Welcome back! Here you go, a whole chapter about what happened after the accident. Enjoy!
Where... am I?
Coughing and spluttering out sand that had appeared to have lodged in her throat, Robin opened her eyes and her vision blurred for a second. Attempting to stand as her surroundings came into focus, there was definitely something wrong about this strange place she'd found herself in. Very strange indeed.
For one, she was no longer on Victory Road but on a beach, waves lapping against the shoreline. Robin had always disliked water, and she was relieved she had been half-buried a few metres away from the tide.
Another thing was that her body felt weird, every inch of it tingling and unnaturally light. Staggering to her feet, she glanced up and down the beach, noticing a bluey-black lump sticking out of the sand. Making her way over she pulled the thing out of the sand, where it coughed and opened its eyes. "Hello, mother..." it groaned before rolling onto its back and lying there.
"A TALKING QUILAVA?!" Her startled screech brought the Pokémon to its feet, anxiously glancing left and right. "What? Where?!" it squeaked nervously, eventually turning to look at Robin herself, who was standing on the beach a few metres away. "Oh, look, a bird thingy! My day is just getting better and better..." he muttered, shaking his head from side to side until he was sure this was no dream. "Are you insane?" she asked the foreign Pokémon, tilting her head. "A TALKING bird thingy! Yep, I think I am going mental." he replied, rolling over on the sand once again and looking down at his feet. "WHOA! What the heck am I?!" Robin laughed. "Welcome to the world of insanity. I'm Robin; pleased to meet you!" The Quilava cautiously approached the red bird, offering her his hand – no, paw – to shake. "It's Ren. At least I found someone – even if she is a bird!" She took his paw and shook it, in the process noticing her wing where her hand should be. So I'm a Pokémon too.
Still dazed and confused, Ren was first to speak up as the two stared each other down. "We should survey the area – to find somewhere to sleep for the night." "No duh!" Robin replied, perking up a bit. "Who should go?" Ren looked annoyed for a minute, his facial expression screaming, 'are you SERIOUS?!' "You are a bird." he pointed out. "So what?" Robin quirked an eyebrow and looked confused. "You can fly." "Ohhh..." she said, relaxing a bit.
Until she ran into a problem.
She had absolutely no idea how to fly.
With the Quilava watching, she decided on a run-up. Dashing awkwardly across the sands and flapping her new wings, Robin kicked off the ground...
And fell flat on her face.
Ren sniggered and doubled over laughing, which resulted in a small blast of flame hitting him in the head. He barely felt it, but stared at her with an expression of disbelief on his face. "What was THAT?" Robin tilted her head and asked, "Ember attack? Are you serious? It's one of the best-known moves that a Fire-Type Pokémon can learn!" Her Quilava friend looked even more confused as he approached. "So Pokémon isn't just a game?" Robin looked shocked for a moment, and Ren sat down on the sands. "Well, I come from Kalos and I had a team to travel with, and I beat the Gym Leaders, so... Yep, I'm pretty sure it's not just a game."
This time, she just beat her wings multiple times before attempting to take off, and she did it on the spot. Ren watched as she lifted off the ground and into the air, her attempts finally successful. "Okay, I can fly. What now?" she called down merrily, loop-the-looping above her companion's head.
The pair wandered along the shoreline, Robin having finally touched the floor and walking beside Ren. She told him tales about her world, and he mentioned his a few times – a world without Pokémon, a Champion, Leagues or Regions. She thought it must be a pretty boring world to live in, having no Pokémon like that. Ren was clearly in awe of her stories of Pokémon, the Region she lives in, her journey to become a Master and the freak cave incident. That was when she realised her team must be wandering around the Victory Road, trainer-less and alone. Her Sylveon was still fainted, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She had to hope her team would make it without her.
