(In an unknown place, at an unknown time….)
Lighting cracked from above. Thunder roared from the heavens. Light was absent, the dark thunder clouds obscuring the sky completely. Through the maelstrom of turbulence and confusion, some distressed voices could be heard.
"Whoa! Wh-wh-whoa…!"
"Are…Are you OK?!"
Lightning continued to flash, the wind picking up speed. The sky roared louder still, the heaven's fury increasing in magnitude.
The voices continued in short bursts.
"No! Don't let go!"
"Just a little longer…Come on! Hang on!"
Another flash of lightning.
"N-n-no! I can't…hold on…!"
Another clap of thunder.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!"
Regina wasn't sure what happened afterwards, but she could hear the sound of waves crashing against a shore, and the sun was shining down on her. It sounded as though the storm had passed.
Where am I? Regina wondered. She tried to open her eyes, but her body refused to cooperate. She felt wet and sore all over.
I can't…drifting off…
That was the last thought Regina had before losing consciousness.
"Hmmm…" A pink Pokémon paced back and forth in front of a gated tent. The sun was beginning its descent, coating the sky in a warm yellow. In front of the Pokémon was a grate of some sorts that covered a hole in the ground. The Pokémon was talking to herself, as if trying to psych herself up.
"No. Today's the day. No more running. You have to be brave," the Pokémon said. With that little pep talk, the Pokémon stepped onto the grate on the ground."
Suddenly, an unknown voice rang out. "Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"
Another voice followed. "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
"The footprint is Skitty's! The footprint is Skitty's!" The first voice shouted.
"Waah!" The Skitty ran off the grate in fright. She curled into a ball, breathing heavily.
The voices didn't return after that. When the Skitty was sure she was alone and safe, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew!"
"But…" The Skitty looked very down, "I couldn't bring myself to do it, after all. I told myself over and over that today's the day, but…"
As she spoke, she put a strange stone on the ground. "I thought that holding onto my precious treasure would inspire me…that it would give me courage…" she said sadly.
After a few minutes of self-loathing, the Skitty shook her head and picked up the stone. "I still can't do it. This is so discouraging…" She walked away, looking down at the floor.
As the Skitty left, a pair of Pokémon peeked out from behind some nearby bushes."Yo. Did you see that, Zubat?" the first Pokémon asked.
"Sure did, Koffing," Zubat replied. "That little wimp had something on her, that's for sure."
"Do we go after it?" Koffing asked.
Zubat nodded "We do."
The Pokémon pair left in pursuit of the dejected Skitty.
Meanwhile, the dejected Pokémon walked and walked, and eventually ended up at the beach. At this time, the sun had set considerably, though it was shining well above the horizon. Accompanying the ocean sea, many bubbles floated out and about.
"Wow! What a beautiful scene!" The Skitty exclaimed happily.
She continued to watch the ocean and the bubbles in peace. "When the weather's good at sunset, the Krabby come out to blow bubbles. The light reflecting off the bubbles, and off the ocean's waves, those little rainbows that are formed…it's all beautiful to me." The Skitty smiled wistfully, looking back and forth at the scenery.
As she turned her head, however, a figure to her far left caught her attention. "Hm? What's that over there?"
As the Skitty approached, confusion quickly turned to panic. "Ah! Someone has collapsed on the sand!" The Skitty rushed over in a panic. "Hey hey! What happened?! Are you OK?"
"Hey hey! What happened?! Are you OK?"
Huh? Regina struggled to come to. That was definitely someone else's voice. Was someone calling her?
"Come on! Wake up!" The mystery voice was accompanied by a pair of firm hands pushing and shaking her body. With that kind of attention, it was hard to stay asleep.
Ugh… Regina groaned. Her body was still a little stiff and sore, but she wasn't as tired as she once was. She woke up and rose to her feet.
"You're awake! Thank goodness!"
Though her vision was still blurry, Regina looked around. As she had suspected earlier, she was at a beach. The Pokémon who woke her up was digging through her bag, looking for something.
"Ah! Water! You need water! I have some in my canister, here!" The Pokémon, who Regina could now see was a Skitty, pulled out a canister from a knapsack and handed it to Regina. Regina gratefully accepted the kind Pokémon's generosity, drinking half the bottle in one gulp.
