Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Pokemon. Any likeness to real-world characters, locations, and more is pure coincidence. Any other references or IPs mentioned belong to their respective owners.

A/N: Thanks for clicking on this if you are interested. I'm four years rusty and wanted to get back into writing. Constructive feedback is welcome if you spot anything grammatically incorrect or just weird. Or just review if you liked what you saw and want to see more. It fuels us authors.

Summary: A disillusioned man with no meta-knowledge of the Pokemon games gets transported to the Alola Region. In a world where teenagers can sick a dragon on your dog for money and glory, will our protagonist be able to survive the trials and mysteries within Alola?

June 1st

"Ruff!"

I wouldn't call myself the sharpest tool in the shed, but I liked to think I had a healthy amount of self-preservation and awareness.

I took the safest route home, avoiding suspicious alleys that practically screamed at me to get mugged. I kept to myself and did all I could not to piss anyone off. I always made sure I was sufficiently armed with a pocket knife in my left pocket, pepper spray in my right, and an extra switchblade in my back pocket in case the other two items got pickpocketed.

But with all my carefulness and planning, how did I get myself in this situation again?

"Ruff! Rouhhh…"

I felt a slimy sensation travel across my face in quick succession. A dull ache started to permeate throughout my body. I let out a small groan but laid still, not wanting to move just yet.

There was a constant ringing in my ears that I wanted gone desperately. The heart monitor? No, it's tinnitus. It was progressively getting quieter the more my consciousness returned to me.

Once more, I felt what I now realized was a tongue brush across my face. I weakly lifted my hand and tried to push the snout away, only to be deftly outmaneuvered and given five more licks in assurance.

Seriously, who let Silva in here? Weren't dogs not allowed in hospital rooms? I specifically made sure that my neighbor would be the one to take care of him if something happened to me. And my neighbor and I weren't close enough that he would visit me.

Not that I particularly cared about the specifics at the moment. Having Silva with me right now was my only silver lining in this situation.

I cracked my eyes open slowly only to get an eyeful of blurry, bright pink and orange.

Whoever did the painting for this room needed to get fired. Come to think of it, whose idea was it to keep the window open? The wind blowing in made the room cold enough to make me shiver. The bed was complete ass considering my back was cramping and there was a ton of sand in my pants.

I froze when I realized one part of that realization didn't make sense.

Opening my eyes further, the contrast of colors that entered my vision almost blinded me before I was treated to a beautiful sky. The clouds overhead were illuminated with a brilliant orange and pink.

Ignoring my neck protesting in pain, I tilted my head forward to see the tip of the sun peeking out from the horizon. The ocean shone with a ray of yellow, making a path towards the distance.

I just stared at the slowly rising sun, my mind racing a mile a minute, trying to make sense of my surroundings.

"Rock! Ruff!"

I blinked, snapping out of my daze. I looked to the side to find a dog that was most definitely not my big and dumb German shepherd. In fact, I've never even seen this breed of dog before.

It had a light brown coat with a ring of white fur surrounding its neck like a scarf. Its tail was also white and very fluffy looking. The tips of its paws and ears were a darker brown that I'd never seen before on a dog. It looked like it was wearing a necklace of…rocks? That must mean that it has an owner. And dear lord, those eyes are enormous! I've never seen a dog with such large and expressive blue eyes!

The dog tilted its head cutely and my cold heart immediately melted. Weird breed or not, you can't just do that to a dog lover. Not without getting your due compensation. Come here, you!

"Ruff! Ruuuufff!" The dog immediately keeled over when I put both hands on its muzzle and head, rubbing it vigorously. Ignoring my body aches, I sat up and started scratching its belly. The dog yelped in glee as it squirmed under my ministrations.

After a firm pat on the head, I was satisfied. I pulled my hands back, the dog panting and letting out a low whine when I ceased.

