"Here we go," the Ranger says as he sprays a Hyper Potion on the dough puppy, who is so tiny she can fit into the Ranger's chubby hand. The Poké-mastiff frowns in his direction, but the Ranger remains oblivious.

As for the Tauroses, the one with wavy horns is sitting to the side as he watches the scene. The other one with the upward horns is paying attention to the dachshund while the last one with the forward horns is glaring down at the mastiff.

Not sure if the dog even notices that.

"There, all done," the Ranger happily declares, to which the dachshund decides to try and stand on its legs. It gets up, and starts wagging its tail.

"Feeling better, little gal?"

It's a she? Noted to self.

The dough puppy's answer comes in the form of a happy bark before she hops off the Ranger's hand and starts running large circles around everyone. All while barking happily.

"I'll take that as a yes," the Ranger chuckles. He places the empty spray of the potion back into his pocket and turns to me. "So, feeling better now, Mister Lombardi?"

… as a matter of fact, I'm feeling as disconcerted about learning that otherworlders ending up in the Pokémon world are a common enough event as I was when he spelled it out to me.

"I…" I mutter. "This is… a lot for me to take in."

The Ranger nods patiently. "I can imagine. Been four years since I learned this was a thing, and I still need to fully wrap my head around it."

Four… years?! This has been happening for at least four years?!

My shock must have been evident, as the Ranger reacts with a wince. "Erm, anyway… any questions?"

Any ques– where do I even begin? Why does this happen? How does it all work? What are the long term consequences? And what does all of it mean for me?

"What happens now?" is the only one I can get out.

"Well, that is not entirely up to me to say," the Ranger replies. "Assistance to Fallers would be the International Police's jurisdiction, not the Rangers'."

Aha!

"So there is something in place for those like me?"

"Of course, of course." He waves his hand reassuringly. "Didn't mean to imply there wasn't, sorry."

…did I make it sound like I thought he was hiding stuff from me? I don't think I did. But why word it like 'didn't mean to imply'? Was it just a figure of speech of his? Did I–?

"Anyway," the Ranger continues, interrupting my thoughts, and pulls out what looks like a radio from his belt. "I'll just contact HQ and get us to Mesagoza. We'll arrange everything there."

I have no idea what a 'Mesagoza' is, but the rest sounds like a good idea. Besides, this guy basically saved my life, the least I can do is not be any more of a dick with my questions.

"Sure," I tell him before he turns away to focus on the radio. I look down to the two puppies, who are gazing at one another.

The mastiff keeps barking happily, while the dachshund is crouched down on her front legs and wagging her tail. It isn't long, before they turn to me, and I take that as a chance to kneel to their level.

"Well guys, it would seem this is where we part ways."

The mastiff remains impassive to my words, but the dachshund tilts her head and looks at me with a perplexed expression.

"You two are wild Pokémon, yes?" I elaborate. "I'm afraid I can't follow you here in… whatever this route is called. And I can't ask you to come with me. I'm sure you've got a pack to return to or something like that."

A bark turns my full attention to the mastiff, who shakes his head at me. Part of me says that it's a dog, so that gesture can't mean what humans use it for. The other says it's a Pokémon, so anything is on the table.

"No, eh?"

The mastiff shakes his head again.

Well, now…

"Still can't ask you to come with me," I insist. "I just got to… wherever in the Pokémon world 'here' is, so I can't exactly look after–"

A whimper from the dachshund cuts me off, and I turn to find her standing on her hind legs, with her front paws lowered and–

Oh no, not the puppy eyes! I'm too weak for them!

I have to turn my gaze away from the dough puppy, but as if to reiterate the point, her friend steps in front of me, gets on its hind legs as well and… tries to mimic the other dog's expression. Except it comes off more as sad than cute.

Whoever is out there, just why?!

"Fffffffffine, then," I ultimately have to say. "You two can come with me."

The mastiff lets out a happy bark as it gets back on all four. The dachshund does too, but on top of that, she hops onto my lap, making me land on my butt, and I have to grab her before she falls to the ground. When I lift her up, she starts licking at my face.

