Darkness.

A never-ending expanse of darkness, the deep black only interrupted by tiny specks of light far off in the distance. Stars?

He looked down. Pancham was curled up, eyes closed tightly as it shivered in the hedgehog's arms. He tried to speak, but no words came out. All he could hear was the ringing in his ears and the distant sound of echoing wind. All this, accompanied by this strange feeling of floaty weightlessness. What was this place? How did they end up here?

… Running.

He remembered running. There were… People yelling. Lots of them. Barking, snarling Houndoom… Maybe something else. He wasn't sure.

Somewhere, he went off the path. Never go off the path, it's dangerous, dad said. Bullshit. If you and your only friend in the world are being hunted down by some bastard mob grunts and their literal hell hounds, you'd go off the path. You'd go anywhere. The problem is that the Pokémon aren't afraid to follow. Once you step off that well-traveled dirt road, you're in their world, and they have no rules.

Not like there were any rules to begin with… As far as he could remember, they were always in charge. Those weird packs of humans in funny outfits, chasing people down, stealing their Pokémon, trying to awaken forgotten gods and destroy anything that got in their way. Dad… That idiot tried to fix it, all on his own. Left with nothing but Dewott and the clothes on his back. The fool. Probably didn't last long. He never came home, not like that was a surprise. Dumbass would rather die trying to be a hero than take care of his damn kid. Bastard…

In a world with no rules, there was nothing preventing people from, oh… Sending their land sharks after you to slice you in half, or whatever the hell they wanted. Commanding their pack of dogs to chase after some kid who just wanted some fucking food that wasn't those damn berries. Fair, he maybe stole a bit more than food, but fuck it, they had literally everything. They could afford to lose whatever the hell he had smuggled out of there.

That's what happened. He stole supplies, they found him, chased him, he slipped, and there just so happened to be a sheer drop down the snowy mountainside he didn't see.

That was a long fall.

He couldn't remember it.

Did he die?

That felt like the only possibility… If this was hell, it wasn't anything like he expected it to be. Less of a fiery burning pit within the depths of the earth, and more…

Quiet.

... Empty.

... ... Lonely.

He remembered the little panda shivering in his arms, and his heart sank.

Fuck.

If his stupid decisions lead to both him and this tiny animal's death, he'd-... He'd-...

What even could he do? Can't really do much to punish yourself if you're already dead. At least… he assumed so. His ears flattened against his head as the feeling of guilt grew stronger and stronger. This thing didn't do anything wrong, it just… Followed him. He was the idiot who did all the bad shit and made all the stupid decisions. He's the one who led them to that one point where everything went downhill. This was all his fault.

A strange noise interrupted his thoughts.
It sounded like something breathing down his neck.
Something larger than life itself, in a way. It filled this infinitely empty space and echoed around him. It made him feel… Really small. Smaller than he already felt. He hated that.

He wanted to shout something. Anything, really. Snap at whatever the hell was in here with him. It was unnerving. Something had to be making that noise. He couldn't possibly be alone in this place…

"You."

Shit, the noise talks.

Scourge looked around frantically, trying to figure out what the hell was talking to him. The sound was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It felt like he was upside-down. He wanted to yell, but despite his efforts, nothing happened. He couldn't even hear air coming out of his mouth. Just… Nothingness.

Suddenly, the floaty feeling dissipated, and he fell.

He would've screamed, but ended up landing directly on his head, collapsing weakly onto the-...

...ground?

He sat up, shaking his head quickly. He wasn't sitting on anything, just… More void. He didn't like this. Not at all. What was solid and what wasn't? This was too much. He checked over Pancham, who was still nestled in his arms. He was okay... That was one of the few things he cared about at this point.

He could hear himself breathing now. Maybe…

"What's the big deal?" He snapped. There was a tone of fear in his voice as he continued to scan the area. He felt… Unsafe, to say the least. "Hello?"

"You've gotten into a lot of trouble, haven't you?"

Scourge tensed up. His quills stood on end. "Y-... Yeah?" He called out, holding Pancham close to his chest. "What's it to you!? Stop hiding and face me, ya coward!"

"If that's your wish, so be it."

A ball of light appeared before the hedgehog, who flinched and tried to cover his eyes. When he peeked out from between his fingers, there was an odd, horse-like beast, staring down at him menacingly. It was pure white, with a golden ring surrounding its midsection and a halo of light shining from somewhere behind it.

