Normal Text - Narrative
"Quotations" - Dialogues
"Quotations + Italics" - "Thoughts"
Italics - Quotes and messages
(bracket) - (flashback)
Underline + Bold - Title
Bold + Italics - Announcements
Bold + Italics + *-* - *actions or dialogues from a media*
Chapter 2: Not The Same As It Was
The first few weeks of my existence in this world were a mess. I was devastated at the fact that I'd never see my family or my friends ever again. I wouldn't be able to eat my favourite food ever again and I wouldn't be able to watch my favourite show again.
I loved my world.
It got so bad to the point that I wouldn't even eat. I lost all my appetite and probably a couple of kilos from starving myself and because of that, I was healing very very slowly so I had to stay for much longer but I was still healing. Days would feel so much faster since I was sleeping all day and the nurses had to force me to actually eat. It was not healthy.
Ryna gave me a set of clothes – a black long-sleeved shirt and black cargo pants – and wouldn't bother me for the time being but she did force me to take therapy sessions at the expense of the International Police. Well, I complied, not like I can do anything about it anyway.
Eventually, I felt a little better after a few weeks. Apparently, they had these therapists which were certified and trusted by the International Police. One of whom was my therapist, Martha. I don't know her last name, she wouldn't tell me, not like I asked her in the first place anyway.
Our therapy place thing was always gonna be my hospital room. Every two days, she would come in and ask how I am feeling and all that shiz. Whether I like being alone or not, It felt good to have someone to vent to.
For some reason, she always had her pokemon just sitting around somewhere in the room. She didn't tell me why she always has it out, again, not like I asked her in the first place.
I was discharged from the hospital about two weeks after that which was good, I fully recovered from the stab wound but that also meant that I had no place to stay. I can't stay at the Pokemon Center because only trainers are allowed to stay there and as you can already tell, I have no license. Hell, I don't have any citizenship either!
Thus, my only choice is to stay at a small hotel for the time being. Other than being a hotspot for beginner trainers, it is also a pretty good tourist attraction because of its beaches. The room I was in was modest – like a normal 2-star hotel.
"This is your new room. I guess you'll be staying here for a while. We're... still trying to figure out what to do with you." Ryna said to me, holding the door open for me. The room had a normal CRT TV on top of a table, 2 single beds, an electric kettle, a shower – everything you really need basically.
And I got to stay here for free.
"I… Thank you…" I replied to her, sounding very much dead inside. I went in and lay on the bed, taking a deep sigh as I did that.
"Any plans do you have in mind, Ben?" She asked me. I've said this once and I'll say it again, I don't know what to do and that was exactly what I told her.
Or perhaps what I need is time.
After a little talk, she left me with some money so that I can get something for myself and a Pokeball not long after that, saying that she had more work to do, more specifically investigating stuff – probably investigating my case. She didn't say anything else other than that. The Pokeball was not really meant to capture pokemon, at least in my case. She instructed me that if I ever get mauled by a pokemon that somehow wants to throw hands with me, I can always throw the ball, capturing it for a while and giving me time to absolutely book it. If it did break out, I'd be gone by then.
If it got captured, well, it is what it is.
I got bored after a while so I switched on the TV to hopefully find something good to watch. The channels were pretty generic. You got your local news, some cheesy ass drama shows and some cartoons. The generic choice of programs was a vague reminiscence of when I was still stuck in my house during quarantine, watching TV2 or other basic cable television channels in Malaysia. I can't help but smile a little at that.
This one channel in particular called something along the lines of 'Coro-Network' has this one show that kinda got me hooked. It's sort of like 'Hell's Kitchen' but in a sitcom style. Not gonna lie, it's fucking hilarious.
Eventually, the show ended and I got bored fast. I got up and walked towards the window and opened the curtain. I expected to be absolutely blinded by the sunlight but instead of that, all I saw was darkness.
Damn, how long have I been watching TV?
However, I didn't let that deter me from continuing with my plans for the day… or night. So, I decided to explore Sandgem Town for a bit. I was pretty hungry too so I guess I'd get myself something to eat while I'm at it.
I swung my legs to the side of the bed, got up and walked to the bathroom to take a look at myself in the mirror. There, I noticed a scar on my cheeks, healed but still there to remind me of its presence. I tried rubbing it off, hoping that it would magically disappear but… no- I didn't understand my thought process either.
After taking a quick shower and putting on the same clothes I was wearing before, I went out of my room and out the hotel entrance door. I shivered as I felt the light breeze of the Sinnoh night. Oh, did I tell you that Sinnoh is chilly as hell?
Now, the town itself is pretty quiet at night but it's not dead. There were still shops and restaurants open and people walking around. It's pretty nice and I didn't feel lonely or creeped out.
There was a convenience store by the corner of a street. It looked nice and clean so I went in to get some snacks. The store was filled with many items with brandings I can't even read. Testing my luck, I chose one random snack which I thought were chips and one random drink. I placed my items on the counter. The bored cashier who was taking a nap before got up and looked at the drink and gave me a weird look which makes me REALLY uncomfortable.
I hate being judged.
"Is that all of it?" she asked me, trying to start a conversation.
"Yep, I think that's all," she scanned my items one by one though she did take an extra look at the drink before scanning it.
"You know, your accent sounds Sirandran," I was taken aback by that statement. Where the hell is Sirandra? I don't even know where that is!
"Uh… how do you know that?" I asked her since I was curious. Honestly, I shouldn't have asked.
"Well, my uncle's Sirandran so I know a Sirandran accent when I hear one. Which part of Sirandra did you come from?" she asked me. Here, my brain was still loading trying to process the question, let alone come out with a bullshit lie to tell her.