An amused snort draws my attention to the Tauros with the upward horns, who is shaking his head while his front leg taps the ground.

I'm being laughed at by a bull with magic powers while a dog made of dough is licking me, not long after escaping a lion-wolf-dinosaur hybrid.

Can this get any weirder?

"Alright, alright, calm down," I tell the dog as I slowly pull her away from my face. She whimpers a bit, but at least doesn't try to resist.

"Alright, one thing to clear out first," I continue as I look her in the eyes. "I'm gonna need a name to call you by. So, uh… how does Lola sound?"

The dachshund responds with a happy bark.

One down.

Lola's friend lets out a bark of his own, and I turn to find him by my side, looking up at me expectantly.

"Right, uh…"

Come on, you've got a fifty-fifty chance to guess correctly. Think carefully.

"Are you also female?"

The Poké-mastiff frowns at me.

Congratulations, Aldo. You blew it.

"Sorry," I say, chuckling nervously, to which the dog doesn't change his expression.

"Anyway, how does 'Rex' sound for a name?"

Thankfully, the mastiff's face relaxes at that, and he lets out a bark of consent as well.

Are the two cliché names for dogs? Probably, but if they like them, I'm not complaining.

The boisterous laugh of the Ranger draws my attention away from the puppies, and I turn to find him standing over me with a broad smile on his face. "You already made good friends with Fidough and Maschiff, eh?"

With whom? Is he talking about the puppies? Are those their Pokémon names?

"Anyway," he continues as he kneels to offer a hand, "I've made contact with HQ. A flying taxi will come to pick us up shortly."

A… what now?

My answer comes in the form of a carriage carried in the air by four large parrots. With a dull thud, it lands next to us with a guy in an aviator suit giving the parrots directions.

My earlier question if this could get weirder? Turns out it can.

The Ranger recalls his Tauroses into their Poké Balls–actual Poké Balls, damn–has me, Lola and Rex get on board with him and then we take off.

The flight takes us over the landscape, eventually leading us over what I assume is the river from before. To our right stays the grassy terrain we'd been on before. To our left, I notice a range of tall hills with no visible end on either side.

I don't recall ever coming across such a formation in any of the games I've played. That's the second hint this is not a region I'm familiar with. Lola and Rex were the first.

I turn to the Ranger, who is still looking chirpy, and ponder about asking him. This whole situation is already weird, I don't want to become a pain in someone's back already.

He notices me peering, and prompts me with an upward nod. "Something on your mind, Mister Lombardi?"

Well, so much for not being a pain.

"What region is this?" I ask. "I, uh… knew of the Pokémon world back in my own, but I'm not familiar with this landscape."

The Ranger responds by looking at me with a puzzled look. Dammit, I was hoping not to sound weird.

Nevertheless, the Ranger's face soon morphs back into a smile and he calmly says, "We're in the Paldea region. Are you familiar with that name?"

I shake my head. "Sorry."

"No worries," he reassures. "What regions do you remember?"

"Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova," I reply. "I know a few other names, but those are the main ones."

A surprised look comes to the Ranger's face. "Those, huh? They're quite a way from Paldea. Heck, the first four are basically on the other side of the world."

The regions based on Japan, on the other side of the world? And Unova is also far away? Is this region Poké-Europe or something?

"Does that help?"

"I… think so," is all I can say before I point to the hill range behind me. "And what is that?"

As soon as the Ranger shifts his gaze to the hills, a shadow comes over his face. His voice also takes a more dire note, much to my surprise.

"That would be the Great Crater of Paldea."

My eyes widen and I turn back to the 'hills'. "It's a crater?!"

"Yes." The Ranger maintains the dire tone. "One formed centuries ago when a meteor landed in the center of Paldea. Most who went to explore Area Zero–the area inside the crater–never came back. Those who did spoke of monsters wandering within."

M-monsters?!

"But hey, no need to worry about it!"

His sudden shift back to cheerfulness is accompanied by a slap on my shoulder, to which I wince and have to massage it.

