Dagda jolted awake with a start, a cold sweat covering his body. He had that same perilous dream again. He saw a gigantic man, surrounded by warriors of myth and legend, battling a disgusting horror that painted the sky black.
He shook his head and sighed. He hated that dream. It terrified him, as the sight made him feel powerless. He didn't even have a Pokemon of his own yet, and the thought of being caught in the middle of all of that without a partner was bone chilling.
He realized, as he looked out of his window, that the sun was descending in the sky. He cursed, realizing that he missed meeting Hop at the train station. Hop was a friend of his, and the purple haired boy was excited for today.
Because today was the day that Hop's older brother, the undefeated Champion of the Galar region, Leon, was coming home for a spell. Hop was convinced that he'd gift the two of them with Pokemon, but he somehow overslept. There was something about the evening and night that made Dagda feel more comfortable.
Shaking his head as he stepped out of the shower, he took a look in the mirror. His body was lean, but with shoulders slightly too broad. His feet were wide, and his legs were slightly shorter than his torso, making him look like a cartoon character. To make things worse, his ears were very curved, almost crescent shaped.
His mother said this was do to an injury at birth. Apparently, the doctor tugged him from his mother's womb by the ears, something that Dagda found rather silly. His nose was also a little long, and curved ever so slightly upwards. All in all, he was handsome, sure, but he felt a little off in a lot of ways.
One of these was his hair. As he brushed it out before tying it back in a very tight bun, he noted that his hair was very thick. His mother would always joke that he had his father's hair, as his father was apparently Unovan. Growing up in Kalos before moving to Galar a few years back, he wondered what Unovans had to deal with to make their hair so incredibly thick.
He sighed, shaking his head as he looked through his closet, trying to decide what he wanted to wear. He decided on a green t-shirt and a light black hoodie. His pants were khaki, and his sneaker were black, as he felt that black shoes went with any outfit. He pulled his necklace off his desk, throwing it on and sighing.
The necklace was a red stone of some form, probably a ruby. This was the only memento he had of his father. He had no idea who or where his father was, but he felt just a little bit more connected to him when he wore this necklace.
He tossed his bag, a large, unsightly brown hunk of junk he used to move with, over his shoulder. He walked down the stairs to find his mother sitting on the couch, reading. Her Munchlax, Otis, was sleeping next to her, unbothered by anything.
"Did Hop stop by at all?" he asked, and she turned to him, shaking her head. "I don't think so, Hun. He was really excited because Leon was coming back. Maybe you should stop by and see how he's doing." she said, and he nodded, waving to his mother before departing.
He rolled his shoulders, sighing at the crisp air in his hometown. Kalos had a much more pleasant climate to Dagda, and as he walked down his steps, he noticed a round, white sheep like Pokemon rolling into the wooden gate near his house.
It was to a place called the 'Slumbering Weald'. Dagda was interested in it, but he assumed that it was dangerous for someone to travel through, especially alone. He turned his back to the Wooloo and headed towards Hop's house.
He didn't get far, because he heard a loud crash, turning to see the Wooloo rolling off into the forest. He hesitated, wondering if he should try to help the Pokemon, or if he should see if Leon was still around.
He shook his head and sighed. Why would he rely on Leon to deal with everything? Hop's brother was already the champion, there was no reason to bother him and be the boy who cried Wooloo. He headed towards the Slumbering Weald, hoping that the sheep didn't roll too far.
As he walked through the forest, he made sure to stay incredibly alert. He understood that he had no Pokemon with him, but he prayed that he could sneak in, grab the Wooloo, and sneak out.
He walked through the grassy forest, keeping tabs on the location of anything he heard or saw, noticing that random Skwovet and Rookidee were scattering about, ignoring him. He liked this, because the last thing he needed was to get jumped by a horde of squirrels.
However, he noticed a lone Pokemon standing in his way, chittering at him. It was an ugly, bug like Pokemon with massive eyes. It narrowed it's huge eyes at him before scuttling ever closer. Dagda grabbed his necklace and closed his eyes, silently praying for forgiveness from whatever deity existed.
Hearing the Wooloo in the distance, Dagda made the bold decision to run forward. The Blipbug began to glow, and he silently prayed one more time before pulling his leg back and kicking the bug as hard as he good.
The Pokemon screeched in agony as it flew through the air into the trees. Heading towards the Wooloo's cooing, Dagda inhaled, realizing that there was a dense fog surrounding him.
"...Da!" he heard, realizing that it was Hop's voice in the distance. He turned in the direction of his friend's voice, realizing that the Wooloo was nowhere in sight. He heard light footsteps behind him, spinning and balling his fists.
His composure immediately faded at the sight before him. Standing proudly in the fog, staring down at him with golden eyes surrounding by black and blue markings, was a massive wolf.
