"Pip?"

Before I'd gotten trapped on this island- and stranded in another world- I was playing games and generally isolating myself. The last time I had talked to someone was two days before ending up here, so my first 'sensible conversation' in almost three days had been with a penguin.

Worlds away from what I knew and loved, stranded on an island, and talking to something one would normally not talk to. At least it wasn't a volleyball, but I wouldn't have minded being the big cheese of a postal company.

"Piiip."

At least I knew how to rough it, vaguely. I watched Les Stroud (you know, Survivorman? Good show, and way more real than Bear Grylls' load of dung) a lot when I was younger, which had to count for something. That and I knew how to improv cook, so provided I could whip up a container of some sort I could start making actual food.

"Piiipluuup."

There was a Pokémon fan story I remembered about a guy dropped into a similar situation, except it was the Orange Islands and he wanted to become a Flying Pokémon master. Personally, I was partial to the resilient Steel types and the often squishy Dark types. I also wasn't planning on going around getting badges, but if the opportunity struck I'd take it. If only for the free ride off the island. Pity the author went on hiatus, but at least he wasn't dead.

"Pip. Lup. Piiip." A flipper smacked me right in the nose, snapping me back to reality.

"Did you-" I muttered, rubbing my nose, "Was that really needed?"

"Pip."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Fine. What is it?"

Hopping down from my head, Piplup landed in the underbrush. After a moment of rustling, a blue head popped out. "Pip lup?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

The food issue was at least partially solved. Partially not because of quantity, but because I could see myself getting very sick of berries at some point. So it was solved as long as we didn't overharvest, I didn't overeat, and these berries grew year-round like they did in the games. Assuming I could make a preserve jar I could get sick of Oran and Sitrus Jam, too.

Assuming that very large number of things, we were set on food until...

Until when?

I stopped, hand reaching for another berry. Until a boat- or Pokémon- comes by? Until I make a raft?

"I'm never going home, am I?" I whispered to myself, rolling the thought around in my mouth. It didn't bother me as much as it should have. "I'm stuck here."

My hands trembled, and my heart raced eagerly. Piplup had interrupted it every time it tried to start, but now the knot in my stomach was unravelling.

"Pip?" asked Piplup, flippers waving in front of my face.

Right on cue, I guess. I took a deep breath, and exhaled my doubts and fears- they would only hurt me here. "Yeah?"

"Pip lup," she began, gesturing to the small pile of berries, "Lup lup piplup pip." She mimed a bowl with her flippers, tilting her head.

I frowned, my Piplup Translator apparently not up to scratch. "You think we should make a bowl to carry it with?" When she started nodding, I continued, "Good idea. We can eat these by the beach- it's not that many- and snag some palm leaves to weave a sort of bag for next time. Or for breakfast." I added the last part as an afterthought, thinking about the very near future.

"Pip!" She exclaimed, saluting me.

Some impulse commanded me to reach out and ruffle her head feathers. My fingers slipped through her incredibly soft, downy coat, and her bright eyes closed for a moment. Rubbing her head, I let out a contented sigh. "I don't really know how to say it, but this has been- good. I enjoyed myself today, stranded on an island."

Piplup leaned into my hand and sighed as well, and I felt a slight nod. "Pip."

We slipped into a contented silence. A light breeze played with the leaves, rustling faintly and cheerfully. If I concentrated, I could hear the ocean lapping peacefully on the beach.

Then it got awkward. I coughed loudly, lifting my hand from Piplup's head. "Right. Let's get going, shall we?"

Piplup nodded, shaking the lethargy from her feathers. "Piplup," she proclaimed loudly, hopping in the direction of the ocean.

I turned to scoop up the berries- which we had almost forgotten- and quietly followed.

Berries, despite my misgivings, were a good food source. This was even more true with Poké-berries. They were ridiculously huge, and I wasn't at all certain an Earth biologist would be able to explain how they grew so fast. I'd be looking a gift horse in the mouth to complain, though.

Eating my dinner of berries with a side of more berries next to a penguin, I had a feeling my deserted island cuisine would need some variety in the future. The idea of grilled Magikarp surfaced again, and I again wondered if they were sentient. Either way, I would totally eat one given the chance. After all, pretty much every large sea Pokémon ate them anyways.

Piplup chewed through her third berry- this shaped roughly like a tomato and probably named something silly- and let out an ungraceful burp. Her eyes widened, and she covered her beak daintily. "Piplup."

"You are excused. Here, let me give it a shot," I said, gulping down air, "Aaand here goes nothing." I let out an acceptable belch, patting my stomach.

"Pip." she reminded, prodding me.

"Excuse me."

"Pip lup lup." She replied, crossing her flippers.

Ruffling her downy head- this time only for a moment- I saw the first and brightest stars wink into the dusk. "Looks like night's about to fall. Does it get chilly?"

The answer was yes. Not intolerably so, holed up in a cave as we were, but the kind of cold you get near the ocean. Brisk, and full of salt. Piplup herself seemed mostly unbothered, which came as a relief to me. She hadn't been freezing half to death nightly, at least.

I shifted on the makeshift 'bed' Piplup had made for me, settling in for the night. "Piplup? Thanks, again. I really mean it."

"Pip," she said, waving me off with a sleepy flipper.

"...Yeah. Good night."

"Pip lup."

Author's Notes:

This chapter is being published mere hours after the last, if only because I wrote ahead of myself and feel that this 'meat' of the story should be put up now. Please let me know what you think by reviewing, as I will be actively writing this story in my free time for at least another week. Expect chapters to continue growing in length.

Regards,

Verdin Grey