Vigil finally landed on the mountain path, escaping any possible injury from the Tyranitar. Although, his landing was a bit rough. He never had too much experience with gliding through the air, so he could not keep himself from landing into brambles that sat just next to one of the trails.

It was hard to believe that being away from Lookout Peak was his only dream. Now that his village was no more, all the Sentret wanted to do was return home. He let out a bitter chuckle, shaking his head at the irony of the situation.

All of his tears dried up in the breeze while he was gliding away from his former home. Vigil wiped the remnants of his wet fur and began to walk down the mountain path, leaving his home behind for good.

A few moments later, Vigil reached the sign he had seen when the earthquake struck. He carefully studied the map again, frustration building up within him. He clenched his fists, then opened them wide, revealing his short, sharp claws.

"No one will need this ever again," the Sentret muttered before slashing the sign to pieces. He continued to hack away at the sign until it was nothing but shrapnel beneath his feet. Even with something to take his fury out on, Vigil could not find reprieve from his emotions. He wanted to claw out his swiftly-beating heart to put an end to the heartache.

If he could lie over and die, he would. But that Tyranitar's words were forever etched in his mind: Now go. Become stronger, and face me again. The only force keeping the Sentret hiking down the mountainwas his thirst for revenge, or rather, an insatiable lust for it. Vigil imagined the large Pokémon falling into the void of his own creation, where he would suffer a cruel, agonizing death.

The Sentret shook away the thoughts when they became too violent for him to focus. Resentment blurred his vision and animosity plagued his mind. The deep sorrow he once had for his family disappeared completely. All that was left was an empty husk that Vigil's mind could fill with revenge.

Deranged images would not cease clouding Vigil's mind. Part of him wished they would subside, so that he may properly grieve over his family. But another part, his survival instinct, urged them to stay, in order to fuel his will to live.

That was, until Vigil saw his brother, falling into the oblivion that condemned the village. He could see Vedette's horror-filled eyes as the rift consumed his home. Vedette's shrieks resonated with terror, screaming for comfort from his brother.

His brother, who was not there to help him in his final hour. His brother, who was not yet powerful enough to stand against the one who massacred his village.

The screaming got louder and louder, as if Vedette was nearly feet away, running towards him. Vigil turned around, hoping to see Vedette alive and well.

Thud!

All of the appalling images that flooded his mind disappeared as he ran towards the source of the noise. Vigil was horrified to see a Pokémon fall to the ground in front of him.

As his vision cleared, he could finally make out what the Pokémon looked like. Its skin was a light green, with a red stomach. It wore a leaf as a tail, and it resembled many of the reptilian Pokémon Vigil had read about. Vigil recognized the Pokémon as a Treecko.

Vigil checked the collapsed Treecko for a pulse. Surprisingly, it actually survived such a high fall from...wherever he was thrown from. The Sentret shook the green Pokémon, until finally it began to stir.

The Treecko opened its eyes, revealing two amber spheres that glistened in the sunset. However, it slowly began drifting off again, moaning in pain. Vigil feared that the Pokémon might not wake up again, so he quickly shook his body again, snapping the Treecko awake.

"W-where am I?" the Treecko asked, his eyelids struggling to remain open.

Vigil did not want to answer his question, scared that those terrible thoughts would storm through his head again. "Are you alright!? You just fell out of the sky!"

The Treecko scanned his surroundings until his eyes fell upon the distressed Sentret. He blinked a few times before screaming in fear, "A talking Pokémon!?"

Vigil frowned, perplexed by the Treecko's reaction. He can talk too, the Sentret thought. Why is he so shocked?

"H-how can you talk!?"

"A lot of Pokémon can talk," the Sentret raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you're talking right now."

The Treecko's eyes grew wide from the realization. He brought one of his verdant hands up to his face. "What!? What happened to me!? I'm not a Pokémon! I'm...I'm a human! And I thought Pokémon disappeared centuries ago!"

Vigil tilted his head sideways, "You look like a completely normal Treecko to me. And I think you have your history mixed up. Humans disappeared centuries ago, not Pokémon. As you can see, Pokémon are alive and..."

Vigil swallowed his words. Not every Pokémon is doing well. I'm certainly not. And clearly, this Treecko has some problems of his own.

The Treecko began to rise from his sitting position. As he did, however, he felt an excruciating pain in his leg. Rattled by the sudden rush of pain, the Treecko fell back down, grabbing the afflicted limb.

"Ah! My leg! I think it's broken!"

"Calm down," Vigil hushed the Treecko. "There should be some Oran Berries around here somewhere. Just stay still. I'll go get some for you."

"Wait! Where the hell are you—"

Vigil was already deep into the forest before the Treecko could finish his sentence. "Great," he muttered, "Looks like I can't move until he comes back."

He looked back at his injured leg, losing himself in thought. How did this happen? How did I become a Pokémon?

