The first four chapters for this story are currently completed, but are being edited at the moment, so they should hopefully be ready for you a bit faster. So far, the plan will be for around 2 - 3 chapters to be uploaded within 2 week intervals, but I will update you if anything changes. I appreciate all of you for sticking with the story so far, and I hope that you will enjoy it as it continues. Take care everybody.

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Espir was having the time of his life. He was on his way to collect his first gym badge and fully expected more typical story twists and turns to happen as he was travelling.

The weather was perfect and he was on the verge of celebrating when the first wild Pokémon appeared. He had been wanting to pad out his Pokémon team and was shocked that the first Pokémon he met as he was walking north towards Jubilife City, was a Murkrow.

The small navy bird caught both he and Shinx off their guard as the two had been walking and swooped down from the darker layers of the tree branches one evening as the shadows had begun to lengthen.

Before Espir was able to say anything, the Murkrow had used Astonish and caused Shinx to hesitate even further, using the surprise ambush to its advantage against the duo.

As Murkrow laid in to peck at Shinx and double down on its advantageous opening further, the Shinx shook off its delayed response and dove to the side, letting loose a blast of electricity that almost felled the flying Pokémon in an instant. Before he could watch Shinx lay waste to the Murkrow, Espir pulled out a spare Pokéball and drew the severely dazed bird into it, right before it was able to hit the ground and do even more damage to itself on top of the hit that Shinx had laid onto it.

It had almost gone wrong due to how swift his Pokémon had reacted, but Espir had successfully caught two Pokémon already. He couldn't believe his luck and wondered if, when the Murkrow was healthier, if it would be as dominant as the Shinx had been against the Cosmic goons.

"You aren't usually available in this area in the game. I wonder why you are now," Espir said, glancing at the Pokéball with Murkrow in his hand.

It had been a long and eventful day of surprises, walking and Pokémon battles, so Espir was eager and grateful to eventually bed down for the night. He accepted that usually dreams would end when the explorer went to sleep within the trip, as it was a good transition point to then wake up in the real world. It was just such a shame that Espir had to let go of an adventure so vivid and exciting, so well curated to his interests. All good things had to come to an end unfortunately and, he assumed, this night's sleep would be the end of the journey of a lifetime.

When Espir woke the next day, he was both confused and overjoyed. As it turned out, he didn't need to be concerned about sleeping cutting the dream off as he must have still been within it. He checked his person and his surroundings; everything was just as he had left it. He was still within the fantasy.

Espir looked down at his Pokéballs as he made himself a small breakfast. If he was still in an adventure, Espir thought, he was damn well going to make the most of it.

Espir could see, up ahead, a rising hill with rocky outcrops periodically up it. He really hoped to be able to face off against another Pokémon trainer at some point and was surprised he hadn't met anyone at all as he had made his way closer to Jubilife City. Sure, it wasn't exactly the game he was experiencing, but he thought there would have been at least some travelers coming from the city, or going towards it.

"I can't wait to test you both out and see how you work as a team," Espir said quietly, almost at a whisper. He gave a contented sigh, the sun's warmth already beginning to burn away the morning dew that had covered the grass around him.

As Espir was packing up his supplies, he heard a muted periodic thumping slowly getting louder. By the time he had completely put his sleeping gear back into his backpack, Espir stood and turned to see a slightly out of breath individual, around his age, standing by a nearby tree. He had clearly run from somewhere and Espir was confused at why this person had been in such a rush to get close to him, but not such a rush that he was willing to wait around before starting a conversation.

"Hey," the person said, in between large gulps of air, "you're the one that dealt with those Cosmic jerks back there, right?"

"That would be me," Espir smiled, "I'm Espir."

"Pleased to meet you," the person said, "I'm Henry. I was wondering if you'd like to battle me?"

"Are you sure? Wouldn't you like a bit of a rest first?"

"That would be very kind, but after- would you be up for it?" Henry seemed just as eager as Espir felt to battle, but Espir felt a bit of apprehension due to the state the other boy was in.

"I'd love to," Espir said, he pulled out a water bottle from his backpack and held it out to the boy, "would you like to walk and talk until you're ready to fight?"

"Sure," Henry said, "just a moment."

Henry then stretched a bit to avoid cramping and then gratefully took the water bottle from Espir, and began taking huge gulps of water in between just as large intakes of breath.

"How come you're so keen to fight?" Espir asked as the two started to walk towards the incline in the distance.

"It isn't a large town where I come from," Henry said, "and I don't get a lot of opportunities to battle. I had heard what you did to those grunts and went to find you, but you had already left."

