Espir's eyes opened the moment he felt the breeze brushing against his face. There shouldn't be any wind inside his bedroom. Instead, Espir looked around before getting to his feet. He was standing on a hill, in the middle of nowhere.
Espir would have been lost if he didn't somehow recognize the hill. Not from any waking memories, but from dreams.
He must be inside one right now, somehow processing it normally. If this was how dreams were normally experienced, Espir wondered just how much confusion he felt each night before he forgot it all just by waking up.
There was no 'if', not really. It must have been a fantasy, for people don't just appear in places they didn't go to sleep in randomly. Not alive, at least.
Espir wondered fleetingly if he was actually dead, then. The brief panic subsided as fast as it had appeared. Whether he was alive or dead didn't currently matter as he was still dreaming. He needed to find out where he was and work out the purpose of this trip.
Espir knew the steps and direction to take. He wandered this pathless route countless times in his sleep. He walked down the hill and then began to walk along the side of the closest field, keeping the stone wall to his right as he did so. The sun was beating down upon him, but he only felt a soft warmth. It didn't feel strong enough to burn his skin, but he also knew that sunburns caught people when they were least expecting them, so he did his best to cover his arms to keep them out of the sun.
Espir was certain that the walk to the nearest town was in the direction he was taking, although he couldn't remember ever feeling as tired as he did for walking the distance he was. It must have taken a solid hour or two of crossing rock wall boundaries and climbing over rolling hills until he saw the town he was looking for. Sandgem Town.
He could tell he was nearing the town, even without needing to watch the buildings get closer as he walked down the hills towards it. The grassy hills were becoming gradually covered in more and more sand. As per the name of the town, Sandgem Town was riddled with the stuff, due to its proximity to the sea.
The paths were built more out of sand and sandstone than out of dirt or tarmac. Espir didn't mind, however, he simply needed to find somewhere to drink some water. He felt as if he could die of thirst after such a long walk. Only after the water would he deal with the dream's mission at hand.
Espir could see the neon orange roof of the Pokémon Centre and hoped they would have the sustenance that he needed. They treated Pokémon all the time. Surely, they could treat him too, even if he wasn't a Pokémon.
Just to make certain that people knew what the roof meant, there was a small wooden sign staked into the sandy ground outside the entrance, denoting this building as the Pokémon Centre.
Espir passed the sign, almost using it to prop himself up as he walked by, and entered into the cool, air-conditioned interior of the Pokémon Center. Espir looked around the room. In front of him was a rectangular counter, with a white front and an orange top. Behind the counter stood a lady, Espir assumed Nurse Joy, with pink hair and a medical nurse's outfit on. She stood in front of a flat screen, attached to the wall, and next to a chamber to place Pokéballs within. Espir hoped against hope that he could get what he needed from here.
He rushed up to the counter and looked over to Nurse Joy. She was unfazed by Espir's hurriedness and simply regarded him peacefully, waiting.
"Is there anywhere I can get a drink of water?" Espir asked the lady, who looked confused for a moment, thought for a second moment and then opened her mouth to speak.
"Of course, I have a small bottle of water right here, if you would like it?" She said, still smiling.
"Yes!" Espir cheered, before checking his manners, "I'm sorry, I mean, yes please that would be very kind of you."
"Why, not to worry," Nurse Joy said, "I am here to help."
"This might seem like a strange question," Espir said, "but I'm in Sandgem town right now, right?"
"Indeed, you are," Nurse Joy said, "the one and only."
"Do you know anyone I could speak to about getting a Pokémon?" Espir knew he was pushing his luck, but he had no idea how people got their first ones. It wasn't like he could catch one; he had no Pokéballs to catch them with.
"Well," Nurse Joy began to say thoughtfully, "you could always-"
At that moment, the doors to the Pokémon Centre burst open. Standing in the open doorway were three people.
