Author's Note: This is a revised version of the version posted on my DA, the profile link is on this site's profile.

Edit April 22, 2019: Fixed the major bug with this file, I've never had that happen before .

Chapter 1: A New Day, A New Dilemma

It was dark for a while; for how long is unclear. She couldn't remember much before then, only the faint memory of reeling; what had caused such a feeling is also unclear. All she can feel at the moment is the heaviness of her body and the gentle –but slightly chilly- breeze of the outside.

As she started to awaken and regain her strength, she could hear the rustling of tree leaves and the sounds of… animals? She wasn't sure, they did not sound familiar, but they didn't sound dangerous either. Rising from her position, she looked around and noticed she was in the middle of a forest with no sign of civilization.

How did I get here?

Just as she had thought that to herself, she had noticed something was off. She knows she's standing but she could have sworn she was taller before.

Before? Before what?

The memory is just out of reach, but she can feel it…

This isn't me… is it?

She tries to get a good look at herself: stubby tan paws, a tail with a pink puff at the end with what looks like pins with tan balls at the end, a pink back. That's all she can assess at the moment, however this does not completely satisfy her curiosity since she has no clue what she's supposed to be.

I'm not going to know if I just stand around here. Okay, time to move!

With newfound confidence, she begins to walk forward, not knowing where in the world she's going. She figures if she just keeps walking in one direction, she's bound to find something different.

The forest starts to seem more and more endless the further she goes. She starts to lose confidence in her earlier assumption and entertains the thought of going a different direction, but something catches her eye: a faint, orange flicker.

A fire?

Fire usually means there's people, right? It could mean a forest fire too but she's out of options so she begins to head towards it. As she gets closer, she starts to see a figure near it. She quickens her pace but then slows down when the figure becomes clearer and more apparent that it is not causes hesitation and she feels the sudden urge to turn back before she's spotted by this thing.

"Hey!"

She jumps and freezes in her place, she didn't think she would be spotted so quickly since she was ducking slightly behind the trees. The strange pink creature, which sort of reminded her of a praying mantis, walked towards her.

"Now what's a small, little Skitty like yourself doing all the way out here?" It asked as it stopped right in front of her.

You're not much taller than me - what did it just call me? A 'skitty'?

"No need to look so 'skitt-ish,' I'm quite friendly!" The creature insisted, somehow the more it was talking the more it calmed her. Though considering what they had just attempted, it was kind of hard to stay scared.

She gathers her voice, "W-Was that a… pun?"

The creature chuckles, "Are you not a fan? I guess I should know by now that most pokemon don't like them," it waves its blade-arm a bit, "that's why I was exiled!" it ends boldly with a smile.

"Exiled! That's… a bit extreme just for some lame puns."

A pause, "I was lying, I live here – and my puns are not 'lame'!"

"Oh," is all she can say, thinking that she's straying from her goal until she realizes something weird about what the creature had said earlier so she asks, "Um, you said something like 'pokemon' earlier, what is that exactly?"

The creature stares at her in disbelief for a bit until its face lightens back up, "Haha, and I thought I was the jokester here, everyone knows what pokemon are!"

Everyone except me apparently…

"Sorry, I really don't know what that is…" she says dejectedly. The creature notices the saddened tone she had now taken and figures that she might actually be serious. It offers a seat by the fire, though its flames are merely embers at this point, not that it mattered since the sun had risen higher and the air became warmer. She notes the small makeshift hut attached to the base of the tree, which is probably the creature's house, and takes a seat on the log next to the fire pit. A brief summary on what pokemon are is animatedly given; the further in the explanation, the more overwhelmed she felt.

"You happen to be a Skitty, which I believe is a normal type, I'm not really sure where they typically live, but I will say out of all my years of living out here, I have never really seen one here. There was one I think I saw at the marketplace when I was a wee little Flomantis, but that was so long ago." It almost began to get lost in its nostalgia.

"Wait, so what are you exactly if you're not a 'Flomantis' anymore?" If she remembered correctly from that fast-paced explanation, some pokemon evolve at some point in their life. She's still not quite sure on how that happens though.

