"Hey, hey, are you okay?"
"Ughhh… what happened?"
Junko rubbed her head and slowly opened her eyes. Her mind felt so foggy like someone stomped on her head. Odd considering she was usually doing the stomping on other people. She couldn't remember what she was doing last. Maybe she went on another despair binge. Nothing some egg yolk couldn't fix.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a bright yellow creature with red cheeks. It was so weird looking, like the result of a mouse that had been crazy enough to make love to an electric outlet. Was this some kind of weird mascot like from a magical girl anime?
"The hell!" Junko jumped.
The yellow creature tilted its head.
"Are you okay?" The creature asked. "You looked like you fainted."
'This has to be some stupid dream,' Junko thought. 'Now how do I wake up?'
Junko observes her surroundings. She was in a forest near a pond. Just to confirm what was going on, Junko tried walking towards the little pond, but that's when she had the biggest shock of all. Her reflection didn't have her pink pigtails or her beautiful body, instead her reflection depicted a small brown fox looking thing with long ears and a poofy tail.
"Agggggghhhhhhh!" Junko screamed.
The yellow creature put a paw to her chest as she watched Junko run in circles.
"No, no, NO!" Junko screamed. "I can't be this! I am the great Junko Enoshima! Not this furry little beast!"
"So your name's Junko," the creature said. "But you don't think you're supposed to be an eevee?"
"The fuck is an eevee?!" Junko asked after stopping.
"You're a pokemon, I'm a pokemon, everyone's a pokemon," the creature said.
"Wait one damn second," Junko said. "Pokemon…"
Now she remembered, Pokemon was the name of the game her sister was always playing. Ever since they were little Mukuro had been obsessed with Pokémon, collecting the cards, buying tons of plushies, and playing the games nonstop on whatever counsel they were on. Junko tolerated her stupidly childish obsession until that damn mobile game came out. Thanks to it, Mukuro kept nagging her to play with her and join team valor or whatever the hell it was called. She couldn't care less until Mukuro started putting their missions in jeopardy just to catch Pokémon. It pissed her off so damn much. From then on the hatred she had for Pokémon grew like a wildfire. Like hell she was going to be a pokemon!
"Uh… are you okay?" the Pokémon asked.
Junko only knew a few Pokémon unwillingly, but now she was beginning to remember the face of it all. Fucking pikachu, the electric mouse Pokémon as enfamouse as that other rodent in media. Always smiling, being too yellow, and having it's face plastered on any piece of merchandise you could imagine, even more mature items. So since she was in a nightmare, it only made sense the Pokémon before her would be pikachu. Knowing this though, she had an idea to end her suffering.
"Hey! You're a pikachu right?" Junko demanded you know.
"Yes…," the pikachu said.
"Electrocute me!" Junko commanded.
"What?! I couldn't do that," the pikachu waved her paws in front of her.
"Come on Pokemon fight each other all the time," Junko said. "Now shock me!"
"Okay…," the pikachu gulped
Hesitantly the pikachu tightened her paws and summoned some electricity in her red cheeks. Then she let out a shrivel stream of electricity that couldn't even light one Christmas light bulb. It felt like a fly just briefly landed on her.
"Shock me harder! Like you mean it!" Junko shouted and bared her teeth.
"Agh!" The pikachu screamed and let loose a flood of electricity just like Junko wanted.
For a moment Junko looked at the huge amount of electricity coming her way and smiled with glee. Surely it would be enough to wake her up from this dumb nightmare. Then when she woke up she could go back to starting the tragedy she dreamed of, after beating Mukuro up for putting Pokémon into her subconscious of course. However Junko did not expect just how potent the electricity was. When it hit her she felt every nerve and bone jolt in a different direction. It was enough to kick her into the air like a rocket then land head first on the ground. Her fur was puffed out and burning just a bit. She wanted to wake up so bad, but for some damn reason she was still stuck feeling all the pain of being electrocuted.
"Shock… me again!" Junko fought through her confusion and commanded.
"No! If I do that you could faint," the pikachu protested.
"Do it!" Junko growled.
"No. I shocked you twice and I'm not doing it again," the pikachu shook her head.
