Title: Partners
Summary: "We don't always get to chose our partners. But we have to trust them, all the same." In a world where polygamy and slavery are integral parts of society, good and evil as we know them have no meaning. Two's company, three's a crowd, and a harem is nothing but a load of trouble- so how do we stay true to ourselves when the immoral so quickly becomes the norm? Pokegirls AU, SI, Slow Character Study
US: Well, here we are. I never thought I would see the day where I would ever write a harem story. Truly, hell has frozen over. This fic has every trope in the book a writer should avoid. Self Inserts, Pokegirls, harems and dual protagonists. Yet, even so, I request you kindly put aside these doubts for now and give it try anyway. In other news, this fic isn't actually new per say- however, it has gone through some edits and a title change, so there is that.
DV- In case you were wondering, I'm responsible for roping him into this monstrosity. The reason we called it "Pokegirls fusion," is due to compromises in getting him to agree. So people who know Pokegirls, you'll find it off, but straight Pokemon fans will be better accommodated. Anyway, it's not like there's any super new concepts here, just rarer takes on them. It seems like every other Naruto or Harry Potter story is a harem anyway, not to mention the actual harem series.
US- Either way, enjoy the collaborative fruit of our endeavours. And may I burn in fanfiction hell for the literary Frankenstein I have been partially responsible for…
DV- For those of you that were already readers, this is a...let's call it 2nd edition. It's still mostly the same, but contains a few more things and foreshadowing that we've since decided on. We decided to change the title, summary and chapter titles as well. We got tired of the 90s surfer slang.
Prologue: Thought Exercise
Undying Soul98 has entered the chat
US- Online now. Feel free to join me at any time.
The screen was clear, save for those two lines of text. So far Undying Soul was the first of the two to be online, as he often was. It wouldn't take long now for his regular correspondent to arrive, complete with oversized ego, to appear. He was never online more than five minutes later than he was, once the first message was sent.
Undying Soul hated to wait- he'd inherited far too little patience for that, but he forced himself to sit still irregardless. They lived halfway across the world from each other. A delay was to be expected. If only he didn't have to be online so late though due to the time difference.
Darth-Vulturnus has entered the chat
US- 'sup, DV? Finally here? Long time no see. How's life for you? As overworked as ever? You know what they say about Med Students… only one step away from needing said meds due to the stress ;) Seriously though, how're things going for you?
Darth Vulturnus rolled his eyes as he read his copilots message, but was struck by his chronic need to have the last word. It wasn't something he was proud of, and had gotten him in trouble in the past, but this was the Internet, so what could possibly go wrong?
DV- Don't get too cocky there, Mr. Comp Sci. Your folly will be forever remembered in our hearts when you have trouble getting a job 'cause you weren't class valedictorian. Regardless, things have been okay, but quite busy lately, glad to be back.
US- Tell me about it. Being Uni Student is being Suffering? I for one welcome this weekly chat and writing session. Admittedly we don't actually get much writing done, but it's fun nonetheless.
At this point in time, Undying Soul sometimes wondered if they'd ever get round to writing anything longer than 500 words, but he didn't really mind too much. He was here now more for the company. In his words, "The company was worth it".
DV- Hey, well we need to start somewhere. I've seen those fanfictions where the writer doesn't plan and prints right when they're done. I have no intention of writing trash like that. I don't want to be hailed as the next Stephanie Meyer.
US- eh, better the next Twilight than the next Fifty Shades of Grey. One's terrible, but the other is fanfiction of the terrible. That's like doubly shit. At that point it become recursive word vomit.
Darth Vulturnus had to concede that point. At least Twilight tried to be original, no matter how bad the final product was. Fifty Shades of Gray was literally mainstream written porn about teen trash fiction.
DV- Recursive logic? Okay, computer science guy, chill. I didn't change out of computer science to deal with those terms again. But really, did you have any preferences on what to work on today?
US- welp, last time we mentioned that if we were gonna collab then it would be for a fandom we both get really well. Y'know, something like Pokemon.
Yes, Pokemon seemed like a fairly safe topic of discussion. It was a rare sight to find someone whose childhood didn't consist of Pikachus and Charmanders. Undying Soul had always enjoyed the games, and kept fairly up to date with the series. He wasn't a fanatic, and he hadn't been able to chant the Pokerap since he was 12, but he was no blustering noob. Plus, he was pretty sure that Darth had played the games too.
DV- Fair enough. Pokemon will never die, so at least there's a fandom for it.
But yeah. Pokemon sounds neat, dontcha agree?
Pokemon. It had been quite some time since Darth Vulturnus actively played Pokemon, not that his knowledge was any less for the taking from it. As far as he had played at any rate.
