Riolu awoke with a shuddering gasp. She found herself at the small camp, her back still against the tree. A blanket of mist permeated the early-morning forest, and the campfire was now only a few smoldering embers. Light and Violet were having a hushed discussion across the camp, while Darly was nowhere to be seen. Dante was kneeling down to Riolu with a furrowed brow.
"Are you OK?" he asked, concern apparent in his tone.
Riolu swallowed and took a moment to find her voice. "Had a nightmare," she croaked. "I'm fine."
"You're crying."
Riolu rubbed her eyes with a paw, wiping away the wetness. "I'm fine," she repeated. "Just a particularly bad one. Are we leaving soon?" she asked hoarsely, nodding towards the discussion across the camp.
"We're going to eat first. You're not hungry at all?"
"No. I definitely should be though, huh?"
"Yeah," Dante said. "Especially since you threw up whatever was in your stomach before."
"Wait, what would have been in my stomach? If I was transformed from being a human, could my stomach contents have come with?"
"That's one theory. Unfortunately, your vomit didn't look especially identifiable."
"You looked at it?" Riolu laughed. "That's kind of weird, dude."
"It's my job," Dante said defensively.
"Your job? What exactly do all of you do?"
"Well, the short version is we're all part of something called the Explorer Coalition. Those three," Dante said, gesturing vaguely towards their company, "are an exploration team, meaning that they handle operations inside mystery dungeons—things like rescues, retrieval, and charting unexplored dungeons. I was hired on as an analyst, and I tagged along on this expedition to gather data about dungeons. Believe it or not, they were meant to keep me safe."
Light shouted from across the clearing: "And we would have, if you hadn't gone off on your own and stepped on a warp trap!"
Dante's tail flame flared. "And I'm glad I did! We could have entirely missed Riolu thanks to your lazy exploration," he snapped harshly.
Before Light could retort, Darly silently glided down into the center of camp, breaking the line of sight between them. In her claws, she held five small packages as well as a large metallic canteen. After landing gracefully, she used her talons to arrange four of the packages on a rock nearby the firepit, left the canteen alongside, and took back off—taking the remaining package to a nearby tree branch.
"Thanks, Darly!" Light chirped, doing an impressive job of pretending that he wasn't about to launch into a screaming match with Dante. Dante's tail flame was still intense, but he stayed silent as the four Pokémon in the clearing converged around the fallen log, each of them taking a package. Riolu followed suit.
Each package consisted of sturdy brown paper tied together with thick twine. Riolu brought her package back to the tree she had slept against and sat down with it. She began picking at the package with her paws but found herself struggling to open it.
"Are you having trouble adjusting to your new body?" Dante asked, peering over as Riolu fumbled with the package. He had a strange tone of voice that Riolu couldn't quite place. Perhaps he felt bad about his earlier outburst.
"Sorta. It's mainly that I'm used to having opposable thumbs. These wrists aren't exceptionally flexible, either," Riolu explained as she worked. "Ahh, got it," she said as the package opened. She had held the twine between her first and second 'fingers' and pulled—the friction hurt a bit, but she was happy to have opened it herself.
Inside, Riolu was relieved to find a familiar food: the package was full of spiced rice, as well as a handful of nuts that looked similar to almonds—though they were a bit more round. Riolu happily began eating—this time only using her paws to hold the open package up to her mouth. Soon, the package was empty and Riolu was satisfied.
Looking around the camp, Riolu found that she had finished eating well before anyone else. It was amusing to see the different methods of eating employed by her company—Violet had placed the package on the ground so she could graze like a deer, while Light was taking tiny handfuls and nibbling like mad. It was a bit difficult to see from the ground, but Darly was using the large feathers at the tip of her wings as spoons. Finally, Dante sat nearby, absentmindedly picking at his food with his mind clearly elsewhere.
Riolu held the empty package between her paws and pushed herself to her feet. "Hey," she said, pausing to give everyone a moment to redirect their attention to her. "What do I do with this?"
Violet's head came up. "Just leave it on the log, please," she instructed. "Darly'll collect it."
Riolu complied. She then returned to her familiar tree and began the wait for everyone to finish eating.
One by one, the Pokémon in the clearing brought their empty packages to the center. Violet was the last to do so, and when she did, she addressed the entire group: "Everyone ready to go?" she asked.
Everyone nodded or otherwise gave the affirmative so Darly descended from the branch, collected the empty packages, and flew off somewhere into the forest. Light scrambled up a nearby tree while Violet moved to the edge of the clearing. "Let's go," she said, beckoning them with her head. "I hope you're ready for questions, Riolu."