Two of them wore black uniforms with scarlet belts that shone as the light hit them, the belt buckles forming the letter 'C'. In between the two uniformed people, stood the person who was clearly their leader. This person also wore black, although the uniform looked a lot closer to military gear, such as what a general would wear in formal occasions. Each brass button that made up the uniform was shaped into the letter 'C' as well.
The central person announced to the room, although there was only Nurse Joy and Espir standing within.
"We are members of Team Cosmic," he announced loudly, "bear witness. Now, allow us a moment of your time to enquire about a missing Pokémon we are in the process of recapturing. Have any of you seen a Shinx while going about your business?"
Both Espir and Nurse Joy shook their heads.
The leader didn't bother to excuse himself from the room. As soon as he had heard the replied of the occupants of the building, he turned heel and strode back out of the Pokémon Centre, flanked by the two goons.
"How sinister," Nurse Joy said, shuddering dramatically.
"How very sinister indeed," Espir said, leaning into the theatrical element of the dream. Perhaps he was meant to go speak to them, or maybe this was the part of the story where the villains made themselves known in order to appear more threatening and more integral to the story further down the road.
"Weird," Espir thought to himself, "I definitely don't remember a Team Cosmic in the games."
Willing to shrug it off, Espir wasn't really sure what was going on, but he had played enough Pokémon games to know that 'Team' anything was bad news. He needed Pokémon and he needed them fast, in order to be able to stand up to this Team Cosmic.
Then, a curious thought struck him. maybe he should go searching for this missing Shinx. Surely, if it had been captured and was willing to be a part of the team, it wouldn't be missing at all? If Team Cosmic were the bad guys that Espir believed them to be, and the Shinx was trying in its own way to work against them, Espir wanted that Shinx on his side. It was the perfect plan. Now all he had to do was to find the missing Shinx.
"Uh, Nurse Joy?" Espir asked, turning back around to the nurse, who seemed oddly unperturbed by the event that had just happened.
"Yes?" Nurse Joy asked, allowed her smile to return to Espir.
"Where, in the local area, would you suggest one goes to look for a missing Shinx? Any ideas where a Shinx would run and hide?" Espir asked, trying to make it seem obvious what he was really asking, but veiled enough that it could still look like he was just trying to be a good Samaritan.
"Oh, I wouldn't know any of that," Nurse Joy laughed politely, "but you could always try the Professor?"
Espir mentally kicked himself. Of course, the Professor was the one who gave most of the first trainers their Pokémon in the games. Considering he was in the Sinnoh region right now, it only made sense that he was so close to the Professor's Research Lab.
"Thank you," Espir said, bowing ever so slightly, though he was unsure why, and then walked to the door with a pace that implied he would have run if it were not so impolite.
Thankfully, the layout of the town was very similar to the game, if not entirely so angular. Espir ran from the Pokémon Center down the main street of the town to the Research Lab, hoping to find the professor doing some work in the lab. Unfortunately, the front door to the lab was locked. Espir couldn't get in and, even if he could, the professor was likely out and about. Espir wracked his brain to think of where the professor might be, considering this was clearly where his storyline was pushing him, if he was meant to be following this thread.
Espir guessed that, if a Pokémon Professor was out doing research, he would likely be doing it where Pokémon were readily found. So, to test that theory, he would have to go around the outskirts of town and hope to find the Professor before a wild Pokémon found him.
It was strange. Until this point, everything had gone perfectly in Espir's favor. Any time he brought up what he needed or wanted to do; he had gotten it within seconds. Maybe this dream had figured out that Espir needed at least a little bit of a challenge to accomplish his goals? He hoped he hadn't just coincidently throw his confidence into overdrive and was actually meant to be looking for the Professor. None of the games ever put the player in harm's way before they had a Pokémon at hand, so Espir was at least confident that his imagination would do the same. He so rarely had nightmares that he was sure the journey would lead him to where he needed to go.
