Hey. Kai the Raichu here. I told you i'd be back after Curse of The Forest, so here I am. Please enjoy my newest story.
- Four Years Ago -
I could feel it tugging on my leg as I went further down into the water. I desperately tried to scream out for any help, but all that emerged from my mouth were bubbles. The water was beginning to suffocate me as I desperately continued to try and swim up. I wondered to myself; how did I end up in this situation? Why was I drowning in a sea of water, being dragged down by some dangerous, mysterious creature, and why, oh WHY had I decided to head to the beach instead of just working like I was supposed to be? As my vision slowly faded to black, I let out a few tears and squeaks of desperation, the small droplets becoming completely insignificant in the large and unforgiving sea. I blacked out.
It was hot. Very hot. The sun was beating down on my small frame as I could feel the sand bothering me on my back. How had I ended up here? Did I by some miracle wash up on shore? It seemed that way. I pulled myself up, before quickly falling onto the grainy sand again. I groaned. I felt my face, and it felt uncomfortably.. fuzzy. My goggles were still there, but there was some soft texture that was completely foreign to me. I quickly rushed over to the water to see my reflection, worried about what could've possibly happened.
That's when I realized. Things definitely weren't the same as before. I was a otter-like creature with white and blue fur, with some hard shell item on my chest. I look at my short paws and legs, and took deep breaths. Don't panic, Otto Romero. Don't panic. You can't remember anything except your name, but everything will be okay if you just STAY CALM. That's just how it is. As this strange creature, I took the shell on my back and felt it. It felt hard, strong, and firm, in a strangely reassuring way. I felt really.. attached to it, for some reason. Like it was my most prized possesion. I placed it back in it's former position, even dusting it off.
As I began to walk down the beach, I wondered what my next move would be. Likely find some assistance on what creature I even was? Yes, yes. That would certainly be ideal. I just stared into the blue sky as I saw bird-like creatures flying by. There was many questions I wanted to be answered, but now wasn't the time for them to be answered. The objective in the present moment was just to not die. Or pass out. Or both. I eventually spotted a strange mouse-like creature basking in the sunlight. Though I was intimidated at first, I felt like I had no choice. I walked up to it.
"..Uhm.. hello?"
- Present Day -
I was working on my newest project; the flashlight. Though it was definitely extremely hard work due to the lack of technology around the guild and overall the world, I was getting somewhere. I had managed to find a source strong enough to provide light for an extended amount of time about an hour ago, smiling with overwhelming pride. I heard a knock on my room door as I continued to work.
"Come on in!" I yelled, wondering who it could possibly be. It turned out to be my friend of four years, Kai. The mouse smiled with his iconic cheesy grin, walking over to me and placing a paw on my shoulder.
"Sooo, buddy! How's the flashlight coming along? Sorry that I didn't check in earlier, i've been busy with helping out the guildmaster, hehe.." He chuckled nervously. I was rather used to this; Kai was always going around, trying to help out other people. It was pretty much his job as a guild member.
"Well, after weeks of sleepless nights, guess what I managed to pull off? I got the light source working! It's almost completely functional! Now I just need to figure out how to keep it running, and how to make an on and off switch function. This is going to be revolutionary!" I said with excitement and enthusiasm. I hadn't been this thrilled about a project since the guild badge!
"You've come a long way since waking up on that beach, huh? That day was pretty crazy.." Kai seemed proud of his friend, who had went from panicked and confused to calm, collected, and his own person.
"Yeah, definitely.." I said nervously. He remembered that day. He had never told Kai about his former humanity. He had never told a single soul. It was always bottled up inside, a worrisome feeling. Nothing had come from it, and he'd had a successful life as the guild's up-and-coming inventor. So why was it still always eating away at him? It didn't matter. He had to get back to work and focus. Stop dwelling on the past. You aren't that person anymore. You're Otto Oshawott, not Otto Romero. He took a deep breath in, going back to talking to Kai.
"I'm probably gonna get back to work. Do you think you could update Guildmaster Floatzel on the flashlight? I'm sure he'll be pleased i've made progress." A smug grin came over his face.
"Alright, I got you, Otto! Then afterwards we can celebrate with some seafood in the cafeteria!" Kai exclaimed, patting his friend on the back as he went in for a hug. As Kai hugged me extremely tight, I tried to breathe. The Raichu was known for his massive hugs, and everyone loved it, including me. I smiled, eventually gasping for air a bit as he let go.
"There we go! My signature hug! Bye, Otto!" My friend waved goodbye as he left the room to talk to Guildmaster Floatzel, and I went back to working on my flashlight project. I continued to mess around with it, trying to figure it out for about an hour or two, before I got an idea. I shuffled through some of my items I had on my desk, before pulling out what seemed to be a small orb of some sort. I had gotten this at a mysterious shop on an expidition with Kai; maybe this could provide the energy? I placed it in the energy socket, as the flashlight lit up. It was working! It was really, really working! I cheered by myself for a bit, before doing a few tests on it to make sure it worked properly. I shined it on a shadow in the room, and it seemed to light up just fine. I shook it a little as well, and the light stayed consistent.
"Perfect, this is just completely perfect! It's working 100%!" I jumped up and down, probably more excited than i'd ever been before. But I needed to figure out how i'd get more of those orbs.. but i'd figure that out later. I had to go to the guildmaster's office and share the good news! I snatched the flashlight from my desk, bolting out of the door and running past a Leafeon before knocking on the guildmaster's door.
Guildmaster Floatzel opened the door, answering in his usual stern yet kind voice. "Yes, Otto? Do you need something?" I excitedly waited for him to finish his sentence as I shared the news. "The flashlight! I got it working!" I squeaked out, continuing to celebrate. The biggest smile overcame his face, as he ushered me into his office. "Come on in, come on in!" He said, clearly very proud of my work. I took a seat and he took his as well, as we began to talk.