For as much shit as I give Silva for waking me up earlier than I was supposed to, it was a good feeling to wake up to a happy face first thing in the morning.

Doing a light stretch, I decided to take stock of my situation.

I looked down to see my warehouse uniform in ruins. Most of my pant sleeves were scorched or ripped off, exposing my knees to the elements. My shoes were torn to shreds, so I just threw them to the side in favor of walking barefoot. My jacket was also in a similar state, sustaining only one arm sleeve that only extended halfway across my left elbow. Half of my chest was visible on the right side. It looked like I had walked away from a warzone.

What was unexpected was finding my peachy skin unblemished with no burns and having all of my black hair intact.

I stood up slowly and looked over at myself. Besides the small scars I always had from roughhousing when I was a little brat, I found no burns or melted skin as I expected.

But…that didn't make any sense!

I clearly remember the fire approaching all around me when I rushed into the warehouse.

I remembered the terrible pain when those flames licked my skin.

I remembered the hallucinations I saw from the lack of oxygen. A vision of a large monster towering over a child, its wings wreathed in flames.

And when I emerged as a half-burnt corpse carrying that kid, I remembered the medics rushing me to the ambulance, screaming all sorts of medical jargon.

I remembered slowly losing consciousness, praying to every deity that I used to not believe in that Silva would be-?!

"Ruff!" I looked down to see the dog nudging my left leg, looking up at me in concern. It dawned on me that I was hyperventilating.

I forced myself to steady my breathing and crouched down, wrapping my arms around my knees while the dog sat close to me, ears drooped low. And wasn't that a familiar sight? Silva did the same thing whenever I had one of my many panic attacks.

"Don't worry. I'm okay…" I muttered, scratching the top of the dog's head again.

Instead of preening and playing like last time, it continued to look at me, its big blue eyes shining with concern.

This sure was one intelligent dog. Its owner was lucky to have one that had this much empathy. Silva definitely couldn't have read the mood this well.

I gave the dog a small smile and slowly stood up. "Alright. That's enough feeling sorry for myself. Say, you wouldn't happen to know where I could get out of this beach, huh?"

I asked the question as a joke, so imagine my surprise when the dog let out a joyful bark and started jogging across the sand.

Curious, I followed after it, swerving and stepping over various beach chairs and closed umbrellas. It led me to a set of stairs that rose to a large paved road.

At least I was close to civilization. I wouldn't have been able to survive a single day in the wilderness.

I crouched down and rubbed the dog's head. "Well, aren't you the smartest and goodest boy around? Smarter than me, at least!"

The dog preened under the praise but then gave me a small glare. Ignoring the confusing reaction, I approached the big street and looked around.

An assortment of buildings were lined up on each side of the road with big signs advertising many services and products that I didn't recognize. Most buildings had a red and white ball marking attached to them as if it was all part of the same brand.

The whole area was thankfully empty, so I wouldn't get any weird stares for looking like a dangerous hobo.

I looked at one sign. Recognition sparked within me. It was advertising malasadas.

…for pokemon?

Filing the strange word away for later, I racked my brain to try and remember anything useful.

That was a Hawaiian dish from what I could recall. Combined with the numerous beach chairs and umbrellas we had just passed by, I concluded that we must've been in a resort in Hawaii.

That thought gave me more questions than answers, however.

I approached the entrance, the little puppy following my footsteps closely. I reached the front only to find a big fat "CLOSED" smacked in the middle of the door.

Just my luck. I could've used some breakfast and asked for more information in one go.

It was only early morning, but my impatience was starting to get the better of me. What time was it anyway?

I reached into the pockets of my ruined pants only to find nothing. Frowning, I went for my back pockets to find my shredded wallet. The dollar bills inside were burned to the point of being unrecognizable, alongside all my insurance and credit cards. A picture of Silva and me was the only thing that survived mostly intact.

