I

The Lookers

Journal Entry #1

November 23rd, 2023

It's been one whole week since I was rescued by The Lookers. Looker himself said it was a good idea to keep a journal of what's happening, but my mind has been racing far too much to write it all down. I'm trying today though. Maybe it'll help, but it feels a lot like homework. So I suppose I'll just write down what happened over the past week and anything I remember that I think was important.

The night I was rescued, I woke up on a beach. It was cold and I was freezing. As I left the beach, I was found by Looker but I fled. I stole a hoodie from a stall in Castelia City and hid in an alleyway, but Looker found me. It was here that I realised Looker was not out to get me and may be the only person who could give me answers.

So, Looker is the lead detective of a group known as The Lookers. When he first told me, I thought he was schizophrenic or something, but he literally meant the group was named after him. They are a private detective firm but they also have their own goals and one of them is looking for Fallers.

Fallers are people who are moved from one place in space and time to another, usually through a wormhole, and usually with amnesia. This is what happened to me. Somehow, whoever and wherever I was in the past, I somehow interacted with a wormhole that sucked me in and spat me out here. I could be from the past, from the future, or from the present time and just the other side of the world, and I have no idea which it is.

On the first day, they ran me through some tests they apparently do for all Fallers.

The very first thing they asked me was my name. I told them I had no idea what my name was. They told me to choose one. It took me about five minutes to decide but I eventually decided on Alex Redwood. I don't know why. It just felt right.

Then, they asked me all sorts of questions to determine what grade of Faller I am. As Looker explained it, there were four grades of Faller that they had come into contact with. The first was Grade 4 Faller.

A Grade 4 Faller would show complete and absolute signs of amnesia, with no idea of who they are, where they come from or even what Pokemon are.

A Grade 3 Faller would have a basic understanding of the Pokemon world and may be able to name a few Pokemon, but not recall any details about their own personal identity.

A Grade 2 Faller would know a little about who they are, perhaps their job or their favourite food, but would not be able to identify themselves further.

A Grade 1 Faller would be able to tell you exactly who they are and the last thing that they remember before becoming a Faller. Looker had only ever met one Grade 1 Faller - and he is another member of The Lookers.

They concluded I was a Grade 3 Faller. They set up a bank account and gave me ten thousand Pokedollars. They then told me that I have a choice: I am free to go with the money and do whatever I want, or I could stay with them and try to figure out who I am.

For me, it was a no-brainer. I took the job immediately.

These people clearly have experience with what I've gone through. Most of them are Fallers themselves. Better to stick with them and earn a wage, than try and make it out in the wild world of relative strangers.

After that, Looker gave me a proper tour of the office and let me see some information on the current cases they were working on. Looker said he would give me an easy assignment to start so I could get used to things.

Looker also gave me what he called 'The Looker List' - it is a small booklet that acts as a list of my favourite things - either what I remember or what I discover I like. This week I added 'Riolu' to my favourite Pokemon list and 'Oran Berry Pie' to my list of favourite desserts.

Speaking of Riolu, he is the only surviving Pokemon that Fell with me. I've tried to interact with him but he seems very shy. Either that or he doesn't like me. I wonder if he remembers who I am, or whether he's in the same boat as me. Needless to say, he's definitely my Pokemon, as he returns to his Pokeball whenever gestured. I do like him a lot though - he's a funny little guy. Riolu are fascinating Pokemon and they emit an aura to communicate with their trainers. Well, so far all I've felt from Riolu is sadness and apprehension. Or maybe that's just what I'm feeling anyway.

We figured out that I am instinctually familiar with most modern technology, so the likelihood is I haven't travelled far in time and space - it's even possible, and when Looker told me this it played with my head for hours - that I'm from an entirely different dimension and that there is either another me in this universe - or more than likely - I never existed in this universe. The universe apparently likes to keep itself tidied up like that, so people don't tend to meet their alter-dimensional selves.

Of course, thinking of that only made me think of my alter-dimensional self, the one from before I became a Faller - what was he like? What was his name? How many family members are looking for him and how many have accepted that he's gone? What happened to his other Pokemon, of which Riolu is the only one who made the journey? Are they dead or otherwise trainerless in the other dimension?

I am guessing, though I can't be sure, that I am in my early twenties. For ease of reference, I decided I was twenty-one years old and my birthday is the day I was found, November 16th. Until I know otherwise, I may as well fill in the blanks.

But knowing that I am probably over twenty years old, I thought of even more unknowns. Was my alter-dimensional self married? Did he have children? I hope not, because I would hate to be responsible for putting someone through that.

The Lookers are, it seems, good people. There's Looker himself, but then there's also Anabel, both of them Fallers. They haven't explained their stories yet (Anabel says I should take some time to settle in before they blow my mind with space-time BS and I'm inclined to agree) but they have clearly known each other the longest. Then there's Elio, who is apparently one of the strongest trainers in the world and the very first Alolan League Champion. He has actually been through multiple wormholes, and Fallen, but retained all of his memories. He's a Grade 1 Faller.

The only other Looker I met this week, though I'm told there are others too, was Emmet. He is actually unique in that he's not a Faller, but apparently his brother was and they've never found him.

That's about all I can think of to write about for my first entry. Assuming I haven't magically remembered everything by next week, I'll write another entry then.

Hope you have a good week, Future-Me.

Yours (literally),

Alex Redwood.