Notes: "Solid text" is spoken dialogue. "Italicized text" is a character's thoughts.
The streets of Virbank were thick with fog, and the smell of chemicals permeated through the air. White smoke emanated from the columns of the nearby Virbank Complex, an industrial landmark dedicated to creating the city's energy.
Virbank was vital to Unova's economic growth, acting as the biggest port city for both naval imports and exports for the region. The metropolis was also a place of growth for those who wanted to reach the top of the entertainment world.
One such person was Roxie O'Connor, the city's rising star and gym leader specializing in the poison type. Despite how vital her role was to the Pokémon League and to her city, she had other matters to attend to.
"Pop!" Moxie shouted as she ran through the fog. "Pop! Just listen to me for once!"
Her father, Liam O'Connor, was walking briskly and halted.
"Don't stop me, my daughter!" he exclaimed as he turned around fashionably, his captain's suit barely holding on. "Living here in this clammy port city has drained me of my true potential!"
Mr. O'Connor then pointed over to the brightly lit horizon of the Pokéstar Studios. He exclaimed, "Only the Pokéstar Studios can help me reach my goal! I have reached my goal of becoming a sea captain, but now I must also become a star!"
Roxie couldn't help but groan as she slid her hands on her cheeks downward. "Pop," she said in a cheery tone, "if your ship doesn't leave the port any time soon," Roxie snapped, "THE ENTIRE PORT IS GOING TO BE IN UTTER CHAOS BECAUSE OF YOUR MIDLIFE CRISIS!"
"Oh, my daughter, it'll be completely fine," Mr. O'Connor said as he adjusted the brim of his captain's hat. "If you can split the responsibilities of your role as a gym leader and being the leader of a band, why can't I?"
Before Roxie could refute his belief, O'Connor quickly turned around and dashed to the gate connecting Virbank and Pokéstar Studios. Roxie stood there, caught off-guard by her father's sudden departure and abandonment of his duties. She crouched into a ball, hands over her head.
"AAAAAAAAH!" She stomped to a nearby alleyway and began kicking over garbage and trash cans while screaming, "You dim-witted…dense…dumb…daft…dippy…
dolty…doltish DOOFUS!"
She ran out of the alleyway and began shouting at the gate, "I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU! I'LL BE IN THE GYM!" She walked back to her gym, trying her best to not think of the consequences her dense father's actions would eventually bring.
Harper began to stir out of unconsciousness. His head hurt, and his body was sore all over. His eyes felt raw, unable to open unless he wanted a flood of tears. The first thing he noticed was how he felt grass underneath him.
"That's odd," Harper thought to himself. "We're in the middle of the fucking desert, why do I feel fresh grass?"
He tried standing up before tripping over himself. "Why can't I stand? My legs don't feel broken." Harper instead decided to yell to his surroundings, "Hey guys? Is everyone okay?" Was it just him, or was his voice higher pitched? Did the explosion do something to his throat? "I'm okay! I'm not dead!"
Nobody responded. "Guys, I know you're out there! Mr. Reagan? Your ass is lucky I'm alive, get ready for a lawsuit of a lifetime!" Still no response. He immediately felt that something was off when he tried rubbing his eyes. Instead of skin that was rubbing his eyes, why did he feel FUR?
"Oh no, oh no, no, no, no," Harper muttered to himself as he began rubbing harder, desperate to see what the hell was going on. Once his eyes stopped watering, he could finally see what was wrong with him. And his synopsis? EVERYTHING. He couldn't see the skin on his arms because of the blue fur in the way. Two metal plates were stuck in his hands. Hands? He turned his "hands" over and saw two paws before his face.
"Oh god, oh fuck please don't tell me. Oh nonononono," Harper tried to stand up but again tripped over his foot. When he looked back, he saw that they were also paws. "Oh shit, please don't tell me I'm a…" Harper trailed off and saw a pond that was nearby. Still not used to his new body, Harper began to crawl to the edge of the water like an army soldier during training. Once he reached the edge, his beliefs were true; he was a riolu.
"Hah, this is a dream," Harper began to laugh hysterically. "Heheheh, yeah, this is just a dream. I'm probably in a hospital bed over in LA. Mr. Reagan is probably paying the medical fee right now since he's so nice, right?"
Harper leans on a nearby tree slowly but eventually stands upon his new feet. This was going to be a hassle for him. "If this is a dream, it's been going on for too long now, c'mon braaaiiiiin wake me uuuuuup," Harper sang to himself as nothing in the environment changed.
"Alright, that's it," he said, swiftly slapping his left cheek, and his right cheek followed. He was still stuck in this body.
"Okay… I'm stuck in the middle of goddamn nowhere; oh God, I'm probably dead from that blast." At the revelation that he was an inch away from death's doors, he began hyperventilating, nerves shaking even harder as his legs gave out again.
"Shit shit shit, I'm having a panic attack; what's that thing people do when they have one? Oh, right, name things around me." Harper tried to take deeper breaths as he identified his surroundings.
"Okay, there's a tree, uh…another tree, the pond, a pile of leaves, a fallen log." As Harper looked around the environment, his heartbeat steadied, and his breathing slowed. "I see some fern, umm, some mud, a herdier?"
Harper immediately recognized the Yorkshire Terrier Pokémon, and the herdier, in turn, noticed Harper. "I swear I heard someone talki- Oh my goodness! You're covered in burns! Honey! Get over here! A child needs saving!"
"Me? A child?" Harper thought as the herdier ran over to his vicinity.
"Oh my goodness, my dear, you need some aid as soon as possible." The herdier turned their head into the forest and shouted, "Dear! Help me carry them over to the ranch!"
Seconds later, another herdier soon commented on Harper's condition. "Oh dear, my boy, you need some rawst right now." "Riolu, can you walk?" The first herdier asked. Harper nodded. "Okay, good; now hold onto mine and my husband's backs, and we'll walk you to the ranch."
"Ranch?" He quickly dismissed the thought and did as the herdier told.
"I know walking will hurt, but our trainers aren't far away. Just bear with the pain a little more, son," said the second herdier. Harper grunted in response, and they began their trek to the herdier's trainers.
During the hike to the border of the forest, Harper regained his thoughts and started to think to himself.
"Okay, I'm a Pokémon now. I don't have any way to contact home. I was saved by two herdiers." Harper put the mental pieces together until he came to the realization. He still needed proof however, so he turned to one of the herdiers and asked, "Um…do you know where we are?"
Both herdiers turned their heads back to Harper and tilted them in confusion. "My boy," the second herdier replied, "did your injuries also hurt your head? We're on the outskirts of Route 20, of course!"
The proof was irrefutable now; Harper was in the Unova Region.