"My fellow Rangers keep it under constant watch. Nothing gets in or out without their say-so."

That's… reassuring, I suppose?

I opt to stay quiet and keep my eyes on the mouth of the crater for the rest of the flight. With a question twirling in my head.

A lot of Pokémon would qualify as monsters back in my world. What sort of creatures could count as such here?

It is on the same bank as the crater that we eventually come to our destination: a large city on top of a peninsula in the middle of a basin, with three major bridges connecting it to the other side.

The city itself doesn't look too different from the ones I've seen, but what stands out is a large palace with towering peaks looking down at the rest of the city from an elevation at the very back.

"Here we are," the Ranger jovially declares. "Mister Lombardi, welcome to Mesagoza."

Shortly after the Ranger says that, the flying taxi starts descending toward the city's peaks, seemingly aiming for a tall crystal building with a red roof.

As we approach, a figure with a large wingspan takes off from the roof. The closer within reach it gets, the more I recognize it as some sort of gigantic black bat, with a purple belly and turquoise wing membranes. Its neck is covered by a mane of white fur, its enormous ears resemble loudspeakers and the middle joints of its wings have claws, not unlike a wyvern.

I may not know what it is specifically, but I have little doubt it's another Pokémon.

The wyvern-adjacent bat proceeds to fly a circle around the taxi. When it's on our side and following the taxi's trajectory, it turns to look inside the cabin.

"Hi, Ruido," the Ranger sighs, his voice oddly unenthusiastic. "I assume this means Pedra is waiting for us, huh?"

Does he know this Pokémon and its owner?

The Poké-bat makes a noise that I can only call a snort and turns its head back toward the crystal building. It follows us all the way until we land on the roof, where two other Rangers are waiting. One of them, a stern-looking slender woman with dark blue hair, steps toward us, her fists on her side. The Poké-bat gracefully lands next to her and cranes its furry head forward, to which she rubs it.

"Yup, it's her," the Ranger groans out before opening his side of the carriage. "Wait here a moment."

Not wanting to argue, I do as he says and watches as he gets out, steps in-between the taxi and addresses his fellow Ranger.

"Hi there, Pedra," he says, cheerful but less welcoming than he was with me. "I thought you'd be in Cascaraffa. What brings you back to HQ?"

"The trail I was following turned cold," his colleague replies dryly while grabbing a Poké Ball and recalling her Pokémon. "Unlike you, I didn't leave my post unattended."

Uhm…

The chubby man lets out a scoff. "I wasn't going anywhere either. Besides, an Ultra Wormhole was a more pressing matter, don't you think?"

The woman replies with a snort before looking past him and over to the carriage.

Or rather, to me.

"That guy the Faller you came across?" she asks as our eyes meet.

"Yup," her colleague replies before turning. "That's him."

The Rangers have me get out of the taxi shortly after and then they escort me inside the building. However, I unfortunately kind of tune out most of what they tell me once we are inside. In my defense, though, I am a little too preoccupied with admiring all the Pokémon wandering around, and honestly, I feel I am justified here.

Golduck? Sawsbuck? Tropius? Frigging Lucario? This is the stuff I thought I'd only see in dreams!

And that's the ones I recognize. I also spot a scarlet falcon, some sort of plant-like mantis and a giant metal raven amongst the crowd of mons.

Please, don't pinch me.

Although, everything comes to a stop when we reach a restroom while the Ranger lady gives me a change of clothes and tells me, "Get in and get changed. We'll begin your interview when you're ready."

…if I'd paid more attention to what they were saying instead of ogling the Pokémon, I would know what interview she's talking about, right?

Well, guess I'd better play along and figure it out later.

I take the spares, walk into the restroom and close the door. The clothes aren't anything special, just a plain white shirt, a pair of jeans and a pair of shoes, so it doesn't take me long to change into them.

…though, what was I supposed to do with my old clothes?

I knock on the door. The first response comes as barks from Rex and Lola, which are then followed by the voice of the Ranger with the Tauroses.

"Yes? Everything alright there?"

