I was awoken from my sleep by something unknown nudging at my hand slightly.

"Nngh... Wha was that?" I asked groggily.

I heard something scurry away from me in a hurry, running away as fast as it could. I felt around me, confused by the grass surrounding me.

'Wha-? Where am I?' I thought to myself trying to wake myself up faster.

I cracked my eyes open and instantly shut them, blinded by the light. I brought my hand up to my eyes to shield them from the unforgiving rays of the sun.

'How... how did I get outside?!' I thought while panicking. My mind raced trying to remember what happened, and suddenly, I remembered everything.

Suddenly, memories came flooding back to me. I remembered everything. The crash, the voice, the wager, the falling. Everything.

My eyes shot open faster than bullets. I gasped and look all around me. I was stranded in a forest. Greens leaves and grass surrounded me as I took in my new surroundings.

I looked down to see that I was still dressed in the same clothes I was taken in. My blue jacket and shoes with my black cargo shorts.

My mind began to spiral in disbelief more and more as my thoughts raced. I felt as if the entire world was spinning around me, a blur of greens, browns, and blues.

"This was real. Oh my God this whole thing was real! There's no way this was real! The voice, the wager, everything! I was really taken to another world! It was all real!"

I fell on my back from the shock and looked up to the clear blue sky, continuing to talk to myself in disbelief. I felt as if I was spinning as I took in everything that was happening.

"No fucking way," I said as my mind raced, "This is all real. Oh my God this is real! Ok, calm down. I need to stay calm. Deep breaths."

I took breath after breath trying my best to wrap my head around everything as I lay down on the soft grass. Feeling calmer after a few minuites of deep breathing, I decided to see all that was around me.

I looked all around me again, fully taking in my surroundings. I was in a small clearing of a seemingly very dense forest. Trees surrounded the clearing which I had awoken in. They were so dense, I could not see through them. The sky was a clear blue as well. Not a single cloud in sight.

Looking around the area where I had awoken in, I noticed my black bookbag sitting there in the clearing with a small note on it.

"My bag!" I said shocked, "How did this get here? Did it travel here with me? It definitely looks like my bag at least."

I made my way over to it cautiously, looking to make sure it was in fact my bookbag. It looked as if something was rooting around near it but couldn't figure out how to open it When nothing happened, I took the note off slowly and carefully and looked it over.

The note was hard to make out, seemingly written by a three year old on a sugar high. Squinting, I read the note out loud.

"Hello human," it read, "How do you like my world so far? I thought about it and decided to give you a little assistance. In your bag is a few items to help you survive your first few days here. This game would be no fun if you died immediately after all. In addition to the items to help you survive, I have decided to give you your "phone" I believe it is called. You humans sure have weird names of things. I must be going now. You better find some food before night falls. Do not disappoint me."

"My life really is just a game to it then, huh?" I said while putting the note it had written into my pocket.

I reached down for my bag and looked inside of it, pulling out an assortment of useful items. Two water bottles, one full and one empty, a full bag of chips, my phone, my wallet, my keys, all the books that were in there to begin with, a flashlight, and a lighter.

I looked at the items that had been in my bag and began to think out loud of what to do next.

"So, I need to assume the worst here. I'm abandoned in the woods and have no clue where I truly am. I have to ration this all out for as long as I can to make sure I have enough. Hmm... what should I do now?"

I thought about this for a second, going over possible scenarios in my head. I eventually decided that it would be best to pick a direction and begin walking. I read somewhere that water will usually lead to a town. Now, it was the time to pray that it was right.

By now, I had managed to mostly calm myself down. I knew why I was here at least. I was here because of a wager I made with some form of God of this world. I still can't believe this was all actually happening.

I took a second to put the bottles, chips, and books into my bag and stuck the lighter, wallet, and phone into one of my many pockets. I could burn those books if I really needed to make a fire and couldn't find any kindling. Hah, stupid school.

Before beginning on my way, I sat down under a nearby tree and thought to myself for a bit about the last thing I heard the voice say to me.

'Welcome to your dream turned nightmare. What could that have meant? Could have it been some sort of hint? It was definitely foreshadowing something, I've studied enough movies to recognize that. Hmm... I need to be on guard. I still don't know what all is in this world. Even if it does look very similar to my world, I can't assume they're the same.'

I looked up and saw the sun directly above me. It must have been around noon. I hope I'm right about that. I've always been terrible with time.

I got up from under the tree, sighed, and said, "Alrighy, I need to get looking for water. I'm not going to get anything done by sitting here. Might as well get going. I'm not getting any closer to home by doing nothing."

