Does that name sound familiar?

The protagonist's name is Emile, which is a reference to the Let's Player Chuggaaconroy. If you don't like him, keep your opinions to yourself. Don't spam "Chuggaaconroy is st00pid" in the review section.

And with all that out of the way, I present to you Chapter 1. Enjoy.

Chapter 1: On the Beach at Dusk

I slowly swam into consciousness, though I was still weak. I had no strength, and my brain was foggy and unclear. I had no idea where I was.

W…where am I? I thought.

I panicked for a moment, but then I suddenly felt tired. I began to lose consciousness.

N…no… I can't… drifting… off…

XxX

"…o? He…o?" The soft voice brought me back to life. I could barely move. I couldn't lift my eyelids to see who was speaking. But the voice didn't sound familiar…

"Hello? Are you awake? Are you even alive?" the voice said, growing increasingly edgy. I still couldn't open my eyes. Now I was more awake, and I noticed tiny details about my surroundings. I felt a bed of soft grainy sand below me, and I heard the whoosh of some waves to my left. Where was I? On a beach?

No, that can't be right, I thought. The last thing I remember is…

Panic began to seep into me. I couldn't remember anything. Nothing. My mind was completely blank. Well, I could remember my name: Emile. I also had the faint feeling that I was something I wasn't supposed to be…

I heard someone take a deep breath next to me. Then a second later…

"WAKE UP, YOU STUPID RIOLU!" the voice yelled. That hit me like a bucket of icy water. I sat straight up in alarm.

"Wha-who—?" I sputtered. I couldn't help but notice that my voice sounded different…

"Oh, good. The dead rises." After I blinked the black spots out of my eyes, I found that I was indeed on a beach. Soft sand was below me. Off to my left an ocean splashed. A beautiful sunset turned the sky orange and red. I also saw something (or someone) in front of me.

It was a light shade of green, and it had two eyes, a mouth, four stubby legs, and a leaf on its head. I had never seen anything like it before.

What's that Chikorita doing in front of me? I thought. Then I realized that I had called it something. A Chikorita… What's a Chikorita? I've never even heard of a Chikorita.

"Who… Who are you?" I asked. "Heck, what are you?"

The thing (what was it… a Chikorita?) began to laugh.

"Oh, really! Who are you joking with? You should know that I'm a Chikorita! I mean, really! Any normal Pokémon such as yourself should know that!" the Chikorita said.

So that IS a Chikorita! But… how did I know that? And wait. Did she just say…?

"Any normal Pokémon such as yourself"?

What?

No way! Last time I checked I was… a human…? Yes. That was what I am. That was my only memory I had left. I knew my name and I knew that I was a human. That was it.

"Whoa. Slow down. Did you just say I was a Pokémon? Because… I'm not. I'm a human," I said. The Chikorita burst out laughing again.

"Hahahahaha! Aren't you funny! You are not a human. You are a Pokémon," she said.

"But I am a human! I really am!" I insisted.

"Hee hee hee! Please! Have you forgotten what you look like?" she giggled.

Yes, I have forgotten what I look like, I thought.

"If you really have forgotten, then go look in the water!" the Chikorita said. She seemed barely able to contain herself.

I unsteadily got to my feet and hobbled over to the water, which was shining brightly in the setting sun. I looked into the waves and got my biggest surprise yet.

Holy Mother… I've transformed into a Riolu, was my first thought.

Wait. A what? was my second thought.

I was short now, very short, and very furry, too. Everything was mostly blue, but my feet and my chest were black. There was also a black "mask" over my reddish eyes. My blue ears stuck straight up, and on my blue paws were white bumps.

"Aagh! I-I've turned into a Riolu!" I yelled, stumbling back. The Chikorita lost it.

"GAH! Hahahahahahahahaha… please… stop… I… need… to… catch… my… breath… ha…ha…ha…" she laughed. Then the promptly collapsed on the ground, roaring with laughter.

