The air was dead and still as the four men slowly emerged from the remnants of the dig site. As they finally breached the earth and found day light, they noticed that, just like the dig site, the entire area just seemed powered off. Nikolai slowly approached a heap of rubble made or intricately carved stone nearby the dig site's exit, hesitantly touching it. Dempsey scanned the area for any signs of the undead, only to find it strangely peaceful.
For the quartet of zombie slayers, the area was way too quiet. Richtofen looked in the distance to the south, seeing the remnants of a destroyed giant robot. Looking back towards the church he saw the collapsed form of the giant robot, Freya. Behind him, some distance away from the fourth generator, lay the crumbled form of Odin. Richtofen observed that Thor had collapsed, rather uncomfortably, almost right on top of the storage area. Luckily, the robot had just missed it.
"We appear to be back in France." Dempsey stated, his tone grim.
"Hai. But something is..." Takeo looked around slowly, observing the sun shining in the sky and the pleasant weather surrounding them. "...very different than what we have come to know."
"The air is still and the atmosphere heavy." Nikolai observed as he stood back up from the stone heap. Nikolai then stood beside Richtofen, who was still observing the decrepit battlefield. "However, there is no threat here. The evil spawn are nonexistent. This place is beautiful now, no longer covered in thick clouds and death." Nikolai looked up to the clear sky, not a cloud in sight. "It's almost as if this place is just a hollow husk of what it once was."
Dempsey turned his eyes to the church, noticing that nothing is on fire anymore. Just as Nikolai stated, the church seemed to be nothing but an empty shell of what it once was. In fact, that's what the whole place felt like. There was nothing on fire, no undead to raise chaos, even the giant robots were either shut down or completely destroyed. Looking closer at the stonework of the dig site, the signature glow of element 115 was nowhere to be found. Looking where he knows it should've been, just reveals a boring gray rock.
"It's as if the whole place was just shut off. There's power, I can hear the diesel generators running. But... the actual generators themselves seem to be completely shut down." Dempsey turned his attention to Richtofen, who was deep in thought. "So Doc, you got any idea what the fuck happened?"
"I... do not know. My memories are coherent, I can actually think cohesively. My... afflictions... are gone. But my memories also show two very different lives. However... they mesh? Is that the proper term Dempsey, mesh?" Richtofen looked to the American for his own answer.
"Yeah, that's right. I also just realized that. It feels like I can remember everything from the lab, to the jungle, to your crazy version's stunt on the moon. But I also remember, well... here. And us tracking you down in 1945. Where you shot your crazy self." Dempsey held his face in his hands.
"Think, everyone. There were eight of us when we... left. Now there are only four. Could it be possible that the versions of ourselves... merged together?" Richtofen was now thinking out loud, but the group's eyes widened regardless.
"I... believe that may be the case." Takeo agreed with the doctor. "I remember my fall into Kyoto in the 1920s, but I can also remember my fall into Kyoto in the 1900s." Takeo looked back into the dig site, Richtofen nodding to himself.
"Bah! This is all bullshit! The chronorium said that we would all be destroyed along with all of our universes. But... here we are, alive! In France no less!" Nikolai angrily ranted while kicking a nearby wheelbarrow over.
"Not to mention, do we all look a bit... younger?" Dempsey asked as he looked at the others curiously.
"Da, we do. I noticed it a bit earlier. But all of you look, what? Early twenties, maybe?" Nikolai hypothesized as he closely examined the group's faces.
"Wait..." Richtofen looked at Takeo, his hand on his chin. "Could it be... Ash Satoshi Ketchum." At Richtofen's use of the name, Takeo glared harshly and grabbed the hilt of his katana. "Woah, calm yourself mein Japanese freund." Richtofen put his hands up while Dempsey simply facepalmed. "In every reality you ended up in Japan the same way, ja?" Takeo slowly nodded.
"Doc." Dempsey put his hand on Takeo's shoulder. "Whatcha trying to say about our samurai friend here?" Dempsey said in a light tone, trying to ease the tension.
"Could it be..." Richtofen muttered to himself, before shaking his head.
"We will find out soon enough."
"How about we split up and look around. Maybe we can find something related to our current situation." Nikolai suggested, trying to diffuse the rising tension.