"So, what else do you know?" Ren asked for the billionth time. Robin sighed and shook her head. "You are a Quilava, I am a Pokémon that I don't know because I can't look at myself, and we are in this unknown land where there is no sign of life – human or Pokémon." "Or animal." Ren added. He seemed obsessed with his animals even if they were nowhere near as exciting as Pokémon. Lifting off again, Robin circled round the beach once before descending to eye-level. "There's fresh water in the forest ahead! We should go there!" she chirruped, and Ren picked up the pace.
Just within the emerald treeline, just as Robin had described, lay a clear pond with lily-pads sitting serenely on the surface. Peering at their own reflections, they were both amazed and surprised at once. "So I'm a Fletchinder..." Robin muttered, ruffling her feathers and searching her memory for when she'd seen one. Ah! Her Talonflame had been a Fletchinder before he evolved! Smiling fondly at the memory, she glanced over to Ren who was clearly fascinated. "Oh, great. You're a flaming bird and I'm a weasel who can set his own butt on fire." He burst his head and tail-flames briefly to exaggerate. "Plus, I never played Pokémon, so I have NO FREAKING IDEA what's going on here!" Smacking one paw against the ground, he paced the edge of the pond whilst his companion watched from a mossy log she was seated on. "Tell you what, why don't we stay together? You and I can learn more about this weird new world we have arrived in, and we can both find a way to get home!" she asked, and Ren lit up momentarily. "Sure, why not?"
As the last rays of sunlight faded away, the pair realised they had not eaten for hours on end. Tutting, Robin flapped away into the woods to gather berries. Her favourites had to be Leppa berries and, as she turned around, she noticed a large crop of them in the higher branches of a tree. Fluttering up and yanking them free, she loop-the-looped and wheeled back to where her friend was trying out his flames. He kept letting out little puffs of smoke and flame to test his new power, but was rudely interrupted by a bird shoving little orange berries into his mouth. "Mmmf... ack... wrrrmmrrdddffff?!" (translation: what are these things?!) Of course Robin didn't hear or understand him, until he spat a gooey mess of juicy orange berries out and onto the floor. "What the heck ARE those things?!" he finally gasped, hyperventilating and retching to get the taste out of his mouth. "If you don't like them, tough. Those restore the PP of your moves and, most likely, will fill your belly. So if you don't eat them, prepare to starve." Handing him some other berries, he gingerly held them to his mouth.
Chirping happily, she flapped away to check the local area. Peering over the treetops she could vaguely make out the beach she'd awoken upon, but this time there was a difference. They had travelled quite a way to the east and now, shrouded in darkness, any source of light would be obvious.
Well, there was a trail of smoke and fiery embers drifting into the sky less than half a mile away.
Dropping down back to the ground and hopping as fast as she could go, flapping her wings rather ungracefully to where Ren still sat, she squawked rather loudly in his ear, causing him to shoot up three feet in the air.
"There's a fire! A fire, which means it could be a village, which means there might be humans who can help get us home!" she screeched, panting once she'd finished her sentence. The shocked Quilava, still hyperventilating from the shock, regained his composure and looked up to where Robin was now hovering. With a blast of flame he sprinted after the bird, leaping effortlessly over logs and crashing through the forest floor.
Emerging on the beach, the pair glanced from side to side. The fire was closer now, and they took off up the beach to reach it. As they approached, Robin could just make out a variety of small huts by the seashore, waves lapping at the sand less than a metre away from one of the buildings. Having landed at Ren's side, Robin led him into the centre of the village where a few amphibious Pokémon sat around the blazing flames. There were no humans in sight. Robin cleared her throat and spoke.
"Hello? Do any of you know where to find any humans?"
The Pokémon stared in disbelief at this Fletchinder and Quilava who had just walked right into a village of Water-Types looking for humans. The Pokémon closest to Robin, a Corsola, peered up at the two of them.
"Are you two Trainers' Pokémon?" she asked curiously.
An outburst of rage and confusion filled the villagers, who had started to throw nasty words and water-based attacks at the pair.
"Trying to lure Trainers over here, are we?" yelled a Lombre.
"Stay away from our village, tame scum!" a Swanna at the back screeched.
The pair turned and fled the settlement, scared out of their mind and injured badly.