"Fine," Junko stood up and shook her body. "I'll go find another Pokémon that can wake me up from this nightmare.•
"Wait!" The pikachu said. "You can't seriously want to get hurt, what if you faint?"
"Listen pipsqueak, I am a human, not an E whatever this is!" Junko stomped off.
"But you're running right into Tiny Woods!" The pikachu said.
"Am I seriously supposed to be afraid of a place called Tiny Woods?" Junko asked sarcastically.
"Lately a lot of wild Pokémon have been getting aggressive and attacking any strange Pokémon that enter their territory," The pikachu explained.
"I doubt whatever's in 'Tiny Woods' could hurt me," Junko said. "If they tryI'll just attack them back with flamethrower or something."
"Can an eevee learn that move?" The pikachu asked.
"Somebody please help me!" A voice cried out.
From among the trees, a big purple moth butterfly thing fluttered forward in a panic.
"What's wrong?" The pikachu asked.
"My poor baby fell into a cavern!" The butterfly Pokémon said.
"Oh no!" The pikachu said.
"I tried to save him but some angry Pokémon attacked me," the butterfly Pokémon said.
"That's awful!" The pikachu said.
"My poor baby is probably all alone and crying now," the butterfly Pokémon anxiously flapped her wings. "What am I going to do!?"
"Don't worry ma'am," The pikachu said. "We'll help you!"
"We will?" Junko asked surprised she was being roped into this.
"I mean you were headed that way anyway," The pikachu said.
"Fair," Junko said.
"Now ma'am what's your name?" The pikachu asked.
"Hiroko," the butterfly Pokémon said.
"Don't worry Miss Hiroko, me and my partner Junko are on it," the pikachu smiled reassuringly.
"Thank you," Hiroko said.
Junko rolled her eyes at how Damn nice this pikachu was. She would have preferred going off on her own, but at least the pikachu could serve as a meat shield if things got tough. Together the two entered deeper into the woods. Before they realized it, the forest morphed and changed to a more labyrinth layout.
"What the hell?!" Junko asked.
"Don't worry, it's just a mystery dungeon," the pikachu explained. "It's a mysterious place that always changes its layout and items, but as long as we find the stairs we can get out eventually."
"Why are there stairs in a forest?!" Junko asked.
"I don't really know, I guess it's just part of the mystery of this dungeon," Chiaki said. "But don't worry, I got your back!"
Junko hated how damn naive this pikachu was, she was like Makoto, the twerp that's always smiled like a little idiot. Regardless she had no freaking clue how this place operated, even with her ultimate analyst talent, so as much as she hated it she needed this yellow fuzz ball.
Junko walked ahead and the pikachu followed close behind. It didn't take long for them to run into an enemy Pokémon sleeping peacefully. This one looked like some kind of living sunflower seed. Instinctively, Junko tackled the freaky looking Pokémon and managed to knock it out. If she hadn't been preoccupied with escape and being eagerly watched by her yellow stalker, she would have tried eating it. What she wouldn't do for some good ole despair in this pastel freak show of a world. It pissed her off.
As the two journeyed through the dungeon they came across a few more Pokémon. Another pink caterpillar looking thing, a collective of sentient eggs or seeds, and just a normal looking bird. They were all so weak Junko could take them out with one tackle or bite. It wasn't killing since they're fainted bodies still had a pulse, but it was fun to inflict damage, especially on the sleeping Pokémon. For once she wasn't judged for being violent, not even by the pure ball of sunshine behind her. In fact the pikachu even helped using her electricity, which Junko could tell was much more effective.
'Perhaps I can have some fun while I'm dreaming about being a Pokémon' Junko smiled to herself.
"Whatcha smiling about?" The pikachu asked. "Do you sense an item nearby."
"Nothing, I'm just having fun," Junko smiled.
"Hehe, me too," the pikachu laughed.
'God this rat is too happy,' Junko thought.
"Ooh Junko look ahead!" The pikachu pointed.
Lying in the middle of the floor were a couple of gold coins. Junko had no idea pokemon had their own currency, but it was nice to grab even if it wasn't real currency. A few steps away was also a blue colored berry.
"Ooh an Oran berry," the pikachu said, picking up the item in her grubby paw. "Now if we get damaged we can eat some of this to restore us to full health."
