Right, so here comes CB's first chapter! A bit short, but it'll get better, I promise. Now, what shenanigans are he getting himself into?
...
...Wha? What the fudge just happened? I was re-playing the Puzzles I missed in the Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright crossover, and then...I wake up here? ...Where is here, anyway? Considering I was in my own house, I doubt it was a kidnapping, unless it was done by aliens...am I in a self-insert or something? Let's see, what anime/game/manga could this possibly be?
I got up and looked around. I was in a forest, filled with trees, which were in turn filled with berries I vaguely recognized. There were other creatures hanging out in the trees that gave me my answer. They were Weedle, Caterpie, and an occasional Pidgey. All Pokémon. That means...that I'm in the World of Pokémon.
...I'm debating whether I should scream in terror or jump for joy. However, I had no more time to debate, because the air suddenly seemed to bend in front of me, and a backpack appeared on the ground. I looked inside and found my phone, as well as a few deck boxes containing cards from a TCG I really liked a long time ago...which was destroyed by the demons known as 4Kids.
Back to the important thing: Where the bloody fudge am I? Well, as I figured out from looking around, I am-wait. I have a message...which is strange, because last I checked, my phone was on airplane mode...
Sorry for getting you involved in this. To make it up to you, you may have already seen that I included an extra gift in your stuff. Unfortunately, at this point, I can only warp things into this world and not out of it right now, so let I can't send you home. Oh well, the more the merrier, I guess. I'll explain in more detail when you reach Sinnoh.
- A.
...My phone is still in airplane mode, so how the heck did this 'A' person text me!? Well, whatever...I then noticed my reflection on my phone.
"I suppose that was bound to happen, considering what world this is..." I muttered. It was only natural my age would decrease. After all, this is the world of Pokémon, where all main characters are ten years old or younger! Oh look, space is warping again, and this time..."Wha-What the heck!?"
Why was I so surprised? Simple. What had warped in front of me was another Pokémon. A Mawile, to be precise. Although that in itself, all things considered, wasn't the really surprising thing. It was more so the condition it was in. It was rather gruesome, so I won't describe it in full detail, but the cord connecting it's head to it's horn...jaw...whatever-you-want-to-call-it had a nasty cut, and...let's just say the grass beneath it was slowly turning red and leave it at that.
"What the heck happened!?" I gasped out loud. I was about to ask 'are you okay', but I stopped myself, seeing it obviously wasn't. I pulled out my phone and switched off airplane mode, but I had no service, meaning calling for help still wouldn't work. Then I noticed two apps that most definitely were not there before: a Pokédex and a map. I opened up the map, but it didn't say anything about the nearest hospital...or Pokémon Center, in this case. Only one thing to do...I threw a twig into the air, deciding I'd run in a random direction until I found someone or something that could help. The twig fell...and just as it was about to hit the ground, it suddenly froze mid air, before falling in the opposite direction...okay, that's weird, but I won't argue.
I found a towel in my backpack (which I feel reasonably sure was not there before), and wrapped it around the wound, before picking up the Mawile and running in the direction the twig pointed. "You'll be okay, Mawile, just hang on!" I heard a weak groaning from the Pokémon in my arms, and I felt it shifting a bit, but I didn't really have time to worry about that, as I had just come across a Pokémon Center! I can't believe that actually worked...anyways, I rushed in the door to find one of the many clones of Nurse Joy standing at the counter.
"Hello, welcome to the-"
"Sorry for being rude, but no time for politeness! This Pokémon's badly injured!" I cut in.
"Oh my! Let me take a look!" She said something into a speaker, and some Chansey came in carrying a stretcher. I laid the Pokémon in my arms down on the stretcher, and the Chansey wheeled it away.
"Will it be okay?" I asked.
"I can't say yet, but I'll do my best!" The clone explained, before suddenly putting on a serious face. "But you need to take better care of your Pokémon, young man!"
...Wait, what?
"You can't let it battle this much or you risk your Pokémon's life!"
"Um, it's not-"
"You will never become a very good trainer if you act like this!
"Like I said-"
"As a matter of fact, you probably shouldn't be a Trainer at all! Let me see your-"
"HOLD IT!"
There was a pause as Nurse Joy gasped.