"A Lurantis. I would prefer you call me 'Manty,'alright?" It said cheerfully.

"Okay, Manty, you said something about a marketplace, right? Where is that exactly?" Admittedly, she was enjoying herself out here, it was better than what she was doing before, that's for sure, but she still had this nagging feeling like there was something really important she was missing, and she had a suspicion that all the answers aren't in the forest.

"Oh? Are you sure you wanna go to a place like that so soon? You barely even knew yourself just a moment ago! You might get overwhelmed at a place like that."

She thinks for a moment, "I'm sure. I… honestly I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do going forward, but I can't just sit around and expect the answers to drop in my lap!" She punctuates by jumping down from the log she was sitting on and stands firmly.

Manty stares at her for a moment, smiles, and rises from their spot, "I can't really argue against such conviction like that. Alright, I'll show you the way but first…" they walk back to their hut and, before completely entering, they shout, "hold on just a moment!" They go in for a while, she can hear them rummaging through things for a while until she heard them exclaim: "Ah, here it is!" They come back out hold what looks like a small white shoulder bag, "I used this a few times when I was younger, but it doesn't have much use to me anymore; however I think it will benefit you a bunch!" She didn't really have a say in the matter as Manty was already putting it on her; she didn't mind it, but something about it gave her a strange vibe.

I don't think it's the bag exactly but it does make me feel sort of… dirty? Did I do something wrong?

There was a brief silence as she contemplated her newfound feelings; she couldn't reach what she was looking for so she decided to drop the thought for now, "T-thank you."

Manty beamed, "You're quite welcome! So are you ready, it's this way!" They didn't give her time to respond as they had already started to go. She keeps up as quickly as her stubby little paws will let her.

Geez, why couldn't I have been given long legs like them!

It took a long while to get there; they had mostly traversed the forest until they reached an area that looked much different since the plant life was lighter in color. Manty explained that there are these places called Mystery Dungeons, this portion of the forest being one of them. They're somehow able to change their layout at any time. She's not quite sure how that's possible, even asking Manty about it didn't lead to a clear answer. Fortunately, there weren't any of the hostile pokemon that they said roamed around the area. She's not even sure if she could really fight any of these creatures with their strange powers.

After only two floors, they had made it back out and soon came across a path that led toward the main road, "and once we get to the main road it's just a straight shot to it!" Manty chimed, not showing any sign of exhaustion.

She pants, "So… it's not… much farther?" It's a miracle that she's been able to keep up for this long.

"Yup! At this rate we'll be there by lunch time. Ah, I can't wait till we get there; they sell the best berry smoothies there, y'know? Especially the pecha blend…" they ramble on for a long while. At least it's distracting her from her aching body.

Once on the main road she noticed a few other pokemon, most of them not even looking in their direction as if they were in a rush, "Time is money, as they say!" At least some things in this world were familiar to her.

They eventually came across a brightly colored archway, past that were some strangely shaped buildings; she assumes they are meant to represent some of the pokemon in this place since some of them did look similar. There's a ton of them, and it seems pretty easy to get lost. She's not going to let that stop her from exploring, or at least she would go exploring if she had any strength left. Noticing her sluggishness, Manty suggests they both go to the smoothie place to relax first.

They go up to a red building; she can't even begin to think of what it's supposed to look like.

How does this even relate to smoothies?

They step in; it's not particularly packed having a few seats open and a fairly short line. As they wait for their turn she ponders on how pokemon are able to have architecture like this is some of them don't even have fingers. She looks down at her paws.

No fingers…

"Don't go fallin' asleep already, it's barely noon!" Manty says, snapping her out of her almost melancholic state. She didn't realize she was spacing out that much. They make their way to the counter and order, she wasn't really sure what to get since she wasn't familiar with any of the options so Manty ordered her the same thing they got.

It tasted very sweet and had a certain tang to it, "It's very good!" she said, regaining much of her energy. "I know, right? It's my favorite among all of them." They seemed pleased in their own sense of taste. "So are you sure you're going to be able to handle yourself from here on? I noticed you could barely make it here."

