The following morning, I initially wake up thinking I'm in my room, laying in my bed, and everything that happened so far was just a lucid dream. That moment soon passes when I hear the two dogs' breathing by my side and I turn to find them laying next to each other, eyes closed.

So it was all real. I'm in the Pokémon world, and I've got two Poké-dogs by my side.

On one hand, a pair of puppies isn't the worst thing that could have happened. Dogs are adorable, and Pokémon always seemed more intelligent than their real life counterparts.

On the other, I know absolutely nothing about how to take care of a mastiff or a dachshund at the same time. Least of all when one of them is made of dough. Or something similar to dough, I don't know.

Well, later. Priorities first, and that means getting up.

"Hey, guys?"

It's funny to watch how the two puppies yawn in sync and then open up their eyes to look at me.

"It's time for us to go."

Lola instantly perks up and jumps on her feet. Her tail starts to wag as she lets out an excited bark. Rex takes his time to get up, after which I follow suit.

Breakfast at the hotel's cafeteria goes well, all things considered. I was a bit concerned when the personnel offered Lola and Rex a bowl of biscuits and nothing else–even though they assured they'd be very nutritious for them–before the two mowed down on the food.

Poor fellas didn't get to eat much out there in the wilds, huh? Or maybe they're just gluttons. I honestly don't know, I haven't seen any other… what their species were called to draw a comparison with.

In any case, we head to the reception. I talk with the new guy there and ask if there are any nearby places where I could get information on Rex and Lola's needs.

His answer leaves me dumbfounded.

"Why not download the Pokédex app, sir? That should have everything you need."

The Pokédex app? Was that not its own device?

"Uh…" I mutter. "I can't. My phone fell in the water and it's not been working since."

Not to mention I left it with my old clothes. Unless the Rangers return it to me, I'm not gonna be able to make anything out of it.

The receptionist looks at me like I've grown a second head. What was weird about what I said this time?

"That so? Nothing the Rotom could do about it?"

… I do remember what a Rotom is. But what would one have to do with anything?

To be safe, I merely shake my head, to which the guy responds, "Huh, they must have sold you a pretty cheap model."

Unfortunately, it wasn't.

"In that case, I believe your best bet would be Naranja Academy's library. They have all sorts of texts there, I'm sure you'd find something."

Naranja Academy? Its library?

Oh, this has got to be luck playing a sick prank on me. Just when I think I won't be seeing any more universities' libraries, I'm sent to another.

Still, who am I to question their intellectual value?

"Where can I find the academy?"

"It's the large structure towering over the rest of the city."

The palace with the towers? I wasn't expecting that to be a school.

The receptionist's hand reaches for something behind the counter. Before I can worry about what he's doing, he asks, "Shall I call a flying taxi for you?"

I shake my head. "No, thanks. I should be able to find my way there."

At least this way I will save on the money the Ranger gave me. Plus, this should allow me to get a feel for what the city is like.

One exchange of pleasantries later, I'm out of the hotel's door.

I'd already had a taste of live breathing Pokémon walking side by side with humans at the Rangers' base, but as I walk through the streets of this city, I see so many more, some even just wandering by themselves without humans accompanying them. Just like at the Ranger Base, I do recognize some, but there are many more that I do not.

While I'm busy checking out the people and Pokémon, though, Rex and Lola are more interested in the shops we pass by along the way, as they often stop by them. I'm not nearly as interested as them, mostly because they are not that different from those of my world, outside of the customers with Pokémon. At least it doesn't lead us astray. The tips of the academy's towers are visible from almost everywhere, making them the perfect landmark to follow.

Following those peaks leads us to a large plaza where several streets converge, with a stairway leading up toward the academy.

However, that is not what picks my interest.

In the middle of the plaza, there is a crowd forming a circle and cheering loudly at... something going on within that circle. I'm too distant to see what, though.

A bark from Lola has me tilt my head down, and I find her looking at me with a curious gaze.

"I don't know," I say, shrugging. "It could be anything." To the side, I notice Rex watching the scene intently. "You guys want to take a look?"

