The idea of waking up in a random location after having a party to celebrate your birthday always seemed like just one elaborated joke on my family's part. Woods weren't that far away from our hut in a secluded village, so I found it almost funny that I woke up with trees bathing in the afternoon sun, casting rays of light on the ground.
"Damn my family and their stupid jokes," I said with a chuckle, still laying down on a bed of leaves and branches. Instead of immediately standing up, I put my hands behind my head and observed the forest that surrounded me. It wasn't spectacular by any means, but I always found it relaxing, being alone with my thoughts and just gazing at the endless greenery.
Though the quietness could use something else.
Fishing inside the pockets of my trusty dark-blue coat that I thankfully had with me, I found my phone and earbuds before rocking some of my favorite tunes and enjoying the time I had to myself.
Though it didn't last long as a rumbling noise coming from my stomach interrupted my reprieve.
"Well, can't live on an empty stomach, can I?" I said before hoisting myself up and stretching my arms, earning loud pops from them and my back too. I looked at my spot where I slept and when I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, I headed out to my hut.
As I found my way through the trees while humming my tunes, I didn't pay much attention to where I was going. I knew forests were quite small where I live because if you would go in one direction, you would find yourself somewhere in the countryside with a large field of view and could easily find any form of civilization.
However, as time passed on and the color of the sky became darker and darker, I started to doubt my own thoughts.
And my stomach became louder every time it demanded to get sated.
Instead of starting to panic like any other person, I thankfully had some lessons on how to survive in the wilderness just in case anything like this would happen. The first thing I needed to find was a source of water while being on the lookout for any berries and whatnot.
The second would be to find some form of shelter and thankfully, I didn't need to look for long to find something that caught my eye. A small cave was one of them, making it an ideal place to camp and not far from it was a tree with… what even was that?
It was definitely a fruit, but its color was something very unordinary because it was a vibrant blue with many small visible indents. I knew that berries could have that color too, but seeing it on a fruit just set off a few alarms of this thing being poisonous.
But the stomach disagreed on that as it still rumbled in protest, but my mind kept saying no.
That was until I spotted a bird coming down to the tree and my first thought it was a pigeon, but it was way too fat to be that. It landed on one of the tree branches, took the fruit with its surprisingly small beak, and flew off somewhere into the wilderness.
Well, if a wild animal took it then that meant it should be safe enough for me to eat, or at least I hoped it would be safe.
I took a fruit from the tree and took a closer look at it before noticing the metallic-colored stem, but when I poked it, it was almost squishy as the fruit itself. Taking a small whiff of the fruit revealed its sweetness before I took a small bite.
And I got assaulted by pure bliss. The flesh of the fruit was almost melting under the heat of my mouth and I was surprised, to say the least, at how well the fruit tasted when I had never seen it before.
It had a texture of a ripe avocado and its sweetness could rival honey. The best way to describe how the fruit tasted, would be the same as biting into a stick of butter, covered in maple syrup.
To say this was a binge fruit would be an understatement.
I immediately stocked up on as many fruits as I could and headed out to the cave to find a spot where to hide these delicious fruits, before heading out to find a reliable water source.
And lo and behold, that was close too, and looked extremely clean too.
I took a sip from the lake, hoping it wasn't disgusting and I was proven wrong, it was almost as good as bottled water. Somehow I found this to be extremely convenient, but I didn't question it… yet.
I didn't have a container with me so, after putting down my earbuds, I plunged my head inside the lake and started to drink until I was full before pulling it out and breathed a satisfying sigh of content. It was there I saw my own reflection in the water.
A young-looking man in his early twenties, with sky blue eyes, long blond hair with platinum highlights, and a face cleanly shaved from all of the facial hair and was quite smooth if I do say so myself.
I then started to find twigs for potential fire and hoped to find some flint inside the cave. A few twigs here and a few dry leafs there and I got myself a campfire ready to lit.
Now to just find something inside the cave to light it. I checked my phone for how much battery it had left and was satisfied with the amount. Tapping the light button made everything bright inside the cave and I was surprised at the sight.
The dark cave wasn't large by any means, it was just a small place that was caught off by another lake inside, probably the one I drank from nearby. Moving the light I had on my phone created small sparkles on the rock walls of the cave, revealing its minerals.
While all of that happened, I found out that I already was running circles in this small part of the cave, but what I found interesting was that there were steps made from stone on my way up. Which only meant one thing.
Civilization must be close.
