Deep, deep, endless, horrible darkness.

He wasn't exactly sure how, or when, but at some point he became aware of it.

He became aware that his eyes were shut tight, squeezed together and blocking out everything around him. With his eyes closed, he was nothing, just a scrap of consciousness that floated in an endless abyss of black...

No...not endless. Something was there. He knew something, remembered something, recalled something. He could almost feel it drifting away, feel it slipping farther and farther until it was out of reach.

At the last moment, when he was aware he'd been in the darkness for some time now, he reached out for the memory.

It had become too faint to even fully grasp anymore, but some of it flowed back into him.

Shouting.

Crashes.

A terribly, horribly bright light.

The light was probably the most vivid part of the memory, if that was what it was. He remembered it almost clearly, how the harsh brightness swirled around him, piercing his eyes, stabbing and stretching every muscle in his body, searing his skin. The more he focused on the memory of that awful light, the more he remembered the pain it had brought. It had been so striking, so absolutely agonizing. The more those memories of pain rolled through his head, the more real it felt.

And then, he somehow realized that the pain he was feeling and recalling was real.

Bright gold eyes shot open.

The pain immediately intensified, and his eyes just stared up, glazed and confused. He saw faint blurs of things he didn't know, spots flaring and clouding his vision. Gradually, as he stayed still, his eyes like frozen orbs, his vision cleared, and he could see well enough to decipher what was in front of him.

All around him, judging from the grays he stared up at, was stone. Cold, hard, uncomfortable stone. It was slightly cracked, but it looked very sturdy and flat. Almost unnaturally sturdy and flat.

Actually, very unnaturally sturdy and flat.

He moved his head, which made it spin, but once the world wasn't tottering he saw that there were walls of the same gray stone around him. It was odd.

He began to wonder where he was.

The pain was blazing in several places. His head, his leg, his paws, his flank. His belly ached like a live rat was eating it from the inside out. Hunger, He decided as his stomach continued to throb. Yes, it was official. He was very, very hungry.

It became obvious he had to do something. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't want to. It'd be easier to lie on the cold stone ground, surrounded by stone, waiting for everything to go away...

The longer he just stayed, lying sprawled on the ground, the more clear it became he had to move. A sense of dread and anxiety had fallen over him for an unknown reason. Something about where he was just...didn't feel right.

His stomach let out a growl. He blinked hard, making his decision.

And he struggled to his feet.

At first, he felt nothing. In fact, it felt like he was nothing. Everything disappeared for a moment.

And then it all came rushing back.

He immediately crashed back onto the ground, agony shooting through his body. His tail spiked straight up before flopping over his back, his muscles tensing from the harsh, unbearable pain. He let out a soundless scream, maw opened wide in an attempt to cry out. Tears erupted from his eyes.

It took what felt like an hour for him to collect himself enough to try again, though it had probably just been minutes. He slumped up, raising himself, stumbling and attempting to take steps. His vision was a blur of nauseating dizziness.

He placed his paws down in what he attempted to be confident, but an intense spike of pain shot through his right paw. He let out a hiss, raising the foot that throbbed. Once his vision was steady again, he looked at it. The sight sent a burst of dismay and fear into him.

His paw was twisted, broken and bloody. Dark red stained the fur that should have been blue. It looked like thousands of rocks had crushed it, leaving it in the pitiful shape it was in.

He couldn't walk with it, unless he was willing to risk further damage. He growled a bit, raising his right front leg so he didn't put any pressure on it.

Now on 3 legs, a pitiful, stumbling mess that knew nothing but terrible pain, he tried stumbling along.

At first he wasn't sure what he was looking for. Supplies. Help. A way out. After a few minutes of staggering forwards, leaning on the odd stone walls for support, his main objective became apparent: He needed food and water, and badly.

He wasn't sure how long he stumbled around. He remembered a crossroad. Maybe two. His mind was a blur that wasn't working. He wanted to collapse and stop trying, but something kept him going. Probably his terrible thirst and hunger. His voice was too weak to cry out.

After what felt like days, he bumped into a wall. His eyes had been half-closed. Something felt odd about this wall, though. It felt...cold, and...and...