Riolu and Dante joined Violet before they all began walking through the forest. "Yup, go for it," Riolu said.
"Dante said something like 'from what she can remember,'" Violet said. "Exactly how much can you remember?"
"Well… I remember that I used to be human, and I remember the human world," Riolu said, pausing before continuing. She realized that what she was about to say might sound suspicious. "I don't remember specifics about who I was, or what my life was like, though."
Thankfully, Violet didn't seem to disbelieve her. "And what is the human world like?" she asked, eyes burning with curiosity.
"Oh, the terrain, at least, seems the same—assuming you've got variety like mountains, oceans, deserts. I guess the main difference is probably humans versus Pokémon: we have nothing remotely like you in our world."
"What are humans like, then?"
Riolu hummed, looking at the sky as she walked. "That's hard to answer. Is there a lot of species of Pokémon, would you say?"
Dante spoke up, giving Riolu a quick answer: "Hundreds, at least."
"Humans are a single species, and in my world, they're the only species capable of speech or higher thought," Riolu said. "And even among the animals—that is, the non-humans—there's nothing that can breathe fire or anything like that."
"So, it's like there's only humans and ferals?" Violet asked. "That sounds terrible…"
Riolu frowned. "Well, not all of them are hostile. We've even domesticated a few of them."
"Domesticated?" Violet asked, her head tilting quizzically.
"Oh, uhh," Riolu stuttered. Explaining domestication to someone who had never interacted with an animal was daunting. "Well, we're getting off track. Any more general questions?"
"Yeah!" Light shouted from above. He had been keeping up with the group from the tree branches. "What do humans look like?"
"Haaah," Riolu sighed. "This is harder than I thought. Is there anything I can draw with?"
"When we get back to camp, we'll be getting a full report from you," Dante said. "Right now, we're just curious."
"Well... Humans have a similar structure to Riolu, I guess—that is, two arms, two legs, standing upright. They've got mostly hairless skin, though. Uhh, my knees are backwards, and I didn't have a tail as a human."
"You said you had opposable thumbs, too," Dante added.
"That's right," Riolu acknowledged. "And I guess it's worth mentioning that I didn't have a snout, either."
Violet frowned. "On second thought, maybe we should wait for the drawing," she said. "This is hard to visualize. Dante, will we be able to get access to the report?"
"I would think so."
Light let out a shrill laugh from above them. "This is so exciting!" he grinned. "I can't believe we're part of a such a huge discovery."
Violet and Light launched into an animated discussion about the significance of Riolu being found in the dungeon while Dante quietly listened in. Riolu, however, stopped paying attention and descended into her own thoughts. This was her second day in an unfamiliar world, and it was beginning to set in that she was likely here permanently. The expected response to her situation would be grief—and perhaps it initially was—but Riolu realized she now felt no such thing. She had no memories to haunt her, and no lost attachments to mourn, so she may as well enjoy herself. She mostly just felt excitement and a deep desire to explore this unfamiliar world.
As the day went on, the forest warmed up. Sunbeams peeking through the leaves warmed Riolu's fur, and the continuous discussion in the background was strangely soothing to her. They walked and walked and walked, but Riolu's experience didn't become any less enjoyable. Do Pokémon have more stamina than humans? I feel like I should have been exhausted a long time ago. Riolu finally began listening to the conversation again.
"—ot exactly the easiest thing, organizing a camp like ours," Dante was saying. "I honestly think it's pretty impressive that Absol runs it as well as she does."
"I get that it's difficult, but mistakes still happen a ton," Light said, still gliding above the group. "Can't we hire more people for organization?"
"Sure, but the Explorer Coalition has only been around since the dungeons started showing up, which makes it what—about three months old, now? We're still settling into a good system. Efficient organization and finding good Pokémon both take time."
"Hey," Riolu interrupted. "I have a question. We've been walking all day, but I'm not tired in the least. Is that normal for Pokémon?"
"Sort of," Violet answered. "Light and I are fine because doing this is our job, but Dante's job very rarely has him traveling. So, like most Pokémon would be, he's tired."
Riolu looked over at Dante and was surprised to find that exhaustion was apparent in his posture. He had just been talking, and his voice sounded normal. Was he putting extra effort into not sounding tired?
"You're a bit of a special case," Violet continued. "Riolu are naturally athletic and have famously high endurance, so walking for a day isn't much for you. In fact, you probably could have been running this whole time and not been winded."
"And I'm naturally like this? That's incredible."
Violet smiled. "Yup! Must be nice," she said. "We're almost there, by the way. The camp is over the next hill. First thing we're going to do is report in, so just follow me, Riolu."