I was immediately hit with a wave of sadness as the reality of my situation became fully visible. My eyes watered as I began to think of all that I had left behind once more. My family, friends, life, everything.

I shook my head violently, pushing those thoughts away. I couldn't afford to waste time. I had to get moving before nightfall. I still had no clue where I was, both location and world.

I wiped my eyes clear of tears, turned to the thick woods I had awoken next to, and started my trek through the woods.

As I cautiously neared the closest treelined, I stopped and looked back to make sure I had not forgotten to put anything into my bag. As I turned, I noticed something that made my heart sink to the bottom of my chest.

There was a pair of yellow eyes watching me intently from the bushes.

My breathing momentarily stopped as my heart and mind raced. For all I knew, I had been watched the entire time I was unconscious in the clearing.

'Wha- What is that?! Is it here to hurt me?! Has it been here the entire time?! Was it the thing that woke me up?! Ok, wait a moment, calm down. Deep breaths again. I need to think about this rationally.'

I took a deep breath, calming my wildly beating heart. I still had my eyes glued to the unknown creature that had been observing me.

'If... if this creature is the what woke me up and it wanted me dead, why not just kill me there? Has it been watching me the whole time? What if it's friendly? I need to be cautious, but maybe I can at least check. After all, if it had wanted me dead, it could have done it earlier. I've seen nothing else around so it has to be the one.'

Fear still violently wracked through my entire body. I took more deep breaths and mentally prepared myself for what I was about to do next. This may be the dumbest thing I've ever done, but on the off chance that this creature is friendly, I'd at least not be alone in this unknown world. The impossible has already happened, maybe it'll happen again.

I took one last big breath before opening my mouth and attempting to communicate with it.

"H-h-hello? W-who are you?" I said, voice wavering heavily.

The creatures eyes widened and lit up slightly, seeming to understand what I was saying. It stayed where it was hidden in the distance.

"W-wait, can you... understand me?" I asked nervously, hoping that it had actually understood me.

I saw those big, yellow eyes slowly move up and down in what looked to me like a nod.

I took another breath to steady my racing pulse again and said, "Are you the one who woke me up?"

The creature's eyes never left me, but it nodded its head slightly. Of course, all I saw were those two big yellow eyes the size of tennis balls moving up and down . I managed to hear a tiny sound coming from it, signaling what I assumed was confirmation.

I gave a big sigh of relief. This creature could understand me. If it could understand me, than it must be at least a little intelligent, right?

I steadied myself again before asking, "O-ok. So you can understand what I'm saying, that's good. Uhh, can... can you talk? Like, talk my language? I heard that noise you made at my last question."

The creature's eyes shot up a bit more at this. It shook its head more, making more strange noises. The noises it made reminded me of, how do I put it, a quiet car screech mixed with some other animalistic noises.

By now, I had managed to mostly calm myself. If this creature had wanted to hurt me, it could and probably would have done it already. I had one more question to ask before I lowered my guard, however.

I nervously asked, "H-have you been watching me this entire time? Since I ended up in this clearing?"

The creature nodded once again, its yellow eyes bobbing up and down once again in conformation. I sighed seeing this, relief washing over me. This creature may be lying to me, so I couldn't relax completely, but I could pick up no animosity from it. Then again, I've always been terrible with people... but this isn't a human from what I could tell.

"Ok, alright," I sighed as I wiped a few beads of sweat that had been building on my forehead, "I-I'm sorry if I seem jumpy, I'm... well, I'm not from around here you could say."

The creature's eyes seemed to flash with what looked like both realization and empathy. It nodded once again, eyes still fixed on me. I saw it move forward a tiny bit, but then stopping and looked at me expectantly while making another one of its strange sounds. I saw a tiny shade of purple on it as it came more into the light.

"Are you... asking if I'm ok with you coming out of the bushes?" I asked cautiously.

It nodded again, it's expectant gaze never leaving me.

"Y-yeah, I'm ok with it. However, if you attack me, I will fight back... poorly maybe, but I will."

I half joked that last line. I had always had an issue with cracking jokes in the face of danger or sadness. It was my best way to cope with stuff.

The creature's eyes rolled slightly as it seemed to chuckle slightly. I heard it make another one of its noises, picking up on my half serious, half joke threat.

I took another deep breath, setting my bag down onto the grass before saying, "Alright then. Just... come out slowly, ok? I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm just... scared. Terrified really. N-not of you!.. Well, kinda. I'm sorry."

The creature's gaze softened slightly, eyes still glued to me. It made another noise, but this one was softer than the others. It seemed to somewhat understand what I was feeling. At least that's what I hope it's trying to communicate with me.

