house?"
"No, I've been told this is serious!" he shouted. "According to Pelipper and Wingull, both locals and wildlife on the Dienka Mountain have spotted a red fox creature floating unconscious on the river! The one that falls right next to here!"
"A red fox creature…" Miss Meowstic whispered to herself. "Certainly a Pokémon, that's for sure… Oh dear. It could…could be…" Thousands of thoughts flowed through her head faster than the waterfalls that met at Sokieti. Suddenly, she barked at the Buneary boy, "Erkuli. Gather as many residents you can around the waterfall at the eastern edge of the town. I will do my own work."
"Yes ma'am!' Erkuli shouted, not surprised, or at least showing it, that Miss Meowstic knew his true name. He took a huge leap out of the room, and hopped with agility through the town. He shouted to everyone, "MISS MEOWSTIC WANTS EVERYONE AT THE EAST WATERFALL! EAST WATERFALL! COME TO THE EAST WATERFALL!"
The serene and pleasant atmosphere that had surrounded the town like a sweet aroma had been dusted away. Suddenly a nasty odor of urgency and panic had waltzed its way in Sokieti. For many, they found it silly and ironic that they were taking orders from a young Buneary, but since it was Miss Meowstic's orders, and Erkuli was not one to tell a fib, they did so.
Despite being a large town and Erkuli only being halfway through the straight pathway that went through the entire place of Sokieti, everyone was at the waterfall. The announcement had probably been spread through word of mouth, too. Erkuli quickly hopped back to the waterfall, where the whole population had clustered.
The cluster was muttering and squealing, and Erkuli saw why as he gathered closer. Meowstic had lifted her ears, which was a rare and threatening sight. She always concealed organs with powerful psychic abilities underneath her ears to protect everyone, due to the fact that they were often unpredictable and uncontrollable. With those powers, she could crush trees, make fissures in the ground, and even stop lightning.
It appeared to Erkuli that she gathered the townsfolk to help her. Pokémon such as Bunnelby and Rattata had scouted the nearby area for rocks and trees. Strong Pokémon such as Gurdurr and Conkeldurr lifted the rocks and trees out of the ground and took them to the mayor. Miss Meowstic would then use her psychic organs to carve the objects into certain shapes, and use them to make a bridge. The wood would be the actual bridge, and the rocks would be used for support. She used leaves as a landing that would hopefully soften the landing. It was a makeshift bridge, but it was the best thing to do in the situation, for anything that fell off the waterfall and plunged under the surface would be impaled by sharp, fragments of rocks.
Erkuli heard the residents whispering in the crowd. One said, "Mayor Meowstic ees makin' a mohntain out of ah moleheel, as you say." And another replied, "True, true, I mean, blimey, why wouldya make a bridge just to help a lot pup or whatchagotta? Tain't da first ting ta fall outta the falls." But then one countered, "Well, it would be gruesome for one to be impaled by the rocks. If one were to be impaled, many would not visit Sokieti due to bad publicity. She certainly wouldn't want that!"
And the crowd bantered on why Meowstic was going to great measures to save a random Pokémon falling down. Even if she was kind, surely she could save the creature more easily by jumping up and catching it.
However, the banter was silenced when someone shouted, "Look! There it is!" All heads snapped skyward, and sure enough, they could see a raft reaching the tip of the waterfall. It tipped down, and a red, six-tailed fox that was unconscious descended down. Everyone gasped, and when it plunged into the leaf pile an eerie silence voided the panicked odor that had covered the town. Only one Pokémon dared to walk up to the leaf pile—Erkuli.
He hopped right onto the bridge. He pushed away the orange and red leaves, and peered inside the pile. The creature inside was definitely a Pokémon, but unknown to him and everyone else. It was likely a foreign one. Its eyes were gradually opening, and a hoarse croak emitted from its mouth:
"E…Ee…I'll come back…"
"Miss Meowstic!" Erkuli shouted. "She's definitely a Pokémon. I don't know what kind, though! She's awake, good…"
Meowstic slowly walked toward the pile. She peered over Erkuli's shoulder. "She's a Vulpix…" she whispered apathetically. "Erkuli, carry her to your house. Your grandmother should be able to whip up some medicine…"
He nodded. He reached in the pile and picked her body up. She was surprisingly light, and very warm even though she was in water. Luckily, Erkuli's house was on the eastern side of Sokieti, so the walk would be short. He hopped toward the house, and said, "Grandma, we've got the Pokémon that was falling down! It's a Vulpix!"
Instantly, his grandmother shouted, "HANDS OFF, ERKULI!" Despite Lopunny being fluffy and cute, Erkuli's grandmother, Candace, was hostile, at least to him.
Candace swiped Vulpix from Erkuli's arms, muttering things like, "First I have to take care of my sweet, sweet daughter Melanie, along with him, but now a Vulpix—Wait, ERKULI." The stinging shout froze his cream-colored hairs. His grandmother continued:
"This Vulpix—she was in the river, correct?"
