Chapter 2

The gardevoir guided the confused humans through the forest, but instead of entering the town, he always stayed at the outskirts and walked parallel to the beach. Zelem wondered why until he saw a two-storey house next to the other side of the forest and near the beach. A pavement path walk connected it to the town, but there were no other buildings near it. It seemed a good place for people who wanted to be on their own… or who wanted to investigate wild pokémon because they were professors. And the second thought was what run through Niki's mind, who had to contain herself as not to run towards the building in excitement.

One they arrived, the gardevoir entered the building without knocking on and they followed It inside, standing on the entrance. Or maybe it didn't need to knock on because it had already told whoever lived there that some guests had arrived. Zelem's thoughts were confirmed when a few seconds later, one door opened and two people greet them with a smile.

The man was tall and had long white hair in a messy side ponytail. He was wearing a lab coat, a white shirt and light violet pants. His eyes were dark blue and they were hidden behind a pair of glasses.

The woman was rather short, but her short pink hair made her stand out easily. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a sleeveless blue t-shirt. But Zelem was most impressed by the melancholic expression on her face, that stood out even with her soft smile. He could almost feel her sadness.

"Welcome to the world of pokémon!" The man suddenly shouted, startling everyone, even the gardevoir.

Niki shouted excited in response, surprising everyone. Even the man himself didn't seem to have expected such an answer. After that, an awkward silence fell in the room.

"Alright, that's it. I did what I had to, so I will be leaving now." The pokémon declared inside everyone's minds.

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Mikan. We will talk with them." The woman with pink hair slightly bowed her head, thankful.

"Alinak won't like knowing you're so rude." The man threatened, glaring at the pokémon. The gardevoir simply shrugged and then he teleported out of the building. The woman giggled at the annoyed face her friend made.

"Well—"

"I'll take torchic!" Niki yelled "Or chimchar! Or whatever fire starter you have available! Fire is the best! Let's start this journey and become Pokémon Masters, everyone! What pokémon do you have for us? I'll take the fire type one! I said it first so it's mine!"

"What? No way!" The blonde boy replied "I'm not gonna give up a Pokémon I may like simply because you shout like a madwoman! I will take cyndaquill or fennekin if they are part of the set we can choose from!"

"You'll have to fight for them!" Niki yelled back, changing into a fighting stance and throwing a punch onto his face.

But it never landed, as the short woman jumped in and grabbed her arm with a lot more strength that she seemed capable of.

"Please, calm down. Be aware that fighting is not allowed inside this building, it can be dangerous." She said calmly, not angry and with a smile that didn't falter the slightest. "Come with us. There are things we have to explain."

Both Niki and the blonde boy jumped back in surprise, and the redhead girl looked at her arm as if she couldn't believe how strong that short woman was. Zelem released a breath he didn't know he was holding, and the man in the lab coat guided them into the living room so they could talk. He didn't seem surprised, not by the woman's strength nor by the fact that two unknown teenagers almost started fighting on the hall of his house.

Once everyone had sit and calmed down, the woman brought some coffee and tea, as well as four pieces of cake, despite the man's objections that he was the owner of the house and therefore, the host; and he should be the one treating their guests. She hit him lightly on the head with the tray and the man went back to the cake he couldn't had eaten before, still mumbling in protest.

"What is this place, exactly?" Zelem asked then, fearing the redhead girl would ask again about the Pokémon they were supposed to be given.

"This is, as Taekni said, the world of pokémon." The woman said, tilting her head to one side, pointing at the man that sit next to her "You already know many things thanks to the videogames, but this is not a videogame and things do not work exactly like them. For starters, the stories those games show are true, at least partially; but they happened more than four thousand years ago. I am Mysel, by the way. I am sorry for not introducing myself sooner."

Zelem frowned when he heard that.

"But things don't seem to have changed much, judging by the few things we could see from the town and this house. I'm Lagio, by the way." The blonde boy seemed to have thought the same thing as Zelem.

"That's because some kind of catastrophe happened around the same age." Taekni intervened "All buildings were erased, advance technology disappeared and most knowledge was lost. Humans had to start again."

"What, really? What happened, exactly?" Lagio insisted, looking scared.

"There are several theories." Mysel answered "But it is not question with an absolute answer yet."

"And what about the legendary Pokémon? Could it have been their fault? I mean… legendary Pokémon exist, right?" Zelem asked.

The pink haired woman looked at him with serenity, but her eyes were hard and a bit cold.

"Yes. Yes, they do exist. It is another of one the theories, since they are incredibly powerful."

"Hey, wasn't mewtwo a Pokémon created only for battling other Pokémon, supposedly on that age?" Niki said then "Maybe he had something to do with that…"

This time it was Taekni the one that seemed astonished.

"You know the myth of mewtwo?! Was it shown in the games?"

"Erm, yes. The first generation, in fact. Why?" Niki asked, curious by their reaction.

Taekni and Mysel looked at each other, and the man nodded, as if giving her permission to explain. She looked as if she was thinking what to say.

"There is a legend about humans creating a Pokémon thousands of years ago but there aren't proofs of that actually happening." She explained "The unknown catastrophe happened soon after mewtwo was supposedly created, and there aren't any reports left on that. Only a few old legends that contradict each other. The fact that one of your games tell that story is, well, unexpected."

"The scientific community can't agree on whether he was created or not." Taekni added. "And even if he did exist, he is a little bit dead by now, so there won't probably ever be a final statement on it."

"Then, our videogames confirmed his existence?" Lagio asked, curious.

"I wouldn't go that far." Mysel cautiously added "They slightly tip the scales in favor of his creation, but they are not a lot more reliable than the legends we know. I guess it will be a mystery." She smiled at them.

However, Zelem had a suspicious look on his face.

"Fine, but do you know so much about videogames from a different world?" He asked them.

But before the adults could answer, the strong sound of beating wings and a monster soft roar could be heard around the house. The teenagers flinched, but their hosts simply smiled.

"That is our answer." Mysel told them.

They heard how whatever had been flying around the house landed noisily next to it. Taekni and Mysel got up and invited the others to follow them and welcome their new visitant.

Lots of information! Some of it is important. Some... not so much.