"What am I supposed to do with my clothes?"

…he'll understand which ones I mean, right?

"Oh, just leave them," he responds nonchalantly. "We'll pick them up later."

Alright, I guess.

When I walk out of the restroom, there's only two Rangers, Lola and Rex still waiting outside. The one with the Tauroses accompanies me and the dogs away, while the other enters the restroom.

Not sure if he's the one who's gonna pick up my clothes or not. But I was just told to leave them there, right?

In any case, we proceed to another room, where the lady Ranger who gave me the change is sitting at a table, with papers in her hand and a box connected by wires to a tube on her side of the table.

Seeing that device has me on edge almost immediately. What does it do and what does it have to do with me?

The lady Ranger looks up from the documents and gestures at the other side of the table. "Please, take a seat."

I hesitate, shifting my gaze from the free seat to the box.

They haven't bound me in any way, I haven't heard the door lock behind me, and the other guy has moved to just lean against the wall.

On top of that, neither Lola nor Rex seem on edge. That should count for something, right?

I slowly sit at the table, keeping my eyes on the Ranger's hands, ready to react in case they go for the box.

Lola takes the opportunity to jump onto my lap. Rex opts to just rest by the chair's legs.

"So, Mister…" the Ranger glances back at the papers, "Aldo Lombardi, is that correct?"

I nod my head.

"Alright, Mister Lombardi, I'm going to have to ask you a few questions to better assess your situation. Please, answer as truthfully and thoroughly as you can."

Again, I nod my head.

The questions the Ranger ends up asking are fairly simple ones. Age, former occupation, birthplace and so forth. I manage to offer to most of them fairly normal answers, all while the Ranger takes notes. Alternating between rubbing Lola's and Rex's heads also helps my nerves.

It's when we get to where I lived that things get awkward.

"Excuse me, where?" the Ranger asks, confusion evident on her face.

"Italy," I repeat.

"That is…" she hesitates. "I haven't heard of that one before."

Rather than continuing, she looks back to her papers, and then turns to her colleague, who is still leaning on the wall.

"Is this what you meant by 'perplexing statements about his origin', Carlos?"

Huh?

The other Ranger looks like he swallowed a lemon for a moment. "Yeah, that." He steals a brief glance at me and whispers a 'sorry' that I can barely hear.

What's happening here?

"In that case, I need to reformulate." She glances at the papers again before making her next question. "Mister Lombardi, how is your world connected to this one?"

Oh no.

My rubbing Lola's head gets more frenetic at the question. I only stop when she lets out a light whimper.

"I, uhm…" The words fail to come out. "We… you…"

The Ranger arches an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"This is going to sound… disconcerting," I mutter. "But in my world, Pokémon are a… videogame franchise."

These two freaking out in three, two, one…

One?

I said one–why aren't they freaking out?!

"Huh," the lady Ranger responds practically nonchalantly before taking more notes. "Alright then."

Wait, what? That's all she has to say?

I turn to look at the other one, but all I got from him is a nod and a thumb up.

Seriously? I tell them they are videogame characters in my world and they act like it's no big deal?

In my confusion, I fail to notice that the lady Ranger has grabbed the tube and pointed it at me, only realizing it when I hear a ticking noise coming from the box.

Looking at the Ranger, her attention is drawn to the box, with her brow slightly furrowed.

"Huh, those are low readings," she comments before retracting the tube. "It seems you were lucky, Mister Lombardi. Your stay in Ultra Space was fairly short. That explains why you still have all your memories."

Ultra Spa–? Wait, what does she mean with my memories?!

"Oh come on, Pedra!" the other guy intervenes, frustration in his voice. "Have some tact!"

"He's not an amnesiac and this would have come up anyway," the Ranger lady scoffs as she shoots him a glare. "I don't see the point of beating around the bush."

The other Ranger returns the glare, but doesn't say anything else beyond that.

That at least is a relief. Being caught in a debate between these two is the last thing I want.

