While I was not fully recovered, the doctors had decided I was in good enough shape to leave after about three weeks. Unfortunately, this left me in a somewhat tough situation as I had nowhere to go. I stepped outside the hospital, into the unknown world. I quickly walked away from the hospital. I wasn't sure what direction I was heading, or if I was even going in a straight line, but I didn't care. I just needed to get up and walk away from there. I'm not sure how long I was walking. At some point I became extremely tired, the base of my spine throbbing and hurting. Too tired to keep going and with nothing else to do, I sat down next to a tree. The leaves provided ample shading on the warm day, though the constant light breeze alleviated the warmth for the most part.
I would say that I thought about a lot of things, about what was going on, why I was number twenty out of twenty. I was a last resort, how could everyone else say no? What was I going to do? However, the truth is my head was pretty empty. Maybe I was just in shock, maybe I was just more adaptable than I thought, maybe the weird godly voice was keeping me calm. It could even be inbuilt instincts that were keeping me sane. Whatever the case, my head was pretty blank aside from the occasional feeling of fear. I closed my eyes and just relaxed. I was enjoying the breeze until I opened my eyes and dread quickly surged back in. I closed my eyes again until I heard some footsteps. I turned my head and saw two familiar faces, the Cyndaquil and Oshawott. Someday I would get used to these in built instincts, but that wasn't today.
"Hello." The blue water mammal said. He looked like any other Oshawott except he had a single strand of fur that flung up in a strange manner, right at the top of his head. A cowlick, I typically know it as. Honestly, it was kind of adorable on him. A blue otter with a cowlick was very cute, but I wasn't going to get too distracted.
"Hi." I responded, standing on two legs. My legs were at last designed to be stood on with two legs, even if I was a bit wobbly without the tail. I had gotten used to the quadrupedal walking at least, so that isn't an issue. I thought it would be embarrassing for a while, but something in my brain just made it feel natural, just like being a completely naked green gecko without a tail felt normal as well. I would probably be able to walk on two legs once my tail had grown back. I hoped I could, anyway. I knew I should be more worried about how normal this all felt, but I also knew that I'd have to get used to it eventually, so I was also somewhat thankful that I could skip to the 'acceptance' part of this bizarre situation.
"We saw you had left the hospital. We just wanted to make sure you were alright." The Oshawott stated.
"I'm, uh, yeah? Well, I'm kinda alright? I mean, I'm alive, which is good and all, it's just that I'm missing a limb currently, so I'm not as fine as I should be, so I'm more or less fine, but not completely fine. Still, beats being dead, probably, I think." I responded. I was pretty bad at conversations. Whether he ignored my awkwardness or just didn't notice, he continued onward.
"I understand. I'd feel the same if I lost my arm, even if I could regrow it. I can't, by the way. Not something any Oshawott can do, just so you know. I think it's kinda cool though. Not- not the losing the limb part, the regrowing the limb thing. That's kind of cool." The Oshawott responded. Oh good, he's just as bad at conversations as I am.
"I... figured." I responded. He was a bit odd, but clearly he wasn't bad. At least he didn't seem bad. What was the phrase, "'rue to yourself'? Yeah, true to himself, that's an accurate way to describe him. He seemed to show exactly who he was to whoever he was talking to, not hiding who he was in a social situation, for bettor or worse. I was pretty much the same, honestly. I never really understood how to act properly in a social environment, either. It's confusing for me.
"So, uh, does it hurt?" Oshawott asked. He immediately regretted saying that, his face cringing in recoil the second after it escaped his lips.
"I don't know, would getting your arm cut off hurt, even if you could regrow it?" I asked. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, staring towards the ground.
"It's fine. I'm sure this isn't a very common occurrence. If I saw someone like this, I'd probably ask the same thing. It's strange though, having phantom pain is new, especially for a limb which I hadn't had before. I mean, that I had previously lost, uh, no, uh. One second. It's weird having phantom pains in my tail, since I've never lost a limb before. It is a new experience. Jeez, I couldn't get that out right." I stated scratching the side of my face in embarrassment. I was stumbling over my words, but either they didn't notice, didn't care, or ignored it outright.