...Wet.

His drooping eyes shot open;he immediately threw himself at the water. It turned out there was a puddle on the floor. The water wasn't clean, but he didn't care. He lapped up what he could get. After there was no water left in the puddle, he licked the drops of water falling from his muzzle.

Not much, but the water definitely cleared his head a bit. He looked at the wall he'd bumped into. It must have been splashed before he'd gotten here. The water made it shiny, shiny enough to be reflective.

He stiffened.

A small, awful-looking Shinx stared at him, eyes wide and haggard.

In an odd way, the form felt wrong yet familiar. He studied it carefully, making sure the small Pokemon that gazed back at him was indeed his own reflection. He twitched his tail-it was long and black, with a bright gold star at the tip. The reflection twitched back at the exact moment, copying his every movement.

He wasn't sure why such dismay rose in his chest;he studied the Shinx carefully, noting the injuries that covered it. Oh, there were many. A gigantic red sore on the Shinx's forehead, sticky with red that dripped across his face. A large wound that had been torn into his chest and throat that oozed and pulsed blood. There were many scratches and gashes along his body-one on his back, many zig-zagging across his flank, some on his legs, one on his ear, it even appeared that there was one on his belly, the way blood was dripping slowly from it. He now realized his entire body was dripping with red-red dribbling off his head and face, scarlet leaking from the long cut on his belly, crimson staining his blue fur so much he could hardly tell it was supposed to be blue, all these reds dripping and dropping and gushing from his awful, scarred, battered body and leaving a puddle of ugly blood on the ground.

The sight of him made his terrible pain get worse, and he felt horribly sick;he felt his belly lurch in an awful way and he retched, though there was nothing in his stomach to come out. His vision became so blurred he couldn't decipher the reds from the grays, and he became so terribly dizzy that he swore he was being spun around. His head pounded in his skull, blinding him even more...everything felt awful and sickening and he wanted it all to stop more than ever.

The Shinx lifted his throbbing head and let out an anguished cry, letting the world around him know about his pain. It wasn't loud, it wasn't clear, but the sound of it rang through the stony corridors he stood in.

The small Pokemon crumpled into a heap, unable to do anything until his pain ebbed away and he could keep searching for food. He felt nauseous and ill, and he could feel himself shaking.

It was maybe an hour until he hauled himself up again. The image of how bloodied and battered he was was permanently etched into his brain, as if somebody had taken a knife and carved it in so he would never, ever be able to loose the memory.

It's me… He found his scattered, slurred mind muttering as the image pressed back against his mind. There was no denying it, he had absolutely no doubt the tiny blue Pokemon reflected on the wall had been him.

"It's me." he whispered, surprising himself. It hurt to talk, and he tasted blood on his tongue before he had even finished the simple phrase. The voice was a lot higher than he expected or liked, and a lot more pitiful as well. Painfully swallowing the blood that had come up when he'd spoken, the Shinx shuddered and continued to stagger through the stone corridors.

A lot of walking...a turn into a wider passageway….he kept walking...

A loopy sort of path...he made the turns, nearly slipping as he found himself out of the thinner passages...

He stumbled into what appeared to be a room, and his heart nearly stopped. A tiny brown bird was curled up in the very corner of the small room, making a sort of whistly sound as it let out long, deep breaths. The Shinx felt absolute terror, and he felt another shiver run down his spine, though it wasn't one of pain or terror. It was a jolt of warm and cold at the same time, flickering through his fur in just a second before the odd feeling was gone.

After a few minutes of standing still, the Shinx finally realized: the bird was fast asleep! He felt a sigh of relief pass from his mouth. A strange instinct washed over him for a moment, to attack the Pidgey, maybe let it fill his empty belly. However, he dismissed the hunter's instinct after a second of thought. He knew he couldn't survive a single attack, not even a scratch or peck from the bird. Caution rolled over him again, though-he could not wake the creature, or the danger he had been worried about moments ago would appear as fast as a Pokemon could open it's eyes.