DV- Pokemon sounds good, but I should remind you that the last gen I own is Platinum, gen 4. So I don't know all this fancy "Fairy" type and crap.
US- No need to act so Draconian on the matter, purely because I dare speak of your one weakness- cuteness!
… and yes, I know the joke goes over your head due to being a Pre-Gen 5 loser, but I thought it was funny.
Darth rolled his eyes again. Undying had a terrible habit of blatantly referencing things only he'd ever understand, and would then mercilessly judge everyone else for not having the same tastes in anime or games.
US- I can work with your blatant lack of gen 5 onwards knowledge though. Maybe we could consider working with a spin off instead then? I mean, I'm sick to death of normal Poke fics. And it's not like there isn't a tonne of stuff to chose from. MD?
It took Darth a few moments to understand what his friend was referring to with his obscure two letter abbreviation. Then it hit him. Mystery Dungeon. He hadn't heard that title's name in a long time.
DV- Tch. Go find someone else to put up with you if that's how it's going to be. But Mystery Dungeon? ...If you want. You'd have to take point. I haven't played MD since Blue Rescue Team in '06. So, you know, eons ago when the stars were young.
US- BURN THE HERETIC! CLEANSE THE BLOODLINE! EXPLORERS KICKED ASS!
Undying had already posted the all caps lock message before he even had a chance to second guess himself- his typical haste in action. Then he realised that it was a fairly pointless remark and that he was going off on a tangent (For an admittedly very good game), and rapidly prepared his next message before Darth would get chance to reply himself and no doubt escalate the situation.
Again.
US- *Clears throat*. Uhum. All fanboying aside, mayhaps MD should be shelved too. Excuse my french, but Fuck That Taking Point Shit. Too lazy to have to do everything myself. Next idea. Fangames? Might be fun to play with Pokemon Reborn?
He'd never read a fanfic based on any of the fangames. While not canon, many were rather good, and Undying had to admit that the premise was at least rather unique, if niche.
DV- Wat. Never heard of it. If you want to get really old school with Pokemon variants, ever heard of Pokegirls? I don't think that site has been updated since the mid 2000s, but it's still pretty cool, at least conceptually.
Sure, it was an old concept, the sites pretty much abandoned in terms of updates, but there were the occasional fanfics for it, almost always featuring the shonen anime protagonists. ...Usually Naruto.
US- Pokegirls… Pokegirls… I've heard of it before. More accurately, I think I've seen fanart. Can't say I know much about it, but I'm fairly sure it's just Pokemon with bewbs. Sounds pretty dumb, really.
So no, the idea didn't appeal to Undying. Felt too much like Shameless Fanservice, and an excuse for the Poke-fetishists to get creative. He'd never had an interest in reading a story about humanoid Pokemon. If he really wanted to read a tale about cute girls firing off elemental attacks and beating the shit out of each other, there were a dozen actual harem manga that would tide him in over.
In short, Undying Soul never had and never would take an interest in writing a Pokegirls story.
DV- Well, okay then. But really, harem story without Rule of Funny enforced to make all our encounters painful! Still, I see your point. Hmm…
Darth felt, though he wasn't wedded to the idea, that he could get into a Pokegirls story if he really tried, and felt obligated to mention it to at least, if for nothing more than exploring all options. It certainly wasn't the best option, but at least not quite as cliche as normal Pokemon. It would give the readers a different kind of rubbish to the usual trash.
US- Harems in anime are generally ridiculous, and would be just as silly in real life. Give me a monogamous relationship any day of the week. I would be rather uncomfortable writing a harem story too. Next idea plz?
And so discussion continued. For the next hour or so, messages were sent back and forth, scathing comments traded, and ideas debated. As expected, neither writer could come to an agreement on what sort of story they wanted to write together. Again.
In the end they both logged off, having made no progress, but slightly happier from the experience. However, both authors couldn't help but think back to the conversation they had. They knew next time they'd move onto another topic and likely never return to the discussed ideas, but couldn't help consider them one last time.
One idea in particular stuck out in both of their minds, though for very different reasons.
"I must admit," both writers said aloud, little realising they were both echoing the same sympathy at the same time, "living in the Pokegirls world would have to be…"
"Rather dumb/Utterly terrifying."
Darth Vulturnus POV
If you had a dream so real that you no longer could tell reality from the dream, is the dream not reality?
So said Morpheus...approximately, in The Matrix. But the semantics aren't important in that sense.
"Vitals stable."
Am I in a hospital? I certainly don't feel uncomfortable. Not like I'm lying on the street. I...can't remember though. My mind is a blur. Why would I be in a hospital? How did I get here? What was my last thought?
As I clench my hand, I hear the voice again, "Movement, he should wake up soon."
Female. Younger, but still adult. Unfamiliar. Must be the nurse.