"I see. Well, I'm glad you're doing better, at least." He said. The two of them began to wander off.
"Hey, hold up." I said.
They stopped and turned towards me, with Ossowatt asking "What is it?"
"You helped me get to the hospital before I died. Thank you." I said, bowing my head somewhat.
"Oh, that was just, I mean, I-we just saw you in the middle of a forest, and didn't know if you needed help. When I saw you were hurt, I figured you needed help. Most Pokémon are the same, I was just in the right place." He said. There was that word again, Pokémon. I might regret asking, but I had to know.
"What's a Pokémon?" The two of them looked like I had just asked what is outdoors.
"You're joking, right?" He responded.
"I lost a lot of blood, and a lot of things are unfamiliar with me. I don't know how I got so badly hurt, but clearly something went wrong." I said, tapping my head. I wasn't technically lying, something clearly went wrong when I was transferred here, and I didn't know how I go hurt, just that it was by "natural causes" or something.
"Oh, oh no. That's not good." The water otter responded.
"Yeah, not good. A bigger understatement could not be uttered." I said.
"You, do you remember where you're from? Maybe your family can explain this, because I can't. That's, oh boy." He said. Now I was really confused.
"You make it sound like the birds and bees or something." I said. A strange blue luminescence coated his face. He was blushing.
"No, no. No, uh no. It's - it's not that. Honestly. It really isn't. It's, how do I explain. It's just something so basic, everyone knows. I've heard about selective amnesia happening, but I didn't think it'd be that bad. I think your family might be able to explain it better, as they grew up with you and taught you most things." He said.
"First, my family is quite far away. Far enough that returning to them isn't an option. Second, I learned most things in school." I responded.
"Oh? You went to school? Didn't figure you even lived in a city which had one." Oshawott said.
"Not all places have schools?" I asked.
"Some do, but it's a pretty recent thing, within the last few years, and it's mostly reserved for the younger children." Oshawott responded.
"The school I went to had been around for a long while, thirty years at least, and that's just the building itself." I stated.
"Really? I guess the concept of school had to begin somewhere, but over thirty years? Wow." Oshawott responded.
"I don't think ours was the first one ever, but who knows. Historians, probably." I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"So, you're a long way home. Do you know why you're here?" Oshawott asked.
"Yeah, well, kinda? Uh, yes, but I'm not one hundred percent sure what it means." I responded.
The Oshawott tilted his head as if asking, "What do you mean?"
"It's complicated. I was given a task that I don't completely understand, and I don't get how I'm supposed to do it, either." I responded.
"I see, what was it?" Oshawatt asked.
"I have to save some people or something." I responded.
"Save? Who?"
"I don't know." I stated.
"Save, how? From what?"
"Even more questions I don't know the answer to. It was not specific. I'm only mostly sure they were even speaking about someone or someones, and not just a broad 'anyone and everyone' because at this point it could be." I responded, slightly annoyed at this. He seemed to get my frustration and stopped talked for a moment, before he opened his mouth again.
"So you were told to go join a rescue team?" he asked. This was new to me.
"Rescue team?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh right, amnesia. What else did the amnesia remove? Anyway, a rescue team is a branch of the 'Helpful Explorers Rescue Operations', or 'hero' for short. They're a subset of the 'World Wide Planet Protectors', 'W.W.P.P.', which has branches for Explorers, Rescue Teams, Adventure Squads, Expedition Societies, and more around the globe. They act to help Pokémon in need. Rescue Teams are the primary teams found around here, so I assume you were asked to do that. They go out and help people who need it, 'rescuing' other Pokémon from danger. Many are regarded as heroes for their work. Sometimes they travel and explore new regions and unexplored caves and cross mountains to see the other side! That's usually the work of explorers, but Rescue Teams sometimes do that when they aren't busy doing other work. It's not always easy, and not always rewarding, but seeing the face of someone who you've helped is the best reward." Oshawott responded. He clearly was excited and idolized rescue teams, as he was smiling and staring at me intently.
