Chapter 3: Day 1
Greg slowly opened his eyes. His vision was foggy. After a couple of moments his vision had gotten better. He was starring up at the ceiling which seemed to be a lot higher then he thought. It was almost white.
Greg slowly got up from the bed. The bed that he had been sleeping in was laying on the ground, like a bed roll. Greg looked around the room. The room that he was in looked a little like his bedroom, but at the same time, it wasn't his room. There were posters on the wall that had Pokemon on them. In the corner was a desk with a computer, just like in his room.
Greg walked over to the posters and examined them. He did play Pokemon, when he was young. But he grew out of it when he turned 13. He knew how to play the game. He had to get the 8 gym badges then take on the elite four to beat the game.
He looked down to see if he had any clothes on. To his surprise, he did. He had some old faded blue jeans that had a couple holes in them. There were dust stains across his jeans as well. He had a red shirt with a cartoonic looking charmander on the front.
The faint aroma of bacon had lingered upstairs, and into the room that Greg was in. He took one whiff and in a instant he rushed to the door, opened it and rushed down stairs.
Downstairs was different from the room that Greg was in. To the left of the stairs was the living room area. There was a couch, that was a dark brown, along with a couple of arm chairs that matched the couch in the color scheme. There was a coffee table that was stained with polyurethane to keep the wood finish.
Across from the living room was the dining area. There was a rectangular table with four chairs. All of them had a wood finish. There was adequate lighting all around.
To the right of the dining area was the kitchen. A women with light brown hair was standing, her back turned to Greg. She had a pink bathrobe looking thing on, She was busy cooking to notice. The sound of the crackling bacon as it cooked could be heard. Greg could also see that she was cooking something else, but couldn't make out what it was.
He took a couple steps forward. "Excuse me. Miss." He said.
She heard him, and stopped what she was doing to look over her shoulder to see who was talking to her. When she saw Greg her eyes opened as if she was startled. There was a stranger in her house. She let out a shriek of fear. "AHHHH. Riley, Help!" She said covering her face with her hand.
Greg got a little bit of a better look at her when she turned around a little. She looked like his mother, which was weird.
The door opened with a man stepping in. The man was wearing a shirt that was as black as the night sky. He had tan cargo shorts. He was about the same height as Greg, with slick black hair, and dog ears. His eye's were red, like blood. His body was covered in fur. His feet were covered with black fur. His arms were covered in blue fur. His face had blue fur, for the most part, with black fur around his eyes, it looked like he was wearing a mask to hide his identity.
The man rushed over to Greg. "Don't you dare hurt my master." He said. He clenched his fist and punched Greg in the stomach. Greg doubled over, being that he wasn't really a fighter. Riley then struck the side of Greg's head with his knee. Riley grabbed Greg by the hair and lifted his hand as if he was going to punch Greg.
"Stop. He's done." The woman said. "Riley Heel!" She demanded. Riley stopped with his fist about a few inches from Greg's face. "As you wish." Riley said.
Riley let go of Greg's hair. Greg fell to the floor, with his hand's below him to keep him from landing face first on the ground. He had a cut on his forehead, along with a few cuts around his mouth. He was beat up, but not broken. He looked up to see the woman who looked a lot like his mother sitting down at the table in the dinning area.
"Come, sit down with me." She said. She had a teapot on the table.
Greg used a lot of his strength to prop himself up, and walked over to the table. He pulled on the chair that was the the woman's left.
Riley had sat down the the right of the woman. His eyes were closed, it seemed like he wasn't really happy about Greg being there, and that he had somewhere else to be. He also kept his head low.
"Thank you." Greg said weakly. "But why did you have him stop? I could have very been that person that could have hurt you."
The woman smiled. "Well after Riley put you down in one hit I figured you weren't really a threat." She took a sip from her tea cup. "Plus if you did try something then he would easily leap at you out of his chair and beat you until you can't sit right for a week, or forever before throwing you out that door." She said without any hesitation.
Greg let out a little gulp. She said that as if he would actually do that. But she couldn't let the man do that, could she? "A-alright." He said it hesitantly. "My name is Greg, Greg Taylor. who are you?"
The woman took a small sip from her tea. "My real name is..."
Greg interrupted her. "S-susan?" He said.
"Yeah... How'd you know that?" She had never Greg before. They had no real interaction before and yet he guessed her name. "Anyway's, my real name is Susan, but a lot of people around here call me Mother. Maybe it's because I act so motherly to everyone that lives here. Scolding them if they need. Being a friend if they need it." She poured some more tea into her teacup. "So if your not here to steal from me then why are you here?"