The Skitty continued to talk to her. "Thank goodness! You weren't moving at all! I was really worried! Do you have any idea how you ended up unconscious out here?" the pink Pokémon asked her.
Regina couldn't answer. I…I was unconscious? What happened…? she thought.
"Anyways, I'm Emma. Happy to meet you!" the Skitty said.
Emma. The name sounded so familiar, but Regina couldn't remember why.
"And who are you?" Emma asked, "I don't think I've seen you around before."
Regina told Emma what she knew, and explained that she was a human.
This information shocked Emma, making her jump. "What?! You're a human?! But you look like a totally normal Vulpix to me!"
At Emma's words, Regina was confused. She looked at her reflection in the water, and in the bubbles that floated by her face. Instead of her usual face, she saw the face of a red-brown fox-like Pokémon. Her eyes were big and brown, her ears were large and pointed with dark brown insides, and she also had a triangular dark brown nose. On top of her head were three curled locks of orange fur with bangs. Checking her back, Regina could see that she had orange tails with curled tips. She truly looked like a normal Vulpix.
It's…it's true! I've turned into a Vulpix! Regina realized. After the initial shock came confusion. But how did this happen? I don't remember anything…
Emma peered at Regina curiously. "You're…a little odd…Is this some kind of prank?" she asked.
Alarmed, Regina quickly shook her head and affirmed to Emma that she was being honest.
Emma was still a bit skeptical, evident from the tilt of her head. "You're telling me the truth? Well if that's the case, what's your name? Can you tell me your name?"
That was easy. For some reason, her name came very easily to Regina, even though nothing else did.
"So your name is Regina?" The pink Pokémon clarified. Then, she nodded. "Alright. Well, you don't seem to be a bad Pokémon, at least." With a sheepish smile, she apologized, "Sorry for doubting you. Thing is, more and more bad Pokémon are turning up lately, you see! A lot of Pokémon have gotten aggressive lately. It's just not safe anymore…"
Regina detected a hint of sadness in Emma's words. But before she could ask anything else, a pair of purple Pokémon ran up behind Emma. One was a round, floating, purple ball of sorts that had smoke coming out of its body, and the other was a purple bat. Right as Regina was about to warn her, the two Pokémon slammed into Emma from the back, causing her to tumble face first into the sand. A considerably large stone fell out of Emma's knapsack, landing next to the two aggressors.
"Ow!" Emma yelped.
Now, Regina didn't know the first thing about Pokémon, but she knew that purple meant poison, and these Pokémon were purple all over. Even without the colors however, she recognized the evil glints in their eyes and the wicked intent in their smiles.
Emma seemed to know the Pokémon. She spun around, agitated. "Hey! Zubat and Koffing! Why'd you do that?!"
"Whoa-ho-ho! Can't figure it out?" The gas ball—Koffing—laughed.
"We wanted to mess with you! Can't face up to us, can you?!" Zubat taunted.
"Wh-what?!" Emma exclaimed.
Zubat continued, "That's yours, isn't it?" He looked over at the stone that landed onto the sand.
"Oh! That's…!" Emma began to speak.
"Sorry kiddo. We'll take that!" Zubat swooped down and took Emma's stone.
"Aaaaaah!" Emma cried out.
Koffing laughed at Emma's flustered state. "Whoa-ho-ho! Not gonna make a move to get that back? What's the matter? Too scared? I didn't expect that you'd be such a big coward!" Turning to Zubat, he said, "Come on. Let's get out of here."
Zubat snickered at Emma. "See you around, chicken. Heh-heh-heh." The devious duo walked away, entering a cave adjacent to the beach.
When the bullies left, Emma sank to her knees. "...Ohh…" she whimpered.
Feeling awkward, Regina sat down next to Emma (as best as she could, given that she now had four legs. She ended up squatting more than sitting).
"What should I do? That's my personal treasure. It means everything to me." Emma began to tear up. "If I lose that…"
Emma shook her head quickly. "No! There's no time to waste! I have to get it back!" She turned to Regina. "Say, can you please help me? Please please please?"
Regina was caught off guard by the sudden request. "Wh-what should I do?" Regina asked.