Carefully, he began inching his way through the room. He stuck close to the stone walls, since he would probably fall and wake up the Pidgey if he tried balancing on three legs with nothing for support. There was another passage at the end of the room, close to where the Pidgey slept. When he got close to it, he made sure he was as absolute quiet as he could manage.

Almost...away...safe…

He crept into the corridor, leaving the room and the snoozing Pokemon alone.

Yes!

For the first time, the smallest spark of something besides awful emotions flickered in his heart. He tried to place it. Happiness? Pride?

Pride. He was proud of himself for getting through the room and avoiding the danger.

The slight bit of pride was immediately drenched under another wave of icy terror when he heard voices.

Something was shouting. Not far, not too close. He looked forwards. This hallway of stone wasn't as long as the other ones he'd made it through before the room. He felt his heartbeat quicken as another shout, then a crash, came from ahead.

He ever so slowly crept forwards, feeling himself quake with fear. If something was ahead, and it attacked him, he would probably die. His entire body was on high alert, the weird shivers going through his body again. He saw everything as a threat, every sound was danger.

He wished he could run.

And then, as he neared the entrance to the next chamber, he saw it.

A huge, lumbering beast with long tusks that swerved around wildly, making a slight whoosh as they swished through the air. Dark gray armor covered the gray monster's trunk and back, and, the Shinx felt his eyes grow with even more horror, the large beat rolled up into a huge, speeding ball in a second.

He felt his shaking get worse. His mind somehow let him know the name of this Pokemon, Donphan…, before it turned and locked its gaze on him.

"YEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIII!"

The frightened Shinx winced as an explosion of light burst in front of him. For a moment he was reminded of the painful white light he'd been remembering when he'd first woken up, but then the room cleared and he saw the once powerful and frightening Donphan struggling to it's sturdy feet.

As white smoke parted from the Donphan, however, another Pokemon became visible in the room. The Shinx squinted his eyes, which were seeing blurry, and made out a pale-and-purple feline shape.

The feline lashed its tail and sprang at the hardy Pokemon, pale paws outstretched. He winced again as it collided with the elephant-like creature, who made out a loud, low grunt.

There was a word in his mind as he watched with wide eyes as the cat slashed its claws furiously against the Donphan's face. Delcatty, I guess that's its name. He decided, still watching the smaller Pokemon fighting the larger. Studying its form as it leapt back to avoid getting hit by the Donphan's long white tusks, he decided the Delcatty must be a female.

There was a quick shyoom-shyoom-shyoom as a flurry of sharp-looking leaves sailed through the air, each hitting the Donphan's armor with a satisfying plink or chysk. The Shinx leapt in the air when he saw one of them spiraling in his direction, feeling a slight whoosh as the razor-sharp crescent flew past his ear. He hit the ground with a rush of extreme pain and dizziness, now several feet inside the room and a lot closer to the battle than he would have liked.

This room was much bigger than the one with the sleeping Pidgey. Now that he was closer, the Donphan was even more terrifying: It's hard dark gray armor, pale blue underscales, sharp white tusks, and large sturdy feet made it more than easy to believe losing a fight with it would hurt a lot.

There were also three other Pokemon in the room. One was the Delcatty that had been attacking the elephant with her claws. There was a small green-and white Pokemon backed against a wall, the leaves on it's head sticking straight up. The third Pokemon was a bright pink sheep with pale blue-white wool covering the upper half of its body. None of them seemed to notice him.

His panicked mind was flaring with terror as the Donphan let out a mighty roar. The three Pokemon that seemed to be against him were yelling directions at each other, but not in an unorginized or hostile way. It felt natural, like they'd done it before and they weren't very worried.

A small ball of greenish light began to form on the Petilil's leaves. He watched as it got bigger, the greenish energy pulsing larger and larger until it was the size of the summoner's body. With a shriek the Petilil released the ball of energy and let it hurtle at the massive armored elephant, who had almost no time to react as it noticed the energy ball rushing in its direction. There was a slight explosion sound, and then the green-white smoke cleared away to show the Donphan had been hit hard under his armor.

He wasn't sure how long he watched the battle. All three Pokemon darted in and out of range, each attacking the Donphan with different techniques.

