Trevor released the bowstring on his PVC-pipe bow, An arrow embedded itself into a cardboard box about five feet away.

He sighed. As the only means of defense he could get during the early days of the Shift, it was… better than nothing. But that was all it was. Shaking his head, he went back inside the flat, picking up the bow and arrows as he did so.

Sure, he had better options now. But the bow was the first weapon he had.


1 week post-Shift

The hardware shop was devoid of customers. Trevor walked amongst the aisles, taking notes. Many of the racks that once held hammers, knives, axes and crowbars of various shapes and sizes were mostly devoid of stock. The work gear aisle, holding goggles, protective gloves and hard hats was still mostly full.

He picked out a hard hat, boots and protective gloves in his size. With most of the hand tools that could function as improvised weapons gone, he decided to look elsewhere.

A few nights ago, while the Internet wasn't cutting out due to elemental creatures draining the power grid, he'd downloaded a video detailing the makings of a PVC pipe bow. The supplies he needed were in this very shop.

Soon, he'd picked out multiple lengths of PVC pipes, non-stretchy paracord, a large bundle of fiberglass rods, and a cutting saw.

The clerk smiled as she scanned the items.

"Well, that's new. Many people come in here looking for an axe or crowbar or something. They want to fight these things… really, it's a dumb idea."

Trevor had seen first hand the powers of Pokemon, but he decided to humor her. "How so?"

"They don't bother wearing armor. Scratch that, armor isn't all that useful against something that can breathe fire." She frowned. "What are you planning to do with all this stuff anyway?"

Trevor gave an awkward smile. "Just something for a pet project of mine."


His brother, Matt, wouldn't be back until five. That, coupled with the fact his own shift was scheduled for tonight, meant he had the house to himself.

Grabbing a pen and notepad, he made a note to visit the local archery range and sign up for extra classes. He'd be a better shot, not that it mattered anyway. In the early days of the Shift, fighting a Pokemon would be assumed to be self-defense. Now, with things having calmed down considerably, walking around with a bow would be frowned on.

A quick glance into Matt's room revealed a pipe-spear leaning on a bed with partially-unmade sheets. It was little more than three metal pipes tightly fit together, with one end cut down to a point. Whenever Trevor looked closer it had bite marks from the time Matt had fought a Pokemon with it. He'd have to ask what Pokemon it was that had done so - though it was not likely he would remember.

The only things of note other than the spear and bed were a dresser with an alarm-clock. He checked the time - just gone half-past one. Lunch was probably in order.

He flicked on the TV as he made a meat sandwich, looking at whatever latest news was up.

The anchorwoman blathered about some anti-Pokemon group named the "Children of Earth" with a logo displayed on the screen. He opened the kitchen drawer and took out the pamphlet he'd been given a few days ago. Yes, there was the same logo on the screen: a stylized picture of two human hands cradling the Earth.

He took another look at the screen. It depicted some members of the group attacking Pokemon with improvised weapons and firearms; a few of them lay injured on the ground from elemental attacks. Trevor noted that the members wore improvised armor made from motorcycle gear and thick work gloves.

He tried to tune out the descriptions of the attack and looked away until another news report came up, this time detailing the first draft of Pokemon rights, drafted by the Australian government. Apparently, the new bill allowed Pokemon free access to public transport and the right to live in city parks if they abided by Australian law.

"Thought I'd seen weird shit when the Pokemon first arrived…" he mumbled. Shaking his head, he shut off the TV and locked up the shared house, putting on an armored motorcycle vest over his clothes.


The street outside was mostly empty, with the odd person or Pokemon wandering around. The local park was a stone's throw away - yes, that would be good. He needed to clear his head after all.

The first thing Trevor noticed was the considerably reduced number of weapons people carried. During the first few months, it was common to see someone with a crowbar, axe or hammer in their hands. Others carried their personal firearms during the chaotic time of the initial Shift.