Greg took a sip of his tea. It wasn't good, but then again he was never really a tea drinker. "Um.. I don't really know. The last thing I remember is looking up at the sky after being hit by a car. I could feel my body aching... Then I woke up in the room upstairs."
"Oh my god, are you alright?" She said. He had just said that he was hit by a car.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I feel good, but other then that, I have no clue what I am doing here, wherever here is." Greg said. He had no clue where he was."
"You're in the Sinnoh region... In Twinleaf town." She said before taking another sip from her tea cup.
"Did you say Sinnoh?" Greg said.
Mother nodded her head. "Yes."
Greg's eye's widened, as if she said that there was a bomb in the house. "Then that means I'm in a Pokemon game.. Oh no." He whispered under his breathe.
"What was that?" Mother asked. She heard him mumble something under his breathe but couldn't make out what it was.
Greg looked over at Riley. "I said then I must be in a Pokemon game."
Mother looked a little confused. Even Riley looked at him as if he was stupid.
"This obviously isn't the real world... Let me explain it. In the Pokemon games you are a young adult, most likely 16-17, and you go on an adventure to collect eight badges, then go on to face the elite four, and finally the champion. If you beat the champion then you beat the game."
"Yes there are Pokemon in this world, but it is no game. Out there, you run the chance of dying if your not careful!" Riley said, looking at Greg with daggers in his eyes. Being a trainer is one of the hardest occupations there was. "Your people are idiots for think about sending a boy barely out of high school into the world that could just about kill him."
"Riley, heel!" Mother said.
Riley sneered at Greg, but held his tongue.
"Sorry about that." Mother had said. "But I have to agree with Riley. That is very dangerous for such a young person to do."
Greg sighed. "In my world the game is meant for kids so the makers of the game hold out the bloody stuff."
"It's still stupid." Riley said.
Mother took another sip from her teacup. "So I take it you played these "games"?"
Greg nodded. "Yeah. But it's been a long time since I've actually played one of them."
"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. In these "games" you work your way to beating the champion, right?" Mother had asked.
Greg nodded. "Yeah. But the only way get to fight the Champion and the Elite four is by getting the eight badges, proving that your worthy of challenging them."
Mother put her hand over her mouth and had a inquisitive look on her face, as if she were trying to place two and two together. "The only way I see you getting out of this is by beating the "game"." She said, knowing that you couldn't beat life.
Greg sighed. "That's the only logical explanation... I guess I should get going." Greg said getting up and walked towards the door.
"Where do you think your going?" Mother said with a light sigh. Greg obviously had no clue what he was doing, and she could see it.
Greg looked at her dumbfounded."I'm going to catch a Pokemon then beat this game." He said.
Mother looked at Greg then to Riley. "Come back over here. If your going to go out there then there are some things you're going to need to know."
Greg walked back over to the table and sat down.
"Alright the first thing your going to need to know is that this might seem like a game to you but it's all to real." Mother said. "Second Pokemon out on the road are like wild animals. They want food, and they want to kill you and get your food." She stood up. "Some Pokemon might look a little different like Riley here."
Greg looked up at Mother. "But how?"
Mother rolled her eyes. "Riley change over."
Riley sneered at Greg. He was reluctant to get out of his chair. A bright light consumed Riley shrinking him to about Greg's stomach. His body was still covered in fur, but this fur was longer and parts were ruffled up. The clothes that he had on his body fell to meet his shorter form. He had a blue tail. His arms were shorter and had a silver thing sticking out of them, that looked like metal.
"This is Riley's Pokemon form. Most Pokemon have an anthropomorphic form..." Mother said before Greg interrupted.
"Anthrowhosawhatsit?" He asked.
Riley and Mother sighed. "Anthropomorphic. It's a Pokemon's human form... As I was saying. Most Pokemon have this form. Those who don't haven't reach that state of mind, or aren't smart enough to have an anthropomorphic form." Mother said. She looked over at Riley. "You can change back." She said with a smile.
The light consumed Riley as he grew. His clothes fit him again. "Thank you master." He said before sitting down.
"Alright I have a question. Pokemon usually can't speak, how can Riley... and what kind of Pokemon is he, I don't remember seeing him in any of the games I have played?" Greg said looking at Riley.
"I saved him when he was very young Riolu. I raised him as if he was my son, and taught him to speak. Most other Pokemon don't know how to speak." Mother picked up the tea pot in the sink after she had finished the last of the tea. "You would be lucky to meet a few who are smart enough to grasp the english language."