The distraught Treecko wracked his brain for the answer, but found nothing. He had mysteriously transformed into a Pokémon, without any understanding of why or how this occurred.

That brown Pokémon wouldn't have the answer anyways. He's probably just as confused as I am. Or, he just thinks I'm crazy. Either way, he's a kid. Why would he have the answers?

"I'm back!" Vigil called from behind the Treecko. Unable to turn and acknowledge the Sentret, he remained where he sat.

Vigil ran in front of the Treecko and spread out dozens of berries on the ground between them. All of them were the same round, sapphire fruit. The Treecko shot a confused glance at Vigil, wondering how a bunch of berries could heal a broken leg.

"These are Oran Berries," Vigil explained, "If you eat some, you'll start feeling better."

There was already so much that the Treecko did not understand. Rather than dwelling on it all, he brought one of the berries up to his mouth and ripped a piece out of it. The juice that flooded his mouth lacked any distinct flavor. This made the Treecko wonder if this juice was any more than water.

However, as he took another bite from the Oran Berry, the pain in his leg began to subside. It was healing at a rapid rate, but at the cost of sending the Treecko into more confusion. He pressed his paw against his forehead to resist the headache that crept in.

"Do you feel better?" Vigil asked.

"Uh, yeah actually," the Treecko continued to gnaw on his food, "What's in these berries, anyways?"

"No idea. I just know that whatever is in them can speed up the healing process for us Pokémon."

"For you Pokémon. Like I said, I'm a human."

Vigil sighed in disappointment, "Alright then, if you're really a human, then tell me about the human world. That is where you're from, right?"

"Fine!"

The Treecko browsed his thoughts, but found nothing. He tried harder, physically pushing thoughts to the front of his mind. All that resulted from such actions was a more severe headache.

"I...I don't remember," the Treecko's head sank.

"Because humans don't exist. They haven't existed for centuries. Your head must be in worse condition than your leg. Can you at least remember your name?"

"My name? Yeah, my name is..."

A minute passed as the Treecko searched through his mind again.

"I can't remember that either. I...I can't remember anything."

Vigil frowned. It seemed that the Treecko's health was worse than he had anticipated. "Amnesia, huh? Well, I'm sorry to say that those Oran Berries won't help you out with that."

The Treecko began to panic, "What happened to me? You said I fell out of the sky, right? And now I'm here, as a Tree—whatever it's called—without any of my memories?"

"Hey, calm down, will you?" Vigil became stern. "Listen, I don't know what happened to you either. But if you just sit here and lose your nerve, you won't get any of the answers. We need to find someone who can help you."

The Treecko took a deep breath. He's right. If I keep panicking, I'll never figure out anything.

"So? What are you going to do?" the Sentret stood up, extending a hand to the Treecko.

"I guess I don't really have a choice. But, where are you taking me?"

Vigil contemplated his possibilities, but all of them involved returning to Lookout Peak. Because he never left the mountain that his village sat upon, the Sentret was just as clueless as the Treecko. The two Pokémon scratched their heads simultaneously, waiting for the other to come up with answer.

The Sentret broke the silence of thought, "The first thing we could do is get to the bottom of this mountain. There's bound to be civilization somewhere nearby."

"You don't know where to go, do you?"

"Not a clue. But, I do know this mountain like the back of my paw. Just stay close, and I'm sure we'll find someone who can help you."

Reluctantly, the Treecko grabbed Vigil's paw and pulled himself up. His leg still stung from the recent fall, but he could at least walk on it now.

"Are you sure you'll be alright to walk?"

"I think so. Just not too fast please."

Vigil nodded, "In the meantime, you'll need a name. Since you can't remember yours, I have a perfect name for you."

"And that would be...?"

"Your name can be V-Ve..."

Vedette was the only name that could come out of his mouth. No, he couldn't name this Treecko after his brother. His memory would haunt him every time he so much as looked at him.

Vigil steadied his mind, searching for a new name, "V-V...Fallen." Vigil smiled at his idea, "You know, because I met you after you fell from the sky. I think it has a nice ring to it. You say that you're a human who became a Pokémon, and seemingly fell into our world. I still think that sounds delusional, but since you don't remember anything else, we'll just have to stick with it."

"Fallen..." the Treecko examined how the name flowed off of his tongue. He wasn't really sure why, but something about the name resonated with him. "I like it," he grinned.

"Well, alright Fallen." Vigil shook his hand, "My name's Vigil, and I'm a Sentret. You and I are going to get your memory back somehow. Besides, I've got nothing better to do."

"...Right. Say, you're around my age, right? Won't your family worry about you?"

An awkward laugh forcibly escaped Vigil's lips, "Oh, they won't mind. Trust me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

Vigil's smile twitched from prying it open. Fallen could easily read the facade that Vigil was putting up. Behind the Sentret's ardent eyes was a hurricane of despondency and misery. The negativity emitting from the Normal-type resonated. It was enough for Fallen's tail to stand on end. The Treecko, although curious, kept himself from pressing further. Surely driving the conversation would send Vigil spiraling into grief.

