Two

"What?" I question, "How are you sure I'm not some kind of agent for the east alliance? I could be undercover trying to gain information about the west alliance."

Hikari's demeanor completely changed. Her face became more stern and serious. She turned around and grabbed a tablet from a desk beside the bed and showed it to me.

"Here you can see a list of names and their corresponding faces," said

Hikari, "As you can see, there is no 'Joseph Baller' present on this list. And not only that, there is no one who looks like you at all on this list."

I grabbed the tablet and scrolled through it. There seemed to have been some filters set to help filter out people who have similar features to me. It was a very long list, and I did not bother going through the entire thing.

I handed Hikari back her tablet, "How are you sure this is a complete list, of everyone with my features. I may be an exception?"

Hikari then did her goofy smile again, "As I mentioned before, this war has been going on for the last 5 years. And because of that we cannot access records from the last 5 years. However, both the alliances have full access to records prior to those 5 years. And during that time, it was legally required that all people need to do an annual record update with them taking an updated photo and everything, there were harsh punishments if it was not done. And because of that, you seem to be around 17 to 20 years old, so you would exist on these records if you lived anywhere on earth."

I let that sink in for a bit. The world of Pokemon has a strict way of keeping records of people, which means that I am a completely unknown factor in this equation. Hikari must know I am not familiar with anything relating to this world, to which she is partially correct. I am not familiar with this world from a reality perspective. I don't know how pokemon strength translates to what I know. From all I know, a peck from a pidgey could open a hole in my skull. But, I am familiar with all pokemon from gen 1-7 and some from gen 8, and what I learnt here, Paldea is not a factor I need to consider too much as they are neutral in this war. And this means that I know nothing but also everything about this world.

"Well then, Joseph Baller. Who exactly ARE you?" Hikari broke the silence, "You are not from any region. You do not exist at all. Who are you and where are you from?"

I decided to come clean with my origin. Hikari is someone who saved me from the warzone even before she had any idea who I was. And for that I am grateful. Without her saving me, I would likely have been dead now.

"Hikari," I started, "I am from what I could only describe as a different, parallel dimension to this one where Pokemon do not exist in the realm of reality. Rather, they are just fictional characters which exist in the form of a game series and TV show. So, I may know some stuff about this world. But at the same time I know very little."

Hikari smiled, not a goofy smile, but a smile of what seemed to be approval, "I figured as much, people appearing from alternate dimensions is not common, but not unheard of. And it is further backed up by this."

She then gently tossed a bag towards my direction. I recognized this bag as the same one which had my game consoles and my phone in it. I did not notice this when I spawned in, but it must have been in the area. I gingerly unzipped it and inside it are all my familiar devices right there…but something was different…Pokemon Ranger was inside my 3DS, so why is it inside my DS Lite? Well folks, the answer is pretty obvious.

"So Hikari, can you explain this?" I ask when taking out the DS Lite and showing the cartridge, "This was inside the other console before, so why is it in this one?"

Hikari immediately got embarrassed, "Well…ummm…I may have gotten intrigued at the bag, I have never seen a bag of a boy who is around my age before and when looking inside it I got curious and…uhh maybe have experimented with it a little?"

I think for a bit, even considering the war and other factors, Hikari is still a curious, young woman…but snooping through my bag man? Ehh it's fine I didn't have anything remotely weird on my game consoles…those are all on my phone and that shit is protected by a password.

"So, did you enjoy the game?" I inquired

Hikari gave me another goofy smile, "Yes. The game was very accurate to what Rangers actually do in order to get Pokemon's help. And this means you are probably quite skillful joining us as a Ranger. But that is not the main way I want you to help."

After getting sidetracked for a bit we finally get back to the main topic at hand, how I would help the Rangers. Honestly, this seems very cool being able to be a secret weapon for an alliance. Yet, I felt a little uneasy. What exactly does she want from me?

"What I want you to do is simple. I want you to go undercover in the East alliance and become a person of prominent power there. Something like a Regional Champion, a Top Champion, or maybe even the Word Champion."

"Wait what? You want me to waltz into their region, who also have the exact same records as you have and just become one of the best trainers ever? You do realize your plan has many flaws right?" I reply

"Well, that is where the genius parts of the plan come into play. What I want you to do, and before you ask: yes this was approved, is to fake being stranded in that region. In other words, we would make you infiltrate their alliance by making it seem like you were transported to one of the eastern regions first, allowing you to have a believable alibi and then according to common knowledge, the east alliance believes heavily on one's own merit. So they would recommend you to become a Pokemon trainer, give you an ID, and also some money as a way to help you start your journey. You are already very familiar with these terms as they must have existed from where you are from. And no, they would not do the same plan as us. As I've said before, people who come from other dimensions are not common but not unheard of. They obviously would not, like, announce anything. As to them you would just become another citizen. And commonfolk are not aware of this war at all, so it is the perfect way to infiltrate and get information. Obviously we have limited information here, but this plan should work fine."

"So," I reply, "You just want me to go on a journey in the regions there and provide you with any information I may stumble across?"

"Yep, and in order to stay in contact, here is your very own capture styler. You need one if you are a Ranger after all."

Well, looks like this chick wasn't really going to give me any options here. Not like I will refuse obviously, I owe my life to her. And going on a journey, even if it has ulterior motives, seems hella exciting.

Chapter 2, finished. I decided to make everything past tense to make it easier for me to write, along with updating chapter 1 to make sure it has a better flow. I am still thinking of a coherent plot other than a journey, but yeah this seems to be coming together. Remember to follow, fav, review, etc. Next chapter will be out either near the end of july or the start of august.