Rex turns to me and responds with an affirmative bark. Lola ponders for a moment before barking as well.

Once we are close enough to the circle, I feel light tremors in the ground. In a normal circumstance, I would be more worried, but between the cheering crowd that doesn't seem to mind, and what world I'm in, I think I can safely guess what's going on.

"Excuse me?" I ask as I tap the shoulder of this one girl who is just bobbing her head rather than hopping in excitement or cupping her hands to shout like everyone else. As she turns, I add, "May we watch as well?"

She blinks, glances down at Rex and Lola and says. "Oh, certainly!" before stepping to the side. I move next to her, and my suspicions are proven right.

On opposite sides, there are two girls dressed in similar outfits of white shirts and orange shorts. One is tanned and with black hair tied into a ponytail, minus a few strands dyed green. The other has a lighter skin tone and keeps her brown hair in a side braid beneath a large hat.

Each is giving directions to two Pokémon facing each other at the very center. The hatted one is giving directions to a Donphan who has collected into a ball and is rolling at a high speed. The tanned one commands… some kind of elongated Dunsparce to coil in on itself, possibly bracing for the impact.

The rolling Donphan keeps speeding up as it gets closer to the Dunsparce, and I preemptively wince for the upcoming impact.

Except there's no impact. Just as it's about to be hit, the Dunsparce jumps on top of the Donphan and starts wrapping itself around it. The Poké-elephant lets out a shocked trumpet as its charge is brought to a halt.

"Great, isn't it?" the girl intervenes. "Champion-rank students are really something else."

I turn to look at her with a perplexed expression. "Excuse me?"

She frowns for a moment, but then her eyes widen in realization. "Oh, you're not from Paldea either, are you?"

While I shake my head, I also take a closer look at her. Black hair, long enough to reach her shoulders, brown eyes, slightly shorter than me. Most importantly, Asian traits. Definitely not from a Pokémon region corresponding to Europe.

She makes a nervous chuckle. "Sorry, my bad. I thought you were one of the locals."

I raise my hands in what I hope comes across as a reassuring gesture. "It's no trouble, really." The last thing I want is to be a jerk to the first stranger I come across.

Surprisingly enough, she responds with a smile and an extended hand. "Hibiki Armonia, by the way. From the Johto region."

…when did we get to the introductions? I didn't do anything to prompt it, right?

Hesitantly, I grab her hand and return the shake of her hand. With less energy than her grip has. "Aldo," I tell her. "Aldo Lombardi."

She nods, and also purses her lips while she gives me a pensive look. "Where are you from? Kalos? Galar? Oh wait, I think I got it: Unova!"

I answer with a shake of my head, though I can't voice anything afterward. Should I be honest about my origin?

I'm thankfully prevented from answering as I hear loud bumps on the ground, which drive my and the Asian girl's attention back to the two Pokémon. The Donphan somehow managed to get its feet free and is now jumping in place, sending shockwaves each time it lands. The Dunsparce is trying to hold tightly despite it all, but I can't tell how long it will hold.

"Who do you think is going to relent first?" the Asian girl asks. "I bet it's going to be the Donphan, it doesn't look like all that jumping is doing more than tiring it out."

How can she even tell?

"Well…" I murmur. "I'm not an expert on Pokémon battles, so I don't know. Though that Dunsparce looks to be tiring as well."

At least, I think.

"Dunsparce?"

When I turn, I find her looking at me with an arched eyebrow and an amused smile. Even so, I can't really tell what I said wrong. That yellow snake is Dunsparce, I'm sure of it.

The Asian girl lets out a chuckle. "Never heard of Dudunsparce, have you?"

"...no?"

Another chuckle. "I can't really blame you, the two look very similar. To put it shortly, Dunsparce is the tinier, unevolved Pokémon. That," she points at the Poké-snake in front of us, "is its evolved form."

In my world, I remember people were clamoring for Dunsparce to get an evolution one day. Now that I'm in the Pokémon world, that evolution turns out to just be Dunsparce but larger?

Man, what a letdown.

