The sky changed to night as I traversed the oceanic plains with assistance from a Wailord. The skies weren't cloudy, but they bore a haze that gave the night a certain gloomy emotion. That tone just highlighted my feelings: sad and lonely. I guess there is no reason for me to be sad. I mean, I've spent much of my life traveling, so I've met countless Pokémon. Every time I talk to others, it always leads to the same topic. Why do you travel so much? What all have you seen? What's the world like? How it must be beautiful, wouldn't you say, Ismene? And each time I answer that last question, I don a fake smile and reply, "You could say that." I mean, that wasn't a lie, but you couldn't call it a half-truth. What was there about the world that was so appealing to everyone? The sights are all the same! A waterfall is no different than the weakest drop-off of the smallest river, no matter which waterfall that is. If you've seen one ocean, you've seen them all. Above the water, you burn in the heat of the sun and it's exhausting; beneath the surface, water claustrophobically surrounds you and its temperatures freeze you.
These thoughts were pushed to the back of my mind. I took note of the position of the stars. I'd approximate that I'd arrive at their camp in about an hour and a half. The moon said the sun would be rising in about two. As I was still lying down, I rolled over to my bag and opened it. There was still a fair amount of assorted fruits inside of it. Well, not that I needed that much. I only ate a few in a day, and we'd be making landfall very soon. Having nothing else to worry about, I let my mind wander. Who was this Drew character? I'm not sure, probably something heroic looking. He's supposed to save our world, correct? So, why would he be some nerdy looking dude? Speaking of that, what do humans even look like? Bishop doesn't have a knack for explaining things easily, I guess. It doesn't exactly matter. My only job is to guide him: nothing more, nothing less. I pulled my hair into a pony tail and left it to drift down from one shoulder. Landfall was fast approaching.
"So, Drew, what did you do to occupy yourself back home?" Astra asked.
I thought about for a small moment as I gazed into the starlight. "Not much. I mean, coming to this world was the first time I've been social in years. Once I began to look for work, I noticed there was an up-and-coming company: Trust. Since they would need a good IT staff to help with computers, I applied for a job there. Apparently, there were no other applicants. They called me the very next day, offering me the job. It was very stressful. If I remember correctly, it was about 84 hours of work per week. I woke up at 7, got to work at 8, had lunch at 12 (which I normally skipped), left work at 8, and fell asleep at 9. This was pretty much every day for me. There was no time for anything. Every day, there were endless hours of worker monotony. 'Oh, please help my computer! I can't turn it on!'; 'Someone stole my mouse!'; 'I'm not sure why, but there's so much porn (stop letting your damn teenagers on the thing!) on my computer!' I heard every single problem in the book at least twice per week. None of the other employees really talked to me, either. Though I always heard them talking. 'Hey, look, it's that IT guy.' 'Do you think he ever does anything but work?' That was all they could talk about for the first couple of weeks. People would say hi to me every so often, but they were met with a cold gaze. Never could I look at them normally. Soon enough, they began to spread rumors. 'Why do you think he's so angry all the time?' 'Perhaps he's a murderer.' 'Maybe he has the bluest balls possible' 'What if he's one of those "furries" we all see on the internet.' But, I just ignored them. There was only one tolerable person that came along.
"Her name was Karen, and she began working as a Receptionist not long after I was hired. She was the first person to engage me in conversation normally. She was incredibly nice to me. Every morning, she left a freshly made cup of coffee on my desk. I never realized that she was completely into me until the last few weeks of being there. That was mainly due to the others teasing me. She was most likely the reason that I started to break out of my shell. Well, I guess "that me" was just a fake. I only joined in so I wouldn't be judged by others. I knew that she liked me, and I pretended to like her back. But none of that was real. I spent a lot of my days wanting to go home. But, then again, even that home was forged."
Blair spoke up, "Wait, you weren't a social person? How?! I mean, you showed up to the island and you became friends with most of the Pokémon there! They all truly liked you, and you talked to them. Was that all an act as well?"
"Actually, no." I responded subtly, "This world was different to me. It was more of an adventure. No longer was my life a joyless repetition of weeks merely marked by the silence of the people around me. I met all of you, as well. Maybe it was meeting you, Blair, which changed me for the better. "
Yeah, I've been busy as all hell lately. So I just got around to updating. Hopefully you guys enjoy the chapter! Please favorite, follow, leave a review, or whatever. Have a great day/night/whatever.