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Chapter 2- Meeting Abra
A Machop traveled a dusty trail through the Arid Forest. He carried a canvas sack on one shoulder, and a canteen on the other. The sun shone brightly through the juniper trees and beat on the rocky soil. The Sand Continent was more arid than the others, but there was enough rain to grow scrubby trees and bushes.
He stopped, took a long drink, and looked at the sun. "Gah, it's so hot today! And it's at least four more hours until I reach Rainbow Mesa. I'm going to take a break while there's still shade," he said to himself.
Sitting down on a convenient rock under one of the stubby trees, the Machop pulled out a handful of seeds and munched on them. He looked around at the orange sand and rocks the trail continued into sandstone cliffs devoid of vegetation. Wait. There, under a tree, not too far from where he was sitting, was a spot of yellow that didn't match the surroundings.
"What's that?" Machop thought to himself. This area was sparsely populated, and those that did live here tended to hide in burrows in the heat of the day. He walked closer to investigate, and found not a Sandshrew like he expected, but an Abra, asleep in the bright, hot sun.
"Are you okay?" Machop called out. Abra hid in caves, darting out only for food when necessary. Feral Abra were too weak and delicate to be out in the open.
The Abra stirred. "What?" he asked, his eyes opening and blinking in the light. He looked around at the trees and sand. "Where… am I?" he asked. Abra looked at Machop, and his eyes widened.
"What are you? Don't hurt me!" Abra yelled. He tried to stand up, but tripped on his own tail. "What's going on? Where am I?" Abra started hyperventilating.
Machop stopped. "What's wrong? I'm not going to hurt you. Maybe I can help." Machop said, walking slowly towards the panicking Pokémon. His fear reaching a peak, Abra teleported out of sight.
"Wait, don't go!" Machop said. He didn't hear Abra anymore. He could be anywhere, and the Machop didn't have any way to find someone who could teleport.
"I hope he's okay," Machop said. Without anything else to do, he reshouldered his bag and canteen and continued down the trail.
A couple of hours later, Machop onto the small hill of red sandstone. The trail was marked with small stacks of rocks, pointing out the safest and easiest way. Machop heard someone talking near him. Listening carefully, he was able to understand the words.
"Why am I here? I don't think I'm supposed to look like this. And I think I teleported, somehow? How does that even work? I've got to find a way to get home… but I can't even remember where that is. I think I need to see a doctor. I can't remember anything!" the voice said. Machop saw the Abra from before pacing back and forth next to a solid pillar of stone that stuck out of the rock.
Thinking quickly, the Machop took his pack off his shoulder, and pulled out his canteen. He walked around the pillar in a wide arc, and confirmed his suspicions. The Abra from before was pacing and talking to himself in panic.
"Hey, are you okay?" the Machop asked. Abra jumped, and stared at Machop. He looked about ready to teleport away again, so Machop put his hands up. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. Can you tell me what's wrong? Abra don't normally live around here, and you're acting weird."
Abra pressed his back against the pillar he had been hiding behind. "Is that what I am? An Abra?" He was quiet for a moment. "I feel like I should know what that is. It's like I heard it once, a long time ago... Wait! Abra is a Pokémon, right? Is that what I am?"
"Umm, yes? Do you know how you got here? It sounds like you're pretty confused." The Machop said. "Wait! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Caleb. I'm heading to the Rainbow Mesa a few more miles from here. Do you remember how you got here?"
"I… don't know. I remember waking up and getting scared when I saw something that looked like you under a tree. Then felt something weird, and found myself on this big rock. I've been trying to figure out where and what I am, but I can't remember anything. Where am I?" the Abra said.
Caleb pulled his canteen off his neck. "Right now we're on the Sandstone Cliffs, west of the Rainbow Mesa. But it's very strange that you don't know how you got here. I haven't heard of someone getting amnesia that hard before. Normally the only reason Pokémon forget stuff that hard is when…" Caleb trailed off. "Does the word 'human' sound familiar to you?"
