Earth or the Pokémon world, one thing is never going to change from the looks of it. I'm always going to worry too much about being late and end up arriving too soon.

Well, at least this time it's just ten minutes. Better than the half hour I did for that last job interview before…

Before all this.

I shake my head and walk past the gate's archway and onto the stone bridge.

Most of the passer-by are young kids and teens, all of them leaving the city and rushing outside. I don't follow their example, partly because I have to wait on the Johtonian, but also because I stop to observe the view.

It is very much like what I was greeted by when I landed in this world. Vegetation and rocky formations as far as the eye can see. There are only two differences this time: a pathway of bricks between it and me, and the bird-like Pokémon flying around in the sky. Some I recognize, some I don't.

No doubt the same would be true if I were to step into the woods.

Should I send out Lola and Rex? Whatever they can see from inside their Poké Balls, it can't possibly beat the real thing.

Then again, they did come from the wilds. Maybe it wouldn't be such a novelty.

"First day of riding lessons. How are you feeling, Mauro?"

I recognize that voice as the Ranger that first found me. I turn in his direction, and see him without his uniform standing next to a boy possibly in his late teens sitting atop another of those rideable Poké-lizards. A more friendly-looking one than his colleague's.

"Honestly, a little nervous, dad," the boy says as he… wait, what did he just call the Ranger?

The ranger places a hand over the boy's shoulder. "Everyone feels like that for the first time, son," he says calmly. "I remember it clearly myself. I had lots of thoughts running through my head. 'What if I lose control?' for instance, or 'What if I run someone over?'"

"But!" he turns his gaze down to the Poké-lizard, "I was forgetting an important thing: I was not alone. I had a partner to rely on."

The lizard briefly inflates its throat, with the corners of its mouth turning up.

The Ranger turns back to… to his son. "So trust in Diana as well, and everything will be alright."

The son smiles as he nods his head. "I will. Thanks dad."

"Don't mention it!"

As the two hug one another, I just… I turn away and walk over to the side of the bridge. To look at the water and the rivers of the lake. Yeah, definitely that. The Johtonian will likely appreciate it if I take this time to prepare.

I pay it little mind when I hear the Ranger exclaim, "Alright, son, Diana, lead the way!", and focusing instead on looking over the banks of the lake. Given the distance, I have to squint my eyes a bit, but I do manage to spot a few Woopers and what I assume to be Clodsires as well. True to what the Pokédex said, the latter are the ones actually swimming over the water, offering passage to the formers. Even then, they don't wander too far from the shores.

I wonder if the Johtonian girl really needs to start off with a Wooper, though. Even if it's a matter of the earlier stages being tamer, Clodsires sounded pretty chill already. Maybe not to the extent of Quagsires with that thing about their spikes when they are threatened, but still pretty harmless.

Unless I'm forgetting something about Quagsires. They weren't in the local Pokédex, but I remember the games mostly talked about how carefree they are. That should count for the real thing too, right?

Yeah, it should. Clodsires are the ones that were driven out of their habitat, so it would make sense they were the fiercer ones. As I said, they seem pretty chill when they are not in danger.

Now that I think about it, the only dangerous thing about Quagsires and the standard Woopers mentioned in the games was that they had slimy bodies? So maybe that's where the Paldean Wooper got the poisonous film. But—

"Hey!"

I wince and turn around. The sigh I'm met by is a smirking Johtonian girl with a backpack strapped around her shoulders.

"I see I kept you waiting," she chuckles. "How long have you been here?"

"Uh…" That's a good question, how long have I been daydreaming? "I arrived at twenty past nine? How long ago was that?"

"Not too long, thankfully," she giggles. "So, ready to go?"

"Sure," I reply before pointing at the lake behind me. "I think I already spotted a few Woopers back there and–"

I stop when I actually notice the Pokémon standing next to her and my eyes widen. It's not her Houndoom. Instead, it's a giraffe-horse hybrid, with a tiny second head instead of a tail.

"Is that a Girafarig?!"

I regret asking that out loud when she–yes, she's female, only her back legs are black–rushes behind her Trainer, her front face red with embarrassment while the secondary head chomps at the air between me and her.

Wow, what a jackass you are, Aldo.

The Johtonian doesn't seem bothered, as she only reaches to rub the Girafarig's head.

"There, there, Kiri," the girl calmly says as the Pokémon relaxes.

"Uhm," I mutter. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she reassures, "Kiri is very shy around new people and prefers to keep to the sidelines."

