"Hey! Wake up!" someone yelled at me. I opened my eyes. I was in a forest, lying on the ground. I rubbed the top of my head, it felt like my hair was a lot longer. I decided not to worry about it and instead tried to see who'd woke me up. I looked around and saw a Fennekin.
"Hey there," I said "I don't suppose you know who woke me up?"
"Yeah," it said "she's me!" The Fennekin grinned.
I jumped back a little, still lying on my back. "You talked!"
"Yeah, and?"
"But you're a pokemon!"
"Well so are you."
"Come again?"
"I said, well so are you! Dang, are you hard of hearing or something?"
I couldn't speak. I looked down at my body. I was covered in gray fur, I had a tail, and I had four paws instead of hands and feet!
"Are you okay?" the Fennekin asked me. I didn't answer, I saw a puddle a few feet away and scrambled over to it. I looked at my reflection, and staring back at me, was a Zorua!
"What the?" I said. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. I was still staring at a shocked looking Zorua. I inched away from the puddle and tried to stand up. My hind legs wouldn't hold me up. I fell flat on my face.
"So is that a no?" the Fennekin asked.
"That is definitely a no!" I said, starting to panic. I tried to stand up again and once again, I fell.
"Don't you know how to walk?" she asked.
"Of course I do! I've been walking my whole life! But I've never been a pokemon before, so, I guess now I don't."
"If you weren't a pokemon, then what were you?"
"A human!"
"What's that?"
"You seriously don't know?" I asked, a little irritated.
"Nope" she answered.
"Never mind then, it's too difficult to explain."
"So where are you from?"
"I'm from..." I trailed off. I just realized that I didn't know where I was from, or who I was, or why I felt the strangest sense of deja vu. All that I knew was that my name was Clayton.
"So? Where?" she asked, seemingly a little annoyed.
"I don't know" I said in absolute terror.
"You forgot who you are?!"
"All I know is that my name is Clatyon."
"I know what this is! It's called...uhhhh...amnesia! Yeah! Amnesia!"
"But what am I supposed to do now?" I asked.
"I guess you can come back to town with me" she said, grinning.
"Looks like I don't have much of a choice." I started to try to stand, but she put a paw on my shoulder and shook her head.
"Okay, look. That's not how you walk" she said.
"Then how do I walk in this form?"
"I'll show you. Just mimic me." She got down on her belly so she was lying flat on the ground. I did the same. Then she put all four paws on the ground so that her legs were right against her sides. I did the same. Then she stood up on four legs. I did too, despite being a little shaky.
"I think I can do this" I said. I took a step forward and my body instinctively shifted my weight so that I could balance.
"Good, good. Now we can get out of this forest."
"Lead the way."
"Gladly." She started walking down a path and I followed her. After a minute or two, she decided to break the ice. "So, you said your name's Clayton?"
"Yeah. Do you have a name?"
"My name is Kina."
"Nice name."
"Thanks. Do you have a family?"
"No clue...maybe, but I don't think so. How about you?"
Her tail flicked the air, like the question bothered her. "My parents left me when I was just a baby. I was raised by someone in the Pokemon Village. That's where we're heading."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't worry, it's fine." We continued walking, but I began to get the feeling we weren't alone in this forest.
"Hey Kina?" I asked.
"Yes" she responded.
"Do any pokemon live in this forest?"
"Of course. Why?" she asked. I stopped walking and she turned to face me. "What's wrong?" she asked.
I couldn't answer. I was too scared. Because coming out of the brush behind Kina, was a huge Scolipede!
"Uhhhh...K-K-Kina?" I stammered, frozen with fear.
"What's your problem?" she asked, confused. I lifted one shaking paw and pointed behind her. She spun around and began to back towards me.
"What are you doing on my turf?!" the Scolipede said angrily.
"We were just passing through" I said nervously.
"Yeah! We just wanted to go to our home in the village" Kina said, hoping to avoid a fight.
"Well, I guess you can go" he said. I sighed with relief. "For one-hundred poke-coins!" he added evilly.
"What?" me and Kina yelled together.
"Pay up or get ready to tussle!" Scolipede said as he assumed a battle stance.
"But we don't have that kind of money!" Kina said defensively.
"Then I guess I have no choice" he said "Mega-Horn!" The spikes on his head turned green and extended. Then he charged at us.
"Move!" Kina shoved me out of the way and we rolled to the side as Scolipede roared past us. "Ember!" Kina yelled and fiery embers shot out of her mouth at Scolipede. He stopped running and took the hit like it was nothing.
"Gonna have to do better than that!" he said as he began slowly walking towards us.
"Come on! help me!" Kina told me as she prepared to attack again.
"How?!" I asked frantically as I got up.
"You have attacks you can use!" she said, turning to face Scolipede.
"What are they?!"