Riolu nodded. She didn't know what to expect from the camp, but she did feel excited—she had no doubt there would be a wealth of new and interesting things there. She cast another gaze over at Dante. Riolu still had trouble reading emotions on the non-human faces of her company, but she thought she could see relief on his eyes—probably at the impending end of their journey. As nice as it was to have an athletic body and not have to deal with exhaustion, it was terribly awkward for her to be fine while Dante was exhausted. Riolu hated the feeling.
As the group crested the hill, the camp became visible. In a massive natural clearing, dozens and dozens of tents created a small temporary city. The colors and sizes of the tents varied wildly, and their placement seemed random and disorganized. In the web of space between the tents there was constant motion—Pokémon of all shapes and sizes flowed through the camp and in and out of flapped doorways. Even from up on the hill, Riolu could hear the constant din of life; the sounds of movement, conversations, and laughing all emanated from the lively camp.
As Violet led them closer, Light glided down from behind and perched on her back. Darly—absent since the morning when they set off—also emerged from behind and casually landed beside Riolu, keeping up with the group by hopping along the ground. Darly also carried a satchel in her beak, similar to the one across Dante's chest.
All together, the group entered the base camp. As she followed Violet through the maze of tents, Riolu shamelessly gawked at the crowd of Pokémon flowing past her. The variety was shocking: she saw everything from relatively normal looking animals to literal living rocks walking through camp. The smells of a barnyard, fresh grass clippings, steel, and more mingled together to create an incredibly unique scent. Quite a few of the Pokémon passing Riolu were levitating as if it were perfectly normal. Riolu made a mental note: if she was going to stay in this world, she would need to put a lot of effort into learning about these creatures.
Eventually, Violet stopped in front of a tent. It was fairly large, with a light gray coloring and a simple curtain functioning as an entry door. Riolu could just hear muffled conversation coming from the inside over the din of the camp.
"Absol," Violet called, projecting her voice through the entrance of the tent. "Can we come in? We have an important report."
The quiet conversation inside the tent stopped. After a moment, a voice from within said a short phrase—We'll finish this later, if Riolu had to guess. Then, a louder "Come in," was audible. It sounded like an elderly woman, but Riolu knew better than to expect a human.
The five of them filed into the tent. The tent itself was split into two or three rooms, with the main room being pretty barebones. A low wooden desk was front and center, and a few small chests of drawers sat in the back. Reclining behind the desk was a large, white-furred creature. It wasn't quite comparable to any animals Riolu could remember from the human world, but a cat was the closest she could think of. In addition to its face being hairless, revealing its dark blue skin, it had a large scythe-shaped appendage on the right side of its head. It had an air of regality about it, though the fringes of its fur gave away its age. Was this the owner of the voice Riolu heard from outside?
Though the elderly cat-creature was large, the thing standing behind it was larger still. A strikingly green reptile towered over everyone in the room. It looked down on Riolu with heavy lidded eyes and what she could have sworn was a smirk. Lining its back was two rows of what appeared to be seed pods, and its arms were crossed across its scaled chest.
"Well?" the cat-creature asked, confirming to Riolu that the old woman's voice was hers. "What's so important that it couldn't be put in a report?"
"Dante?" Violet prompted, turning her head to him.
Without hesitation, Dante launched into an explanation: "I joined this team's expedition to gather data, and we ended up finding this Riolu inside the dungeon. Based on her memories and where she was found, I think it's possible she may be from another dimension. Beyond the fact that this is probably important enough to notify you directly, we need to figure out what to do with her."
During Dante's speech, the cat-creature began staring at Riolu with red, piercing eyes. Once Dante finished, she gave a subtle nod to the reptile standing behind her without breaking eye contact with Riolu. The reptile silently moved to a different room of the tent. As it left, Riolu noticed that its tail looked like a small tree, and it had large grass-like spines on its forearms. "So you think you're from another dimension?" the cat-creature asked.
Riolu flinched at the intensity of her voice. "Well, this definitely isn't the world I'm familiar with, and this definitely isn't my body. That's all I know."
"Would you consent to us looking into your memories?"
"Into my—" Riolu blurted out. "You can do that?"
"Yes," the cat-creature said patiently. "Certain Pokémon are capable of this. Do you consent?"
Riolu took a moment to consider. As far as she knew, the only memories she had were just information about the human world, and barely a full day of traveling. Having her memories read would be uncomfortable, but it's not like she had enough of them to have any secrets. Plus, having her memories perused would much easier than trying to describe humans—or even than trying to draw them.
