The coffee shop was almost empty. Jess sat opposite Trevor, a cup of coffee in her hand. As both of them sipped their drinks, not saying much. Jess coldly asked, "What's your story?"

Trevor sighed looking at his cup. "From the Shift? Not much really."

Jess huffed, "There's gotta be something interesting."

"I suppose I could tell you about the time my ribs got broken due to Pokémon," Trevor said. "So, a month or so post-Shift, I was taking a walk through town with a makeshift bow at my side - some asshole of a Machop punched me in the chest." He looked around relieved that no-one paid the duo much mind; the other patrons were either eating or engaged in conversations of their own.

Jess almost spat out her coffee. "Wow, how are you still alive? It must have hurt!"

"Armor." Trevor gingerly touched the mostly-healed ribs. Running still hurt like hell and strenuous activity could make him double over, but still it was an improvement over chest pain while walking. "What about you? Did you fight anything?"

Jess shrugged, and paused before she continued, "So how did you feel when the Pokémon first showed up?"

"Really confused," Trevor replied. "Who wouldn't feel that?"

"We have a discussion group next Tuesday at 8pm if you want to share your story. It's held in the East Melbourne library. Bring your friends or family along; they are welcome to attend if they want." Jess took a business card from the desk, before writing down the time and venue on the back.

"Is this discussion group a regular thing?"

"Yes. It's bi-weekly. You are free to come and go to these meetings as you please. I strongly recommend attending as many meetings as you can; working through this event will require a lot of support."

The duo finished their coffees at the same time, before they paid for their portions of the bill. Jess gave only a curt nod to Trevor before she turned and left.

Days of work passed in a blink. Most of the clients that came to the vet clinics were humans with their Earth-native pets, suffering from various complications.

"There you go, sir," he said to an elderly man who hugged his pet cat tightly. "Take care."

The man nodded as he paid. "I don't know what my sons are talking about, with these so-called Pokey-mans wandering around. I just hope they become less of a problem soon. There are dragons flying around now. What if one snatches my cat and eats it? He's all I have left." He shuffled out of the clinic.

Trevor noted that there were much less Pokemon coming. He briefly wondered what had happened to Liam. Most Pokemon weren't really regular with their check-ups, and he couldn't blame them. There were a lot of Pokemon that could heal themselves or other Pokemon after all.

The thought was dismissed as he brought in the next client.

Matt noticed his brother packing his phone, wallet and keys. "Hey Trevor. Night shift?"

Trevor turned around. "No. There's an event at the local library. A discussion group. It's free to join. Want to come?"

Matt frowned, then nodded. "Yeah, alright. Not like I have anything to do at the moment besides watch depressing news on how Pokemon changed the world. What's it about?"

"Pokemon. You know. The Shift."

"I hope the stories are entertaining." Matt grabbed his belongings and got into the car with Trevor. "How was your day at the clinic? I hope less Pokemon and animals are getting hurt."

Matt pulled the car into the parking space and stopped the car. He checked his watch - 7:55pm. That gave them a bit of time to actually find the group. Both men stepped out and entered the library. It closed at 10:30pm - more than enough time for a meeting, they decided.

They sat down, reading books and magazines, as a group of nine people came in to sit at a bunch of pushed-together tables. Matt got up and moved to the group.

"I heard of a discussion group meeting here at eight. Is this the right place?"

The woman frowned. "What discussion group?"

"About the uh, Shift." Matt scratched his head. "Sorry, I've got my brother with me. Heard that this was a place to share our stories."

Her face brightened. "Of course. Yes, we're just starting. Bring your brother over and we'll talk."

Trevor came over and sat down, as did Matt.

"I'm Matt. This is my brother, Trevor."

The people around the table looked at each other, and the stories began.

If anyone had asked Trevor who Jess Altair was, he'd have described her as an indifferent woman, somewhat cold and distant. Here, she smiled and nodded along when people talked.

"Oh, of course," a blonde woman with her hair tied up in a ponytail said. Her name was Nicole. "I was a paramedic, so no wonder I was sent to get the wounded off the streets. Nothing stops work even with an elemental monster invasion."

"How did that make you feel?" Jess asked, staring at Nicole through her glasses.

"Can we just say 'confused' and move on with that?" Nicole asked, rather uncertain. 'Look, that's the general stuff, OK? But really… I was scared, after seeing some of the damage they were capable of."

"You were right to be scared, considering their powers." Jess replied, pointing to another person. "You?"

"Barry," the man replied. He wore a light jacket over some gray sweatpants and a blue hoodie. "I was caring for my daughter when the Pokey-mans arrived. Closed all the curtains and locked every window and door I could find. We hid in there for a few days till the military came through and gave us a hand in evacuating."

Nicole looked at him. 'You didn't try to drive off like so many others. That was a smart move considering the traffic and chaos."