'What is this, an Isekai?' Junko thought, 'would make sense since there's so much damn isekai anime, the idea of waking up in another world would be forced into her subconscious.'
"What's your favorite berry?" The pikachu asked.
"I don't know… Oran berry?" Junko said.
"Really, then here you can hold it," the pikachu offered.
"Thanks," Junko said less than enthused to be carrying something she didn't need. 'If only the runt of the duo could be here to hold this."
...
Once Junko and the pikachu reached the fourth floor, they came across an opening. There, a little green caterpillar Pokémon was crying his eyes out.
"Mom… where are you?" The caterpillar pokemon cried in a surprisingly masculine voice.
"Don't worry," The pikachu ran up to him. "We came here to rescue you!"
"Really?" The caterpillar pokemon asked.
"Yep, your mom Hiroko sent us," the pikachu smiled.
"Mom," The caterpillar Pokémon sniffed.
"Come on, let's get out of here," the pikachu offered her paw.
It was bizarre, but for some reason this little caterpillar had the same voice as a failure of a man Junko kind of knew. Junko brushed it off as just subconscious nonsense. Although if it was him she could definitely see him as a pathetic worm.
…
The three easily made it through the mystery dungeon with no trouble. Although they would have gotten out a lot faster if the caterpillar pokemon didn't continually stop and cry that he was tired. It felt like a bad escort mission, correction, it felt like most escort missions. Before Junko was at her complete wits end and bite the crybaby's head off, they returned to the pond where Hiroko was waiting.
"My baby!" Hiroko said with fluttering wings.
"Mom!" The caterpillar Pokémon leapt towards his mother.
"Thank you so much for saving my baby," Hiroko said.
"It was no problem," the pikachu smiled.
'Let's just gets this over with,' Junko thought as she tapped her paw impatiently, 'I hate to watch hopeful reunions, that's why I always dislike the dumb videos where mangy dogs welcome back their owners from the army.'
"You helped me out, yet I don't even know your names," Hiroko said.
"Oh, right," the pikachu said. "Well this is Junko."
'Kill me,' Junko thought.
"And my name's Chiaki," the pikachu said.
'What a dumb name,' Junko thought.
"What lovely names," Hiroko smiled. "Now then, Junko, Chiaki, I believe I owe you a reward."
"Oh we couldn't possibly!" Chiaki said as Hiroko offered her a little bag.
"Come on she's just being nice," Junko said, taking the bag. "Thank you."
Knowing this game inspired world, Junko knew there had to be money, a berry, and some kind of special item since this was her first quest. One little peek in the bag confirmed it, though she wasn't expecting the special item to be a seed of all things.
"So does this mean you guys are a rescue team?" the catapillar pokemon asked.
"No," Junko said before Chiaki could respond.
"Oh, well I think you guys would make a great rescue team," the caterpillar pokemon said with wide eyes. "You're both so cool."
'I don't need your admiration bug,' Junko thought as the caterpillar pokemon kept staring at her, 'I got brainwashed people and my icky sister to do that.'
"Well it's getting late so we better be off," Hiroko said as she fluttered away. "Come on Hagakure."
"What?!" Junko asked aloud.
"Oh, right!" The caterpillar snapped out of his trance and crawled over to his mom. "I'm coming."
"Are you okay, Junko?" Chiaki asked.
"Yeah, it's nothing, I'm just surprised by how much stuff we got," Junko lied.
'There is no fucking way Hagakure turned into a pokemon the same time is me,' Junko thought. 'Is it possible I traveled to an alternate dimension where everyone on earth is a pokemon, no that's too stupid, this has gotta be just a really elaborate dream, that or I'm tripping on acid.'
"So, are you headed home?" Chiaki asked.
"I don't really have a home," Junko said. "Is there like an inn I can stay at?"
"Oh that's terrible," Chiaki said. "Here I know a perfect place just follow me."
'All I need is to go to sleep in this dream and then I'll wake up back in my mundane reality before I turn it all into my personal playground for despair,' Junko thought, not realizing she was laughing maniacally out loud.
"Is something funny?" Chiaki asked causing Junko to nearly bite her tongue off.
