Route 8 (Day)

When Midoriya opened his eyes, he expected to see Stain. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was running at top speed to punch the Hero Villain and save Iida. But when his sight adjusted, he was surprised to find that it was midday. And even weirder than that was the fact that he was on a country road in the middle of nowhere. In all directions, the only thing he could see was grass and the sky above. With no other choice, he started walking forward.

After a few minutes of walking, he came upon a small town. The entire area was covered in a light fog, and as if acting like a landmark, there was a large tower just ahead in the road. And maybe it was just his imagination, but Midoriya felt like he could hear a simple 4-note tune playing.

"Where am I?" the greenette wondered aloud as he entered a building with a red roof. There weren't that many people inside, just a handful and a woman behind a counter. He walked up to the woman, curious as to where he was. "Excuse me, but where am I?"

"Welcome to Lavender Town, traveler." the woman said with a smile. "Would you like to let your Pokemon rest?"

"Pokemon?" Midoriya asked, confused. How could this woman know about Dominic's creatures?

"Of course! This is a Pokemon Center after all." the woman explained. "We take in trainer's Pokemon and heal them of any injuries or Status Conditions they may be afflicted with, free of charge."

This puzzled Midoriya. Dominic told him that Pokemon were rare, so how was a place like this even able to exist? He just couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"I heard that a ghost has been appearing in the Pokemon Tower lately." a man said. Turning around, Midoriya saw two people conversing in front of a window. A man and a woman.

"Really?" the woman said, surprised.

"Yeah, that's right. A lot of people have said that they've seen it." the man continued.

"Excuse me, but is there really a ghost in the tower?" Midoriya asked. Maybe it was just a Ghost-Type Pokemon, like Dominic's Gengar or Mimikyu.

"Yep. I've never seen it with my own eyes, but everyone else is talking about it." the man explained.

"Actually, what is the Pokemon Tower?" Midoriya asked.

"You don't know? You must be new to town, then." the man said. "Well, some people call this town the Gravesite for Pokemon. And it's all because of the tower."

"People come here to lay their Pokemon to rest. The Pokemon Tower could be described as a graveyard because of this, albeit an odd one." the woman added. "But recently, a ghost has been appearing in the tower. It's been shooing people away from the higher floors and preventing them from paying their respects."

"Does that mean that the ghost is a Pokemon?" Midoriya asked.

"It's possible, but nobody knows for sure." the woman said. "So, does that mean you believe in ghosts?"

"I mean, I always considered it. But ghosts can't be real, right?" Midoriya said. He'd read ghost stories when he was younger, back when he and Bakugo were on good terms.

"Hehe. Then I guess that white hand on your shoulder isn't real either, huh?" the woman joked.

Frightened, the boy turned around. But nothing was there. "Oh, please don't joke like tha-" But there was nobody in front of him either. "Okay, this is getting weird." Taking a deep breath, he turned to the window and looked up at the Pokemon Tower. "I don't know what's going on, but something tells me that tower has the answer."

"Oh, you're planning on visiting the Pokemon Tower?" the woman behind the desk asked. "Before you do, I strongly advise that you go to the Pokemon House first."

"Pokemon House?" Midoriya asked, curious.

"It's two buildings down from the tower. You can't miss it." the woman explained, pointing to a small house with wooden pillars acting as a foundation.


Pokemon House (Day)

'She told me to come here first.' Midoriya thought to himself as he opened the front door. "Anyone here?" he called out.

"Coming!" a female voice answered from the next room. The door opened, and a girl with pink hair tied in pigtails walked through.

"So, what exactly is this place?" the greenette asked.

"Nobody told you?" the girl asked. "This is where abandoned or orphaned Pokemon are taken care of."

'Abandoned?' Midoriya thought to himself. From what he'd seen from Dominic, his Pokemon trusted him with their lives. If there were others with Pokemon that just decided to abandon them...

"I'll show you. Come, follow me." the girl said, walking to the door she came from. Midoriya was led to a room where several Pokemon he'd never seen before were resting in pens while humans fed or cleaned them.

"I never thought that this was possible." the hero-in-training said.

"You should talk to the founder of the Pokemon House, Mr. Fuji." the girl said. "He says that lots of people around the world think of Pokemon as nothing more than tools or even some kind of accessories. Did you know that this house used to be Mr. Fuji's own home? He remodeled it so that there would be facilities for the Pokemon."

"He sounds really kind." Midoriya said. 'She said that lots of people around the world think of Pokemon as tools. How widespread are they?'

"You're right. He is." the girl said. "That's why a lot of the townspeople volunteer to help at the house. As a matter of fact, I'm one of them. My name's Reina."

"I'm Midoriya." the boy said. "The Pokemon here look happy." he said, walking around the room. Then he found himself at the corner of the room, standing in front of a pen housing a small Pokemon wearing a skull. "What's going on with this one?"

"It's a baby Cubone." Reina said. "It's only friendly to Mr. Fuji. But it gets nervous around anybody else."

"Why's that?" Midoriya asked.

"Because of Team Rocket." Reina said, disdain clear in her voice. "They're thieves who poach Pokemon and sell them off to the highest bidder. One day, Cubone was being chased by Team Rocket Grunts close to the edge of town. Just as they were about to capture it, Cubone's mother, Marowak, attacked them. Because of her, Cubone managed to escape. But Marowak lost her life in the process."

"Really?" Midoriya asked, shocked.

"Mr. Fuji found Cubone after that and took it in." Reina continued. "Since that day, it's refused to get close to anyone but Mr. Fuji."

"Speaking of, where is he?" Midoriya asked, looking around.

Before Reina could answer, a man burst through the door. "Everyone, I just learned where Mr. Fuji is!" he said.

"Where is he?!" Reina asked, worried.

"He's in the Pokemon Tower." the man said. "Someone said they saw Mr. Fuji heading that way yesterday."

"Why would he go in there?" Midoriya asked.

"Team Rocket. It's the only reason I can think of." a woman said, a stern look on her face. "He must've gone there to convince Team Rocket to leave the Pokemon Tower."

"Team Rocket's in the Pokemon Tower?" Midoriya asked.

"One day, Team Rocket showed up and made the top floor of the Pokemon Tower their base." Reina explained. "Worst of all, they chase away people who try to pay their respects."

"And if that weren't enough, a ghost appears!" a woman said. "I saw it with my own eyes. I snuck into the tower last night to pay my respects, but just as I got to the higher floors... It was too much for me."

"...I'll go and rescue him." Midoriya decided.

"Are you crazy!? You can't fight Team Rocket!" a man said.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." the boy said, running out of the building, failing to notice the shadow that followed him.