Barry grinned. "Hell, yeah. We only had supplies for a few days. Man, the power was knocked down early on, so we lived off the canned food we had for a week. Had to throw out so much food when it went bad..."

"Would it be a really good idea to stay though?" Matt replied. 'I mean, Trevor did considering he was a medical worker and people need to take care of their pets. But couldn't–"

"Hell, no. I'm not leaving my house behind. Safer than trying to drive through the desert for sure. Lots of monsters are turning up there now, I've heard."

Nicole looked around. "There were less monsters running around in the first days."

Barry glared at her. "You nuts? I'm not crossing paths with an electric lizard so it can fry me. My daughter only has me!"

Nicole looked at Barry before going silent. The group went around the table, showing more stories. Neither Matt nor Trevor were sure how many were embellished.

A young man who had by some miracle, managed to stab a Gyrados through the eye when it attacked him, killing it. Another woman whose son had brought a small Pokemon home after it befriended the family dog of all things.

Finally, the group reached Matt and Trevor. They duo looked at each other.

"I got my ribs broken by Pokemon once," Trevor said. Everyone turned to look at him. "The reason I'm alive is because I wore a set of leather motorcycle armor with a thick, padded plastic guard."

Barry stared at them. 'The hell, man. What sort of Pokemon was it?"

"Machop. These things are really strong for their size. Like being hit with a full-power punch from two grown men."

Jess watched both of them with a cold expression. "Do you have any negative impressions of these particular Pokemon after that?"

"Of course!" Trevor replied. "I mean they broke my ribs! Being reluctant to be near Pokemon of these species is only natural. Hell, I upgraded from my makeshift bow after that."

"What else?" Jess asked. Her gaze bored into Trevor and Matt, making them shudder.

Both men shook their heads. Matt turned to the man who had stabbed a Gryados to death by pure, dumb luck - Adrian.

"Do you remember anything regarding what happened?" Matt asked. "When you stabbed that Gyarados thing to death, that is."

"Look, all I remember is the fact that it had probably dozens of teeth that could bite me in half." Adrian replied. "Not much else I can say."

Jess pointed to Matt. "What about you?"

Matt straightened out his jacket. 'I did the same as Barry here. Closed the curtains, made as little noise as possible. Trevor, the crazy guy that he was, still went to work despite the dangers. My office job was put on hold due to the chaos." He nudged Trevor. "At least I don't have broken ribs."

Jess watched Matt as he continued. "I always looked up to my brother. Hell the fact that he still went to work to help people despite the dangers was quite admirable. I think if he'd stayed home he wouldn't be in this situation." Both Trevor and Matt glanced at each other, before Matt smiled. "I managed to work up the nerve to leave the house after a month. So there was that."

Jess watched him intently. "How did you work yourself up to leave?"

Matt shrugged. 'There wasn't much food and water left in the house. I saw soldiers patrolling and fewer Pokemon on the streets. So I was essentially forced to leave, with my shotgun in hand. Even got a little temporary gig helping out in defending the suburbs. I don't have anything else to say."

Alright." Jess said. "Meeting's finished. I'll see you all next week! Flyers for the group are available if you want them." She pointed to a pile near her. Most of the attendants thanked her and walked away without saying a word. Matt and Trevor went to take a pamphlet before walking away.

"That was a good meeting," Matt said.

"Yeah." Trevor put the car into gear. He'd have laughed at some of the stories if it didn't make his chest hurt so much. "Though I wonder if these stories were exaggerated."

Neither of them spoke a word as they pulled into the driveway.

There was decidedly a pattern to vet visits on the Post-Shift Earth. Multiple times Trevor saw that the clients were predominantly human or Pokemon - not much of an even split. They both kept to themselves, sitting on opposite sides of the waiting room. An occasional glare would be seen between them, but that was it.

No-one wore armor anywhere on their bodies, and he couldn't blame them. While his reinforced motorcycle jacket was still very viable for everyday usage when he was off the job, the damage to his ribs meant the additional hard plastic chestplate, once used before the Shift by riders who were safety conscious, had to be ditched.

He'd left the business card with the scribbled-down venue and the flier for the discussion group on the table as temporary storage. No-one would see it anyway - and it wasn't like Pokemon were capable of reading.

Liam glanced at the table. "What are these?"

Trevor smiled. "Oh, contact cards for a cafe and a flier for a discussion group."

"Discussion group?"

"About the Shift. People went there to talk about their experiences. I told them how my ribs were broken. Boy, that got a rise out of everyone." He chuckled, which caused his chest to flare up in pain. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I think the only positive story told there was a dog from Earth that brought something called a Growlithe home to its owners." He continued examining Liam. "I guess your wings are doing better. See you around."

As Liam left, Trevor opened the glass doors separating the clinic and the waiting room to call the next patient. Without Pokemon around, many of the owners had relaxed their grips on their pets.

A young man holding a kitten like a baby walked up to him with a look of disbelief.

"Did that Pokemon just talk?!"