Finally, after what felt like forever and nothing at the same time, the Donphan let out a roar of defeat and stamped away through a large, wide passageway on the other side of the room, thankfully not using the one the Shinx stood in.

Cheers and sighs of relief swept through the three fighters. Relief also swept through the Shinx, as the Donphan's defeat meant he wasn't in danger of being crushed under its hard armor or heavy legs. He sighed, and a squeaky sound escaped from his mouth.

Immediately the three Pokemon swung their heads to look at him, and the pain and terror resurfaced. They weren't a huge Donphan, but they easily outnumbered him. Unable to run, the Shinx quickly dropped his stance into a crouch. He felt the same shivery sensation rushing through his fur, but this time he welcomed it, realizing it felt pleasant and invigorating. He let more of the odd shivery sensation come out, and he heard a faint crackle. A jolt ran through him as he realized what it was-electricity.

Fur crackling with sparks, the Shinx looked up and felt his heart skip a beat. The pink sheep was standing right in front of him, her dark eyes studying him. He shut his eyes quickly, bracing himself for whatever attack she wanted to throw at him…

"It's not attacking."

He felt himself loosen the slightest bit. Her tone wasn't hostile, and her words weren't either.

"Are you sure?" another voice called, sounding unsure.

He felt a little pat. It wasn't painful at all, in fact, it was kind of comforting. His electricity sort of faded away, too.

"Positive." He looked up, and he confirmed it was the Flaaffy talking. One of her paws was on his head.

He realized, as he studied her, that there was some sort of bag or pouch slung over her woolly shoulder. It was made of some sort of thick brown leather, and it looked absolutely stuffed with some items of some sort.

And then, to his horror, the Flaaffy looked down and stared directly at him.

He felt her eyes gazing into his, and he tried studying them for real now. They had none of the crazed hostility the Donphan's had had, none at all. Instead, concern and caring and good-nature floated in the dark purple orbs. He felt an immediate reaction of trust as they stared at each other. This Pokemon was different from the aggressive beast.

"Ar-You're not okay…" the Flaaffy murmured to herself, looking worried.

The Delcatty padded up to him, and she had the same caring eyes as the Flaaffy. Her huge purple ears flatten with concern when she saw him. "Oh dear," she muttered, tail twitching. "How is it-"

The third Pokemon, the Petilil, bounded up to them. She didn't hold herself with the tired thoughtfulness of the others, but with a more excited and curious air. The small bulb Pokemon peered at him, tilting her large green-and-white head.

The Shinx felt very uncomfortable with the three pairs of eyes on him. He ducked his head, curling over his empty stomach for a moment.

There was a scuffling noise, and he raised his aching head again to see the Flaaffy digging through the bag on her shoulder. She finally pulled out a small bright blue thing, and he felt his eyes widen. Immediately his stomach made a loud growling noise.

He darted at the berry and stuffed it in his mouth the second the Flaaffy's pink paw held it out close enough.

Flavor hit his tongue even before his teeth crushed down the blue berry. It was sweet and slightly sour, with a bitter taste that clashed with the sweeter part. He gulped down the delicious juice from the berry and chewed at the pulp, which stayed in his mouth. More bittersweet juice spurted from it, and after chewing he swallowed again, feeling the berry go down with relief and satisfaction. He felt his belly fill a little. Just that one berry made him feel so much better.

Licking his muzzle, which dripped with blue, he looked up. The three Pokemon were peering anxiously at him. It was more than obvious to him that they were trustworthy. They didn't have crazed eyes or bared teeth, and they seemed to want to help him.

"T-thank you," the Shinx rasped, struggling to speak. His mind was much clearer, though, and it was getting easier to string together words by the second.

The Delcatty nodded. "It's our duty to help lost or troubled Pokemon. You are not a Wild. I can tell."

Wild. He was confused at the word.

"It was in your eyes," the Delcatty continued. "A Pokemon can tell a lot by its eyes. So much. We could see you were not feral, just hurt, by looking through yours."

He swallowed, looking steadily at the cat. There was some awkward silence as he struggled to find what to say.

"I'm Lily!" the small Petilil said cheerfully, interrupting the silence. She sounded and looked the youngest of the three. "And this is Violet and this is Nitzi! And we're team Dazzletaz! Nitzi made up the name, isn't it so super clever!?"