"In any case," the lady Ranger continues, "there is one last thing I need to ask. Between your arrival and when Carlos found you, there is a gap we still need to fill." She glances down at the two dogs by me. "I'm assuming the Fidough and Maschiff didn't come from your world?"

I shake my head. "No. When I arrived, I landed in the river. I found Lola and Rex after getting back to shore. They were drinking there."

"Uh…huh." The Ranger takes another peak at the papers. "It says here Carlos didn't find you by a river." She looks up to me again. "What happened?"

"We were attacked," I reply. "A… I don't know what Pokémon it was, but it jumped out of the water. I tried to draw it away from Lola and Rex and it chased me. And if it hadn't been for them, it'd have eaten me."

"Uh-huh," the Ranger responds with a nod of her head before turning to her colleague. "And I take it that's when you found him."

He furrows his brow at her, but still answers, "More or less. Marino was the one who found them first. By the time I arrived, he'd already chased whoever attacked them off."

'Marino'? Is that his Tauros?

"I see." The Ranger lady turns to me again. "In that case, I think that's all I needed to ask," she says as she adjusts the papers in her hand. "Though there is something else I'm curious about-"

"Oh, I'm sure it can wait for now," her colleague chimes in as he gets off the wall and goes to open the door. "You think some kind of arrangement has been made for his temporary lodgings by now, Pedra?"

"I… think so," the Ranger lady replies with widened eyes, before she narrows them. "But Carlos-"

"It can wait," he insists. "It will be a while before the International Police shows up and decides what to do with him."

He turns to me, with his expression softening. "That probably sounded harsher than I intended, sorry."

Okay, but… what am I missing between these two?

The Ranger lady lets out a huff. "Fine. Show him his arrangements." She turns to me. "Mister Lombardi, go with him."

Not wanting to get involved in whatever these two's deal is, I have Lola get off my lap, stand up and follow the first Ranger out of the room. Although, I don't miss the loud thud of the other one slamming her fist on the table.

"Rex, what are you doing?"

The Poké-mastiff ignores me and keeps glaring at the Murkrow by the hotel's counter. He has his brow furrowed and is showing off his fangs, but the Poké-crow seems unaffected by it, only tilting its head.

"I, uh…" I mutter as I turn to the lady at the counter, who is also watching the scene unfold. "I apologize for this. I… don't know why he–"

Before I can finish, the Murkrow opens its beak and lets out a yawn, to which Rex drops the snarl and lets out a defeated whimper. Lola is by his side soon after, snuggling.

The lady at the counter lets out an amused chuckle at the sight before turning to me. "No worries, sir. Plenty of Maschiffs act like that."

'Plenty of', huh? So the uncalled for snarling is a common trait for the species? Lola sure doesn't seem to be doing that. Though the two aren't the same breed of dogs. But why were they sticking around each other, then?

As the Ranger takes the lead and talks to the lady, I realize he's bound to at least know something. After we're given a key card and directions to the corresponding room, we head for the elevators and I wait until we're on board to speak.

"So, I had a question about–"

"Don't worry," he says with a mirthy chuckle and a smile on his face. "If you feel like wandering around Mesagoza, there's no trouble. Just tell the staff where you're going so that we can find you when the International Police shows up."

"That is… not…" My thoughts go blank for a moment, and I furrow my brow. "You are not going to summon me back to your base tomorrow?"

"No need to," he replies. "You answered all the questions we had. Your integration is unfortunately beyond the Rangers' jurisdiction, so we'll have to wait on the International Police."

"Your colleague seemed to have more to ask me."

The Ranger's smile narrows at that, and some of the cheer seems to leave his eyes. "Pedra is just working on another case near the area where you landed. I'm not sure what she was going to ask, but I bet you'd rather not get caught up in that so soon after arriving."

"Are you sure about that?" I ask. "If I can be of help with whatever that case is, all you have to do is ask."

"It's a complicated situation, I'm afraid," he sighs. "With lots of bureaucratic parts moving and weird timings. Long story short, it's more complicated than you'd think."

Okay, that's a yikes.

"I see," is all I can tell him.