"I'm not a trainer (yet). That Mawile isn't my Pokémon. I found it like that in the forest. Speaking of which, I think I left my backpack there, so if you'll excuse me..." I ran back and grabbed my backpack, then rushed back in and found Nurse Joy was gone. She must have gone to treat the Mawile...though she soon came back out.
"Oh! You're back...sorry about before. I can get a bit worked up about Pokémon..."
"It's fine. That just means you're doing your job properly."
"Although...are you really not a trainer? Mawile isn't a Pokémon you see around here everyday, and these woods are rather difficult to get through without a Pokémon..."
"I don't really understand it myself," I said honestly. "But I'm definitely not a trainer. I have no Pokémon of my own."
"Hmm...okay then," the clone nurse relented, although it was clear she was still confused. "Anyways, the Mawile will be just fine..." I sighed in relief. "...for the most part."
"Oh great. What's wrong with it?"
"The cord between her head and her horns is damaged worse than I can possibly treat. It's going to be a lasting wound, and she may not ever be able to use her horns again." Well, that's a problem. At least I know it's a girl now, though.
"I see..."
"Well, for now, I've done all I can. All we can do now is let her rest."
"I suppose," I muttered. I sat down in the lobby and waited. Where did that Mawile come from? Why did 'A' send it here? And why was it wounded? Well, I suppose all I can do now is wait and see…
...Huh? What? Oh, I must have fallen asleep, considering that Nurse Joy just woke me up.
"...Huh? What's wrong?" I asked tiredly.
"It's the Mawile you brought in."
"What's wrong with her?" I asked standing up abruptly.
"Nothing, besides the handicap I mentioned before, and a scar. And that's the thing - even after all I did, it shouldn't have healed in less than 10 minutes!" Nurse Joy explained. Ten minutes...okay, I didn't sleep that long. Wait a sec!
"How is that possible?" I gasped. I'm no doctor, but I do have limited first aid knowledge, and I know a wound as bad as the one Mawile had does not heal that fast! Unless...that 'A' guy must be involved...
...But if A is doing this, why didn't he/she/it completely heal Mawile, rather than leave her with that handicap? Gah, this is confusing...
"Well, regardless, she is mostly okay - even if I don't quite understand how - so you can come see her if you want." I thought about it for a bit.
"Nah. She's a wild Pokémon. I just helped her get here. As a matter in fact, now that I know she's okay, I should-"
"Maw!" A voice cut in. That caught me by surprise. I heard a door opening, and I saw the Mawile dragging herself out the door, as two Chansey struggled to hold her back. She stomped her foot as a dust cloud popped up, and I heard struggling. It appears Mawile is using Play Rough...the dust cloud faded, and the Chansey were on the ground, knocked out, and Mawile was panting.
"Wha-?" I gasped. The Mawile stared straight at me, and nodded.
"Wile Maw," it said with a slight bow, before walking towards the door. I guess she wanted to thank me before she left...Maybe she was still conscious while I was carrying her earlier. Another Chansey came and tried to grab her, this one being smart and lifting her off the ground. I guess they're stronger than they look. I saw Mawile's set of 'teeth' on her horns glow, signifying that she was using Bite or Crunch...and that was it. Her horns didn't move at all. She panicked a bit, before trying again, and failing again. "Maw?"
"You shouldn't be leaving yet," the nurse clone admonished the Pokémon. "I was going to tell you before, but you won't be able to use your horns for a while. Most likely, never again." The Mawile's eyes widened in panic. "You're going to need to stay here for a while to get used to it." She started crying a bit, shaking her head in denial. She started struggling against the Chansey even more, attempting to use Bite or Crunch or whatever it was again, then her horns started glowing as she attempted to use Iron Head, and got a bit more success, since the momentum from her shaking her head caused her horns to swing around, though it still wasn't enough to shake off the Chansey. Nurse Joy moved in with a syringe I can only assume was a tranquilizer, and sighed. "I didn't want to do this, but..." It moved closer to the Mawile, whose horns lit ablaze, before it noticed the fire, and suddenly stopped moving altogether, as her panic intensified. I think. I guess she's afraid of fire...maybe it was a fire Pokémon that gave her those wounds? Joy moved to use the syringe...
"HANG ON!"