Meanwhile, the tall reptile returned to the room. Following behind it was a bipedal feline creature about as tall as Riolu. It had a patterned blue/white pelt, and observed its surroundings with wide, alien-like eyes. As the reptile returned to its place in the back of the room, the feline stood to the side of the desk.
"I consent," Riolu finally responded. "What do I need to do?"
"You do not need to do anything," the wide-eyed cat said. He sounded like a young man, though his voice was monotone. "I am Mini. I will be searching your memories. Is there anything personal that you want me to stay away from?"
Riolu was surprised—she wouldn't have thought that would be an option. "I don't think so," she said. "You won't find all that much in here."
Mini gave a nod before his eyes began glowing with a pink light. Riolu was expecting to feel something, but the only indication that he had begun was the glow. The room was quiet, and Riolu was beginning to feel uncomfortable with Mini's piercing stare.
The elderly cat-creature broke the silence: "We can talk while he works. It won't interfere. Do you have a name, child?"
"If I did in the past, I don't remember it. I've been using Riolu—Dante told me that's my species."
"Good to meet you, then, Riolu," she said. "I am Absol. Is it safe to assume you wish to return to your world?"
"No, I don't think so," Riolu said, earning some strange looks. "I remember general things about the world I came from, but nothing having to do with my personal life. I don't really have ties to it anymore, and although I've only been here for about a day, this world seems a lot more interesting than mine. I want to stay and explore it."
Absol maintained eye contact with Riolu for a long moment. "Interesting way to phrase it, although deciding what to do with you just got a bit more difficult. You four," she said, looking past Riolu towards Dante and the exploration team. "What is your impression of Riolu?"
"Quiet," Violet answered. "Not in a bad way, though, I think. You were in the dungeon with her, Dante. What do you think?"
"Quiet," Dante agreed. "Intelligent, I think. Seems kind."
Riolu was baffled—she didn't know what to expect for responses, but praise was not it. She had been with this group for about a day, and done what? Follow them around and fail to describe a human?
Absol hummed to herself and closed her eyes. "Let's wait for Mini to finish, then."
"Oh, I have been done for a while," Mini said. Riolu hadn't noticed, but his eyes had stopped glowing at some point. "I did not want to interrupt."
"Ah! That was quick," Absol said. "I take it she wasn't lying about there not being much there?"
"Yes. Her only concrete memories start with her waking up in the dungeon. She also has very complex memories involving another world, though nothing personal to go with them. She has been telling the complete truth."
"Hmm. I think we'll need at least a day to organize things. Can any of you take her in temporarily?" Absol asked the group.
Dante spoke up: "It'd make sense for me to. She'll need the archives to learn basic things about our world."
Absol nodded. "I agree. Riolu will stay with Dante for the time being. Is that all?"
"Yes ma'am," Violet said, dipping her head. When Absol dipped her head in response, Violet led the group out of the tent and back into the maze that was the base camp. The sun was quickly setting over the camp, and much fewer Pokémon wandered. The camp itself seemed to be growing quieter. Violet led them to a clearing and stopped, turning around to let Darly, Riolu, and Dante spread out in front of her.
The second they were stopped, Light let out a massive sigh of relief from Violet's back. "I hate doing that. Those three are terrifying."
"You're the only one affected so much," Violet teased. "Even Riolu was at least able to speak! But anyways, this is our tent, Riolu," she said, nodding towards a particular green tent. "If you or Dante need anything, you two can feel free to get us. We'll be staying at base camp for the next few days."
"Thanks, guys," Dante said. "See you."
With that, the exploration team left Dante and Riolu, entering their tent. Dante wasted no time in motioning for Riolu to follow him through the camp.
"Hey, so do you live in the archives or something?" Riolu asked as they walked. "You said it'd make sense for you to house me because I would want to use the archives."
"That's right. I manage the archives, and also live in them."
"You manage them?" Riolu asked, surprised. "That seems like an important job."
"It is," he said, voice glowing with pride. "But you know, you surprised me back there. You really have no interest in returning to your world?"
"Maybe I will in the future, especially if my memories come back. But for now, I feel like I'm content staying here."
"Mm," Dante grunted. "Well, I'm sure you'll be welcome. At the very least, Absol will want to keep you close." As he spoke, he slowed to a stop outside of an especially tall purple tent. "Here we are," he said, pushing aside the flaps as he entered.
Riolu followed him inside. The archives held multiple massive shelves packed with paper-stuffed folders, as well as leather-bound books of all shapes and sizes. High above, a platform hung from the 'ceiling' of the tent creating a makeshift attic. Just inside the entrance, to Riolu's right, a low table held its own collection of loose papers. On the topmost paper Riolu could see a collection of glyphs resembling footprints.