Emma urged Regina up to her feet. "We…we don't have time for this! Come on!"
"But you can't just…" Regina did feel bad for Emma, but she was far too overwhelmed with her own situation to run off with the Pokémon on a fetch quest.
"I know this is a lot. But that's my most precious treasure. And…I can't get it back by myself. So please…please help…" Emma pleaded.
"But I have no memory…" Regina said.
Emma was growing increasingly more impatient with Regina's dawlding. "I know it's difficult, but hurry! It doesn't matter what you remember! You can still help, right?!"
"But I'm sure I was a human…" Regina tried one more time.
"Argh! Emma exclaimed, "Human, ghost, it doesn't matter. You can still help! Please!"
Regina didn't have any other objections. "O-OK," she stammered. Granted, she probably would have said yes eventually. She wasn't the type to sit around and watch someone else get mugged.
With that simple confirmation, Emma's eyes lit up, and she beamed. "R-really? You'll really help me? Th-thanks! Let's go quickly!" Not bothering to talk to Regina further, Emma ran off in the direction of the poison-type Pokémon. Still a bit lost, Regina trailed behind her, following Emma into the beach cave.
"This place is…" Regina took in her surroundings. They were in an open area in the cave. The lighting was dim, but she could easily make out her surroundings. The walls of the cave were dark blue, forming many jagged creaveses. The rocky floor had a dull purple coloring, and the rocks tickled Regina's feet—er, paws. Moss was growing in various spots. Some water was trickling down along the walls. From her position, the cave seemed to expand into several different narrow pathways.
"Oh, it is a mystery dungeon after all," Emma said aloud. "Let's find a set of stairs, Regina. That'll take us to the next level of this cave. I bet Koffing and Zubat are at the end of this place.
This place is a 'mystery dungeon?' And there are stairs in a place like this? Regina was incredibly confused, but listened to Emma. She walked into one of the narrow pathways, which led to another open area. There, some shiny yellow stuff on the ground caught her attention, and she picked it up.
"This is?" Regina held up the shiny stuff with her paw. It was a collection of several yellow coins, all engraved with a letter P.
"Awesome! You found some Poké!" Emma exclaimed happily. Realizing that Regina was still confused, she clarified, "It's money. Poké is the currency in this area. It's good to pick up a lot of Poké."
"I see." Regina handed the coins to Emma so she could put them in her knapsack. There were clearly a lot of things that she would have to learn about this world.
The duo walked through another narrow passageway, Regina leading, and Emma following her from behind. The path led to another open area, making Regina question how so many large spaces could fit inside a cave at the beach. Perhaps this was another quirk of the 'mystery dungeon' that Emma mentioned.
In this open area, there was a flight of stairs leading downward. Compared to the natural look of the cave, the staircase was unusually simple in appearance, devoid of any natural residue. It was a perfectly plain flight of stairs, so plain that it looked suspicious.
Well. Not like I have anything to lose, so… Regina shrugged and trotted down the flight of stairs. She could hear the patter of Emma's soft footsteps trailing behind her.
The second underground floor was similar to the first in design: same open areas and narrow pathways. However, Regina noticed a pair of other Pokémon approaching them. These Pokémon had tiny yellow legs and red glowing eyes. They looked like bugs with rock shells on their backs.
Regina approached the Pokémon, trying to start a conversation. "Um, hello? Have you seen a Koffing and Zubat pass by here?"
The Pokémon didn't respond to her. "Did you hear me?" Regina tried again.
Then, one of the Pokémon swiped at Regina with one of its legs. It left a considerable mark on Regina's shoulder. "Ow! Hey, stop that!" Regina slapped the Pokémon away with her paw.
The other Pokémon seemed to react to its comrade being hurt, and also started swiping at Regina's body. "Ow! What's wrong with you two?!" Regina cried out, trying to slap them away from her with her tail. Her efforts were largely in vain, however, as she was still unfamiliar with her new body. The two strange bugs continued to attack her. Realizing that she couldn't fight them off, Regina tried to curl up into a ball to protect herself. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping the Pokémon would leave her alone soon.
Suddenly, a thudding noise echoed throughout the cave, and the attacks came to a halt. Regina opened her eyes and saw that one of the rock bugs rolled over. The other bug had turned to face Emma, who was charging into it at top speed. With another loud thud, the second bug rolled over. Both Pokémon were now unconscious.