At Nikolai's suggestion, the group agreed and went their own way to explore shortly afterwards. Dempsey headed somewhat north towards the destroyed church. Nikolai began to make his way towards the trench system, planning on seeking out the armory. Takeo headed east towards Generator 4, approaching the downed form of Odin. Richtofen decided to make his way to the laboratory, but not before checking the dig site one more time.
"Damn place is exactly as I remember it. Only more... dead."
Dempsey thought out loud as he made his way up the trench leading to the church. Turning his head to his left, surely enough, he found the red sign that pointed the way towards the destroyed building. Slowly walking up the trench on the way to the large footprint of the giant robot, Freya, Dempsey slowly took in the condition of the battlefield. While clearly a place of death and destruction, the scene now was strangely serene.
Shaking his head, Dempsey made his away across the now dry footprint. The mud that once plagued the entire place had dried out and made it much easier to walk. Due to this, Dempsey was easily able to make his way down to the church basement. Making his way in through the massive hole, he found that the tank remained in its spot. The british MK V tank sat still and silent, like an aged sentinel that never left his post. Unlike last time, however, the tank was shut off, the diesel engine no longer running. Passing the staircase that made its way up to the actual church itself, Dempsey moved to the broadside of the tank that faced the cobblestone wall. Gently brushing his hand along the tank, Dempsey approached the workbench located in the far corner of the room.
"Lots of dried mud and other shit. But not a speck of fuckin' dust." Dempsey thought aloud as he looked at his gloved hand.
Arriving at the workbench, Dempsey went through the numerous papers and blueprints that crowded the large table. Finding nothing related to their current predicament, Dempsey merely sighed and threw a random stack of troop reports back onto the empty center of the table. Dempsey turned around and began to walk to the staircase before suddenly halting.
"Wait... empty?" Dempsey turned and slowly approached the workbench. "This is where Richtofen built that robot for that Maxis guy. But the pieces..." Dempsey looked all around the workbench and even checked underneath on the floor.
"They're not here."
"Hmm... the generators seem to be completely shut down. It doesn't even seem like a fuel source is present. It's almost as if the generator itself is... dead."
Nikolai ran his hand along the glass cylinder that once housed an unimaginable energy source when activated. Looking towards the panel, Nikolai noted that all of the lights were off and the dials completely inactive. Shaking his head, Nikolai lightly banged his fist on the glass cylinder before backing away from the generator.
Generator 2, located in front of the armory and tank station, sat completely dormant as Nikolai looked up at the trench system all around him. Strangely, while the entire area seemingly had no power going to it, all of the doors were open and the debris cleared. While more convenient for exploring, the lack of any signs of life put the hardened Soviet soldier at unease. Looking towards the storage building that opened the door to No Man's Land, Nikolai spied the decrepit form of Thor that laid just behind the building, blocking the tank's path. Turning around, Nikolai slowly approached the entrance to the armory.
"Tch... let's see if the armory has any maps or any information."
"How strange. While everything about this place is the same, the gateway to the crazy place appears to be missing entirely. Not even the rubble remains."
Takeo stared at the bare dirt wall at the end of the tunnel dug next to the fourth generator. Looking around, the numerous machinery and instruments hinted that something important used to be there. Turning back, Takeo made his way out of the tunnel. Right before exiting, Takeo quickly scanned through the paper on the workbench to find nothing useful. Once out of the tunnel, Takeo eyed the fallen Odin and began to walk towards the robot. Passing Generator 4, Takeo took a long look at the entire area around the generator.
"How strange... the perk machine is gone. In fact, I did not see the Mule Kick machine in the dig site either."
Takeo filed this observation for later while turning his attention to Odin. Approaching the bottom of the left foot, Takeo noticed that the lights were on and the bottom of the foot was illuminated. Seeing this, Takeo made a disbelieving sigh before walking up to the foot. Taking a deep breath, Takeo punched the bottom of the foot as hard as he could. Wincing in pain, he watched in satisfaction as the bottom of the foot seemed to open up. Taking a few deep breaths, Takeo dived into the open foot.
"This place has certainly seen better days. I can only imagine what it must have felt like to be an operator of such a large machine. The army would surely have benefited from such a massive design." Takeo thought aloud as he scanned the head/cockpit of the giant robot.
