It took Tanner a moment to register the question. The others stared while he processed what she asked.

Finally, his brain caught up with him. Human… yes, he was human! Well, he was a strange magic fox creature right now, but under normal circumstances he was human.

Landon watched for a moment, his eyes flicking back and forth between Tanner and Tessa. After a few moments he broke the uncomfortable silence. "Tessa, if he doesn't know what Salamence are, he might not have heard the stories about humans. Like I said, he's traumatized. Just leave it be for-"

"No no- I mean yes. Yeah, I'm a human." Tanner blurted out. Despite all the risks about not knowing anything about who or where he had woken up, Tanner needed help.

Landon's jaw dropped, and his tail froze. The Mightyena looked at the ground incredulously. He shook his head then hopped onto a chair. ""Wait wait wait wait wait… Did you say yes?"

Tessa sat back, folded her arms, and looked at Landon with a sly grin on her face.

"Yeah. I don't really know what I am or what's going on and… I don't know what to do" Tanner answered Landon.

You mean that you…" Landon gestured a paw broadly at the befuddled Zorua with Pecha crumbs on his fur. "You're a human? One of the exemplars of all pokemon?"

"Uhh… well, I mean, I umm… no?"

"He wouldn't know." Tessa spoke up. "What do the stories say? The Legendaries sometimes don't tell them, right?"

"Sorry, I'm still a little behind. This is all just a little outlandish for me." Landon grumbled. His brow furrowed, and he kept glancing over at Tanner as if he didn't know how to act around him. "So, you're not a Zorua?"

"I don't know what that is. I don't know what she is and you- well, you're a dog, but… no." Tanner responded. Zorua? Zōrúa. He would have to remember that.

Landon looked a bit confused, then conceded with a shrug.

"Yes, you're a Zorua. Ghost Normal type. They're a unique pokemon." Tessa said with her calming, sing-song voice.

"You said that before- what does that mean? Pokemon? Ghost normal type? What is that?" It was all completely foreign to Tanner…

"Well… pokemon refers to all of us. Every living creature. We all have either one or two types. There are eighteen types. Fighting, steel, ghost, normal, dark, flying, fire, water, grass, electric, poison… ground… flying…" Tessa slowed, trying to remember the rest of the types.

"You already said flying." Landon mumbled.

"Right. What else?" Tessa tapped her chin, trying to remember the Pokemon types."

"Ice, psychic, bug, rock, dragon. Not sure why you listed them in that order." Landon said with a raised eyebrow.

'What order are they supposed to be in? Why are there so many?" Tanner asked.

"There's a song you learn when you're in school. Fire, water, grass electric- fight beats ice and…" Landon began to sing to a catchy tune. He stopped when he saw Tessa's look. "Nevermind."

"No, keep going. You're doing great." Tessa encouraged.

"Shut up."

"So, you're all 'pokemon?' I'm a ghost? Does that mean I'm dead? What type are you guys?" A ghost was one of the things Tanner specifically didn't want to be. Not that he had anything wrong with ghosts, but it implied things about being not being alive.

"I'm a fighting and steel type." Tessa clinked a metal spike on her chest with a claw. "Landon is a dark type. And no, ghost types aren't dead. They do have strange ghostly abilities though. Everyone has some kind of power."

"But I-"

"You're serious, aren't you?" Landon interrupted, staring with his dark red eyes at Tanner. "At first I assumed you were trying to run from an old life, or had amnesia, or you were pulling a prank or something. But… you're not faking it. You really don't know. You're actually a human, aren't you?"

Tanner silenced for a moment. He contemplated how to convey that he wasn't lying. He needed help. "Yeah. I was just walking home one moment, and the next thing I knew I woke up in that cave. I don't remember anything, and I have no idea what pokemon are, or… anything." Tanner wasn't sure how much to share. Maybe he was being too trusting. He had only met these creatures a few days ago. On the other hand, he had nothing here. He had no idea what he was, what anything was. He had no hope of doing this alone. He needed help.

"Told ya." Tessa said to Landon. She looked far less smug this time, not downplaying the gravity of the situation. She respected Tanner for some reason that he didn't understand.

