Chapter 4: On Waking
Rex's view
...I was flying...
...flying...
...over Japan?...
...I was falling...
...falling...
...fall-
My eyes flew open. My heart was pounding, and I was covered in a cold sweat. I slowed my breathing. Just a dream. "Bobo?" I called quietly. There was no reply. Ah, probably gone on a taco break, I thought. I swung out of bed.
And fell off the top bunk of a bunk bed.
"WHAT THE ****?" I swore, massaging my leg. And that was when I took a closer look at my surroundings.
There was a small bedside table on the right of the bunk, which was tucked into the corner of the room. A small desk faced the end of the bed on the adjacent wall. A door stood next to this desk. And a window facing a small garden had sunlight shining through.
This was not my Providence room.
"It's just a dream, it's just a dream... An all-too-realistic dream..." I chanted to myself, squeezing my eyes shut. When I opened them, the room was still there. I panicked. I climbed up the bunk bed, jumped off, leapt on the desk, leapt off the desk, and ran around in circles before flinging myself onto the bottom bunk and banging my head on the pillow.
After I had calmed down, I took deep breaths and saw a small rucksack sitting next to the now squashed pillow. I opened it and gasped.
Inside, there were a few packets of instant soup, a bar of soap, an empty water bottle and a small first-aid kit. This did not surprise me much.
A square watch that was blue and emitting regular blips, some purple and yellow spray-bottles and a few cans of what was labelled "Poffins" did.
Not to mention the multitude of small, red-and-white spheres.
I picked one up. It was smooth metal, and about the size of a walnut. The black stripe dividing the two colours led around to a double-ringed small, white button. I pressed it, and the whole sphere grew to the size of an orange. I pressed it again, and it shrunk. I gasped again. The words I'd told Dr Holiday came to mind. '...There were little spheres, red on the top and white on the bottom, getting smaller and growing bigger and then shrinking again...' My breathing quickened. I pressed the 'inner' button... and the sphere hinged open by a spring. Inside, a dark blue metal frame held down some glassy material. A few small orange dots marked each corner of these glassy areas. A small green spot marked the centre of the semi-sphere. It was the same in the top half. I pressed a finger to the glass and activated my nanites...
A red glow surrounded me and I dissolved - there was no other word for it. I felt like I was rushing towards the open sphere, and then I sort of... got sleepy...
Getting stuck was not an option.
I fought, I bashed, I kicked, and then – I was out. Just like that. The red glow subsided, and I closed the sphere and shrunk it. "That... is not... happening... again." I panted. Cautiously exploring my bag further, I was careful not to activate my nanites.
A pocket with an iron-on label "Key Items" had one sphere inside, along with a note. "Throw me" was written on it. I figured that throwing the note wouldn't do much. So I threw the sphere.
A red glow filled the room, and a small, one-person, pop-up tent (in its packaging) materialized out of the glow; then the glow subsided. Wow! I threw the sphere again and the tent disappeared. I supposed that was what had happened to me. Shrinking the sphere, I put it away and rooted around some more.
I found a small booklet. It had a heading: A Beginning Trainer's Guide. I opened it and started to read.
A Beginning Trainer's Guide
1: Introduction
2: Pokémon – What are they?
3: Trainers – What do they do?
4: Pokémon Care – How to look after your companions
5: Gyms – Information on all eight
6: Contests – Poffin guide and accessory list
7: Sinnoh – Maps, Town list and Hotspots
1: Introduction
Hello! No doubt if you are reading this booklet you are a beginning Pokémon Trainer, or are planning on travelling with or working with these incredible creatures. This booklet will show you the basics, the complexities, the simplicities. No doubt you will find out much more on your travels – but hey, this is a beginner's manual! Read on!
I raised my eyebrows, skipped a few chapters, and kept reading.
5: Gyms – Information on All Eight
The goal of any trainer is to defeat the eight Pokémon Gym Leaders and the Elite Four of the Pokémon League. This is the ultimate feat that only a few have managed to pull off. The eight Gyms are scattered around this region, and a trainer must journey around to reach each one, befriending their Pokémon and gaining their trust. The Gyms are as follows:
First Gym – Oreburgh City – Leader Roark – Rock Type – Coal Badge
Second Gym – Eterna City – Leader Gardenia – Grass Type – Forest Badge
Third Gym – Veilstone City – Leader Maylene – Fighting Type – Cobble Badge
Fourth Gym – Pastoria City – Leader Wake – Water Type – Fen Badge
Fifth Gym – Hearthome City – Leader Fantina – Ghost Type – Relic Badge
Sixth Gym – Canalave City – Leader Byron – Steel Type – Mine Badge
Seventh Gym – Snowpoint City – Leader Candice – Ice Type – Icicle Badge
Eighth Gym – Sunnyshore City – Leader Volkner – Electric Type – Beacon Badge
Here I decided the booklet was boring and threw it back into the bag. I shouldered the bag and walked out of the room. Three steps out into the corridor outside, I bumped into a girl of about age fifteen.
"Aaargh!" We screamed. She had shoulder-length black hair pinned up with two triangular clips, and a white beanie. A short black dress with a pink edge was accompanied by pink boots over black tights. A red scarf hung around her neck. A pink version of that blue watch in my bag was around her wrist. "Who-who are you?" she stuttered.
"Me? Who the heck are you? Why did I wake up one morning in a totally different room to the one I was sleeping in, fall out of a bunk bed, get sucked into a red and white sphere, read some random booklet about some Pokémon thing, and then bump into someone who I've never even seen before?"
She looked at me in a really freaked-out way. "...You need to come with me."
Dawn's view
"Dawn, I need you to scan for swarms."
"Sure thing!"
It was a fine summer's morning. Well, as fine as it could be in Sinnoh – maybe twenty degrees, at the most. Professor Rowan, always doing his work, told me, once again, to scan for Pokémon swarms. So I walked off to the small part of the lab that contained the scanning equipment.
I turned the corner – and bumped into a Hispanic teen in a red jacket and black pants. "Aaargh!" We yelled. "Who-who are you?" I stuttered, caught completely off-guard.
"Me?" he replied indignantly. "Who the heck are you? Why did I wake up one morning in a totally different room to the one I was sleeping in, fall out of a bunk bed, get sucked into a red and white sphere, read some random booklet about some Pokémon thing, and then bump into someone who I've never even seen before?"
I freaked. The words of the Dialga I had briefly caught during the Galactic Incident came back to mind...
-Dawn-
I looked up. "What is it, Dialga?"
-Guide them-
"Guide who?"
-Guide those who know nothing-
"...But why?"
-Guide them...those in red, orange and green-
Red, orange and green...?
-Who know nothing-
I pondered this...
"...You need to come with me."