The samurai approached the large control panel. Upon discovering that the controls did not work, he turned towards the mass of papers scattered all around the head. Digging through the piles, Takeo read through numerous troop reports and scientific notes regarding the robots. From the humorous reports of the robot's middle fingers malfunctioning to the rather terrifying observations by Dr. Maxis as he was fine tuning the high velocity exit system. While insightful in other ways, it was not what Takeo was hoping to find.
"Well... now for the part I hate the most." Takeo slowly approached one of the four tubes located at the back of the head.
Getting in one of the tubes, Takeo slammed on a nearby button. Once he did, numerous emergency lights began to flash while an alarm sounded. After a few tense seconds, Takeo was rapidly launched out the top of the head. As he was flying towards the air, the samurai noticed something strange.
"There was not any woodland around this place in France. In fact, the landscape looks radically different a mile from here. There's a strange sheen to the air, where the battlefield borders woodland, almost like a barrier!" Takeo observed in his head as he arced in the air.
Beginning his rapid descent back down on the ground, Takeo could not help but scream as he braced himself for impact. After a few minutes of blackness, Takeo slowly opened his eyes. His vision blurry and shaky, Takeo stood up and tried to find his footing. Stumbling for a few seconds, Takeo finally realized he was sitting in the massive footprint by Generator 4.
"Never... again."
"Entry 741084, France. Well, either the ritual has failed or the dark aether is not as dark as I expected. I cannot help but feel as frustrated as my unlikely companions are with the result. I at least expected to be given food with this random teleportation! But! I digress. I inspected the dig site more thoroughly and found nothing. Strangely enough, however, I have noticed that all of us appear to be carrying some weaponry and our staffs. Additionally, I was able to summon the bow we acquired at Der Eisendrache base at will. It is almost as if we have our own magic! I am currently approaching the lab, maybe I can find some answers in this empty shell of a battlefield."
Richtofen passed Generator 3 as he progressed through the trench system. Looking up to where the Speed-Cola machine should be, he found that nothing was there. Not finding that observation particularly important, Richtofen simply turned back to his path and kept walking. Getting to the t-junction in the trenches just past the exit door, Richtofen took a left and kept walking. Sure enough, after a few more turns, the laboratory building appeared.
"Certainly looks the same as I left it."
Entering the building, Richtofen made his way through the short hallway before turning left and finally entering the main room. Looking to the barracks and the generator, he analyzed every little detail of the building. Finding nothing amiss, aside from Quick Revive being missing, Richtofen approached the small staircase that led to where it all began.
"This is where we met. For the first time." Richtofen looked almost longingly at the center of the lower room.
Turning to his right, Richtofen approached the workbench. As expected, not a piece of Dr. Maxis remained. His brain was absent, the other pieces of the drone gone as well. Once again, like every dimension hop and cycle, Richtofen felt truly alone. Looking to the ground, he felt tears begin to gather in his eyes.
"I'm... crying? Why?"
"Fletch?"
Shaken from his thoughts, Richtofen rapidly spun and leveled his Mauser C96 pistol at the source of the sound. However, instead of an undead or some creature of the dark aether, he found a small bird perched on a small trench shovel laying against the wall.
"A bird? And one I've never seen before?" Richtofen narrowed his eyes, curiosity taking over every part of his mind.
The bird was rather small and could likely fit in the palm of his hand. It's legs and feet were a small and skinny black color. The body itself is a shade of blue that's meant to imitate the sky, while the wings end in a cloud white color. The tail feather of the bird was black with a white stripe. The head of the bird an almost fiery red color. It reminded Richtofen greatly of a robin.
"And just what kind of bird are you?" Richtofen slowly reached a hand out.
The bird tilted its head curiously at the german. Looking at the extended hand in front of it, the bird have a happy chirp and hopped on the human's finger. Richtofen slowly drew the bird towards him. The bird, noticing the close proximity, looked up to take a closer look at the mysterious human.
"Fletchling?" The bird tilted its head.
"Fletchling? What an interesting call. Is that perhaps what you are?" Richtofen asked the bird, which hopped up and down on his hand.
"Fletch! Fletch!" The bird tweeted happily, almost in response to what Richtofen was saying.
"I-incredible! The bird can understand me!" Richtofen whispered in amazement, his eyes widening.