The creature moved again, coming further and further into the light. My breathing quickened again, anxiety rising despite my best efforts to reassure myself. I wanted to believe that it was friendly, but I still did not know for sure.

As it approached and came fully into the light, I audibly gasped and my jaw almost hit the ground. It was a venipede. An actual real-life venipede! Oh my fucking God!

The pokemon looked back at me once it was fully in the light, gaining a confused expression on its face. It probably had expected many different reactions, but this was definitely not one of them.

My mind had blanked by now as shock set in. This is what the voice ment by, "dream turned nightmare!" It brought me to the pokemon world! The actual pokemon world! There's no fucking way!

I fell down onto my butt as I continued to reel back in pure disbelief for the second time that day. The venipede seemed to look at me warily, not knowing exactly what was happening.

"Oh. My. God. Y-y-you're a pokemon. An actual pokemon! An actual pokemon is now standing right in front of me! Oh my fucking God!"

I took more deep breaths, attempting to calm myself down once again. It... didn't work all too well. This had been a dream of mine since I was four and my excitement was bubbling over like a soda that had been shaken for three hours.

The venipede in front of me was looking at me oddly, not exactly understanding why I was currently acting like a six-year-old on a sugar high. Its eyes were still glued to me, not moving any closer.

"Ok, ok, ok, I need to calm down again. Deep breaths. In and out." I took even more deep breaths, trying desperately to suppress my child-like glee and wonder.

I sighed and shook my head, finally getting myself under control again and looking at the venipede in front of me. It was still looking at me cautiously, not knowing exactly what the hell was happening with me.

I rubbed the back of my head, smiling sheepishly before saying, "Ok, I'm calm now. Forgive me for that outburst. It's just... a real pokemon is in front of me right now. This has been my dream since I was very little."

Hearing this again, the venipede gave me a curious glance and moved a bit closer to me. This had to have been a first for it. I had no clue if it had met any other humans before, but I'm sure that if it did, none of them did what I just did.

I sat down on my bag, getting the feeling this conversation would go on for awhile and said, "Uhh, I already said I wasn't from around here. I... don't think you'd believe me if I said what exactly happened to me. Honestly, I wouldn't believe me either."

The venipede got even closer to me, showing no aggression whatsoever. It stopped about five feet in front of me and gazed at me expectantly. I saw the expression on the pokemon's face. Seeing this, I had an idea of what it wanted.

"Would you like me to tell you the story of how I got here?" I asked the curious bug.

It, once again, nodded its head and let out a small noise that I learned meant "Yes."

I chuckled solemnly and said, "Alright, but you won't believe a word of it. I'm actually from another world."

The small bug and poison type gave me a deadpan look of disbelief. It clearly wasn't buying it. I didn't really think it would and don't blame it for not believing a fake-sounding story.

I saw this and smiled slightly, continuing, " Yeah! I'm from another world. I don't really know what this world is like, but if my hunch is right, my world is similar. It has one big difference though. There are no pokemon in my world."

The small pokemon's look did not leave its face. I knew it didn't believe a word of this. Hell, from the way it's looking at me, I think it thinks I'm crazy. I certainly feel crazy right now honestly.

I chuckled a little at the look it was giving me before continuing, "I know from the look that you don't believe a word of this, but I'm not lying. The only reason I knew what species you were is because pokemon is... well... a video game in my world. You can play, like, a simulation on these little things that light up. Like my phone actually!"

I pulled out my phone and showed the pokemon before putting it in my pocket and continuing on.

"I was brought here by some... being, I guess after I..." My body shuddered as I had to force the word out of my mouth, "died... in a car crash. It said that it could bring me home to... my friends and family I had left behind if I somehow managed to impress it."

My eyes watered once again, the emotions I had recently suppressed hitting me like a monstrous wave. I choked up a bit, my voice wavering as I forced myself to continue.

"I-it said I had to earn it. I have an idea of what it meant now haha. I have no clue how I'm gonna do that. My grandma depended on me for help. I wasn't happy, but people needed me. I have to try. Fuck, I'm sorry for crying like this."

I was crying rivers by this point, tears stinging my eyes and trailing down my face before falling down onto the grass. My bottled up emotions crashed onto me like giant tidal wave. The venipede looked completely taken aback by my sudden shift in emotions.

The tears were still streaming down my face, "I'm just... I don't even know. I'm terrified and stressed and just... I need to get home. Not even for me, but for the people who need me. I have to go back, but I know I'll just fuck that up too like I do every damn thing else. I can't do this."

The words were just spilling out of me with no control. I couldn't stop myself. All my bottled up stress and emotion came pouring out of me in a cascade of tears. The venipede stood by me, thinking.