"I am NEVER going into a Pokémon village again." Robin gasped, panting after their mad dash. Ren nodded fearfully and promptly collapsed on the sand, exhausted and afraid. They had nowhere to stay for the night, nobody to ask for directions and barely any experience of battling in their new forms. Scouting around, a large tree with low branches sat beside the shore with a hollow in between two of the roots. Ren squeezed into the alcove, curling up like a sleeping cat, whilst Robin tucked her head under her wing in the branches above. Sleep gradually took hold, and they found themselves drifting into an uneasy sleep.
"Rin, are you leaving so soon? Do stay for the night, in case those tamed Pokémon come back with humans!" called the village leader, a Greninja, after the Marill trudging away from the settlement.
"Sorry, sir, but I need to go. The Guild needs me back by seven." the Aqua Mouse Pokémon replied with a smile. This was not a lie, but also not the real reason for his departure.
"If you say so. Do visit again, and stay safe out there!" replied the blue frog, returning to his hut on the shore. The last embers from the fire drifted into the night sky, shimmering like miniature stars for a while before dimming and being whisked away by the winds. Rin smirked before turning and dashing on all fours to where he suspected the strange Pokémon would have gone. He had a hunch that those two were not what they seemed.
He reached into the pouch he kept on his upper right arm and pulled out a few berries, popping them into his mouth and scampering onwards. Sprinting across the shore and returning to his normal, bipedal position once he reached the treeline, he trod more carefully so as to not trip on roots. Wandering along the edge of the beach he found he didn't trip over a root but an inconspicuous, bluey-black, long, thin lump curled in a hollow. The thing writhed, lifted its head, and groaned;
"Ughh... Why does this always happen to me?!" Rin peered at the thing. It was a Quilava, and one of the pair that had wandered into Greninja's village earlier. Not far above them, on a thin branch less than a metre above their heads, the Fletchinder stirred but did not wake.
"You're the Pokémon that walked into that village this evening, right?" Rin asked the Volcano Pokémon, who had turned to face him. Analysing that Rin was not a threat to either of them, Ren stretched his long body and yawned.
"Why do you want to know?" he murmured through a drawn-out sigh. The Marill smiled and replied,
"I am a member of Chesnaught's Guild, and the Guild comprises of rescue teams formed of Pokémon who help others in need. They receive cases about many things and we have to solve them. The other day my friend Izol had to go deactivate a Poké Ball and release the innocent Pokémon captured within, and last week we were called out to retrieve a child from the clutches of evil Pokémon. Izol and I are a team and we need new members."
Ren looked at the Marill in disbelief and in response began to climb up Robin's tree. Shaking her awake and letting her flap down to the floor, Rin introduced himself.
"I'm Rin, and I would like for you guys to be part of our rescue team."
Robin tilted her head to one side. "What's in it for us? We're lost in an unfamiliar body in a weird place and you come up to our tree, wake us all up," she shot a stern look at Ren, "and then offer for us to come with you and this Izol?"
Rin smiled and shook his head. "Chesnaught, the Guildmaster, is also searching for something else. He is concerned about the amount of humans become Pokémon there are nowadays, and he is dedicated to finding a way to turn you all back into humans once again."
Ren looked desperate for a moment. "I don't come from this world! There's gotta be a way to get me home too!" Rin looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I'll talk to Chesnaught about it. He'll think of something. Anyway, you want to join us, rig- dammit!" Robin looked at the mouse with confusion for a moment at this little quirk of his, and Ren sniggered. In response Rin directed a blast of water right in his face and the Quilava tumbled backwards with a hurt expression, muttering 'ow' under his breath repeatedly for the next five minutes.
Eventually Rin began to move, scampering into the shrubbery and beckoning for the two fire-types to follow. Robin flapped up above whilst Ren tried to keep up below, lagging behind.
Robin was first to spot the tents, multiple structures shaped like Pokémon all clustered together in a clearing. As Rin and her Quilava friend entered and began to move towards the main tent, which was primarily white with green and red trim like a Chesnaught, she landed and hopped in beside them.