The Donphan continues with its jumps. It gets to a point it makes an exceptionally tall one and lands with an equally loud impact. The evolved Dunsparce lets go right after and wobbles for a bit before passing out. The Donphan doesn't fare much better, as its eyes close shortly after.

"Tie, huh?" the Asian girl comments. "Looks like you were right after all."

"So I was," I mutter half-heartedly, my attention more grabbed by how bruised the two look. Just bruised, no injury worse than that. It still gives me pause seeing those two battered for this crowd's enjoyment.

"Looks like the show is over, guys," I tell Rex and Lola as I look down to them. "Come now, let's go,"

Lola lets out a whimper at my words. Rex barks in protest.

"Leaving already?" the Asian girl chimes in. "Come on, stay a little while longer, your Pokémon want to watch. Besides, those two are down to their last Pokémon."

I look over to the other girls. Sure enough, both have recalled their Pokémon and grabbed a different Poké Ball. Still…

"Sorry," I tell the Asian girl. "I only wanted to see what this was about. Now that I know, there's other stuff we need to take care of."

"But-"

Lola's barks cut her off. I look down to her and…

Where did Rex go?

"Hey, whose Maschiff is that?"

"Where is it going?"

'Maschiff'? Where did I hear that name before?

"Hey, look over there!"

I turn to where the Asian girl is pointing. My jaw almost drops at seeing Rex reaching the side of the hatted girl, just as a green humanoid cat with a mask and a scarf materializes in front of her.

At the sight of the new Pokémon, Rex turns to it and starts barking angrily. He only stops when the Poké-cat turns and shoots him a coy smirk. I can't see Rex's face, but I can already picture him making his impromptu snarl.

"Oh no, no, no." I turn back to my other dog. "Lola, you stay here while I go get your brother."

I don't wait for the dough puppy's response before I make my way forward. The closer I get, the more clearly I hear Rex's snarl. Meanwhile, the Poké-cat toys with a flower thing in its hand, to which its Trainer steps in between the two.

Thankfully, I manage to grab Rex from behind and lift him up before the thing escalates, even as he whimpers in protest.

Just as I've done that, I notice the girl looking at me with a confused expression and her Pokémon arching an eyebrow. Those two normally wouldn't be so bad, but as I notice them, I realize the crowd is now looking at us. Looking at me. Probably judging me for interrupting the two girls' fight.

"S-sorry about this," I quickly mutter to the girl before turning around and scurrying away, doing my best to ignore the gazes that follow me. I only stop to tell Lola to come along and then press forward to the stairway, ignoring the Asian girl's call.

"Come on, how long are you going to keep that up?" I ask the pouting Rex when we're halfway across the stairway, when I've calmed down and made sure no one else is looking at us.

The Poké-mastiff lets out a snort.

"Look," I sigh, "I understand you like to pick fights, but that is not always going to work out well for you. Take that cat thing for example, it looked way out of your league."

Rex still pouts, but makes no sound this time.

"Besides, not everyone is going to like being snarled at. Some may take it as a genuine threat."

At that, his pout fades, and he lowers his head.

I instinctively reach to rub his head. He doesn't lean into it, but he thankfully doesn't retract either.

"Come now, it's all good. This is just something to keep in mind for the future, okay?"

He lets out a whimper, to which I find myself at a loss. What more can I say here?

Rex shifts within my hands, to which I let him go and get back on his feet. Meanwhile, Lola's barks come from the top of the stairs, and I look up to see the little dough puppy looking down at us.

She really doesn't like to wait, huh?

We hurry up to make it the rest of the way to the top, where Lola welcomes us with happy barks and wags of her tail. After a quick rub of her head I look up to the academy properly and—

Oh geez, it's so much bigger up close! My old university never had a structure this huge. And the whole design… what kind of academy looks like a cross between a castle and a cathedral?

The only thing convincing me that I am in the right place is the amount of people wandering around the outdoor garden dressed in exactly the same outfits as those two girls battling in the plaza.

It's mildly concerning to see the pool of students range from young teens to middle-age folks. What even is the minimum age to enroll here, and how long do the courses last?

A bark from Lola breaks me out of my trance. She's pointing with her snout toward the academy's entrance, and shortly after I notice, she makes a break for it, to which Rex and I give chase.