With my newfound vigor to find said people, I went to find the entrance of the cave, only to be stopped by loud thumps coming from behind me.
I turned around as fast as I could to find who made that sound, only to find nothing.
"What the hell?" I said out loud. Those steps were too loud in my opinion, and they were close by. There they were again and somehow it felt like they were getting closer because I felt them too through my feet.
I frantically tried to find it with my flashlight, but I just couldn't! How could something make such footsteps and not be as big as a cow!? That was until I positioned my light to the ground and found… a rock with feet!?
The thing didn't even flinch when it got hit by the light and only tilled its rocky-blue body to the side, as if it was curious. I on the other hand was racking my brain on how a rock can have working legs!? Or at least those little stumps that worked like legs.
"Rogga?" It spoke!? With what!? I didn't see a mouth!
Ok, if this was some huge joke on my family part then it was fucking working because seeing a sentient rock that can talk was officially on top of my 'What the fuck?' list.
"Rogga-rogga?" It spoke again while tilting to the other side, its dark stone slab on its head tilted as well.
"Ok, I think you got me with this one. You can reveal yourself, people." I said a little unenthusiastically, but I got nothing after a few moments of silence, making me quite scared of this thing.
"Rogga!" It said again before its hole in its body shot out a little rock the size of a pebble, hitting my face.
"Ow!" I grunted in pain, before putting my hand to cover the part of my face that was hurt. D-Did this thing just shoot a rock at me!? Ok, I was not going to stay here any time soon!
I bolted towards the exit and I found out that I was inside the cave for much longer than I thought as it was getting dark fast. I checked my phone on how much battery I had left before a drop of blood landed on my phone.
Shit, was I bleeding?
I couldn't feel it at all, but I had to treat it immediately. I went back to the lake and started to scrub my face to remove all of the blood on my face. I didn't want to stain my coat or anything else for that matter.
It did sting, but after quite the amount of scrubbing, the bleeding eventually stopped, making me breathe a sigh. It was then I was reminded of my stomach growling again that I forgot about the fruit inside it.
"Fuck. I am definitely not going back in," I said.
Well, those fruits were gone. I was not going inside a cave where sentient rocks were a thing that could shoot pebbles at me to cause bleeding. So, back to the tree I went, but that thing only had only two ripe fruits left.
"Damn, I just hope they will last long enough for tomorrow," I contemplated with a small frown on my face.
The campfire was also near that cave and as I said before, I wasn't going near that place any time soon. With great reluctance, I opted to just sleep by this tree and hope my coat will bring me enough warmth during the night.
I ate one of the fruits before slowly dozing off and hope sleep will claim me but even that would be asking for too much. A loud pound shook the tree entirely, snapping out of my attempt at sleep.
"Dei." I heard something from the other side. Great, another thing that could somehow talk only one word. I carefully peeked at the other side of the tree and found… a dog?
"Dei…" It whimpered the same word again before headbutting the tree again, probably hoping for some fruits to fall, only to slump down after its attempt. I brought my phone again and after lighting things up, the dog that was in front of me was a weird one at that.
It walked on all four and had purple skin, with a small dark mane covering its front legs and long neck. The mane also reached its head and completely covered its eyes, while also forming a small horn on its head, making it look rather cute.
A small growl reached my ears that came from the dog, before its legs gave out, making it hit the ground with a soft thump.
"Dei…" It whimpered again.
It looked weak, to say the least, and seeing it on the ground just made me feel bad for the fact that I took all of the fruit without even eating them.
"Hey," I called out to the dog, and its head snapped immediately upon me. It backed off and began to growl at me, revealing many sharp teeth.
"Calm down, I am here just to give you this," I said before offering the dog the fruit I had. It took some time for the dog to calm down before reaching with its muzzle and sniffing my arm. After a few moments of silence, the dog bit my entire arm.
I was about to shout from pain, but its bite was so weak I barely felt it through my cloak. The only gross thing was the saliva it left behind once it let go, the fruit disappearing inside the dog.
"Wow, you just had to eat my entire arm, didn't you?" I asked the dog.
"Dei!" It said as if responding to my question. Did it really know what I said? I was starting to question how long this joke was going to last, but I didn't have the energy to do so I just slumped on the tree and just let myself be taken by sleep.
What I didn't expect was some company.
{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}
The loud chirping of birds was my wake-up call with the early sunrise being the next, assaulting my eyes. A loud yawn escaped from me while stretching my arms and rubbing my eyes. I looked around to see that I was in the same spot I fell asleep, making this a joke by my family much less probable.