"I see, and maybe, to answer your question. It wasn't very specific." I stated.
"It? Who told you?" Oshawott asked, face not letting go of the extraordinary sized grin.
"I don't know. I just know I was told to act, so here I am." I responded.
He closed his eyes for a moment and said, "I know, Cyndaquil, you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I'm never thinking what you are." Cyndaquil responded.
"So he can speak." I stated.
"Not often, he's a bit shy around new people, and new situations. Some call him timid, but I know how brave he can be." Oshawatt responded. The Cyndaquil was clearly blushing, a unique violet color grew on his face. They were friends, I could tell.
"Anyway, we were heading out to become a rescue team, but it's very difficult. There's mountains and rivers and more you have to cross over. I've heard you have to cross over a river of lava, but I'm sure that's just an exaggeration. Though, maybe it isn't. Some places are much more difficult to reach it than others, which is why rescue teams tend to be rarer the further you go out from there. With three of us, though? The travel will be a breeze." He stated, face still beaming with joy.
"Okay, so you're asking me to join your team?" I asked.
"Yeah. I mean, you were already asked to do something similar, so I'm sure it wouldn't be in the way of the goal. Who knows, maybe you'll accomplish your goal along the way. What do you say, uh, did you say your name was again?" The Oshawott asked.
"My name doesn't matter right now, just call me whatever. I don't have anywhere to go, and no place to live, I think. If I did have a home nearby, then I don't know where it is. I got nothing to do, so sure. Just, why me?" I asked. I wasn't outright lying still, but I did feel somewhat guilty for being dishonest, however I ignored it for the moment.
"Well, I know how tough you are, anyone tough enough to endure survive getting half their tail cut off must be pretty tough." He responded. That wasn't really my doing, and apparently who or whatever was in this body didn't survive that, so who knows how tough I really was. Regardless of feeling bad for only technically sticking to the truth, I didn't feel there were enough options for me. With a nod, I agreed.
"Alright! In order to sign up, we have to get to the Rescue Team Headquarters located by the ocean near Pokémon City. It's a long journey, but we can make it!" Oshawott stated.
"Alright, when are we leaving? I asked.
"Soon. Though, we need to grab a few things from town first. It might be best if we show you around, as you're clearly new and might not remember everything even if you have been here. Hey, someone in town could know you, maybe you've told them something about why you're here." Oshawott responded.
"No, I remember enough to know I've never been to this town." I responded.
"Oh, well, okay. Still, getting to know this town wouldn't be a bad idea." Oshawott responded.
"Yeah, that's true." I responded. The three of us headed off to town.
We made our way through town, first beginning in a residential area. This part of town we had traveled through was fairly small and quiet. White stone huts with reed and sod roofs were dotted around. A few small creatures could be seen playing. One of them was a small yellow mouse. It was a Pichu. Another was a fox dog bunny hybrid, Eevee. A few parents were out with their kids, enjoying the nice day. The children were laughing and having fun. One parent could be hard praising their kid for something impressive they had done. It didn't feel any different to home. If I closed my eyes, it sounded almost exactly the same. When I opened my eyes however, my new, strange reality came crashing back. On the right a Sandshrew and Oddish were digging in the dirt, trying to make holes as round as they could. On the left, a Mamoswine lets their child- a Kabuto, and their friends play on it's back. I wasn't going to bother questioning how a wooly mammoth had a horseshoe crab as their kid, I was just gonna accept the chaos and hopefully things would stop being so weird. I knew I would adjust eventually, I only hoped it would be sooner rather than later. At what point does seeing a hula dancing plant and a frog flower tree watching their kid play with a brick patterned dirt shrew become normal? I figured it'd be about six months, I hoped it would be at least.