The fletchling tilted its head once again and hopped a few more times. Deciding to get closer, the fletchling flew slightly and landed on the scientist's shoulder. Getting comfortable, it sat down and chirped happily, lightly pecking Richtofen's head. The action caused Richtofen to laugh slightly.
"Would you perhaps like to come with me?" Richtofen asked with a slight amusement, to which the fletchling happily chirped.
"When's the last time I've laughed like this?"
Pallet Town, Kanto...
It was a somber day in Pallet Town. Numerous people gathered at Professor Oak's lab. People from all over the world, with numerous different backgrounds. Out in the massive reserve full of pokémon, a lone gravestone stood at the top of the hill. It is there that the group gathers, to celebrate and mourn.
"I can't believe it's been ten years." A tall tan man with spiky brown hair said, his tone somber.
"Yeah... I always thought he'd at least stick around after winning it all... and not..." An electric yellow haired man wearing round glasses responded from his chair at a picnic table.
"I see that she didn't show up again." A red haired woman bitterly spat to a group of other women.
"Mist, you have to remember that she was there. It's probably harder on her than any of us." A dark blue haired woman replies, her tone somewhat sad.
As the group conversed, an older woman with dark red hair looked to the grave stone. Sadness tinged her eyes as she gazed longingly at the inscription. To her side, a yellow mouse gazed just as longingly.
Ash Ketchum
Forever in Our Hearts, World Champion, Beloved Friend.
???... Later That Night...
At the foot of the dig site towards Generator 5 sits a campfire. The impromptu source of light shone on three of our four zombie slayers as they cook breakfast. While building the campfire, the three men quickly divulged any information they gathered. Takeo talked about the radically different foliage and how the battlefield seemed to be within a barrier. Meanwhile, Nikolai and Dempsey talked about their general observations. Though there was one glaring problem.
"Where the hell is Doc?" Dempsey asked the group as he roasted a can of beans over the fire.
"I don't know. Probably got lost trying to find something." Nikolai thought aloud as he drank from his cup of water.
"Actually." Takeo stated as he looked behind Nikolai's shoulder. "I believe that's him right there."
The group turned to see none other than Richtofen approaching the camp. Under his arm, a rather large book. On his shoulder is what appeared to be a small bird. Getting closer to the camp, the group could observe the smile on the man's face.
"What's gotcha smiling, Richtofen?" Dempsey asked wearily.
"Well, mein American freund, I managed to find my old diary. Full of scientific notes!" Richtofen lifted his arm, which had the diary tucked under it, slightly. "Additionally, the corruption that the diary holds is completely gone. This means that we can develop the necessary technologies to help us with where we ended up." Richtofen sat down at the campfire, the fletchling hopping off his shoulder and landing next to him on the log.
"What's with the bird, German?" Nikolai gestured to the fletchling.
Takeo's eyes widened.
"T-that's!" Takeo immediately got closer to the fletchling. Analyzing the bird pokémon closely. After a few tense seconds, Takeo fell backwards with a deep sigh. "It's... a fletchling... that's what the bird is." Takeo stated, looking to the group seriously.
"And what's that mean, Tak?" Dempsey asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't you see, Dempsey? An unfamiliar landscape, animals that can understand us, and a world free of our universe's influence." Richtofen smiled slightly as he gestured to the bird and Takeo.
"I... don't get it." Nikolai said with a tone of bewilderment.
"We... have somehow managed to teleport to my original universe. My original world." Takeo tiredly explained, his face that of exhaustion.
"We are in the world of Pokémon, my dear friends!" Richtofen said aloud, the fletchling chirping with the doctor.
"Wait, you mean we're in Tak's original world with the weird animals or whatever?" Dempsey stated, realization dawning on his face.
"Yes, we are. We are back in my home world. And, if that fletchling is any indication, we appear to be in the Kalos region. Which is ironic, since Kalos is very similar to France." Takeo rose from his log, slowly pacing around the campsite.
"Okay, so we got dumped in your world with the empty remains of our journey's shit. So what? What do we do now? I remember you told me that you were famous here. Do you go back to that fame? Or do you stick with us and we find out where to go from here?" Nikolai kept an eye on the pacing Takeo as he asked his questions.
"Most likely people think I am dead. So, for now, keep going by my name. I... need to go home, to my family. But people must not know that I have returned." Takeo turned to the group, a serious expression on his face. "For now, Ash Ketchum is still dead."