As we run, I can feel some of the students' gazes on me. Those only spur me to run faster.

Lola thankfully has the patience to wait for us by the entrance proper and give me the time to catch my breath. I quickly open the door and we step into the large entrance of the academy, with its tiled white and orange colors, the frontal reception, twin sets of stairs on either side and bookshelves behind those.

How convenient to have the library so easily within reach. Seems I won't risk disturbing any lessons.

The downside is when I ask at the reception for books on Pokémon biology, I'm told that Lola and Rex will have to either be recalled into their Poké Balls or wait. Since I obviously don't have those, I can only tell the puppies to wait until I come back.

The book I'm directed to is a tome about 'Pokémon from the Field Egg Group of Paldea'. Given Lola and Rex apparently count as such, I have to assume that's what mammals are called in this world.

Unfortunately, I still haven't committed to memory what their species' names are, so I have to parse through various pages before I find pictures of Pokémon reminiscent of them.

A quick check on how exhaustive the information is later, I head back to the reception, intent on borrowing the book and getting the puppies back. However, once I walk down the stairs, I find that the puppies are not alone anymore. The Asian girl from earlier is kneeling in front of them and rubbing their heads.

How the heck have we run into her again? Did she follow us or something?

"Good boys," she chuckles, only stopping when Lola retracts slightly.

It doesn't apparently upset her that much, though, and before long she adds. "Sorry, boy and girl."

Lola leans back into her hand.

Is it bad if I say I'm feeling supplanted right now?

"Well, sorry little fellas, but I've got some matters to attend to here." The Asian girl gets back on her feet. "Say hi to your Trainer for m-"

As she raises her head, her eyes land on me and widen in surprise. "Oh hey. Fancy seeing you here."

"Uh… yeah," I awkwardly wave a hand, "hi."

The Asian girl crosses her arms as a sardonic smile spreads on her face. "Way to ditch me back there. You were in that much of a hurry?"

Oh yeah. I did leave without a proper farewell, didn't I?

"Sorry."

She chuckles as she shakes her head. "I'm just messing with you. You did say you were going and your Maschiff was making a scene."

Okay, note to self: Rex is a Maschiff. Repeat it until you remember, Aldo.

"What's that, by the way?" the Asian girl asks as she eyes the book I took. Since there's really nothing to hide, I decide to show it to her.

"Huh." She glances at Lola and Rex and then back to me. "So you got them recently?"

"Yesterday, to be precise."

…wait, was that too sharp of an answer? Did I come off as aggressive?

"Uh… huh."

She glances at Rex and Lola again, this time with a furrowed brow. She then turns back to me. Then the puppies again. Then to my waist. And so on and so forth. I feel more concerned and embarrassed the longer that goes on.

Her eyes widen after a while, and she lets out an excited exhale. "Oh, I see."

I arch an eyebrow. "What?"

She points both index fingers at me. I have to suppress a wince.

"You don't have any Poké Balls," she says. "Which means you didn't receive them from others or catch them, they followed you from the wilds."

Huh, she's sharp. Or maybe she's stating what's obvious to everyone but me, I don't know.

"And you're not from Paldea, nor do you know enough about it to have come prepared or been around it long."

…did me not knowing anything about those two girls imply all that?

"So, you must be a tourist who arrived recently, and decided to adopt a pair of exotic Pokémon he met the other day." A giggle comes from her mouth. "That's really sweet."

Despite her friendly tone, I'm feeling puzzled by the whole assessment. "A… tourist?"

She shrugs. "Well, either that or you woke up in the Paldean wilds and they just stuck around with you. But that's not as likely, is it?"

…it's closer to the truth than I'd like it to be.

I remain quiet for just a handful of seconds, but that's all it takes for the Asian girl to widen her eyes in shock. "Wait, that's what happened?!"

Her tone was louder this time. A glance to the side reveals the receptionist is looking at us with an arched eyebrow. No, looking at me.

My hands move without my control, rubbing together nervously. I'm here, in front of people, asking me something to which I could only answer with something that seems like the beginning of a bad sci-fi story, and I don't even know if I'm supposed to tell them.

