My heart pounded loudly as I clutched the poke ball in my pocket. My first trainer battle, and it was going to be a life-or-death one. I wasn't delusional. Sure, I couldn't remember much from history lessons about what had happened some three hundred years back, but I was pretty sure that wild Pokemon were supposed to be plenty dangerous back then, and it wasn't like I had ever lived on my own; how would I get food?

"You- want me to battle you?" I asked, my voice sailing into the upper octaves halfway through the sentence. Two of the men exchanged guilty glances, but Michael didn't look phased in the least.

"Not me," he replied calmly. "Hoothoot and I do not battle- we survey the land, act as an inner defense. You will be facing Trainer Richard and his partner." The man glanced over at Florence and frowned. "Take the boy out to the shore; he must be tested directly. I'll follow in a moment. And make sure that Richard understands the severity of the situation."

Florence bowed her head and murmured something in reply, and then I was being tugged away with her bony fingers wrapped so tightly around my wrist that I was afraid she would snap my hand off. I barely had enough time to grab Drowzee's ear to pull him along- he woke up with a loud bray, making all of the adults (except Michael) jump, then stomped after the two of us, eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"Leggo'me," I mumbled, trying to tug my hand away, as soon as we were out of earshot of the adults. I didn't make any progress in getting free.

"Well, Trainer Monroe, you are doomed indeed," Florence replied, sounding glum. "Trainer Richard is of the second level; you do not stand the slightest chance against him in a fight."

I really didn't care what she was mumbling about, okay? I just wanted to figure out how to stay alive. My stomach was continuously aching now, which didn't help. I started to drag my feet a bit as Florence made a sharp turn, going around the collection of huts; it seemed she was aiming away from all the other people. "Why're you all making such a big deal about this? I don't wanna take over or anything, I just want something to eat and a place to sleep for the night."

"Trainer Monroe-"

"And stop calling me that!" She looked back at me, eyebrows raised, and I sighed. "Just- just Monroe is fine."

"To befriend a majū takes skill and a pure heart," Florence replied dully, still walking forward at a ridiculous pace. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that Drowzee was still following, trying to swallow her words. Me? Skilled? Pure-hearted? "The title of Trainer is not lightly earned, and is to be respected. I do not know what definition Trainer has been given in your time- do you not think yourself worthy of ours?"

Well, with the way these people went on about it, no. I wasn't anything special- just a normal kid with his Pokemon. Nevertheless, I decided to keep my mouth clamped shut.

"We make this into 'such a big deal' because if you are possessed or of evil intent you could destroy us all in a single night." I looked up at her, horrified, but the girl refused to meet my eyes. "Survival goes to the strongest and the most prepared. We are careful people, Trainer Monroe."

"Ah, Florence! What sprout have you dug up, eh?"

Both of our heads snapped towards the right as a booming echo of a voice sounded from the trees nearby. Florence squeezed my wrist even more tightly as a very tall (and rather heavyset) man walked out of the trees, a wide grin etched on his face.

"Trainer Richard," she said, the corners of her mouth inching upward, and I jumped. That was my opponent? "We have a problem."

Richard was much older than Michael had been- much more adult-aged, though exactly how old that was, I couldn't tell. He had a short-cut beard and thinning, frizzy brown hair, and his skin was very, very dark. He wore a heavy jacket over a bare chest with shorts that were held up by a frayed piece of rope. Where Michael had looked put-together, Richard was falling apart.

"I'll say we do," he agreed, covering the ground between us in a few short steps. "You went and found yourself a Drowzee, eh, girl?"

"Not ex-"

"And Michael threw a fit over it, eh?"

"No, sir, you see-"

"Well, I still say you'll probably regret it, but you'll make one helluva Trainer, girl."

"Richard!" she finally shouted, as I cowered behind her- hadn't she been all about showing proper respect before? "The Drowzee is not mine!"

The man's eyes widened. I risked a peek up at Florence and saw that she was blushing.

"Trainer Richard," she said after taking a deep breath and pushing me forward (to my mumbled protest), "meet Trainer Monroe. Or, at least, he claims to be a Trainer-"

"And Michael's worried that he isn't." Richard rubbed a hand over his beard, peering down at me, and I squirmed. Then, without warning, he stepped to the side and picked up Drowzee.