"Phew! My Tackle worked." Emma breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you OK, Regina?"
"What the hell was that?!" Regina exclaimed, standing back on her paws.
"A pair of Kabuto. They're rock and water type Pokémon. They were going to knock you out with their Scratch attack."
"No kidding," Regina grumbled, wincing from her scratches. "I just wanted to talk. Are all Pokémon this aggressive usually?"
"Not all, but we're in a mystery dungeon. A lot of the Pokémon here are pretty aggressive. Some fight to protect their territory, but most want to show off their strength. A lot of them spar for fun. So if you see other Pokémon, it's better to stay away or fight," Emma explained.
There was that term again, the 'mystery dungeon.' "So if I see another Pokémon in here, I knock it out. Got it," Regina said.
"You could also run away," Emma reminded her.
"No, I think I'll knock them out. Those Kabuto made me pretty mad." Regina let out an annoyed huff and continued to walk.
"Okay," Emma didn't sound very confident, but she followed Regina all the same.
They made their way through another passageway, looking for another stairwell. However, in the narrow space, another Pokémon was blocking their path. This Pokémon wasn't a Kabuto. It had a pink roundish body with stubby white legs, with branch-like growths on its back. The branches reminded Regina of coral.
"That's a Corsola! It has a pretty hard body," Emma warned, trembling behind her.
Regina scoffed. "How hard can that body be?" Refusing to let herself get hurt again, she wanted to strike first. As she was thinking that, a fireball shot out of her mouth, hitting the Corsola in the face.
This is the move Ember. So I really did turn into a Pokémon… Regina blew out another fireball. The two Ember attacks were enough to make the Corsola roll over and faint.
"Let's keep going!" Regina said, running off ahead. Emma nodded, and Tackled a Shellder from behind her so she could follow.
Emma and Regina fought off a few more Pokémon blocking their way to the stairs. With every battle Regina grew more and more accustomed to her attacks. She had her Ember move to light enemies on fire, and she also had another attack with her paw. If she concentrated, she could make her paw turn dark black, and attack enemy Pokémon that way. Emma had called it a "Faint Attack." The names of all the different moves were confusing to Regina, as everything in this world was, but Emma reassured her that she'd get used to it all with time.
Truly, Regina was more impressed with Emma's attacks. Every Tackle attack knocked out the enemy Pokémon in one hit. She had an even stronger Tackle attack called a Zen Headbutt. Emma could even attack enemies from a distance using a Fake Out attack. Regina questioned why Emma had been so afraid to venture into the caves alone, considering just how strong she was.
They made it through a few more flights of stairs, and eventually ended up at the end of the cavern. Regina could tell that it was the end because it looked substantially different from the rest of the cave. The rock walls had opened up, letting the sand and ocean water pool inside. Sunlight from the outside was peeking through the opening, illuminating the entire cave. Many smaller rock formations surrounded them.
"There they are!" Emma pointed to the Pokémon in front of them. Koffing and Zubat were standing (or hovering, as neither of them really had feet) at the sand's edge, looking out at the vast ocean ahead of them. Regina and Emma crept up behind them quietly, making sure to not scare them off.
When they were close enough, Emma called out to Koffing and Zubat. "Um…Hey!"
Both Pokémon turn around. Koffing sneered at the sight of Emma. "Well, well. If it isn't our old friend, the big chicken," he taunted.
"Urk!" Emma squeezed her eyes shut and took a step back. But she steeled herself and stepped forward again. In the firmest voice she could muster, Emma demanded, "Give me…give me back what you stole from me! That's my personal treasure! It means everything to me!"
As Regina expected, Koffing and Zubat didn't express any remorse or sympathy. "Treasure you say? So that thing really is valuable, huh?" Zubat questioned.
Koffing added, "It could be worth quite a bit if that's the case. We should try selling it. Who knows? It might get a good price." He laughed again. "Whoa-ho-ho! All the more reason not to give it back!"
"You can't!" Emma cried out.
"If you want it back that badly, come and get it! Heh-heh-heh!" With that, Zubat lunged forward towards Emma.