"How should I know?!" she jumped to the side as Scolipede tried to kick her. "Try anything!" she yelled.
"O-okay" I stammered as I racked my brain for a move that a Zorua could use.
"Scratch!" Kina yelled. Her front paws started glowing white and she ran towards Scolipede's legs. He kicked her aside and she hit a tree. She collapsed.
"Kina!" I yelled. I jumped forward and, without thinking, yelled "Scratch!" My front paws turned white and glowed. I slashed them across Scolipede's forehead. I then used his head as a springboard to jump back. I landed on my feet a few yards away.
"Why you little!" Scolipede said, apparently more annoyed than hurt. He took a step closer to me and I took a step back.
"Ember!" Kina yelled. She was up on her feet again. Hot embers shot out of her mouth and bathed Scolipede in heat. He stepped back but didn't back down.
I ran to Kina's side. "So what now?" I asked.
"No clue" she answered as Scolipede approached us.
"You know," Scolipede said "you two are proving to be pretty dang annoying. Almost as annoying as the guy who's been following me. So, I think I'm just gonna put you both down right here, and right now! String Shot!" White webs shot out of his mouth and wrapped around us, pinning us to the ground.
"Who's been following you?" Kina asked.
"A little twit named Andrew" Scolipede said.
"Andrew? I know him!" Kina said, apparently having an idea.
"You do?!" Scolipede said, apparently getting nervous.
"Yeah, and if you don't let us go right now, I'll call him here!" she said, acting braver than either of us probably felt.
"Who's Andrew?" I whispered.
"Someone from my village. He's like a one-pokemon Rescue Team" she whispered back. I decided to ask what a Dungeon Explorer was later.
"You're bluffing!" Scolipede said, like he was reassuring himself.
"Am I?" Kina asked sarcastically.
"Yes, you are!" A voice said nearby.
Scolipede looked around confused. "What do you mean 'she is'? Where are you?!" he yelled.
"She's bluffing" the voice answered "because she can't call me if I'm already here."
Scolipede's face drained of color. "Oh no..." he said.
"Slash!" the voice yelled. Something rocketed out of a nearby tree and landed on Scolipede's head. It slashed it's claws across his forehead and then back-flipped to the ground.
"You again?!" Scolipede said angrily.
When the thing that attacked Scolipede stopped moving, I was able to see what he, or it, was. He was an Axew. He was wearing black sunglasses.
"Andrew?!" Kina said, apparently surprised.
"Shut up and let me work" he said rudely. He turned to face Scolipede "So, ready to give up yet?"
"Never! Venoshock!" Scolipede fired a jet of purple slime at Andrew. Andrew sidestepped it.
"Dual Chop!" he yelled. His tusks turned blue and started glowing. He leaped up into the air and, using his tusks, put two huge scrapes across Scolipede's chest.
"Arrrgghh! MegaHorn!" Scolipede yelled as he charged at Andrew with his glowing green horns.
"Time to wrap this up" Andrew said calmly "Dragon Rage!" He opened his mouth and a dragon made of blue energy shot out and hit Scolipede. Scolipede collapsed and went limp.
Andrew dusted himself off and walked over to us. "Slash" he said calmly. The claws on his fingers extended and glowed. He cut the webs that were wrapped around me and Kina.
"Thanks" I said "We would've been toast if you hadn't shown up!"
"Yes," Andrew said "You would have." He walked away and grabbed one of Scolipede's horns. Then he began pulling Scolipede down the path with no real effort.
I watched him leave, then asked "What was that about?"
"He doesn't really like being around other pokemon" Kina told me.
"Why's that?" I asked.
"No one really knows." She sat down and started licking the last remnants of web off her paws.
Without thinking, I sat down and started scratching the back of my ear with my hind leg. Why am I scratching myself like this? I wondered Maybe it's because my body knows it's a pokemon now. Maybe I'll just start acting like this more.
After we finished getting the bits of web off ourselves, I asked a question. "So, what's a Rescue Team?"
Kina looked shocked "You really don't know?"
"That's why I asked."
"Oh man! Rescue Teams are the coolest! They're teams of two or three pokemon who travel through caves and dungeons to help those in need. They also help discover new places and treasures!"
"Sounds like you know a lot about them."
"Yeah! I've been wanting to become one, but I need at least one teammate."
"Andrew didn't seem to need one."
"That's because he's not an official Rescue Team member. Since he doesn't have a team, he's not permitted to use items that the teams normally have access to." We started walking down the path as we continued talking.
"So Rescue Teams teams help those in need?"
"Exactly, they're the coolest of the cool!"
"Sounds awesome."
"They are!" She finished excitedly.
I began to think to myself Being a Rescue Team sounds like a lot of fun. It would be cool to be one, at least until I find out more about who I am. Plus, Kina helped me, so I should try to help her with this. I made up my mind, I would help Kina become a Rescue Team member by becoming one myself!
