Chapter 16: Purification

Mimi picked up the small device, not knowing of course what powers it had and that it was called a digivice, but she could sense that it was something very important.

"I'm just quickly gonna change into my regular dress," she told Maractus and added: "Wait for me here. And make sure nobody sees you."

Then she went to the backstage dressing room, while Maractus was waiting outside, making sure nobody saw it.

When Tachikawa Mimi came out of the dressing room, she was wearing a reddish dress. But it wasn't a princess dress like her stage outfit as the idol Princess Mimi, but a western-style dress with a brown belt with a golden buckle. Matching it she was wearing a big cowgirl hat with a drawstring. Her hair was tied back in a high ponytail with long strands framing her face.

"Ok, I'll just give my parents a video call from the public computer they have here telling them I'm on my way," she told the grass-type Pokémon.

She opened the door a gap and peered through.

"Ok, the coast seems clear. Come on, but make sure nobody sees you and make sure my parents don't see you on the screen," she said and opened the door and went to the computer with Maractus to call her parents.

As she touched the computer to start a video call with her parents, the device that she had put on her bag began to glow and then the computer screen started to shine in bright light.

Mimi closed her eyes and covered her face with her arm.

"What's that? I can't call my parents when the screen is so bright!"

When she opened her eyes again she was standing in the middle of what seemed like a jungle.

As she looked to her side she saw what looked like a grass-type Pokémon.

At first, she had thought it was Maractus, as it really looked similar - especially to the one she knew.

It looked like a green, bipedal grass-type Pokémon with dark green eyes, a tail, and small bumps lining its back. A tropical pink and yellow flower with a long, yellow stamen with a red tip was blooming on its head. It had large, root-like feet and foliage-like hands which had three purple-tipped vines that act like fingers.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Mimi, don't you recognize me?" it asked.

"Maractus? Is it really you? And … since when can you speak?" Mimi asked.

Maractus nodded and said: "Yes, it's me, but here in this world I'm called Palmon. That's my real name. And in this world, I could always speak. Sorry, I don't know why we can't speak in your world."

Mimi was confused. Very confused and had to take everything in first.

She didn't even know where to start.

"Wait? … My world? Your world? What do you mean? Where are we even and how did we get here?"

"Looks like a jungle to me," Palmon told her and Mimi replied that she could see that for herself.

"What will become of us now?" Mimi wondered and seemed very worried.

Palmon, unfortunately, had no answer to that but suggested looking around to see if there was anybody else here.

"Good idea! Somebody will be around for sure," Mimi replied with newfound confidence.

So the two of them started walking through the jungle. They didn't find any other humans, but they found a tree with Golden Nanab Berries, which made Mimi very happy! She pointed out to them and Palmon took the Golden Nanab Berries down from the tree with her Vine Whip, uh, Poison Ivy attack.

"What is that!?" Mimi asked, frustrated as she realized that these weren't even real Golden Nanab Berries but Palmon who had already tried them told Mimi, that they were tastier than you'd expect.

At first that didn't make Mimi feel any better, but then she realized that it was probably better for Palmon if it wasn't an actual Golden Nanab Berry because Palmon was still a wild Pokémon and eating such a Berry would have slowed her down, which Mimi at the moment, did not want to. Her grandfather, the president of Silph Co., always told her that it was dangerous to walk in the high grass without a Pokémon and now she was in a freaking jungle! That surely counted as "high grass", right? What if wild Pokémon attacked!? Mimi surely didn't want her only companion to be slowed down.

But then again, Palmon wasn't actually her companion, right? Would it still protect her if they were attacked, she wondered, when she was suddenly torn from her thoughts by two "Hello there"s.

When Mimi looked up she saw two Pokémon sitting on the branch of a tree.

Mimi had never seen these two Pokémon before but one of them looked like some kind of garbage Pokémon. Even if Mimi wasn't in her stage persona she still didn't like those very much. One was a repulsive, poop-shaped Pokémon that shone goldenly, and the other one that was sitting on top of the poop-Pokémon looked like a mouse Pokémon. A bit like a Rattata, but it looked like it would be walking on two legs if it walked on its own and it was pink. Also ... it looked a bit weird. Even compared with a poop-shaped Pokémon. Well, that looked weird anyway.

"And who are these guys?" Mimi asked, a bit annoyed.

"They are Sukamon and Chuumon. They always hang out together," Palmon explained.

"It's an honor for us," Sukamon and Chuumon introduced themselves, but then they suddenly started throwing pink poop at Mimi and Palmon.

"Help!" Mimi screamed and ran away through the jungle.

But Sukamon and Chuumon followed her and Palmon, by jumping from tree to tree while continuing to throw pink-colored poop at Mimi and Palmon.

"Hey, what do you think you are doing!?" Mimi turned around and shouted angrily.

She was really pissed at these two strange Pokémon.

"If you want us to stop, leave your luggage there," Sukamon told her and Chuumon added: "All of it!"

"Our luggage?" Mimi asked, perplexed and Palmon asked them if they were highwaymen.

