His mind blanked, yet a million thoughts were running through his head. He desperately tried to grab onto something, something to make sense of all this. He stared at the body in front of him. He moved forward almost in a trance.

Yep, that was him. Currently bleeding out from the head. His body was laying against a large rock, with a rounded tip now covered in blood. He reached out slowly. This couldn't be real. I mean, he was still here, right?

He touched the body.

Immediately he jerked back. That was not his hand. He stared at it, holding it out in front of him. No fingers, just a... vaguely teardrop-shaped nub. It was black, and looked kind of solid, yet a little see-through. He remembered the puddle of water, and went over. He noticed he wasn't really walking, but more... gliding. He still felt like he was going through the actions of walking, but he had no legs.

He drifted over to the water, peering in.

He had a wooden, mask like face, that looked like a stump. Two branches spread out from the sides like horns. Holes were carved out in a way that made him look surprised, and gleaming red eyes shone through them. His body was made of some sort of black, condensed mist.

After a moment, he recognized the image before him.

A Phantump. He was a Phantump.

He should have been more surprised, but he had suspected it all along, he had pushed away the thought, but now he was here, the evidence before him. He felt sort of... numb. Mentally.

Guess he would never get to be a trainer after all.

But wait... wasn't he still the same person? He remembered everything, well... almost. Some things were fuzzy. But he was still him, just... in a different form. Right?

He drifted over to his body, and sat, looking into his own blank eyes. A tear slowly made its way down his face. He had been trying to keep it in, the terror, the dread, the uncertainty. Another tear soon followed.

Soon he was full on sobbing. He was nothing now. Doomed to wander these woods until some day being captured and doing who knows what. He could end up in a PC, or even... he shivered... the daycare. He wasn't anyone anymore.

After crying for what seemed to be forever, he slowly stopped, and let out a long sigh. Sometimes crying does help.

Maybe he could still chase his dreams, I mean, his identification was right here! He unzipped his backpack, pulling out a Pokédex. He wasn't registered as a trainer, but everyone needed a Pokédex ID lately. His parents gave him one in case he was in some sort of accident, so they could identify him. He opened it up, looking at his picture and info. Jack. That was him. Had he almost forgotten his own name? He put the Dex back into the bag. The bag could be useful too. He slipped it off the shoulders of what used to be, and shakily began to drag it. It was surprisingly heavy.

As he began to temporarily come to peace with his situation, he heard footsteps.

"Hello?" A female voice cried. He froze in fear. He drifted back slightly, looking where the sound came from.

"Are you alright? I heard crying, it's okay. You can come out. I'm Nurse Joy." He let out a shaky sigh of relief as she identified herself. He almost spoke, but remembered his situation. Would she think he murdered the body?

He didn't have time to do anything before she stepped into view, holding a flashlight and brushing away some branches. "Hell... oh?" She looked at him, then the body, then the bag. She paused, trying to make sense of the scene. "Are... you the one who was crying?"

He hesitated, but nodded.

She pulled out a Pokédex and aimed it at him. "Phantump, the Stump Pokemon." It said. "According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest."

She looked at the body, the blood, and the woods around her. Realization set in. "Oh... oh I am so sorry." She sank down to a squat to look at me at eye level. She silently opened her arms.

He hesitated, then slowly drifted over. She was so warm... he nestled into her arms, sighing as she hugged him gently. She began to stand up, and walk. He jerked away.

"What is it?" She looked at him, confused. He drifted down and grabbed the top of his bag, pulling hard and wobbling in the air as he returned to her. She silently helped him lift the bag up, strung it over her shoulder, and began to walk to the Pokemon Center, Jack cradled in her arms.