Espir crept out of one of the main paths to the town, only to ensure his safety against any potential Pokémon encounters. He had yet to see the Professor. While he was far more confident than he usually was or had any right to be, if not in a fantasy currently, Espir's cowardly instincts were beginning to kick in due to the prospect of danger. He had no idea how painful being scorched by an Ember, or gashed by a Scratch could feel. Pokémon were absurdly dangerous creatures, even in their lowest levels, so he had to be careful to avoid getting hurt. This apprehension was doing its best to balance out Espir's confidence and the resulting effect on Espir was most curious. He would alternate between powerful strides and then sink down into a crouch to creep along the path some more, before striding further. This strange bobbing motion carried on until Espir reached a point in the path where there was significantly taller grass shooting up out of the sandy ground. Grass that was tall enough to hide Pokémon within.
In some of the games, attempting to go into the grass when unprepared prompted some sort of interaction, so maybe Espir had to try doing that? He weighed the pros and cons in his mind as he inched his way to the grass. If he was right, someone would arrive to help him- possibly the Professor- and his quest would be on its way. If he was wrong, he was putting himself in potentially fatal risk, within barely any time at all. However, he had walked for hours over hills without being attacked by Pokémon, so maybe he was just lucky enough to be doing the right thing accidentally.
Espir still had no idea how this dream was meant to work. He couldn't fully remember his journeys past hazy visions that passed as memories. In none of them did he remember having trouble deciphering how to progress through the adventure or fearing the sensations within it. He had also heard the rumor that if you knew something was a dream that you woke up. Surely, he would have woken up by now if it was a fantasy then? A final thought occurred to him, the thought that prompted him to step into the tall grass. How did time work within dreams? He had been in this world for hours, from his perspective, but what did that translate to in this reality? How long had he been asleep for, considering he had barely begun his journey? Was this why imaginations in media always skipped the travelling and appeared to speed to each important interaction?
Espir, concerned about the time he was taking simply thinking about acting and not actually doing it, took his first step into the tall grass and, as he had suspected, something happened. No voice called out; no person tried to stop him. To his immediate fear, the other option began. There was a Pokémon hiding within the grass. Espir noticed the grass move and could hear it almost yipping, like a puppy. Quietly though, not out of excitement, but what sounded like fear. Neither truly mattered to Espir who, upon noticing the Pokémon, darted back out of the grass in fear of his own safety.
As soon as Espir made the sudden move to run away, he felt as if the sun had suddenly gotten brighter. A great burst of sparkling light hit his eyes, blinding him and causing him to trip and drag his knees through the sand. Espir was grateful for his longer pants, otherwise he would likely be picking grains of sand out of grazes on his knees for days.
"It's only a dream," Espir lightly, but nervously, laughing at the thought, "It's nothing."
Once his eyes had readjusted from the spontaneous flash of light, Espir pulled himself shakily to his feet and looked towards where had had spotted the Pokémon. The tall grass was still once more. Was it truly like a game where they couldn't chase after him once he left the bounds of the grass? If so, Espir was beyond grateful.
Even as Espir was thanking his mind for making such a specification within his adventure, the grass began to rustle once more as something poked its head out to look at him.
The blue head was followed by a much smaller body, proving the head to almost be disproportionate in size. The creature was short, barely up to Espir's knees, and its fur was split midway through its torso, so that its front half- with the exception of a black colored patch resembling a collar- was a light blue coat and the back half was also black colored fur. The Pokémon had large yellow eyes, with yellow stars to accent it ears, and once more at the end of its tail. Finally, it had two yellow bands, almost like wristbands, around its two front paws.
Espir knew that this was a Shinx. It looked as scared as Espir had felt a moment before, but looking at the small, innocent-looking Pokémon now, he felt the fear wash away to pity. The creature was shaking with fright and Espir could see the dying glows of what must have been a defense mechanism from the Pokémon. It hadn't attacked him, so much as he had frightened it.
Espir did what anyone still relying on the safety of their dream world would do. He knelt down and held out a hand to the Shinx. He left his right hand outstretched, open with the palm up. He didn't have any food on him, but he at least wanted to let the Shinx know he wasn't a threat- unlike Team Cosmic seemed to be. Whatever they did to get such a Pokémon to be so scared… Espir could feel his blood boil at the thought. He wanted to make them pay. Unfortunately, he had no idea how he could. He was ill-equipped to be chasing after Team members when he didn't even have a Pokémon to his name.