Greg got up from his seat. "Alright. I think I'm ready." He said before walking towards the door.
"Hold on. Your not going out with out some gear." Mother said. "Come back here. You're gonna need these." She said.
She walked over to a closet and grabbed a few things out from it. She closed the door and walked over to the couch where Greg was sitting.
"First and foremost." Mother pulled out a map from the front pocket. "A can very well get lost and not know where your going." She went into the front pocket and grabbed a funny looking device. "This is a Pokedex. It'll help you identify what Pokemon is which, and give you stats on said Pokemon." She put the Pokedex next to the map on the coffee table. On the back was a sleeping back, that was self explanatory. She went into the biggest compartment of the bag and pulled out a sweatshirt that had a Pikachu on it. "If it gets cold you can put this on." She put the sweatshirt on the coffee table. She grabbed a device that was as big as a credit card but had a touch screen. "This is Pokeinsurance. It'll get you a room at any Pokemon center... Oh and you'll need this." She said before rummaging in the front pocket. After a couple of seconds she pulled out a envelope. "And some Money, just don't spend it all in one place."
Greg looked at everything she was giving him. "This is so kind, but why are you giving me all this? I am a stranger to you. You even thought I was a thief and almost had me killed."
Mother smiled. "I felt as if you need these things, and I wasn't going to use them so were just going to collect dust. I figured you could use them more then I could of." She walked over to the kitchen and slid open a drawer. She pulled not one but several small round object. "These are Pokeballs. You use them to catch Pokemon, but I think you already knew that."
Greg nodded.
"Good." She walked over to the coffee table and grabbed the Pokedex. "You take this and plug it into this button on the front of the Pokeball and it links to the Pokedex." She said before plugging in the Pokeball to the Pokedex. "Just link it, then catch a Pokemon." She said. "Oh and to get this Pokedex to link to yourself your gonna have to prick your finger so it can get a DNA base so the Pokemon know who is leading them." She said before handing the Pokedex to Greg.
Greg pricked his finger to link the Pokedex to his DNA. "Alright, now am I ready to go on my adventure?"
"Almost." Mother said before going back to the drawer. She pulled out another Pokeball. She walked over to Pokedex and linked the Pokeball to Greg's DNA. "Here you caught your first Pokemon. I'm giving you Riley."
Riley's ears perked up. "Wait, what? You're giving me to this idiot?" Riley said a angry tone.
"Yes. He's gonna need help, and you owe me. This is how your gonna pay me back." Mother said before handing over Riley's pokeball. "Now I believe your ready for your adventure!" She packed up everything back up and handed over the bag to Greg who was thrilled to head out on the road.
Riley was still sitting at the table, angry that Mother would give him away just like that. After what seemed like decades of service she would just hand him over like that.
Greg looked down at the map. "So what I'm gonna want to do is go from Route 201 to Sandgem town, then to route 202 to Jubilife City, then route 203 towards Oreburgh city and face the city gym. Then they will tell me where to go next, right?"
"Yes." Mother said leading Greg and Riley towards the door. "Now you are all set to go on your adventure!" She said with a little excitement.
After a couple hours worth of walking on Route 201, and Greg's non stop talking, Riley stopped near an oak tree. The leaves were still on the branches. Greg would ask questions like. "So what's it like to be a pokemon?"
Riley couldn't take it anymore. "Good god, can you give me a second to collect my thought's before you ask another one of your stupid questions!"
Greg was a little hurt at that comment. Riley had gone with Greg even thought he didn't want to, and what does he do to repay him, talk his ear's off. "I'm sorry. I just have a lot of questions running through my head. I didn't mean to bother you." Greg said with a sad tone.
Riley didn't care if he hurt Greg. He was still angry about how Mother could just give him away like that. So many years of servitude. He learned so much from her, and in an instant. Poof, Bam. It's all gone. "I don't care about you. I could care less if you died in a ditch..." Riley's temper was flaring. His nostrils were flaring, his eyes turned from a glare to a death stare. His face turned into a sneer. "I think you don't have what it takes to make it in this world. And if you think I care about helping you then your dead wrong." He said before leaping into a tree. He sat on a tree bench, and crossed his legs and turned away from Greg. If he was going to stew in his anger then.
Greg sat in horror. He didn't know if he should say anything or if he should just let Riley work this out. Riley wasn't really his friend, he had just said he hated him so it was easy to tell that Greg shouldn't say anything. 'Guess were going to camp here tonight.' Greg thought. He threw his bag against the oak tree which shook the tree's a little. Greg pulled out the sleeping bag and rolled it out.
