Chapter 1: Alexander
Black. That was all Rea could see. She could feel grass beneath her, and a gentle breeze blowing by.
"Hey, are you okay?"
The voice startled her fully awake. She opened her eyes, and she finally got a glimpse of her surroundings.
She was in a dense forest. The trees were tall and the canopy was thick, which allowed only a small amount of sunlight through. It was mostly quiet, except for the wind softly rustling the leaves, and the sound of running water somewhere nearby.
Where am I... She sat up and looked around, meeting face to face with a Ralts.
"Thank goodness you're okay. I was really worried."
A... talking Ralts?! Rea stared at him in confusion.
The Ralts frowned. "Umm... Is everything alright?"
"O-Oh. Well... No."
"What's wrong?"
Rea began looking around again. "I have no idea where I am."
The Ralts nodded, then reached out his hand. Rea grabbed it and pulled herself up.
"Luckily, I can help you with that." The Ralts grinned. "My name is Alexander, but please call me Alex." Rea nodded and smiled back.
"I'm Rea. I-It's nice to meet you."
Alex nodded. "Follow me. I know the way out of this forest."
Soon, Rea found herself walking with the Ralts down a path in the forest.
"So Rea, where are you from?"
Rea closed her eyes and began to think, but it was blank. Where am I from? Why can't I remember?
Alex frowned. "Do you remember?"
Reluctantly, Rea shook her head and frowned. "All I remember is my name..."
"I'm glad I found you then. Luckily, Larvitar aren't common around, so it should be easy to find someone who knows you."
L-Larvitar? Why does that sound... wrong?
Alex reached for his bag and pulled out a small, golden device. "As a member of the Expedition Society, I promise to help you as much as I can." He then smiled broadly.
Rea couldn't help but giggle at this sudden outburst. "So, where are you headed?"
"I'm headed north from here," he said as tapped the screen on the device, then showed it to Rea.
It was a map. Across the top of it, the words "Water Continent" were visible. There were also two named points on the map: Lively Town and Serene Village. Alex then pointed to an area a little west of Serene Village.
"Foreboding Forest is where I'm heading. There's a Pokémon causing trouble there."
"What do you mean by trouble?"
Alex frowned. "Whoever they are, they're poisoning a part of the forest. It's making some of the wild Pokémon more aggressive than usual."
"Wild Pokémon?"
Alex nodded. "Some of them have even left the forest and attacked Serene Village directly."
"How far is the forest from here?"
Alex looked down at the map. "Not far now."
"How long have you been traveling?"
Alex shrugged. "About a day, give or take."
She nodded, and they continued in silence. As they walked, Rea began trying to make sense her situation.
What now? I've lost my memory, and can understand Pokémon. But why does it feel like something is wrong? I'm clearly a Pokémon too. Rea mentally sighed. It's all whys and hows. I just want answers. But where do I even start?
She looked toward Alex, then remembered what he said earlier. Maybe I could go to the Expedition Society for advice. They might have someone there who can help me, or even someone who knows me.
"What can you tell me about the Expedidtion Society?" Rea asked, finally able to sort her thoughts.
"Well, for one, they're pretty famous. They saved the world fifteen years ago."
"Saved the world?" That's a little hard to believe.
Alex nodded. "After that, the leader of the Society, Ampharos, stepped down, and two new Pokémon took his place."
Before Alex could continue, the gate of Serene Village came into view.
The first thing Rea noticed was the large lake in the middle of the village, and on a hill next to it, a large tree.
As they entered through the gate, Alex turned to Rea. "Welcome to Serene Village. Does any of this look familiar?"
They were in a main square of sorts, in which a few Pokémon were. There were a couple of what Rea assumed to be market stalls, but there was also a large, yellow and orange building with a weirdly curved roof. None of it looked familiar to Rea at all.
She looked around, then shook her head.
"No luck, huh? Don't worry. Just stick with me. I'll take you back to Lively Town when we're done here." He then began walking towards the gate again.
"Where are you going?" Rea asked as she caught up to Alex.
"I only came into the village to see if your memory would return. The forest is actually west of here."
After quite a bit of walking, the trees shifted from a pleasant green to a deep purple. The canopy above them became thicker as they entered this area, sheilding most of the forest floor from sunlight.
Rea shivered as the temperature began to noticeably drop.
"We've reached the forest. We need to be more careful now," Alex said quietly.
"Where are we headed now?"
"We need to find where the source of the poison is and stop it."
Rea nodded and as they quietly moved through the forest, the damage that whatever was poisoning the area had caused was very clear
The surrounding vegetation was either a pale purple or completely gray, and unable to support itself. The area was full of the stench of rotting plant matter.
As Rea looked around, she saw something dart behind them. Before she could even react, it had Alex pinned.
The Pokémon was a small, dark gray lizard, with an orange mark down its back. Its head was black and it had deep purple eyes.
"What are you doing here," the Pokémon questioned. As he spoke, an occasional puff of smoke would leave his mouth.
"Better question, what are you doing here," Alex retorted.
The Pokémon smirked. "Making myself a home, and scaring off little meddlers like you two." He then exhaled a huge cloud of smog, engulfing the area around him and Alex.
Suddenly, the Pokémon darted out of the smog and pinned Rea. She suddenly felt his body heat up rapidly, but as the Pokémon opened his mouth to attack, he was knocked off of her by blast of psychic energy.
Alex then emerged from the smog, coughing. "Quickly Rea, attack him!"
Rea nodded and turned towards the Pokémon, who was stumbling around due to being dizzied by Alex's attack.
Not know what else to do, she charged at the Pokémon. She rammed the Pokémon at full speed, sending him flying into a tree.
Quickly, Rea and Alex ran over to the Pokémon. They found him unconscious and breathing heavily.
Alex sighed. "I'm glad that's over. That Salandit could have done much worse." Alex's voice was raspy and soon after he finished talking, he broke into a coughing fit.
"Are you okay?"
Alex nodded. "I'm fine, I just inhaled a bit too much of that smog. A little walking should help."
Rea, although a little unconvinced, nodded, then looked towards the Salandit. "What do we do with him now?"
"We take him with us back to Lively Town's police department. There, he'll be held for a while."
"What happens after that?"
Alex just shrugged, then closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were glowing a bright blue, and the Salandit began floating.
Rea was amazed. "You can levitate Pokémon?"
Alex just turned to Rea and smiled. "Let's go."
Rea nodded and the two of them made their way to the path that lead them here.
When they arrived, Alex and Rea made their way to the gates of Serene Village, and from there, began their long trek back to Lively Town.
Unbeknownst to either of them, they were being followed.
"Well, well, well. What an interesting dynamic they make."
Well hello friends! It's been quite awhile! I'm happy to say that I'm finally free to write again. While consistency is never a promise, I do promise to actually finish this time. I've never felt more confident in my writing ability, so I hope this turned out well.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Until the next one!