The waterfall of pure unfiltered emotion continued to relentlessly gush out of me. I couldn't stop myself. It was as if a dam had broken wide open.

"I know I can't do this, I know I can't. I'll never be able to impress a literal God! I know I can't!"

The tears stung more as I took a deep breath, trying and failing to calm myself down more. The emotional torrent still surged and courced through my entire being. My mouth was moving all on its own, the words flowing out of me with no control or thought.

I turned my gaze up to the sky, tears flowing down onto my lap and said, "And do you wanna know the worst part? I never even got to say goodbye. All I want is to just say that I'm sorry for leaving. That's it. I just... I can't."

My words stopped but my crying didn't. I lay my head into my hands, sobbing uncontrollably. My mental walls and barricades had been torn down. The stress, the pain, the grief, the feelings of loneliness and emptiness came flooding back to me all at once. They ripped through me with no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Without warning, I felt the small pokemon that had been sitting beside me through this leap onto my lap. It tried to, at least, not quite making it and instead landing beside me. This act jolted me out of my self-made chasm of grief and despair as I looked to where the bug type had fallen.

The poor thing had landed on its back, unable to get up. It was crying out for me to help. I couldn't stifle a laugh at this, it looked downright hilarious! If you had been there, you would have laughed also, I guarantee it.

Despite still being choked up from my previous breakdown, I looked over to the fallen pokemon, extended my slightly trembling hand, and said, "Y-you need a hand there haha?"

It made a sound that I could tell was both embarrassed and a bit irritated. I'm guessing this kinda thing happens a lot. Lucky it that it just so happened to be close to the most emotional person alive.

I got off my throne of misery, leaned down to the upside-down pokemon and said, "I hope you don't mind me tipping you over like this, but it's the best way to get you right-side-up. Plus, I still don't know if you're ok with me picking you up and I'd rather not get off on an even wronger foot than we already have."

I put my hand gently under the cold purple shell of the pokemon and pushed it back to its feet. It struggled to tip its body upright again, flailing its tiny feet wildly. After I had managed to get the venipede upright, it looked at me and made a soft cry of what I assumed was gratitude.

I sighed, glad for the little distraction and said, "I know that wasn't on purpose, but thank you for the laugh. I needed it... a lot. I'm sorry for the, uh, breakdown. You know from what I said that I've just been bad to say the very least. I barely know you at all, but thank you."

I meant it too. I've never been good at handling things, epically on my own. This pokemon, who I'd just met, had stayed and listened to me while I was drowning in my misery. But... why had it stayed? It could have just left while I was crying literal oceans, why didn't it go away? It didn't have to stay and it's not like I'm a trainer.

"Hey, I have a question for you," I said to it, "Why... why did you stay? You didn't have to."

The venipede made a few different cries, trying to communicate something to me that I couldn't understand.

I sighed at this, saying solemnly, "I'm sorry, but I didn't understand a word of that."

The pokemon made a frustrated cry before looking at me and giving another one of its reassuring cries. This language barrier is a real pain when it comes to complex sentences.

I realized something else, it wanted to know how I got here. I wonder if it believed a word of it. Might as well ask.

I chuckled sadly once again before saying, "Do you believe me about how I got here? I remember those looks you were giving me before you gave me a laugh. It's ok if you don't, I won't hold it against you. I would have a hard time believing me also."

The pokemon looked down and thought about this for a second. After a few minutes, it looked at me and nodded its head once more, making more cries that I could not understand to save my life. God, I already despise this language barrier.

I smiled at it. It had to know that I wouldn't understand what it said, but it was still trying to communicate something with me.

I sighed, looking down in both embarrassment and hope before saying, "Thank you. What made you change your mind? Just curious."

It gave me a look that I could decipher immediately. It basically said, 'What do you think?' I'm used to getting those kinda looks a lot. Like, more than anyone should.

I sat back down on my bag, looking at the sky. The sun was setting in the distance. I really needed to get moving to find civilization or water or really anything useful.

Suddenly, an idea struck me like lightning. This venipede lives in this world, maybe it knows where a town or city is! I have to ask.

"Hey, do you happen to know where any human cities are?" I asked hopefully.

Its eyes lit up once more before it nodded its head again. It moved away from me in a direction before looking back at me, seeming to point in a direction.

I turned ecstatic, hopes rising again as I said, "Oh, you really do?! Awesome! I should head that way then! I gotta get moving before night falls. If memory serves right, going out at night alone is a very bad idea. Epically for a defenseless human like me."

The venipede made that chuckling noise again before nodding its head slowly. It seemed that my memory had served me right for once. I was beyond stunned.