Rex and Lola have better sit this one out then. Between one's energy and the other's troublemaking, they are bound to scare her.

"And I take it you like Girafarigs?" the Johtonian concludes with one more giggle.

I rub the back of my head nervously. "Well… yeah, I do. I found the whole thing with the two heads with their own minds interesting and–"

Her raised hand stops me. "I get it, I get it, don't worry." She turns around to the Girafarig. "Ready to go, Kiri?"

The Pokémon has drops of sweat pouring down her temples, lets down a gulp and makes a face like she wants to be anywhere but here. Even so, she makes a small nod.

"Great!" the Johtonian exclaims before turning back and rushing ahead. "Then let's go!"

The Girafarig and I don't follow her right away and instead look at each other. When I find she still looks uncomfortable, I decide to step to the side–as well as less close to her–and gesture for her to pass.

"After you."

She looks quizzically at me for a moment, before taking slow steps forward and in her Trainer's direction. As she does so, her secondary head never turns its eyes away from me and makes sure to show its fangs.

Keep your distance. Got it, head two.

Nothing really happens before we arive. After walking over the bridge, we instantly take a turn to the side and head for the lake's shores, without delving in the actual forest.

The only noteworthy thing is that a Pokémon Center is right by the other side of the bridge. Man, they are quite a departure from the welcoming buildings I'm used to associating that name to.

In any case, we find a group of Woopers hanging by the lake's edge almost as soon as we arrive.

"Well, uh," I tell the Johtonian, "I guess you already have your Pokémon to catch."

To my surprise, she turns to me, an eyebrow quirked. "What makes you say that?"

"Uhm… isn't that how it works?" I point at the group of Woopers to emphasize. "You approach one, battle it and catch it before it faints?"

She chuckles. "Is that how this was presented in those games?"

I answer in the form of an awkward nod.

"Well, it's not as simple as that. Sometimes, you battle, sometimes you don't, but the most important part is making sure that Pokémon wants anything to do with you."

What?

"Observe."

She steps toward the Woopers. The tiny Poké-salamanders notice her approach one by one, but before she gets too close, they turn around and just walk away.

The Johtonian turns back to me, smirks and extends her arms dramatically. "You see?"

Uhm…

"Is that why she's here?" I ask as I point at the Girafarig, who winces. "To check for potential Woopers who might be interested?"

For once, a flabbergasted look comes over her face. "Uh, no. No she's here in case it does come to a fight, since she's got," she taps the side of her head, "you know, the type advantage."

Ooooh…

Man, are you dumb, Aldo.

"Anyway, there's bound to be more around," the Johtonian continues, her feet all but bouncing in place. "You guys coming?"

Before I can actually reply, she sets off along the shore, her Girafarig following her soon after. I take the first steps as well, however, as I get closer to the lake's surface, a sudden feeling of… unease falls upon me. An unease I can't explain, as I see nothing particularly dangerous nearby, and the only thing I hear are Pokémon noises and the water's flow.

Although the last time I was this close to a body of water…

"Hey Aldo, are you coming?!"

I shake my head and turn in the Johtonian's direction. "I-I'm coming, I just… need to check something."

Slowly, I reach the water's edge. The sense of unease grows stronger, but at the same time, I don't feel the need to run away. The lack of such a feeling is admittedly relieving, but still confusing.

Even when I am but one step away from diving in the water, I still feel that unease, but again not a fear. That remains true even when I kneel down and dip my fingers in.

This doesn't make sense. If I were suffering from some kind of trauma from the encounter with… whatever that thing was, I should not be feeling so… not calm, but composed, I guess?

While I'm busy pondering, I feel something bump into my fingers. The sudden sensation has me pull them from the water, and a Magikarp's head pops out of the lake soon after.

A very angry-looking Magikarp.

"Ehm, sorry about that, bud–"

One moment, I'm still knelt over the water and meeting the Poké-fish's scowl.

The next, my butt plops on the ground, I'm clutching my sore forehead, and the Pokémon is diving back into the water.

Did… did it just headbutt me?

While I'm still in disbelief, the Magikarp turns around and, with a strong push of its tail fin, splashes some water to drench me before swimming away.

Of all the Pokémon to get bullied by, of course you had to pick the most inoffensive, Aldo.

It is the sound of a whistle that has me look to the side and find the Johtonian standing over me. "Well, hope you weren't hoping to raise a Gyarados, because I don't think that kind of fishing is gonna go anywhere."