The path we were on was a bare dirt path until you reached the main path. The main path was paved stone with deliberately chiseled marks to look like separate stones had been laid out. A strange blue bunny-like creature walked past us on the road, heading in the opposite direction. A smaller and rounder blue mouse was holding their hand. It made me smile seeing that.
"Nice to see a mother and daughter together on a day like this." I thought. Most likely they were heading home, but I wasn't certain. I shook my head. These instincts were being hard to adjust to. We continued walking for a short time before I saw the main square of the town. The square was well chiseled cobblestone with lines on the ground indicated a pattern or design of some sort, but I couldn't tell from the ground. In the main square, what appeared to be shops were set up around, more stone houses either directly connected to them or standing very near by. Those must be the shopkeeper's homes. The square was surprisingly busy, creatures of varying sizes ran from one place to the next, blue and white pelicanlike birds dropped off letters from satchels resting by their sides. Several conversations could be heard which just added to the hustling, bustling atmosphere. I kind of liked how busy this town was. It certainly wasn't slow and boring like back home.
"This is the main square of town. That is the Kecleon shop, the two of them are brothers, and many of their cousins also own shops. The green one sells more general stuff, apples, berries, some seeds, and occasionally other things mostly for rescue teams such as geo pebbles, iron thorns, and reviver seeds. The purple one sells orbs and TMs. Orbs are weird, no one really knows how they work, just what they do. He also sells TMs. TMs are short for 'Technical Machine', strange disks which let you learn new moves. You shouldn't probably worry about TMs yet, they're expensive to buy and rare to find." He stated. I understood about half of that, but I understood enough to label those two as "General Shopkeepers". I would have to ask for more clarification later. We continued walking onward.
"This is the bank," Oshawott continued, "some banks are run by different Pokémon. One near a famous guild far away is run by Duskull. I've heard that in Pokémon City it's run by Persian. Some places have a deposit box where you can place money and items, but we don't have that. Our bank is run by Cofagrigus. He's a bit scary at first, but you can trust him with your money. He also loves gold bars and is willing to trade gold bars for items." I nodded my head. I wasn't sure what gold bars were, or a deposit box, but I understood that this place stored money. We turned around and headed southward for a bit.
"This is the Kangaskhan Storage. She and her sisters help store items you find in dungeons."
"Dungeons?" I asked.
"That's, that's a can of Wurmple we can go over later. For now, just know she can hold onto spare items." Oshawott responded. I nodded. I didn't understand everything, but I understood the use and importance of storage.
"Over there is Falink's link moves. They link moves together, allowing them to be used right after each other without thinking about it. I don't fully understand how it works or what it is. You'll have to ask them." I probably would have to ask, since that wasn't very specific, but I also didn't know if I needed to bother at all. Turning around once more, heading up towards the face of the design on the floor, I looked a bit more closely and somehow recognized it as a Lucario. I would certainly ask about that.
"Over here is Thievul's Lockpicks. She's a former criminal, and a little mischievous, but she's an honest worker now. Sometimes you'll find chests in dungeons, if you bring them to her you can pay her to open them. There's some rumors she's in a relationship with Cofagrigus, but there's nothing substantial to prove it." Oshawott explained.
"So, that's just about it. There are a few other places, but they don't tend to directly involve Rescue Teams, like the inn run by Minccino, and Emboar's Baked Goods. Well, Emboar's interesting. Of course, his primary job is the baker of the town, but he can cook foods for you before a journey. These foods can help you in a variety of ways. They can make you tougher, stronger, even faster or smarter depending on what you give him, but the lack of teams nearby means he doesn't tend to do that often. Maybe we'll stop by before a particularly important journey." Oshawott explained.
"Like this one?" I asked.
"Yeah, but it probably won't help. No one knows why, but it only affects those who are on a team, which we aren't yet. It's quite mysterious." He responded.
"I see." I said. I didn't get it, but I guess that's the 'mysterious' part about it. We walked back to Kangaskhan.
