Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Fallen Down

A thief, sent burdens from above

A noble, searching for lost love

A warrior, eager to fight

A fallen star, their guiding light

Chapter 1 - On The Beach At Dawn

The gentle lapping of waves on sand gradually dragged Jay from the numbness of sleep. Even with his eyes closed, bright rays of light trickled through his eyelids.

In his groggy state of mind, the odd shift in location from his bedroom to a waterfront seemed amicable. Still, he knew the sudden change didn't have much logical sense to it.

Well, better see if this is a dream or a kidnapping, he thought glumly. With a sigh, he opened his eyes to assess the situation.

It took a moment to adjust to the bright light, and after blinking a few times to clear his vision, he found himself staring wide-eyed at the sight before him.

Above him was the most beautiful sunrise he had ever seen; dazzling pinks and oranges covered the entire sky. Upon tilting his head to the side, he saw a picturesque beach giving way to a vast, clear ocean.

Wherever he was, it certainly wasn't anywhere he had ever been before. "So… definitely a dream, then…" he mumbled as he continued to drink in the sight.

After what seemed like an eternity of staring, he noticed an oddity in his vision; a strange dark protrusion centered at the bottom of his view.

He crossed his eyes to get a better look at it. It appeared almost as if something had been attached to his nose. Curiosity got the better of him, and he raised up a hand to poke at it…

Before immediately recoiling in shock when he saw his hand.

A hand which happened to have three stubby fingers, was coated in black fur, and had a spike protruding from the back of it.

What.

Jay was stunned as he studied the appendage, his heartbeat beginning to thump in his chest as adrenaline filled him. Glancing down, he saw that said chest also had a spike protruding from it and was covered in cream fur.

He was at a complete loss. None of this makes any sense, even for a dream, he thought as panic began to take hold of him.

As if he could run away from the problem, Jay stumbled to his feet for a moment before tripping and falling back onto the sand, his balance completely different from what he was used to.

He glanced down at his legs and saw that they had changed significantly as well; they had adopted a digitigrade structure and followed a similar pattern to the changes in his arms, sans the spikes.

As he sat in the sand examining himself further, he gradually became aware of a crushing pain that jutted out behind him. Too far behind him. Upon further inspection, he discovered he was sitting on a newly acquired tail.

That final bit of absurdity warped his panic into frustration, causing him to groan in annoyance towards no one in particular. "Can't I just have a nice, normal dream where I get to rest on a beautiful beach?"

Slowing his breathing, he tried to calm himself. There was no point in getting frustrated over something that wasn't real; he may as well play along. To that end, he forced himself up onto his new feet, taking care to not fall over again, and slowly stumbled his way towards the water.

After what seemed like minutes of careful walking just to travel the short distance, he knelt down at the edge of the water and studied his reflection. Meeting his gaze was a creature that he had only ever seen in pixelated form.

"A lucario…?" Jay had played the Pokemon games casually when he was a bit younger, but his new appearance seemed out of place. Of all the things to dream himself as, why a pokemon? Why on a beach, of all places? Was there something he was missing?

Head swimming with questions, he stood up again to get a look at his full reflection.

Or, at least, that's what he was trying to do when he stumbled forward into the water.

Jay had no time to react before he was under the surface. The gently sloping sand of the beach apparently gave way to a much steeper decline once it met the waterline, as his entire body was submerged immediately.

The water was a comfortable temperature, but Jay wasn't in the mood for a morning swim. He flailed his unfamiliar limbs and managed to clamber back onto the beach, coughing up saltwater.

While the unexpected dip had soured his mood further, something else troubled him far more: the feeling of being in the water. He had felt its cool temperature, he felt its push on him as he swam against it, even now on the shore his new fur felt waterlogged. It all gave credence to an idea that had been worming its way into his head since he had opened his eyes: everything felt far too real for this to be a dream.

As the idea forced its way to the forefront of his mind, he knew he had to be certain. He slowly raised a shaking paw, but hesitated. It's just a dream, you'll just wake up, he reassured himself.

After drawing in a sharp breath, he slapped himself across his new nose with as much force as he could muster.

The exercise granted Jay two useful tidbits of knowledge: first, this was most certainly not a dream, and second, his new form packed a lot more strength than he had previously possessed as a human. He yelped out at the stinging pain, tears filling his eyes as blood dripped down from his face and stained the white sand.

He sat back down and took a moment to cradle his nose as the pain subsided. It wasn't long before the stinging faded into a dull ache, though the implications of the incident were far harder to ignore.

He let out a shaky sigh as the reality of the situation came crashing down. "N-not a dream, then. But if this isn't a dream—"

He jumped up and spun around, scanning the area. The rest of the beach was completely empty.

He was alone.

Jay slumped back onto the sand and shot a rueful glare at his bloodstained paw. He just couldn't seem to catch a break. Not only was he alone, but panicked, soaking wet, and still bleeding a bit as well.

Though, to be fair, those last two were on him. Then again, maybe the entire list was as well; he couldn't rule out this being some form of cosmic punishment. Yeah, that would check out, he thought spitefully. If that were true, though, why was he in such a peaceful place?

In fact, where in the world was he?

For a minute he just sat there, question after question arising as the ground beneath him spun. It was all too much to take in and threatened to overwhelm him completely.

Eventually, he made an effort to compose himself. Panicking won't fix any of this, he resolved. Remember, you have to take things one step at a time.

He couldn't sit around thinking of more questions— he needed to start finding answers.

He took slow, deep breaths as he analyzed the situation. He was a pokemon now, so it stood to reason that he wasn't in his world anymore. Still, did this new location have similar rules to the video games?

Another wave of panic threatened to boil over at the thought of being captured in a pokeball, but he shoved it back down. Just focus on the next step, Jay reminded himself.

As he studied the landscape, he caught sight of the tops of buildings poking out from a distant cluster of grassy hills. It was a bit of a trek, especially considering how unfamiliar he was with his new form, but it was the only chance he had of getting some information.

He could only hope that he wouldn't be greeted by a wave of pokemon trainers looking to catch a lucario… though, with his luck, that would probably be exactly what he found.

Shaking his head, he pushed the thought away. For all the doubt and uncertainty that loomed over him, one thing scared him more than anything else: the thought of not being able to make it back home. He would be leaving too much behind.

Jay took one last look towards the sunrise and steeled himself. He needed to make it back, and it didn't matter what he had to fight through to get there.

Without waiting for more doubts to undercut his resolution, Jay pivoted and set off towards the town.

One step at a time.

Howdy everyone! This is my first time taking a crack at writing a story, and I'm equal parts nervous and excited to give it a go. I hope you all enjoy reading Jay's struggles just as much as I've enjoyed writing them. Any reviews are greatly appreciated.