I tried to tell her, but she stopped me and pointed forward. The trees ended up ahead, and past the trees, were buildings! "Come on!" she said as she broke into a run. I decided I would tell her later and followed. I found that once I'd learned to walk as a Zorua, that running just came naturally.
Once we made it to the buildings, I saw that most of them were shops with pokemon standing behind the counters. Pokemon were also walking around all over the place in the town. Kina led me to a small building near the edge of town.
She pushed open the door and yelled "Kanga! I'm back!"
"Welcome home dear!" a voice said as we walked inside. I looked around and saw who the voice belonged to. A Kangaskhan! She was wearing an apron and holding a frying pan over a metal stove.
"By the way, I brought a friend" Kina said and she gestured to me.
"Well hello there" Kanga said kindly "And who might you be?"
"My name is Clayton...but I don't know anything else about myself." I said sadly.
"What do you mean?" Kang asked. She extinguished the fire in the stove and took off her apron.
"It's a long story" Kina said. Kanga walked over to a pile of large pillows. She sat three on the floor and sat cross-legged on one. Kina jumped onto another one and I sat on the last one. We sat like that as me and Kina told Kanga everything that had happened. She listened intently as her expression grew sad.
"And so, I thought I should bring him here" Kina finished.
"Oh you poor baby!" Kanga said to me. "You must be so confused and scared right now!" I couldn't help it, my ears drooped and I curled up on the pillow. I started making a quiet whining noise in the back of my throat without meaning to.
"I was wondering if he could stay with us for now" Kina asked.
"Of course he can!" Kanga said kindly. She reached over and stroked the fur on my back. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?" I nodded, still whining quietly like a Poochyena or maybe a baby Houndour.
"How about we get something to eat?" Kina suggested, trying to cheer me up.
"That would be nice" I said.
"All right, then I'll start supper!" Kanga said. she got up and started the stove again. Within minutes, there was a bowl of some kind of soup in front of me. Kanga and Kina each had one too. Kina drank hers by lapping it up with her tongue. I mimicked her. The soup was the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted.
"This is amazing!" I said between mouthfuls. I hungrily emptied the bowl.
"Why thank you!" Kanga said. she scratched behind my ear and I felt a rush of relaxation at the touch. My leg started kicking and my tongue hung out of my mouth.
"That's hilarious!" Kina said as she fell off her pillow, laughing.
"Now, now," Kanga said "I know you have a sweet spot too."
"Come on! there's no way that will still wor-" She stopped short as Kanga scratched under her chin. Kina rolled onto her back with her tongue hanging out. Kanga stopped and Kina shook her head and rolled back upright. "Seriously? Every time! It gets me every time!" she said.
After Kanga sat our bowls in a sink, she led us up a flight of stairs and into a room with two straw beds in it. "This is where Kina usually sleeps. But I've always had an extra bed, just in case someone else needed to stay here. Make yourself at home." She left me and Kina alone in the room.
"So, what do you think?" Kina asked excitedly. She jumped onto of one of the beds, her tail wagging excitedly. I looked around and saw posters that showed pokemon wearing scarves and badges. All of them were helping other pokemon in various ways.
"Are they Rescue Teams?" I asked, looking at a picture of a Charizard with a blue bandanna and a Pikachu with a blue badge. They were opening a treasure chest.
"Yeah. They're just a few of the hundreds of teams around the world!" Kina said as she rolled onto her back on her bed, looking at some posters on the ceiling.
"So your dream is to become part of a Rescue Team?" I asked.
"Ever since I found out what they were!" she said and she rolled off her bed. She sat down and looked at me curiously. "What are you getting at?"
"You'll see. Now, have you already tried to join one?"
"I tried to see if Andrew would form a team with me, but...well, you saw him."
"Indeed I did. Now, final question. Are there any requirements to become a rescue team?"
"Only that you need at least two members. But I don't see what this has to do with..." she stopped short as she guessed what I was leading up to. "Are you saying you're gonna help me become part of a Rescue Team?"
"Yes, I think it's the right thing to do. Plus, it sounds like it could be fun!" I said. I was gonna say something else, but I was cut short when she tackled me in a hug.
"You're the best, Clayton!" she yelled. Kanga came running in a few seconds later.
"I heard shouting! Is something wrong?" she asked frantically.
"No! Nothing's wrong! Everything's great!" Kina squealed. She scratched the spot behind my ear that I'd just realized I couldn't reach. My foot started tapping the floor as my tail started wagging. My tongue rolled out of my mouth.
"I think you two are gonna get along great!" Kanga said.
And so ends Chapter one. This story is gonna be my primary focus for the time being. I'll go back to my other story later on, but for now, this is what I'm gonna be writing. By the way, I'm going to try and make these chapters longer than in my previous stories, so they will take longer to make. Anyway, I hope you all love this story!