Quickly forcing my eyes open and immediately squinting and turning away in pain at the bright lights, I internally curse my hasty decision.
As I slowly let myself adjust to sudden light again, I catch a glimpse of the nurse currently attending to me. She's wearing one of those nurse uniforms people wear for Halloween and she has pink hair. Pink hair? What hospital let's nurses dye their hair? Seriously. Is this even a real hospital?
"Hi?"
It's only then that she turns away from her clipboard to notice I'm awake. I'll hesitate to call her a scatterbrain, but seriously, she must be new.
"Ah! You're awake! That's good!"
Please no. Why? I have a headache, and am really not up for blatant cheer. I don't like excitable people very much. And I'm not feeling super charitable right now. Not while I have no idea what's going on, where I am, or what even happened.
"Being awake does tend to be good when outside an OR, yes."
So sue me if I wasn't feeling a tad snarky. Humor is the best medicine anyway...not really, but it helps. It's better than laughing at her ridiculous appearance anyway.
Prodding a bit, I ask, "So, which hospital is this? And what even happened to me? It's kinda a blank right now. Last I remember was getting off my computer for the evening."
"Oh, right! You'd want to know that! This is Olivine City Hospital! You had a nasty case of hypothermia when we brought you in! But you should be better now! We didn't even have to amputate anything!"
Well...that's comforting at any rate, if a bit morbid. And makes sense. It's early spring right now, so I guess I could have done something stupid like go outside at night without a coat and fallen in a cold river. Wouldn't be the first time I've made poor life choices, and it likely won't be the last.
Wait...I'm missing something here…
No amputations, no, that's not it. Hypothermia, no, that makes sense. Olivine City? Where is that? That name is familiar, but from where? It's not a major city around me, I know….I think at least. This is what I get for being lax on following the news. Seriously though…
"That's good. So how long have I been here, when's my estimated release date, and could I have the name of my nurse?"
Might as well give it a try. Her outfit and long hairstyle does make her look like one of those fetish cosplay types. ...On the other hand, let's just not go there. She does look kinda familiar though. Kinda like someone stuck an adult Sailor Mini Moon in a cosplay nurse uniform. Huh. Weird. Not the strangest thing I've ever seen, but in a professional environment? She must have slept with the hiring manager. Or maybe she's the director's daughter. Or both.
"Okay, so you've only been here about twelve hours, and if you keep showing a normal recovery, you should be free to be released by tomorrow morning!" She winks at me, pink locks bouncing around as she twirls, as she continues, "My name is Joy."
Why. Does. She. Have. To. Be. So. Energetic? She's like the damn energizer bunny in human form. Wait...pink uniform, pink hair? OH DEAR GOD! It IS a humanized energizer bunny! Who thought that was a good idea? And who told her flirting with patients was acceptable bedside conduct?
Looking outside through the large window, apparently pointed west, the purple and orange rays of sunset assaults my eyes for a moment. Tomorrow morning, huh? I can wait that long.
"How are you feeling, young man?"
The sudden male voice draws my attention away from the sun. Turning left, I do a quick scan. Button-down and tie? Check. White coat? Check. Clipboard? Check. Stethoscope around the neck? Check. Cliche doctor? All points hit.
"Well, all things considered, pretty good. How bad was it?"
He glances at his clipboard, frowning, "I'll be honest. It wasn't good. We thought we were going to lose you for a while. If it had been much longer before you were found, I wouldn't be talking to you."
I see. Well, the important thing is that I'm still alive. Still, I face...Nurse Joy? An odd name, since Joy tended to be considered an 'old-fashion' name...but also a familiar one. It almost sounded like...well, it was a hilarious coincidence either way. Raising an eyebrow at her, I stare for a moment as she looks down and shuffles her feet. Great, she was just trying to help by staying positive and there I go being an ass again.
"Now, young man, your uncle has already signed the papers. He'll be coming to get you tomorrow morning."
Huh? My uncle? Why the hell would either of them do that? In fact, why was it an uncle and not someone that made more sense like my actual parents? Hell, even my grandparents are closer, significantly so, if something has made my parents unable to come themselves. This just gets stranger and stranger.
Hesitantly, I hedge, "Um, okay. Thanks doc."
As the pair leave the room, I lean back and let sleep embrace me once more. I'll deal with this later.
Undying Soul POV
I didn't know what to think. I'd been in hospital and unconscious for the last week due to apparently falling from a medium-ish height and accidentally cracking my skull open when I hit the floor, and had only just woken up the night before. Sure, I'd had no visitors, and couldn't recognise the hospital, but I hadn't thought anything was too wrong.
My family lived far enough away from me that them not being able to reach me was understandable, especially as I don't always keep in touch as much as I should do- so no visitors was expected. And it's not like I had memorised the names of every nearby city and/or hospital.