What should I do? That Ranger with the Tauroses seemed fine with sharing the Faller business with me, but he is an appointed official. How much does the average person actually know? How much would Rangers, the International Police and whoever else want them to know? And what would they do to me if I said more than they'd want?

"Uh, hello?"

The Asian girl is waving her hand in front of my face. I feel sweat flowing down from my temples as I look at her confused expression. She's expecting an answer and you're not delivering, Aldo. How much of a fool do you want to make out of yourself?

But the Rangers…

No, don't be ridiculous, those guys knew what could happen when they let you wander the city free. They would have told you if you weren't supposed to say anything.

Would they, though?

"F…" I mutter, my tone barely above a whisper. "F…fa…"

The Asian girl furrows her brow. "Yes?"

"Fa…ler."

She blinks. "What?"

"Faller."

The voice was the receptionist's. As both I and the Asian girl turn to him, he looks impassive at the whole scene. His gaze focuses on the Asian girl before he speaks again."

"He's a Faller. A person from another world that was dragged to ours."

So… it's not a secret if he knows. That's… that's a relief.

"What?" The Asian girl looks between me and the receptionist. "That's a thing that can happen?"

"Yes," I respond, finally finding the courage to speak properly again. "The Rangers said as much."

"Oh by Ho-Oh's feathers," she gasps before her hands cover her hanging mouth. "I, uh… don't know what to say."

Honestly, if she said nothing else on the matter, I would appreciate it. Even better, if I could be left alone. I… I want time to clear my head after this.

I turn away from her and over to the receptionist. "I would like to borrow this book, if possible," I hastily tell him as I place the tome on his desk. No time for pleasantries, the sooner I can be on my own, the better.

I tense somewhat when he gives me a perplexed look, but thankfully his gaze soon shifts over to the book.

"That can be done," he says. "However, I require a document. Do you have anything with you?"

…they were in my pockets when I arrived. Even if they weren't soaked, they're at the Ranger Base.

"No, I don't."

I should have thought of this sooner. Any library even back in my world would have requested it. But of course I was stupid and didn't think of that.

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid Aldo. You could not be normal on your first day, could you? Now what are you going to-?

"Ahem."

I turn back to the Asian girl. "Yes?"

"That," she points at the book on the counter, "is because you want to figure out more about your new friends," she nudges toward the visibly concerned Rex and Lola, "right?"

I arch an eyebrow. "Yes?"

She smiles and nods. "In that case, may I offer you my help with that?"

Why? I'm just some weirdo she ran into today. Why would she want to? Not to mention, what kind of help does she want to give?

"Are you an expert on dogs?"

Wait no, dammit, that sounded like I'm mocking her, go back!

"No," she responds, with a tone more amused than that kind of response should warrant. Without uttering another word, she reaches into her pants' pockets and pulls out a Poké Ball. "I'm a Pokémon Trainer. I know a thing or two about Pokémon."

I blink at the red and white sphere in her hand. If I squint my gaze, I think I can see a canine-like shape under the red part.

"Come on," the Asian girl says as she gestures back at the entrance. "Consider this my apology for coming off so strongly."

Oh great job, you've made her feel guilty for your weirdness.

"You, uh… don't need to apologize."

"Agree to disagree," she chuckles.

I stay in place rather than replying. Not to be deterred, though, the Asian girl turns to Rex and Lola. "What about you two? Wanna come with?"

Oh the betrayal I feel as Lola barks happily and starts running in circles around her legs.

I turn to Rex as my last hope. The mastiff merely tilts his head at me and does the best shrug he can while on all four.

"Fine," I sigh. "I'm coming."

The Asian girl bumps her hands. "Great!"

I can only pray this won't get as uncomfortable as I think, and hopefully she won't want to see me again after today.

For her own well-being.

Ladies, gentlemen and everything in-between, say hello to Armonia, the deuteragonist of this story. A character that so far has been a joy to write.

Leave your thoughts about her and the events of the chapters in the reviews and a huge thank you to Krosrodes for beta-reading this.

See you guys next time!