It wasn't really dark out so that gave Greg some time to collect firewood. He walked into the forest and began to look for firewood.
After about half an hour Greg had enough wood to make a good sized fire. He brought them back to his bag and sleeping bag. It looked like anything hasn't gotten to it and Riley hasn't moved.
Greg sighed and set up a small fire.
He looked up at Riley. "Hey." There was no response. "I'm sorry about asking all those questions. I won't bother you with anymore questions again... I promise"
Riley didn't budge. He was still angry. He didn't want to say anything.
Greg lit the small fire. Contrary to a lot of people's belief it got colder as it got darker in that world. Greg needed a way to keep warm. Greg pulled out a sandwich that was in the back compartment of the backpack, underneath the sweatshirt.
Riley's ears perked up when he heard the cracking of the wrapping being opened. He was still mad and didn't want to talk to Greg. He was stubborn, and he liked it.
There was some rustling in bush on the other side of the trail. Greg looked over at the bush.
Something darted out in a blur. Greg couldn't see what it was before it slammed into him. Knocking the food on the ground.
Riley heard the commotion below. He dropped down to see a Tiallow pecking at Greg's food that he had dropped. He sighed. "Did a bird seriously just take you food?" He said with a chuckled. Greg wasn't really that smart.
"Shut up and beat that thing." Greg said in protest.
Riley lunged forward, but the Taillow took to the air flapping it's wings. Riley threw a couple of punches towards Taillow, but it dodged the attack. The Taillow flew over to Riley's face and started to peck at his face, and arms. Riley tired to throw some punches at the bird, but kept missing.
The Taillow flew into the air. When it was high enough it started to dive bomb Riley.
"Riley I don't care if your gonna listen to me. Watch the Bird, when it get's close enough hit it's underbelly." Greg yelled out.
To stubborn to care what Greg had said Riley threw a punch at the Twaillow. The Taillow had enough time to flip it's self and hit Riley in the stomach.
"Damn it, listen to me! Wait until the time is right!" Greg yelled.
With one hand on his stomach, and his other hand in the air, Riley stood his ground. He still wasn't going to listen. The Taillow dive bombed Riley again, hitting in the stomach, again.
The Taillow went back in the air and started to dive bomb towards Riley again.
"Not again." Greg said, rushing over towards Riley. He pushed him out of the way before the Taillow hit Riley, instead hitting Greg in the back.
Riley was astounded by what Greg had done. He took the attack so that Riley wouldn't have to.
The Taillow dive bombed Riley again. This time Riley waited for the right time. Right before the bird hit Riley in the stomach he reached out and punched the bird, hitting it in the stomach.
Greg got up and reached for his bag and pulled out a Pokeball. It was one that was already registered. He threw it at the Taillow, hitting it in the head. Red light consumed the bird Pokemon. The ball shook a couple of times before settling.
"Thank you." Riley said.
Greg looked over towards him. He wouldn't believe it even if he had just heard it. Did Riley just say thank you. It was really weird to hear him say thank you. "An-anytime." Greg said hesitantly. Greg looked back over at the fire and the food. "Guess there is no point in letting this go to waste." Greg said picking up the sandwich.
He heard something, but it wasn't the sound of rustling. It was the sound of a stomach rumbling. It wasn't Greg's stomach.
Greg smirked. "Want something to eat?" He asked Riley.
Riley nodded. Even though he was angry, that doesn't mean that he shouldn't eat.
Greg pulled out another sandwich from his bag and handed it to Riley. "Here you go. Hope you like it." He said with a smile on his face.
Riley took the sandwich and started eating. Taking some pretty big bites. He hadn't really eaten anything that day and he was starved.
Greg couldn't help but laugh as Riley in hailed the sandwich. "Hungry aren't we." He jabbed.
Greg finished eating and got into the Sleeping bag.
Riley had taken his position back up in the tree. He closed his eyes and began to fall asleep in the tree.
Greg laid awake for a little bit. The sky was clear and full of stars. The moon was surprisingly brighter then the moon that Greg had grown up looking at.
It certainly was an interesting first day. He had started an adventure and he had already caught two Pokemon. Well one Pokemon, and the other one was given to him.
The fire was still raging enough for Greg to keep warm. His eye's were beginning to feel like a thousand pounds. After a couple of moments he looked up at the sky for the last time, before he was so exhausted that he passed out.