But now that the night had passed and I was finally in a position to get some answers, what I was being told was not okay.
"What the hell do you mean I don't exist!?" I yelled at the pink haired nurse who had been sent to deliver me the dire news. She was the nurse that had been there when I awoke, and she was the one who visited to make sure I was still breathing, but that didn't mean I liked her.
Nurse Joy was a no nonsense carer who really gave no shits about what her patients did or didn't want. I'd take my medication, whether I wanted to or not. "Exactly what I said- ' Mr White'." she replied, miming quotation marks with her fingers, as if she somehow didn't believe that was my name. "Now, why don't you tell me who you really are."
I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Sorry, but I have no clue what the hell you're talking about. My name is Joseph White, born in London and raised in South Yorkshire. What the hell do you mean with that last comment?"
"I'd love to believe you, yet your name doesn't show up on any of our registers."
I blinked in confusion. "Wait. Wut."
"Nor that of any of the other countries we've sent the name to."
"Huh?" Other countries? Why the hell were they sending feelers out to other countries? It shouldn't exactly be difficult to find my name in a register.
"Not to mention you must be pulling a prank seeing as the country of origin you named doesn't exist."
Disbelieving, I blinked again. "Again. Sorry, but if you'll excuse my French… what the flying fuck do you mean my country of origin doesn't freakin' exist!?"
More accurately, I should be pointing at her and accusing her of foul play. Because I didn't know if I'd heard her right or not, but she just said that my birth country, England, part of the UK and consequently one of the most well known nations on planet Earth (if only for our ridiculously bad political decisions), did not exist.
It was like the machine of my mind, which had been chugging along rather cheerfully, had suddenly had a wrench thrown into its inner mechanisms and was seconds away from announcing its Self Destruct Sequence had been activated and was on the verge of exploding into a million tiny little pieces.
Fundamentally, what she was suggesting just did not make sense to me. It couldn't, because her words were so unbelievable that I physically couldn't process her words.
"What I mean is that both the 'UK' and 'England' does not exist." Joy said with the straightest face imaginable.
Upon this confirmation, I just leant back against the bedrest and palmed my face with my hands. "Yes. Yes, she did just apparently say what I thought she did."
"Are you trolling me? Are you legitimately fucking with me right now, because the joke has gone on long enough." I told her, deathly serious. I like to think I can take a joke, but when I'm sitting in a hospital bed and am being told that I legally do not exist, what was I meant to assume or say?
Nurse Joy merely shoved the clipboard she was holding into my face. With a frown, I snatched it off her. A lot of it was technical mumbo jumbo, but the top page contained a profile with all my details I'd given on them. Then, below each filled in line, in full block capitals, were the words that sent a shiver down my spine.
DATA NOT RECOGNISED. MATCH CANNOT BE FOUND.
"Does that answer your question, 'Mr White."
"No, it just tells me you don't know when to kill a joke!" I snap. "I mean really- 'England doesn't exist'. What sort of dumbass do you take me for!" Britain literally had an empire at one point! Sure, the papers say 'No data found' but forms can be faked, and I'm not bureaucrat. How could I tell its validity? "God- I live in England! This hospital is in England! We're speaking English at this very second, for crying out loud."
"No. I am sorry to say this, but we really aren't." Joy gave me a pensive look, and took back her clipboard. "However, I see that somehow you believe your claims. I'll pass on your complaints to the relevant authorities." At the door, she turned back to shaking form. "And Mr White? Don't sit there and insult me. I didn't take this job to get shouted at for delivering bad news. Considering how you literally have no records to speak of, you don't seem to be in any position to burn any bridges, and while my news is unpleasant, there is absolutely no reason for you to be a dick about it."
And with that, she stormed out of the room, leaving me with my broiling thoughts.
"What a nightmare." I hissed. I wasn't mad. England existed. My name was real. Hell, I hadn't left the country in years- I could be in no other country but England.
Yet… Nurse Joy, the only point of contact I'd had save for my doctor, did not seem to be mad either. I saw the look on her face at my words. She was as disbelieving of my words as I was to hers. And those forms looked official.
DATA NOT RECOGNISED. MATCH CANNOT BE FOUND.
I couldn't believe I was wrong, but I couldn't fully accept she was wrong either. Nurses don't get accepted into a hospital as large as this without guarantees on their sanity. So if she was unlikely to be wrong, then did that mean I was…
"No." I shook my head. "Not mad."
Either way, I couldn't remember the accident that led to me being here, or how I got into it. More than that, I couldn't even be sure I was awake- because this whole mess seemed far too surreal to be grounded in reality.
Something was Wrong here. I didn't know what, but something was... off.
"How did I end up in Goldenrod Infirmary, and just what the hell is going on here!?"