"Welcome to the archives. My room is through here," Dante said, gesturing to a doorway as he moved towards it. "Tomorrow, I'll get together some books for you to start with."
Riolu didn't follow—something inside her was averse to sleeping in the same room as Dante, so she inspected the upper platform. A ladder hung from the side, and although she couldn't quite see if the platform was completely empty, Riolu couldn't see anything on top of it.
"What is that up there?" she asked, pointing towards the platform.
Dante stopped as he followed Riolu's gesture. "It's meant to be used for storage, but it's too much of a pain to get things up there for me. Why?"
"Can I sleep up there?"
Dante turned to stare at her, his face unreadable. "I guess so?" he said, sounding indecisive. "If that's what you want, feel free. Just let me know if you need anything, and if you're still asleep by the time Absol summons you, I'll wake you up. Good night." With that, Dante left Riolu alone in the archives.
Once he had left, Riolu poked through the pile of papers near the door. It seemed that not just the first, but all of the papers in the stack were covered in the strange footprint glyphs. Riolu left the stack where it was and started rooting through a random shelf. Every paper she could find was the same. Well, it seems like I can't read in this world. Something to deal with tomorrow.
After returning the shelves to how she found them, Riolu climbed the ladder to the upper platform. She found it to be empty, so she crawled onto it and flipped onto her back. She was expecting the hard wood to be uncomfortable, but she settled in easily. Before she knew it, Riolu was already asleep.
Lann the Sceptile hadn't spoken during the meeting with Riolu, Dante, and the exploration team. He wasn't there to talk—as the enforcer of the Explorer Coalition, he was there to ensure Absol's safety. That was the official reason, at least, but Absol didn't need the protection—she simply enjoyed his company and insight.
Just as it wasn't strictly Lann's job to talk during the meeting, it wasn't his job to think about the contents of the conversation. Regardless, he had some pressing thoughts, and intended to bring them up once their guests had left. Absol, however, beat him to the punch—she spoke almost immediately upon the group's departure.
"Well, Mini?" Absol prompted, turning to the small Meowstic. "What did you want to say?"
Ah, Mini noticed as well and notified Absol via telepathy. Good, Lann thought.
"Our current understand of dimensions has the possible variety between them being massive. The fact that Riolu speaks the same language as us alone is suspicious," Mini explained.
"Ah, but from our data it seems that any dimensions the dungeons brush up against are very similar to our own," Absol said, with a gentle smile. "Is it really that suspicious?" Absol wasn't necessarily pointing out flaws in Mini's thinking—one of Absol's core principles was thoroughness, so every little assumption and belief would need to be reexamined.
"I agree," Mini said. "That is a possible explanation. However, there is more to consider. For example: how and why did her form change to become a Riolu? Moreover, how is it possible that she has exactly zero personal memories, but can remember the world she lived in?"
This time, Lann spoke up: "She finds herself in a world that speaks her language, she was given a form that would allow her to fit in, and any memories that might make her want to return to her world are gone. It's all much too convenient."
"Precisely," Mini acknowledged. "Furthermore, large scale memory loss is typically very imprecise and damaging. Memories are generally dependent on one another, so even a single missing memory can create a domino effect of missing dependencies. Riolu's memory loss is comfortable for her, and was far too surgical to be accidental."
"Are you certain?" Absol pressed, her demeanor suddenly becoming deadly serious. "There isn't another possibility?"
"Random chance cannot know the difference between personal and general memories," Mini said, voice as monotone as ever. "The odds for this to happen naturally are unfathomably small."
Absol screwed her eyes shut, clearly deep in thought. Neither Lann nor Mini spoke while she did so—they knew she simply needed a moment to reach a decision. After a few long moments, Absol's eyes shot open.
"OK. We'll operate under the assumption that Riolu was sent here purposefully, though there's not much we can do with that on its own."
"And what do we do with Riolu herself? Hire her?" Lann asked.
"Yes. We'll see if she's interested in being Dante's assistant for the time being—Arceus knows he needs the company, if not the help. Even if she's the pawn in some grand scheme, without her memories, she's an innocent. We need to treat her as such."
"If we are decided, I will go back to sleep," Mini said. "May I?"
"Of course," Absol said, standing. "I'll join you."
"I as well," Lann said.
As the trio retired to their room, Lann considered what they had learned. He couldn't imagine what kind of reason would be behind taking someone's memories and sending them to another dimension, but he felt sure that they would eventually find out—for better or for worse.