"I can." Confident, no hesitation.

"That's good to hear. Though I guess it'd all be pointless to come here if you just turned back." Manty is almost done with their drink.

"Manty, thank you for helping me today, I think I would have been completely lost if I hadn't met you. You're a very good friend."

"'Friend'? Me?" They look shocked for some reason.

"Of course! Why wouldn't you be a friend?"

Manty thinks for a moment before smiling, it emitted a strange aura, "No reason, I suppose."

She's slightly confused, but she couldn't question further as Manty rose from their seat. Both of them had finished their smoothies, though she didn't realize it until now.

They went back outside, before she could do anything, Manty had announced that it was time for them to go back home, they had fulfilled their duty after all. She was surprised at first, but she knew it was going to happen at some point. They were saying their farewells until Manty realized, "Ah, I just realized, I never learned your name!"

Isn't it a bit late to be learning something like that? But then again I guess that's partly my fault…

"I'm Kaede Akamatsu."

They mumbled to their self, quiet enough to where Kaede wouldn't have heard them if she didn't have sensitive ears, "Now that's an interesting name…"

It's the first time I'm hearing it myself, was that always my name?

"Well, Kaede, I wish you the best."

"Same to you!"

Manty headed back, Kaede had stood there. She said she could handle herself from here on, but now that she really thought about, she wasn't sure where to even start. She began to wander around, bobbing and weaving through the crowd that had gotten bigger than when she first arrived. If only she were taller, she would have a better read on where she was going.

She winds up at an open booth that's run by two creatures that look like chameleons. Before she could do anything, they bombard her with products that are supposedly a good deal. Their heckling was annoying her, "Hey, back up! I never said I was buying anything!" This caused them to jump back, "Oh dear, brother, this one's scary!" the green one said. The 'brother' responded with the same frightened tone, "I never thought a Skitty could be so feisty!"

Why do I suddenly feel offended?

She decides it's best to just leave; whatever she's looking for isn't there.

Am I even going to find anything around here? Sure it's big but…

Her trail of thought fizzled away as she caught sight of a bulletin board that was between a tree and a mailbox which was next to a building, the building itself looked normal in comparison to the others in the area, in that it didn't resemble a pokemon. She went up to the board to take a look at it since she thought it would have more information about the marketplace. Upon closer inspection, it was not at all about this place, but instead was a collection of posters of wanted criminals, missing pokemon, and odd jobs. There's a lot of them.

What's this even for?

"Ya lookin' for a job?"

At first, Kaede didn't think that was aimed at her, but when she looked towards the building she saw a… very big angry weasel? She wasn't really sure how else to describe it.

"What are you?" She thoughtlessly asked.

"What kinda question is that, ya gotta death wish, kid?" It glared, and moved closer.

She reflexively moved back, "N-no, I was uh, your name! I was asking your name?" Hopefully that works in calming it.

"Typhlosion's fine. Now do ya want a job or not?" He sounds slightly less menacing.

"I don't even know what you mean by that!" She may be lost but that was no reason to recklessly take jobs she has no knowledge of.

This just annoys him, "I'm obviously referring to the posters," he points to them to make things extra clear. She looks at the posters then looks back at him, "You want me to find people?" She was in no way qualified for such a thing, she's only a pianist.

'Pianist'? What's a Pianist?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was abruptly picked up by the Typhlosion and carried into the building. She had protested the whole way and continued protesting as she was set back down on a stool that was fashioned from a tree stump. Typhlosion huffs as he sits in his desk chair that sits opposing Kaede's position, "For someone who's lookin' for work, you're damn weak."

This catches her attention, "I never said I was going to work!"

He's already signing papers, "Too late," Something seemed off about how quickly this was going, but Kaede couldn't tell what it was. He slides over a paper on his desk so that she can see it; it has a photo with some information on the bottom. As usual, she has no idea what pokemon that is, but she can read the name.

Shuichi Saihara