"Hello dears! Welcome to Kangaskhan Storage. Is there something you need?" She asked. A friendly smile was on her face, and a nearby blue creature resembling her was smiling just as much.
"Oh? Little Kangaskhan isn't in your pouch?" Oshawott wondered.
"No, sometimes they just want to wander and stretch a bit, but I keep my eye on them, don't you worry." She responded. Oshawott nodded in response.
"We would like to withdraw a Pecha Scarf, a Power Band, and a Zinc Band." Oshawott said. She turned and disappeared for a minute before returning.
"Here you go! You planning on heading out t form your rescue team today?" She asked.
Oshawott smiled as wide as he could, as he said, "Yup! I can't wait!" She smiled and laughed somewhat, clearly enjoying his enthusiasm.
"Well, good luck. And make sure you're extra careful with him." She said, pointing at me. It was then I remembered that I was in fact severely injured, and I had just agreed to go on a long and perilous journey to parts unknown to help two creatures I only knew because they helped save my life. Well, that certainly wasn't my brightest move, but I knew I'd probably have regretted not going, assuming I survived.
"We will. Don't you worry!" Oshawott stated. We waved goodbye, and Oshawott explained a few things.
"This Zinc Band increases special defense." Oshawott explained, showing a small grey-silver colored band. He handed it to Cyndaquil, who wrapped it around his right foreleg.
"This is a Power Band. It increases attack." Oshawott stated, wrapping the crimson red band around his head. He looked like a blue otter Rambo with a cowlick. As strange a sentence that may be, it was one of the cutest things I'd seen in my life. Cute doesn't even begin to describe the utter adorableness of the sight. Distracted by Rambo Otter, I barely noticed when he handed me a pink scarf. I shook my head and grabbed it. The scarf was a light pink color with no other designs. It didn't seem special, but neither did what they were wearing. The breeze wafted a scent into my nose, and I noted something smelled pleasantly fruity. A quick sniff showed that the scarf was the source of the smell.
"That is a Pecha Scarf, it prevents you from becoming poisoned." Oshawott explained. I nodded. I knew what poison was, but was being poisoned so common that there was an accessory to prevent it's occurrence? I wasn't a fan of the color, either, but I wrapped it round my neck anyway. I would rather be mildly embarrassed than end up dying to poison. Also it smelled nice, so that was a plus.
"Alright, we're all set! Are you guys ready?" Oshawott exclaimed.
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I responded. Cynaquil nodded soon after.
"Then, let's go!" Oshawott said. We headed east our of the main square, then headed to the exit in the north. We took our first steps out of town, unsure what would happen next. The sun was shining above, and the breeze was at our back. The future may have been uncertain, but our goal was clearly defined. What awaited us next was a long journey, but the three of us were ready and willing to face anything that may come our way.
Thus began our adventures. What none of us knew at the time was how important this would end up becoming. The story of how three friends were thrown together by fate. The story of how one team were faced with a monumental task that the world would never realize the importance of was about to unfold.
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And so the journey begins. Not just the character's journey, but my journey of, and return to, writing. It's been so long, I forgot how fun it was to write. I don't typically have any exact direct where I want to write, just a general idea of what's next. I find the mystery to me is much more fun than writing exactly what I have envisioned. Sometimes that general idea even changes as some really fun a ideas end up occurring, changing the direction of the story. It's always fun to write. While I may feel sad when a story I worked hard on doesn't get acknowledged, I tend to forget about that when I begin writing the next chapter.
Who knows what trials our heroes will face? If you read the original you will have some idea, but this story will certainly take a few twists and turns beyond the original. Don't read the original, it's kind of bad. Ok, it's very bad, so only read it if you like cringy stories written by a 12 year old. Honestly I'm sure someone would enjoy it, if only ironically. I hope you all enjoy this story unironically, anyone who's reading this! I don't now how often I will be updating this, but I will be updating it more often than I have been, which isn't saying much I know, but still. Once a day? Once a week? Monthly? Only time will tell, and Time doesn't like to share secrets.
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