"Nothing," Junko reassured her with a fake smile. "I'm just so grateful you're going to find me a place to stay."
"No problem," Chiaki smiled. "That's what friends do."
'Friends?' Junko internally scoffed. 'I don't need friends, especially if they're as naive as you.'
…
The journey to this resting place was a lot longer than Junko liked. Pretty soon all her four paws were sore and her tail dropped and was dragged across the ground. Yet while Junko was suffering, her yellow leader was still carelessly smiling as usual, not bothered at all by the long journey. If she had even a bit more strength, Junko would have pounced her and ripped her damn throat out for being so happy go lucky. But she knew she still needed the pikachu alive, for now. Eventually they found a dirt road that led them to a small house.
The house looked like the top of an acorn shell next to it was a flagpole and it had a spacious yard complete with a cute wooden mailbox. Junko couldn't care less how big or small it was, as long as it had a bed she was fine.
"Alright…," Junko yawned. "This is the place? Awesome, I'll find the bed."
"Do you like it?" Chiaki asked.
"Yeah, it's great," Junko said slowly.
"I knew it'd be perfect for you," Chiaki smiled.
Junko figured that was a good place to leave. If she didn't get to bed soon, she was going to collapse. Of course the perky pikachu was too in her own world to notice. Junko took a few steps towards the house, greatly anticipating going to bed and waking up back in her own reality. However, Chiaki kept talking.
"Hey, Junko…," Chiaki spoke up.
"What?" Junko was a little ticked off.
"You were really good today, in the mystery dungeon. You were so confident and strong," Chiaki said.
"Yeah, I was," Junko said.
"So I was wondering… if it's not too much to ask…," Chiaki fidgeted with her little fingers. "Would you want to form a rescue team with me?!"
"Sure," Junko said.
"Really?!" Chiaki asked, her tail wagging
"Yeah," Junko said.
"Thank you so much!" Chiaki suddenly embraced Junko.
Junko's fur stood up, the freaky and stupidly optimistic rat was hugging her!
"I promise you won't regret it," Chiaki said, releasing Junko from the embrace.
Of course Junko wasn't going to regret it, because she knew the moment she went to sleep, she'd wake up back into her own reality. Had she said know she knew Chiaki would have kept asking her repeatedly until she said yes, so she simply chose the path of least resistance. She didn't give two shits about teaming up with the electric vermin.
"Oh, since we're a team, we can use these," Chiaki said.
From out of nowhere, Chiaki pulled out to red bandanas. She tied one around her neck and then offered the other to Junko.
"Thanks," Junko said disingenuously.
Junko put the scarf around her neck, but when she tried to tie it, there was a problem. Unlike Chiaki, Junko's paws weren't as dexterous, her fingers were smaller and rounder. No matter how much she pawed at the ends the bandana was impossible to tie.
"Fuck!" Junko said upon her realization.
"Oh, here," Chiaki came close and tied it for you. "Sorry about that.
"Whatever," Junko said.
"You look exhausted," Chiaki said.
"You just now noticed?" Junko asked bitterly.
"Sorry, I'm not really good with reading other Pokémon," Chiaki said. "You should probably go get some rest."
"Yes, I should," Junko said.
"But can I ask just one last thing?" Chiaki asked.
"What?" Junko groaned.
"What should our team name be?" Chiaki asked.
"I don't know… team daisy?" Junko said. "Whatever floats your boat."
"Team Daisy," Chiaki said aloud then smiled and wagged her tail. "I love it!"
"Great, so now that that's decided I'm going to bed," Junko said.
"Alright, pleasant dreams," Chiaki waved. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Sure," Junko yawned.
…
Inside, the house was furnished with wood furniture and clay pots. The anticipated bed was just a pile of hay, but Junko was too tired to be picky. Instead she just plopped down face first into the hay and awaited to be woken up from this nightmare. She was so exhausted she didn't need to count mutilated corpses to help her fall asleep.
'Fuck this place,' Junko thought, 'first thing I'm doing when I wake up is getting a crap ton of pikachu dolls and burning them on a flaming pyre.'
With that lovely thought in her mind, Junko fell asleep. Yet when she woke up later, she wasn't going to be happy.