"Surely you have lots of interesting things with you! That's exactly what we want! Leave them all here!" Sukamon commanded them and Chuumon added: "Leave them behind!"

"Forget it!" Mimi declared in a determined voice.

"You refuse?" Sukamon asked, bewildered.

"I'd rather throw my things away before I give them to you!" Mimi told them.

Of course, Sukamon and Chuumon didn't like to hear that, so they started to throw pink poop at Mimi and Palmon again and they had to flee once again.

After this strange chase went on for a while, Mimi stopped exhausted and moaned that she didn't want any more.

Sukamon and Chuumon tried to use this situation to steal Mimi's bag, but as they touched it, the small device that she had found earlier started to glow in a bright light that shone on the two creatures.

"Somehow my heart feels so refreshed," Sukamon claimed, as the light turned down again.

"Totally refreshed," Chuumon added.

"We are not feeling refreshed at all!" Mimi stated, still annoyed.

"I feel like a good shit pile!" Sukamon declared and Chuumon added: "Totally good!"

"For real?" Mimi asked not sure if she could believe them, or if she should even take them seriously. She has never talked to Pokémon like this before. Let alone met such weird ones.

But then … What was Maractus, or Palmon, saying again? Apparently, this wasn't Mimi's world. Was this … the Pokémon world? Their original world, where they came from? Did they even come from another world? Mimi knew there were sayings about this. Some believed that Pokémon came from outer space, but … until now, she never really cared about things like that. The only things she needed were Maractus, her beloved family, and her stage performances. But now … was she in outer space?

"Tell me, have you seen humans around here?" Palmon wanted to know.

"Humans?" Sukamon didn't seem to know what humans were.

"Living beings like her," Palmon explained, pointing at Mimi.

Sukamon seemed to think for a moment and then remember something.

"Now that you say it …"

"You saw somebody?" Mimi's hopes suddenly rose.

"We didn't see it clearly from the distance," Sukamon admitted, but continued: "but one of these creatures and a Tentomon were in the ancient area."

"Really?" Mimi asked happily.

Hearing that there were other humans there was a great relief for her and changed her mood completely.

"But have you guys really become good Digimon?" Palmon was still a bit doubtful.

"Of course we are!" Sukamon claimed.

"Hard to believe," Palmon admitted.

"At least ... that's how we feel right now," the two Digimon said, sounding truthful.

Wait. … What had Palmon just called these two? Digimon? Not Pokémon? Were they not Pokémon? What exactly were Digimon and what differed them from Pokémon? Was Palmon a Digimon as well? But Palmon was Maractus and Maractus was clearly a Pokémon, so … Mimi was confused, and by the time she finished her thoughts, Palmon had demanded from those two Digimon that they would take them to the ancient area and they agreed, seemingly happy to help.

"And here we are!" Sukamon proclaimed after they were walking through the jungle for a while.

But 'here we are' might have been a little bit of a stretch.

Sure, they could see the temple ruins of the ancient area from there and they were really impressive, however …

"So we have to jump over there?" Mimi asked, looking down the precipice to the river and then across the canyon that edge they were standing on and that separated them from the ancient area.

"That terrifies me," admitted Palmon.

Chuumon asked if they were happy that they showed them the way.

"Yes, I guess so," Mimi conceded.

"Then you could go on a date with us to thank us," Sukamon suggested and Chuumon repeated: "On a date!"

"You can absolutely forget about that!" Mimi severely declined.

"We're leaving here. Hold on tight to me," Palmon told Mimi and the young human girl did as she was told.

Again Palmon used the Poison Ivy attack that was basically Vine Whip and got the two of them to the other side of the canyon.

"And gone they are …" Sukamon sighed.

"Something like that always only happens to me. I am fed up," Mimi moaned.

"Hopefully we'll see each other again somewhere soon!" Sukamon and Chuumon shouted.

"I hope not!" shouted Mimi back.

Then she and Palmon continued walking towards the ruins of the ancient area that was at the foot of a very high and very pointed mountain.

The ancient area was round, like a kind of coliseum, but without rows of seats.

Although the place was in ruins one could still imagine its beauty and how impressive it must have once been. Mimi looked in awe at the giant statues of creatures she had never seen before. Were they Pokémon? No, probably Digimon. Though Mimi still didn't know what exactly Digimon were and how they were connected to Pokémon and what differed them.

As Mimi looked around she saw a young boy about her age with spiky red hair sitting in front of a monolith that had text written on it in the same symbols that were written on the mysterious device. The boy was facing the monolith but he seemed to be looking down at something that Mimi couldn't see, as his body was covering her view. Next to the boy, there was a Ledyba - or … was it a Ledyba? Well, whatever. It didn't really matter now. Mimi was just glad that she found another human, and that the excursion through the jungle wasn't for nothing.

So now Mimi has arrived in this strange other world as well. But what exactly is this world?

And what exactly are Digimon? And how are they connected to Pokémon?

And what about the so-called digivices? What powers do they hold?

And who is that boy and what is he doing?

Be excited to find out … as the adventure takes off!