I stood up, slinging the heavy bag over my shoulder and made my way to the tree line that the pokemon had gestured to before stopping in my tracks and thinking, 'This pokemon who I just met stayed with me through that whole mess. It comforted me the best it could. If it didn't leave now and knew the dangers of traveling alone then maybe..."

My breath caught in my throat slightly as I turned back to it and asked awkardly,"Hey, uh, I know we... just met and all, but would you like to... come along? I kinda need some form of protection. I'm pretty defenseless. I mean, you stayed with me during... that. It's up to you though."

The venipede thought about this question for a moment. I'm sure it was going over all that it knew about me and debating whether or not to tag along. After about a minute, it looked at me and nodded its head, giving a cry of conformation.

I smiled wide at this. I think I made a pretty good friend. Then, a sudden realization hit me like a professional boxer. This meant that I was a pokemon trainer.

Holy shit, this meant that I was a real pokemon trainer! That sense of child-like glee came back to me in full force. I am a trainer oh my God!

I... might have ended up acting like a child again without realizing it. I was kinda bouncing up and down.

I looked at the pokemon in front of me and practically yelled, "Oh my God thank you! This means that I'm a trainer now, right?! Oh my God I've dreampt of this happening since I was four!"

The pokemon rolled its eyes and chuckled again, laughing at me totally mature display. It tried to say something to me, but once again it was lost in that damn language barrier.

Hearing this managed to drag me back to reality. Looking to the small pokemon, I asked, "Did you ask something?"

The venipede gazed at me again, as if expecting something else. I looked at it confused, before a sudden realization hit me. I don't have any pokeballs.

"Are you trying to ask about a pokeball?" I guessed, "I don't have any of them. Whatever left me here just gave me some supplies and told me good luck."

The venipede looked a bit disappointed at that, but seemed to get another idea fairly quickly. It made its way over to my bag before gesturing to the zipper. It took me a minute to fully understand what it meant, but I got it after a bit.

"Ohh, are you saying you want me to unzip the bag and let you ride in it?" I asked hopefully.

The venipede nodded, so I made my way over to the bag and unzipped it. The pokemon managed to crawl inside of it and wriggle around a bit to get comfortable. After it gave me another cry and a nod, I picked the bag up slowly and put it on my back once more.

"This was a pretty clever idea, good thinking. Oh, hey, since we're traveling together, would it be ok if I gave you a nickname? I don't wanna call you just "venipede." It sounds demeaning, like if someone just called me "human."

The venipede thought about this for a second before nodding its head and letting out that noise of conformation I had begun to grow accustomed to.

"Awesome!" I said, excitement beginning to bubble again, "Let's see... Oh, are you a male or a female? Uhh, nod your head for male, shake it for female."

The pokemon on my back nodded its head, confirming that it was a male. A male venipede, huh? I wonder what name I should give it. I thought about this for a second before an old, repressed memory came to the surface. My first ever pokemon game. Black and White.

I had a venipede in that game I named "Rollie" because the species reminded me of rollie pollies and it made me laugh. Why not suggest that as a nickname? There could be worse after all.

I leaned over my shoulder to face the pokemon again and said, "I have an idea! How about rollie? If you don't like it, I can change it, but I figured I would suggest it."

The venipede thought about this for awhile before looking at me and nodding again.

I smiled before saying, "Alright, Rollie it is! I know I already said this, but thank you again for sticking with me earlier. Oh, I never told you my name! I'm Will! It's really nice to meet you! Hope we didn't get off on too much of the wrong foot haha."

Rollie gave a cry that I guess was a greeting. I still didn't know. Hopefully I'll improve at that.

I looked up at the sun, which was about to start setting before saying, "Alright Rollie, you ready to start an adventure?"

Rollie looked at me before giving a loud cry of conformation. We were both ready to go on an adventure.

We had a pretty one-sided conversation as I walked to that very same thick treeline for the third or fourth time that day. As we entered those woods, I realized something. I had truly begun a real pokemon adventure.

Despite the pain and grief of today, I managed to smile. I had a feeling I had made my first friend in this new and unknown world.

Now the adventure can truly begin.

END CH. 2

Hoooooly crap that took forever to write. I wanted to get this out earlier, but I needed to go back and fix things and word stuff better. I'm still not sure that it's good, but I think it's ok. I can't think of what else to do or change. Please feel free to leave any criticism or suggestions for future chapters! I hope everyone reading will enjoy this chapter, I did try hard on it to make the interactions meaningful and build a believable bond. Things will get moving on from here in the future. Thanks so much for all the previous reviews and follows and favorites! I REALLY appreciate everything! I never thought anyone would ever read this! Until next time! -Zerif