Abra thought for a moment. "I… think so. It feels important, like it's something I would think about myself. Oh! That's what I am, isn't it? I'm not supposed to be an Abra, I'm supposed to be a human!"
Caleb's eyes widened. "Wow! I can't believe it! I'm meeting a human!" he said excitedly. "This might be the best day of my life! You should come with me to the Academy so we can go on adventures together!"
Abra grabbed his tail in his hands and pulled it close to himself. "Umm, I don't know about that. I just want to figure out why I'm here and how to get home. But, umm, is there water in that canteen? I haven't eaten or drank anything since I woke up." he said shyly.
"Sure," Caleb said. He pulled the cork out of the canteen, and gave it to Abra. "So, do you have a name? Most of the time, humans remember that much when they come here."
Abra drank most of what was left in the canteen, and passed it back to Caleb, who finished it. "I don't think so. I'm not remembering what my name is." The Abra sat down on the ground
"Well, you have to have a name. It's one of the things that set humans apart from Pokémon. I have one because my parents knew a human once, and picked up the habit from them. I've studied the stories that Pokémon know about humans, and how they almost always help this world. Whether they save it from a disaster, or bring us knowledge, this world is indebted to humans. I was travelling to begin a journey to try to meet some of the humans that might still be alive. And now I've met you!" Caleb said.
"So what would be a good name?" Caleb thought out loud. "William? I think that means 'warrior,' and you're not a fighting type. Henry? Nah, that doesn't fit. How about Alexander? It means 'protector,' and we can shorten it to 'Alex.' It also shares a letter with Abra, so it should fit!"
Abra watched Caleb debate with himself. All this was very new and overpowering. Him, change the world? He didn't even know what this world was called! And it sounded dangerous. Maybe he had gone crazy, and this was all a dream or hallucination. But the rock felt real, and the prickly feeling on his skin from the sun indicated he was probably a little burned. If this was a dream, it was more realistic than anything he remembered. But why would this Machop think he was so amazing? He didn't feel strong, or smart, or good at anything.
"Uhh, Alex works I guess. But once I find my name, I'm going by that, okay?" Abra said.
"Sure! Nice to meet you, Alex!" Caleb said. He looked out across the desert. "It looks like we have about three hours of light left. It should start cooling off soon, but I'd like to get to town before the sun sets. The Rainbow Mesa should be about two hours away, so hopefully we can get there before they close the Academy."
Caleb reached out a hand to Alex, who took it and pulled himself up. Alex was uncoordinated; his tail limply dragging on the ground behind him, and his long toes bashed against uneven parts of the rock.
"Are you okay?" Caleb asked.
Alex held himself up by the pillar. "I don't think so. How am I supposed to handle my tail? It keeps getting scratched on the rock. I think it's even longer than my legs, and my toes are huge. Abra are really weird." Alex said. His toes were even longer than his fingers, with soft skin giving minimal protection. Alex had to consciously keep them straightened out to keep from stubbing them.
"I'm not really sure how to help you. My tail is a lot shorter, and my legs are pretty long. You should still be able to walk, though. Why don't we go slow, and you can hold onto me if you need. The next bit of trail is kinda easy to slip on. Just try to hold your tail up so it doesn't get caught." Caleb suggested.
Alex's tail twitched, then raised to a steady height behind him. "That feels weird. It feels like I might get worn out pretty quickly. I feel really weak, like I've never been outside before. Are you sure I can make it?"
"I hope so. I know there's doctors at the Academy that can check you over. In the meantime, I've got some trail food in my pack that might help. Here, grab onto my arm if you need."
Alex reached out and grabbed Caleb's wrist. The two walked together to where Caleb had dropped his pack, and he put it back on. He pulled out his pouch of seeds and handed it to Alex, who chewed on them gratefully.
Caleb led the way down the opposite side of the plateau. The trail was still marked with cairns, pointing out the gentlest slope with the least risk of falling. After a few minutes, Alex became more confident in walking, his long toes gripping into the sandstone. Coming to a particularly steep slope, Caleb walked down first, then stood at the bottom, ready to catch Alex if he slipped. Alex turned around to inch down the slope tail first, letting Caleb see his back. Caleb saw jagged brown stripes across Alex's back and legs.