...I'm using a lot of Ace Attorney cut-ins lately, aren't I? Anyways, Nurse Joy, the Chansey, and Mawile all looked at me, the latter shaking off her panic as she did. I took a few seconds to gather my thoughts. I sort of shouted without thinking...let's see, what can I do here...? GOT- no, wait, let's try to cut back on the cut-ins. So just 'got it' normally.
"Why don't you...let me take care of it?" I asked tentatively. "I mean, I won't be able to get very far without a Pokémon around here, and Mawile needs someone to help her adapt to not using her horns anymore, so it's win-win...what say you?"
Mawile looked contemplative for a second, before nodding.
"Maw." I'm assuming that means 'yes'. It's amazing how one syllable can mean so many different things...
"Well, if that's what you want," Nurse Joy relented, the syringe mysteriously vanishing from her hands, as she went behind the counter. "I'll need you to fill out some forms here." Great, paperwork...wait, crap! Name! Do I just use my real one, or...? For some reason, it feels like using my real name is a very, very bad idea...quick, come up with a random name...I just decided to fill in 'Leo Tatsugami' since Leo sounds cool...and then I was stuck for a last name, so I decided to go for a Fourze reference. Then came the next obstacle: Hometown. Let's see, if I'm going to do this, I need a city big enough that no one would notice if one more person randomly added themselves to the population...let's see, the biggest cities of the region...Saffron? Wait, mind-reading Psychics. Fuschia? No, ninja spies to find all the info they need. Hmm...Oh! I decided to put in Celadon. It's a large city, with no Psychics or ninjas that would find me out. A few more papers, and a picture taking later...
"Alright then, Leo Tatsugami. Here's your Trainer Card..." she handed me a card with my picture on it, and a few other random pieces of info I didn't care much for. "...as well as a Badge Case and some PokéBalls." She handed me a purple, plastic case and a tray of six of the red and white spheres...it feels so good to be holding these in my hand...it's a dream come true! Anyways, I enlarged one of the PokéBalls.
"Well, are you ready to begin our adventure, Mawile?" I asked, holding the ball out to her.
"Wi~le Maw!" She confirmed, touching the button with her hand, allowing herself to be sucked inside. It shook once, before pinging. I immediately let her out.
"Well, it's time to begin our journey...Melanie," I said, nicknaming her on the spot. Seeing the questioning glance she shot me, I explained: "If I don't give you a name, you'll just be an ordinary Mawile that happens to have a handicap. So I'm giving you a nickname to separate you from all the rest, so everyone will know full well that you're the best of them all!"
"Wile!" She agreed. We walked off, before we heard the clone nurse shouting:
"Wait!" She ran out after us, as we turned around. She tied a large, lavender-colored ribbon onto Melanie, covering the scar on her cord. "This way, you won't have to risk hurting that scar much more if you battle. You should still check in with other Pokémon Centers after any intense battles you're in, though." Oh! That reminds me!
"Say...where's the nearest town with a Gym?"
"Just North of here, in Zeal City." Zeal City? Never heard of that place...must be one of the random Gyms Gary got his ten badges from in the anime. Since the anime is the only universe I know of with more than eight official Gyms in a region in one time frame, this must be said anime. Which reminds me, I only checked the map to find a Pokémon Center before, and I only saw that I was in Kanto, but where in Kanto am I? I pulled out my phone and checked, seeing that I was not on any official route and 'Zeal City' was a few miles to the North.
"Sure. Why not," I said, as Nurse Joy silently went back into the center. "Well, off to 'Zeal City' then. First, though..." I closed the map app and opened up the Pokédex.
"Mawile, the Deceiver Pokémon. It uses its cute looking appearance to convince its prey to lower its guard. Its horns have taken on the appearance of jaws in order to repel predators. This Mawile is female and has the Ability Hyper Cutter. She knows the moves Play Rough, Iron Head, Flamethrower, and Bite."
"Hmm. I suppose that's a good set for now, although Bite will be hard to use...wait," I turned to Melanie. "You know how to use Flamethrower, but you're afraid of fire?" I only got a shrug in response. "Well, okay, I guess. Let's get moving!"
"Wile Maw!" Melanie agreed, as we ran off. I can't help but wonder what's in store for us...and again, who is 'A'? What does he/she/it want with me? Well, I suppose the only way to find out is to just keep moving forward!
Episode 02 - Fin