He noticed a few as he walked - a gun and baton holstered on a policemans belt, for example, or a woman with a machete in a scabbard on her hip. Almost no pets were seen - owners had gotten wise to the dangers elemental creatures posed to normal Earth animals.

Before long, he had sat down on a park bench, just watching everything go by. His bow leaned against the bench - holding it was a hassle. The policeman was speaking to the woman about her machete. From this far, it was difficult to hear what was being said, but eventually the woman stormed off in a huff.

Soon, the policeman came towards him.

'G'day! How are you feeling?"

Trevor could only manage a weak smile. "I'm fine, officer."

The policeman looked at Trevor's armored motorcycle vest. "Why are you wearing that? It's boiling hot today."

Trevor gave the set of motorcycle armor he was wearing a light tap. "It's to protect against Pokemon attacks, officer."

"Are you regularly picking fights with monsters?" the policeman asked. "Besides, I don't see how that will stop a ghost from, say, knocking the soul from your body."

"I'm used to wearing armor wherever I go. After all, during the Shift it saved my life on multiple occasions…"


1 month post-Shift

Trevor nocked another arrow into his makeshift bow. Crouching behind a barricade of sandbags were a bunch of Australian Defense Force soldiers and armed civilians holding improvised weapons.

He fired at a reptilian Pokemon - a Machop, if his Bulbapedia reading sessions were right . The arrow went wide and missed. Cursing, he tried again. If he ever survived this, he'd have to learn how to make his own arrows.

The Machop reached him and punched him in the chest, right on the armored part of his motorcycle jacket. Trevor grunted and landed in a winded heap. He barely had time to look up before a sphere of dark energy struck the Pokemon in the face and rifle fire tore the Pokemon apart.

A soldier with brown eyes, a blond crew-cut and a beaming smile helped him up. 'Dr. Hermani?"

Trevor smiled weakly as he recognized the face of Private Gavin Connors. He laid Trevor on a stretcher and carried him over to the med-tent.

"Eh. I'm a combat medic. Better for fixing people than an animal doctor."

Trevor desperately wanted to retort, but the pain stopped him. He saw other Pokemon wandering around the town, not in reinforced cages; these were the ones who had volunteered to help. A Pokemon with pink fur and a brilliant red gem inset in its forehead approached. It was an Espeon, if his searching through Bulbapedia was right.

He tried to touch his chest; what little he could reach revealed that his padded motorcycle armor had absorbed most of the impact. It was damaged and would have to be replaced. Without it he'd likely have had more cracked ribs than normal.

Adrian, the owner of the local outdoors shop, came out. He was slightly chubby, with wispy brown hair. "Ah, hello Trevor. Need more arrows again? I can tell you you're better off getting rid of that awful bow. Tell you what, when you're healed up come to me; I might have something for you."

Trevor groaned and smiled weakly as Connors placed an ice pack on his ribs to reduce the swelling and bruises. Both men watched the Espeon out of the corner of their eyes.

"Hello, human." a masculine voice said.

"Get the fuck out of my head, please." Trevor groaned, not wanting to talk at all right now.

"Honestly, it's pretty rude of you to speak to a gentleman like that. I'm Attis."

"Sorry, Attis," Trevor groaned. "Name's Trevor - Trevor Hermani. I'd rather not talk, either with words or whatever right now. Too much pain." He looked down to see the Banette - no, Attis -staring at him.

Adrian picked up the PVC pipe bow and spun it between his hands. "Where'd you get this, the hardware shop? It looks worse than what the panicked buyers who came to my shop bought. Heh, they only got the cheap target-shooting bows!"

Connors shook his head. "Adrian, give Trevor back his bow. As for you, Attis, it'd be better if you let him have his rest. He can't heal anyone or anything while injured."

"Thanks," Trevor groaned. He laid down and slept.


Nearly a month later, just as Trevor had recovered enough to walk and bend over without groaning in pain, Matt came up to him.

"Oh, man. Your armor's a mess." Matt clutched a shotgun in his hand - he'd once told Trevor it was a gift for his twenty-first birthday. Trevor shook his head mentally at the thought. If only he'd had a gun! He certainly wouldn't be in this situation right now.