"So, you came running after me?" Espir laughed, to which Henry also began to laugh.

"It sounds absurd, doesn't it?"

"Only a little," Espir said, "but hey, I'm just as eager to battle another trainer too. I only got my first two Pokémon yesterday."

"How the heck did you manage to defeat two grunts then?"

Espir had to think of an answer that didn't come off as insane, considering he really knew all his knowledge from the videogame this dream was based upon.

"Beginner's luck?" Espir said weakly, "my Shinx really didn't like the goons so, they did most of the work for me. Plus, the goons were assholes."

"I'm sorry?"

"They were assholes."

"What does that mean?" Henry asked, looking a little confused.

"What do you mean what does that mean?"

"I've never heard that word before."

"Ah," Espir nodded, it finally clicking. Characters didn't swear in Pokémon games. He would have to test the limits of what the other people knew at some point, if nothing else, for curiosity.

"So…?" Henry asked, still waiting for an answer.

"Nothing, it's just a petty insult, that's all."

"Oh, right," Henry nodded, going quiet. Espir could tell he was trying to remember the insult for later use.

The two continued to walk until they reached the bottom of the incline. Just over the other side of the hill, according to the map, was Jubilife City.

"This seems as good a place for a battle as any other," Henry said, looking over to see if Espir approved.

"I think this will do nicely, as long as you're prepared for heat," Espir replied, jokingly beginning some minor trash talk.

"I think I'm more than capable to be a challenge to the likes of you," Henry retorted in kind. Both of them were clearly just having fun and the jovial atmosphere was helping Espir lean into the dreamworld even more.

"In that case," Espir said, "let's battle!"

Espir held out his Pokéball and let out Shinx, while Henry mirrored his actions and released a Pidgey. Espir smirked, another flying type to dispatch with. Espir could also see the realization in Henry's eyes as the two Pokémon faced off.

"Shinx use Spark!" Espir called out, to which Shinx did as requested, shaking and glowing bright before charging forward. The Pidgey barely dodged the worst of it, but took a glancing blow to the wing and spiraled back down to the ground, hopping back and forth as it tried to tend to its wing.

"Pidgey, use Quick Attack!" Henry commanded, as the Pidgey then shot forward with a burst of speed, reaching out with its talons as it propelled itself with its wings.

"Shinx, use Tackle!" Espir called out as the Pidgey made contact. Due to its hurt wing, it was slow in its retreat, allowing Shinx a perfect open target to slam its head into Pidgey's chest, knocking the bird Pokémon out cold.

"Darn," Henry said, "well, hopefully this one will be a better match for you. Come on out, Geodude!"

Damn, Espir thought, this is actually a good counter to my Shinx, finally I might have a good competition on my hands.

"Shinx! Spark, Again!" Espir said, testing to see how impressive the Geodude was before bringing Shinx any closer to it.

The charging Shinx hit the Geodude head on, which proudly stood strong with Spark only appearing to affect it minimally. Suddenly though, the Geodude started to shake randomly and became immobile on the ground. It was still awake, but the Shinx had managed to paralyze it.

"Quick, Shinx!" Espir called out, "Use Tackle as much as you can!"

The Shinx rushed in on the immobile Geodude, with Espir unsure how long it would stay paralyzed for, but it apparently didn't matter. With the consistent barrage of impacts from the Shinx slamming its body into the rock Pokémon, the Geodude never managed to recover from the paralysis and fell unconscious also.

"You did well Shinx," Espir said as he brought the Pokémon back into its Pokéball, walking over to Henry to shake his hand.

"For someone who only got that Pokémon yesterday," Henry said, returning his own Pokémon to its Pokéball, "you're a mighty trainer indeed. It felt like I couldn't do anything against you at all!"

"I guess it was just luck," Espir shrugged, knowing full well that the Geodude should have wiped the floor with a Shinx.

"I guess so," Henry smiled, pulling out some money to give to Espir.

"No no, you don't need to-"

"Yes," Henry said, determined, "I do. I lost fair and square."

"If you're certain," Espir said, begrudgingly accepting the payment. "At least we aren't too far from Jubilife to get your Pokémon all healed up for our next battle."

"That is very true," Henry nodded, "I'd rather not have to run all that way back again without fighting fit Pokémon. What are your plans when you reach the city?"

"Heal mine up too," Espir said, "then carry on towards Oreburgh to face the gym leader there."

"Sounds fun!" Henry smiled, "you'll definitely give them a run for their money considering how you've handled yourself so far."

"Thank you," Espir said, "that means a lot."