A Gyarados?!

"Perish that thought," I reply as I turn back to the water. "I wasn't even looking for that Magikarp, I just– where did it go?"

It left a trail behind when it began swimming away, but it stops not too far off, with no other signs of the Poké-fish.

"Eh, probably decided to submerge," the Johtonian says. "No biggie."

I want to agree with her. However, there is a short moment when I think I glimpse a glow from beneath where the Magikarp's trail ends. A golden glow, eerily similar to–

Ok, maybe I'm not as unaffected as I thought I was if I'm seeing things.

"Come on." The Johtonian offers a hand. "Let's get going."

I take her hand and let her help me get back on my feet. We then set off in the direction she was going toward earlier.

Still, the sense of unease doesn't leave me.

I remember from the games that finding a specific Pokémon you were looking for could be either a piece of cake or a very tedious process depending on how often it spawned.

As it turns out, the real thing is tedious too, even with the more common Pokémon.

Coming across Woopers or Clodsires is not difficult at all, even among a crowd of other aquatic mons like Marills, Surskits and Buizels. The difficult part is trying to approach them, at which point they generally just walk away and we have to start over.

Except for one that spat mud at us, but that was the exception to the rule.

"Was composing your team always this difficult?" I find myself asking out loud at some point.

"Not… always?" she replies. "There are a couple that I kind of came across on accident, but the others were pretty straightforward. We're really just having bad luck today."

I see.

I probably shouldn't be complaining though. I'm not offering as much help as I could, because the sense of unease makes me look at the water every now and again.

It's a small blessing that the Johtonian at least doesn't seem to notice. Nor does her Girafarig.

"Hey, how about that one?"

Looking in the direction she's pointing, I find a lone Wooper near the edge of the lake staring intently at the water. No sign of any group it might be a part of.

"Sure, why not?" I tell the Johtonian.

She takes my word for it and approaches the Wooper, while me and the Girafarig follow suit.

Unlike the others we've come across so far, this Wooper doesn't move away from its spot. Though it's not clear whether it notices us in the first place, as its eyes are still fixated on the water.

"Hey there, little…" the Johtonian starts before glancing at me with a questioning look.

"Uh…"

The Pokédex said the Paldean variant has less evident sexual dimorphism, with just the points of the gills more pronounced rather than with more branches. And in this case…

"Guy?"

"Little guy," she continues after turning back to the Wooper. "Watcha doing over there?"

The Wooper doesn't respond. Or react at all. In fact, he remains so still it's not clear whether he noticed us.

Or maybe I was wrong, and she's ignoring us as a protest?

If so, wow Aldo, you had one job and you're already botching it so badly?

"Little guy?" the girl insists, waving a hand in front of their face. "Hellooooo?"

The Wooper remains impassive at first. After a bit, though, they turn their head toward the Johtonian and stare at her with a blank look in their eye and a derpy smile.

She returns the smile and waves. "Hi!"

The Wooper replies with a… I'm not sure what kind of sound it's supposed to be, but it doesn't sound annoyed or anything, so progress?

"Watcha doing over here, little guy?" the Johtonian repeats.

The Wooper doesn't complain about being called 'guy', so I have to assume they're fine with being called that.

That said, he doesn't really voice any kind of response. Or really does anything. He just opens up his mouth. A gesture that confuses me. The Johtonian too, by the looks of it.

That said, it isn't long before she turns to me. "Hey, did the Pokédex say anything about… this?"

"No?" I tentatively reply. "Maybe he's hungry?" Can't really think of another reason. The dex didn't say they use their mouths for anything other than to eat and breathe.

"Oookay, then." She reaches into her backpack and soon pulls out a bag from which she extracts… some kind of blue fruit. One of the famous berries, perhaps?

"Catch!"

She tosses the berry into the Wooper's mouth, who does catch it and proceeds to munch on it. When he's swallowed it, his smile broadens and he lets out happy noises.

"Tasty, isn't it?" the Johtonian chuckles. "I've got more where that came from. Would you like to come with me?"

The Wooper hops happily in place.

I, however–party-pooper like you are, Aldo–have to step in. "Whoa, just like that? Shouldn't we worry about anyone he might be leaving behind?"

Another noise from the Wooper has me look at him, and I find him shaking his head. All while he still has that derpy smile on his face.

Which is starting to feel a tad unsettling, not gonna lie.