"Well… umm… My whole family and I moved to Sinnoh when I was still very little so I don't really know. They didn't tell me. Not like I really cared much, anyway." I think that's believable.
"Ah, I see, I see. Your total's 4 dollars 50."
"Yep, here's my money." I gave her my money and she gave me my change afterwards. We said our goodbyes as I walked through the door.
"Sirandra? That's a thing?" I thought to myself as I took a deep breath outside of the store. "Eh… I can probably look that up tomo… You know what, I want to go to the library tomorrow."
Not knowing where else to go, I decided to take a walk around the town or maybe find a bench to sit on so that I can enjoy the stuff that I bought. I figured I'd go to the park that I walked past when I was on my way to the store – that park looked peaceful.
The park was reasonably illuminated. The cool white lamps lighted up the pathways as I looked around for somewhere to sit. There were a couple of people, each with their own pokemon or someone else accompanying them. They were all minding their own business and probably had the same thought process as mine when they came here.
Sitting on a bench with a small pond just across it, I opened my mystery pack, took a bite and…
It's literally just potato chips. I didn't know what I expected but I was pretty disappointed since I kinda expected it to blow my mind. Ah well, time for my next mystery drink. I opened the can with a loud clack and took a swig out of it and…
This shit fucking sucks. It tasted like minty carbonated cough syrup mixed with milk and a touch of sadness. I gagged trying to swallow it and I felt like a drug addict afterwards. I'm never touching that again. God, no wonder that cashier looked at me funny. She probably thought I actually drink that shit unironically.
"Fuck… Bleh… I am not batting an eye on that drink ever again." I thought to myself as I shake my head trying to recover from the trauma of taking a swig out of that.
Hang on, now that I think about it… Carbonated cough syrup… Isn't that Lean? I think that was Lean. Ah, forget about it.
Eventually, I finished me bag of 'tatoes without a drink so I had potato chips stuck in my teeth and there is nothing I can do about it except try to get it unstuck using my tongue. I still had some time before I had to go back to the hotel and I'm still not tired – probably because I had slept for 12 hours that day. Until then, I'm just gonna mind my own business and forget about all my problems with a walk in the park.
The little Riolu peeked from the bushes. Somehow it can't ignore the presence of the strange aura. Its mother had taught it how to differentiate between good auras and bad auras. The ones with good intentions and the ones that don't.
But this one is different. Very much different than the ones it's familiar with. It's almost like this aura is indecisive. It's almost as if it can't decide whether to be on either side.
No… that can't be it, can it?
Or perhaps it is its own side?
From the bushes, it saw the same man from last time but this time he looks alright but what was he doing standing in the middle of a field, looking up at the sky? This was getting weirder than it already was.
But then it clicked, one thing that its mother taught it is that when another being uses hypnosis on another being, the two will want to fight each other for control and most of the time, the one hypnotizing will win. This could be why the aura was like this! And this could only mean one thing:
This man was being hypnotized!
Without hesitation, the bipedal dog summoned a glowing bone and charged in as it tried to knock that man out of being controlled. It felt like only it can save the man at the moment. After all, what cruel being would control an innocent mind?
Unfortunately, it missed one crucial detail.
Blue and red do not add up to green.
I was standing there, in the middle of the field, pondering the night sky. As the stars became more prominent due to the lack of light pollution in the middle of the field, I couldn't help but ponder their magnificence.
"I'm in the world of Pokemon," I thought to myself, still pretty much baffled at my whole circumstance. "I wonder what could be up there… somewhere."
I've always wondered the same thing when I was back home. The fact that someone or something could be looking at you and you could be looking at it without the both of you knowing it is mind-boggling. It's the thought that an infinitely sized universe will have a shitload of possibilities.
But now… it's the fact that an infinite universe will have an infinite amount of possibilities. The fact that each universe could have its own rules, its own materials or matter, and its own physics is incomprehensible.
And that kinda scared me.
The fact that I could be transported to another universe – perhaps another TV show or franchise – can't be considered impossible because, well, it just happened. I don't know, maybe if I trip on something and no-clip into the ground, I might end up in a universe where the events of Breaking Bad are a real-life story.
Unluckily for me, my thoughts were interrupted by fast footsteps coming ever closer to me. Quickly glancing to my left, I saw a FUCKING BLUE DOG running towards me with A BONE in its hand with its red eyes glaring at me with murderous intent.
Give me a break!
It leapt and I yelped, barely managing to dodge out of the way. I scrambled to get back on my feet as my heart tried its best to escape out of my ribcage. I sprinted but I knew it wouldn't be enough to even escape so I looked back at it as I struggled to get my Pokeball out of my pocket in an attempt to catch it and flee away.
I managed but only just. It leapt towards me with its bone ready to whack me. I held my hands to cover my face but that simply wasn't enough. The bone hit me right in the face.
I fell back as I felt my hands open and heard something but it was drowned out by the ringing in my ears.
I blacked out.
Date of creation: 8th October 2022, 11:31 p.m
Date of completion: 15th October 2022, 12:56 a.m
Word count: 2417 words
AN: Welp, that's chapter 2. I completed this chapter at a record time – a little more than a week. I guess that's what happens if your mind is filled with ideas. I was initially planning on going full steam ahead on the script of my video essay but my mind decided to spawn some ideas and you know me, I can't let said ideas escape.
Writer's block didn't stand a CHANCE with this one.
Also, if you haven't noticed – I don't see why you haven't – I have reworked the prologue a little bit so be sure to check it out sometime. Also, I'm thinking of making another book cover for this fic. Maybe, maybe not.
If you like this fic, be sure to follow it. Reviews will be greatly appreciated and it helps motivate me to keep on writing and improving. With all that out of the way, thank you for reading and see you in the next chapter.
-Exotic
