The next few days were a blur to Formaggio as the town recovered from the legends' rampage. He was impressed by how quickly they seemed to bounce back from all of it, but he supposed when you had magical creatures that could do the impossible and made the recovery process easier, that well, yes things could be made much simpler. Which brought up the fact that he learned more about this world at this time. Learned that he was right in his beliefs that these people were too trusting as he was given thanks and praises almost constantly for his 'heroics' with no question about how he'd arrived here despite the closed routes. They also seemed to take the destruction in stride, many smiling as they worked.

From the abbreviated history lesson Professor Juniper gave him, this world had experienced very little in the way of conflict the past few decades. No wars, no poverty, really it seemed like the definition of heaven to him as even when crime did make an appearance there were usually some good doers out there who would stomp it down. Even the most recent troubles experienced by the region, the Ultra Wormholes, were a mostly tame issue as it usually just meant a few confused Pokemon with the Entei incident being the worst thus far. The cities had just been closed off from each other as a precaution more than anything else.

Really, he was finding himself more and more okay with the concept of being in this world as the days went on, he'd have all but accepted it and even the Professor's offer to stick around as extra help in the lab (with good pay she'd assured him) were it not for the grating feeling that he still had work to do. As fun as it was to learn about these creatures with a purple and white one called a purrloin having as much of a knack for trouble as he did, or to poke at Bianca's father (and later Cheren when they were properly introduced) he had to remember his teammates back home. While they were quite literally a world away, the mission they had undergone prior to his arrival here was a dangerous one that had already gotten two of their own killed, images that would haunt his nightmares for years. If even trying to get the small amount of information he had landed him in such a mess he could only imagine the danger they were in and he had no way to know if they could make it.

It ate at him more and more, despite how badly he wanted to just enjoy the easy life. And much like he had let his heart get the better of him in rescuing Juniper, it was chipping away at him, finally resulting in him walking into the Professor's Lab again.

The lab had received the worst of Entei's attack, but through the help of a few Pokemon which looked uncomfortably like half naked men, it was already making quick progress with many of the researchers already on top of their work. He couldn't get behind that mindset as in their shoes he'd have happily used it as an excuse to get off of work a couple weeks at the least.

Walking in, he was greeted by a few smiles, hellos, and waves that were alien to him as he never really got treated kindly by people back home, even his own team often treated him like an annoyance. But here they were calling him a hero, and it honestly did feel nice even if it was a lie.

"Formaggio, good to see you!" Professor Juniper spoke as she came out of one of the recovered rooms, carrying a few papers. "Is everything alright today?" She asked with a smile, despite the severity of the smoke inhalation, the health technology in this world was impressive enough that in a few days she'd been back on her feet again.
Her bright attitude was nice at least, he himself appeared to bounce back pretty well but most of that was under layers of masks and deflections, "I...wanted to ask about getting back to my shithole. This place is..nice and all I guess but I'm not exactly thrilled about the idea of another monster falling from the sky. Besides...I have...a life to get back to." Formaggio said, running his hand through his buzzed grey hair.

Setting the papers down, Juniper whirled around to face him almost in the same motion. Really it was impressive the energy she always seemed to have. "Oh yes don't worry I haven't forgotten about your issue." she assured him, "You see, this is outside of my own specialty but I have a colleague on Route 15 who has some experience with the transferral of Pokemon across long distances. With Ultra Wormholes becoming such an issue, he's been researching them more thoroughly so may have more answers for you than I do."

"Route 15….Shit something tells me that's not exactly down the street." he grumbled, any flicker of hope he had quickly dying out.

"A few towns away, and as you know with the situation going on, especially recently, we can't just wander from town to town but there has been an exception made." she explained, rifling in her coat from one pocket to the next, silently cursing a moment before finishing with an "AHA." as she pulled out a round object Formaggio had grown more familiar with. A Pokeball.

Immediately, Formaggio knew where this was heading, "Woah woah, you want me to walk there? With one of these pokemon things?" he asked, looking at the ball.

"Oh come on!" She insisted, practically shoving the Pokeball into his hands, "The only people currently allowed to travel are those who are completing the gym challenge. The Unova region has been separated into 8 'zones' for now so you're allowed to travel between them by beating the gym leader of that area. This is probably going to be your best chance."

Looking at the pokeball, he couldn't deny that a part of him certainly wondered what kind of creature lay within. "Aren't the people who usually do these things kids?"
"Usually but not always. Really you're overthinking this 'Maggio so why don't you at least try? It's not as if there's anything else you'd be doing here."

Formaggio sighed, particularly when she used the little nickname. She wasn't wrong, he really had nothing else to do especially if there was no other way to get the help he needed. "Well, fine I guess it can't be helped then huh?" he said as he tossed the ball, startling himself as he forgot about how bright they could be.

