The faint sound of ceaseless beeping from an unknown source jolted him awake, and as he sat and blinked the sleep from his eyes, he fumbled in his satchel with his front forceps, attempting to silence it. He soon produced a small device from the brown bag, a vibrating thing with a bright white screen, and clumsily pressed the buttons on the side with his claw until one finally worked to shut it off. With a satisfied sigh, he placed it back in the bag and properly stood, all four of his limbs touching the damp, marshy ground.

His brow then furrowed in confusion. Shifting his weight to this position felt… off. He felt heavier, weighed down by an invisible force, something he could feel on his shoulders but was unable to see from here. Something fluttered as he took a shaky step forward, and with a surprised shriek he jumped into the air, the fluttering becoming faster, harder, more apparent…

…And he didn't land back on the ground.

Startled and confounded, unused to the sensation of flying, he whipped around, unsteady in the air, and swerved into a wall. He fell back down to the mushy ground with a yelp, and by no conscious effort of his own, he rose up again.

The beeping box began making noise again. He grabbed it out of the satchel and, in his panic, threw it across the room. It landed in a pool of murky water a few feet ahead of him, which rippled and bubbled as the light-box sank down into its depths. A few sparks rose from it, but ultimately, the beeping had stopped, much to his satisfaction.

Hold on… water. He could very faintly see something reflected on its surface. Curious, he flitted forward, cocking his head to the side, and beyond the slick, oily surface was the image of sometone entirely unfamiliar.

A plump, black body, a golden face with piercing red eyes, and a pair of whizzing wings that flapped faster than he could keep up with. He backed up from the pond with a start, and as he looked down to his arms — also black, with golden claws — he realized that he was not himself .

Just who was he, though?

He tried to recall what he did know. After a moment, he came to the conclusion that it was nothing.

Nothing .

Nothing at all.

His stomach rumbled, a pained sound that made him almost double over in midair. He groaned, drifting once more into the middle of the room, and gently hovered a few inches above the ground. Hungry… instinctively, he knew this feeling was hunger. A dry throat told him he was thirsty, as well. Against his better judgement — rather, what little he had — he landed on the pool's bank once more and dunked his head in, sucking down as much of the grimy liquid as his tiny body could handle.

Still hungry, he thought, rising up again. His legs curled beneath him as his wings carried him back into the air. What would satisfy his hunger? What did he like to eat? Where would he find something to eat?

In the corner of the chamber, he spotted a red object lying on the ground, something he hadn't noticed prior. It was bright, sparkly… it shone through the foggy haze of this place. Tantalized, he approached —

In reaching for the round shiny red thing, he was smacked in the side by a hefty blow. His wings stabilized him as he was knocked back, and he maneuvered himself back into a better position to discern what had hit him.

A mid-sized Pokémon, golden brown with braided ears, took a defensive stance, guarding the red thing. Her teeth were bared, and her tail wagged with sharp, erratic movements.

"Do not approach! Don't come closer!" she barked. "I must feed my babies! My Fidough! Do not take this apple! It's my apple!"

The feral Pokémon punctuated her threat with a snap and a growl. Frightened, and not wanting to cause trouble, he flew back, allowing her to take the apple. But she drew closer, curling the sides of her mouth into a grim, sinister snarl.

"It's okay, miss — it's yours, just take it!" he replied. A bead of sweat trickled down his cheek. "I don't want a fight, I'll find other food —"

"You want to steal food from my babies," the Pokémon repeated. "You die!"

She latched onto his left forcep with her teeth, biting down hard with a nasty Crunch attack. He cried out, yanking his arm out of her mouth, but it was to no avail; she had locked her jaw around it completely. Now even more panicked, he tirelessly wriggled in her grasp, fighting for as long as he could muster before he had to succumb to his inevitable fate…

…But she was unable to land the killing blow. A splatter of blue paint hit her in the side, and she yowled, freeing him from her maw. Another two or three splotches grazed her back, causing her to cower, and when a fourth hit, she whined and ran out of the chamber, her tail between her legs. And she had left the shiny red thing — an apple — behind, as well, having forgotten it in her haste.

"Yo. Ninjask dude, you alright?"

Ninjask. That's what he was. That had to be. He turned, covering his bleeding arm, to look at who had just entered, and he took up a fighting stance of his own at the sight of three more unfamiliar Pokémon. The leader, a black-and-white striped mammal with pointy ears and large blue eyes, put his hands up in surrender to calm the Ninjask down.

"Dude, chill," the Pokémon said. "I'm not one of the feral critters roamin' around this dump. We're from the Legion, we're here to rescue ya."

"...Rescue?" the Ninjask replied. "I don't… Do I need rescuing? I thought I… lived here…"

The leader looked to his two lackeys, who simply shrugged. "Bro, look, your partner from the Rescue Legion said ya went missing. Quit fooling around, come back to the base with us."

"Hey boss," one of the littler creatures piped up. "What if he does live here and we've got the wrong guy?"

"Yeah, and the mission said it was a Nin cada we were lookin' for, not a Ninjask," the other one said.

For a moment, the leader sat in silent thought. Then, he replied, sighing, "He could've evolved, y'know."

Evolved? Was that what had happened? Surely he would have remembered something like that occurring. Evolution was a joyous occasion for Pokémon, right? That much he recalled.

"I don't know," he murmured. "I don't think I did. I feel like I was always a… Ninjask? Is that what I am?"

The leader Pokémon's frown only widened. "Jeez, ya sound just like the guy too. I feel bad. I almost didn't take this mission, y'know. You should get outta here, man. I think this place is screwin' with your head."

He outstretched his gloopy hand, and the Ninjask took it.

"The name's Domino. You've seen me around the Legion's headquarters, probably," the leader said. "That is, assuming your memory comes back once we get outta this damn Mystery Dungeon. I'm a Grafaiai, and these are my siblings, the Shroodle Sisters."

The two Shroodle waggled their tongues in greeting. The Ninjask waved back; though he was unable to smile, it still came across politely.

Domino eyed the Ninjask a bit more closely. "So, kid. D'you have a name? Anything you can remember?"

"Not really, no." The Ninjask could tell that he did have one at some point. There was one on the light-box's screen, he just hadn't gotten a chance to read it amidst the chaotic panic. "I'd… have to hear someone call me by my name. That would probably jog my memory some."

"Don't worry, dude. We'll help ya out! You just have to follow us outta the Dungeon…"

Domino held up the bronze badge attached to his satchel. Bright light cloaked the four Pokémon, swirling around them, lifting them up into a blinding portal in the sky…

…And they landed in the forest outside. The Dungeon's entrance was before them, and the short forest behind them led, presumably, into town.

"Well then. Rememberin' anything?" Domino asked. "Anything returnin' to yer noggin?"

"Still no," the Ninjask replied. "But… there is something that feels right in my head."

"And that is?"

The Nnjask adjusted his satchel, and his eyes shone just a little bit brighter.

"You can call me Janus."