"Great, no phone and no money. Things are getting better by the second…"

I looked down at the little puppy. The poor thing was drooling hungrily in front of the door. "Come to think about it, you must have an owner. Maybe I can even cash in a reward if I return you safely. What do you say?"

Again, I didn't expect a response, but the dog actually looked like it was thinking.

I snorted to myself. I must be going crazy if I thought it was that smart.

Shoving that train of thought to the back of my mind, I continued walking through the street. The little puppy was dutifully following my steps. I eventually found something that was open at this god-forsaken hour. A building called a 'Pokemon Center'.

And there was that word again.

Pokemon.

Was this the city's tourist trap theme or something? I couldn't walk one step without seeing it plastered on some billboard or advertised on a building with that red and white circle symbol. There was a Pokemon salon, a Pokemon eatery, you name it. I couldn't figure out for the life of me if it was supposed to be a noun, verb, or adjective. Or maybe it was part of the Hawaiian language?

I realized I was getting too distracted by this innocuous detail and stepped inside.

Here's hoping I don't get thrown out by law enforcement for looking homeless.

A wave of warm air hit me instantly, making me sigh in relief. For a resort area, the morning sure was cold.

The room was circular with that red and white circle taking the center space of the floor. A few desks and tables were scattered at the sides. I spied what looked to be a cafe entrance and a convenience store on opposite sides of each other, but both lights were off inside their respective rooms.

Thankfully, there looked to be a receptionist with pink hair organizing a few things behind her counter. I walked up and waited patiently. When I realized she wasn't going to be done sorting anytime soon, I cleared my throat politely.

"Oh! Pardon me, I wasn't expecting anyone at this hour!" The nurse turned around and froze. I cringed to myself. With how I looked, it was an understandable reaction. "Sir! Are you okay?! Get over here, Blissey!"

"Wait just a mom-" I was interrupted when the lady rushed around her counter with a surprising amount of speed and took my arm. I was unceremoniously dragged through the door behind the counter. Walking through the hallway, the lady took me to a room with a large white bed and a small office chair next to a counter—a patient's room, I realized.

"It doesn't look like you are in critical condition…" the lady, whom I now realized was wearing a nurse outfit, said. I looked at her name tag to find 'Joy' printed on it. I opened my mouth to speak, only to be interrupted once again. "We can't count out anything that can be internal, though. Just stay right there. I'll be back!"

"But I'm not even- and there she goes." Just as quickly as she brought me here, she left the room and sprinted down the hall.

I sighed to myself and got comfortable on the bed. Idly scratching the little pup that jumped on my lap, I was left alone with my thoughts again.

Just what kind of clinic called itself the Pokemon Center? And wasn't there supposed to be a procedure before getting a room? This nurse was a pushy one, trying to get me to her clinic. Unlucky for me, I don't remember my insurance details on hand. But there will be problems if she expects me to pay for this non-consensual visit.

My train of thought was interrupted when I heard the door open. Finally, I can resolve this misunderstanding. Hopefully, I can explain myself properly this ti-

OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT.

Instead of the incredibly attractive nurse, some pink and white blob entered. It walked on its stubby legs towards me.

I stifled my urge to scream like a little bitch and scooted my ass as far away from the abomination as I could.

Was it a costume? No, the way it moved was all too real. An animatronic? Possibly, but there were no whirring and robotic noises that usually come from such creations.

Joy followed after it, smiling brightly. "Oh, it looks like Blissey found you first! Don't worry, we'll get you right as rain!"

"You named that thing!?" I squealed, trying to hurry away again, but found my back against the wall.

The monstrosity had the gall to look offended. Its beady black eyes may have looked cute to any other person, but I played way too many horror games to trust anything that looked cuddly. And the thing was even wearing a nurse cap that was slightly bloody.

Are they trying to lull me into a false sense of security? Was this the type of clinic where they promised a cure only to give you a painful, sadistic death instead? I was so fucked right now.