"Hey!" I shouted, startled- Drowzee was my Pokemon. What did this guy think he was doing? Drowzee didn't seem happy either, since he waved his arms around a lot and said "Rooooooo!" rather loudly. It wasn't like the man was affected, unfortunately, since Drowzee was a dwarf next to him. "What're you doing? Put him down!"

"I'm examining this Drowzee," Richard replied calmly. Drowzee pounded his fists against the man's head ineffectually.

"Well, well- stop it!" I said more loudly, rushing over to try and tug Drowzee down. I didn't care if it got me into trouble, I still wasn't going to let this guy bully my Pokemon for no reason. "You're scaring him, I think, knock it off-"

"Okay." Richard grinned, putting Drowzee down carefully (my starter immediately sat down, grumbling under his breath), then held out a hand. "I believe you."

Wait. What?

"He is not accustomed to our culture, Trainer Richard," Florence said in the background. She sounded amused.

"Oh, really?" Richard raised his eyebrows, but also dropped his giant hand. "Well, Trainer Monroe, I am a practical man. I believe things when I see them. You protected your partner when he was threatened- I say that proved your bond."

"Th-thanks," I replied, startled. Somehow, though, I didn't think I was going to get off that easy.

Florence seemed to agree. "Trainer Michael won't like this," she warned, chewing her lower lip. "He'll ask for a vote."

"Good," Richard said, cracking his knuckles loudly. "I've been waiting for an excuse to call him out."

"Trainer Richard, you remember the last time you two tried-"

"I know, girl." The big man pouted, which I swear is still one of the strangest expressions I've ever seen. "Must you remind me of my embarrassing moments, Florence?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying, go along with it this time. Go easy on him in the battle, let him tie. Then everyone will be content."

I opened my mouth to argue that I could battle on my own, thank you very much, but my stomach chose that moment to grumble very loudly. Everyone- including Drowzee- looked at me, then Richard raised a hand.

"I am not going to battle that kid until we both have had something to eat."

With that statement, I found myself being carted back off towards the village. When Richard wanted something done, it happened, or else.

'Something to eat' turned out to be a murky-looking stew that tasted strongly of fish. The village seemed to operate on a communal basis; everyone ate together, with one giant meal cooked over the fire in the center of the village that I had noticed earlier. It felt primitive to me, yet comfortable at the same time. I was also hungry enough to not worry about the actual contents of my bowl.

I had finally decided to return Drowzee, too. He was safely in his poke ball, away from any more crazy adults. I felt a bit guilty on that count- Richard and Florence were under the impression that Drowzee was staying in the forest, foraging for himself, while we ate (I had returned him when they weren't looking). Florence approved of that, since it kept the panic down. Neither of them seemed to know that Drowzee only ate dreams.

It had occurred to me not long before that poke balls probably didn't exist in the time I was then living in. That had brought on plenty more questions, most of them derived from watching one too many sci-fi films late at night. What if I changed the time stream? Couldn't I cause a paradox, just by being there? How had I gone back in time in the first place? That green Pokemon- had it done something?

Keeping my mouth shut on most things seemed like the best plan overall.

The village seemed divided, mostly due to my presence, I was willing to bet. Michael had caused a ruckus when Richard declared that he and I would battle in the morning, once we were well rested and fed; it seemed like the two trainers were often at odds. But many of the other people were avoiding me, and several of the younger kids looked scared.

Richard and Florence stayed near me, though. Richard sat next to me throughout the meal, talking happily about life in the village and sharing several humorous anecdotes. I ignored them, mostly, since I was too absorbed with figuring things out. Florence was keeping busy with my notebook- she had noticed that I kept checking my pockets to make sure Drowzee was still safe and had demanded that I tell her what I was hiding. I'd had no choice but to pull out my precious ideas and let her browse through them. At least that kept her quiet.

The village retired early- I couldn't blame them, it got dark quickly without electricity- and Richard let me sleep on the floor of his little house. It was practically empty; he had explained to me that he spent most of his time outside, keeping an eye on the ships out in the water, since that was where all the men worked during the day. It made me think that his Pokemon was some sort of fish.

I fell asleep quickly, no energy left to worry about my parents, or my future in this world, or the battle I had to face in the morning. My last thoughts centered around the comfort of at least knowing that I'd be able to sleep soundly, for sure.

But that night, my dreams were filled with ideas and thoughts which were not my own.