This wolf was incredibly odd, his blue nose sticking out on his red furred face, one of his ears seemingly sliced off. Blue and white markings covered his blue back, and Dagda knew this Pokemon was very capable of killing him.
He could feel a chill running down his spine from the wolf's gaze, and he inhaled, trying to keep himself composed. "..da!" he heard, Hop's voice growing closer as the wolf merely stared at him. He clenched his fists, the wolf peeling it's lips back and growling at him.
"Bring it!" he called, hoping that he could taunt the wolf and use it's charge to escape. The wolf lowered it's head, and Dagda immediately bent his knees, wishing his legs were longer right now. "...agda!" he heard, realizing that Hop was closing in.
The wolf exhaled, swinging it's paw lightly. The Wooloo he came looking for rolled towards him, and Dagda grabbed it, realizing that his hands were quivering. The wolf exhaled and turned away from Dagda, glancing back at him.
"Don't run away! Fight me you oversized mutt!" he called, trying his best to Taunt the wolf into an attack, feeling more comfortable if he could escape off of an evasive attempt to flee. The wolf looked at him, and the oddest thing happened.
The wolf smiled. It was a weird looked, but the huge canine simply shook it's head and smiled before barking once. Dagda blinked, looking down to the Wooloo and reaching into it's dense wool. Within the wool, he found a large egg. Holding it in one hand and burying his other in the Wooloo's fur, he began to head back.
"There you are! I was so worried!" Hop said, and Dagda smiled, chuckling he sighed. "Sorry about not showing up earlier. I got stuck looking for this guy." he said, and Hop beamed.
Dagda always found Hop somewhere between endearing and annoying. His enthusiasm was rather adorable, but it grated at his nerves too. "It's alright! I had a great time with Lee." he said, referring to his brother.
"I hope Leon isn't too disappointed. I'm just glad this guy's safe." he said, leading the Wooloo from the forest without interruption. He rolled the sheep back to it's small flock before looking at the egg in his other hand. "What's that?" Hop asked, and Dagda shrugged.
"I found it with Wooloo in the forest. I don't know what kind of Pokemon it is but I'm kind of excited." he said, smiling. Hop laughed, a grin on his face. "I hope it's pretty strong, because it'll need to be to keep up with my team!" he called, showing Dagda three Pokeballs.
He blinked. "He gave you two Pokemon?" he said, and he nodded. "He was going to give you one but you didn't show up. You snooze you lose mate!" he said, playfully teasing his friend.
"Well, I guess I'll be staying home until this thing hatches." he said, and Hop nodded. "I'm going to go with Lee to see Professor Magnolia tomorrow. Apparently she asked Lee to help her find more trainers to find more info on rare Pokemon in the Pokedex." he said, and Dagda nodded, watching his friend bound off.
Walking back into his house, his mother noticed the slightly deflated look on his face. "Everything alright, Dagda?" she asked, and Dagda shrugged. "I'm not sure. Apparently Hop got two new Pokemon and all I got was this." he said, holding up the egg. His mother looked at the egg, wondering exactly what was in it.
"It looks like I finally got a use for this thing then." she said. She stood, happily trotting into the kitchen and shuffling through a drawer. She walked back into the living room, handing a Pokeball to Dagda.
However, this Pokeball was gray, and had the image of a crescent moon on it. "What's this for?" he asked, and she smiled. "For the egg silly. Whatever hatches from it needs a Pokeball, right?" she said, and Dagda blinked, realizing how goofy his question was. He sighed, resting on the couch with his egg.
He wondered exactly what was in the egg. Would it be some overpowered monster of a Pokemon that he couldn't handle, or would it be something like a Magikarp, and he'd be doomed to relying on back alley battles where he swings his Pokemon like a club?
The egg must have smelt rather good, because Otis, the chubby Munchlax that his mother had around, looked at it like it was his supper. Dagda glared at Otis, who merely grunted before plopping down.
Dagda ended up falling asleep, not realizing that the egg was still in his hands. He breathed evenly, the egg slowly starting to glow as his mother watched, a smile on her face. She looked to Otis, a look that the Munchlax knew meant work.
The egg began to glow, a dim glow that was rather pink in color. The egg started to crack, the glowing and wiggling not disturbing Dagda, who slept like the dead. A small, furry foot poked out of the egg, flailing about and cracking the eggshell, which Otis eagerly lapped up like hard candies.
Soon, a large tongue popped out, followed by a white head that had bright colored eyes. "Zig!" it called, and Dagda's Mom giggled as it nuzzled against Dagda, who grumbled in his sleep before turning.
The Pokemon curled up against Dagda and closed it's eyes, smiling like a kid in a candy store as it inhaled, falling asleep quickly, tuckered out from fighting his way out of his shell.