Author's Notes – This story is inspired by the Ginji's Rescue Team manga, though all the characters are original. This story does, however, follow the plotline of the original Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games (Red and Blue Rescue Team), with the following exceptions: The main character decided not to remain a pokémon, and Gengar also turned itself back into a human after sacrificing its life to save a young Krabby.

I do not own pokémon.

\\\Chapter One: Meteor/

Careful…careful…Adam moved his fingers ever so slightly. As an expert woodcarver, he knew the slightest mistake was irreversible, and something not tolerated when you spend over a year on the same carving. No, Adam was aiming toward perfection. Indeed, it was highly likely he would achieve that perfection today: all he had left to finish was one-eighth inch of border around his carving, and it would be complete. Brushing away the dust caused by his knife (he preferred to carve with a knife), Adam gazed over his masterpiece.

The center of the carving featured a giant Rayquaza. Above this Rayquaza shone a bright yellow-red circle. Battling the Rayquaza were two pokémon, a Cyndaquil and a Treecko. The Cyndaquil could be seen in multiple smaller images surrounding the main image, usually seen battling some legendary pokémon such as Zapdos and Groudon. Finally, the border of the image was a typical border: spirals on the corner, but with straight lines along the edges. The only exception to this rule was a small emblem in the uppermost center of the carving, which appeared to be an egg with wings. Smiling to himself, Adam flipped it over, attached two hooks, and hung the twelve-by-eight foot carving above his bed.

As a young boy of fifteen years of age, Adam should be on his pokémon journey. Yet on the eve of his ninth birthday (one year before he was to become a trainer), he had an experience he was sure no one else ever gained: he became a pokémon. To be specific, he became the Cyndaquil in the wood carving. Yet despite the supposed two years of life as a pokémon, he returned to being a human the very day in which he left. Because of this, he was sure he had dreamed the entire adventure. His life as a pokémon did, however, have one implication: he did not want to train the creatures to fight.

Instead, he turned to art. Drawing, painting, and carving out his adventure to a detail level that would've put Da Vinci to shame. He became the greatest artist on all of the Sevii Islands, so when it came time to expand the Kanto league to ten gyms, the Chrono Island Gym called him in for the job. With the money he made from decorating the gym (this time in a style based on his delusional ascension of Sky Tower), he had enough money to last him until he moved out (his parents refused to pay for anything other than food and his room).

However, Adam found himself without any friends. Everyone his age left to go on their journeys when they were ten (except for David, but he left when he was twelve), and there were no other children left on Quest Island. Granted, many trainers often traveled through the town to reach Trainer Tower, but none he knew (most children from Sevii started their journey in Hoenn, and they had an identical facility called Trainer Hill). Though he was dismayed by his lack of companionship, he knew that it was too late to leave on his journey anyway.

Just then, he heard a knock at his front door. His parents were out for the day (his mom worked in Trainer Tower and his father manned the Seagallop High Speed No. 8), so he went quietly put down his tools and answered the door. Standing in the doorway was Juliet Selphy, the Chrono Island Gym Leader (daughter of the late Eleanor Selphy, who owned a mansion north of the main Chrono Island town). Adam had not seen Juliet since he finished her gym, and so was appropriately stunned to have a gym leader standing in his doorway.

"Excuse me," Juliet said, "but I have been called to a gym-leader's conference at Trainer Tower, and I…um…you see…gosh, I don't know how to put this…I don't have a single pokémon that can surf on water..and…well–"

"It's alright, Juliet," Adam interrupted, "if you want to know how to get to Trainer Tower without surfing, just follow me.

"Thanks – wait! Why did you call me Juliet?"

"Well that's your name, isn't it? Aren't you Juliet Selphy?"

"No! Juliet's my older sister! I'm Stephanie, Stephanie Selphy. Pleasure to meet you."

"Right…sorry…well, here, follow me. I hope you're not afraid of getting wet." Adam walked Stephanie past the edge of town (a whopping quarter-mile away!), and north along the Trainer Tower root until they reached the water. Adam then turned right and walked until they ran into some cliffs. He boosted Stephanie up and then climbed up himself onto a large rock, and proceeded to show Stephanie a small path that traveled along the side of the cliff.

"Wait a minute – this path doesn't go all the way! We'll still need to surf!"

"Relax, and don't worry," Adam said as he jumped onto a large rock sticking out of the water, "All we have to do is walk across the rocks, and we'll be at Trainer Tower within the hour." With that said, Adam began to jump across the rocks with great expertise (for he had traveled the same route a great number of times). Stephanie fell into the water once, but got the hang of it after five minutes, and soon traveled far ahead of Adam. They reached Trainer Tower just as the clock struck two.

Turning to Adam, Stephanie said, "Thanks! Say, I never got your name."

"My name's Adam, and don't worry – I do this all the time," Adam said as he turned to leave. However, he did not get more than five feet before something caught his eye. All the trainers, Stephanie included, had gathered around a small television set in the corner of the tower. Curious, Adam walked over toward the television and asked someone what was so important. Rather than respond, the trainer simply hushed him and pointed at the screen. It appeared as though a battle was underway, or, more specifically, had just ended. Several trainers around him were turning to leave as the television cut to a newsroom.

"Much thanks to Jublife TV for allowing us to hijack their broadcast of the first challenger to face the new Sinnoh champion," a woman on the television said, "We now return to our regularly-scheduled news broadcast. Authorities in the Orre region announced yesterday evening that the three-year-old Citadark explosion northwest of the Orre region was not, as had previously been announced, an above-ground atomic bomb test. The atomic bomb excuse was meant to cover-up a –" Someone changed the channel to a commercial for pokéblocks.

"Hey!" Adam yelled, causing numerous stares.

"Sorry! Sorry! The trainer changed it back.

"– had the meteor impacted the ocean, it would have likely caused a tsunami that took out not only the Orre coastline, but caused global sea-levels to rise seven feet. Nevertheless, the meteor's explosion caused catastrophic damage to a satellite orbiting above the region at the time. This same satellite had the images that proved the existence of the meteor, based on one second of corrupted footage that had previously been decoded by scientists at the Mossdeep Space Center. For reasons yet unknown, the Hoenn Government has classified the final three seconds of footage, likely because the meteor destroyed portions of the satellite while leaving the camera intact, meaning the components of the satellite would be revealed. In other news, an earthquake in Sootopolis City has caused the Cave of Origin entrance to collapse. Radar has revealed only the innermost chamber remains…"

A meteor…thought Adam. That's odd…three years ago…I would be what, eleven? But the Citadark Explosion lead to threats of war by all the other regions against the Hoenn! Satellite parts cannot possibly be that important, can they? Adam wasn't so sure. The only other explanation is that there was something else caught on video.

Adam gave up on trying to determine what could possibly be so important and instead went to watch Stephanie's battles. Normally, non-trainers were not allowed in Trainer Tower, but Adam had grown up on Quest Island, so he earned a high level of respect amongst the workers. Stephanie's lack of a water type did not wear her down: she completed the tower in just under ten minutes, the third-ever fastest completion. As she was presented her prize (a TM), Adam suddenly got an idea.

"Hey Stephanie," he said, "I need your help with something. You see, I am not a trainer, but I really want to visit Mossdeep…"

\\\End of Chapter One/

Coming Soon: Memories, Chapter Two – Piracy