With some awkwardness, Connors aided Trevor in standing. Adrian beamed at him as he approached.

"Ready for your surprise, Trevor?" He led Attis, Matt, and Trevor into the shop.

Adrian placed something on the counter. "Top-of-the-line hunting slingshot. Hope you like it."

Trevor eyed it. It sure looked impressive, sure, but… "What advantages does it have over my bow?"

"Well, Adrian replied. "It's a proper weapon, none of that makeshift shit. Second…" He placed a box of bearings onto the table. "Hunting slingshot ammo. Comes in a box of 200. When you use these two together, it's got the same power as a small handgun!"

Trevor didn't answer. He'd built the bow with his own hands, after all, and it felt… wrong, to part with it. "Hmm, how much does it cost? My bow cost me about ten dollars in materials to make."

"Fifty dollars for the slingshot and twenty-five dollars for the ammo. However…"

Trevor groaned. Adrian kept smiling in a rather off-putting way. No one was this happy in a crisis!

"Well, I'll charge you fifty dollars for the lot. You've been a good customer, buying my arrows to use in that bow, so I thought I'd give a reward."

Matt smiled. "He's right, man. I'd rather you get a better way to defend yourself. Don't want you to die out here." He moved to a rack of guns near the far wall - Trevor noticed that the rack was almost empty. Save for a few lone firearms hanging in a locked cabinet, there were no rifles nor shotguns to be found. A few boxes of ammo in calibers Trevor had not heard of before were locked up in the cabinet behind Adrian.

He must have been seen staring, as Adrian smiled. "Sorry, nothing I can do, Trevor. I can't sell you a gun if you don't have a license."

"But-" Trevor began. "Look. Thanks, but - we're in the middle of a crisis here. Like, this is an uh... invasion..." He pointed his unloaded bow at Attis, who glared at him in response. If his kind are running around causing trouble, I'd definitely want something with a bit more power."

Adrian shook his head. 'Unfortunately, laws are still in effect. Hell, Officer Terwin and his guys have been trying to keep order. This ain't a total apocalypse buddy, no matter what you think. Besides..." He gestured to Matt's shotgun. 'Things are loud as hell. You should get something quieter. This is it."

"he's right. Your thunder-sticks are loud weapons. I've seen what they do; one bang and the target slumps over, just like that." Trevor looked around, noticing Attis had gone up to look at some of the weapons on the rack.

Matt came back with a few boxes of shotgun ammo, placing them on the counter. Adrian scanned them in and everyone watched as Matt paid.

"Well?" Adrian asked. "Made up your mind?"

Trevor groaned. 'I guess it's a good idea... seems like I don't have much of a choice. None of you guys are helping. Fine…" He took out his debit card and paid. Adrian printed a receipt and handed both the slingshot and the ammo over.

"Enjoy!"

Trevor pretended not to listen as they left.

"Here." Adrian handed him a pair of scissors. "Get that thing open and try it out." He pointed to a nearby tree for emphasis.

Trevor awkwardly opened it, setting the box of ammo and slingshot on the ground. He picked up the included instruction leaflet and began reading.

With a frown, he loaded a hunting pellet and fired. A 'thwip!' was heard before it embedded itself into the tree. He repeated it four more times.

Adrian examined the tree. "You're down five pellets. Still, how was it?"

"I'd say it exceeded expectations." Despite Trevor's desire to sound uninterested as possible, he couldn't hide the amazement on his face.


Trevor nodded along with the policeman's words. "Understood, officer. I'll make sure to leave the armor at home next time."

"Oh, it's nothing," he replied. "Just take care out there alright?"

A mute nod was Trevor's only response. He got up and left. On the way, he considered how different it was from the First Days - if his past self was here he'd think that Pokemon had always existed in this world.

He shook the thoughts from his head - more important things were on his mind right now. Besides, Attis had vanished to parts unknown after some months. They probably wouldn't cross paths again, he figured.