"A good idea!" Richtofen opened his diary to a blank page and began to write. "Would you like for us to accompany you?" Richtofen looked up from his diary, looking Takeo in the eye.
"Fletch?" As if mimicking Richtofen, fletchling tilted its head towards Takeo and chirped.
"Yeah, we wouldn't mind tagging along." Dempsey put down his beans and stood up. Walking over to Takeo, Dempsey put his hand on Takeo's shoulder and patted it a few times. "If you'll have us, of course." Dempsey gave his signature smirk. Nikolai smiled to Takeo from his seat on a log, silently conveying his own request.
"You are all my friends." Takeo turned back to the campfire. After a few seconds of contemplating, he turned to the group. "I would love for you all to accompany me." Takeo smiled to the group, before finding a seat on an empty log and turning his attention to the rations laid out by the campfire.
"Yayyyy! We're all together!" Richtofen cheered.
"By the way doc, it seems that fletch thingie has taken a liking to you. Makes me wonder what it sees in ya." Dempsey chuckled as Richtofen gently ran his index finger over the fletchling's head.
"Ja, it has taken quite a charm to me. I believe he will make a great traveling partner!" Richtofen turned back to his diary.
"I believe it is good that you have a pokémon to accompany you, Richtofen. Remember, take care of it as if it's your best friend. Pokémon are very intelligent creatures, who bond with humans easily. Treat it well, and it will treat you well." Takeo advised the doctor, who simply nodded while writing in the large book. "As for the rest of you, I think it is best you find pokémon for yourselves. When we leave this place and begin our route to the Kanto region, we'll find a place to get pokéballs so you can more comfortably catch and keep your friends close." Dempsey and Nikolai nodded to Takeo, as they continued their own miscellaneous tasks.
"What about you, Takeo? No pokémon for you?" Nikolai asked the samurai, who simply shook his head.
"No, I have my own I must find and apologize to." Takeo explained solemnly.
"Wait, Tak? Where the hell exactly is Kanto?" Dempsey asked as he prepared another can of beans.
"Pretty far from Kalos. It's been so long that I cannot remember where things are here in Kalos. Most likely, if we're out in the middle of nowhere, it's probably a few days walk to a town. Hopefully we can run into a pokémon trainer and ask directions." Takeo put a hand to his chin.
"Regardless." Richtofen interjected, closing his diary and placing it in the pouch where the chronorium once lay. "We should get whatever sleep we can now and head out early in the morning, ja?" Richtofen looked to the group, who nodded in agreement.
Getting ready to sleep, the group finished up their nightly routines. After weapon maintenance, food disposal, and Richtofen feeding fletchling, the group laid out whatever cloth they could find to make makeshift bedrolls. Once the four zombie slayers were finally able to relax, they all fell into a dreamless sleep.
Northern Kalos... The Next Morning...
At the edge of the battlefield, where the barrier lay, the group reconvened and checked their supplies. Dempsey made sure that his weapons were ready and put them away. Nikolai and Takeo made sure their food and water rations were organized and packed. Richtofen looked over the diary while Richtofen and fletchling assisted the group where they could.
"Ready?" Dempsey asked, his voice serious.
"Ja, I'm ready whenever you are." Richtofen put his diary away and stepped alongside Dempsey. His face stoney and fletchling on his shoulder.
"Da, let's do this comrades." Nikolai stepped alongside Richtofen.
"Hai, let us make it to my home safely. Maybe I can introduce you to my friends and family." Takeo slowly made his way alongside Nikolai, his face ready and determined.
"Alright guys." Dempsey got ready. "Let's find our way to Kanto." All four stepped through the barrier.
Looking behind them, they could see the remnants of the battlefield. However, the barrier that protected the battlefield morphed the view of the battlefield into one of the forest. While fooling the normal trainer completely, the barrier seem to give way with the four of them around. Turning back, they could see nothing but forest.
"What should we look for first?" Richtofen asked Takeo.
"A road, referred to as routes here. They're everywhere. Once we find that route, we'll choose a direction and go down that road. Hopefully we can find a traveler and ask for directions." Takeo explained as the group nodded.
"Alright." Dempsey cracked his neck from side to side, before nodding to himself.
"Let's get going."