Scourge was speechless. Too scared to scream. To move. He simply sat there with his mouth hanging open, barely breathing as he stared at the creature.

Arceus.

"You're confident until you realize that what you're facing is much greater than yourself. Bold of you to label others as cowards when you behave like this."

"I-..." Scourge managed to mutter. "I, you-..."

He just called one of the most powerful Pokémon in existence a coward. What the hell was he supposed to say? Sorry, God. I didn't mean it, I won't do it again? Bullshit. This must've been some shitty dream. Some fucked up hallucination he was experiencing before he actually died. He was probably lying face down in the snow somewhere on Twist Mountain, slowly succumbing to the cold. That made more sense than whatever this was.

"If I'm dead, or-... Or dying, or whatever…" The hedgehog said quietly, still genuinely afraid of this thing towering over him. It was at least three times his size, if not more. "Could you save Pancham…?"

The beast stared down at him as he revealed the small creature in his arms, still curled up and absolutely terrified. It lowered its head to get a better look, then its gaze met Scourge's. It felt like it was judging him in the strangest way.

Scourge looked down and glanced off to the side, not wanting to make eye contact anymore. The wave of guilt washed over him once more. He hated every second of this. "He didn't do anything. He was just followin' me around, that's all…" He took a deep, shaky breath. Why did he feel so terrible about this? "Please. I mean-... If you can. I-if you want to! I-"

"You do not need to beg. I am able."

Scourge looked up again. The creature had its head raised, looking down at the two of them once more. He sniffled quietly, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand.

"I do not personally conference each individual after death, you know. There is a reason for this meeting."

He shifted uncomfortably, not sure what else to do in this situation. You can't just fiddle with your fingers when you're talking to the thing that created the whole damn universe. "Was I that bad?"

"Despite your transgressions, you have a purpose to be fulfilled. I have no ill will towards you."

Scourge looked down again. He felt strangely humble in this situation. "What're you saying?" He asked. There couldn't possibly be anything important he was meant to do. He could run fast and be an asshole. Those were his two skills, as far as he knew.

"You have a kind heart, but have locked it away out of fear of being hurt more than you already have been. You are aware when things are wrong, but do not know how to right them. You view the world as an inherently bitter and cruel place, but do not allow yourself to witness the good and wholesome things that, as rare as they are, still happen. You have the potential to do good within you, but you must learn to discover it for yourself. You are needed elsewhere, both for the benefit of others and for you. This is why I am willing to give you a second chance."

He took a deep breath through his nose, struggling to process everything. "Let me get this straight… You think I can be a good person, so you're just gonna let me come back from the dead after being a total dumbass and falling off a cliff after stealing a bunch of shit?" He asked, looking up at the creature once more. "What's the catch?"

"There is no more to this than what I have told you. If you would like to refuse my offer, you may. I will not deny you the option to do so."

Scourge thought about this for a moment. He could either die in a pathetic and stupid way, or take the chance to do-... Whatever the hell this thing wanted him to. He nodded, trying to force a smile now that he knew that he wasn't really in danger. "Well, in that case… Sure. I'll do your thing for ya. Where to?"

"That is something you will have to discover for yourself."

"Wait, what? You've gotta be kidding m-"

Arceus lowered its head once more, then reared back, lifting its front legs in the air as a glowing circle appeared on the ground around the hedgehog. He could feel a strange power buzzing through him. It felt… Warm. Energizing. The Pokémon let out a shrill and almost metallic cry, the area within the circle flashed white, then revealed what looked like a window into an area he didn't have time to recognize.

He fell.

He screamed.

Pancham cried.

He closed his eyes.

The ground was coming fast.

The darkness had returned.


Something poked him. He could hear it breathing quickly… Sniffing at him? He felt like he had been hit by a truck… He managed to open one eye, reaching up to push whatever was near him away, moaning softly. "Hey, back off…"

There was a strange hiss noise in response as whatever it was scrambled away, followed by a crunchy rustling sound. All he saw was a curly black tail before it disappeared.

He shook his head, opened his eyes, and blinked tiredly. As he sat up, he realized he was sitting in a pile of leaves. Looked like he was in the middle of some forest... Pancham was curled up nearby, asleep on his back. At least he was okay after… All that. How were they even alive? He scratched at his neck, then reached for his pocket...

His jacket.

Where was his jacket?