"I should check my phone…" I said groggily, but once I tried to find my phone, I realized I felt rather heavy for some reason. I shifted my gaze at my chest, only for my eyes to widen as the dog I fed last night was asleep on top of me.
"Deeei…" It snorted, soundly sleeping on my lap. My once widened eyes were filled with amusement as I gazed at the weird dog. For being rather strange, it surely could look cute, I could give it that.
"Hey, sleepyhead, time to wake up," I said, bemused. It took some time for the little guy to respond, and it lifted its head to look at me.
"Deeei." It said tiredly before going back to sleep.
"As much as I would like to sleep as well, I need to move. I can't waste time like this." I said before pushing the dog off of me.
"Dei!" It shouted in protest, before getting on all fours and proceeded to bite my arm, again.
"You need to have a stronger grip than that to stop me from standing up," I challenged with a bemused smirk. As if the dog understood my words, its grip on my arm tightened by a reasonable amount, but it still didn't hurt through the coat.
"Can you just stop? I want my coat to be in one piece." I said to the dog exasperatedly.
It eased its grip on my arm, before fully letting go, again, surprising me it did what I told it to. I stood up from my spot and took out my phone, and seeing it had enough battery left, I spun my mother's number and waited for a response.
After a few short beeps, I got only a voicemail sadly, but I wasn't expecting what it said.
"Welcome to the region of Unova! We are very glad to provide you the service you need to be able to reach your loved ones in a flash! If you have any questions or require any immediate attention, do not hesitate to call the number you automatically acquire after this voicemail ends. Enjoy the rest of your day! Your provider: Castelia Services. *Beep*"
What... just happened?
I have never heard of this Unova region!? Nor the fact my mother changed our providers to this… whatever Castelia Services was!
"Arg! Once I found out who thought this was a good idea then they will have something coming to them." I growled, before pocketing my phone and finding a path that led to the cave, and went the other way. The stairs in the cave told me there has to be someone nearby and there was a footpath to the cave, so it had to lead somewhere.
And I forgot that I was still rather hungry too.
"Dei!" I heard a shout behind me before I saw the dog that slept with me trailing me.
"Don't you have some sort of home to go to?" I asked the dog before I heard a small whimper from it.
"Dei…"
I fully turned to face the dog and the sad look it had on its face was kind of heartbreaking to see. And it seemed to understand me because of its answers, so that was probably one that meant it didn't have a place to go.
I chuckled. Somehow, it felt like this was almost preordained, but I was probably overthinking it.
"Fine, come on then, we don't have time to spare," I relented and the face of the dog brightened.
"Dei! Deino!" It said happily and it strode right next to me, ready to keep going. God, I always had a soft spot for any animals.
...Except for that thing I met in the cave. If it even was an animal.
We resumed our walk and not soon after following a path, we finally found a road, making me raise my hands in triumph while letting out a "Yes!".
"Dei!" The dog shouted at me, before running forward, making me look at it with a smile. God, how could you be so ende- I heard a loud bang coming from my left side, only to find the dog, belly on the ground, groaning in pain.
I came to it and checked what happened, only to see a small dent in the fence.
"You… Did you just ram into the fence?" I asked and it let out a small whine of disappointment and hurt, making me facepalm.
"Just... stay close to me next time, alright?" I asked the troublemaker.
"Dei." It said, probably as an affirmation, before standing up and we resumed our stride while making sure it was close by.
Not soon after this little bugger crashed into the fence, I found a sign at a crossroads that told us which way leads where.
Hmm, we went from Wellspring Cave to Route 3 and now we can go to either a town called Nacrene City or Striaton City. God, these names sounded so weird to me. Not only that, but I have never heard of these cities being near where I live, let alone naming routes as only numbers.
I had honestly no idea where to go.
"Dei?" The dog asked, somehow picking up on my indecisiveness.
"I have no clue where to go now because I don't know what the towns look like or what I could find there that would help me find a way home," I said to the dog who slumped slightly before raising its head in the direction of Striaton City. I looked there as well and spotted a boy walking towards us with a book in hand, completely oblivious to his surroundings.
He wore a light blue jacket with a white shirt underneath, black tight jeans, and looked barely an adult. Actually, scratch that, he wasn't an adult, a late teenager at best.