Landon looked over at Tessa and sighed. "Sorry, this is hard to wrap my head around. If you're right, why was Tanner brought here? I haven't heard of any conflicts going on. And why to Mayweather? Why to the Shadow Grove?"

"Why us?" Tessa asked. She reached over and put a paw on Landon's shoulder. "We've been chosen, friend. Sometimes the exemplars have guides. Remember the legend of the lake trio? How there was a Grovyle that stayed with the exemplar throughout her journey?"

"I don't remember much of that story, Tess." Landon shook his head and looked back at the ground. "Do you really think we were chosen to guide this kid?"

"I do." She responded. Blue energy surrounded the Lucario's head again, and she gazed at Tanner, as if evaluating him. "I know you can't, but I can see it. I can see it in his aura. He's not being deceptive. He's scared, and talking about this is making him hopeful."

"What is that?" Tanner asked. He had noticed the blue energy around her head before. Whenever it happened, she acted strangely.

Landon sighed and spoke." She'll tell you about aura, I'm sure. Look, can we stop for a minute? I need time to think about this."

Tanner nodded his head in agreement. He needed some time too. Tessa looked between Tanner and Landon then shrugged. She took a bite of the pie and offered it to Landon, who shook his head no. The dog stared at the table in front of him as if concentrating on a difficult math problem.

Tessa was right though, Tanner was scared. This was too much to take in all at once. What he was- a Pokemon. The types and the legends and the magical powers.

After the questions became too much in his mind, Tanner spoke again.

"I… do I have to do a lot of fighting? Can I just go home?"

Landon and Tessa both gave Tanner a sympathetic look

"Oh, my friend… let me explain." Tessa pushed the half-eaten pie aside and put her paws on the table. "We are all pokemon. We were created by Arceus, descended from Mew. Arceus created the world, as well as pokemon of great power. We call them Legendary pokemon. Arceus tasked them with governing different aspects of the world, like the weather, or emotions. Sometimes the Legendary Pokemon bring humans into the world to solve problems. They end wars or defeat stray legendaries." Tessa paused, awaiting questions.

"So, are they like gods? And they bring humans into the world? So there… aren't humans here?" Tanner asked.

"Some worship them as gods, and no, humans aren't from this world." Landon shook his head no.

That was discouraging. He was the only human in this world. He was alone. More than that…"Am I going to have to end a war before I can go home?"

"Well, that's the question. I don't know of any wars going on. Maybe there's a legendary causing problems, but there's none that I'm aware of." Tessa mumbled.

"So why am I here? What am I supposed to do!?" Tanner didn't want to deal with this! He was alone, brought here for some grand purpose he didn't know, and would have to end a war or convince a god to be nice! That wasn't going to go well, Tanner got a C in debate!

"Easy, friend. We can help you find your path." Tessa stood and walked over to Tanner's chair, and wrapped an arm around him, holding him comfortingly. It made Tanner a little uncomfortable. "Take it from me. It doesn't matter what you were. What matters is who you choose to be."

"But I don't know-"

"Listen. I think we all have a lot to think about. This has been a lot to take in for everyone, and we're not going to push it, especially when none of us know what's going on. Let's take a day, alright? Tanner, you can come to us for questions, but please take it easy." Landon sat up straight. It was clear that he wasn't making a suggestion. It was a good idea. Tanner was more than overwhelmed. He had a lot to think about. He wasn't even sure where to start.

"...okay."

'I think that's wise." Tessa agreed. She sat back down but pushed the pie towards Tanner. "Now, you've only had a few bites of the pie. It would be wrong to waste it"

Tanner shrugged. He wasn't really hungry. Not after this.

What did this all mean? Why did it happen to him? Tanner wasn't remarkable at all. He wasn't a hero. He was a normal kid with nothing special about him. Why did the gods choose him? Why did this happen to him?

At least Landon and Tessa were willing to help. Tanner mulled it over, trying to take it all in when he saw Landon staring at him, and licking his lips.

"You are going to eat that… right?" Landon asked.

"No." Tanner responded.

Landon wagged his tail and pulled the plate over, before he began to eat the rest of the pie.

"Don't worry, wayfarer. The storm will pass. You'll be alright. I'll make sure of it." The lucario said with a smile.

Tanner wasn't sure. But maybe… maybe it would be okay.