Oh no you don't! Regina reacted immediately, launching an Ember at Zubat. It hit him square in the face, KOing him instantly. Zubat fell onto the sandy ground in a crumpled heap.
Whoa. I took out a Pokémon in one hit. Fighting those other Pokémon earlier must have made me stronger. Regina raised her paw to her mouth, surprised with her own strength.
Regina quickly spun around to face the Koffing. To her alarm, his noxious body was vibrating and swelling up. Recognizing the threat of poison gas, Regina jumped back quickly and covered her face. Koffing grew bigger and bigger still, ready to burst…
And then nothing happened.
Confused, Regina opened her eyes. Instead of releasing his gas, Koffing was spinning around aimlessly, a ring of hearts swirling around him. Regina turned to Emma, who was grinning at her.
"Attract," Emma said. "I mean, he is male, and we're female, so," a slightly impish smile made her mouth twitch, "I thought it could help?"
Regina grinned. For all her talk about being afraid, Emma was truly a reliable ally. She inhaled deeply, then blew with all her might. Her Ember incincerated Koffing, knocking him out instantly.
"We did it!" Emma said happily. Her fluffy tail wagged back and forth.
"Yes, we did," Regina affirmed, looking down at the Pokémon they had just knocked out. For a pair of thugs, they thankfully ended up being all talk.
"Owowow…" Koffing groaned.
"Ugh…We got roughed up…" Zubat said.
Slowly, the hooligan Pokémon pushed themselves up so they could float again. "B-blast it…How'd we get wiped out by wimps like them?" Koffing grumbled.
"Bah! Here you go. Take it, then!" Zubat threw the rock onto the sandy floor in a huff, to the surprise of Emma and Regina.
Koffing was quick to retort. "Whoa-ho! Don't think you're so awesome! Your victory was a fluke!" he reminded them.
"Yeah, you just remember that!" Zubat added. He was trying to sound scary, but Regina could only roll her eyes at the pathetic display of faux toughness.
With those parting words, Koffing and Zubat ran off towards the exit as fast as they could.
Emma ran over to her stone, looking it over for chips or marks. "Oh! It's my Relic Fragment!" she declared happily. Her body began to tremble. "Thank goodness…I actually managed to get it back."
She turned back to Regina, beaming. "This happened only because you helped me, Regina. Thank you, Regina!"
They had left the cave and returned to the beach. Their escapade into the caves had taken quite some time, and Regina was eager to get out of there. All while they walked, Emma was continuously thanking Regina for her help.
"Thank you so, so much!" Emma repeated.
Regina was lost in her own thoughts....I only helped because I happened to be there, and because Emma was so pushy. Was that the right thing to do? She shrugged. I guess so. This Pokémon is clearly grateful. It's nice to be appreciated.
Emma turned to face the sea. "I came here originally to watch the ocean. Beautiful sight, isn't it?"
Regina looked out over the ocean. Despite their exciting adventure into the cave, it was still sunset, and the weather was clear. Creatures that looked like oversized crabs were blowing bubbles in the air. The bubbles reflected the setting sun off the waves, making them sparkle in various yellows and reds. Regina had to agree that the scene was indeed very beautiful.
"I always come here when I'm feeling down on myself," Emma confessed shyly, fidgeting with her paws. "Coming here heals my spirits."
"You were feeling down before?" Regina asked.
"Yeah…I was."
"Want to talk about it?" Regina offered. Emma had been very kind to her, so she figured that she should at least listen for a while.
"Hmm…" Emma dug into her knapsack. "To explain that, you should look at what those two stole earlier."
Emma placed the rock that was in her possession onto the sand, in front of Regina. The top of the rock was completely flat, and in white lines, a peculiar pattern was on it. It was the kind of pattern that was very difficult to describe in words. A circle in the center, four tendrils of sorts protruding from it at 90 degree angles. And in the space between those tendrils, what reminded Regina of symmetrical wings also extended from the center circle. Regina had never seen anything like it before.
Emma explained, "This is a Relic Fragment. Well, at least, that's what I started calling it. But this Relic Fragment, it's my precious treasure."