"Stop right-"
The Professor's warning died in his throat as he saw the interaction unfolding. Instead, he simply found a distant spot to continue watching, and sat down to watch how Espir and the Shinx would handle each other.
The Shinx, despite its obviously timid nature, gradually crept towards Espir. The distance between the two was minimal, but it took the Shinx ages to reach Espir. It then leaned into the hand, allowed Espir to pet it. Espir could feel the static from the fur of the Shinx and could feel the power emanating from within it. Espir tried not to make any sudden moves as the Shinx explored his person, making a slow circle around him and returning back to his front to receive more pets.
"This is absolutely remarkable," the Professor said, having crept closer during the interaction. Espir had barely noticed the man had even arrived at first. "You clearly have a way with Pokémon. This Shinx here appears to have taken a shine to you immediately."
"Funny choice of words," Espir chuckled, picking up the Shinx into his arms and letting it rest there, looking up at him while he had the conversation with the Professor.
"I'm Professor Rowan," the Professor introduced himself, holding out a hand to shake, "and what would your name be?"
"Espir," Espir said, having a slight mental laugh at the interaction. He even realized at his time that he was wearing clothes similar to the trainers in the games. He had long grey-blue pants filled with pockets, a black and brown shirt, with a yellow backpack and red scarf. He even had a red beret on, even though he never wore hats when he was awake. He just assumed it was natural for him to wear in the dream.
"I will be honest, my boy," Professor Rowan said excitedly, "having never seen a display such as this before, I would be thrilled if you would allow me to monitor you. I can provide you with Pokéballs to store your Pokémon, and a Pokédex to record those that you find. This would be a huge boon to my research purposes."
Espir, slightly stunned by such a sudden change of events, regained his composure quickly.
"I'd love to," Espir nodded, grinning from ear to ear. He watched, almost hungrily, as the Professor began to pull out the red and white spheres that Espir knew so well. He pulled out six in total. The perfect amount for a team.
"Do you know how to battle Pokémon?" Professor Rowan asked as he handed the Pokéballs over to Espir.
"I do, don't you worry, sir," Espir laughed, laying the Shinx back down on the floor in order to be able to carry all of the new Pokéballs. Espir looked at the small Pokémon. "Would you be okay going in one of these for me?" He asked, holding up a Pokéball. The Shinx looked between the ball and Espir, back and forth a few more times, before nodding decisively.
"You're a brave little one," Professor Rowan laughed out loud as he too looked down to the Shinx.
Espir held out his hand with the Pokéball gripped between his fingers. He pressed the button on the seam and his entire hand flashed red, the light forming a connection between him and the Shinx. The next instant, the Pokémon was gone, disappeared from eyesight.
"You're a natural," Professor Rowan exclaimed. He pulled out a red device, a Pokédex, and handed it to Espir. "Now you're ready to go out and face whatever this world has in store for you. I expect great things are going to come from your deeds, my boy."
"Thank you, Professor Rowan," Espir said, almost in tears. He was finally exactly what he had wanted to be his entire life- a Pokémon trainer, and as quickly as that. Sure, he only had one, young Pokémon, but his foot was in the door. He would not let up until he was the Pokémon champion himself.
"What do you plan to do now?" Professor Rowan asked Espir as the two of them walked back into town and paused outside of the Research Lab.
"I think I'll go to the first Pokémon Gym and collect my first badge," Espir said, "whether any obstacles pop up on the way? Who really knows. That's what makes this exciting."
"Well, I wish you good luck on your journey," Professor Rowan said, "of course, the better you do, the more data I gain, so I do have a minor horse in this race."