We fall into a quiet silence up until we reach our floor. As he leads the way to the room, I decide that is a good time to try and ask again. "I actually wanted to ask about Lola and Rex."

The Ranger turns to look at me, his features set on a perplexed expression until realization seems to dawn on him. "Oh, you mean your two Pokémon."

I nod.

"Sorry, my bad," he chuckles as he nervously scratches the back of his head. "What did you want to know?"

I point at each of the puppies with one hand. "They are different breeds of dogs, yes?"

"Yup."

"So, is it normal for the two of them to be sticking together?"

The moment the two turn to look at me with perplexed expressions, I realize that may have been a stupid question. Even the Ranger raises an eyebrow.

"You mean if it's normal for a Fidough and a Maschiff to be around one another in the wilds?"

"Yeah."

Couldn't even be clear about that one, could you Aldo?

"Uh-huh," the Ranger responds. "In that case, no. They usually stick to packs of their own species."

The two dogs turn their perplexed expressions at the Ranger.

"But both breeds can be found in the western South Province. I suppose they could have had the same parents."

The western what?

No wait, stow that for now.

"You guys are siblings?" I ask the dogs. Lola barks in confirmation. Rex looks at me with a blank look, as if I'd just said the most obvious thing.

"Anyway," the Ranger intervenes, stopping right in front of a door with the number 139 hanging on it. He slips the key card where the latch would be. "Here we are."

The room inside is… nothing special, to be honest. It's all a square, with a window on the side opposite of the door. On one side, there's a TV hanging on the wall, a mini-fridge just below and a door with the toilet sign. On the other, there's a simple bed, with a small wardrobe by its side.

"I know it's not much, but it's the best we could book on short notice."

"It's alright," I reassure the Ranger. "I was making do with less than this before."

Wait, what's with that wince he made just now?

"Well, uhm, here," he offers me the key card, and I take it. It is then, though, that I realize the key card isn't the only thing he gave me. There's something else.

"What…?"

"Prepaid card," he says, winking at me. "In case you wanna buy something for you or your Pokémon."

What?!

"No," I mutter as I offer the card back. "No, I can't accept this. Offering your money is way past your job."

"No, it isn't," he chuckles. "You don't have any money on you right now, do you?"

"I…" I hesitate to reply. "I did. In my wallet. Money from my home."

"Precisely. So just keep it, alright?"

"I just…" I look at the Ranger blankly, then turn to look at the card, then back at him. "All this, for some random guy who dropped out of the sky? Why?"

The Ranger shrugs nonchalantly. "Call it second nature. When people need help, we Rangers help them out, no matter what."

I can only stare blankly at that response.

"Oh would you look at that!" the Ranger says as his gaze shift to… somewhere past me. "It's getting very late. I'm sure you'd like to rest after such a day, yeah?"

I turn around to where he's looking. I don't remember seeing a clock, and sure enough there isn't one. "What are you talking about? How can you tell-?"

The sound of the door shutting cuts me off, and I turn back just to see he's left.

As I raise my hands, I'm not sure what's more frustrating. That he pulled that trick on me, or that I fell for it.

Well, nothing for it, I guess. Even though I've got a roof over my head and some answers, there's still so much more I need to figure out. But that can wait for one night.

"Time to sleep, little buddies," I tell the two dogs as I step toward the bed. "We've already had an eventful evening, and tomorrow morning could be too."

The two hop onto the bed, and thankfully leave me enough room to lay on it as well.

Up until this point, I haven't really felt fatigue despite all that happened after I landed in that river. But now? It all seems to come crashing down as soon as I lay still under the sheets.

As such, it doesn't take long before I close my eyes, and sleep claims me shortly after.

And new chapter. Aldo names his two new friends and makes his first proper contact with the people of the Pokémon world.

Gonna be trying to keep an update schedule of about 4 weeks between chapters going forward. It might be much but life keeps me busy these days.

Leave your thoughts in the comments and a huge thank you to Krosrodes for beta-reading this. If you wish to see more of us, you can find us at the Fanfiction Treehouse discord server at u89gs745fn

See you guys next time!