She spoke fast, and with extreme enthusiasm. The Shinx tried processing everything the Petilil had spurted out. Lily. Violet. Nitzi. Team. Dazzletaz…? He paused mid-thought. What kind of stupid name is Dazzletaz of all things?

The Delcatty, who was most likely Violet, shot a dark glance at Lily, but she kept talking cheerfully, not noticing the feline's message.

"And who are you? This Dungeon doesn't have Shinxes, haha, and you aren't Wild, at least, you don't seem or act or look like one. Well, maybe you do. Look at yourself! You're all gross and torn up, ew, did you get into a fight with something? What happened to you?"

"LILY!" Violet snapped harshly, glaring daggers at her teammate.

He shut his eyes, his headache returning with every word the Petilil uttered. However, her question had made him blank. What had happened to him? He thought hard, racking his memory.

Shock and dismay pierced his heart after a moment.

He found nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Not a single thing, besides that painful white light.

He had no memory of anything, besides this place.

"What happened to you?" Lily repeated again, ignoring the Delcatty's warning.

He gulped, feeling extremely sick again. He was scared now, but in a different way. "...I…..don't know."

Nitzi the Flaaffy tilted her head. "You don't know?"

"I don't know…" the Shinx confirmed, his voice wavering. He wanted to cry, cry in confusion. He was so, so confused, lost and scared and unsure and….

He hardly knew why, why, why he felt these things...

"Okay...what's your name?" the Flaaffy asked, sounding only the slightest bit uncertain possible. "It seems possible that you lost some short-term memory in here, but if we have your name it'll be easier to find out what happened.

Panic rose in the Shinx's aching, dripping chest. "I-I don't know!" he sputtered, feeling dizzy. He shut his eyes tight, trying so hard, trying so desperately to just remember…

He couldn't. He couldn't remember.

Violet tipped her head. "What?"

"I...I don't know...I...can't remember….I'm...I-I'm scared….I don't know anything…." he strang his fumbled, panicked thoughts into words slowly, trying to resist breaking down. He wasn't sure, wasn't sure why he wanted to cry, wanted to hurt something, wanted to scream in frustration. He wasn't sure of anything. His mind was blank, empty, with huge holes where things should have been. He felt himself whimper.

There was deep, dead silence, and he could only hear his heart beating furiously and his ragged breathing. He felt himself shivering, and he swallowed again, blinking fast.

"What...do you mean?" Nitzi sounded confused and uncertain.

He didn't answer. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know anything! His empty mind sang over and over again. He thought the berry had made him better, but he felt worse than ever before with a clear mind.

Lily started talking again. "Well, if you don't have a name, I guess we'll have to give you one! Hmmmmmm…." he felt the hyper Petilil study him. "Hrmm...ah! Y-you look like a Jay to me!"

Jay? "No…" he murmured, his mind spinning. That name was wrong, not even close, it could not be him, could not, could never fit him… "T-that's not me…"

"Sure it can be!" Lily sang cheerfully, grinning. "Your fur is the color of jaybirds and bluejays, well, I'm sure it is when it's not all yucky and red. Jay is such a nice name! It fits you, I know it does!"

"Lily," Nitzi said, turning to the bouncing green Pokemon. "Shut up. Right now."

Lily cocked her head, looking a bit hurt, but she obeyed the older Pokemon.

"I...I'm not a Jay…" he muttered, his voice fading, but he wasn't sure if the team was listening. They all appeared to be thinking deeply. Nitzi played with the blue wool all over her chest, which sparked with energy every time she curled and pulled it.

"Alright." Violet confirmed, nodding in his direction and stepping to him after what felt like years. "We're going to take you to our base and get you fixed up. You...should be able to remember once you're better. Your wounds look serious."

He heard the uncertainty in her voice, but he forced himself to believe her, believe her every word. And so he nodded his agreement, feeling a new weariness spread over his aching body.

I'll remember soon, he repeated to himself desperately, over and over again. It's just because I'm so hurt...I'll-I'll remember soon...

...