"Hmm, so… the burning effect also reduces Pokémon's physical capabilities on top of dealing periodic damage…" He said to himself out loud for me to hear, but it was still gibberish as I had no clue what he was talking about.
What are these 'Pokémon'? Were they something like wild animals or something?
"Hmm?" He looked up from his book, placing his dark-haired bangs over his ear while fidgeting with his glasses that hid his deep grey eyes and once he spotted me he jumped back with a yelp.
"Wha!? How long have you been standing there!?" He shouted at me, making me cringe at the volume. My dog barked at him for making such a noise with a loud "Dei!", making him snap his head towards my newly acquired companion.
"Wait, is that a Deino?" He said, leading almost the entire conversation alone while bringing out a red tablet of sorts before I could hear a voice coming from it.
"Deino, the Irate Pokémon. When it encounters something, its first urge is usually to bite it. If it likes what it tastes, it will commit the associated scent to memory. The second one is to headbutt it, allowing Deino to keep track of their surroundings because they are blind. This is why they have wounds all over their body." The tablet said, making me look at the dog again, who tilted its head, also confused like me.
"How did a Deino get here?" The boy asked, relocating his sight on my dog that had a name. If he aimed the question at me then I had no clue on how to answer. The only thing I got from that tablet thing was the name of this little troublemaker, but if there was another thing that irritated me instead was the boy's awareness.
Or lack thereof.
"That is one question, how about another. Wouldn't it be better if you actually introduce yourself first before staring my companion here like they are some property?" I said with an annoyed tone and the Deino also voiced its protests.
"Oh, excuse me." He cleared his throat "My name is Cheren, and I am a Pokémon trainer on a journey to become a Champion." He said resolutely, but everything he just said went over my head and made me question his sanity instead.
"You just said a lot of things there, but the only thing I got was your name." I said, "The name is Radko, but what the hell do you mean by being 'a Pokémon trainer'?"
"What? You don't know what a Pokémon trainer is?" Cheren asked me like I was living under a rock for the past hundred years. Suffice to say, awkward was one way to describe this conversation.
"Take me as the most uncultured swine you could have found on the road and explain to me what this Deino is," I pointed at the dog "And everything else.".
"I see. Well," He fixed his glasses, again, "The world of…"
After that lengthy explanation from Cheren, there were parts I seriously doubted, but he said everything with a straight face. There wasn't a single stutter to his speech, which I found quite interesting, but it smelled a whole bunch of nerds right now. Granted, knowing a lot about something didn't automatically make you a nerd, though I could tell he studies something he was very into.
"The wild animals here, you called them Pokémon and you, being a trainer, are tasked to travel this region to find as many Pokémon as you can for the professor's research, correct?" I summarized what Charen had just said and he nodded.
"Yes, though I have to say I didn't expect you to understand everything I said so quickly." He pondered.
"Well, I am not stupid, just uncultured is all," I said with a small huff while bringing my arms together.
"Can I ask what you are doing here?" Cheren asked. Well, time to spill out some lies then.
"I was camping nearby while being on my way to find any civilization. As to what I will do there, I don't know yet." I answered, but Cheren seemed unconvinced.
"Yet you have quite the coat for camping."
"How perceptive of you, my circumstances are just a little different and I'll leave it at that," I said dismissively before the Deino I found started to nibble at my coat, tugging it lightly, as if it couldn't find anything better to do and I chuckled at its antics. This thing was a dog, and nobody could convince me otherwise.
"That Deino is yours then?" The teenager asked.
"Not really, I found the little troublemaker yesterday and stayed with me until now," I said with a smile, "And it probably just likes my coat."
"Anyway, I think I am going to go now, this Deino is getting rather impatient," I said while the dog was still tugging at my coat before I petted it, making me realize that yes, I finally finished talking with this Cheren person.
"Deino!" It said happily, making me pet it more and Cheren stared at me weirdly. He was deep in thought with a distant look in his eyes but I didn't comment on it.
"Thank you, Cheren, and see you later," I said to him to bring him out of his trance, "Good luck on becoming this Champion or whatever," I waved him goodbye while not looking back and the Deino kept close to me and we headed out towards Striaton City.
This will probably be a journey to remember.
AN: Welcome people to An Adventurous Path, with our inserted character, Radko. This project is something I will be doing whenever I don't feel like updating my other main story.
If you want to join our discord server, The Fanfiction Treehouse, feel free to do so!
Link: /9XG3U7a
Anyway, let Radko's journey begin.