"Chesnaught? It's Rin!" The Aqua Mouse Pokémon straightened up and bowed to the figure looming above them all. The towering Guildmaster turned slowly to face them, peering down at Robin and Ren with curiosity. "I found some new members for our team!"
The large Spiny Armor Pokémon chuckled and leant over, lowering himself to the ground and sitting down to be at eye level with the Marill, Quilava and Fletchinder before him. "Who are you two, then?" he asked.
Robin puffed up her feathers and spoke. "I'm Robin, and this is my new friend Ren. We are looking for a way home, and Rin told us about the Guild." Ren nodded and sat down as well, a hopeful glint in his eyes.
"So you two are humans?" Chesnaught asked, and the pair both nodded to confirm this. The large Pokémon stared off into the distance with a thoughtful expression on his face, until he stirred back into reality. "Oh! Sorry. I was just going to say that we have other guild members who were once human, each with troubles of their own. If you come to the Lower Floor of this tent here after curfew this evening, the others also gather. Come join in! It's not compulsory, but you can share your tale with the others and listen to what everyone else has to say. If you want to, take these." Chesnaught handed the two a pair of small, thin stone slabs with an insignia on it. "Pass these to the guards that patrol at curfew and they will let you in." Robin took her slab and examined it.
"Thanks, Guildmaster!" she chirped happily. Ren nodded in agreement and picked his up.
Chesnaught raised one huge hand for silence. "Breakfast is at seven on the dot, lunch is at one for those who remain at the Guild, and everyone should be back for the evening meal at seven. Lastly, curfew is at nine, when all Guild members should stay in their tents. Guards patrol after then, so there will be no sneaking around camp!" he instructed. Robin and Ren shot sideways glances at each other and smiled.
"We're in!"
The Sneasel sat in the tent, scuffing her feet against the ground. Rin would be back soon, but she was tired of waiting for the Marill to return from the seashore village so they could go eat. It was nearly seven and he should already be there.
"Hey, Izol! You're still here, right?" called a voice from outside. The Sharp Claw Pokémon's ears pricked up and he dashed to the entrance.
"Where've you been? I've been bored out of my mind!" she ranted as Rin approached the door. "And who the heck are these guys?" she yelled, as if the Marill couldn't hear her although he wasn't that far away.
"Izol! You actually want the whole camp to hear our conversation, right?" That shut her up, and Rin entered followed by Robin and Ren.
Izol was no ordinary Sneasel. On her body lay multiple smudges of pink, and her claws were the same colour. She had multiple scratches and scars all over her body, and one slashed across her left eye. Said eyes were both bright gold like a Shiny Sneasel, along with her left ear and tail feathers. Overall she lay somewhere in between a Shiny and regular Sneasel.
"Izol, this is... In fact, you can introduce yourselves to the both of us, right?" Rin asked cheerfully. Izol facepalmed at this clear exhibition of Rin's verbal quirk. Robin cleared her throat and began.
"I'm Robin. I... umm... was a human until I got caught in a rift. I am now a Fletchinder and somewhere far away from where I was before." Izol gave her a hard stare with just a trace of hatred before grinning and turning to Ren. It's okay, she's not human now, she thought.
"I'm Ren. I am from another world where there are no Pokémon, so I'm sort of new here. I also fell into a rift and it may have been a portal too." The two teammates glanced at each other in confusion before grinning and welcoming the two into the tent with open arms.
"Welcome to the Team!"
There you go! So I judged the OCs I was given, and Rin and Izol came out on top. Credits to Domingize and DJTiki respectively! It was really close, though, and thank you, all of you who submitted, for making this possible!
Also, all the main team apps will be part of the Guild. If that's not okay, PM or review to let me know!
See you next time! I'm done for now, so see you all soon for another chapter!
P.S: There is a Poll on my profile that is currently tied three ways, and it determines which kind of SYOC Story I do next. I can't do three, so I need your vote! Please go check out my profile page!