Erkuli nodded.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" she barked. She went back to muttering to herself. "She had to have him…only thing wrong with her is him! Idiot Buneary… Even if Melanie is ill, I should take care of her too… Poor girl. A Fire type in water for who knows how long? Of course, I heard she was in a raft. But still, it's quite cold up in Dienka Mountain… She feels warm, but is probably having a terrible mental fright…"
Candace turned to the kitchen counter and grabbed some herbs and threw them into a pot. "Erkuli, watch Melanie! Don't you dare touch her, though!"
Erkuli did as she said, watching his mother. In the first ten years he had lived, his mother was always bright and caring. She took good care of her mother, Candace, and her son. However, about a month ago, the roles were reversed. Melanie had suddenly been diagnosed with an unknown disease; symptoms of it include dead black eyes, falling asleep at random times, wandering around, and chronic nightmares. Erkuli and his grandmother both had to take care of her, although Candace would often restrict him from even touching his own mother, as if her condition could get any worse.
Suddenly, his mother's eyes opened, and she awakened from her sleep. Her eyes were a void of black apathy. They were more apathetic than Miss Meowstic's eyes. She whispered hoarsely, "Erkuli…you look handsome…and bright…"
"Thank you, Mo—"
"NO!" erupted his grandmother. "Ah, damn it all!"
"Mother…" Melanie whispered.
"Oh sorry, Melanie. I'm just—well, this Vulpix is fine, should wake up in a couple of seconds, but… Well, damn it, we're out of your herbs!"
"Mother…please…" she croaked weakly. "Anyways, I can still survive…"
"Now, Melanie, that ain't for damn sure!" she countered. Her daughter didn't bother speaking this time. "This is the first sight of that disease you have, at least in Naramsa. The possibilities are unknown, and if I let you die from this, I'll be damned to hell!"
"Surely…you can get it from the grasslands south?"
"No, no. Herbs there are for colds and occasionally a strong fever. I'm… I'm thinking I got those from the Mayor.
"Miss Meowstic grows herbs?" Erkuli inquired.
"OF COURSE NOT, ERKULI!" she roared. "Not sure where…but surely, she got them from somewhere."
"Perhaps from a town more advanced…?" suggested Melanie.
"You could be right! Bright daughter, you are. Nothing like him. Anywho, it could be from up in Dienka—Ciad, if I'm correct? Being the mayor of a good town like Sokieti, it could be from them… Aren't we good allies anyway?"
"Mother…how could we get there? You're…you're too frail, and I'm sick…"
Candace pondered on that question for a minute. "I don't think we could get anyone in the town to do it…" A cunning smirk spread across her face. "Perhaps, Erkuli?"
"NO!" Melanie objected, raising her head. "Not him, he's young!"
"Help, then…" her mother said to herself. "Mayor Meowstic could perhaps do it. Maybe?"
"Likely too busy, being the mayor."
"How about…the Vulpix?"
"But she's unconscious!"
"And she just got out of the river!" Erkuli added.
For once, he was not yelled at. "She does owe us a favor, though." Candace said.
"So?" her daughter said.
"We'll just subtly make her do it."
"That's cruel, mother!" Melanie shouted.
"Melanie, quiet!" she commanded. "I think she's waking up!"
Erkuli looked over at the stone kitchen counter. The Vulpix was indeed waking up. Her six tails stood straight up, and then she stretched out her red limbs. Her eyelids opened, revealing her eyes were a beautiful ruby red. She scratched a red tuft of hair atop her head, and then scratched hear ears.
Suddenly, the fox took notice of her surroundings. She surveyed the area. She stared at the two Lopunny, Melanie and Candace, noticing how tall they were compared to her. She then looked at Erkuli for a second, and looked at her feet and noticed she was above the ground. Heh
"Wha…what?" she shouted. "You're not him… Where is he?!"
"Calm down!" Candace barked. "Calm down, young lady. Who ya looking for in here, anyways? Brother?"
"No…" she sibilated. "I'm looking for my friend, Nalu. He's an Eevee… I—" She cut herself off, sounding unsure of what she was talking about. "I don't know what happened. But…where am I?"
"You're in the town of Sokieti!" Erkuli replied.
"Where's that?" the Vulpix asked curiously. "I've never heard of it. Is it anywhere close to Wigglytuff's Guild, or perhaps Treasure Town?"
Erkuli's cream eyebrows arched. "What are those places? I've never heard of them."
"They're…they're the biggest town in the region. South of it is a beach, west of it is a cliff—"
Erkuli's grandmother interjected: "There ain't no cliffs around here. The only cliffs you'll find in the whole place of Naramsa is in Pagro Island. No civilization there. Savages."
"N—Naramsa?!" she yelled with concern. Her voice was wavering. "That's…the region? I…" Quickly she ran to the door, took a short survey of the town, and gasped.
"This is wrong… I've been put in the wrong region… Something's wrong."