"Well, it looks like I brought you out for nothing in the end," the Johtonian says as she looks to the side.

I realize as I follow her gaze, that I'd forgotten the Girafarig was here.

"Sorry about that, Kiri. But hey, at least you got a chance to stretch your legs, right?"

The Poké-giraffe merely lets out a relieved sigh.

Meanwhile, the Johtonian puts her bag away and replaces it with a Poké Ball. She presses its button and then tosses it at the Wooper.

Much to everyone's bewilderment, though, he opens up his mouth and ingests it.

As he tries to swallow it, I half-expect that to be the end of it and the Johtonian to have to toss another ball. Instead, the Wooper turns into red light and disappears, leaving only a saliva and goo-covered Poké Ball to fall on the ground. A couple of shakes later, the ball clicks.

"Uh…" the Johtonian turns to me. "I don't suppose you have a handkerchief with you?"

I shake my head. "No, you?"

"Nope."

Dang.

The Girafarig thankfully comes to our rescue. As her eyes glow with a magenta glow, an aura of the same color envelops the Poké Ball. It lifts up and is dragged over to the water, where it is slowly and carefully submerged, allowing it to be washed.

"Thanks, Kiri," the Johtonian tells the Girafarig, who blushes at the praise.

Though I have one concern.

"Is it safe to do it, though? Doesn't the water mess with the circuitry?"

I feel bad for asking when the Girafarig's whole face takes a tomato-red color.

Thankfully, her Trainer's reply seems to put her at ease.

"Don't worry, Poké Balls are waterproof."

Ah, good.

We wait until the Poké Balls has been properly washed, after which the Johtonian steps forward and kneels down to grab it.

However, not a moment after she's grabbed the Poké Ball, something hops out of the water.

"What the-?"

It's… a tentacle? No, it's a tail. A long, undulating thin white tail with a ridge of spines. A tail I have seen before.

But… it can't be! We're far away from that river.

"Hey!"

The tail suddenly wraps around the Johtonian's arm and begins pulling her down toward the water.

Oh no, no, no, no!

I rush to her side and grab her. Both of us try to fight against the pull, though it is a struggle. One that I don't think we're winning.

And in the meantime, the Girafarig is… standing still like a stone as it watches the scene with widened eyes.

Oh for the love of–

"Hey, a little help over here?!"

My words have the desired effect of shaking her out of her trance. Although that seems to only serve to make her sweat and look frantically left and right.

Goddamned stupid–

"Kiri!" I barely manage to glimpse the Johtonian nudging at the water. "Psybeam!"

The scared giraffe snaps out of her trance and switches her gaze from her Trainer to where she pointed. Before long, she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and conjures a ball of magenta energy between her antlers.

A beam shoots out of said ball and hits the tail where it emerged from.

Almost instantly, the tail lets go of the Johtonian, and the sudden loss of friction sends us both falling back on our butts.

"Goddamn," I mutter while massaging my back. Meanwhile, my eyes drift to the Johtonian, who is instead massaging her previously trapped arm, hand still clutching the Poké Ball. All while she lets out relieved breaths.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks." She glances at where the Girafarig is standing. "Both of you."

The Girafarig makes an appreciative noise. I almost shoot her a glare, but the Johtonian's next words prevent me.

"What Pokémon was that?"

What indeed. I didn't look too much into the Pokémon of this region I didn't recognize, and among the little I did, I found nothing that matched.

As I look at the water and see that very pair of golden lights, I realize not looking deeper was a mistake.

This time, its entrance is far less dramatic. It doesn't jump out of the water. It rises from beneath, slowly revealing first its crown of horns, then its wolf-like snout, then its lion-like mane.

At first, its gaze is focused on both of us equally. However, its eyes soon land squarely on me and it lets out a couple of sniffs.

It doesn't say anything, but I can feel what its thoughts are from the way its eyes furrow and the low growl it lets out.

You.

I realize then and there, with a shiver running down my spine, that this isn't another of the same species. This is the one from before.

The chimera that attacked me.

What's this? Only one day of delay instead of a whole week? Yeah, this time I managed to be less late.

That, unfortunately is the good news. The bad news is that I kind of lost interest with this story with everything else going on in my life. I still have four more chapters, so at least I can provide a look into what could have been, though I plan to post them over the next few days.

Sorry about that folks.

Anyway, huge thanks to Krosrodes for beta-reading this.

You guys let me know your thoughts and I'll see you tomorrow.