When the light diminished, he wasn't entirely sure what he was looking at. The creature wasn't all that tall, barely reaching his knee, and was yellow and green in color with a body that was fairly stocky, building up into a hump. Bizarrely, surrounded by a green pattern it's hump had a hole in it, "Nuuumm…" the creature hummed in a lazy voice. It was certainly strange, but the dopey looking face it had was enough to endear it to Formaggio….somewhat.

"This is a Numel. Poor little guy was one of the Pokemon who got displaced recently. Traditionally our fire starter for Unova is a Pokemon called Tepig but as Numel is a fire type too I figured that he would still fit into tradition. You seem pretty laid back and so are they. I think you two could be great friends!"

Looking down at it, Formaggio squatted down to be more eye to eye with the Numel. "A fire type huh? Shit the universe is really having fun shoving fire in my face…" he sighed, surprised as the creature pushed it's face closer to him with those big sad eyes looking back. He couldn't help but pat it on the head which the Numel gladly appreciated as they pushed their head into his hand, "It's kinda cute I guess."

"Sooo?" she asked, expectant like a small child asking for something. "At least try it? The both of you are far from home so I'm sure it could be helpful, for both of you."

The Numel gave a noise similar to a "Moo" in response, seemingly in agreement with Professor Juniper. Turning its head to look back over at Formaggio.

"You met me just a few days ago, I told you I'm not a good person, you know so little about me and you're just giving me a creature who can do who knows what and sending me on my way?" he asked, he would never understand how anyone could be so trusting.

"A bad person would have let me die, would have let the town burn to the ground. I can't speak for what your life was back in your world, or what crimes you committed, but you're here now. And I think you should make the best of it while we find you a way home. I've already prepared a bag for everything you need to travel. " she said, an assistant passing by handed her just that.

"Well, since you're so insistent on it, fine I guess it won't kill me...probably." he chuckled, looking back down to Numel remembering how he was told Pokemon are fairly intelligent, at least he wouldn't be alone. "You need a name then huh?" immediately some not so wholesome names came to mind, but so did something else, "Texas Twister, Texas for short." he said, patting the Numel, now Texas, as he straightened up.

"Wonderful! I'll let the Striaton City Gym leaders know to expect you." she smiled, practically shoving the bag into his hands. "As part of the precautions given by the Ultra Wormhole situation you'll only be allowed to catch one pokemon per area you travel but it shouldn't be an issue. Then there's also a few other things you need to know and …."

As she trailed off, Formaggio turned his attention back to Texas. He could handle this, because he'd certainly done far worse.


After another few lectures on the basics of Pokemon battling and catching, as well as some goodbyes to Bianca and Cheren who would be setting off on their own journey later in the week, Formaggio was on his way. It all still felt so strange to him how this world operated in a way that was so alien to what he knew, though he supposed in a weird way he was the alien here. Looking down at the little creature he realized resembled a camel, it seemed that Texas had no issue with his new trainer being out of place in the new world. Formaggio was impressed by how much he seemed to understand.

Though, even if the little guy understood a lot of what was said, he was still fairly naive particularly when he had joked about setting Bianca's dad on fire when they went to say goodbye. He'd had to learn how to use the Pokeball fast in order to avoid an incident from the Numel's enthusiasm to commit arson.

Wandering through Route 1 with little issues from any local or foreign Pokemon to the point in which Formaggio was actually a bit disappointed as the idea of catching Pokemon was becoming more and more interesting the more he mulled it over in his head. While he couldn't quite wrap around how they could just exist in the little balls, Texas didn't seem bothered when he'd placed him in the Pokeball for a bit just to test it out. Given his stand back in his world allowed him to shrink anything, he wondered briefly if maybe it shrunk the Pokemon down, but that seemed more ridiculous to him and would mean that Pokemon were constantly being shaken around with no apparent evidence of it.

"You sure you're alright coming along with me? I've done some pretty messed up things you know." Formaggio said as Texas walked beside him, keeping up a surprisingly good pace despite his stubby legs. Really he was just looking for a way to break up the silence in the air outside of the calls of whatever freaky animals lay behind the trees.

"Nuuuum." Texas replied, first with a head tilt then with a nod as he sped up slightly, having fallen behind somewhat when he took the moment to think.

Formaggio smiled, patting Texas' head as he too sped up. According to Juniper his first stop, Accumula Town, wasn't far away. "That doesn't bother you? Heh, maybe you're an asshole under that dopey face of yours. What if I told you I'm fairly sure I was shot and burned to death back in my world before landing in this mess?"

Texas jumped in front of his path looking up with concern in his big eyes. "Nuuum?!" he jumped, Formaggio couldn't help but compare him to the sad dogs he'd seen once or twice on the streets of Napoli.

"Shit you understood that?" he chuckled, already spotting the beginning of another town in their view. "Listen, it's not like it's a big deal. Honestly I probably had it coming. But whatever. For right now I just need to get you and me to wherever this Gym is so I can be on my way out of this world." Formaggio sighed and sure enough Accumula Town was right there. Hell the walk had barely taken 10 minutes yet all the people in Nuvema treated it like some perilous journey. From what he'd been told, kids as young as 10 would have gone on journeys until the Ultra Wormholes disrupted the usual routine this year so maybe that was what had made everyone so paranoid.