The little pup looked between me and the creature. It tilted its head at me in confusion. I was pinned on all sides. I couldn't escape if I wanted to.

"Bliss! Blissey!" the thing cried out its name and got out various instruments, from a blood pressure checker to a thermometer.

"Now that's not nice, sir! Blissey here is honestly trying to help you. So stay still!" Joy pouted.

Woman, you may be one of the most attractive people I've met, easily top five, but that's not going to excuse the fact that your genetic abomination is still molesting me with its grotesque feelers.

What even was it supposed to be anyway? It didn't look like any animal that I knew of. And is that supposed to be an egg in its pouch? Why the fuck does it look like it's soft-boiled?!

"Honestly. It's like you've never seen a Blissey before," Joy said, removing the blood pressure device from my arm.

I stayed silent. The way she said that made it seem like the creature was commonplace.

I settled my fear when the creature pulled back its grubby paws. It didn't seem hostile, but I didn't want to let my guard down. Who knows what could happen if I agitate it carelessly.

Joy and the ovoid monstrosity shared a look. "Blissey can't find anything wrong… may I see your trainer card, sir?"

Can she understand that thing? And a Trainer card? Was that supposed to be my resort identification?

I thought back to my destroyed wallet and winced. "That…got lost in a workplace accident."

Technically, it was the truth.

"I see…" Joy started looking at me suspiciously. "And what's your name, sir? I can try and find your information in our database."

I looked between the monster and her. I said the first thing that came to my mind. "John Doe."

John Doe?! Seriously?! I mean, there was no way in hell I was going to give my real name to a person who's probably harboring a failed government experiment and flaunting it so openly. But John Doe?! Why couldn't I have thought up something better than the generic male placeholder?

But surprisingly, she didn't question it. Joy pulled out a laptop from the desk next to us and started typing away, frowning increasingly as time passed. I just stayed in my corner, puppy in my lap, eyeing the weird creature so it didn't pull a fast one.

Eventually, she looked up and closed her laptop. I braced myself for the line of questioning that would ultimately occur.

"I couldn't find a John Doe anywhere in our system," she said slowly. Her eyes softened. "Are…you really okay? If you want, I can call the police and maybe they can help you?"

I stared for a small moment. Seriously? Did she not have any suspicion at all? Then again, it made sense. She was harboring that creature with no fear or self-preservation. "You don't need to do any of that. Can you just tell me what region I am in Hawaii? And do you have a phone I could use?"

Joy stared at me in confusion. "Hawaii, sir? What's that? Don't you mean the Alola region?"

I stared back at her. "...What?"

I poured over the maps one more time, making sure my eyes weren't tricking me.

I was sitting at one of the empty tables in the building. There were a few books that I was allowed to peruse through. Joy kept working behind the counter but eyed me occasionally.

Thankfully, her failed experiment was working in the back. I didn't have to see it anymore, but staying in the same building as that thing any longer than I had to was making me antsy.

Trying to quell my anxiety, I looked closer at the map.

Highlighted in a "You are here!" was the Alola region, specifically on an island called Melemele in Hau'oli city.

I switched over to the world map. There, I saw landmasses with names that did not correspond with my memory.

I've never gotten the best grades in geography, but wasn't the Kanto region supposed to be part of Japan? But here, it showed that it was connected to a place called Johto while separated by the 'Silver mountain range'. Not to mention all the other unfamiliar names. Sinnoh? Unova? Each was supposed to be a separate continent-like landmass.

I closed the map for what felt like the tenth time and kneaded my forehead to try and stop the incoming headache. I tried to phone my folks earlier, only to receive a message that the number I dialed did not exist.

A small amount of dread formed in the pit of my stomach. There was a thought that I desperately did not want to accept, but with this overwhelming amount of information, I had to acknowledge it.

Could I be in another world?

Or I was being gaslighted beyond belief.

I looked back at the nurse. Our eyes met and she gave me a small smile.