Alex half slid, half walked down to the ledge Caleb was standing on.
Caleb said, "Hey, I didn't notice this before, but you have some strange marks on your back. It looks like it covers your tail and some of your arms too. Do you know why? You're not sunburned, are you?"
"I don't think so." Alex twisted and tried to see his back and arms. Just as he said, the reddish- brown markings lay in rough, horizontal stripes down his back. There were also bands on each arm, one on each leg, and a stripe around his tail.
"What is that? It doesn't look like scars, and besides, I haven't been that badly hurt in this body. I think." He rubbed a boundary between the discolored skin and his normal yellow coloring. "It doesn't feel any different, either. It's not more sensitive or painful, and the texture is the same. What does it mean?" Alex questioned.
"I don't know." Caleb replied. "It's not dark enough that people will notice it if they just glance at you, but you'll never be mistaken for a different Abra like that. We'll have to ask the doctor at the Academy when we get there."
"I hope I'm not marked with a curse or anything like that." Alex said. "Right now, I just want to sleep. I'm tired."
"We should be there in just another hour. I think I can see the top of the Rainbow Mesa from here, so it should be close." Caleb said.
"Good. My feet hurt, and I think my back is cramping from holding this tail up. I don't want to try teleporting, though. I might get more lost than I am now." Alex said.
The two continued to descend the rock into a sandy valley with a lazily flowing river. Cattails grew in the shallows, and willow trees lined the banks.
"Are you thirsty?" Caleb asked. "I have a filtering cloth if you want a drink before we get to the Academy."
"Uh, sure. Is it going to get all the mud out? That water is pretty brown." Alex asked.
"Mine's not the best, but it gets most of the grit out. This river's safe enough to drink, anyway. I just don't like sand in my water." Caleb said. He pulled a balloon shaped piece of cloth out of his pack, unstoppered his canteen, and filled the cloth with water. The brown silty river water went inside the cloth, and clear water filtered through it. Caleb put his canteen under the cloth to catch the dripping liquid. It took a few minutes to fill, and afterward, Caleb turned the cloth inside out to dump the accumulated mud. He hung the cloth on his bag strap to dry.
Caleb took a drink of water. "There we go. Mine's not as good as what the Academy uses, but it makes it a lot easier to travel when you can get clean water. This won't work for saltwater, but it makes almost any river or pond able to fill the canteen." Caleb passed the canteen to Alex.
"What's this Academy you keep talking about? Are you going to school or something?" Alex asked.
"Humans come to this world a lot, and they almost always have stories or skills they bring with them like math, or medicine, or building techniques. The Academy was built to teach anyone who wants to learn why they taught, and to give Pokémon skills for a trade or exploration. It's even better than the adventure guilds on other continents!" Caleb said excitedly
"The Academy is the final result of all the different things that humans brought to this world. It started out as one of the rescue and explorer's guilds that got popular when Mystery Dungeons first appeared. Then, it started giving education to Pokémon that wanted more skills that could work outside of Mystery Dungeons, and it's now one of the biggest organizations in the world! Anyone can go to the Academy and learn how to explore or learn to make something, then they can take that back to their homes!" Caleb said excitedly.
"It's just there to teachPokémon? What do you need to do for them? Do you need work for them or something? That doesn't sound like it would be free." Alex said.
"That's the great thing, though! With the work you do for them, they take some of the payment, but you still get to keep some of the money you made! It's a perfect organization!"
"They don't just take all our money? That sounds too good to be true. But… I don't see much choice. I can't stay out here. I don't know how to live as an Abra, and going to this Academy sounds like the best way for me to get home. Or save the world, if that's what I'm supposed to do." The dazzling sunset lit up a great plateau, with layers in each color of the rainbow. The layers of clay or rock started with red on the top, with distinct sections of orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple beneath it. The river they had crossed a few minutes ago curved to encircle the rear side of the mesa.
"Here it is, Alex. This is the Rainbow Mesa." Caleb said.