The Professor winked at Espir before opening the door to his lab and walking in, leaving Espir standing out on the street by himself. He noticed, further up ahead, a couple of the Team Cosmic goons hanging around the exit to the town. He had been intended to take that route and it was looking like he would have to go through the goons instead of around them. Espir only hoped his Shinx was strong enough to take the two people on. A secondary thought entered Espir's head that whispered, knowingly, that it was a good method to getting some money. He had yet to earn a single bit of the currency in this dream. He would need some if he intended to make any headway at all in his quest.
Espir steeled himself for battle, gripping the Pokéball that contained Shinx, and advanced towards the two Team Cosmic goons, for better or for worse.
"I hope you're more ready than I am," Espir whispered towards the ball, not really thinking that the Shinx could hear him, "I think, after these battles, we should probably give you a name, if you'd like?"
"What do you want?" One of the Team goons asked as Espir realized he had walked a bit too close to the pair of them.
"Hey," the other one piped up, "aren't you that kid from the Pokémon Center?"
"Yeah," Espir smiled, "would you like to have a battle?"
"Beats hanging around this place," the first of the goons replied, shrugging and looking over to his teammate for support.
"Yeah, but don't say we didn't warn you," the second said.
"But you didn't?" Espir laughed.
"I said don't say it!" The goon replied, angry.
Espir took a step back and held out his Pokéball. The angered goon did the same. Thankfully, they seemed to be choosing to fight one on one fights.
Espir only hoped battling was half as easy as it was in the games. He pressed the button to release his Shinx, as the goon released his own Zubat. Both of the goons had a double-take at the Shinx before turning on the trainer.
"Hey! That's our Pokémon!" The goon that was waiting by the side of the battle shouted.
"Clearly not anymore," Espir said, "you should learn to treat your allies with more kindness and respect if you expect them to stick by your side. Now, enough talking. Let's battle."
"Zubat! Use Astonish!" The goon shouted, trying to catch Espir off guard, but Espir was already expecting such a tactic.
"Shinx, use Quick Attack!" Espir commanded in return. The small lightning hound began to dart around the street, kicking up sand in its wake before, reminiscent of a bolt of lightning, it darted up and slammed into the Zubat with full force. The Zubat cried out and the momentum of the Shinx allowed it to land safely and on its feet, rushing back towards Espir for a second command. As the Shinx ran back past the Zubat, the Zubat attempted to hit it with the Astonish, but missed. The Shinx was quick, much too quick for the Zubat to handle.
Dispatching with the first goon was as simple as rinse and repeat. The Zubat couldn't handle the combination of speed and strength from the small Shinx. Espir only hoped the other goon would put up more of a fight.
"And your payment?" Espir asked, "please."
The goon huffed and forked out some coins to give to Espir, mumbling something about kicking someone when they're down.
"And you?" Espir challenged the other team member confidently. "Will you face me and my Shinx now or when we catch up to you?"
"I think it's better to nip this one in the bud before he grows legs," the goon replied, referring to Espir in the third person.
While Espir mentally shrugged off the... strange comment from the goon, the Shinx moved into position and Espir reset his feet, taking a more comfortable stance now that he knew what a real-life Pokémon battle felt like. As simple as it seemed so far, it didn't seem to stop Espir from realizing how exciting it was
"Come and get some if you think you're worth it," Espir goaded the goon. The goon let out their Rattata and shouted at it to attack the Shinx.
It seemed like the fight was more of an even keel than the previous one had been. The Rattata was keeping up with the Shinx's speed, right up until Espir had the Shinx stop dead in its tracks and use Spark. The Rattata, caught off guard, ran right into the charging Shinx, being knocking out immediately, slightly fried and completely immobilized.
With the path now clear, Espir smiled and bowed slightly at the Team Cosmic members, both tending to their Pokémon while a couple hundred Pokémon Dollars poorer.
With the Shinx happily walking by his side, Espir walked down the road towards the first gym badge, his adventure now truly underway.
Zippher-B.R.I. 69: I'm super glad you seem to like the story so far. It'll have a bit of a slow start, but hopefully you'll enjoy the chapters to come :)