As they entered the town, it was evident that it was a good deal larger than Nuvema Town with several towering buildings and one marked by a red roof which he had been informed were called 'Pokemon Centers'. Since Texas and him had yet to actually run into a battle he decided to ignore it for now as the little guy didn't seem to need anything to be fixed up. Instead, whenever he glanced back to the Numel he saw those same sad eyes as before. Why the Pokemon was so worried, hell, how much it actually understood, was lost on Formaggio. But perhaps not as lost as he was going to be as they walked up to some sort of demonstration going on.

Inwardly, he groaned, anticipating another annoying roadblock in his life, but he promptly became more interested when he saw the appearance of the group that had caught the attention of a small crowd. Dressed like they were a bunch of Renaissance fair wannabes in grey and white armor with a stylized, 'P' on their chest. Rolling his eyes, he turned to leave when the leader of the group spoke. A tall man with flowing green hair and an unusual dress of colorful fabrics and a monocle type feature on one of his eyes.

"Greetings! I, Ghetsis, speak to you today ladies and gentleman on behalf of Team Plasma. To speak about the liberation of Pokemon from the hands of humans." Almost immediately there were murmurs of concern and confusion as the crowd took in the sudden news as the man, Ghetis, continued, "While many of you certainly must be calling me awful names for even suggesting the notion, afterall, you say, humans and Pokemon have coexisted and worked together for centuries, surely there would be no reason to change that? However... Is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans... only assume that this is the truth?"

Formaggio turned away, encouraging Texas to do so as well with a wave of his hand. Frankly speaking, this wasn't his circus and certainly not his monkeys. What was he to know about whatever political drama was going on in this world, and more so, why would he care? From how Juniper had phrased it Pokemon were treated even better than most pets in his own world and if they were truly unhappy they would have the intelligence to know what to do to leave. Even with how sad looking Texas was, according to Juniper he packed enough fire to cremate Formaggio for the second time.

His departure was noticed immediately however as gloved hands grabbed his arms roughly. Without even looking, he swung his arm out to shove them away. One of the members of Team Plasma from what it looked like. He was only kept from punching their lights out when their leader addressed him.

"Do my words of truth disturb you? Is that why you're looking to leave so soon?" the man asked, an insufferable smug face as he addressed Formaggio.

But if he was good at anything, it was playing cool when the spotlight was on me, "Nah I don't give much of a crap over whatever bullshit you're out here peddling. I have shit I actually have to do instead of listening to this." he said with a smirk, attempting to take another step but walking instead into another Team Plasma grunt. "Oh for fuck's sake…"

"Look at your Numel." Ghetsis said now that Formaggio was a captive audience if by nothing else than social conventions, "It's a Pokemon that lives in the volcanoes of Hoenn and yet you've brought it all the way to the cooler Unova. Or maybe you took advantage of one of these Ultra Wormholes that have been plaguing the region to capture it. Tell me, do either of these sound right to you? This is one of the many reasons in which we believe in the liberation of Pokemon. Afterall, it's due to human meddling that these Wormholes began in the first place but the issue of displacing Pokemon from their natural homes is one that has been of concern for years." the later of his shtick he directed to the crowd and for a moment Formaggio saw a few faces actually considering it. One man even looked pensive at his blue and red pokeball.

"Yeah well I'd say hanging around me is probably better than wandering into a lake or something." he shrugged, "It's fire type right? So I'm pretty sure having a babysitter is better than being lost somewhere all alone." Formaggio replied, shit wait, did that make Juniper his babysitter?

"Hmm, but should that be your choice to make?" he replied with a condescending shake of his head. "Thank you all for your time. And do consider my words, are Pokemon really your friends? Or rather your tools for you to simply pluck from the barrel at your own convenience?" With that, the strange man and his group quickly filed away.

"What a bunch of assholes." Formaggio huffed, looking down to Texas who had hidden behind him during the altercation. "You're fine with me right? At least for a while?" he asked, not realizing he'd actually cared about that until now.

As the crowd disbursed, Texas looked up to him and gave a small nod. "Num…"

"That's good at least, I'd hate for you to roast me in my sleep. Now why don't we find a way out of this stupid-"

"Wait." Turning to his side was a young man, likely only a year or two younger than Formaggio if that with tired eyes and green hair that looked far too similar to Ghetsis to be coincidence. "Your Pokemon...he's reaching out to you but you're too blind to see it, you can't hear his voice."

"Fuck another one." Formaggio grunted, "Listen I don't want to hear anymore of this-"

The young man didn't let him finish, stepping closer and rambling on quickly in his next sentence, "Let me hear them, let me hear your Pokemon speak." he said, tossing out a Pokeball that landed just before him and Texas.

That was certainly one way to start a battle.