"You see, I've always liked legends and lore. I always get so excited when I hear tales from the past! Don't you feel the same way? Hidden troves full of treasure and strange relics," she turned to face the sea again, "uncharted territories veiled in darkness, and new lands just waiting to be explored! Such places must be full of gold and treasure! And history! Wouldn't it be awesomely dramatic to make historic discoveries?!"
As Emma spoke, she jumped in excitement, and her tail wagged back and forth wildly. Regina could tell that this exploring stuff was a big deal to Emma.
"That's what I always dream of. It's all so exciting to me. And it just so happened that one day, I found this Relic Fragment." Emma gestured to the rock. "You've noticed already, didn't you? That strange pattern inscribed on it?"
Regina nodded silently.
Emma continued, "There must be some meaning to this pattern. This Relic Fragment must be the key to legendary places! To areas where precious treasure lies! At least, that's the feeling I get. That's why I want to join an exploration team. This fragment must fit into something…somewhere! I want to discover where that is. Above all, I want to solve the mystery of my Relic Fragment."
Regina was beginning to understand Emma a bit better now. Emma had a big dream, and this stone was a key element to that dream. She had the overwhelming ambition of a child, but the sincerity behind her statements made her all the more endearing. It was all…rather cute to Regina.
"So to answer your question, I tried joining an exploration team as an apprentice. But," Emma's shoulders slumped and she looked down sadly, "I was too cowardly to go through with it. And that's why I came to the beach, where I found you."
Finishing her monologue, Emma turned back to Regina. "So. What about you Regina? What are you going to do now? You lost your memory. And you somehow transformed into a Pokémon. Do you have a place where you can stay?"
Regina had nothing she could say in response.
"If not, can I ask a big favor?" Emma said. "Would you…would you form an exploration team with me? I think we could make a good exploration team together, Regina. So will you do that with me? Please?"
Regina practically recoiled at the proposition. What was Emma asking of her all of a sudden?! Wah! What should I do? I'm getting recruited out of the blue! Taking a deep breath, Regina tried to formulate her thoughts. For starters, I don't even know what an exploration team is. But I don't have anywhere else to go, so what should I do?
Regina wanted to clarify something with Emma first. "Are you…?" she began.
Emma was confused. "Huh? Am I what? What do you mean, 'Are you…?'"
Regina decided to just come out and say what was on her mind. "You're trying to talk me into it?"
Flustered by the accusation, Emma jumped in shock. "What?! Talk you into it?! The thought never crossed my mind!"
Regina stared at Emma expectantly.
"Okay, well, I'm a complete coward. Honestly, I am. You've seen that. So yeah, I did think I could depend on you Regina," Emma admitted, "but you know what? During that fight with Koffing and Zubat earlier, having you there with me, I felt really brave. And this may sound crazy, but I think I could do anything as long as you're helping me Regina. So come on, I'm begging you. Let's form an exploration team, you and me." To prove her sincerity, Emma knelt on all fours and lowered her head onto the sand. "Please, Regina."
Regina conceded that Emma was being earnest in her request. I really do have nowhere to go, she mused, I don't have any clue what I should do next. I guess it wouldn't hurt to team up with Emma for now. Maybe I'll eventually discover who or what I am by hanging out with this Pokémon. Finally satisfied, she concluded, OK! That's settled!
"Oh? You've decided?" Emma asked hopefully.
Regina nodded and told Emma the good news.
"Really?! You'll really form an exploration team with me?" Emma jumped up and down, excited. "Yay! Thank you! We're going to be a great combination. Let's make this work!"
Emma turned once more, looking at the vast sea and sky. "First, we need to go to Wigglytuff's Guild and sign up as apprentices. That's where we can get the training to become a proper exploration team. I think the training will be very tough…"
If it's as tough as those bullies, I feel like everything will be alright, Regina thought. But she decided to keep those comments to herself.
"...so let's give it our best, Regina!" Emma finished. She lifted up her tail and held it steady in front of Regina.
Likewise, Regina raised her tail, slapping it against Emma's in what she assumed was a hi-five. "Let's go to the guild then," she said. Emma trotted off with a skip in her step, and Regina followed her lead.
Regina didn't know it then, but forming an exploration team with Emma would be her very first step of a long journey. And for Regina and Emma, many more fun and amazing adventures awaited them in the near future.
(To be continued…)