I certainly didn't think it was funny. I'd been turned into a Pokémon, had my memory wiped, been teleported into a strange world of talking Pokémon, and now a green blob was laughing at my troubles. Life wasn't so good for me now.

The Chikorita was finally calming down now. "Ah ha ha… ha… ha. So! A comedian like you must have a name. So what is it?" she asked.

"My name? It's Emile. What's yours?" I replied.

"My name is Jade. Just call me Jade the Great," Jade said snootily.

"Ha ha. Very funny. So why are you bugging me?" I asked.

"Oh." Her tone suddenly turned serious. "See, there's something I want to ask you. So, in this world, there are places called—!" But before she could say what she wanted to say, she yelped and stumbled forward, dropping a stone fragment. Behind her, two figures emerged. Maybe it was some sort of Pokémon instinct, but I recognized the things behind her as Koffing and Zubat.

"Whoa-ho-ho! So sorry, girlie!" Koffing sneered with false sympathy.

"Want us to pick it up for you?" Zubat said.

"Um—"Jade began.

But before she could finish, Zubat flew over to the fragment and picked it up with some difficulty. He gave it to Koffing, who smiled down at us.

After a minute, Jade said, "Well? Are you going to give it back?"

The duo began to laugh uncontrollably. "Whoa-ho-ho! Man, are you dense! See, we're thieves. We ain't giving this back until you make us! Whoa-ho-ho!" Koffing laughed.

A look of surprise flashed across Jade's face, but it was almost instantly replaced by a look of sheer anger and hatred. "Oh, you little… Give that back RIGHT NOW!" Jade yelled, her face red and her body shaking in rage.

"Heh-heh-heh! Watch out, girlie! You might fry that little leaf off your head!" Zubat taunted.

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Koffing laughed.

It may have been instinct, but I knew that I had to do something now. I couldn't let Jade get teased and robbed by these idiots. Even if Jade wasn't the nicest Pokémon out there, I didn't want to see this happen to her.

"Stop teasing her! And give that rock back to her now!" I said as fiercely as I could. To my dismay, the duo of Pokémon didn't stop. If anything, they got even more unruly.

"Whoa-ho-ho! And who is this runt? Your boyfriend?" Koffing said. Jade exploded with fury.

"HE! IS! NOT! MY! BOYFRIEND!" Jade roared.

"Just give it back, for God's sake!" I said.

Koffing and Zubat glanced at each other. "Okay, we'll make you a deal. If you can get through this dungeon and defeat us at the end, we might give this back to you. You got that?" Koffing said. He hovered over to a large cave that I hadn't noticed before.

"It's not like she'd have any chance of getting through it. Heh," Zubat said in a loud whisper. He flew over to the mouth of the cave with Koffing. Jade was completely silent.

"See you later, chicken," Koffing said. The two vanished into the cave.

Jade turned to me, and I was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "Emile… um… to tell you the truth, I… They were right about something. I am a chicken. I don't really have the courage to face them myself. So… I was wondering… maybe… could you lead me in there? P-please! I would be so much braver if I had you with me! Please!" she said softly.

If Koffing and Zubat hadn't just taunted her that badly, I would've said "no" right away. I didn't want to escort a feisty Pokémon like Jade into a mysterious cave. But now… Now that Koffing and Zubat robbed her and poked fun at her I just had to say yes. Jade needed help. And I was willing to give it to her.

"Okay, Jade," I said.

Jade smiled. "Oh thank you! Thank you! I'm so happy!" she squealed.

She looked at the cave. "Okay, you go first. I'll follow you and guard against attacks from the back," Jade said.

"Whoa. Did you say attacks?" I said.

"Yeah. There are Pokémon in there that may want to get rid of us. But we'll get rid of them first, won't we?"

"Um… yeah, I guess…"

"Alright. Let's go."

And together, we walked toward the cave.

XxX

I decided to try something new in this story. In pretty much every PMD story, the protagonist's partner is kind and thoughtful. But in my story, Jade the Chikorita is feisty and rather rude. But if you get to know her, Jade is actually kind of nice. She's kind of an up and down type. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.