"Where'd they go?" Ash asked as they ran after Team Rocket, but they couldn't find them. That was when they heard scuffling coming from down a corridor.
"What was that?" Brock looked down the way, then the three ran down the corridor, and saw a shadow of a frightening looking creature.
"Wh-what do you think that is?" Misty whispered nervously. "Do you think its a Pokémon?" Ash pulled out a PokeBall.
"Well if it is, I'm gonna catch it!" Then he looked to Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried out, then performed the trick. "Pikaaaaaa- chuuuuuuuu!" They heard a sound of fluttering wings and a slapping noise as two strange creatures came running out! One was definitely a flying type, with a teal belly, blue wings, and yellow feet and a beak. The other looked like a fighting type. It was small at the head and was huge on the end, with itty bitty little legs and a horn on its head.
"Huh? I've never seen Pokémon like that before." Misty remarked.
"Yeah, I wonder what they are." Ash said, aiming his Pokedex at the two creatures.
"No Pokémon found." They all gasped, as the larger creature snorted.
"So if they're not Pokémon, then what are they?" Brock asked, going over to the bigger creature and patting it, it snorting with affection. "This one's pretty friendly."
"Ah! Ash, get it away from me!" Misty screamed, and Ash turned to see that the flying creature was going over to her, pecking at her in a friendly way. Ash laughed at her.
"I think it likes you!" he said, then tossed his Pokeball into the air and caught it in his hand. "I'll see if I can catch it!" Then he threw the Pokeball at it, and it just bounced off the creature! "Huh?" The flying creature gave Ash a dirty look, then spun around and set a storm over Ash, Ash being electrocuted!
"Gah!" Ash screamed. "It must also be an electric type!" That was when the bigger creature stopped butting Brock's hand to be petted, then ran down the corridor.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Brock called, running after it.
"Brock, wait up!" Ash called, running after him.
"Chu!" Pikachu called, and Misty followed them, still being pursued by the flying creature.
MO
"There. I think he will be okay." Esther murmured, rubbing a wet washcloth onto the cat's head. "Though, I'm not sure how or if I'm supposed to take this gold bit off."
"Yeah, it looks like those other two are okay as well." Swaine said from the other side the room, where he was helping Oliver tend to the man and the woman. Rashaad had gone back to his babana stand, assuring them that he would keep an eye for anymore disturbances, and Rema was in the other room, preparing dinner.
That was when the two began to stir.
"Oh, my. What happened?" Asked the woman.
"I'm afraid you might have a bit of a lump on your head." Swaine told her. "But, you wear your hair pretty big, so I wouldn't worry about it." The woman looked at him, her eyes wide.
"Where are we?" Asked the man, looking around wildly, his eyes falling onto Esther, and her eyes falling onto him. He then suddenly jumped off of Esther's bed that he and the woman had been laying on, and knelt in front of Esther, as if proposing. "Hello! My name is James! May I tell you are that you are quite lovely?" Esther looked startled, then turned to Swaine and Oliver, who were snickering at her.
"Um, thank you?" she hazard, playing with her bracelets. "My name is, Esther. Do you think you can help me?" The man, James, jumped to his feet at once.
"Of course I'll help you! I'm glad to help! I'm always here to help!" She blushed, then led him over to the cat.
"Its your cat. Do you know what this gold bit is?" James seemed to crumble a little, but sighed.
"Yes. This is for one of Meowth's moves, called Pay Day. Though he is not called a "cat", he is a Meowth."
"A Meowth?" Esther asked, looking at the creature again. "I've never seen one of those roaming in the Rolling Hills before."
"Rolling Hills?" The woman asked, sitting up. "Where is that in the Cantos region?" Esther, Oliver, and Swaine exchanged looks, before looking back at the pair.
"Uh, you see, I don't think you're in Cantos anymore." Oliver said slowly. "Our friend, the Conductor, told us you came from another world."
"Another world?" The woman asked. Swaine nodded to her.
"Yep. Welcome to our world, Ni No Kuni. I'm Swaine." He held out his hand to her, and she shook it a bit wearily.
"I'm Jessie."
"I'm Oliver." Oliver added, just as Meowth woke up.
"Oh, meow! What happened?"
"You're in another world, Meowth." Esther told him gently, removing the wet cloth and feeling his forehead. "How's you're head?" Meowth looked up at Esther, liking the girl already. He was a bit of a sucker for anyone who treated him nicely.
"Oh, I'm great!" He told her. "But, another world? What's that supposed to mean?" He looked to Jessie and James. "What did you two dunderheads get us into this time?"
"Meowth, now is not the time!" James hissed, looking to Esther with assuring eyes, making her blush again. This was going to her interesting.
OM
Ash, Misty, and Brock followed the creatures down the corridor, until they came upon a door, lit up with light.
"This must be where they came from." Ash murmured, going closer and peering into the door. "You don't think Team Rocket went down here, do you?"
"Only one way to find out." Brock told him, then they all headed down the corridor, the creatures leading the way. When they opened the door to the other side, they found themselves falling out of the sky! They screamed and landed with a little less dignity than desired, before standing up and looking around. The place they were in was dark and dank, with trash everywhere, and strange mechanical creatures wandered around, making the other two shiver with fear.
"Something tells me that these creatures don't belong here." Misty said, the flying creature coming over and nuzzling up to her, making her shriek again. Ash took the creature on his arm and stroked its back, the bigger one rubbing against Brock's leg.
"Pi-ka?" Pikachu pondered, a little nervous himself.
"Halt! Who goes there?" They suddenly heard someone shout, and looked to see a bunch of guard running at them!
"Ah!" They all shouted, and the guards came over to them.
"How did you get here?" One of them asked. "I thought we got everyone off the boat."
"We didn't come on any boat." Ash told him. "We came through... Well, it sounds kind of stupid, but we came through a doorway that dropped us here!"
"A doorway, aye?" The guard pondered. "Sounds like a Gateway spell. I'll have to take you to Empress Harmony."
"An Empress?" Brock asked, swooning already. "She sounds beautiful!" Misty rolled her eyes, then screeched as the flying creature tried to come to her again.
"Gah! I don't care what you do! Just make this go away!"
"Romel! You watch them." The guard told the others, and he seemed to be in charge. "Shanks, you and Danes will take the Minor Byrde and the Rhinosaur and get them on a safe passage back to the Rolling Hills." Then the guard turned back to Ash, Misty, and Brock. "Please, follow us. Call me Ian. Ian Wells, Captain of the royal guard in Hamelin. Welcome to Autumnia."