The two of them climbed the hill and continued to talk all the way into the main portion of the city where, after a brief stop at the Pokécenter, Espir left Henry to his own devices and started his travels towards Oreburgh.

"I have to get there fast," Espir said to himself, "who knows how long I have left of this dream. I also need to find a Pokémon that's good against rock, somehow. Otherwise, I'll just be stuck at this first gym."

Espir wasn't allowing himself as much time to rest and relax as before, unsure how long the adventure would last before he was rudely pulled from it to start another shift, he wanted to get all that he could out of this adventure before it came to a halt. It had already gone on far longer than he had expected, and with much greater detail. An entire half a day spent talking to a complete stranger was something he could never have thought possible for his imagination to conjure up, especially not with such accuracy.

As Espir was pondering what might have been the cause of this fantasy in particular, or perhaps who Henry was considering he would have to know the face to have seen it in his sleep, another Pokémon jumped out at him.

They were traversing through the mountainous paths, far from any bodies of water.

A Buizel had decided to attack him. Espir took out Shinx in preparation to catch the Pokémon.

"Take it easy on them Shinx, we need them on our side," Espir warned as he saw his Pokémon already charging up with electricity.

The battle was swift and one-sided, even with Shinx pulling their punches and letting out less damaging electric blasts.

Espir was happy to have caught a water Pokémon, he was just at a loss to explain why one would be up in the mountains, so far from any natural habitat of its own. He couldn't find a decent reason and simply had to shrug it off as strange imaginary nonsense.

Espir could see the sun beginning to set as he was just about reaching the city of Oreburgh. With how the adventure was going, he was enjoying it, but it was starting to feel too easy.

That's just dreams, I guess, he thought nonchalantly as he reached the city and found a room at a small bed and breakfast near the Pokémart.

While he hadn't had any dreams during his sleeping hours in this journey, Espir had dreams as he slept through this night. He hadn't questioned the lack of them, as having visions inside imaginations became strange quickly; but the thoughts he was having now were anything but natural.

Espir saw his body, lying in its bed still breathing, sleeping as normal, but with his parents shaking him to wake up and receiving no response. He saw a small, strange creature- was it another Pokémon? It floated in some sort of place in space, watching over the commotion. Suddenly a tear, shredding across his sight, and another being looked in. Large, gold, white. It seemed to know everything. Espir felt tiny before it.

And so, the strings of curiosity have made you, their puppet. One being's joy, a world's torment. Begone from this realm.

It wasn't as if the being had spoken to Espir, but instead planted its thoughts directly into his own mind. Espir shot awake. He was still in the bed and breakfast. However, he was no longer convinced he was dreaming, or at least, not in any normal way.

Espir sat up in his bed, which he now knew to not be real, at least, not in the real sense. He was having a difficult time processing what was apparently going on with him at the moment- and what did the all-powerful being mean by tormenting a world?

Espir had figured something was going on, but had only assumed it was simply an easy ride due to it being his fantasy. If something else was pulling the strings to keep him here and keep him having fun, then that would be another clear alternative and a far more insidious one at that. So, the question would then become, was anyone else aware of this being a figment of his imagination? Could anyone help him break free from this strange dreamland? Or, finally, why should he even try breaking out?

Sure, the vision he had just had seemed vivid enough, but so did everything else in this place. Maybe it was simply another aspect of this dream that he would just forget along with the rest of the memories when he did end up waking up. Dreams weren't meant to make sense anyway, so he should consider himself lucky with how linear his was seeming.

"I wouldn't mind it being a bit more of a challenge though," Espir wondered out loud, "no point in going about my imaginary quest if there aren't any legitimate obstacles against me. I need opponents with just as much chance of winning, so that I get the adrenaline from the risk of losing."

Espir continued to mull over the contents of his strange dream and the ramifications of whether it was real or not as he got ready for the day. With three Pokémon, one being a water-type, he was feeling extra confident about his chances to beat the gym leader, a man called Roark. He specialized in rock type Pokémon, which gave Espir the edge in the matchup, but Espir already knew that from having played the game. Nothing was going to get in his way of getting the first gym badge. If this really was his new reality, he might as well go into it with as much gusto as he could, considering it seemed he was very gifted at being a Pokémon trainer. He had yet to come close to losing and he wanted to keep that streak alive and thriving, albeit with an actual challenge to earn it.

Espir walked up to the gym, still just as confident as always, but he noticed some Cosmic goons messing around with the museum nearby. He needed to get his gym badge though. He could deal with the Cosmic goons when he came back out.