It didn't look like she was pranking me. And that monster didn't seem fake.

Or was there a hidden prank cam and she's a paid actor? Yeah, very funny. Prank the dude who was obviously down on his luck and possibly homeless. I hope the likes you get on the video fuel your dopamine for five seconds before you find another hapless soul. Now tell me that monster's fake and we can be all hunky dory and I can finally get out of here!

Before I could go on another tangential thought, the automatic doors opened. A shirtless, tanned man walked through. Wearing what appeared to be a lab coat and beach shorts with stylish sunglasses, he strolled confidently to the reception.

Now, I wasn't batting for the same team or anything, but this man was built. And not in a disgusting way. His muscles were lean and tight. He definitely didn't skip leg day, either.

The pink monster came to the counter and the man barely batted an eye. So, two incredibly attractive people suddenly enter the scene and don't care about the weird monster? Suddenly, the thought that they were paid actors was holding more and more merit by the second.

Joy turned around and smiled brightly. "Professor Kukui! What are you here for this early? Is there a pokemon in need of healing?"

Kukui just laughed. "No, nothing like that, Miss Joy. It seems like you were busy this morning."

Joy smiled. "There was an injured wild Yungoos last night. Blissey was up trying to do the final healing touches this morning."

"Ha! That's the Blissey I know." Kukui's expression changed to a worried one. "As much as I wanted this to be a social visit, there was something important I needed to ask. Have you seen my Rockruff anywhere? The little thing wasn't in my lab this morning. I usually don't have to worry about any unruly behavior, but this is the first time this has happened."

A loud bark interrupted the conversation that I was eavesdropping on. The little pup was practically vibrating in excitement. It ran up to Kukui, tail wagging vigorously. Looks like I found its owner.

"Well, if it isn't the little rascal. There you are!" Kukui crouched down and petted the pup. Its tongue lolled out and eyes widened in bliss. It suddenly ran back to me. It barked at Kukui, who looked very surprised. "And what's this? You've made a new friend!"

I stood up nervously when Kukui approached me. If he was surprised by my current appearance, he didn't show it.

He held out a hand and I grasped it as firmly as I could without shaking. His smile was bright and I returned it with a hesitant one. "My name's Kukui. You were the one that found Rockruff?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm…John Doe." I said, deciding to keep up the ruse at the moment. "You've got yourself a wonderful puppy, sir. I've never seen one so intelligent before."

"Rockruff is! I've never seen a more stubborn pokemon in my life." Kukui chuckled and looked down at the pup that was currently nuzzling my bare leg. "And I've never seen Rockruff so taken with someone before! Rockruff's scared of most humans, you see. You must be good with pokemon if you managed that!"

"No way. You should've seen him when he saw Blissey." Joy snarked. She gave me a teasing smirk. "He looked so scared. It was like he had never seen a Blissey before!"

"Oh, come on! Blissey's one of the nicest Pokemon you can ever meet! She's one of the best healers in this city. There is no way she would hurt you." Both of them laughed with me joining in nervously.

Again, they mention pokemon and the creature as if it was common knowledge. My curiosity was getting the better of me, so I decided to ask the question that had been on my tongue all this time.

"Excuse me, but what exactly is a pokemon? I've seen it on every building and now you guys are mentioning it." It didn't look like they were actors, despite ignoring the weird pink monster in the room. Hopefully, I can start getting some answers now. "Is it like some special tourist theme for this city?"

The moment that Kukui's expression dropped and Joy had given me the most shocked expression I've ever seen, I knew I royally fucked up.

Edited: 10/11/2023

A/N: This story is more of an experiment of sorts, mainly for first-person perspective writing. Not the most original premise but one that is easy to work with. Details and events from the mainline games and the anime will be mixed. Maybe even changed altogether, but not egregiously. With that, this could be classified as an "alternate universe". There will also be a lot more drama than adventure so fair warning.