"So, you really did it, Otto. This is clearly your best work yet, and this will assist the Guild and our citizens for centuries to come. You have no idea how important this is." He said, seeming genuinely impressed by the Oshawott's intellect.
"I really did, didn't I?" I fiddled around with the flashlight a bit, flicking it on and off as I slid it over to him. The guildmaster shined it at a few dark spots as they glowed, nodding in approval.
"Works perfectly. We'll have to try and see how you can make more and get the required materials, but you've finally figured it out." I was nearly going to explode out of my seat, just completely ecstatic.
"Alright, Otto Oshawott. You may leave and take the flashlight with you. Celebratory party in your honor at the cafeteria tonight!" He cheered out, as I cheered as well. Today was the best day of my life; I had finally finished one of the most ambitious projects i'd ever took on, and would go down in history.
I exited the guild room, quickly running over to the cafeteria where Kai usually hung out during the day. I found him talking to Art Dewott and Dennis Dragonite. Everyone knew Art and Dennis as two of the kindest members of the guild. They were always placing others over themselves and concerned about others, sometimes even endangering their personal health over it to everyone else's objections. The group of three waved to me as I waved back. I knew these three as close allies and companions. They had helped me through many tough nights, and there was about a dozen occasions where I was on the brink of telling them my big secret. Luckily, I had been able to keep it to myself. I rushed over to them, sliding the working flashlight into the middle of the table they were all sitting at.
"The flashlight, it's fully functional! Be gentle, but feel free to test it out for yourself!" I grinned again, as the three gasped in complete awe at how a contraption like this could even work. Kai shined it under the table, before passing it to Dennis who shined it on the already bright ceiling. "Aww, it isn't working!" He said. Dennis wasn't the brightest, but he had the biggest heart by far. We all had a good laugh over that one.
"Guildmaster Floatzel said we're having a celebratory party in the cafeteria tonight! Guess we'll be having all the seafood we want, Kai!" I nudged at him with my left paw, him laughing even more. "Well, why don't we all go to my room to have our own little private celebration before the big party?" Kai suggested, everybody seeming to agree. We all walked over to Kai's room as he opened the door, crackling with energy. We all sat down as everyone congratulated me. I was about to cry tears of joy; everyone was so proud of me. I had done it.
"Otto! I got you a present!" Art smiled widely as he handed me what seemed to be a small navy scarf with stars all over it. "Guildmaster Floatzel told me to give this to you, as a gift from him and from me. He used to wear it when he went exploring as a Buizel, for protection and for, well.. style, of course! Be careful with it!" I put it on, smiling wider than I thought I even could.
"And we got you a present also! Me and Dennis pooled a ton of money for this, Otto. Use it wisely." They gave him a small card, which said 'ALL YOU CAN EAT SEAFOOD PASS'.
"No way.. you wouldn't have.. HOW? This is SO EXPENSIVE!" I yelled out. I had desperately wanted it for so long, but I just never expected to ever be holding it in my hands.
"Well, let's just say that me and Dennis may or may not have went on a high-risk mission to get the money.. seriously, it was tough." Kai said. It definitely looked like he was serious that it was a difficult task.
"I.. I couldn't be more thankful, you guys.." I began to cry, just being incredibly thankful. Everyone went in for a huge group hug. All of the fur and scales surrounding me made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
"Alright then, we should just relax now! You can use that seafood card tonight during the party." Kai said, as I yawned. "I think taking a nap before the party would be ideal.." I said, slowly walking over to Kai's bed. "Would I be able to sleep here?" I asked, not wanting to just sleep there without his permission.
"Sure, I don't mind! Me, Art, and Dennis are gonna go do a few quick missions anyways." The three nodded, wishing me a good rest. As I laid in bed, my eyes quickly shut, exhausted. Kai's scent lingered in the bed, and it brought me comfort, like he was there with me. I quickly fell asleep, drifting off to dream about the soft, calm waters.
- Timeskip to Nightfall -
I felt a light shaking as Kai's chubby frame stood in front of me, excitedly buzzing with electricity. "It's time, Otto!" He said, pulling me up as his two other friends were waiting just outside of the room. The group headed over to the cafeteria, as everyone continued to shower me with praise. It was just the best i'd ever felt in my life.
The night was mostly a blur. It was just a ton of celebrating and dancing as I stuffed my face with unhealthy amounts of seafood along with my four friends. We then returned to Kai's room once again, everyone stuffed except Dennis, like usual. "I don't get it! I ate just as much, if not more than you guys, and i'm completely fine!" The rest of us just groaned and fell onto Kai's bed, with Dennis just awkwardly standing around as we tried not to throw up our food. But then suddenly, Guildmaster Floatzel came into the room.
"Otto! Kai! I understand you had a situation a few years ago where Otto woke up randomly on the beach with no recollection of anything? Well, we have a Rockruff who the exact same thing happened to just now. He's in the infirmary, just rather confused. He's saying he used to be a creature of legend called a hoo-man. No, no, a human. There we go."
My eyes instantly shot open. It couldn't be. Someone ELSE had shown up here in his position? But that made no sense! It shouldn't have happened twice! And this guy was an idiot, and told them about his humanity! I just pulled Kai up, looking at him with a very concerned expression. "Let's go check on him. Now." The Raichu listened to me, seeing the concern in my face. This was a very serious situation. For me, my friends, and the unfortunate Rockruff who had ended up here.
- Chapter End -
Thank you so much for reading! Please, PLEASE give me feedback by a review! I am also going to make something clear; our Oshawott, Otto here is going to remain our MC, and the Rockruff will be an important character, but not the main focus. Consider this a different perspective of a PMD. I will try my best to complete this story, so please enjoy!