Espir waited patiently at the sliding door entrance and was pleasantly happy that it opened for him. He had supplied in case the battle turned against him, but he really didn't expect anything going wrong.

The interior of the gym was entirely carved out of rock, with platforms and steps being carved out of one central pillar up to a final, high up platform. Espir knew that Roark waited atop that pillar and Espir was going to be the one to make it up there and face the man.

As Espir climbed higher and higher, he began to hope that his words had been answered and that there was a little bit of a challenge at least, waiting for him at the top. Every time Espir had voiced his needs, the dream had provided. Maybe, if it was too much of a challenge, he could just ask the fantasy to tone it back a little bit.

Espir reached the top and laid eyes on the man waiting there, sitting comfortably as he waited for the next challenger.

"Hello!" The man called out as he caught sight of Espir emerging, "I am Gym Leader Roark of the Oreburgh Gym, keeper of the Coal Badge. Have you come to test your resilience against the wall of stone that is my team?"

"That I have," Espir said, though a little out of breath, "and I won't leave until I win."

"We'll see about that, won't we?" Roark smirked, holding out a Pokéball and waiting for Espir to get set up. For once, Espir did not pick his Shinx to start the battle, but instead held out his Buizel's Pokéball.

"Time to see what you're made of," Roark said, "Go, Geodude!"

Roark's ball flashed and released a Geodude, similar to the one Espir had faced the previous day. Espir smiled and let loose his Buizel.

"Buizel, use Water Gun!" Espir called out and the Buizel shot out a bullet of water towards the Geodude, that didn't even try to dodge the hit. The water splashed straight onto it and Espir waited for the clear knock out, but it didn't come. If anything, the Geodude looked unaffected by the water.

"What the fuck?" Espir exclaimed, confused as to why a sure-fire winning shot did apparently no damage.

"You expect us gym leaders to be easy to face?" Roark called out, before turning to the Geodude and shouting, "Geodude, use Bulldoze!"

The Geodude sprang forward, spinning into a ball and rocketed straight through the Buizel, knocking them clear off the platform and into unconsciousness too.

"Bulldoze?!" Espir shouted, "what kind of level are your Pokémon!"

"High enough to be a challenge," Roark said, no hint of a smile anywhere on his face any more.

What the hell is going on? Espir thought, panicked. His other two Pokémon had no chance of winning if Buizel's free shot did nothing.

Espir sent out Murkrow, hoping to having the flying Pokémon keep its distance from the ball of rock, until the Geodude began hurling chunks of rock up at it with Rock Throw. Murkrow tried ducking and weaving, but the rocks were thrown too fast and too ferociously to dodge and, eventually, an errant one connected directly with Murkrow and the bird went down hard.

Espir was down to Shinx, the type that was meant to be ruined by rock in the first place. Begrudgingly, he sent out Shinx and Roark let out a clear laugh at the almost sacrificial offering.

It was not pretty, but at least it was quick. The Geodude hit the Shinx before the poor Pokémon had even gotten the right bearing on its surroundings.

Espir withheld his insults, a pained mixture of confused and scared for his Pokémon. He took his Pokéballs and hurried back down the gym tower as fast as he could.

On the way out, Espir spotted the guy that always hung around the gyms in the games. He stopped by him before leaving the gym.

"Hey, you," Espir called, unsure of the man's name, "what's the deal with Roark's Pokémon being so highly trained for the first gym?"

"Isn't that what you wanted, Espir?" The man asked, in a tone that didn't suit him. It was as if he was learning to speak for the first time. "A challenge to create adrenaline?"

"I don't know who you are, or what you are, but leave me alone!" Espir shouted at the man, "and this is not the kind of challenge I had in mind!"

Espir turned to run out, terrified of the situation now, but the man gripped his sleeve.

"You're the one at fault for this, aren't you?" The man asked, his tone entirely different from the moment before. "What have you done? We can't even-"

The man straightened back up and let go of Espir's sleeve, smiling as if the entire encounter had never occurred.

Espir was going to ask him what happened again, but felt it was high time he got out of that gym, before any other crazy things happened.

He rushed towards the Pokécenter, throwing a curious glance at where he expected the Cosmic goons to still be. They were nowhere to be seen.

Espir didn't have time to ponder their plans at that moment, as he barely broke stride to continue running to get his Pokémon healed. He needed to re-evaluate the situation he was dealing with, considering his fun little adventure had just gone from delightful and easy, to deadly within a matter of moments. One thing was for sure, though, and he couldn't ignore it anymore.

This really was no dream and no game. He was in trouble and, possibly, so was everyone else he had met so far in this world.