He felt like a complete moron. There he was, sitting in the middle of the woods, practically naked in a pile of leaves after falling from the sky. Stupid… Looking up, he noticed a hole in the canopy of leaves above him. Broken branches…

There it was, hanging from the bough of a tree.

Great.

He managed to get to his feet, shuffling along before making an attempt to climb up.

A really bad attempt.

A really, super bad, embarrassing attempt.

He couldn't climb trees for shit. He could barely get a grip on the thing, trying to hop up and kick around the base of the trunk. Horrible. Fences? Sure. Sheer-faced brick walls? No problem. A tree? Hardest thing in the world, for some reason. The fool.

Then, the jacket landed in his face. He fell, not expecting the sudden blindness, shouting in confusion as he somehow struggled to get it off his head. There was a dull thump next to him and a hand gently lifted a corner up. He found himself staring into a pair of bright pink eyes, a friendly face smiling back at him.

"You good, man?" The person asked, chuckling softly. Something chittered.

Scourge was stunned for a moment, then growled, whipping the jacket off his head and throwing it behind him. "Who wants to know!?" He snapped. He was still agitated from his failed attempts at scaling the tree.

The person backed up a few steps, grinning and still snickering quietly. It was a hedgehog. A bit on the short side, but not by much. He-... He assumed it was a he… Had very messy quills, a few bent over and hanging in front of his eyes. Two gold rings dangled from his left ear. He had a bright orange-red vest and a fanny pack on his hip in the same color, along with some beat up old red and white sneakers. They looked like they had seen better days.

A black Rattata with oddly shaped whiskers and messy fur sat on his shoulder, still making that chittering noise. It was laughing at him. Little shit.

"Oh, nobody. Just thought I'd ask." The scruffy-looking stranger held up a Pokéball, showing it to him. "You lose somethin'?"

Scourge blinked. He patted himself down quickly, looked around, then snatched the ball from the mystery man, grumbling to himself. "I didn't need help, but thanks I guess…"

The other hedgehog shrugged. His Rattata did the same, mimicking him. "Sure, dude."

"Rattata!" The critter added, looking at the hedgehog. Its tail twitched and it started to rub its face, making the hissing sound again.

"Oh, yeah! Lunchtime…" The hedgehog said quietly, rolling his eyes. "Forgot." He looked back at Scourge, holding a hand out and sitting up straight. "Name's Manic! What's yours?"

Scourge stared at his hand for a second. Was this a joke? Some kind of trap? He didn't trust this guy, but reluctantly decided to grab his hand, gripping it tightly. Almost angrily. "Scourge…"

The hedgehog seemed pleased by this, then noticed his grip getting stronger. Ow… His smile wavered as he shook his hand quickly, then pulled his own away, taking a look at his fingers as if to see if they were still there. "Nice grip…" It was worth it to at least try to lighten the mood. "Wanna hop over to the next town with us? Ya look like you could use a bite to eat."

The grumpy hedgehog thought about this. Sure, he wasn't really 100% trusting of this guy, but… Honestly? He looked too stupid to be dangerous, and there was no way he would pass up the chance to get some free food. He picked his jacket up off the ground and stood up, slipping it on and adjusting the collar. "Sure, don't see why not…" He directed his attention towards the panda on the ground, still snoozing on the forest floor. "'Ey, wake up!"

Pancham's ears perked up and he opened his eyes, looking frightened at first, then seeing Scourge. He let out a cheerful squeak and ran to him, hugging his legs and nearly knocking him over.

"Woah, woah! I missed you too, alright?" He sputtered, trying to keep his balance. He put his hand on the Pokémon's head, unable to resist smiling. "Let's get goin', okay? You can hug me all ya want later."

The other hedgehog-... Manic. He smiled, watching the two with this content look on his face. He almost looked proud. "He really likes you, huh? Nothin' like that bond between you and your Pokémon. Gotta love that!"

"What're you babbling about?" Scourge asked, looking back at this new weirdo who was suddenly part of his life.

"Oh, y'know! That friendship?" Manic clarified, his Rattata now perched on top of his head. "Best thing in the world." He started to walk away, getting back on the path and motioning for Scourge to follow. "C'mon, let's get goin'! Bakery opens in ten minutes! Gotta get there early if we want somethin' fresh!"

Pancham squeaked again, sounding excited as he looked up eagerly at Scourge. The hedgehog looked back at the panda, his expression softened into a smile, and he scooped up the Pokémon in his arms, running off after Manic. Fresh bread didn't sound too bad right about now…