Fallen could not have that. As much as he wanted to search on his own, Vigil at least knew the way down this mountain. Leaving this Sentret would most likely lead to an onslaught of disasters that would result in a bitter end.

Vigil, on the other hand, remembered that he tore the map of the mountain to shreds. Because of that, Fallen was oblivious to the fact that maps were scattered along the various paths up to Lookout Peak. At least he could hang onto someone for just a little while he coped with the day's terrible series of events.


"Fallen, I think we're almost to the bottom of the mountain," Vigil tried to keep a cheerful smile on his face when addressing his new friend, only for it to seem unauthentic.

"How can you tell? Everything on this mountain path looks exactly the same."

"Because the path is leveling out. You haven't noticed?"

The Treecko shrugged, "Not really. Like I said, everything looks the same to me."

Vigil frowned, "Not many Pokémon have eyes like us Sentret. We're naturals when it comes to seeing what other Pokémon can't."

"For the last time, I'm not a Poké—"

Before Fallen could finish his sentence, he was tackled to the ground. Pinning him to the ground was a Spinarak, its crimson fangs soaked in venom. Drops of the Spinarak's poison landed on Fallen's chest, sending him into a frenzy.

"Ah! Get it off! Get it off!" the Treecko squirmed and writhed underneath the Spinarak as the drops of poison seeped into his skin. "It hurts!"

Vigil, thrown off by Fallen's sudden screaming, turned to his friend. The Spinarak didn't seem to be biting into him, causing the Sentret to wonder why Fallen was in so much pain. But, rather than ponder more, Vigil dug his feet into the dirt and charged the Spinarak. He opened his claws wide and slashed at the Spinarak, slicing three gashes on the top of its abdomen.

Frightened, the Spinarak limped away, but not before Vigil sent another set of claws through its face. The blood loss was becoming too much for the Spinarak. However, it continued to stagger away in an attempt to preserve its life. Vigil tackled the dying Pokémon into a tree, leaving a sanguine stain at the point of impact. The Spinarak landed on its back, inert and lifeless.

Fallen struggled to pull himself up. His amber eyes became bloodshot, and a sickly violet tint shaded his face and cheeks. He turned to Vigil, who was standing over the Spinarak's corpse.

"You k-killed it," Fallen looked upon the carcass with a mortified stare.

Vigil noticed the Treecko's discolored face, "Did that Spinarak bite you?"

"You just killed another Pokémon."

Vigil sighed, "It was a wild Pokémon that tried to kill you. I'm pretty sure that makes it justified. Who knows what would've happened if I let it return to its web? That Spinarak could've sent an army on us. Killing it was the only option."

Fallen staggered backwards from the combination of fatigue and dread that swept through his body. Vigil caught his friend, and gently laid him on the path.

"You're poisoned," Vigil scowled. "Because you're a Grass-type, poison can easily enter your system. Had the Spinarak bit you, chances are that you wouldn't even be conscious right now."

Fallen turned to cough away from Vigil, "Is there some sort of antidote?"

"You're in luck. Pecha Berries have the ability to neutralize any toxins that Pokémon produce. Just one small problem though..."

"What is it?"

"Pecha Berries don't grow naturally on this mountain."

"W-what?" Urgency tried to escape from Fallen's mouth, but he was slowly losing consciousness.

"The village at the top of the mountain grew them, but..." Memories of Lookout Peak flooded his head, forcing him to shake them away. He couldn't tell Fallen that his village no longer existed to even gather the berries for him.

"But what?" Fallen wondered why Vigil trailed off.

The Sentret finally found a valid excuse, "I wouldn't be able to get there and be back for a few hours. I can't leave you here that long, especially now that the sun is setting. You'd be dead long before I return, whether by some wild Pokémon or the poison attacking your circulatory system."

Even though that was not the real reason he couldn't get Pecha Berries, Vigil was not lying. No matter what, returning to Lookout Peak was not an option. Fallen would surely be dead by then. So, Vigil thought of the only solution he could to keep his new friend alive. Fallen was the only friend he had left, and he could not bare to see him end up like his village, like Vedette.

Vigil mustered up as much strength as he could and lifted Fallen over his shoulder. The Treecko was unable to communicate his dissent, for he was on the verge of fainting. After struggling for a bit, Vigil had the Treecko mounted over him. Using gravity to his advantage, Vigil walked steadily down the mountain.

"How are you feeling, Fallen?"

The Treecko had already succumb to the toxins within him.

"I better get you to some Pecha Berries quick, then. Just...hold out as long as you can."

Fallen did not answer.

"I know we just met, but...I refuse to lose you too. I've already seen everyone that I love die today. I don't want to lose the one glimmer of hope I have in this world. So please...don't die just yet. Please."

A single tear shed from Vigil's eyes.